Forsaken Commodities,Gringos and Progress

The weather has been sweltering combined with the humidity and all the dust I feel like there is crud an inch thick all over me. To top it off we were with out water for two days because someone broke into the line and stole the water. It's a big problem, not just with the water but also with the land. People come and just put up a shack. Literally, they clear a little grass, throw up a few boards and dig a whole for the outhouse and boom....your only retaliation is to shoot them. Squatters have taken over half of the plantation over the past 20 years. Obviously the 7th day Adventists doesn’t shoot them. That's part of the reason they have armed guards. I don't know how they got the water back and I don't want to know. As for the bugs it's been hell the past few days. The rain quit and they have decided to party, again I think they like me the most.....ah let's get the gringo! Seriously, I was standing outside my room minding my own business watching the children play soccer (they use the bushes as their goal posts....quite resourceful) when all of sudden I thought my legs were on fire! I looked down and there were a thousand ants on my shoes and then they begun gnawing on my legs. I had long pants on and socks but that didn't stop anything, they bit through the socks and crawled up my legs. I was trying not to make a big seen in front of everyone (can you picture that a stupid gringo jumping up and down and squealing like a stuck pick trying strip off her pants! I had to take one for the country) so I tried to bite my tongue and squash em under my pants as I ran to the room. By the time I was able to get the damn things off me, my legs were badly swollen and I didn't feel well all night. The following night I had just snuggled into my cot with the dog at my bedside completely exhausted when out of the blue the dog freaked out, yelping and running about, then he jumped through my bug screen and rolled around my bed still yelping as if he were just shot. I grabbed for the lights in time to see another one of those tarantulas crawling up the wall. This one was bigger and the eyes glowed red against the light. Disgusting. I started throwing match boxes at it cause that's all I could find. It crawled in the wall. Now I had turned on all the lights so naturally the night bees don't care that I'm trying to save me and the dog for the giant spider so they come swarming. Well I was pissed and I started swatting them with a shoe in each hand.....you know who one that war...it wasn't me. I was miserable again and I had no water to cool the stings. The dog wouldn't sleep in the room anymore and I spent half an hour trying to repair my bug net. Okay enough about bugs I'm just plain sick of them. I'm not so worried about exterminating my house in Rochester anymore cause there are enough bugs here to suffice for the whole world! There are good things here. I was running the other day and came upon a giant lake! I didn't realize how close we are to the only lake in Honduras. It is not at sea level but at 2,300 feet and it is beautiful. The area is so green and there is absolutely no development on the lake shore, it is just raw fields. There are a few Hotels (one of them actually a 4 star...sort of) located a ways back which capitalize on the view only. I was quite impressed. So maybe a few people wouldn't mind doing a little outreach here after all! Other cool things...You can buy fresh coconuts and pineapples on the side of the road also. Most importantly the children are innately so lovable. They expect nothing and are happy with anything. They want hugs and smiles. They love to try to say English words and they have learned to laugh in world full of uncertainty, insecurity, broken promises, cruelty, unfairness and countless other atrocities. When I hold their hand their eyes sparkle for those moments, just as though they feel they are the center of the universe. My heart melts like butter. It is a feeling all the money in the world can't buy and it's worth every cotton picking bug bite I'll ever receive. Sometimes I feel badly that I'll have to leave them. They have just started really opening up to me. They don't have a concept of time and haven't realized that Jenny and I will not be here forever. The older ones do they have been through this before and are more hardened, but the little ones don't seem to. The last few mornings 7 of the children age 8-12 have been meeting me at 5:45 am to run. We do about 25 minutes single file down the road. The dog follows up the rear and it’s a really rewarding time. The little girl in the wheel chair (Isadora) is pulling to a stand now if I hold down my hands for her she will grab them and pull up. She also says hands and feet in Spanish. It's wonderful really! As for the doors still mysteriously there are no keys to be found and as for the clinic we are going to paint it this week. Mom, just wanted to tell you that I bought you 30 little foam beds for mother's day. I figure you don't have a great need them at the moment so we are going to borrow them here for a while. Thanks! Love to all and more later!