Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Jesus said unto him, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:34-40

Wednesday was a good day. We experienced some of the native Honduran culture with part of the group visiting the Mayan ruins of Copan and another group traveling to a coffee plantation outside of Copan village. Both groups had amazing adventures and enjoyed taking in the local sights. Speaking as one who went to the coffee plantation, it was an educational experience learning about coffee growing and production. We had a wonderful guide who was native Honduran and spoke perfect English. He managed to cheerfully and expertly field a plethora of questions from our group about the surrounding vegetation as well as the technicalities of coffee production.

We were taken by wagon pulled by a diesel tractor up a steep and winding dirt road to 3500 feet where we started the walk back down through a beautiful forest with coffee plants, herbs such as cilantro which look different than what we have at home, banana trees, and other vegetation that made us feel like we were in a rain forest. The plantation is not categorized as a rain forest since there isn't much rain in Honduras, but there were beautiful streams and waterfalls surrounding us at various times. Vocal yellow-beaked birds flew overhead. There were also swinging wooden bridges to cross, single file. We enjoyed lunch at an open air cabin followed by a delicious cappuccino. Returning to Copan, we shared conversation, laughs, and life savers.

Alison and Dave worked at the building sight for part of the day, but returned to the hotel when even the Honduran men said it was too hot to be working in the sun. Consequently we are leaving for the building sight an hour earlier in the morning...at 7am.

There were many of us who helped the Copan economy by purchasing some of a native pottery and other Honduran souvenirs in town. The people were very friendly; some could speak English and others just looked at us and occasionally said, "Hello" in English. We answered, "Hola", our common greeting. The usual mode of transportation is by foot, although there are many motor taxis ready to take passengers up the stone roadway to their destination.

Upon returning to the hotel, we spoke with a young woman, nicely dressed, pregnant, sitting on the hotel steps with her husband. She was selling hand made bracelets and necklaces...most were $2. We all made several purchases. Very humbling.

After gathering for dinner and devotions led by Sue Acton, Beth Dionne led us through the very organized procedure of filling 20 bags with items for the families of the village where we are working. The list of items included flashlights, toothbrushes and toothpaste, bars of soap, vitamins, clothing, flip-flops, toys, balls, socks, and other items we would consider basic needs. We will give the families their bags on Friday.

Even though talking and giggling could be heard from at least one of the rooms...you know who you are...most of the group were fast asleep as this blog was being written. Reflecting on the day, listening to the soft falling rain, the occasional caw of a bird, bark of a dog or call of a child, I can not help but reflect on the passage by Matthew. What if we all could love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves. What a different world we would have.

It is almost another day. So many blessings to enjoy and love to share. Xoxo

-Jane Fox