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From John White -
Hola--a todo el mundo--another great day in Honduras: the drive from San Pedro Sula to Villanueva lasts about twenty minutes along a divided highway teeming with poverty, barrios, people, traffic, life, all kinds of small businesses, for sale signs everywhere, for rent signs, signs on buses, people at bus stops in large numbers, street vendors, police with rifles, police stopping our bus and checking An`tonio`s credentials. Ãt could be anywhere in the United States, just poorer economically, and seemingly richer in other ways. Today, again, we worked like a fine tuned painting machine. The acoustics in the center--at least right now--are ideal for singing while we paint. We`re all drinking about a gallon of bottled water a day. Cathy "goldbricked" and got well today. The General is the general, and very good at it, cracking the whip, keeping track of the time, negotiating with workers in Spanish, with waiters in Spanish, and trying to wear Richard out with rolling paint. The gerente or jefe of the site work, Carlos the Pied Piper, shows everybody what to do and when and how. Alex and Nicole worked hard on two ceilings, painting them completely, Rene and Andrea also worked hard throughout the day doing the "cutting in", and Marna (recovered from her headache) and I did the same in different rooms. A real sense of being able to "see" the fruit of this labor before its completed.
The "moment" for me was during lunch at the Cantina behind the local church where Margarita worships. A screened, very basic, food place where we eat each day. As we walked in, a woman was seated alone next to a table with items of embroidery. I introduced myself, sat down and we talked for almost an hour. Her name is Flor. Flor has 12 children and laughed when I said "solamente doce?" (only 12). She has 18 grandchildren. Flor used to live in Santa Maria de Chasnigua at the top of the mountain where the we visited until her husband died about four years ago. She was unaffected by Hurricane Mitch because, she told me, she was up . She is middle aged and cannot get a job at one of the many "maquilas" because she is "too old". Her most treasured book of the bible is the gospel of Mateo. She sells embroidered images of the stations of the cross, and I will probably buy one tomorrow. Gotta go due to time. Love from us all John White
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