It's More Than Killing a Chicken

So yes, I really did kill a chicken with a machete. And I learned a good lesson in the meanwhile: Do not say "I want to learn..." unless you are serious. Last week when I was meeting with our Solohope ladies, I mentioned one day wanting to learn how to kill a chicken. For them, this is part of their normal lives of living in rural Honduras and I genuinely do want to understand their daily lives and routines. However, when I said one day, I did mean it; I just thought that day would be much further away.

Usually we meet at Dilcia's house to work on Solohope projects but yesterday we went to Maribel's house for the first time because Maribel wanted Mera (my translator) and me to "know" her home. After we finished talking about Solohope orders and new products (be excited!), Maribel and Dilcia said "We have the chicken ready for you" only in Spanish. I'm sure my eyes got wide!

I asked for it so here came the chicken and the machete. Let's just say killing a chicken is quite an experience! Maribel and Dilcia and Mera laughed at me so much and I was right there with them kinda in disbelief of what I was doing. (Check out the video at the bottom but I do seriously kill a chicken so be warned!)

Maribel teaching me how to remove the feathers.

But it's more than just killing a chicken. It's about doing life with these women. It's about getting to know them and their stories. What's important to them. What they do and don't do. Like Dilcia told me after I killed the chicken that she can't kill chickens because she's too scared--wait, what?!?!

It's about breaking bread. It's about hearing their heartaches and triumphs. It's about learning what their hopes and dreams are for their children. It's about seeing how Solohope is impacting their lives. And friends, it is impacting their lives.

In the last year, Maribel has added a kitchen onto her home and had a stove installed. Dilcia had her stove installed around the same time. This is huge, y'all! Yeah I know from our American perspective, we may look at this picture below of Maribel's stove and think that's not big deal but it is! Oh, it is! Before, cooking would have been done outside over a fire no matter the weather so think about that for a minute.

A traditional wood stove in Honduras

Truly, it's an honor to work with and get to know these women. Solohope is so much more than bracelets and.....you'll find out soon ;) but it's about the hearts of these women.

Have you purchased your Solohope bracelets? Be a part of something more...something bigger than ourselves. Go to www.solohope.org to place your order.

 

3 Things about this Video!

1. I am not crying; I'm laughing. Probably because of that old saying "I laugh to keep from crying."

2. I am not angry. I am simply trying to quickly put the poor thing out of its misery.

3. I got really Southern--I actually sound like someone from the backwoods.