Pining for the Fjords
for the Fjords" popped into my head....so you can see how my mind works. All that to say, I really miss the snow and ice. I see weather reports from back home about Arctic temperatures, buckets of snow and sheets of ice and I am insanely jealous. I love Winter weather; I love everything about it, from sledding to shoveling to school delays to cups of Hot Chocolate. I miss being able to wear big overcoats, scarves and hats...not that I don't try to pull it off here from time to time - sometimes I turn the AC up in my apartment, take a cold shower and then bundle up in long pants and my North Face jacket...what, it's fun. I know most of you are probably tired to death of all the cold and are eagerly awaiting warmer weather but I really am envious of you.-
So the pining for the snow aside the biggest news as of late is that my work in the garbage dump is really taking off and I'm finding myself bombarded with ideas and plans. I've become close with about 6 youth there, we hang out, drink coke, they accompany on my home visits, we go hiking behind the dump and I'm teaching two of them to read. Starting with the next post I'll begin profiling them so that you can get to know them and pray for them in a more meaningful way. I finally feel as though I've found my work and as I've mentioned before, though it isn't what I thought it would be I know I belong there, I know God wants me there...and that's a good thing 'cuz I want to be there too. Be praying for the continued work there, I have a 6 month plan but really need a committed group of volunteers from the church to put it in place. Thanks.
The cat is Christian's...he says a dog tried to eat it. It's gross I know but I've never seen anything like that.
I took 3 of my kids, Jose, Christian and Anwar to a Soccer game on Sunday afternoon...we had a good time but we all took a little ill from the dinner after the game.
This past Sunday night the National Mennonite Church celebrated the Worldwide Day of Mennonite Fraternity by holding a special evening service with clusters of congregations - our church met with 5 other local Mennonite congregations at the Mennonite Retreat Center in Bufalo...not New York. It was a neat time and it was interesting to see just how many Mennos this area actually has. In our region alone there 15 other congregations. What also struck me was that nearly everyone in the region knows each other - and not just to say hello, they're intimately involved in the lives of members from other congregations...they really feel a connection with each other. I thought that was cool. By the by, the history of the Honduran Mennonite Church, especially in this area, is fascinating. Little by little friends and other are cluing me in the stories of the Church, a lot is told with lament and regret - there's a feeling that their best days are behind them. Nonetheless, I love hearing the stories and I've been hit with the desire to write them down and compile them...we'll see what comes. 
The National Church also held their annual Youth Retreat 2 weeks ago - it was an awesome time...again at the Retreat Center. I fear though that I'm getting to be old; when I was younger retreats meant that no sleep would be gotten, that we would talk and play Dutch Blitz, Pit and Setback all night long. This time around I found myself wanting to be in bed by 11:00...so much so that the first night I actually hitched a ride with Saco back to my house so I could sleep there. I couldn't help but think that I had turned into my mother. The youth put pressure on me to stay the second night and I did but I was in bed and out by 1:00. I'm getting old.
A few weekends back the Pettingills (my missionary friends from Costa Rica) invited me to the beach. I brought Norman along and the Gringo children that accompanied us turned him into a Mermaid. He looks thrilled.
Well folks that does it for this session. It was long in coming and a little shorter than normal but I seemed at a loss for good fotos and good stories. Blessings to you this week. Peace!
- matt
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