be present | be love

Peeps Met In 2010, 2011, 2012

For the past few years I have written the names of people I meet in the last pages of my journal. I write the date I met them, their name and a few facts about them that I discovered in our brief or lengthy interaction. Here is that list:

 

04.08.12 – Alex. Met her at church. She is living here helping to run Rio Coco Cafe for a few months. She has a blog, so go check it out. Fun girl.

04.08.12 – Alex. Another girl I met at church and she is running Rio Coco Cafe with the other Alex. I actually met her almost a year ago, but she is now living on the island. Fun girl.

04.08.12 – Elise. Cassaundra. From Ontario, Canada. Met them at church. They saved for 2 years to come and live here and love on the children of Utila. They don’t know how long they will be here, but they are trusting that God will show them. Check out Elise’s blog.

03.30.12 – John & Nicole. From New Hampshire. John worked as chief engineer on a boat with Roberto, a Utilian. Roberto offered them his vacant house on Utila if they ever wanted to vacation here. We chatted with them on the street as we watched the Upco electrician work in the dark to fix the source of the island’s power outage. Very nice couple.

03.30.12 – Glenda. Daughter of Johnny (Johnny’ Water). Friendly and helpful. I asked if she’d be willing to teach a crafting project to our kids on Saturdays. She is very creative and showed me an Easter basket she made out of a plastic soda bottle.

03.20.12 – Peggy. Niece of Lupe.

03.18.12 – Rich and Michael. Father and son. Have a house on Utila. Michael was on Spring break. Their family has been coming here for the past 5  years.

03.15.12 – Sheldon and Maria. Uncle and aunt of Toinette (friend and Utilian).He owns a pharmacy in New York. They love to travel and have a home in Italy. Lovely couple.

03.15.12 – CJ and Tania. Parents of Toinette. Own Coral View Resort on the island.

03.03.12 – Gloria. Lovely lady that visited our church. From the mainland and was only visiting her daughter on the island.

02.11.12 – Phoebe & Aesha. Darling sisters that came to our Saturday English class. Their mama owns La Piccola restaurant on the island.

2.22.12 – Sharon & Bruce. Owners of Driftwood Cafe on the island.

2.22.12 – Kenny & Kathy. Married for 35 years. He lives here. She runs a new business in Louisiana.

2.20.12 – Barry & Val. From Canada and vacated here for a month. Visited our church. Lovely couple and they loved the island.

2.20.12 – Serena. Lucinda (Lefty). Heddy. Sonja. Shannon. Donna. Bri. Carmela. Island peeps that I met and play volleyball with every Sunday. Good volleyball and tons of laughs!

02.18.12 – Tessa. Works in Toinette’s store under her house.

02.18.12 – Tamir. Semir. Toinette’s beautiful and sweet children.

02.1.12 – Mitch. Julie. Trinity. Nina (Katarina). Family who owns Alton’s Dive Shop and they flew back with us from La Ceiba. Mitch is German. Julie is Canadian. Their girls were absolutely delightful and we got along fantastically!

2.1.12 – Josefina. From Austin, TX. Flew to La Ceiba with her. She just dropped her daughter off at UDC to get her divemaster.

1.23.12 – Ichiro & Lynne. Good friends of Jeanne from Seattle that came to visit us. Absolutely loved them.

1.19.12 – Heather & Luna. An island friend’s sister and niece visiting from Canada. Lovely mama and baby!

1.17.12. – Gido. Immigration officer from Tegucigalpa.

1.17.12 – Halcyan. Utilian lady who works at the Post Office.

1.14.12 – Donia. Ashton’s mama. Ashton is a 4-yr old little Utilian boy who visits me whenever I am at the church.

1.7.12 – Ashton. 4 years old. Utilian boy. Loves to visit me whenever I’m at the church and he brings me all the crabs he’s found.

1.5.12 – Rachel. Owner of Sands clothing store here on the island. Has lived here 4 years.

1.5.12 – Jeff. Owns Utila Real Estate Company. American. Businessman on the island. You can order imported, bulk food through him.

1.1.12 – Logan. Darren. Trent. Local boys that came to church this morning.

12.31.11 – Eric. Laura. Taylor. Morgan. Friends of Jeanne’s from Seattle. All are divers. Taylor learned to free dive while on the island. A few years ago they traveled the world for 9 months as a family. Fun family!

12.31.11 – Roger & Loretta. Lovely couple that live on the island. Loretta is the vet on the island.

