Sunday July 2, 2023

I feel like these two pictures capture Honduras very well.  There are beautiful areas that are so pretty.  The ocean is close and we drive by this area almost every day.  It is one of the many beautiful places nearby here in Tela.  In the second picture it shows the economic state of some of the poor people here.  If you look close you can see the small colt next to the white horse.  It is not uncommon at all to see these horse drawn carts hauling all kinds of things around town.  Even when we go to San Pedro Sula in the streets there are horse drawn carts on the roads.  When traffic gets very slow you know that there is a horse drawn cart going down the road so everyone has to pass them and then traffic picks up again.  It is one of the many challenges while driving here. 

We had the wonderful opportunity this past week to have a baptism here in the Branch.  We added two new children to the primary.  Anthony Gael Antúnez Funez, is 11 and Junior Josué Antúnez Funez is 9.

They have an older brother who turns 16 Tuesday July 4th, his name is Juan. He is going through some tough times right now but we are doing all we can to help him and them as a family. 

 Like so many families here, their mom is in the United States I don't know where and they are all here living with their dad, but getting money support from their mom in the US.  There aren't many families here that we talk with that don't have some member of their families in the US.  There are so many who have aunts or uncles or parents or siblings who are there.  It is sad in a way that their families are split up in two countries so far away to try and survive financially.  Everyone talks about the financial or economic situation here that just does not allow families and individuals to survive.  Of course there are some who seem to have financial resources but for so many it is day to day.   

There are two young girls here in the Branch with the same name, Tatiyana.  They are both so cute.  The older one is 8 and the younger one is 5.  They both chatter non stop, and are both good friends, I think they are happy and friendly with everyone but they really have a lot of fun together. 

 There are so many who set up shop on the sidewalks to sell anything and everything, with their children in tow of course.  When they get tired and need a nap they either lay down on the sidewalk, or perhaps if they are lucky on two crates with a cardboard on top.  

Driving home from church today, past the soccer field, of which there are many,  Colleen took these pictures,  there was a momma pig and her baby pig in the garbage next to the soccer field.  

We were invited to lunch today after church with a wonderful branch member family, Brother and sister Morales.  They fixed soup, it was very good, soup seems to be a common meal here.  It was a mondongo vegetable soup, which is a piece of cow stomach, and rice and cauliflower and broccoli.  We ate the soup except for the stomach piece.  It was good of the family to invite us over, they really don't have money to spare.   

 The heat continues,  it really isn't quite as hot as it was in May and June, but I think that heat is a common all year thing,  I guess we'll see.  It has been raining a little bit lately,  not a lot which they say it will later on.  When it rains, it does cool it off a little but more than anything it just makes it more humid.  It is really crazy to walk outside from an air conditioned place like our house or from the Clerk's office at church, which by the way is the only room at church that has AC besides the Bishops office, anyway after being inside where it is cool, I walk outside and my glasses steam up like as if I were to walk into a bathroom after someone takes a shower.  It is really crazy to walk outside and have them steam up.  I never would have imagined that.  Humidity, who knew?  Not me.  It drains Hermana Chappell when she has to be outside in the hot humid weather for very long.  It is like it drains all the energy out of her.  I feel very bad when there are times when we have to make visits or even on Sundays at church to sit in those hot places for so long.  I don't know if as we are here longer it will become any easier or not.  As of today, we have been out on our mission for 6 months, 1/3 of our total time.  It is crazy to think about.  Sometimes it seems like forever and other times it is like we just got here.