I had to take my car to the mechanic last week. It was making a noise that sounded like something was loose and rattling in the engine. I also wanted him to check the breaks as they would squeak sometimes.

I called the mechanic that all the gringos use. He is Honduran, but speaks English, and he had already checked out the car for Faber before I bought it.

So he came to the school Wednesday and picked it up.

There are a lot of Honduran moments in this story. The first one being he said he would come pick it up at 8:00....so by about 9:00 I thought I didn't understand or he got busy and isn't coming...but he came at 10:00 and picked it up. No mention about why he hadn't come at 8:00...I think it is just that 10:00 is a Honduran's 8:00.

So he took the car and came back a few hours later to tell me what he had found. The rattle I was hearing was a part to my suspension that was broken (not good!) and he said that the part was very expensive. He told me he needed about 900 limps to get the parts for that, and the brakes, (that is about the same as $50 U.S.), so I gave him 1000 limps.

He called me about 5:00 and told me that the car was ready. Here is a funny story...

I had Annette's truck at my house because I was taking Alysha to the base that night for worship practice and I don't have a pass yet for my car....and the yellow-eyed dog was laying in the street by my house, so I didn't want to walk to get a taxi to go pick up my car....so...

I drove Annette's truck from my house, up the street to her house, parked it in front of her house, walked to the corner of the main blvd., caught a taxi to the school. His house/shop is a few blocks from the school but I knew I would have to kind of feel my way to find his house....it is a house with a black metal door and a gray Nissan parked across the street, I can't tell the taxi driver that. So I got out at the school and then set off on foot. I got there, no problem.

He let me in and began showing me the things he had fixed and replaced and showed me my old parts. He even had one of his young helpers wash my car for me...which was when we discovered my car had been keyed. It was too dirty for me to see it before that.

And as we stood there talking about my car his chickens and roosters wandered around. I wished I could take a picture....it is one of those you have to see it to understand it!

He is very nice, very honest, and in the end after I gave him a little extra because we couldn't make the right change, I paid him for parts and labor 1500 limps (about $80)! He repaired the suspension, put on new brake pads, replaced a seal on the power steering fluid place, added power steering fluid, greased something (I forget), and even washed my car! Now that's a good deal!

Those of you who know me and my family and our car mechanic....we love Darrell at Master Tech, well I have found my Honduran version of Darrell, his name is Omar!