Ardent Even In The Cold – from Jake Pinkston on teaching mission in Honduras

Fine Scottish weather has arrived in La Ceiba. Like much of the northern hemisphere, Hondurans have been experiencing some unusually cold weather for the last week, accompanied by frequent showers and overcast skies. They don’t like it at all.

Students and faculty alike have been bundled up from head to toe with scarves, jackets, extra socks, even gloves and hats… in class! The dress code was even relaxed so that the students could wear jeans, which are much warmer than the lightweight pants and skirts that are the usual standard. For the first time all year, the windows are closed and the wall fans are off. Still, some students have been shivering in class. The low temperature: an icy 58º Fahrenheit.

I guess it does not quite compare to New England winters but when you are acclimated to subtropical weather, the cool-off is quite a shock. It can be 100 degrees and Hondurans won’t bat an eye, but drop the temperature below 70 and you would think glaciers were coming down off the Nombre de Dios Mountain range. I didn’t know they even had down jackets in Honduras. As for me, I am still teaching in short sleeves and enjoying every minute of it. How nice it is to not have to shout above the hum of fans and traffic and not be sweating bullets all day. My students already thought I was crazy. This has only confirmed their suspicions.

Sadly, it looks like the worst of it has passed and the rest of the week will be in the mid-70s. I am sure I will be looking back fondly on this week in April and May when the country becomes one big sauna again.

The reason for the late post this week is missionary season has begun at Holy Trinity. Dan and Kitty Telep, friends of Mike and Betty from Pittsburgh and well traveled missionaries, spent the last five days with us. It has been nonstop feasting for Mike, Betty, Veronica, Denny (her husband) and me. Saturday night we had a welcome dinner at Veronica’s, also celebrating Dan and Kitty’s 39th wedding anniversary. Sunday we watched the NFL playoffs between brunch and dinner at Mike and Betty’s, and Monday night we dined at La Quinta Real. I offered to have everyone over at my place but when we realized we would have all had to sit on the floor and eat around my bed (I have no tables), we decided it best to go elsewhere. Last night we gave Dan and Kitty a proper send off from a little restaurant right on the beach, complete with a Cuban cigar for Dan before the took off for the US early this morning. It was joyous half week of friends and fellowship. I feel like I am going through party withdrawal cooking dinner at home for the first time in what seems like forever.

Kitty and Dan spent Monday and Tuesday helping out at school. Dan gave the sermon at the Monday morning service and later shared with the students his experiences returning to Vietnam as a missionary after serving in the War. He also helped Mike and Denny with the boys’ shop class. Kitty, the sewing extraordinaire, brought materials and led all the secondary school girls in a bag making project. For two days, she battled through temperamental sew machines that seemed to find new ways to break as soon as she fixed them and showed the girls how to follow the patterns and complete the project. The bags turned out beautifully and the girls were thrilled to have them to take home and show off.

While Kitty and Dan gave talent and treasure to enrich the experiences of the students, their biggest contribution to Holy Trinity was their presence. This was their fourth visit to La Ceiba supporting Mike and Betty in their mission work. Their profound faith, patience, and commitment to service inspired and elevated the spirits of everyone they reached out to. They were warm and engaged, looking for any opportunity to help out and interact. There were several students they had built relationships with over the years and the student’s faces lit up when Dan and Kitty remembered them by name. They also got to know several of our newer students.

At times it is hard for me to gauge my efforts at Trinity, as my perspective comes from my day-to-day work in and out of class. I have extremely high expectations for myself and can at times focus too much on the future while not fully appreciating the present. Dan and Kitty’s positive feedback and encouragement were empowering, especially with their knowledge of the progression of the school over the last few years. It has given me new strength and resolve in my mission here.

It was wonderful having Dan and Kitty at Trinity. We are so grateful for all they did for us. If anyone at St. James is interested in visiting the school, even for a short while, I would love to help make that happen. You have no idea how much of a difference you can make. They brought a spark of energy and purpose that enkindled the hearts and minds of many chilled children. You can too.

“I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with the power through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.”
Ephesians 3: 16-17