First Impressions

August 13, 2009

I landed at about 11:15 a.m. local time and finally left the airport at 12:30 p.m. The customs department here works as well as the La Sierra University records office I guess. I was given a 90 day visa, but once the other missionaries are here, we will make copies of our paper work and receive temporary residency as far as I understand. The person who sat next to me on the plane from Huston to Tegucigalpa is from Riverside! His name is German and he grew up in Honduras. He moved to the United States when he was 18 then he joined the Army. He is coming home to see his mother. I also met a man whose name I forgot in line for customs that is a professor at UCR and married an Adventist so of course we knew a few of the same people. What a small world.

My greeter is a Hordurian woman just taller than myself and aged about 27. Her name is Lobya (kind of sounds like the name Lolita) and she is the administrator for Marantha Adventista Bilingual School which is where I will be teaching English this year. Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, resembles San Diego in the sense of flora and vegetation. The architecture reminded me of the nicer parts of Baja, Mexico. As we drove into the mountains, I noticed an abrupt change. The mountains here look just like the mountains at home. There are pine trees! Now, I’m sure they are technically some kind of different type of species than our pine trees here, but I was expecting banana trees on the side of the road and mango trees just outside my house. On the way to Comayagua, Lobya and I stopped at a Pizza Hut I (not my choice) for lunch. Since I am vegan, I just ate at the Barr De Ensalada or the salad bar.

When I finally reached the apartment, I needed to go to the bathroom plus I wanted to shower. Lobya said she would come back at 4:00 p.m. then we could go shopping for food. I did my thing in the bathroom and that went just fine, but when I tried to flush, nothing happened. I looked in the tank and there was no water. “Huh.” I thought to myself “Perhaps a bit of water will do.” So when I tried to turn on the faucet and scoop water into the tank, no water came out and it made a growling noise. Uh Oh! I tried all the faucets around and came to the conclusion the water has been turned off. I still felt gross so I used the small amount of water I had left from the plane ride to brush my teeth. I at least changed my underwear and pants (which felt like heaven) since I would not be showering until the problem could be fixed.

At the internet café I was able to talk to Joe on Skype and that made my day. My heart, as his was as well, was burdened until he knew I arrived safe. I could feel his anxiety and he had to hear from me as soon as possible. I felt a bit more rested after hearing his voice, but I also felt very lonely since Lobya had things to do and could no longer keep me company. I walked home from the café and immediately regretted not bringing my pepper spray along. I was cat called so many times, I thought “Pssst” was my name. The best thing to do is ignore it so I did.

Some people from the church had gotten together yesterday and cleaned the missionary house and washed sheets and other linens. They were hanging on the back porch and I was instructed to take them down and fold them. As I did this, I had to hold back tears. A deep feeling of sorrow engulfed me because it was the first time I had been alone since I got there. Memories of Joe from the evening before flooded my eyes, but that day already seems years ago. The beautiful dinner we shared, the jokes we laughed at, the kisses we cherished, his brown eyes wet with sadness of my departure, are all memories too far away to grasp. I guess I just realized that this was going to be the first long day of many to come that I would be away from the man I love. Now feeling sad, lonely, and gross, I decided a shower would be just fine.

I turned off all the lights down stairs and made my way upstairs. This house gets very creepy at night, especially when it is not filled with three other missionaries and the scary, unfamiliar noises flood the empty rooms. I locked all the doors (That was for you Daddy and Joe) and made my way upstairs to bed. My Aunt Sue had posted on my Facebook several times to read Isaiah 24:16 so I prayed to God, then read Isaiah 24:16. It reads “From the ends of the Earth we hear singing: ‘Glory to the Righteous One.’ But I said ‘I waste away, I waste away! Woe to me!’ The treacherous betray! With treachery the treacherous betray!” I do not know what my Aunt Sue wanted me to get out of it, but God put on my heart that I need to change my attitude. There are so many people out there praying for me. There are people depending on me to do a good job, and God is depending on me to show Him to the people through my actions and spirit. My attitude has been “Woe to me” and I feel if that does not change, I will betray everyone, including God. So even though I miss your smile Joe, your hugs Lita, and the carrot juice in the morning, I do not want to miss the opportunity to sing to the ends of the Earth of the Righteous One as I know I can. Please pray for me.

Love Ruthie

P.S. - I fell asleep after a long, long day at 7:30 p.m. then awoke some time later to my new neighbors firing guns into the air after the Honduras futbol game. I hope they won, because I am scared to find out what happens if they lose.