one week

As I sit in the porch hammock surrounded by bright blue skies and vividly green trees I am still amazed at the beauty that constantly surrounds me. I have been in Honduras for one week now, and it has been quite an adventure. Although I started off feeling slightly out of place, I'm beginning to adapt to the culture and lifestyle here. I'm getting to know more people and have discovered the sense of community that exists on this island. People here make the time for relationships. It's amazing really. It's impossible to walk down the street without running into an acquaintance and having a conversation. It's never the quick, "hi, how are you?" we're accustomed to in the U.S., but it's more of a personal encounter with each person you might come across. It has really taught me about the value of relationships and has put things into perspective. In the States we're always so 'go, go, go' that often we don't make the time for things in life that are truly important, such as deep relationships with people.
This week has also helped me to adjust more to my surroundings. On Tuesday, my roommate Sarah and I moved into the house upstairs, so we spent most of the morning getting our stuff organized. We both got our cell phones that day and went into town to purchase phone minutes. On our walk to and from town we met several interesting people from the church and were able to learn a little bit about each one. It's nice to feel like I know more people on the island and they in turn know who I am. On Tuesday night Sarah, Laurie (our missionary host in Roatan) and I went to the church prayer meeting. It was a small crowd, but we all took the time to pray for the needs in the community and for specific needs in the congregation. I even had the chance to pray for one of the members of the church who was sick. Even though I prayed in English, I was able to understand most of what was being said in Spanish during the service.
Wednesday Sarah and I decided to explore the island and take advantage of our beautiful surroundings. On our way, we met up with some kids who were leaving from the school across the street from our house. We introduced ourselves and walked the kids to their homes. It was awesome to get to know the kids and to invest some of our time into our lives. They really seemed to enjoy hanging out with "grigas". After we finished walking the kids home, we ran into another group of smaller kids who were playing on wooden walkway that extended into the water and led to a wooden structure. After a little hesitation, I decided to walk the plank and hang out with the kids. They were all so energetic and excited to spend time with us. They all started shouting out their names and the names of their parents and siblings and how old they all were. It was absolute insanity but I loved every minute. It was strange to me that there were so many kids playing unsupervised in a place that was somewhat dangerous. There was even a two year old there, sitting on the edge of the wooden structure, right beside the water. When I asked who was watching him, another little boy spoke up and said they were cousins. That boy was five. I couldn't believe that a five year old would be put in charge of someone, let alone a two year old. However, it seems that the older kids here really do look out for the younger kids, and they usually take pretty good care of one another.

After returning from the walk, I went to a ladies meeting to discuss upcoming events in the church. Later that night I went to music practice because the music leader asked me if I would sing a special for Sunday service. I came prepared to sing one song, and after I finished they wanted me to sing another. I wasn't really prepared for that, but I randomly picked a song from my playlist and even though I forgot some of the words, they really seemed to enjoy the song:) I am really excited about the opportunity to share different songs with the people of the church and am hoping that I will be able to continue to do this as I travel to different places around the country.