Day 2

Saturday March 27, 2010. My first day back at the farm was as Haley would say filled with excitement. I got up early which is usual for me. At breakfast Pam ask me to carry the girls to school in La Esperanza. And since the van is broken I had to drive the bus. Will someone please send us a transmission for the van? Now we came through there the day before and it looked like the circus was in town. Banners everywhere announcing somebody named RO JO in concert or something like that. Well I am thinking going into town with those little streets is bad enough but with a million people and each one driving a car, truck or bus I was very sure I would crash all day and wind up in jail. Well a quick prayer and God told me I could do it with his help. So 12 or 13 girls Rosa who is our teacher, her baby and Anastasia we head out to town. As we go I notice that there is not much traffic. God is good. As we get into town it is the same way then I realize it is 7:30 AM no respectable Honduran is out that time of Saturday morning. I get the girls to school and Rosa says we have to go to the bank. How the bank is up town in the market area. We did not come by it so I think the traffic is bad there and people will be everywhere and to make matters worse it is next door to the jail. Oh well it has to be done. We get a few blocks from the school and Rosa says the bank is the new one here. God is soo good. We wait about 3 hours at the bank because the line is so long. Finally she returns and she says we have to go the grocery store. I know where that is it is almost next door to the bank we are at. Wrong they have found a new store that is cheaper and as you know we are still tight for money so away we go across town to this new store. Rosa is telling me the way as we go. It is a back road around town we get there and they have a big parking lot, you know how good God is! Rosa and I go in and shop for the list we had been given. As you know in any country like that Americans get many looks. How I have had many but it was amusing to see peoples face when they see this old southern boy with a young Honduran lady shopping for grocery. Oh well we get out of there and Rosa says we got to get hog feed. Now the feed store to my recollection is in the middle of town. Not a good thought since I have missed that part of town I am not happy about going now. But we start up town and I look up the street and see a semi in the road unloading. That usually means several hours wait. We back up to an intersection and turn right. We go one block and turn left and go all the way to the road that the feed store is on. There were only a couple trucks that had to back up. We got the feed and went back and got the girls. Then we head home. They have done there annual road scrape and the dirt road from town to the farm is in good shape. The trouble is every little community wants everyone to slow down so they have speed bumps all over the road. How in South Georgia if an old farmer wanted you to slow down by his house he would take his tractor and turn plow and plow a ditch across the road. Most of the time one on each side of his house. In Honduras the do it different. They shovel a mound across the road. They are smart they know that it will wear down so they build it high. Some seem like a foot. You ease up to it and roll over as easy as you can. Now with those girls I do not drive over 35 or 40 even on a good road. So I was doing pretty good with the speed bumps until we started back. I came around a curve and up a hill at about 35. There she was a new one since I had went by that morning. It had to be a foot high and with new dirt. The front tires went over it as I applied the breaks. I did slow enough not to bounce the girls out but not to my liking. I looked back at them and they were just laughing. So on we came home. As we started up a hill the bus died. I automatically remember it had done that before and that was because it had run out of fuel. How what rookie mistake not to remember that the fuel gauge was incorrect. We stop and Rosa bless her heart says. Give me that can I will go get some. I ask one of the other girls to go with her. They tear out down the road just as happy as can be. I am fuming at myself. In about 30 minutes they come back in a taxi with the fuel. I get the siphling hose out and set the 5 gallon can on the bus steps so it will be high enough to siphle. As a good southern red neck I hate getting fuel in my mouth so I put the hose in the can and hold my finger over the end as I am bring the hose out the can falls off the steps and as I grab it I spell about a quart and yes it all lands on me. Cruz sees the dilemma and comes down and holds the can as I get it started in the tank. We get the fuel in and I prime the engine, God is good this bus has a hand pump so you do not have bleed the lines. We fire up and get going home. We get home uneventful and have a wonderful meal prepared by Pam. God is good! I have a plan for the shower. I get a widow maker out of the shop and head out to my house. No such luck it is missing some parts and will not work. So in the shower I go cold water and all. This is deep well water and very cold. Anyway as I write this I do feel better. Maybe Monday I can get me a new widow maker or get some lp for the water heater. Anyway I am resting and everything is quite at this time. As Haley would say it might not last so I am taking advantage of it now. Well as I suspected the day is not over. The girls want to go to church. OK so I cannot refuse that. I get ready and head up to the truck. They are at least 10 girls on the back of the Nissan pickup and more inside. I jump in and let Cruz drive. She is a very good driver but not to use to a standard transmission yet. She will learn with enough practice. We stop and pick up Rosa and Anastasia. Off to church we go. Cruz is use to the van and it has an automatic in it and she just winds the little truck up in 1st gear. I finally tell her she has to mash the clutch and pull the gear leaver down. She just Scruggs and does it. We get to church and I am thinking it is a youth event. Well some adults start coming in. After a while the pastor comes in and starts a lesson in baptism. Then I find out the girls there are going to be baptized tomorrow. Well I ask where and what time. I am again thinking after church maybe. Wrong the pastor says 8:30 AM well ok it is not me getting dunked. I tell him we will try to be there. After about an hour of lessons we head home with no more events. We have supper and off to bed I go. God is soo good to me. No more disturbances that night. Another day tomorrow. God is so good