30,000 + (2)

In my last blog, 30,000 +, I revisited just one of my post that continues to receive hits over three years later. There are a couple other post that I'd like to comment on today.

My most read post of the 148 I have written is Live like a King on $1200 a Month.  This post is visited almost daily. I imagine folks who read this are looking to beat the "system" or looking to retire in a place where their social security dollar goes further, or like us, just wanting to do life different(ly).

I recently read a post in another blog where the writer claimed that it took $110,000 USD per year to live in El Salvador, Honduras' neighbor to the west which, admittedly, does enjoy a slightly better economy. Even still, I was shocked to say the least. (Also understood; should you choose to live in one of Honduras' 2 larger cities, cost will be higher than we experience in Siguatepeque) However, here are few things I want to mention to help keep things in the proper perspective which, as I wrote in my last post, is of paramount importance to retain.

• Many Americans moving here choose to live in very elite neighborhoods because in comparison to the US it is such a bargain. However, in general we would NEVER be able to live in a similar neighborhood in the US on our incomes. (Here is where proper perspective is needed.)
• Most Americans, because we do want a comparable lifestyle to the US, have multiple vehicles, something that only the very rich here enjoy, which does elevate our expenses. (I would estimate that 80% of Hondurans have NO vehicle)
• We enjoy internet and cable TV packages with US programming in English.
• We shop at the "American" style food stores and buy the foods we love.
• We eat out often.
• We go to the movies.
• We fly back and forth to the States a lot.
• Perspective/reality check: The GNI per capita income in Honduras is $2,270 yearly. (avg. middle class personal income is $400 -600 per month.) Question: If you live in Honduras, what is your monthly income for comparison purposes and what income category does that place you in?

Most Americans that come to Honduras actually want to live in "little America" here, and because it possible to do that at bargain basement prices, it is easy to end up living an "upper class" lifestyle on a "middle class" North American income. Which actually makes my point, that living in Honduras, no matter what level of life style you choose, is an incredible bargain. 

Have you seen pictures of the house we live in which is in the best "barrio" in Siguatepeque? Granted, we live here because the Spanish Institute of Honduras operates from here, but even still, we could afford this on even a minimal American income. Here's the question; could I as a small business owner in the US live in an equivalent house in an equivalent neighborhood? I think not!

Myth Busted:

I stand by my original post; you can live like a King here in Honduras on $1200 a month.

La Casa Grande

Another post that has received many views is Carlos; the baby in the bag. Carlos is now "Carlitos" and is the light of our lives. 

Each Easter Las Alfombras de Comayagua is viewed repeatedly.

Las Alfombras

Another much viewed post is Avoiding the God Complex. I find it interesting that many of my more read post are usually the ones I write to try to keep my self honest and with a proper perspective. Or the ones that I have written with open honesty. Writing Naked, A Boring Life?, just to mention a few.

So there you have it. Here's something honest and true. It's April, my least favorite month of the year to be in Honduras. It's hot, dry, dusty and smokey here in Siguatepeque and will be for all the month of April and some of May. The air hangs heavy and oppressive. I say this so that I won't leave you with the impression that Honduras is the Garden of Eden. It isn't. I don't write for a travel blog trying to sell you a "lifestyle". I freely acknowledge that Honduras has many problems and many issues that Hondurans and foreigners alike must deal with. But I will say this; we are blessed to be here.  

30,000 +

Each time I have reached 10,000 new page views I have reviewed and commented on some of my old blog post and shared some of my personal favorites. This week, according to my blogger stats, I surpassed 30,000 visits from folks around the world.

Some of my post, even after several years, continue to be read regularly. I'm assuming this happens because the title or content comes up in an internet search. One of these is Road signs: are they really necessary?  I wrote that post on July 18, 2012. We had decided to move to Honduras for "six months or so", but we weren't planning on leaving until January of 2013. I was beginning to feel overwhelmed by the amount of things we needed to do before leaving. Things like closing down my business, renting the house, selling, storing or throwing away so many things we had collected over the years. The expenses we were incurring to make the move were mounting into the thousands of dollars cutting into our savings. On top of this, we were planning on driving to Honduras. Many people thought we were crazy and I was beginning to doubt if our decision was the right one. And then...at least for me....something happened that assured and reassured me that we were still on the right road.

What I realized was that so much of why I needed to be reassured was because of my own personal fear. Fear for our safety, both bodily and financially. Fear of failure itself. Fear of a loss of respect should we fail. Fear of the unknown. I learned a lot about myself in those months leading up to our departure. Below is an excerpt from my post, Fear; What's to worry about? Three years later I am even more convinced that what I wrote is true.

"What are the ill effects of fear.  Fear is often exhibited through self protectionism. Because we are afraid of being hurt we refuse to love or to trust unconditionally. We look down on and deride those who are different than ourselves hoping to cover our own insecurities. Because we are afraid of the future, we are unable to live for the day. Because we are afraid of poverty tomorrow, we hoard today and call it good stewardship. Fear of rejection keeps us from giving of ourselves wholeheartedly. We often hide the fear behind jokes, doctrines, rules, masks and it is that same fear that keeps us there, in hiding." 

Looking back now I wonder what I was worried about. Everything has turned out just fine. We have a great life here. Of course I understand it could have been different. We could have been robbed in Mexico. We might of have had to return to the US broke and disillusioned. I thank God that none of my fears came to pass. On the other hand, who knows what life may have dealt us if we had listened to our fears and stayed home.

As the owners of the Spanish Institute of Honduras, Barbe and I welcome a constant stream of new missionaries arriving in Honduras each month. Their first stop is language school. Here is where they face their own fears, where they learn to match the realities of life here in Honduras with the often false expectations and fears they have arrived with. Some approach this new life as a grand adventure, others with timidity. Eventually, all either adjust to the "new normal" or they return home.

