Fri., 30 Jan. - Water continues to be an ongoing problem. A pipe broke in the wall Wed. and if the valve from the tank is opened, the cavity in the concrete block wall fills up and begins to leak into the church office. I have opened it 4 times since Wed. for the 45 sec. it takes to fill a bucket from the outside tap, but this morning the tap was locked. I’ll have to speak to Victor that we need clean water.

We also found out that it will cost 900 Limperas, ($60), plus propane to replace the propane tank that didn’t arrive here with our stove. A second large expense we didn’t expect.

We went into Danli by bus to do some shopping and have “almuerzo”, (noonday dinner). While there we ran into Pastor Victor and Church Warden Betti as well as two women who lived next door to us in Yuscaran last year. We ate at ‘La Terraza’ resttaurant as we were considering having the pilgrimage team eat there. I was not impressed. We’ll check out another next week.

Shortly after we got back a truck arrived with a new stainless steel, 6 burner gas stove and refrigerator that the ‘Manos de Dios’ team bought for one of the kitchens. The ‘chumbo’ (gas tank) is arriving tomorrow, (I think). I believe we will be able to borrow the tank in return for filling it and they will have the gas we don’t use.

The vegetable garden that the team put in is sprouting and some of the young people were putting in stakes and stringing cord for the cucumbers to climb. The unusually wet weather certainly has helped germination.

Sun., 1 Feb. - The propane tank arrived on Sat. afternoon and we now have 4 burners and an oven to cook with. A big improvement from 1 element electric hotplate.

We went to church at Cristo Rey in Danli for 10 am, (started 10:30). Afterward we went to a local restaurant and had a Honduran soup called ‘Mondongo’. It’s a complete meal in a large bowl with meat and vegetables with rice and tortillas on the side, only 40 L each, (about $2.60)



Back at Cristo Rey for 2 pm we walked to the bus station and caught the bus to El Paraiso (city) to attend services at the church of our long time friend, Rev. Deacon Hilda Lagos. We had to leave right after the service to catch the last bus back to Danli at 5:20. In downtown Danli we got a taxi that turned into more of a ‘collectivo’. Part of the trip we also had a woman and 3 little children, dropping them off we soon picked up a woman and a girl who were going not too far out of our way, then near home a single girl about 11. I guess that’s the reason they are only 15 L ($1) per person anywhere in the city




BUSES IN HONDURAS
I have to tell you about the Honduran buses. First, all buses have a driver and a conductor who collects tickets, cash fares, and assists passengers. There are 3 basic types, the luxury intercity that are lovely highway coaches with a separate driver compartment. On some routes there may even be a light lunch served, otherwise they stop at a good restaurant long enough to get a meal. Viana buses charge about $15 US to go from Tegucigalpa to San Pedro Sula, (5 Hrs).

Then there are the ‘milk runs’ using almost exclusively old US school buses, (sometimes repainted). These are in various states of repair and often pick up passengers with large bags or cartons. Once a man got on with about ten 12 ft 2 x 4s which were carried in the aisle. If there are more passengers than seats, whenever they come to a police check point, everyone crouches down so it doesn’t look like that anyone is illegally standing. Most of these buses have had racks added above the seats for storage. If you are on one, hopefully you will like the music because they always play something, often loudly. Part way through the journey the conductor will come through the bus and collect the fare depending on how far you are traveling with them. From Danli to El Paraiso is 15 L ($1). They run every 20 minutes and the trip takes a little under an hour.

Then there are the city buses. Here in Nueva Esperanza they vary widely in size but in Tegucigalpa they are full size. The first time we took one it was the size of standard van. I’ve ridden with 18 people in that vehicle. Others are larger and the only thing you can say about their condition is that they run. The fare is only 5 L ($.35) and they run about every 15 minutes except Sunday.

So long for now. Dick