One of the highlights this month has been having company with us. As I mentioned earlier Lindsay is staying with us for a couple of months and she is such a delight to have around. It seems like so long ago when Lindsay was in the 'kids club' that I helped lead and now all these years later here she is serving on the island.


It was also great to have Amy Marshall visit us. We enjoyed sharing the island with her. Taking her to an island church (which surprisingly reminds us sooo much of City Heights), and after that we took her to eat at the restaurant called the View. So this was one of her first 'impressions' of the islands.. let's just say she was pretty 'blown away'

We enjoyed going to the markets, snorkling to the reef, eating coconut shrimp that I bought the same day, shopping like tourists, going on beach walks, and enjoying all the flora and fauna of the island. We had a rousing game of apples to apples and Lindsay was crowned the 'winner!!'. In the photo we are supposed to have all grumpy faces, and some people just cracked up laughing instead. It was a really fun night!!


My only regret is that it didn't work out for Amy to deliver the toys, vitamins and other necessities that she brought down. We had it arranged that she would go with our friend Nidia to Hottest Sparrow (a very needy area on the island) to deliver them but it just work out. It is just one of the things we experience on the island.. manana .. manana. It was just a shame that she wasn't able to be apart of that. Once my toe heals up that we will take Lindsay out there and bless the people.


Oh yeah speaking of toes...I don't know if you ever had an ingrown toenail? If you have then you will relate to the agony it can bring. I decided to have half the nail removed since it kept getting infected.

Here is Lindsay taking my vitals prior to the surgery.



Bob played photographer ..extraordinaire. Sorry if this is a bit graphic... he took lots of pics but thought this captured the 'cutting'. Ugh.

So the last few days I have been close to home. I am so thankful to have my own personal nurse here who is so willing to change the bandage daily. Thanks Lindsay. It is still oozing at the bottom part where the nail was removed but the pain is lessening each day and I am able to walk around without hobbling too much.

It has been hard to even put on shoes so I have been pretty close to home. One thing that I have been enjoying is acquainting myself with the hummingbirds that frequent our back deck. I started to stand about 10 feet away and at first they wouldn't feed if I was there but over the last few days of me lounging nearby their feeder they have been very comfortable with me. In fact today I sat about 1 foot away from them and at times I was about 6 inches away. Needless to say I have gotten some amazing photos of them.





One thing about not going out is that I have been blessed with visitors more. The other day Tia came over and while we were sitting at the table on the deck one little hummingbird came and flew right up to my face and hovered there as if to say It was as if he was saying... "ummm... I am thirsty, where is my sweet drink?"
I made more nectar and refilled the feeder and this was my reward for a bit of kindness.


Keep giving.. to whoever, whatever... the small act of kindness is always rewarded.
And about thirst... John 7:37 sums it all up...

Bob has been diligently working on our website, and it has been grueling work since html isn't our first language and the whole thing isn't as easy as it looks. Hopefully it will be ready be next week. I have been going through my photographs trying to find ones that would be suitable. We have been grateful to be able to help with worship at various churches, do Bibles studies, pray with people and recently Bob has been teaching guitar to a couple of worship leaders at the church. He has been very involved in mentoring and helping one of the island men here.

A day rarely passes when I don't stop and thank Him for this amazing opportunity to live and serve on this island. It just feels so 'right'. I think I may be spoiled for life though because truthfully I can't imagine actually weathering a Canadian winter again, but I guess we will cross that bridge when that time arrives.

In the meantime we will arise each day with a sense of expectancy and gratitude for being able to have the 'time of our lives!'

Blessings to each of you too. I want to thank you for any prayers you lift on our behalf, we appreciate it and are grateful for your support as we choose to live the light on this island.

Thanks...

wisdom from a local

Imagine this: you go to the grocery store, buy your groceries and when you come out someone has cleaned your car. A nice clean car! How sweet would that be?!?!

That happens here alot on the island.

I want to tell you about Alex. He is an islander who makes a living by washing cars in parking lots. I have spoken to him a number of times so when he saw me this afternoon he was quite excited.

I had been taking pictures in the lot before going into the store so when he saw me he was curious about what I had taken. I pointed to the sky and said, Alex look at that! It is a red letter day. A day to celebrate~ a wonderful day. Know why? He smiled and asked why. I said, "Because no matter what has happened in your day there is Someone who never changes and who loves you sooo much!"



I pointed to the flags and see... it is the banner of His love.
He laughed and said, You are right! I see the hearts!! God IS good!

