A Shofar Shalom – Dec. 19

It seems like a week since I was writing last. When you are busy for sixteen hours in a day, a lot can happen. As I mentioned before, the unexpected is always lurking around the next corner. Lots of corners yesterday.

The group from Tegucigalpa phoned at about 11:00 telling us they were still on the way. By their location, we knew it would be more than an hour. After riding with their driver later in the day, I realized why their trip was taking so long – very cautious that man. Well, the Mayor, Principal and head of Educatodos here in Santa Cruz were all on schedule for 11:00. A bit of a worry for all of us. We had an early lunch of seasoned chicken salad and waited patiently. At 1:00 we began walking towards the City Hall to be there when the guests arrived. Manuel and I headed to the Education offices and arrived just as the folks were getting out of the car. Some quick phone calls and schedules were rearranged. The Mayor said we could see him at 3:00 (that was a minor miracle let me tell you) and the Principal, who was on lunch break agreed to meet then as well. That left us to take the guests to tour our facility.

Here at the office, we had lunch and each of the Board members talked about their experiences with CPI, education and, in particular, Educatodos. They all spoke well and had interesting stories so that was very good. I sat in the corner, observed and ate a second round of chicken sandwiches. The Educatodos program also insists that each student work on some sort of project – tree planting, first aid, etc. – that will help them or their community. Because we had the Moringa seeds ready for our guests, the conversation turned to that. It ended up that the five pots we had for the dignitaries were just enough to give one to each of our Tegucigalpa guests. My computer was up and running so I was able to show them pictures of the tree and some more information. All that writing I did this fall is certainly having some positive results. It is so easy to “flip” the page to the relevant material and have it on the screen for people to see. As well, Manuel has read much of the material so is able to refer to it when needed. The lady in charge of the delegation is actually very knowledgeable about local trees and so was able to appreciate the merits of the Moringa and the information much better than most (a plus for our project pitch as well).

Three o’clock saw us at the Mayor’s office. Amazingly, he was in and waiting. The Principal arrived as well and all of us (almost twenty) filed in and sat in the chairs arranged for us. The Mayor’s translator, Oscar, came with to help. That was an unexpected bonus because it left Manuel free to speak as one of the school directors (me being the other one) rather than translating. Often translators become part of the furniture rather than being respected in their own right. The Educatodos lady, the Principal and Chepe (our Board Chairman) all spoke. I was delightfully surprised at the passion with which the Educatodos lady and Principal spoke. Eventually I was given a couple of questions to answer as well. To me, part of the merits of a project idea is when local people begin to claim it as their own and do the pushing for it. Obviously, this project is fitting into that category as I don’t have to do much of the talking. The Mayor then asked me when we were ready to go talk to the Minister in Tegucigalpa. I looked at my watch and replied, “In an hour.” He grinned and took out his cell phone and scrolled down to the Minister’s number and called him then and there. That is fast and shows some of the clout that the Mayor of a region has. The Minister told the Mayor that the project had been approved and was handed over to the head of the EFA (don’t ask me what the initials stand for) to deal with. The Mayor got his number and then gave him a call. This next person began to play some games with the Mayor and talked about arranging a meeting in Tegucigalpa, etc., etc. What he didn’t realize was that the Mayor had turned up the volume on his cell phone (obviously much better model than mine) so that those of us close to the desk could hear what was said. Very quickly the Mayor informed him that the meeting would take place in Santa Cruz and he would call the Mayor to inform him when. So ... some hope for things. Certainly everyone on our team was encouraged. Finally we are getting enough of a group that we can push things through. The Mayor also mentioned that if progress is too slow he will simply go to the press with the story. Good stuff from our point of view.