12.31.11 – “Svetla”. I think that was her name. From Poland but lives in Belgium. Has a house here on Utila.

12.11.11 – Joanna. Sister of a good friend. She visited the island and came to church. She lives on Long Island, NY.

12.2.11 – Tito. Honduran who works at the La Ceiba ferry dock for Utila. Big jolly guy who works hard.

12.2.11 – Carlos. Taxi driver in La Ceiba that we hired for the entire day while running errands in the city. It is better to have one taxi driver that you know and trust than to always hail a cab off the street.

12.2.11 – Mario. Honduran Pastor of a very poor community in La Ceiba. Helps out at the compound listed below.

12.2.11 – Evelyn. Lives and manages a compound in La Ceiba. On the compound is a ministry for troubled young girls. There is also a storage unit that is used for donations coming from the USA to be distributed to several ministries throughout Honduras. Warm and friendly woman.

12.2.11 – Del. Leonard’s (see below) son-n-law who also helps with their outreaches.

12.2.11 – Leonard Jones. American who left the States to help those in need in Honduras. Moved here with his family and runs ROC Ministry. Invited me to their orphanage and photograph their kids. He is joyful and fatherly.

11.30.11 – Prab. British girl I met walking to the ferry dock at 5:45 am. Traveling through Central America to South America. Lovely to talk to while waiting for the ferry to go over to La Ceiba.

11.29.11 – Arturo. Boat captain on Utila. One of the best here. Asked him his cost for taking a group of 6 to Cayos Cochinos for a day. $300 for the day. 1.5 hour each way.

11.20.11 – Victor. Mathi’s big brother. Half French, half Dutch. Born on Utila. Mom runs Camilla’s Bakery.

11.20.11 – Rena, Electra and Hailey. Mom and two daughters visiting island. From FL, USA.

11.20.11 – Trinity. Little girlfriend of Electra and Hailey.

11.8.11 – Ronnie. Visited CCU Bible Study. From the States. Building a house on Utila.

11.6.11 – Kimberly. Visited our church. On the island for a few months while her husband gets certified as a dive master.    They are from CO, USA.

11.6.11 – Kirsten. Friend of Andreas, CCU pastor, from Germany. Visited Utila for one day.

11.6.11 – Bruce. Lives on the island. Visited CCU.

11.6.11 – Heidi. Friend of Andreas from Switzerland. Helps run Casa Girasol in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

11.1.11 – Eduardo. Little boy who plays on church porch, but doesn’t come in to learn English.

11.1.11 – Walter. Eduardo’s big brother.

10.31.11 – J.J. Caretaker of church building.

10.30.11 – Ivan. Baby brother of Vanessa. Son of Patti. Beautiful eye lashes.

10.30.11 – Tara. Owner of Gunther’s Eco Marine Dive Shop. Daughter of Arnie and Susie, my Irish friends.

10.30.11 – Melvin. Visited Calvary Chapel Utila one Sunday morning.

10.30.11 – Patti. Mama of Vanessa. Runs Gunther’s Eco Marin Dive Shop kitchen.

10.29.11 – Isabella, Vanessa, Mathi, Oceana, Xixamary, Tawnmary, Geneva. Young girls of the island that I teach English to every Saturday. Bright, cheery, lovable girls.

10.28.11 – Neil. Owner of Jade Seahorse. Wears a beanie everywhere.

10.24.11 – Linda. From AZ. Lives on Utila. Met in a grocery isle of Bush’s Supermarket.

10.20.11 – Selma. Works at Hondutel office here on the island. Sings at Mizpah Methodist Church on the island.

10.20.11 – Mayon. Owner of Rivera’s Supermarket and Rivera’s Commercial on Utila.

10.20.11 – Archie. Owner of Archie’s on Utila. We buy our propane from him. They deliver…propane that is.

10.17.11 – America. Waitress at Bundu Cafe on Utila. Collects perfume.

10.15.11 – Juana. Clerk at Bush’s Supermarket. Mother of 4 children. Utilian.

10.15.11 – Freddy and Rose. Built the only tennis court on the island. Sweetest couple. Told us to come play whenever.

On a 3 month visit back to Seattle, WA:

08.14.11 – Sibella Giorello. Author of several books. Met her in a cafeteria at a youth camp for Mars Hill. I was picking up my nephews and she was picking up her sons. We hit it off and have become long-distance friends. Friendly, refreshing woman.

