Holy Week in Honduras is a bit unusual. Many offices are closed for the week (especially government offices) and most people head to water - either the coastal beaches, nearby lakes, or local rivers. Fish and shellfish are the main foods available although there are special 'travel' foods. We decided to join the crowd since it was difficult to actually work during the week. We chose to do activities with others, though, and had a great time getting to know several families better.
On Monday we went to La Tigra National Park, just north of the capital. It is a cloud forest that I visited nearly 19 years ago. Roberto and the girls had never been there before. We invited a young couple from church, Misael and Ivonne, with their 6 year old son, Ryan. We had a good hike (about 1 1/2 hours) up into the cloud forest to a waterfall. Since it is dry season the waterfall was less intimidating, but still quite beautiful. It was a very hot, dry day so we could actually see the top of the mountains. (When I was there last, it was covered in clouds.) We had lunch by the waterfall and then hiked back down to the park entrance. We all had a great time and look forward to doing it again sometime.
After working in a church for several years and knowing how swamped we were the week of Easter with special services, it was a bit unusual to have pastors and missionaries tell us that they took vacation this week, too. At first, I was a bit disappointed that our own church's service was well attended with the regulars, but the service was not much different than the norm. It took a while to realize that I should worship every week with all my heart. Shouldn't I celebrate every day because of the gift He gave? We had been studying grace the past few weeks at church and the series ended on Easter Sunday. What better way to celebrate Christ's resurrection than to be reminded of this precious gift of grace!
On Monday we went to La Tigra National Park, just north of the capital. It is a cloud forest that I visited nearly 19 years ago. Roberto and the girls had never been there before. We invited a young couple from church, Misael and Ivonne, with their 6 year old son, Ryan. We had a good hike (about 1 1/2 hours) up into the cloud forest to a waterfall. Since it is dry season the waterfall was less intimidating, but still quite beautiful. It was a very hot, dry day so we could actually see the top of the mountains. (When I was there last, it was covered in clouds.) We had lunch by the waterfall and then hiked back down to the park entrance. We all had a great time and look forward to doing it again sometime.
After a really good, but short night sleep, we left at 6 a.m. with our neighbors Rene, Lili, Jose Rene, Ariana, and Cesia. By mid-morning we were at the black sand beaches of Playa Grande on the island of Amapala, off the southern coast of Honduras. Again, I had been there nearly 19 years ago, but Roberto and the girls had never been there. It was far different from the last time. It is now the a bit 'touristy' when, before, my friends and I were the only ones on the beach other than the fishermen and their families. Now the beach is lined with restaurants, bars, and food stands. It was still a relaxing day other than when Roberto was dealing with a pretty nasty jellyfish sting...ouch! Another neighbor is from the island and we went to their historic home in the afternoon and got a tour of the town and its three parks. After a crazy boat ride back across to the mainland, we headed home for an early night to bed.
Wednesday was a sleeping-in kind of day. We also did laundry and got our things ready for our next trip. On Thursday morning we headed to Comayagua, a town in central Honduras, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from our house. We checked into a hotel and headed straight to the pool. Our good friend and pastor, Luis, lives near Comayagua. He, his wife, Ana, and his children, Jose Luis (12), Ana Raquel (12), and Sara (9), joined us poolside. The kids had a great time swimming while we sat and chatted. We went out to dinner with them in the evening and then just had a quiet night in our room playing games while it poured down rain outside.
We thought that the rain was going to ruin the reason for our visit to Comayagua. The Catholic churches of the city celebrate Good Friday with services and a procession in the streets to commemorate the stations of the cross. The streets are decorated with 'rugs' made mostly of colored sawdust and some with other natural items. There are around 35-40 rugs with the stations set out at different points along the streets. The rugs are made during the night prior to the service. The rain stopped late that evening and the rugs were complete by the time the services began late in the morning. We were able to see them all just before the procession started that destroyed them all! Some were real works of art. All contain pictures related to the life of Christ, although some also included pictures of the Pope, or of other remembered figures of the community or church. I have to admit that I got caught up in the art at the time, but now looking back at the pictures themselves have had more time to reflect on the life of Jesus and His sacrifice for me. I am glad to have the photos as a reminder of His great gift of grace!
After working in a church for several years and knowing how swamped we were the week of Easter with special services, it was a bit unusual to have pastors and missionaries tell us that they took vacation this week, too. At first, I was a bit disappointed that our own church's service was well attended with the regulars, but the service was not much different than the norm. It took a while to realize that I should worship every week with all my heart. Shouldn't I celebrate every day because of the gift He gave? We had been studying grace the past few weeks at church and the series ended on Easter Sunday. What better way to celebrate Christ's resurrection than to be reminded of this precious gift of grace!
No comments:
Post a Comment