Hello friends!

There has been many new and exciting things which have happened. I experienced my first Quincenera (a 15th birthday) last weekend, which is like a wedding! Everything here is celebrated with a mass. The girl gets a new dress, she has a court and then everyone makes a ton of food to share. She recieves a ring and her shoes are switched  at the party all of which are to symbolize the girl becoming a woman.

This past weekend I traveled to La Ceiba, about three hours away, to meet with Dr. Black a physician from Texas who has been here the last 10 years who we reference a lot. Beth and I also had some medications which we were not going to use that he could. Nothing builds relationships down here like "regalo-ing" them things, or gifting them things. Also one of the finca kids graduated from high school, one of the top three in the country, I didn't realize it was such a big deal till we got there and everyone was wearing their prom dresses and I was in my black capris and sweater and my chacos, oops!

I saw quite a few pregnant women in the clinic these past couple weeks, and I even saw a new baby, well a couple months old, but we share the same birthday! Things like that also bind you pretty close to families, who would have thought. I haven't had any other crazy machete stories since.

One story that brought tears to my eyes, lots of tears actually, happened this past week. A woman whom I know pretty well now, I have seen her each week, stop by the clinic the other day. She needed some money to get her grandson out of the hospital who had been in for 8 days, and also needed help to pay for the injections he would need for an infection. We had giving the last of our money to another man a couple days before for an x-ray he needed, so we didn't have anything to give to her. She also didn't have the perscription so I couldn't even give her medication. I felt terrible sending her away empty. She didn't even have money to get back to the hospital and I couldn't even help her there. I felt so useless, I felt like I wasn't or couldn't do my job. It was a terrible feeling: here I am, a capable body and I couldn't give anything. I know we can't do everything down here, but I think I also felt the reality of the situation of poverty our neighbors are in.

We have been busy getting ready of Thanksgiving, buying things we can't get in Trujillo in La Ceiba and what not. Two more weeks and it will be Thanksgiving, that is hard to beleive! It will give us all a small taste of home and the US!

An update about donations: if you would like to donate something or some way in any shape or form the best way to do so is to call Andrea McMerty-Brummer at (727) 475-4459 or e-mail at farmofthechild_usa@yahoo.com (more info about donating is on the website). She will let you know more of what we need and how to help as far as giving materials or money. Becasue sometimes if there is no one to bring it down and depending on how much is donated it is more cost effective to donate money verses materials. Thank you to all who have expressed an interest in helping, it is GREATLY appreciated!

I wish I could be with you all over the holidays! Thank you for all your support! Much Love, Deirdre