Seven years.

For those of you that have followed our story over the past three years, you know that much of our time and energy is spent advocating for the people of Las Lomitas, or more accurately, supporting the people of Las Lomitas as they advocate for themselves. Along this journey, many of you have come alongside us and fought for our neighbors, giving of your time, money, and emotions, some of you have even traveled the 8,000 mile round-trip to meet these people and pass on the Hope that is within you. Lomitans fondly remember Bobbie, Debbie, Filipe, Anita, David y Laura, "Chessy (Jesse)," Karen y Marty, and Janet.

Following our update on the meeting of national leaders with community leaders last year, we have kept pretty quiet about the community's electricity project, but by no means does that mean that movement has ended. We have made multiple trips to the national headquarters of the ENEE with and without members of Congress (no sarcasm) to confirm and discuss the future of electricity in Las Lomitas, and every time, we have felt that we need to continue to wait. As of  my visit this June, the community's and my patience had reached the limit. No more lies. It was time to purchase posts.

Thanks to the generous gifts from North American partners that came out of Las Lomitas' appeal last year, the people of Las Lomitas were equipped with a sizeable fund and informed the ENEE and political powers-that-be (and powers-that-have been voted out) that we were going to move forward as a community with donated funds without government involvement.

Then, after seven years of deception and illusion, real magic happened.

In early August, I picked up my cell phone to an excited voice rapid-firing Spanish. Nahún (Honduran neighbor) quickly told me that a truck was stuck in the mud at the bottom of the hill. A truck loaded with electrical posts for Las Lomitas. That sounded a little too good to be true, especially since I knew that the community hadn't made a post purchase yet. I had developed a Honduran-like distrust of elected officials and figured that they weren't doing anything, but a week later Pastor Erick called to let me know that the men in the community had already manually installed all ~50 posts in the 6-foot deep hand-dug holes that they had dug. After seven years of empty promises, all of a sudden the ENEE began to move forward and start in Las Lomitas. All of a sudden, they realized that Las Lomitas wasn't kidding anymore. All of a sudden they realized that Las Lomitas was a town full of people that were not just sitting down.

I met a town full of new people when I visited this month. I met 60 men that had each volunteered 10 days of hard labor. I met a town full of people that believe that Las Lomitas can move forward. People that are starting to dream about all that could be. People that are packing the little church beyond capacity and are full of Hope. People that say, "The politicians may have ignored us, but God has not." 

As the photo above shows, the project is now very well-along and may be done by now. I'll be in Las Lomitas again next week and will get a better idea of how advanced the project is and what next steps will be.

I want to extend a special thank you to all that have donated towards the Las Lomitas Electricity project. Your financial support empowered the community to move forward and finally put sufficient pressure on the government so that they would begin the promised project. I fully believe that this project could not have happened without you. As of now, all of the specialized labor and material purchases in this project have been provided by the Honduran National Government thanks to grants from the Nation of Finland for rural electrical extension. We will be in touch with each of you in regards as to how you would like to us to move forward with your donated funds.

September 15

September 15 is a special day in the Eldridge family for three reasons.

 
1. Honduran Independence day.
Honduras celebrates Central American independence from Spanish colonial rule along with Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica on September 15. This morning, Google welcomed me to my computer's Honduran homepage (www.google.hn) with the patriotic little drawing of the Honduran national critter.

2. International Moving Day.
Three years ago, Stacey and I boarded a plane in Dayton, Ohio - destination: San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Disembarking from that plane, we walked into our new climate in a foreign nation. After working hard to identify a community to settle in, we now call that nation home. We built our home there. We have lived alongside people - celebrating birthdays and attending funerals. We have adopted family there. September 15 was a game changer.

3. Baby on Board Day.
Exactly one year ago today, in a hot, little concrete bathroom in our Honduran home, we found out that Alida Fe was going to be joining the Gringo clan. A couple of weeks of strange illness and heat aversion had tipped us off, but a tiny white stick gave us the international symbol of a life-changing event...+.

Potrait of a Gang Member

Image from The Children's Home Project blog.

Jenny Kast is a good friend that shares our heart for the people of Honduras. Her journey has taken her and her husband from the US, to living in Honduras, back to the US (with a Honduran dog) where she is now running a non-profit, The Children's Home Project. Jenny has worked with a lot of street kids in San Pedro Sula over the years, and is constantly in and out of many of the area's children's homes. She has a unique perspective and is an unceasing advocate for these kids. This week she wrote up a blog post that I would like to pass along. Read Portrait of a Gang Member here, and be sure to check out the rest of the site to learn more.

