We arrived safely after a happily uneventful flight yesterday to Miami and then to Tegucigalpa. As you may imagine, it was warm and sunny when we arrived and it was a pleasure to be greeted by Raul, Rich and Barbra. We piled luggage and all 14 of us into two waiting vans to be driven with the usual abandon through the city to the gate of El Hogar. As we arrived, there were children waiting for us outside of the office, eager for the first glimpse of another set of visitors.
After settling into the volunteer house, we were given a tour -- shadowed by curious children -- of the grounds of El Hogar de Amor y Esperanza, the elementary school campus. Touring the dormitories, we were struck by how neat, tidy and cheerful the rooms were, and impressed that the metal bunk beds were made by the El Hogar boys at the Technical Institute. We also noticed that there was almost a complete lack of personal possessions, which posed a stunning contrast between our children and the children of El Hogar. We were largely exhausted, and were happy to turn in early after a dinner of beans, rice, plantains and -- of course -- tortillas.
Sunday morning arrived early and we were dressed for church in plenty of time. For breakfast we had pancakes, scrambled eggs, and beans. Not to mention the 3 pots of coffee. While the service at Santa Maria, the church in Tegucigalpa, was recognizably Episcopal, it was also a totally different take on the liturgy. If you can imagine a Spanish version of the Book of Common Prayer set to electric guitar, drums and keyboard with a choir of three singers, amplified like the Supremes... We were deeply moved and amazed; imagine singing the Lord's Prayer set to the Simon and Garfunkel song, The Sounds of Silence!
After the service we once again piled into the van to head for lunch. Thomas took his usual spot in the very back of the bus. Our destination was Pollo Comparo, a local fried chicken joint a la KFC. There we were joined by eleven of the honor roll students. These children followed the universal rule that states french fries MUST be eaten first, along with quite a lot of ketchup. In our limited Spanish we chatted with the children, learning their names, grades and interests.
After another eventful journey in the van (Thomas once again in the far back), we were grateful to roll back into the school for a post-Pollo resposado. A small contingent of us bravely set off with Jose Arturo, one of the El Hogar teachers, into a Teguc version of a shopping mall; thousands of people were milling around socializing and having a Sunday afternoon outing. Somehow we did successfully negotiate the crowds and returned with a few necessities to the Volunteer House.
Some of us went to play games with the children, such as American football and kickball (the El Hogar children are serious about their kickball-25 children to a team irrespective of age, ability or desire to follow rules.) Claudia Bell IS the pied piper of El Hogar! She knows everyone and they stick to her like velcro.
We ended the day with our nighly devotion, sharing our experiences, thoughts and feelings from the day. Anticipating an early start to a promisingly busy week, we turned in by 8:30pm.
Hasta manana!
Your friends from Epiphany, Tegucigalpa annex
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