This Weekend Was A Sad One

I failed to do my normal Monday weekend post for two main reasons- 1)  Our Internet service was out most of the morning and 2) I was just dog tired!  Do you all say "dog tired"?   We use it when referring to being just about as tired as we can get.  ha  It had been a long weekend and other than running a few errands in town to pick up some school supplies I spent all day Monday just laying around.

So, here is a recap of our weekend activities.

The "cupcake of the week" at a bakery in town was Snickers.  They are our favorite of all they bake.  They post on their facebook page on Monday what they will be baking that week and you place your order.  They normally have them ready to pick up on Thursday afternoons although last week they changed the day to Friday.  So, Friday afternoon David drove into town to pick up our six pack of  cupcakes for us to enjoy over the weekend. 

These are so delicious!!!

That evening after supper we took our normal walk around the neighborhood.  While walking the boys spotted two turtles in the grass by the road.  They were very excited to see them.  I didn't have my camera but I snapped this photo of Cruz with my phone.  As he knelt down to pet one I told him to be careful.  He looked up at me and said, "Don't worry mama.  I'm the turtle man.  I know all about turtles".  ha

my little turtle man

When we returned home the boys and I stayed out a little longer to let them play.  They brought out their toolboxes and pretended to be mechanics and worked on their bikes.  Notice the gold on Cruz's tires.  He and one of the neighbor kids painted them recently.  He thinks it is the coolest thing.  Me- not so much. ha

On Saturday morning we headed up the mountain for Bible study in the village of Lagunetas.  It is always several degrees cooler up there than it is down below where we live.  For that reason we always take our jackets to wear there.  It is a welcome break from the year round heat that we have at our house.

my boys keeping warm in Lagunetas

This sweet girl almost always has flowers waiting for me when we arrive.  It is precious.

When we returned down the mountain back into town we decided to go out for lunch.  We headed to The Grill in Chiquimula.  I was wanting their chicken quesadillas and a frozen naranjada to drink.

Cruz waiting on our food to arrive.  He and Ben wanted typical breakfast plates- scrambled eggs, black beans, fried platanos, and tortillas.  I think Cruz would eat that every meal if I let him.

David ordered the menu of the day which was grilled beef with black beans, potatoes, and tortillas.  Here is Ben trying to see if there was anything on his daddy's plate that he wanted to sneak a bite of.  David had stepped away to answer a phone call so Ben jumped on that opportunity. 

The phone call that David had taken was our sweet friend Nelba in Muyurco letting us know that her precious four month old baby (named David) had just passed away.  When David told me the sad news my heart just broke. 

He ended up dropping me and the boys off at home and he made the hour+ drive back up the mountain to be with the family.  Generally people are buried here within 24 hours of their death.  He was able to help them get everything lined up for the funeral.  He did not get back home until after eight that night.  He was tired!

Earlier in the week we had made plans to go to the circus with some friends that evening at six.  They offered to pick us up so the boys and I went.  It was a fun evening for the boys and it got my mind off of the sadness that I was feeling for the family in the village.

my boys ready to enjoy a night at the circus in Chiquimula

The baby's funeral took place on Sunday.  We arrived at their house mid-morning and were there until late in the afternoon.  It is custom here for the families to display the body in their home and have an overnight wake for everyone to come and go.  Many stay all night to be with the family.  The family is responsible to provide food for the guests.  In addition to that the family also had to feed everyone a lunch meal before the service began. They served chicken and rice soup, tortillas, and a red kool-aid drink.  Deaths here can be a huge expense and burden on the families who already have so little.  The actual funeral service did not begin until two in the afternoon.  David led the sermon part of the service and did a great job.  Afterwards we all hiked through the coffee plants on the family's land to the edge of their property where they planned to bury the baby.  David led the burial service also.  They bury above the ground here so some of the men had spent the morning building the concrete tomb for the coffin to be placed in.  We learned a lot about culture that day by being a part of this service. 

We have not attended many funerals in our time here and this was a first to attend one that was so personal.  With the exception of a few missed weeks we have spent every Thursday afternoon in this family's home over the past six months.  We have come to know them and love them.  We drove baby David and his parents home from the hospital when he was just a little less than 24 hours old.  We have watched him grow from birth.  We have loved on his siblings every week and enjoyed watching our boys and them play together.  We have been in this home singing with them, studying the Bible with them, playing with them, and laughing with them.  This time though we cried.  This time it hurt- a lot.  It was like someone close to us had died and we mourned his passing like he was family.  It was a long, hard day and most definitely one of the saddest we have had in our almost nine years of being here.

On a positive note we feel that our bond with this family and the other believers from this area that came to minister to them has been greatly strengthened.  Seeing the body of Christ come together to love on this family was a great testimony to the village.  Our prayer is that God will use this death to bring life to many there that do not have a relationship with Him.  Would you join us in praying for that?  Pray also for this grieving family in the days ahead.  Pray for us as we try to comfort them and offer encouragement to them.  Thanks!