08.12.11 – Minji. From South Korea. Met her at a soccer camp we were both working at for youth. Delightful girl.

08.12.11 – Garrick. Met him at a soccer camp for youth. He was a counselor for the boys.

08.12.11 – Jake. Also met  him at the soccer camp. We shared a common interest: playing the drums.

08.10.11 – Michael. Aaron. Clay. Alli. Eliana. Anthony. Alex. CJ. Keann. Vigh. Shianne. Joey. Austin. Just a handful of kids I coached at Heavenly Goals Soccer Camp at Camp Berachah in WA.

08.01.11 – Rick. Husband of a friend in Seattle.

07.31.11 – Mary and Joann. Met them at Embassy Bible Fellowship. They were visiting and Mary sang a beautiful song.

07.31.11 – Jack. Met him at Embassy Bible Fellowship.

07.30.11 – Michael and Jason. Couple I met on a hike at Mt Rainier, WA. From Boston. Jason is a Junior high teacher and Michael owns a hair salon. Talked about all aspects of life descending the hike.

07.15.11  – Kelly Owens. Author of  “Can You Imagine”. Sat next to him on airplane from FL to AZ. Sweet, beautiful man.

07.15.11 –  Sandy. Sat next to her on flight from Phoenix to Seattle. Going on cruise with husband, daughter and granddaughter to AL. She and her husband take her daughter and granddaughter on a vacation every year to places where they all learn something new.

On the island of Utila, Honduras:

07.12.11 – Lee. Husband of Donna. Lovely couple.

07.10.11 –  Donna. Mom of Chris who owns the library. From Oregon, USA. Has a home here on Utila.

06.14.11 – Bucket. That’s his nickname. Works with AHMEN. Charismatic and jovial man. Comes to Honduras every year and leads teams who volunteer doing medical brigades.

05.22.11 – Jose. Pastor of a small Spanish church in the poorest part of the island of Utila. Father of 4. Likes learning English, but knows very little.

05.22.11 – Nelda. Daughter of a friend on the island. Helps translate for me when I am helping at the above mentioned church.

05.29.11 – Angelo and Mary. Americans who live here on the island. Angelo owns Island Air. We all go to church together on the island. Angelo does the praise and worship at our church – Calvary Chapel Utila. Lovely couple.

05.29.11 – Andreas and Carmela. He is Swiss and she is Filipino. Married for about 3 years. Came to Utila to start a church (Calvary Chapel Utila).

05.29.11 – Brent and Doris. Live on the island. She is Honduran and he is American. They attend Calvary Chapel Utila also.  Lovely couple.

Short Trip to Guatemala during Semana Santa:

04.14.11 – Julie. Dylan. Luca. Mom and two sons from Michigan, USA, traveling through Central America. We met them on the Hedman Alas bus from San Pedro Sula to Copán. We all ended up staying at Hotel Marjenny. Julie was really sick, so we took her sons to dinner that evening and in the morning took them to get breakfast so she could rest. Sweet mama and fun boys.

04.15.11 – Michael. Journalist from Labrador, Canada. Great guy and great company. We walked all around Antigua with him. He had the smallest room in our hostel. Was traveling to Panama after Guatemala. When he is done with this trip he is headed back to Labrador to build his cabin in the woods.

04.15.11 – Ralph. From Boston, MA. Volunteer at Casasito for 3 months. Lively and entertaining. Great guy. Showed us to the market and the safe bank machines.

04.15.11 – Yair and Marcela. Lovely, friendly engaged couple. Yair is from Israel. Marcela is from Spain. Really, really enjoyed these two. Yair is learning to play Spanish music on the guitar. Marcela is passionate about the education of kids in developing countries and has a great blog (e4dp) about education development in Guatamala.

04.18.11 – Toni. Guatemalan lady who happened to be in the optometry shop when I went in to inquire of getting new glasses. She spoke great English and helped translate for us. Her mother houses people who come to Antigua to learn Spanish. There are many language institutions here and it’s one of the primary industries of Antigua.

04.18.11 – Rolando. Volcano tour guide that we ran into on the street. Spoke great English.

04.22.11 – 5 Guatemalan police officers. I was taking pictures on the hill of Cerro de la Cruz and they asked in Spanish (and hand motions) if I would take their individual pictures for them. And so I did and then we exchanged emails so I could get them there pics.

04.23.11 – Amanda. American from Boston. Works for Casasito. Boyfriend is Swiss. Hooked us up for some great sites in Antigua. Helped me with getting the right medicine when I got sick. Such a sweet girl. Obviously loved her job!

