This is the fifth attempt at telling the story of our visit to the Tolupan tribe. I am not sure why this is so hard but I am haunted by the hunger and desperation of this people. One of the women came down from another village high in the mountains because her husband, mother and father have died. She has a tiny infant. She came to stay with her brother and his family. She looked like a refugee from a concentration camp. So hunger and weak she could not hold up her head to look at you. We gave her what food we had and I pray it will do until Reed can return with more food. It is hard to imagine this kind of hunger.
The Tolupan are farmers. They used to hunt with blow guns but there are very few game animals left in Honduras. The land is difficult to farm due to the location in the mountains. The men get up at 2 to 3 am each each morning to go to their fields which are high up in the mountains, 2 to 3 hours away. If the crops fail, as they often do, they are in trouble. They have few tools, a few shovels, a few axes and a mattock and a strait metal tool on a long handle that digs, turns the soil and weeds. They are extremely talented with a machete and can fashion anything from wooden plates to spoons to wheelbarrows.
They are more than 50 miles from the nearest paved road. There are 5 or so rivers to ford if they aren't to swollen during the rainy season. They aren't near anything but the mountain and forest. They have been pushed away much like our own treatment of our native people. They raise coffee for money and make beautiful necklaces from seeds they polish. They also make the most beautiful baskets of all shapes and sizes they call canastas.
There is a school in the village and a church and a medical clinic that is seldom staffed. The Chief of the village, Cipriano who is 111 years old went in because he fell and hurt his neck and his hand is numb and upper arm very painful. He was given some tablets that are used to treat blood pressure!
We were greeted on our arrival by all of the village's women and children. We were surrounded by these tiny beautiful people and offered hugs and kisses. Smiles all around. The people are so sweet and kind. We went around and visited Cipriano to pay our respects and ask permission to be here. He was kind and gracious and glad to see us. He was very animated with twinkling eyes lots of talk. He has been chief of this village since 1955. As we walked we were welcomed into each mud home with honor. We were offered the best seat. The few men not in the fields were either too old or too injured to work. Not all are starving but all are hungry.
That night we had church and Reed showed the The Story of Jesus. It was the first movie many had seen. They enjoyed it very much. The church was packed. The pastor said a prayer in Tol, their native language which is related to the Sioux language of the Western U.S. Many older Tolupan speak this and very limited Spanish. Most of the younger speak Spanish.
On the second day we visited some more homes and tried to buy necklaces or canastas from each family. This would give them some money to get buy until we can get more food to them.
The container of fortified rice that Reed purchased from FEEDING THE NATIONS is in Puerta Cortes being held up by the Honduran government for what I'm sure is more money. Reed, Kerry his father, Allan and I went to Honduras' version of Sams Club yesterday to buy beans and rice to last them until the container is released. Hopefully it won't be too late.
There is so much more I could say about the Tolupan, but I am afraid that words fail me. The images that are etched in my mind trouble me. I held the sweet, beautiful children. They played with my white beard and hair. They looked at me with looks that I see now when I close my eyes. I'm not sure what the answer is to help them. Reed is trying to nourish their bodies and their souls, but I am afraid that nourishing their bodies may take precedence for now. I think getting the rice container with it's over 270,000 meals is a great first step. It will get them on their feet until their fields start to produce. We can help with our prayer and support of Reed's ministry, FOR HIS KINGDOM MISSIONS.
I am always humbled when I come to Honduras. Emmanuel has a way of doing that to us. But the Tolupan visit not only humbled me, but it shamed me. We waste more food every day than a Tolupan has in a week. We have so much. In a country like Honduras, which is desperately poor, the Tolopan are off the grid completely. I will try to be a much better steward of what our glorious Lord has given me!
