Another month has come and gone and I cannot believe it’s May. One sign that you have settled into life is when the weeks feel normal but pass by quickly – and that is definitely true for me now. The past month has brought many good memories, new experiences and most definitely its fair share of challenges. So, despite having lived and worked on the Ranch for 3 months I still continue to experience many ‘firsts’.
My first (of many to come) fumigation – every few months our houses/rooms get fumigated to get rid of the bugs and mosquitos (especially as its Dengue mosquito season). This was quite something to do as we have to put all our possessions/ linen/curtains etc into plastic bags while they fumigate to prevent it smelling terrible.
My first swim in the dam – I had been putting this off as it did not sound appealing to swim in the dam. However, to my surprise, it was super fun and something I will be doing regularly with the kids – especially now that summer is here and the daily temperature will reach at least 30 degrees. In Honduras, it is not culturally appropriate to wear only a swimming costume. Therefore, as you can see in the pictures, we swim fully clothed.
My first Easter away from home – Holy Week and Easter has always been a very spiritually important time for our family time with many traditions focused around church activities. . While NPH is a Catholic organization and we were privileged to have all the same masses and religious services, I certainly felt the distance more than I have in the past 4 months.
Holy Week on the Ranch began on Palm Sunday with us all gathering and folding our large palms into hearts before processing to the church. It was a lovely community activity with all the little kids running around getting various adults/volunteers to make them different designs with their palms. We then had confessions on Wednesday (in Spanish!) and then the washing of the feet mass on Thursday evening before processing with the Eucharist to a chapel for Adoration. Good Friday morning began with Stations of the Cross acted out by the kids as we walked around the whole ranch (in the summer heat). We then had the traditional Good Friday service.
The beautiful Easter Vigil mass we had on Saturday evening was definitely one of the highlights of the week. The roof of the church has been in the process of being repaired since Ash Wednesday and so we have been using a makeshift space for church. However, on Saturday evening, after lighting the fire and our candles, we processed back into the church for the first time in nearly 2 months. It was so special and beautiful! Every psalm was sung to beautiful guitar music with melodies that were not traditional but nevertheless so prayerful – especially with everyone from the 3 years to the Abuelos (Grannies and Grandpas) singing along. Easter Sunday was like any other Sunday on the Ranch with nothing much happening.
During this time I really missed fish and chips on Good Friday, a big meal on Easter Sunday and especially Easter eggs. Despite that I managed to keep some traditions alive such as baking my own hot cross buns. Fun Fact: Hot Cross Buns as a tradition come from British roots so no one (neither volunteers nor locals) had ever heard of them or tasted them. This was definitely something I had never considered!
My first package from home (very kindly brought over from the US by another volunteer’s family member). What a treat it was to receive 2 mint KitKat bars on Easter Sunday as well as some familiar personal items brought all the way from Sydney to here.
And finally my first excursion with the children outside the ranch – every year in the weeks after Easter the different groups of kids on the ranch get to go on ‘Summer holidays’. This is essentially their holiday for the year. The much younger children (below 10 years old) all went to the beach for a week. While I was not able to join them for that, I did get to go along with my hogar and all the older boys (over 10 years old) to a Flintstone/Dinosaur-themed water park in Comayagua for 2 days. We swam, ate good food, explored the town central and swam some more while navigating heavy rain wetting all our supplies and mattresses and lets not forget everyone getting food poisoning from the eggs at breakfast. Despite these challenges it was so much fun and I have some very special memories from the trip.
Despite all these ‘firsts’, life here now feels normal – my Spanish continues to improve each day, my confidence as an OT working here is growing as well. God continues to carry me through all the ups and downs of daily life and I am so grateful to all my friends and family who continue to send their support and love and most importantly prayers for me. I pray you are all doing well and had a blessed Easter.
God bless,
Christine