Friday - no real work

We ended up not really working that day...there was just too much rain. But, we got to go to INHFA which is a daycare center. This is where we are going to build the playgroup and the soccer field.

When we got there there were some men working out in their walled in garden. The space was beautiful but there was a lot of debris lying all around. And water, water everywhere. The men, it turned out, were Dads of the kids in the daycare. They were helping out to do their part. A truck was going to come later to pick up all the brush etc that they picked up. The grass was very green, but the surface was extremely uneven with holes everywhere filled with water. There was no way we could work out there unless we had out wellies.

Jay decided he would repair all the electrical issues so he went around, assessed what needed done and made a list of things he'd need to fix everything.

In the meantime we just watched/played with the kids. Scott gave out some lillipops (before lunch!) and we took lots of pictures. Each child wanted me to take their picture and then show them immediately. They were so cute! Basically, they were hanging out in one room that had benches on one side, a wall of toys and games (not that many - there was space in the bookshelf for plenty more) and a TV in the corner. They all got a long pretty well...dancing and playing. It was LOUD! The age group in this room was about 4 and up. On the other side was another room for the smaller ones.

Lunch time - all the children came out onto the covered porch and sat at a very long picnic table which was just their size. It was made out of wood that had once been painted a bright blue....there were areas of the table where it was still visible. And one by one bright plastic bowls filled with a bit of rice and a piece of meat were brought out. These bright Ikea looking bowls on the antique/washed table with all their beautiful faces was a photographers dream. I took at least 50 pictures while they ate.

All the children were so happy! Chatting away....eating....smiling. All but one. There was one little girl who was just so sad. It made us so sad to see her. She ended up crying and one of the daycare volunteers came over and just help her and rubbed her back until she stopped.

Anyway, the plan here is to get some fill - truckloads of dirt to help with the drainage and the hole problems. Then level it, plant grass and then make the playground and soccer field.

We did have a little bit of excitement here......Scott asked if he could go with Colin, Jordan and Sarah and go back to the hotel to get some toys to give to the children. I thought about it for a moment - it was only about 6 blocks back to the hotel.....I asked Colin to watch out for Scott...OK he could go with them.

Over an hour had passed and they had not returned. So we all got a little concerned. Linda drove in the car, Jack walked back one way, Michelle, Colleen and I walked back another way while Jay stayed there.

We walked all the way back to the hotel and found out that they had just left. They had gotten a little side tracked and were opening coconuts with Collin's machete in front of the hotel! They were fine! And Scott said that Colin was very careful everytime they had to cross a street. I wasn't really nervous because there wasn't much trouble they could have gotten into in the middle of the day - but I just didn't like having Scott out of my sight, or having others having to worry about him, especially Linda and Colleen who have enough on their plates organizing everything and keeping track of everyone!

Eventually we all made it back to the hotel and Scott and I ended up going with Linda and Colleen to Jubilados to see whether or not we could work there tomorrow. It looked great - there wasn't too much rain!

Scott ended up taking a swim in the pouring rain with Nancy....oh that was a story too. The waves were pretty big and the water was very dirty looking - partly because of the sand being kicked around and partly because of the water that was flowing into the ocean around us from the town (no that's an entirely different entry).

So, Nancy had brought her shoes down to the water with her and once in decided that it was safer to leave them up by the hotel. So she got out, got the shoes, ran up, threw them in front of the porch and asked me to watch them. "Sure", I said with the plan of getting them when it wasn't raining so hard. There were a handful of people on the porch that afternoon.

I went inside for a couple minutes...no more....came out and magically....the shoes were GONE!!! I was horrified....my only job was to watch Nancy's shoes and they had been stolen!!

The assistant mayor was also on the porch so I went right up to him - told him what happened and asked him to ask the ladies selling bread if they knew what happened to the shoes. "No idea", she said with a stone cold face.

So I ran down to the water to get Nancy out of the water and tell her my horrible news. We were both upset! Back up on the porch we were all discussing it when suddenly a women says, "Over here!". The shoes were under a tree no more than 20 feet away - together! She explained that a child had picked them up and walked away with them and had then left them under the tree.

What are your thoughts on what you think really happened?

For dinner that night - in the pouring rain - we ran across the street to the hotel next door called Cesar's. Mr. Dick was our waiter and took our orders by name. So first you had to tell him your name and then your order.

Scott had BBQ chicken, which he ended up seeing falling on the floor in the kitchen as it was making it's way out of the kitchen to be delivered to Scott. Pour guy had to wait another 20 minutes while they made another plate. Patience is something that we all need here in Honduras....as everything takes time!