Land and Envorinmentla Rights

For many, environmental issues seem to be the enemy, though I understand why one thinks that, but it is also complicated depending on politics and many factors. I grew up, environmentalism was the enemy of farmers, or so it seems. I have been trying to think about how to explain what goes on in many countries, and specifically in Honduras in a way that would make sense to me when I was a young boy in Shickley, Nebraska, a farm boy.

I think I would tell myself to imagine this scenario:

Imagine the farms you have had for generations in the peaceful community. Your families are intact, you celebrate the seasons, the community is whole. Slowly, or suddenly, big co-corporations and rich landowners begin buying the land upstream from your farms and taking all the water from the irrigation ditches, leaving only harmful chemicals down-stream. If you are in a forested area (Nebraska is not), imagine all the trees cut down, the roots that hold the soil taken away, the soil erodes, the water runs downstream instead of sinking into the ecosystem. All the while this is going on, the government is receiving payments from these corporations and people and looking the other way. They never asked your permission. Imagine this being supported by governments in foreign lands leaving you powerless to protect your own land. Imagine it turning worse, the government starts selling your land to those corporations and rich land-owners. They say they are improving the community and making the country modern. They say it is good for business and the economy. You begin to be frustrated. You raise your voice, that the land is being destroyed, you can't grow crops, you can’t feed your family, people begin to distrust each other,  and the community is broken. Your land is being taken away…………………………………….. Imagine that their response is to kill you.



What if by writing this, I am killed.



This is the reality for many in Honduran farmers. This is a root of migration. Farmers uprooted, leaving to the city, to the shantytowns. In the shantytowns they are murdered by gangs. Their wives and children leave to the U.S. and Canada, hoping for relief and compassion. They are turned away, returned, murdered in their own country. What if it happened in our land? If it happened to us, to our land, to our food, trees, water? Do we feel the pain of others?

Jesus asks this question in the parable of the good Samaritan. How far does our love go for us? How far will we go for others? This thought scares me, challenges me. God give me grace.

Four months

Time moves at a strange pace during transitions...rapidly and yet super slow. It seems like we have been here for a long time.  The weeks fly our schedules get busier and it seems like there is no time to make cookies for Christmas or write an email to a friend (or a blog post). And yet when I lay awake at 3am thinking of all I need to do, the minutes tick slowly by until my alarm goes off and I am greeted by Google's "Good morning, Jenny, the time is 4:45AM and it is (whatever temperature) in San Pedro Sula" realizing that somewhere in the midst of the swirling thoughts, I drifted back to sleep. When we do the math, we have been in Honduras four months. Four. Months. That's all. But a super full four months.

July: We landed in Honduras after a full three and half weeks of orientation to MCC in Akron, Pennsylvania. We talked about MCC's philosophy of work, trauma-informed approaches, Planning, Monitoring, Evaluating of projects, supervision of staff, personality temperaments, and more. We left Akron feeling tired, heads full of what we learned and tried to absorb, thinking that it was like drinking from a fire hose (Joel liked to say). 

Joel and kids in front of the Mayan ruins in Copan Ruinas

August: When we arrived in San Pedro Sula, our Area Directors (ADs) met us at the airport. The next day was a whirlwind of school related errands: the kids taking placement tests, shopping for uniforms and school supplies. Then church on Sunday where we were introduced as the new MCC Representatives. That afternoon, a van picked us up and we drove 3 hours to Copan Ruinas where we
studied Spanish for two weeks. Upon our return to SPS, we met our full team (the SALT and YAMEn participants arrived during our language study). I spent a day with them visiting several local partners; Joel traveled 5 days with them to visit partners at a distance. The kids started school. I learned how to call a taxi and had driving lessons in SPS with our AD.

September: So after three weeks in the country we started orientation for our role. Then we had team meetings with our whole team. It was not as organized as we would have liked, but we have a great team and they really helped to organize it. A week or two later, MCC's Coordinator of Educational Projects came to do an evaluation of one of our partners' projects. We were in the country all of 6 weeks. Joel was chosen to oversee that partner by luck of when we initially were talking about it, I was trying to figure out my role with finances for a Country program.

Joel discussing strategic planning with the Advisory Committee

October: I don't remember? Continued learning the finances, State holidays at the beginning where we took advantage of the kids' time off from school to go to the mountains for a few days, continued discussion of the partner evaluation. Figuring out how and when to visit other partners; succeeded in visiting two outside of SPS. Detailed planning for the MCC Central America Regional Retreat hosted by MCC Honduras. Joel and I also met with the Advisory Board to discuss strategic directions for MCC Honduras.