04.23.11 – Danielle and Nicole. Two American girls living in Antigua and working at different NGO’s. They were in and out of Casasito so I got to know them. Lovely and brave girls. Both spoke beautiful, fluent Spanish.

04.16.11 – Alice. Wonderful and kind lady who heads up Casasito. Check out the story of how she started it. She is one of those people who see’s a need and does whatever to meet it the best way possible, specifically the best way for the culture where the need is.

04.20.11 – Greg. Husband of Alice who runs Casasito. Played ultimate frisbee with him. Great guy.

04.24.11 – Danny. Michelle. Jeremy. Reinhard. Ultimate frisbee group. While in Antigua, I played ultimate frisbee with these fun peeps. All had unique stories of why they were in Antigua. 3 Americans and 1 German. It was 85 degrees outside. Great workout!

04.26.11 – Elizabeth Bell. Tour guide specialist of Antigua, Guatemala. Full of facts and has also published many books about Antigua. I went to her “Behind the Walls” slideshow presentation of Antigua. She is a great presenter.

04.27.11 – Doug and Aileen. Pastors from Canada. Met them in Cafe Barista in Antigua, Guatemala. They frequently go to Antigua to encourage other church pastors in the Antigua area. Sweet folks.

04.27.11 – Jacob. Lives and volunteers at Casasito. From California. Really nice guy.

04.30.11 – Wendy. American who works at Villa Sumaya.

05.01.11 – Sarah and Shona. British girls vacationing at Villa Sumaya. Both are lawyers. They were the only other guests at Villa Sumaya with us. Very nice girls.

05.01.11 – Dan. American living in Santa Cruz. Built an eco-friendly castle. Did a ionic detox foot treatment on me. Very interesting. Lives in Santa Cruz for 6 months out of the year and Arizona the other half. Bought his land for $2500. Lives in US for 6 months just to make enough to live the other half in Santa Cruz on Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.

05.01.11 – Josh. American working at Villa Sumaya. Handsome and nice.

05.02.11 – Chansac and Casey. Two guys living with Dan (mentioned above). Casey is American.

05.03.11 – Pedro. Tour guide. Birder. Photographer. Met him at Villa Sumaya at Lake Atitlán, Guatemala. Friendly and full of information.

05.04.11 – Gaeto. Brother of Angel (below). He was on a vacation with Sotos and Angel. Very nice gentleman.

05.04.11 – Sotos and Angel. Couple from Montreal but living in FL. Sotos is Greek and  is a photographer. Angel helps him in his business. I met them on a van trip from Pana to Antigua. Lovely couple and they highly recommended getting Lightroom for my photography editing program. I took their advice.

05.04.11 – Taylor. American doing a volunteer project at Casasito in Antigua, Guatemala.

05.04.11 – Marina. Nice Spanish lady that worked at Casa Luna in Antigua, Guatemala.

05.05.11 – Edgar. Welchez Coffee Plantation tour guide in Copán Ruinas, Honduras.

05.05.11 – Jessica. Owner of Picame Restaurant. She also runs a small travel agency in Copán Ruinas, Honduras. She made our time in Copán great! Very friendly and helpful. Picame had wonderful, fresh, healthy food.

05.04.11 – Mario. Owner of Casa Luna in Antigua, Guatemala. Quaint, quiet and clean hostel. Very friendly and helpful.

04.14.11 – Tilo. German guy who spent a total of one night on Utila and hated it. He was complaining the entire boat ride (1 hour) to La Ceiba.

04.13.11 – Bita. Works in a gift shop here on the island. Friendly and sweet lady.

04.09.11 – Eduardo. Worker on the freight boat, Utila Express. Helped me get some boxes off the boat.

04.12.11 – Sterritt, Bob, Jim. saw them walking out on the beach and they were headed toward town. I offered them a ride in the golf cart and they accepted. All 3 were Americans vacationing again at Laguna Beach Resort. They were hilarious!

04.04.11 – Eileen and Roger. Visiting Utila after their son got married in Honduras.

03.29.11 – Richard and Sharmane. Owners of Delcos hardware store on Utila.

03.26.11 – Kim. Goes diving with Fred our neighbor and we see her almost every morning. Nice girl. Likes to dive but not with a full dive boat of people.

03.26.11 – Felicia. A Swedish girl doing an internship at Laguna Beach Resort for 6 weeks.