Attempted Drive-By Mugging

That's probably not a good title for a blog. Yes, I was involved in an ATTEMPTED Drive-By Mugging (I bet you didn't even know those things existed) but don't worry mom...nothing happened.



I have to share this story mostly because the more I re-told the story, the funnier it became. I'm glad that we're able to laugh about it now. So now that you know that I am safe and my belongings are safe...here's the story.



Tuesday morning 8 am: Betsy, Tacarra (an friend who wanted to come out to see the Villa) and I are in the pickup truck driving out to the Villa. Our bags are tied together in the back and we are sitting in traffic waiting to get onto the highway.



Nothing to be worried about. Betsy was sharing with Tacarra how she came to be a missioary in Honduras, and I was sitting between the two of them, holding Betsy's purse and enjoying the ride. The doors were unlocked, and the windows were opened (but only a couple inches).

Then out of no-where a guy appeared, put his hands on the top of the window and started talking to us. We didn't notice at first because we were having a conversation, but he became more anxious and began to raise his voice until he was yelling "cellulares, cellulares". (cellphones) Then he put his hands inside the car trying to grab at the cellphones (although none of them were withing eye-sight).

Thank God the car in front of us had moved forward, so Betsy slammed the gas and we went flying forward. The man must have been startled because he took off running and didn't return. Thank God for watching over us through all of this. This whole scene took place probably over the course of 25 seconds, but it left us a little paranoid and a little shaken until we were on the highway heading out of town.

The funny part of this all was Betsy's reaction of
"Thank God he didn't grab my head"

Of all the things to give thanks to God for (thank God he didn't have a gun, thank God he didn't take anything out of the pick-up, thank God he was alone, etc) Betsy is giving thanks that this man didn't grab her HEAD.
And secondly, it sends me into fits of laughter imagining what I would have done if he had grabbed her head. How exactly are you supposed to react to that?!

So there's my first "mugging" experience in Honduras (can I really call it that?). Don't worry family and friends, I am completely safe, and I don't expect anymore situations like that one. My biggest worry is that the kids are going to steal my secret stash of sweets!

"I Am A Responsible Adult" And An Errupting Breakfast

Those two things really shouldn't go together.

And yet, here I am writing a blog about them, so here goes.

Yesterday Hae Young went into town for the weekend off, leaving Eduardo (age 20), Miriam (age 19) and me (age 24) alone with the kids. And then we realized that this is the first time that there hasn't been an "adult" at the Villa with us.

When Hae Young was in Korea we either had Rosa (who cooked for us) or Fofo (Elvia's brother-in-law) or some other adult from the ministry.

Not that I don't qualify as an adult...
I know that legally I have been an adult for 6 years and yet I still that I have a lot to learn and a lot more to experience until I can really call myself an adult. So I like to refer to myself still as a "joven" (or a young person) although I think I'm pushing it since that's the term we use to refer to the teenagers here.

So yesterday I jokingly said to Betsy and Hae Young: "no adults at the Villa, let's party!" to which Betsy responded "Katie, you are an adult". She then proceeded to have me repeat "I am a responsible adult, I am a responsible adult" (all in fun of course).

More than capable
Of course I think that we are more than capable. I've been out at the Villa for a year, Ed and Miriam have been here 7 months and nothing is going to happen to us out here. Even if it does, it's only for the weekend :) We've lived through water shortage, no light, food shortage, broken-down cars, etc...I think we can survive a weekend with 9 kids!


Which gets me to the errupting breakfast story. I guess this showcases the "responsible adult" part?

The girls and I decided to make rice and milk (arroz con leche) a few mornings ago. It's very simple. Make the rice, boil the milk, combine the milk, rice, cinnamon, sugar and there you go - yummy breakfast.

Well, Lesli was scooping the rice from one bowl into the pan of milk...one-spoonful-at-a-time...and I was getting impatient so I (being the responsible adult) suggested that she just dump it all in.

Any ideas what happens when a large mass of rice (which is heavy) is dumped into a large pan with about a gallon's worth of hot milk?
Well anyone with basic science knowledge can tell you that the rice displaces the milk, and that the force with which the rice hits the milk makes an EQUAL AND OPPOSITE reaction.

So you can image my surprise when the milk literally errupted (up and then down) causing a HUGE mess on the kitchen counters, floors and of course all the people in the kitchen.

The girls looked at me, I burst out laughing and then like any responsible adult, I threatened discipline on any of the girls who told Hae Young what had happened.

I guess the secrets out now.

So there you have it: Katie Hutjens. Missionary. Chef-in-training. Responsible Adult.

La Quincenera

Anyone who is familiar with Hispanic customs knows that a girl's quincenera (15th birthday) is a very big deal.

So of course we had to have a big celebration for Angie on her 15th birthday. Being away from your family on your birthday can be difficult, and even more so when it's a big birthday like this. But no worries, Angie was celebrated and spoiled on her special day.

Here are some pictures that I just have to share, she was beautiful!




Miriam, Mari, and me all getting Angie ready for her celebration.

Ready to go...look at that smile!



Angie and me at the end of the day. Honestly, she smiled like this ALL day long!

I love this picture. This is when we're all singing to Angie before she blows out the candles. But she and Sara are so happy in this picture. What fun!