This Sunday we were lucky to have a group adventure today. Carlos (our director) organized a game plan or at least as game plan-y as Hondurans get, and we all enjoyed!
Around 8:30 on Sunday morning our trusty driver Viktor drove up, beeped his horn, and we hopped on our board our all-purpose transportation bus.
First we drove to Jutiquille. Jutiquille is a small town where Padre Ricardo preaches every Sunday. It's a poorer town than Juticalpa, which is hard to imagine, but the spirit of the church community is so rich! The church was packed to the brim when we arrived, but we were able to grab some seats right up front. The mass was beautiful. I was bummed that I didn't have song lyrics to sing along, but the church was so musical. Hondurans, I've discovered LOVE music, clapping, and the tambourine. Everybody was so involved and into the mass, full of joy, love, and a rejoicing spirit, which is totally my kind of mass. The best part was how welcoming the entire community was of us. They introduced us at the beginning, clapped for us, and then there was the sign of peace. I think almost the entire church came over to give us hugs and welcome us. I've never received so many genuine signs of peace, I felt truly overwhelmed by the love, spirit, and presence of God in that church!
The lovely church at Jutiquille
After mass we headed to Catacamas. Catacamas is a slightly smaller town about 45 minutes away from Juti. When we arrived we headed to a smoothie shop/restaurant that Oscar's family owns. Oscar works for the foundation and he's a really cool guy. The smoothie shop was so neat! Oscar's family made us a delicious lunch to enjoy (cheesy potatoes, cheesy chicken, and salad). Buen provecho!
Catie and I lunching at the smoothie shop.
Peggy serving up some drinks.
Afterwards, we headed for a "light hike" up a nearby mountain.
beginning the climb up the 567 steps.
We discovered that this "light hike" would include 567 steps up the mountain. No worries there were lots of breaks for planking and photo ops. Andree made sure to continuously liven things up on the hike as well by repeatedly chanting our classroom rules. "No hitting. No kicking. Be safe. Raise your hand. Listen. Respect." As if I don't hear those phrases enough during the week! hahaah. It was funny though, he's such a great kid.
Like I said, always entertaining us
When we made it to the top, we enjoyed some gorgeous views, photos, more planking opportunities, and games with Andree (one of my wonderful 1st graders).
At the top!
I successfully introduced planking to the entire group and almost all of us got a planking pic. I almost got my student Andree to plank with me, but next time I'm sure.
It was such a beautiful walk and view over Honduras. I'm so lucky to be in such a beautiful place. It was also a cloudy and cooler day, so the heat wasn't so overwhelming for once. It was just beautiful and so much fun.
Then we headed to Oscar's family's house. They have a small family hangout spot in the middle of the family's corn fields. When we pulled the trusty bus up to the cornfields, I felt so at home. It was such a peaceful afternoon. We hung hammocks, pulled out chairs, and just sat around enjoying some quality time while Oscar's family cooked and cooked and cooked for us. Andree continued to keep us entertained by hijacking my camera, making us play bumper hammocks, and scaring the chickens into running into me. It was so great to get out of town, relax, and be with each other. I'm really loving getting to know the awesome girls I work with more and more. Plus the food was so good. It was a regular corn party! We started with some homemade corn fritters with matequilla, then moved onto rice with avocado, peppers, and mantequilla, then we had atol which is like a warm, creamy, vanilla-y, cinnamon, corn drink, then we had elote, and finally corn tamales. See! A regular fiesta de maíz!
Homemade corn fritters
Hammock love.
Ahhhhhh....corn fields.
It was just a wonderful Sunday to get out of town, eat tons of delicious food, explore great views, and be with new friends.
"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are"
- Marianne Williamson
What fun!! Oscar and his family really rolled out the hospitality for you! Isn't nice that wherever you go, there are always people who are generous with their time and making you feel at home. The food sounded great, altho I have to admit I am not sure what some of it was - will have to brush up on my Spanish!!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a wonderful way to spend a Sunday starting with giving glory to God and then discovering all of the splendors that God has bestowed upon Jutiquille and Catacamas with "soon-to-be good friends".
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