Step Two: Visiting FOBF State-side

On Thursday, August 30th, I visited the Friends of Barnabas House in Midlothian, VA. I had been expecting some sort of an office building but was surprised to find a lovely little yellow house sitting on an acre of open space.

Sign in front yard

FOBF Office from across the street

In fact, in February of this year the Foundation DID move from a somewhat more office-like setting. Well, a close second to an office building: a local nursing home. From what I gathered, the home had allowed them to use a few old rooms so they had been hanging out there until they secured this fabulous house on Stigall Drive! Besides the added space and comfort, the house has beautiful wooden floors. The staff has decorated the inside with these breathtaking pictures of Honduran children that the previous intern (a photo-journalist) took some time back. The photos are housed in plain, wooden frames, still a bit rough around the edges. On one wall in the living room is a huge map of Honduras. And, it actually has the small town of Peña Blanca, where the Barnabas House is located. To think, in three weeks I'll be seeing that town in person! I've added a lesser version of that map for your enjoyment. Of course, this map DOESN'T have Peña Blanca, but to orient you, we fly into San Pedro Sula and then ride over to the Lake Yojoa area. There are some finger lakes that lie east of the lake--in the early part of the year we will be traversing those lakes on boat to service the villages that lie beyond. Our barracks will be the dam's dormhouse (where the engineers stay).

If you look again at the landscape photo, you'll notice a small, garage-like building to the left of the house. This is the newly built storage and processing area, equipped with shelves for medicines and eyeglasses and tables for sorting the whole lot. Rev. Cook proudly introduced his novel idea for weighing the black supply duffel bags. If you look just to the right of the middle of the picture, you'll see a diagonal stick. This stick is attached to the ceiling and has a hook with spring scale on one end and a pulley-rope on the other. One simply has to attach the duffel to the spring scale and then pull on the rope to lift the bag a couple of inches off the ground. Such an effort is rewarded with a weight estimate. (Much better than lifting 50 lbs. bags, wouldn't you say?)

Fully insulated stockroom

After touring around, I spent a couple of hours in the morning chatting with Erin. It was gratifying finally to meet the person with whom I've been corresponding for 1/2 a year! As we were talking, Rev. Cook poked his head in the room to relay some information. He showed me photos fresh off his digital camera--he had just returned the night before. Thus, I was able to "meet" some of the staff. As we were talking, he hopped up and retrieved a framed photo of the Barnabas compound. He detailed nearly every inch of it and left me wondering if I'd remember it all.

During this information session, Rev. Cook announced (to Erin and myself, news to both of us)that my living quarters would be upgraded to a "suite." Originally, I was going to move into Danilo's (the Master Gardener) room. He would have had to vacate the room first (duh) and move into an empty room in the clinic. Then, on this past trip, Rev. Cook stayed in one of the rooms in Alfredo's house and decided it was perfect. It has an armoire, a table, a bed, and a private bath. And, I'll have easy access to the kitchen and the computer room! I'm not complaining in the least bit, even though I realize I probably would have never known the difference =)

I left with electric-blue t-shirt in hand. The shirt is my ticket to meeting the rest of the 14 in Atlanta on the 22nd of September!