I went into the store smiling and grateful for how friendly and open people are here. After shopping with Bob we came out to see our car all sparkly clean. All I had was 10 Limpira (which is about 50 cents) I thanked him for washing our car so well and told him I only had 10 Limp and he refused my money. I gave it to him anyways.

As we were driving away, he knocked on Bob's window and when we rolled down the window he said, "Remember this, there is more to life then making money!" I almost cried. It's true. It really is true.

There is more to life then making money!
He smiled so broadly and said, "It is important to make friends!"

So I pass the wisdom for a local on to you:

There is more to life then making money.
It is important to talk together with friends, to do kindness to strangers, to give and not expect anything back in return, to find satisfaction in serving instead of taking.

There is more to life then making money.
Amen Alex Amen!

Shrimp anyone?

NB*** for some reason this formatted without any spaces. I am not going to take the time to fix it so ... instead i apologize... **** sorry

There is a sound I hear often these days. It is the sound of Luis saying “HOY!” That is his way of calling us. If we don’t answer to hoy then he will say, Hoy Bob, hoy Deborah.

So this morning I hear HOY! (really loud!) I go to the door to see Luis standing there with a shrimp in his hand. I smile and say… “oh shrimp” He begins to ramble in Spanish and points to the road. I gather there is someone there who is selling shrimp. He smiles and says “come”

I say, “wait I need Limpera”

So I go to the road and see a man with a red wheel barrel carrying a cooler and a scale. I know there is shrimp and perhaps fish inside because I have bought shrimp from vendors like this in Coxen Hole many times. I just didn’t realize they delivered!!!

So we negotiate a price. The price is 75.00 Limpera per pound. (about $4.00 a pound) That is a good price since I had paid 90.00 the other day. I want to see the shrimp. They are frozen so that is good. (you don’t want to buy fresh here because of the heat .. it could go bad pretty quick!)

I agree to get 2 pounds of shrimp. He reaches into his cooler and begins to fill a small bag with shrimp. Then he gets his ancient, hopefully reliable scale assembled and weighs it. Pretty professional I’d say!

Now here comes the problemo!! I have a 500 limpera note (which is about 25.00) I show him this and he shakes his head saying … no, no. Oh oh… that is all I have on me. Suddenly the Spanish jabber starts and he points to the Pulperia (small shop) down the road.

I say, “Oh you want me to get change?”

“No, No .. Luis go”

At this point Luis is running up the hill to our place to get his bike and within minutes I give him my money and he rides off. While he is gone I ask Mr. Shrimp Man if I can take his photo?

“Oh photo?? Si, Si!”

Good, so now I run up the driveway (yes I really did run) to grab my camera. I find out that his name is Lino,(pronounced Leano) and he lives up the road. He says he will come again on Saturday to bring more shrimp. (well he doesn’t say that he points to the ground and says Saturday!) Wow home delivery!! People love to get their pictures taken here which is good but few of them smile. I guess they think they should be serious or something.

After about 10 min of picture taking and small talk (very small talk since we don’t speak each other’s language!) Luis zooms up on his bike , and hands me my money. I pay Lino. He is happy. I am happy. Luis is really happy

All of that took about 30 minutes.. a little interruption in my day but it saved me a trip to town and now I have shrimp to make coconut shrimp!! oh yeah!!

Try and imagine this happening in Canada. The closest we get is the icecream truck!!

A note: I wasn’t sure how to spell Mr. Shrimp Man’s name. I thought it was Leno but it didn’t seem right so I just meandered outside and after awhile I said to Luis… “umm.. Luis… senoir who sold shrimp…Leno?? How do you spell his name?”

“His name?”

“spell it por fa vor"

So he cleared off some leaves in the ground and with a stick wrote “L I N O”

Who needs paper and a pen when you have dirt and a stick??! It works! J

bananas

There are so many things here that are becoming 'normal' to us and yet they are far from what would happen in Canada. One of those things that never cease to amaze me is the plethora of fruit that is available on our property.



My favorite by far is bananas!! Every few days Luis goes and cuts down a couple of big bunches of bananas and hangs them under the house. So when we want a banana I just walk down a stone walk way to the back of the house, walk under (it's on stilts) and grab a banana or two or three.



I walked around the property this morning with Marco and he was showing me quava trees, cashew trees and other fruit trees that I can't remember the names of. It truly is like paradise.

I love to garden so lately I am gathering different color hibiscus stems, putting them in water til they root and I am going to plant them around the property.

Yesterday we (ummm that is a loose translation.. it means Luis..not me!) cut down a big bunch of bananas and we took it a few doors down to an American couple.

