Struggling with Spanish, Honduras, Mama’s news

Savanna is a constant source of entertainment. Cori tells so many anecdotal stories about her antics and her verbiage that I could not possibly recount them all, but every now and then a thought pops out of her mouth that is truly worth capturing. It is a foregone conclusion that they, as a family, are struggling with Spanish. But it is not a subject that comes up for general discussion. They just deal with it as they go along, so it is difficult to gauge the impact the struggle has on the family. However, every now and then we get a glimpse of the conflict. This time it was through Savanna. Early in the morning Savanna had brought her baby doll to Cori to have her mommy swaddle the baby. Not too much later that morning, as the swaddling had worked its way loose, Savanna needed the process repeated – but mommy was busy with the older children. They were doing school work and Savanna is not allowed to interrupt. In a pinch, she went to daddy; who did a half-hearted job of getting her baby wrapped properly. Savanna, almost in tears, interrupted school to plead with mommy. “Mommy”, she began, “can you swaddle my baby doll? Daddy did it in Spanish and I need it done in English.” That is a revelatory insight. Out of the mouth of babes we too often find wisdom.

We are now just two weeks away from going to Honduras. I have arranged the time off with work. That is a blessing. I will not get paid for the week, but Mama and I can make up that difference out of other accounts. I am looking forward to many things about the trip – not the least of which is spending time with Nate, Cori and the grandkids. I am also looking forward to visiting Honduras. I have not been there since I traveled there with my parents as a youth. Mama is not the least concerned about the language barrier. She will have Nate and Cori to help. And she will have me to translate as well. I have been warned about keeping a sharp eye out for potentially dangerous situations while we are abroad, but I will have to trust the Lord. My personality and psyche are not geared to be a Jason Bourne. Besides, we will have Nate there with us. He is tuned to that kind of suspicious attentiveness having been a deputy sheriff for twelve years. That being said, it will be helpful to see our children and their work in situ. Our eyes really do affect our hearts. Getting a sense of the country will help us understand what the long-term family and ministry needs are and how we can most effectively help to meet those needs.

Mama saw the doctor’s assistant yesterday. She was not surprised by the news she received. She will see the doctor upon our return and we will get her scheduled for surgery sometime before Christmas. Lord, willing, her Christmas present will be a functional knee. She was not too discouraged by the news, but it was not what we had hoped for at the outset of this surgery. Honduras will be a challenge for her with the pain she is in right now. On the bright side, Chase and Makaila steered us toward resistance-type workouts. Victoria was so impressed with the idea that she bought a set of straps made for that purpose. I installed those straps on the laundry room door Tuesday evening. I tested the set up and found the exercises to be very effective. When we got home last night Mama gave it a try. She loved it. Of course, she could not bend her knees very deeply, but she immediately felt that the few exercises she had done helped her. We will continue with that line of strength training for her. Especially since we are no longer able to get her more physical therapy sessions. Victoria and I are not able to bend her knee for her more than about 90°, so if the exercises will allow her to strengthen the thigh and gently move the knee into deeper and deeper bends, we may be on to something.

Again, time will tell.