We had a family outing to a familiar tourist spot this last weekend, but it had a different twist because it was the “Day of the Bible” and there were parades in Valle to commemorate the event. It was fun to watch the bands-which were noticeably all percussion instuments and majorette type girls. Apparently because most schools don’t have access to expensive instruments and teachers for a great variety, they tend to be just percussion- bells, and drums with a few other noisemakers thrown in. We noticed several flags for countries in Central and South America as well as the US flag and the Bible flag ( I remember looking at that one as we pledged each week in Awana.
I wondered how many of those kids realized the significance of the event. Was it just another opportunity to compete and receive a prize or did they care about God’s word? What if we had a similar parade in the US? Would there be people to protest? Would they even let public school kids participate in the first place?
We enjoyed the new murals, Made of recycled materials that have been cemented into mosaic pictures on the walls. One of the local schools here has a similar mural and we’d like to see one at the Limones school where we have worked.
I used some birthday money to buy a Honduran nativity. Funny how each country adopts the crèche to resemble their own local style. My shepherd is wearing a colorful hat with earflaps and Mary and Joseph definitely look Latino.
We finished our day at a favorite restaurant with one of the new families eating “plato tipico”-typical Honduran food which includes grilled meat, tortillas, rice, refried red beans, platano , avocado, and a fresh salsa called “chismol.” It’s a treat because I don’t cook like this at home. The little girls prefer the beans and cheese that come in a little pottery bowl served over a tiny fire to keep them warm. (Traditionally would be charcoal but these days its a sterno can).
Today I’m gearing up for a new month of children’s church. We’ve reached the New Testament and this week our story is Jesus choosing the disciples. I wanted to translate the song “Fishers of Men” but it becomes” Pescadores de los hombres” and I think it’s a bit of a mouthful. Pray for us as we start again.