They are willing to pay good money for them. I am going to give some money to Luis and some to the other family who shares the property with us. Hey maybe we could start a 'fruit fund!'.

In a couple of months the mangos will be ripe and apparently we have trees that grow some of the best on the island. The only drawback is many people sneak on the property and steal them.
That is a problem here. I don't mind petty things like fruit being taken but there is also alot of break-ins and thievery here on the island. We are going away tomorrow to dog sit for a couple who are going to the States. That will mean that this place will be empty for a week. That is not good. Many people hire a local person to watch the place. They call them 'watchies' (how original!!) I am thinking I will look to Someone greater and more powerful to watch our place. Asking Him to set up angels all around to keep it safe. You can pray about that if you like. I'd appreciate it. Once Amy comes we may let the girls stay at the house for weekend so they can have some alone time here. It will be fun for them.

Anyways it is just one of the things we have to face living here. I am not afraid though. I will trust in the One who never slumbers or sleeps.

I am going to eat a banana... want one? :-)

a few new things

We have a new place that we are renting. It has a fantastic view, more space and we are enjoying the change. (although of course I miss Pepsi, the best dog in the world!)







We have a new gardener named Luis. He is quite the character and is a blessing to have around. I realized, quite by surprise that I had taken a picture of him and his 'espousa' while riding double on his bike on the beach I had taken that photo in Sept. and here is in our world 5 months later. I showed him the photo, and he was so excited. How amazing is that????



Since then he often comes to the door saying, "photo, photo!!" Let's see, he has gotten me to photograph an iguana he found.

He also brought a snake he accidentally chopped in half while clearing the property with his machete, (yes i took a pic but you don't want to see it.. trust me!!)and a picture of him climbing a 30 foot tree to get some fruit for our friends.
He climbed to the TOP !!

We have a new room mate: Lindsay Tufts has come and is staying with us for a couple of months while she works at the Clinic Esperanza. It is wonderful to have her here with us! We look forward to sharing life together and showing her around the island. Btw, last night she made the BEST nachos I have ever had!! Thanks again Linds



I started a new Bible study with a small group of island women.We meet on Saturday's at 4:00 at Zenola's in Coxen Hole. I am teaching them about the value of spending regular quiet time with God. They are hungry. I love it! Teaching His word is one of my greatest joys in life. Yesterday a spanish lady came so that meant teaching via translation. That is interesting. I just hope the lady who is translating is actually saying what I said!! :-) (sorry no picture of them... maybe next week I will bring my camera)

We have a new dog on the property. His name is Moto. When we first came to look at this place he was very aggressive and nipped at me several times and jumped up on me. But he has settled down nicely (feeling him helps!!!)


We have new gardens and flowers to enjoy too.

Lots of new critters to enjoy too! Geckos are great because they eat bugs!



We have a new hummingbird feeder! Truly a deep sense of joy to watch them!
I bet you didn't realize that hummingbirds STOP once in a while. That is why I bought that feeder with the perches. The only problem is that I left it out over night and the BATS ravaged it, taking all the nectar in one night and the little rascals managed to take off two of those yellow plastic flower thingys (so there would be a bigger hole to steal sweetness ) and now every morning my feeder is full of ants, and dead floating bees. I guess it is a pretty good way to go for them....! :-) I went looking for the plastic things in the yard but folks..it's a jungle out there. So now I have another feeder but no little perches.

Oh just one thing. I am known for asking really silly questions (you know the kind of questions you ask without thinking) Well Lindsay seems to have the same propensity. We were sitting out on the deck yesterday finishing breakfast and of course the hummers were there too enjoying the morning and flittering around the feeder. She asked "Do hummingbirds have legs?!" I almost died laughing. Sorry Linds but it is nice to have someone ask a question that I can laugh at!! But to her defense let me say that it appears they don't stop and they flutter so fast you really can't see their legs. So if you have ever wondered... the above picture is to clear things up: yes they have legs!!

One of the Pastors here has dengue and malaria so Bob got a call yesterday to preach at the Sonrise. Of course he said yes. I am looking forward to hearing him open the Word. One of the things I miss the most about not pastoring (officially) is listening to him preach regularly. Please pray for Pastor Chuck.. he is very ill right now. Thanks so much.


Have a great Sunday.

That is about all the newness that I can think of. Oh... and the newness within my heart but I can't photograph that. Just share it.

Shopping Roatan style

The Elusive Purchase…

At home in Canada if we need something we go to a store and the chances of it being there are very high. So you walk in, and if the price is right you buy it. Or you look in the flyers and see that it is on sale at another store.

