Scheduling the Unexpected

Are you a planner by nature? If so, you might want to avoid moving to Honduras anytime soon. In Honduras, the mentality is more, “Plans? Who needs plans? Calendars with schedules written out months in advance? Bah!  Carpe diem! Live for the moment.” This is not a shortcoming. It’s simply a cultural difference. Trish recently got to experience a bit of this cultural difference, firsthand.

Trish normally takes a bus to visit Ben at school on weekends. Lately, her weekends have been filled with ministry duties, so she carved out time on Tuesday to pay Ben a visit. Tuesday morning, Allen drove Trish to the bus station and the adventure began.

As mentioned in that riveting opening paragraph, Hondurans are not known planners. That extends to school schedules. As shocking as it may seem to us, there is NO PLANNED SCHOOL SCHEDULE. When will school be out for the year? Who knows? When are the vacation days? Who knows? When will report cards come out? Sometime before the end of school (whenever that may be!) - hopefully! It’s all very whimsical. This is not poor organization on the part of Ben’s school. This is simply how schools in Honduras operate.

On Tuesday, Trish had been visiting with Ben for about a half hour when the principal announced that on Wednesday - the very next day - classes would be canceled for the rest of the week, and students could go home for that time! Carpe vacation! Now, it’s not quite as crazy as it sounds (though goodness knows it does sound a bit crazy to those of us in the U.S.). Students who live close enough to school can go home for a few days. Students who live too far to make it home can remain on campus. Trish got permission for Ben to leave campus that afternoon and travel with her, rather than waiting until Wednesday morning.

Trish and Ben went to Ben’s dorm room and hurriedly packed. Clothes? Check. Toothbrush? Check. Tiny orphaned kitten being raised by Ben? Check. Cardboard box with holes poked in it for tiny orphaned kitten being raised by Ben to travel in? Check. Bandages for the scratches received by a tiny orphaned kitten who wanted no part in riding in a box… Well, you get the idea.

The traveling trio boarded the first of three buses required for the trip home. No one was in a box. The kitten rode in Ben’s lap and lapped water from his hand. Because of road repairs, the trip was extra fun! For the longest time, the road to Ben’s school has consisted more of potholes than road. While repairs are being made, big sections of the road are down to one lane, resulting in long construction delays.

This whimsical, unplanned trip home for Ben is a huge blessing for the Sowers family. Trish is about to leave for the U.S. and she thought the short visit at his school on Tuesday would be the last time she would see Ben until November. Now, they get to enjoy an extended visit. And, I’m told there’s a good chance they’ll also get to enjoy some of Ben’s famous homemade pizza. Carpe pizza! Sometimes whimsy has its advantages!

 - posted by Christi