Jarrett in Plan Grande

bHello friends and family, this is Jarrett. I hope you’re all doing well and I look forward to seeing you soon! For the update on Kevin’s last week, refer to the post below.
As for my past couple days I was able to return again to my beloved Plan Grande for my birthday! I arrived on Monday in the afternoon and stayed until Thursday morning. The idea behind returning for a second time (besides my wanting to spend my birthday there with all my new friends and family) was that this time I would try get out a little more and get a broader sense of the village and the different people living there. It was great! The first night I went to a base community meeting in the lower part of town, which is like a bible study / faith sharing group of 5-10 families. We discussed the Gospel reading of the day (a lot of them listen to the mass on the radio every morning on the radio, so they get the readings everyday), about how judgment day will be easier for Babylon than for Jerusalem. I mostly listened, but spoke a little at the end about how Jerusalem ended up being sacked by the Romans (whereas Babylon was spared). More importantly though, I got to hear each of their takes on the importance of the message and witness how deeply rooted their faith was.
The next day was my birthday, and I got to spend most of it with children :) In the morning I went with Gloria to the center of commerce where once a month all the mothers bring their children under the age of two to be weighed. This is part of a Caritas project funded by Catholic Relief Services (in case you’re wondering where CRS money goes). So I got to helped weigh over 40 babies that morning (they love being put into and hanging in the little harness thing too!) It was good to see that part of the population and the way mothers treat their children, as well as the work the Church is doing to help make sure they’re healthy (each mother after weigh in went back to talk to a guy who would look at the growth chart and counsel the mother, and sometimes give high nutrient food to the mother for the baby). There was also a nurse who gave a few shots and nebulized one kid – no idea why…
That afternoon I went to the school to observe classes – it was wild. 115 kids and three teachers, they definitely had their hands full! The kids were all making things for the next day, which is their national holiday – Lempira Day, so I didn’t really get to see any teaching.
That night I went to church, because Gloria told me the Gran Familia was meeting to practice and wanted me to play or something. When I got there however, it ended up being a birthday party for me. Some of my friends from the community were there, and the Gran Familia played Happy Birthday for me – in English (video on Facebook). Afterwards we all had some cake (which John had bought the day before) and they played a few more songs, including Mañanitas, which were all beautiful. At the end they asked me to play for them again the song I’d played before while they tried to record it with my camera. Then they made me play it again, and then they told me they would be playing for the festival Saturday in Gracias, Lempira, which I think is kind of the center of the Lempira Day celebration. Anyway, they then asked if I would go with them and play that song there! Crazy! So I’m doing that tomorrow!
Afterwards, I went back to the house and found out my phone was working, so I got to call Mom :)
The next day I got to witness the Lempira Day celebration at the school. It was wild – each kid was dressed up as an indio! The girls had dresses and the boys were scantily clad with bows and arrows and charcoal beards. I’ll post pictures some day.
I did some other stuff too, but I need to get to mass and those are the major highlights. Also know that I’m feeling more comfortable here and my Spanish is getting better. I’ve been able to have some good, deep conversations with people over the last couple days and made a few friends, which is the best part of all of this.
May God Bless you all, and know that you’re in our prayers.
Jarrett