Day Three – Sunday March 4, 2011
June 28, 2011 by meredithwilliams
Waking up to sunshine and warmth was a much-needed reprieve from the rain and cold of Spokane. The coffee was also an exciting addition to the morning. It is fresh made every morning and is simply delicious. There is no other word for it. We always drink the entire pot.
So, after a great night’s sleep and a relaxing morning of drinking coffee on the back porch, it was time to get out and explore Lepaera. We walked around the town and took our new Mission Possible members to the projects we worked on the year before. Last year’s projects included painting a two-room kindergarten and also putting up razor wire along a wall and painting a sign for another school. It was great to see our hard work again and to share with our new members the excitement we all feel helping this particular town.
After a quick tour, we made our way through the market. The market takes up an entire road and is wall-to-wall people. You can buy everything from hats to shoes to fruit. We very clearly stuck out like sore thumbs amongst all of the locals.
After the market, we stopped by and visited Proffe. We all filled her room and had our Spanish speakers relay messages to her about how we missed her and we were all praying for her. Her transformation over the past year was startling and heartbreaking for all of us. In the past trips, she has been the glue to hold the group together with her meals and organization. It was nice to see her and be able to let her know that even though we don’t see her often, she is still in our thoughts.
Food and Honduras – by Laurah
I was designated assistant chef to the amazing Chef Samantha. I did not realize the extent of this commitment. The first step was a trip to the grocery store. The host father made the 45-minute drive that left the majority of us with white knuckles. At least 10 people came with us. Group grocery trips are not the best idea, because we all have different ideas of what we need. Tomatoes, we definitely needed more than 10 tomatoes, although it was not on our list. Then, I attempted to buy steak with very limited grocery Spanish. I still don’t know what part of the cow we bought. Rest assured, I did not buy the llevos.
The next step was the preparation of our meals. The fall-back meal of the trip was beans, eggs, cheese, and tortillas. I think I can speak for the group that we are okay not having that for awhile. Another meal was a mango bean dish that took a few days to figure out when to eat it (and a few arguments).
Finally, we made the mystery steak. Luckily, the group was busy playing cards while Sam and I made the beef stew. We bought four pounds and probably only cooked two pounds, since we cut out pieces that did not look normal. Sam and I spent an hour cutting the steak and trying to guess what part of the cow it came from. This resulted in a great taste, but a hard time to chew and not because we over cooked it.
Next year, I will definitely research the Spanish terms for a butcher. Either way, we were never hungry and some of the best memories came from the meals we ate together.
