Sunday, April 19, 2015

ENDURANCE: Chicken Buses

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks.  It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God...    - Lamentations 3:25-27

As time goes on, and on, and on I am realizing my life as a missionary is all about endurance.  I'm starting to understand that in those really long, quiet periods God IS working.  I can't see anything but I know He is.  And while I wait for answers to prayers prayed a million times, I will have hope and will continue pressing on.

God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!  He does it not by pushing us around but by working with us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.  - Ephesians 3:20  

So while I continue building my endurance and following God, I wanted to write more about my everyday Honduras.  I wanted to share the parts of life that have become a weird norm for me.  I wanted to share the parts that make me laugh or even sometimes cry.  So here goes.


Chicken Buses

Before I moved to Honduras I had only seen chicken buses in movies.  In movies they always seem to be old school buses with a ton of luggage strapped to their tops.   Their seats are filled with unfriendly looking natives, holding livestock and swatting flies.  Movies make chicken buses look awful.  I had no clue they would become my favorite mode of transportation!

At any time during the day, you can find a bus in Honduras.  There are schedules for these buses somewhere... but you don't need to know them.  All you need to do is ask a local where the bus passes and then you stand there and wait.  These buses can be school buses, coach buses or even little vans.  Their destinations are painted right on the front of their windshields, so you'll know which bus to flag down.

Being car-less here, I've really come to depend on the bus system.  It's amazing how many there are.  The bus station in San Pedro is bigger than any airport in the country!  But travelling by bus in the 3rd world is always an adventure - to say the least.

I've had many Chicken Bus experiences in Honduras but a few still really make me laugh.  And although some of these experiences might have made me cringe during the ride, they were totally worth it. I got from one end of the country to the other for only a few dollars.

One of these memorable rides was on a 6 hour trip.  I was sitting at the back of the bus with my head out the window.  Someone had peed on the floor and puked in the seat in front of me.  The stench was nauseating.  But I had to get home and it wasn't so bad with fresh air hitting my face.

I'm pretty sure this bus was going at least 80 mph down very narrow, 2 lane roads.  The driver ran into large tree branches and even a little roadside hut.  Finally at our destination, I got off the bus with only a few minor cuts and bruises. (With my head out the window I hit what the bus hit.)  The driver got off the bus too, looked at me and proudly asked, "Quick trip right?"

I think they add more rows of seats to these buses because I'm usually squished.  And when the person in front of me reclines their seat its even worse.  But one of these rides was really special.  As our bus rolled slowly through traffic and the sun beat down through my window (that wouldn't open), I was not happy when the seat in front of me reclined.  And as I looked closer I noticed there were also roaches crawling in and out of it, inches from my face.

Just at the very moment I thought I would scream,  I saw a feathery little head peek back at me.  And with that, my bad mood disappeared.  I wanted to thank the little old lady holding the chicken... but instead I snapped a picture.

With Honduran buses there's always room for one more.  Even if that means sitting on someone's lap, standing in the aisle or blowing a tire!  A direct bus can be not-so-direct with a little tip to the driver.  This can turn a 1 1/2 hr ride into 4 hrs, as every person on the bus gets dropped off at their house.  Exiting a bus at night can be tricky because you never know what your going to step in on your way out.  Your flip flop may slip through a pile of vomit...  

You might think I'm crazy but travelling by Chicken Bus is the best way to see a country and its people...very up close and personal.  There's nothing else like it.