Not so here.

Nope.

Shopping is a whole other experience.

The other day we went to get groceries and the shelves were quite bare. We have 3 groceries stores that are usually fairly well stocked and lots of little pulperias (small little shops… the key word is small) So when all else fails we drive to another grocery store. I had a craving for yogurt. I didn’t think it would be a problem. So we go to another store and no yogurt. So we drive home. A little disappointed but well acquainted with not being able to get certain things when we want them. It is good for the soul to not always have instant gratification (so they say!)

So a few days later we are out and I slip into the grocery store heading directly to the dairy section looking for ‘you know what!’. Nothing. The frig is bare. Not one little yogurt container. Strange.

This happened a few more times (whose counting??!) and each time there is a growing craving. Suddenly I NEED yogurt. My life is incomplete and I am getting desperate. There is a buzz in the grocery store and I realize I am not the only one who is having a ‘time of discontent’. It turns out that the ship didn’t come in but it would be in next Thursday. Hallelujah. Hope is on the horizon. It was Tues. and yes I can wait. Heaven’s sake I can wait. You need to realize that it isn’t just yogurt it is a lot of basic staples that are now missing from the shelves. Things are getting slim pickings.

Thursday arrives. Guess what we do??! We drive to French Harbor and head happily to the grocery store. I am bee-lining to the dairy section.

No yogurt! In Canada we would say, I want to speak to the manager!!

In Roatan, we say.. hmmm I guess the ship didn’t come in again.

So next Thursday rolls around and I am cautious. There is no running to the store that day. But the next day we are in Coxen Hole doing some banking so I casually stroll into Warren’s Grocery store and suddenly there is this welling up of hope inside me. I just feel it. The shelves are fuller then ever… lots of pickles, jams, bread, chips, and as I head down the dairy aisle I am smiling because I just KNOW!

YOGURT!! It is the small joys. Yes indeed. Then I realize I only have 100 limpiras on me (5.00) but I figure I can get one big container and few small cherry flavours for Bob. Alrighty!! I am beaming. I put my yogurt on the counter. I greet the lady sincerely Buenas Dias. I reach into my pocket and realize.. oh no.. I only have 70 limpira. So I try my best in Spanish to explain I don’t have enough money. She takes two of my yogurt away and I am still okay.

When Bob comes out of the bank I am waving my little bag in the air and he knows. Success!!! YES!!

Such is life on the island.

I hope this helps you to not take for granted the daily things that you have in that lovely land we call Canada.

Here is another shopping experience for you:

Having our laptops here on the island is wonderful but it would be so great to have a desk. Bob had been sitting on the couch and working on the coffee table and I had been sitting in a chair with my computer on my lap. I now have a desk at our new rental place but Bob has been working on the table.

A desk. Now that would be great to have here!

So we began looking around for a desk. We found one desk at an exclusive island furniture store for $800.00!! No thanks!

I guess people don’t use desks on the island or they bring them over on the mainland.

Bob thought about building one. There is such wonderful Mahogany wood here that he thought it would be a nice project.

Earlier this week we are visiting our friends Marco and Zenola and she mentioned that her sister is moving to Miami and is selling all her furniture. So I think.. a desk maybe?? As it turned out, yes she does have a desk. Zenola called to see if her sister was home and we decided to go right over. She lives in Flower’s Bay at the top of a high hill. We parked at the bottom of the hill and began the trek up the hill. The road had been completely washed out so there was no way a vehicle could get up or down there. So we climbed and climbed and climbed.

We had a great visit together and were pleased to see that the desk was exactly what we wanted!! ( a little beat up but it would do) So I said, How much do you want for that desk? They hummed and hawed, and discussed in the back bedroom. I guess it is hard to know what to charge a gringo. So finally she comes out and said “how about 300.00?” The look on my face registered shock. It was a nice desk but not worth that!! Then Zenola said… “Oh 300 limpira!!”

We all breathed a sigh of relief. That meant she was willing to sell her desk for $16.00.

Bob looked at her and said, “Would you take 20.00?”

Julia said, “But that is more then 16.00!”

He smiled and said… so that is a good deal for you then isn’t it?

Now here comes the tricky part… how to take the desk down the hill. The only way is to carry it down. At first Marco and Bob decided to try to carry it together but parts of the hill were slippery and they were concerned they would slip and the desk would be wrecked. . So Bob, my hero, hoisted it up on his back and down the hill he went.

You just never know what you find on the island, where, or when but it is always an adventure!!

Well that’s enough for now.. I think I am going to eat some yogurt!!