Honduran Lawnmowers

In La Ceiba you can find horses and cows walking down the street. These beasts of burden are often allowed to roam free and graze where they desire. The owners of the animals enjoy the fact that their beasts can eat for free. And, landowners are in favor of the free yard care.

In fact land owners and animal owners often enter into agreement. It is not uncommon to see a horse tethered to a tree or fence post and grazing in a field or yard.

These horses roam our neighborhood. This picture was taken out a window in our home and is a shot into the empty plot next to our house.

Thanksgiving In La Ceiba, Honduras

Today we hosted 17 people in our home for a Thanksgiving celebration. We hosted missionaries, other expatriates and a few Honduran nationals. Clearly Thanksgiving is not so big here, but with the some help from care packages sent by our friends and family back in the U.S. we were able to get pretty darn close to an authentic Thanksgiving feast. It was an all day event and we loved hosting.

Watch this 2 minute and 20 second video to see our Thanksgiving:

Update

So these last few weeks have been busy, exhausting and exciting! Graduations, Senior Health Clinic, Mobile Health Clinic, playing with the kids in Armenia Bonito, ESL; building relationships; refrigerators going in and out, etc. But - life in the Pettengill household has gone along as well. Madison lost her last baby tooth (called a milk tooth here); I'm practicing more on the piano; getting ready for Thanksgiving (yes - we found a turkey here - won't even tell you how much it cost); and all in all our worlds of ministry and the Pettengill lives have started to roll into a "normal" life for us here. The rain is just something we have to deal with - hanging laundry is a challenge - things taking twice or three times as long is becoming routine - we just plan our day accordingly - speaking Spanish all day - sweating/freezing - all these things have become meshed into our lives. It's a good feeling. Feeling "normal" in a foreign country. Feeling "normal" with day-to-day activities. Yes, some things still frustrate me - not being able to find milk I normally purchase (it was just there yesterday, now probably won't be in the stores for a week), and other fairly non-important things, but it's definitely starting to feel like home.

Graduation In Armenia Bonito

The school year in Honduras runs from the beginning of February to the end of November. So, this week is a big week for graduations. This weekend we attended two graduation parties and one graduation ceremony in Armenia Bonito.

The graduation we attended was a 32 person graduation from sixth grade. This is a big deal in Honduras. Mandatory school ends at sixth grade and 70% of the kids stop attending school at that point.

We attended the ceremony to encourage three of the kids that we have been working with since we got here; Jessica, Roberto and Leili. Leili asked Mike and I to be her Padrinos. This is a special privilege. It is like being her God Parents for the day. We were introduced with Leili and Mike danced with her at the ball.

The relationships we have with these kids is very extraordinary. We feel so privileged to have been in their lives at this special time. We are glad to say that all three plan to attend 7th grade next year.

Leili gets her diploma from her teacher


Jessica gets her diploma from the Director (who is 22)


Roberto gets his class picture from his teacher


Mike dancing with Leili - she was very nervous


Mike dancing with chicitita Jessicita (little bitty Jessica)


32 kids graduating - note the water on the floor - it was pouring rain and the water was streaming through the holes in the tin roof

Senior Health Clinic In Armenia Bonito

On November 19th we put on a health clinic to meet the specific needs of senior citizens or “third age” as they are called in Honduras. The clinic was in the one room community center of the poor community of Armenia Bonito in La Ceiba, Honduras. We treated 34 patients in 5 ½ hours. Everyone received a health exam, health education, free age appropriate medication, an evangelism tract in Spanish and individual prayer.

Watch this 2 minute and 20 second video to see how it all worked:

Jump Rope In Armenia Bonito

Much of what we are doing in these early months of our ministry is building relationships with the people of Armenia Bonito. We desire to build strong relationships with people to facilitate evangelism, biblical training, discipleship and trust. There are times when we drive out to Armenia Bonito and just talk, or play, or visit with people. A few days ago we spent several hours playing and talking with several families in the middle of a side street. Thirty people gathered and developed an impromptu party. One mother brought out an old rope and we played various jump rope games.

Here is a 2-minute video to show the fun had by all:

Preparing Tamales In Armenia Bonito

A couple days ago we were invited to visit with a group of ladies in Armenia Bonito. They were preparing tamales for their church. We learned how to make them, then we ate them together. In Honduras cooking is a time to socialize with friends. This was a wonderful opportunity to build relationships with the three families that were there.

Here is a 2 minute and 50 second video showing our experience: