Christmas out of control!

Wow, where to begin! In the front of my mind is that I am not feeling well. I became ill at our first event yesterday. I felt fine when we left the house. I quickly became feeling weak though. I thought maybe it was just the heat. Then the nausea began. I didn't make it out the door before the vomiting began. Right after that the diarrhea began. I didn't quite make it to the bathroom in time. Thank God, there was toilet paper and that I was wearing a maxi pad. I was told to wear one every day for places that don't have toilet paper, etc. I ended up throwing those undies away. It was bad. I know people don't want to hear that, but it is part of the journey, so.....

After that event, Gracie and the others brought me home. I went straight to bed. Gracie, Shari, Kristian, Lee, and Cindy went back out for the second event. Fortunately, Santos, was around. Santos helps out on M-F around the mission. She brought me chamomile tea, some sprite, a big bottle full of hot water to put on my stomach, etc. She was trying everything to get me well. Unfortunately, the vomiting and diarrhea persisted throughout the day. Last night, the diarrhea turned red, which concerned me (to say the least). I wanted to walk up to the house to tell Gracie, but simply didn't have the strength. I made it to a chair outside and waited... Thankfully, Karla came by and I asked her to get Gracie. Gracie then took me to the doctor. I had 2 amazing doctors and Gracie that stayed with me the entire time. I was so weak that I felt like I could barely walk, move, or keep my eyes open. After getting and iv and meds, I started feeling better.

I find myself being sad. I don't like feeling weak or being a bother to anyone. Gracie didn't get to eat her dinner until 10:45 PM last night, due to having to take me to the doctor. She told me not to worry about it, but I still feel bad. I feel bad because I came here to help too. I came here to help, and instead I was laid up in the bed. On a brighter note, last night was the first night I really slept. I find that it is very noisy in Honduras. Peoples lives here are outside. There is constant loud music, animals barking, loud trucks going up and down the roads honking, etc. The animals here are insane! Roosters have no idea that they are only supposed to crow (I can't think of the right word) in the mornings. The make their noise all night long! And animals are everywhere! They aren't fenced in. Cows, oxen, donkeys, horses, chickens, and roosters are alongside the road everywhere we go. Half of the time, they are right in the middle of the road! I wish you all could see it here. It truly is a different world. I have already taken over a thousand pictures. I will have to post them here and there when I get back.

I am currently sitting at Gracie's desk and going through pictures. I honestly don't know how to choose which ones to post. The eyes of these children are amazing. Some of their faces are so sad and solemn, yet some light up and are full of smiles. I see how people live here. There are no words for how difficult it must be though. You use the bathroom in outhouses, you bathe in a bucket of water with bacteria in it, children work in the fields, many roam without parents and without shoes... Some children who were on the list to receive gifts weren't there because they were out working in the fields. It's sad. It's unimaginable. Yet it is so very real. I've been seeing it, but I still don't feel like I have a full understanding of it. It hasn't all sunk in yet. The dirty little feet and faces... It does something to you. At home, if you gave a child a pair of $1.00 flip flops for Christmas, how would they react? They would react in anger with no appreciation whatsoever. Here, the children go running to show their moms and friends. They are excited to receive these simple gifts. They are excited to have some attention. Most parents here aren't like we are in the US. They aren't taught to spend quality time with their children, to love on their babies, etc. We had a fourteen year old girl and her mother stay at the mission the other night. You wouldn't have even known that they knew each other. It was like two strangers sitting side by side. I'm not saying, every home is like that, but the majority probably are. Thus, part of the problem here in Honduras. These people need love and education. It is like hearing the word of God. How are they going to know unless we tell them? And who is going to tell them and help them if we don't?

What else? I am trying to cover everything, but I'm still feeling weak and shaky. My mind isn't moving as quickly as normal. Oh, I had an email asking me about luggage. No, I have not received my luggage. No bath robe, flip flops, toiletries, etc. The remainder of the items in the bags were for Christmas here and were lots of baby clothes for Karla and little Alejandro. The mother of a fellow missionary is flying in today. We gave the missionary, Amanda, my luggage information. We are hoping that they are able to get it today when they go to Tegucigalpa.