Thanksgiving at our house

November: Is a blur (told you time was warped). It started with a bang...hosting the MCC Honduras-Guatemala Migration Learning Tour at our house for an evening. Thankfully it was catered and all we had to do was rearrange the furniture to have 22 people-13 from the learning tour and then all the MCCers in/around SPS at our house and come up with a presentation about MCC Honduras. Our super helpful Connecting People's Coordinator was then gone for the rest of the month connecting peoples as he led the learning tour around Honduras and accompanied them to Guatemala, visiting projects and partners working on migration. Meanwhile, those left in the office focused quite a bit on the remaining details for the Regional Retreat, hosted two guys from MCC IT and continued to try to figure our our role as Reps. The Regional Retreat was pleasant; not very retreat-y for us but was really great to see friends from orientation eons ago and connect with other reps in the region. At retreat, three lovely Honduran women watched the kids. They joined us when we hosted Thanksgiving for MCCers around SPS the following weekend. And because the kids' school celebrated Thanksgiving and had Black Friday off, we were able to visit another partner.

Church choir

December: The hosting is continuing. It started with a MCC auditor coming and helping us understand more about finances with partners and MCC systems. Ironically, he knew my dad at EMC. That same week, Joel's parents came to visit and are here for 10 days. They have lovingly taken care of us...every dish is washed, dried and put away (usually dishes are washed then drip dry in the drying rack), inventory of MCC belongings of our house is done and they have done Christmas shopping. Saturday is our team Christmas that will hopefully include a hike to the CocaCola sign above SPS. Joel and our daughter joined the Christmas choir at church. And our son lost three of his baby teeth.The tooth fairy has found him in Honduras.

It's been a full four months. The Rep position is one that people say will take a year. I believe it. I am so thankful we have a good team of MCCers who have welcomed us, answered our zillion questions about Honduras, Spanish, MCC and everything else. We have Area Directors who have a wealth of experience in MCC and know the context very well. We have family who are supportive. We have WhatsApp to inform us of what's going on at school, ask questions about homework, see photos of the kids' parties. And when parents find out we are new to the country, they are always willing to answer whatever question we have about how to do things and respond to our thanks with "A la orden. Bendiciones" Literally, "At the order. Blessings" but more like "It was my pleasure to help you.Blessings."

Things I like here

We've been in Honduras for three months. I keep finding things that make me smile and remind me how I like living in another country. In random order, here are some of those things:

A rainbow after the rain

• Fresh bananas
• Learning another language
• Palm trees
• Learning to drive differently, more attentively, slower yet learning the traffic patterns-thankfully have not had an accident
• Kids talking about their days and their thoughts as we drive to and from school 
• Seeing bumper to bumper traffic on top of the bridge and a herd of cattle on the underpass as I make a left hand turn (they have underpasses to avoid making left hand turns across traffic).
• Rainbows after or during the rain
• Seeing the mountains with the clouds hanging over them. 
• Cooking on a gas stove again
• The neighbor who sets out food every morning just before 6:00AM for whatever cats are hanging around her garage doors
• Cafecita - literally "little coffee": used as a time around a table with people drinking tea or coffee with a small snack (usually sweet) 
  
• Being in communication with friends, family and coworkers from around the world via WhatsApp
• Space to walk around my neighborhood in the mornings before we take the kids to school
• Plaintains
• The refreshing rains of the rainy season
• MCCers baking-we have several great bakers on the team
• Seeing how MCCers who have been here longer than we have, have good supports and enjoy their positions and living here
• Song projections in church-it's sorta like closed captioning. And without knowing the words or having a hymnal, it's the way we can sing along 
• Monthly communion in church as a way to connect with Christians from around the world and throughout the ages to celebrate Jesus' life, death and resurrection. 
• Horse carts driving along side motorcycles, bicyclists and cars on busy streets

  

  Cows crossing under the bridge while traffic is backed up on top of the bridge
• Buskers at the intersections-some are quite good-juggling machetes or flaming balls of fire
• That Google maps work so I can find my way around town
• Our kids making friends with children at school
• xJoel and the kids finding space in our street after supper to kick the soccer ball while I read 
• Seeing iguanas and geckos

Iguana on the side of a gas station wall