Photos from My Trip

Here are some of the kids at NPH.










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Maynor is in the photo on the bottom left and in the middle of the photo just above that. He is growing like a weed. His brother Carlos is tall and apparently he is starting to take off like his brother. The middle photo of the dam was taken this week and the one on the right in Feb. This shows how much the water level has dropped since we were there swimming in February. This is the dry season so they have had very little rain.

I'm still here

I just got back from spending most of the week at NPH near Tegucigalpa visiting Maynor Galván and all the kids there. There are quit a few new ones so it is always difficult keeping up with the names. Several of the kids always ask "what is my name" so I always try to learn them so the kids won't be disappointed if I don't know them. It is very nice to get outside in a nature environment, especially after dark to see the billions of stars easily visible in the dark sky. Here I spend almost all of my time indoors except for some walks through our dusty and dirty neighborhood and I never go out at night.
I had the misfortune of sitting next to the one person on the bus who could speak English and wanted to talk for 4 hours, mostly negative, prejudicial and foul. The only way I could get it to end was to go to sleep. It is amazing how some people can start a sentence with "I am not prejudice, but ... " and then spew out the most prejudicial comments I have ever heard. It is difficult to tell a person you are stuck next to that no, you are the definition of prejudice. So, sleep was an easier escape until I eventually saw a vacant seat and moved to the other side of the bus. I won't let the negative ending spoil a great week of fun and rest at NPH.
At Amor y Vida, the other home for kids with HIV that I visit here in San Pedro Sula, they had some unfortunate events happen lately. A teenage boy and girl were both kicked out for having an inappropriate relationship. Each had family of some sort they were able to move in with. Tito, the onsight director, was dismissed by the lady in charge of the foundation and replaced with a new person. Tito was very nice and welcoming of me and allowed me and my friends to stay there when we needed a place to stay so it was sad to see him go. Also one of the boys was caught stealing the very expensive medicine to try and sell it and he too was told to leave. He got violent and hit someone when he got caught which probably was a large reason for him being asked to leave right away and not given another chance. He too had an aunt or other relative in the area he moved in with. All of these kids had been at Amor y Vida since I began visiting there 6 years ago so it was sad to see these things happen and have them leave.

I'm back

I really did not go anywhere but have not been writing lately. Our internet service here really stinks and is out frequently so I have not been on the computer much. I have been occupied with kids, homework and helping them study for exams the past couple of weeks.
It has become full summer again here. It really never got cool, but was cooler when we had cloudy days and rain during the "winter" but it is as hot as mid-summer now. The kids all had off the entire week before Easter for Semana Santa which they enjoyed.
Everyone's health is good at this point. A cold/flu bug along with an eye infection went around and got most of us for awhile.
Milton celebrated his 16th birthday yesterday. He got to go to Masbey's house and work most of the day with Jonathan and Jaime. Punishment for the boys who don't like to do homework when they are supposed to.
The bad news to report is the brand new van recently donated to the casa was stolen. The old 15 passenger van had been in service for 10 years and was costing more and more with routine and expensive repairs after its numerous break-downs. 10 years here is probably the equivalent of 20 years in U.S. driving because here it is constantly on dirt roads filled with deep pot holes and lots of water and mud it regularly goes through, along with the constant heat. A generous donon paid for a brand new Nissan 15 passenger van that easily carried 25 children. These vans are very common here and are used in their local bus systems. Masbely was in the van when she was car-jacked and had the van stolen. Fortunately she was not hurt and survived with only the emotional scar of being robbed. The casa bought insurance when they got the van last month, but unfortunately the insurance industry here is nothing like that in the U.S. and it is not uncommon for insurance companies not to pay. Too bad my former employer, GEICO, does not write policies for Honduras, so they are stuck with some local company who said they will wait 3 months to see if the van is found and then decide what to do. Since the van was new and they only made one insurance payment, they are not holding out much hope that this company is going to pay for a new replacement van.