A HONDURAN BIRD IN THE NEST

BY NELLE PETTIT SMITH

Jose labeled them novices.

Mental deficients, was my take, after
observing a birds nest in an orchid
plant hanging high on our patio wall at
our house in Danli. The bird brains
who built it unfortunately picked a
spot to start a family with no shelter
from any of the elements.

Another day, another metaphor for life
in Honduras.

In our work with kids, we spend a lot
of time gathering as many little fledglings as we can into our nests in rural areas of Honduras. We are
currently serving 1500 kids from 19 villages in 6 centers. But our kids spend the vast majority of their
waking and sleeping hours outside of our influence.

Many of our kids homes remind me of that birds nest on our patio, because some of these shacks
they call home leave them almost as exposed and vulnerable. On a deeper level their homes are just
plain unsafe emotionally, psychologically, intellectually, and spiritually. Like the birds, our kids are in
harms way far too often.

From the first moment I spotted them, I
could not stop watching the little birds on
our patio. Their lack of safety and proper
shelter drove me crazy. During the blazing
hot afternoons, every time I looked up,
there were two little heads appearing at
the edge of the nest, beaks wide open,
appearing to gasp for air. Mama Bird was
gone most all day. Too hot for her

Being one to anthropomorphize most any
creature, except a cockroach, my first
thought was these babies were
overheated and desperate to cool off.

After a couple of days of this torture, finally one of the skinny, half-naked little things apparently had
enough and climbed to the edge of the nest. He lingered there for a few minutes peering over the
edge, frying in the sun, teetering, his little mouth agape. And then he did what I feared most. He
jumped and plunged a good ten feet down. Splat!

Thinking the poor thing would be dead
or maimed, I could hardly bring myself
to look until I heard the pathetic
chirping. Spreading his wings, all pinions
with barely any feathering, he tried in
vain to move. I immediately thought of
the verse: Are not two sparrows sold
for a cent? And yet not one of them will
fall to the ground apart from your
Father. But the very hairs of your head
are all numbered. So do not fear; you
are more valuable than many sparrows.
I have to remind myself of this as I worry
about the fate of our Honduran kids

Hearing me scream, Jose ran out and saw the little guy on the ground. He scooped him up and set him
in a plant off of the patio floor. Mama bird, who attended both fledglings up to that point, saw the
little guy on in the plant but never once came down to tend to him.

In our case, it isnt that the kids abandon their home nest. But they do take risks as reckless as the
young bird who jumped. In Honduras it is the parents that abandon their children. Many of the
children we serve are raised by grandparents or distant relatives. A father in the home is a rare
commodity. These days even mothers are leaving their children to find work in the cities or abroad. So
what is going to happen to the children when the grandparents start dying off?

In the case of our little bird, Franklin came to the
rescue, gently placing the little guy back in the
nest. Mama Bird tended him once more.
Thankfully, it rained most afternoons after that. I
never again saw the birds struggle and gasp for
air the way they had in the blazing sun. Less than
9 days after the baking baby bird performed his
death-defying leap, I came down one morning
and spied only one baby in the nest. Looking
around the patio, perched on a low plant, was
one fat, feathered little guy. Mama was eyeing
both of us closely from the balcony above.

As I snapped pictures he soared right in
front of me, landing on a high wall across
the patio. Observing all of this, the other
little guy, probably the one who didnt fare
so well on his last leap, stood at the edge of
the nest and flapped a few times.

Five minutes later he gathered his courage
and took off for the same wall. After a
moment, both flew into the wilds of Danli.
What a thrill it was to see them depart -
both healthy and flying high!

Later that day as we sat on the patio eating
lunch, one of the babies came back and sat
on the wall overhead, calmly observing us. As always, mama bird was close by. Of course, I like to think
it was the one we rescued, coming back to say thank you. I was grateful to see him again.

The lessons I
learned that
trip remain
with me to
this day. How
privileged we
are to be the
hands and
feet of The
One whose
eye is on all
of our little
birds.

What a thrill
it is to help
them into the
safety of our
nest.

And it is an even bigger thrill to watch them fly off to build safe nests for generations of Hondurans to
come.




WORLD RESOURCES GROUP 509 FLAMINGO DRIVE WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA 33401-7201
PHONE 561.758.2198 npsmith@bellsouth.net