Get Involved: Pilas

Pilas are one of those things that can turn a North American into a Gringo into an Amigo. To the unacquainted, time at a pila is very humbling. I suspect that Hondurans secretly love nothing more than watching Gringos prove that they earn their little nickname by fumbling around a scrub board. However, if you know how to work one of these things, instead of silent snickers you get approving head nods and the right to be called by your actual name.

A Post about A Review about A Film About Coffee

I have long been a coffee admirer - a consistent sipper of black brews and dutiful partaker of our global culture's Official Beverage. But as it seems, fate has placed me on a track to become more than just a fan in the coffee game. My home is in the middle of a coffee field. My neighbor owns a coffee farm. My office desk is 12 inches away from a shelf stocked with a hundred pounds of roasted, artisan coffee. One of our best friends was literally born in a coffee field. I have an infant that gets a vote in my sleep schedule.

And now, I've seen A Film About Coffee.

Licuados

Let's be honest. Even on a cold day in Honduras, you might sweat a little. It's just hot. Fortunately, there are licuados (lee-quah-does). Not quite a smoothie, not quite a milkshake, but every bit as refreshing. Made from milk, ice, sugar, and fruit, these rascals go down smooth on a hot day. Popular fruit flavors are papaya, banana (try it with chocolate too), mango, strawberry, pineapple, and cantalope, but really any fruit will do. Some baristas vary the base liquid as well. Instead of milk, you can use water (great with watermelon) or fresh orange juice (great with strawberry).  Give it a shot next time you feel the temperature rising. We made some here in the office last week with favorite licuado combination- cantalope and milk.

Here's how to make your own.

Recommended Reading on Immigration Crisis

Heart to Honduras President, Gordon Garret, shared an article with us this morning from Christianity Today entitled How Churches Can Respond to the Unaccompanied Children Crisis. This piece specifically addresses how Christians, leaders, and entire churches can realistically respond to this issue. If you recognize the need to get personally involved, I strongly encourage you to take 10 minutes to read this outstanding, practical article.

Once you've read it, please share it with like-minded (or even opposite-minded) friends or leaders within your church to see if you can get a conversation started that leads to unified action.

THE Question

Our conversations over the past month have all seemed to drift towards one pressing question, nearly always phrased the same way.

"So... what are you guys thinking about going back?"

Of course there are variants.
"You guys aren't still thinking about going back are you?"

Or.
"Are you really thinking about taking your daughter back?"

A Post About Coffee

Our awesome, well-caffeinated partners at Boston Stoker Coffee Co. have done the legwork to sponsor the Ohio premiere of a new movie about specialty coffee. The best news... it's right here in Dayton! Next month Heart to Honduras will join Boston Stoker to present A Film About Coffee in downtown Dayton's favorite independent film venue, the Neon Theater. With portions of this film shot near where we live and work, we are excited to see it on the big screen. See the bottom of this post for the showtime, trailer and information on how to purchase tickets.

In honor of this news, the self-appointed coffee experts here at Heart to Honduras have decided to review the Honduran brews offered by Boston Stoker, our favorite Dayton coffee roaster. Since Gordon was unable to attend the testing, dedicated readers will have to put up with the unrefined palates of the decidedly less-experienced, although only marginally less-passionate testers, Matt and Kaleb.

Thoughts on the Honduran Immigration Crisis

Photo by Peter Haden / by CC

Not dozens, not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of Hondurans are expected to emigrate from Honduras to the US in 2014 alone, shattering previous immigration records. Tens of thousands of husbands, mothers, sons, and daughters will leave family and home behind to seek opportunity, safety, and freedom from fear. Some come purely on selfish terms, seekers of fame and fortune that the Fat North has to provide. Others will arrive scarred from near-misses -- carrying jagged white lines on arms, legs, and faces, their eyes and hearts unable to maintain contact. Children seeking parents. The elderly craving rest. Gangsters fleeing a rapidly falling hatchet. Battered girls chasing promises of love and safety like so many vanishing butterflies. Young men hunting the Almighty Unicorn- the American Dream - find only a nightmare.