I may be clear out of my area, but I have to say this. I have lived in Honduras since 2009, minus one year in Costa Rica. If you come here, you are given a 90 day visa. If you overstay that visit you will have to pay a fine. I don't know what will happen past that. And I'm not planning to find out. You can get a residency card, but that too, has to be updated at the proper time or once again, you pay a fine.  And the fine depends on the amount of time that you are over due. You can pay for extra time while waiting on your residency.  

So why am I talking about this? Because I'm tired of hearing all the stuff about the border of the USA.  Every country has it's borders. If you go from one Central American country to another, you better have your passport, ID card, or whatever you have to prove who you are in order to enter their country.   Every Honduran that I know has an ID card with their picture, number, and whatever else is required by the government. Becky and I decided after leaving Choluteca, Southern HN, that we would go to El Salvador just to be going. Well, we didn't have our passports and we weren't allowed to enter except for turning around to head back from where we came. So why is the US supposed to be different and let anybody come in at any time for whatever reason, and there are basically no consequences to be had?

Most Hondurans that I know believe the migrants are out of their minds. I heard that 36 people left their jobs at one of the big banks in Tegucigalpa to join the caravan.  I thought, well there's 36 jobs for somebody. And do any of these people in the caravan look like their starving or are naked? And the babies and the kids? It is not President Trump's fault that these children have died. IT'S the PARENTS fault!!! Parents are responsible for the care of their children.  Would not a parent be 

charged with endangerment or maybe even manslaughter if they did that in the US? I don't know all the legal terms or laws, but I know that a parent would be charged with something in the US. 

I can only speak about what I have experienced here and observed. And I'm speaking in general terms about some things. Most Hondurans only obey laws when they want to do so. Most don't trust police because they don't obey the laws either.  And they don't listen very well at all! So when President Trump said, Don't come! They didn't listen or pay attention. My personal opinion is that if they don't obey the laws in their own country, why would they obey ours? I learned this past year that most Hondurans don't know their constitution. One of my adult students was shocked when I told her that I had a copy of the US Constitution. 

Another problem that I have seen is that children aren't taught to think! They aren't taught to evaluate, analyze, or to think individually. Most school work is done in groups. We all know that in a group, depending on its size, only one or two people actually work and the rest copy. And most don't want to read. If you find a reader here, it's like finding a real treasure.  The same with a person that tells the truth. Lying is common and a way of life.  So why am I here?  Because the Lord sent me here, and I really do like living here. You learn who to trust for whatever and who not to trust.  Those that speak and do truth become good friends.

So this has been my Vesuvius, and I feel better!

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear...

So here we are at another, almost, new year.  And what will it bring? Who knows? Only the Lord. And I'm so glad that he has it all.  A reason not to have fear.

Why am I talking about fear? Because about two weeks ago, I was robbed again! That makes five times since being in Central America! Once at Chili's in Tegucigalpa, once at the church in Costa Rica, once at my other house here in Valle, and two times in this house. I decided that I must be a very popular person. How crazy! But how do you know you're not scared unless something happens? 

When my house was robbed here in March, I was at a meeting at church. So I just saw the effects of the robbery. After that happened, my landlord had razor wire installed on the cement block wall that surrounds my house. It feels like a prison, because you can't see outside the wall unless you open the little or big gates used to enter and leave my property.  I do have a doorbell on the outside wall. At most homes here you just holler "Buenos" or "Hola".  There have been times where somebody will ring it as they're walking by. So unless I see somebody through the grate, I don't go to the gate. So on this particular night, it rang and I didn't  see anybody. After a while, it was rang two more times with nobody there. The fourth time, it was nonstop. So I decided to open my door to say something to whomever. Well, I opened by wooden door, and then I unlocked the security door. And when I had opened it a few inches, a man grabbed my hands and shoved me, gently, back into my house. He had a nice long butcher knife pointed at me. I was startled when someone grabbed my hands, and I thought-well, so much for the razor wire. The young man demanded my money. So I gave him what was in my wallet. There was a little more than $150 because I had gone to the ATM earlier that day. He just kept pointing that knife at me. I had no fear. I was very clam, and I kept thinking what kind of pain was I going to have if he used it on me.  And would he use it only one time or more. He told me to sit down on a dining room chair. Ok. But he was really nervous. And then I thought that maybe I would be  going to go see my son that had passed away in September.  No fear there.  He took my cell phone and then picked up my computer. I told him in Spanish to please don't take my computer because I needed it for my job and to communicate with my kids in the states. PTL, he set it back down and went outside. He told me to close the door and don't call the police. I obeyed!! I walked around my yard the next morning and sure enough, he had opened a place in the razor wire in one of the corners in my back yard.  I called my pastor who was in Tegus.The police arrived later with a brother from the church. They couldn't do anything. However, they came by several times in the following days to check on me. My landlord and my pastor both told me that I needed to move. My landlord's wife said it was just an idea but I could move to the house that they just finished building two doors down. When I asked what was the difference, both my pastor and landlord said that there would be neighbors on three sides of me, whereas now there is only one. I know that everybody in Valle knows who I am and where I live. I'm the gringa that teaches English and have lived here for eight years. And with walls around all, who's going to hear or see anything? And of course, there were actually two guys involved in this last robbery. One at the gate ringing the bell, and the other right outside my door.  I don't like the thought of moving again but will wait and see. 

Why didn't I have fear? Because Jesus told me that he would never leave me or forsake me. He is with me by his Holy Spirit all the time! People look a little embarrassed when I say that he is with me when I go to bed, when I go to town, when I go to the bathroom, when I take a shower, etc. He is with me everywhere all the time. A year or so ago, Cristofer, a teacher at the school, asked me what was my favorite verse in the Bible. I said all of them! I asked for his and he gave me Phil.4:13 that says I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. But that night I got to thinking about his question to me. Mine is that he, Jesus, will never leave me nor forsake me, Heb.13:5. That promise is repeated in several places in the scriptures. So what do I have to fear? Nothing can happen to me without God's express permission. And when it's my time to die, I'm going to die and  I won't be alone. He will be with me, Ps.23.   

So why did it happen? I don't have a clue. Maybe to reinforce my faith in him being always with me. I don't know and that's ok because I know that he knows. And as long as I know that, ALL is well.

Grace and peace.