I was quite happy with our day and ready to head back to the office and discuss plans and so forth. However, the head of the Educatodos group told us that we were going to see a school run by them. Manuel, Chepe and I hopped in the van and headed off. It was after 4:00 by this time and it gets dark by 5:30 so this seemed rather brave to me. It turned out that it was very brave. We drove for an hour and the road became progressively narrower, rougher and steeper. Rule number one when driving up strange roads: Never go up a track you are not prepared to back down. The van finally came to a patch that was too steep and muddy to navigate and so we backed down for an anxious few minutes till a spot to turn around was located. For our Tegucigalpa, city friends, it was feeling very remote. Even cell phone coverage was missing. Turns out we were only about fifteen kilometres from the main road. We back tracked to a fork in the road to find an alternative route. Looking down from the fork, the road looked much too iffy to try. Fortunately, cell phone coverage was available and our guide made a quick call and in about three minutes a four wheel drive pickup appeared. We climbed in and headed up and away.

Just at dusk, we arrived at the school. The lights were on and everybody was at home. Fifteen students sat in chairs listening to lecture notes from two foot high speakers in a 6 M x 5 M room. Another four sat around a table studying their books. This turned out to be a group of Grade Seven students and the smaller group of Grade Eight students. The building turned out to be a Synagogue belonging to a group of Messianic Jewish believers. In accordance with Leviticus 19.27, the leaders had long beards. A couple of the other men had short beards so I felt right at home. One of the members spoke very good English and so we got some of the background. An amazing group of people who are working together to make a life for themselves and their children. They are doing well in many ways because of their cooperation with each other. It was fun to talk with people who are full of ideas and knowledge of things they have tried or heard about.

We watched the school for an hour or so, meandering in and out at times to continue conversations with the men outside. It is of course, very dark by this time and I know that a return trip has to be made. All public transport shuts down at about 8:00 p.m. so I wasn’t sure where I might spend the night. The coffee cups arrived and, shortly, the coffee appeared. The students around the tables got up and chairs were set up for the guests. However, it was first time for introductions and welcoming speeches. Everyone was, thankfully, brief. The leader of the synagogue was very grateful for the educational opportunity provided by the Educatodos program. He was quite emotional about it and, at a loss for words, he turned to one of the Shofar horns (go to II Samuel 6.15 for one description – a one metre long, twisted wild goat or kudu horn) and blew it. It was amazing. He was extremely proficient and it was very moving to listen to. I have never heard a Shofar horn played with any skill so this was beautiful.

Students were dismissed and there were enough chairs for us all to sit down and enjoy sweetened home grown and roasted coffee with fresh hot milk. Lovely. After an appropriate amount of time, we stood up to go to the truck. We all made it outside when it was announced that cuajada was on its way. All the Hondurans were excited about the prospect of home made cuajada. Cuajada is a type of soft, fedha cheese. Sure enough, plates, utensils and platters with refried beans, thick cream, scrambled eggs and balls of cuajada appeared. We trooped back in and sat down. By this time we wondered if we would be staying for breakfast as well. This feeling was even stronger when, as we stood up after the meal and the pitchers of spring fed water appeared. We sat down again and enjoyed the water.

Back up and ready to leave. Fortunately, all was not finished. The leader wanted to send us off with a blessing. So, the cantor donned his prayer shawl, rubbed his hands with scented oil, a CD of Hebrew singing was turned on and the prayer began. The prayer was in Spanish so only the background singing was in Hebrew. Part way through, the shofar was played as an accompaniment to the music. Again, very well done musically. Prayer over, we all shook hands, received a blessing and were out the door for the last time.

As we drove away, the young people sent us off with echoing sounds of the Shofar following us. Clear skies allowed us to enjoy the stars and the night flowers perfumed our way. We arrived back in Santa Cruz at 10:00 p.m. The people in the van still had another two hours to get to San Pedro Sula so they will be well tired and travelled today.

I find it so heart warming whenever I am able to participate in worship traditions that stretch across geographical and historical boundaries. What a lovely Advent touch to hear the same sounds that were part of Jesus’ growing up. Each Friday and Saturday evening at sundown He would have heard the Shofar calling out the Sabbath. At festivals and celebrations the same sound would have filled the streets of His village. No doubt, during triumphal entry into Jerusalem there were more than one Shofar horns being blown. And, quite likely, that was one of the sounds heard as the disciples carried Christ’s body to the tomb.

Bryan