Here is some of what I have learned over the past few years about managing fear and transition, this through my own experience and from being intimately involved in helping over 200 new missionaries adjust to a new life.

• Keeping things in perspective is the greatest thing you can do to help yourself adjust. 
• Matching the actual reality here with the expectations you arrived with.
• Facing your fears honestly, and that means facing yourself.
• Enjoying all of the new experiences, the ups and the downs.   

I could add many other things to this list; but why these?

Because perspective keeps us grounded. A leaky faucet in Honduras leaks exactly the same as one in Texas. Flat tires and car problems are part of life...anywhere. Sometimes we really can't find chocolate chip cookies when we want them, even at Walmart. Bad things happen to good people everywhere in the world. We are not suddenly "special" because we now live in a third world country and we should not allow ourselves or others to elevate us to that status.

Matching reality to your expectations. This is huge. Over and over I hear people complain about the how bad the driving is here, that the heat is horrendous, that the safety issues keep them trapped behind walls, the bugs are... Here is the reality. Mosquitoes in Maine are actually far worse and larger than in Siguatepeque. Many of the southern states are actually hotter and more humid than most of Honduras, yes...even San Pedro Sula. Crime is everywhere, just watch the news. The sooner one actually grounds themselves in reality and let's go of what is false, the sooner everything stops being a big deal and a huge trial. Trust me, the life we Gringos have here is REALLY GOOD. Shhh, don't tell anyone. We wouldn't want folks back home to have to adjust their misconceived ideas to meet reality too.

Facing yourself and your fears. There is no better time to do this than during transition. Fear, change and the unknown bring out the best and the worst in us. It did in me and it has in everyone else I've seen. We can run, but we can't hide. Everywhere I go, there I am. Truths. So use this opportunity to get to know yourself. For those of you with faith in God, let Him use this time to change and transform you.

Enjoy it. As my globe trotting friend Bob Beckett says, "After the pain of the event is over, it's all about the stories." This philosophy has literally changed my life. Wrap your arms around each new experience. Inhale it, make it yours and part of who you are becoming.

Well, when I started writing this morning I had no intentions of going in this direction or rambling on for so long. I still haven't commented on my top, most read post Live Like a King on $1200 a Month. Talk about perspective and reality! Yeah, I definitely need to comment on this one.

Our First Well for Public Schools; we need your help

Team NGF at the school where we installed the purification system, June 3013

We became involved in water projects in public schools shortly after we arrived in Honduras three years ago. It all began when we were preparing to host our first STM team from our home church. We had only been down here a few months and I was struggling to put something together for them to do while in-country. A week before the team arrived, everything I had planned started to unravel. My friend Paul Hosier, a missionary with BMDMI, suggested that some of my team help him install a water purification system in one of the rural schools in our area. I immediately agreed, and so began my interest in water purification and our on-going relationship with the public school system.


Not being satisfied with the purification system we were using lead me to start our own company, Inversiones Wolfe Honduras SA de CV, in order to become a distributor for Sawyer Water Filters whose product I felt was far more efficient and cost effective. I then created our own social project "Agua Limpia para las Escuelas" where our company donates Sawyer filters to public schools, gives charlas (talks) to the students on why drinking purified water is critical to a healthy life and, as time allows us, we return to talk about Christian values. Our project has received recognition by the Minister of Education and is one of the things I love best about what we do in Honduras.

Chris (left) and me with Minister of Education Marlon Escoto 

As Chris and I traveled around Honduras, speaking at public schools and working through them to bring purified water and health education to the students, one of the things we realized is that often the schools have no water source of their own. Children have to bring their own water, and usually if the school doesn't have water it's because the community doesn't have water. Seeing what many of these kids are drinking and seeing how difficult it is to provide drinking water and proper sanitation for them lead me to enlarge our vision for what we do in public schools to include drilling wells. Out of this desire, and the need for water in general here in Honduras, was born our newest company, Pozos para Todos. (Wells for Everyone)

I have identified the first school we would like to drill at. The name of the school is Enma Romero de Callejas and is located in Colonia Juan de La Cruz Avelar here in Siguatepeque. This particular barrio is very dry and has extremely limited water resources. The water the school does receive is very contaminated and should only be used for flushing toilets, which doesn't stop the kids from drinking it. The school has almost 500 students, so as you can imagine, there is rarely enough water even for sanitation.

Centro Basico Enma Romero de Callejas

This natural "pool" on the edge of the school property indicates water is here

Although contaminated, some of the kids still drink from this

Solicitud

I have already begun the permitting process needed to open a well. I have the "solicitud" from the school requesting the project and our geologist has begun the required geological study. I have asked the Ministry of Education to be involved and this coming week will meet with the patronato of the colonia asking them to provide manual labor as needed including guarding the rig at night. Hopefully, we will have the drilling permit by mid May and can begin shortly afterward.

The cost of drilling a well is substantial and although we support ourselves personally, we do need your help funding projects like this. We have some funds already available thanks to gifts from some dear friends and two churches who regularly give towards our water projects. Should we decide that a hand style pump is suitable for this well, we have a tentative commitment from a Canadian organization to provide the pump, which is a large expense item. And of course our company will cover a substantial part of the cost as our gift back to missions.

Your help in funding this project, and future ones, would be very much appreciated. If you would like to give a tax deductible gift to help bring water to the school children of Honduras, the Camino Foundation has a set up an account to receive donations specifically for our water projects. Clicking on this link will take you directly to the donate page.

Thank you so much for your generousity