Birthday...Honduras Style

Chaunte had her 15th birthday here in Honduras!
She enjoyed her day immensely, and I think the girls here at the Casa Grande enjoyed it even more than she did.

For lunch/dinner we took her out to a local Balliada place. Balliadas are these fantastic chalupa like things, stuffed with meat, vegetables, and chili sauce. They are really a treat, and very typical of Honduras. We typically eat the Balliadas outside, under a thatched roof, with very loud Spanish music for company! Going out to eat is also a great time to whip out the Spanish, although most of the time I just manage to get giggles out of the locals.
After the Chaunte’s birthday outing, we stopped at a local Pasteleria to pick up the cake we had ordered the day before. The cakes here are really beautifully decorated and very tasty. Because this is Chaunte we’re talking about, the cake was obviously chocolate. We served cake and ice cream here at the Casa Grande. The girls and their children were ecstatic! Apparently they don’t eat chocolate cake very often, because all I heard the entire time was “CHOCOLATE, TORTA CHOCOLATE!!!” As with all Honduran birthdays’, the birthday boy or girl gets to have their face stuffed into the cake. Missionary Allen Tedder did the honors! After only two seconds all the local flies were having a fiesta of their own on Chaunte’s head!!

We enjoy our days spent here at the Casa Grande thoroughly. The girls are very receptive and friendly towards us for the most part. The only real conflict we’ve faced was when the missionaries made some room swaps and different sleeping arrangements. This involved Chaunte and myslef sharing a room with three of the oldest children (Normitta, Nowe and Mario, ages 3-4) It was important to start separating some of the mothers and their babies at night time, but this did not go over too well. For the first few nights we were up most of the night with crying toddlers, but they have finally began to get used to sleeping by themselves.
The girls have taught us how to cook many of the foods they eat here. They take turns cooking three meals daily. I’m absolutely amazed at their cooking skills! They make the best tortillas and fried chicken in the world. It is very neat to see the methods they use, and the time spent in the kitchen with them is very special.
That’s all the news for now. We will be sure to keep you posted.

Thanks for all the support and prayers, we appreciate your comments very much.
Please be in prayer for the current political situation in Honduras. The president plans to reenter the country tomorrow and this could cause some conflict and riots. We are quite safe here in Tocoa, but missionaries Barry and Penny Compton are in a larger city called La Ceiba. If the highways are blocked (like they were yesterday) they have no means of reaching Tocoa.

God Bless!http://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=1324d04c2b&view=att&th=122345d418e8c709&attid=0.4&disp=inline&realattid=0.4&zw
Leandrie.