Like I mentioned, I am feeling kind of down right now. Nonetheless, the Christmas events have been amazing. The first event on Wednesday was in Vallecillo. We traveled about two and a half hours to get there. We had to drive through three mountain ranges to get there. We went with a list of 100 children. We ended up giving out 243 gifts. God is good! It was a long day, but a good day. I met the mayor there. What a kind lady! She and all of the people there were such a blessing! When we got home, a judge was here. She was very sweet. Her name was Isis. She gave me and the girls a french manicure.

Thursday was another early morning. Isis stayed in the room with Shari and I. Each of the dorm rooms with 2 bunk bed. We awoke at 5AM. All except for Gracie, she is always up before anyone else. I don't know how she does it! After dropping Isis off, we headed to Marale. It was another beautiful village, with some amazing people. It's kind of funny. You go into these events with a list of approximately one hundred of the poorest kids. Word quickly spreads though, and it feels almost as if a riot is about to break out. For that reason, we decided to name this blog "Christmas out of Control".

At Marale we handed out 270 gifts. Following Marale, we went to Porvenir. I got to meet both mayors. Everyone is very kind. We gave out 2tr gifts in Porvernir. It was another crazy event. They gave us some yummy rice and coca cola. I have been pleasantly surprised. All of the food has been superb. The only thing I really haven't liked has been some carbonated banana drink. It was just not good at all. Gracie doesn't like it either. Gracie had four emergency calls during the events. The fourteen year old girl I mentioned earlier was on of the calls. Busy Busy Busy.

After those two events we came back home for just a few minutes. We then headed to Jalteva boys home. It is a home for juvenile male offenders. We gave gifts to the 30 boys there. They each got a gift bag with a hat (which Randy sent). I was also to hand each boy a t-shirt donated from Mitchell Grocery. We had so many extra shirts that they announced everyone at the Christmas party would get a t-shirt. You should have seen them. They were hooping and hollering like they won the lottery. It was so much fun to give everyone a shirt. I got lots of hugs from everyone. The boys were so appreciative. Several asked if they could have their picture made with me. One even told me I was sexy. Boys will be boys. Speaking of that, Karla, Cindy, and the baby got to come to this event. It was the first thing we've all gotten to do together. It was fun to be out with everybody. Both Cindy and Karla are very beautiful. It was a little nerve-racking to watch the boys. One in particular really bugged me. He kept looking at Cindy and I just wanted to jump across the table at him. For that reason, I was assigned to Cindy for the evening. Everything went well though. We had a nice meal, gave gifts to the boys, handed shirts to everyone else, and then the adults (Gracie and Lee) did a secret santa with the other adults. After that, it was time for us to get home and get in the bed. Before we left, the other adults started playing music and dancing. It was pretty cool to get to watch them. I think some of them had a little  too much egg nog!

I already wrote about yesterday. I'm a little scattered right now, so things are out of order. Nonetheless, all is well in Honduras. Karla and the baby have been a little sick. Stuffy noses, sore throats, etc. Cindy has a sore throat now too. Gracie also began getting stuffy yesterday. Shari hasn't been eating. I guess the only two healthy ones are Lee and Kristian. They are also the two craziest! When I have more time, I will have a blog dedicated to them. They are awesome elves. Muy loco though. I am going to stop writing and try to find a few pics to post. I hope everyone has an amazing weekend. Love to you all!

P.S. Gracie came in a few minutes ago. I had to give a stool sample. Bless her heart for putting up with me. First she has to carry me to the doctor and sit and wait while I am practically passed out on the gurney. Then this morning I give her my wonderful liquid stool sample to take to the doc. Thankfully, everything came out clean.  I am hoping to be completely well by tomorrow. We've got lots more to do; more events, a motorcycle ride, Christmas, etc. Pray that we all get well so we can fully enjoy all that we are doing.