It has been so good to be back in Honduras and at the same time it has been quite frustrating. In three days I have found out someone we care about deeply lost a job they had for 12 years, others have not been able to find work at all. There are daily protests as the country continues to become polarized and divided over the conflict it is embroiled in. The poor continue to be the ones that are suffering more than anyone. I keep hoping we will see an end to the conflict soon so that the tension everyone feels will begin to subside. There is so much propaganda and shoddy reporting here and elsewhere that it impossible to get a feel for what is real and what is not. The demonstrators can't seem to do it in a way that doesn't disturb the rest of us. I guess that is their point... to create some chaos. Then they scream "oppression" when the cops have to use tear gas to move them out of the roads or from in front of the malls or schools. It has been easy to avoid them as our travel in the city is limited to just a few places... the store, the warehouse/mi esperanza center, and a few of the communities we work in. we have not run into any problems or had any difficulty doing what we need to do.

we'll keep you posted.