EXTRA: Time Change Weekend
6:51 AM
As I read reminders posted by our friends in the States to turn back their clocks for Daylight Savings, I can't help but laugh and think back...
Our first year on the field, we found out that Honduras did not "spring forward" and "fall back" as we were accustomed. But in 2006, Honduran Congress had passed a law to institute Daylights Savings Time for the very first time. Since the sun comes up here around 5:15, we were very much in favor of the decision; others, however, felt quite differently.
We soon found that many Hondurans simply didn't understand this foreign concept. A woman on the news complained that "the children will have to get up an hour earlier for school every day! They'll be so tired!" Others were upset that they would "now being going to work at 5AM instead of 6AM!" Demonstrations were held to oppose the new law.
We made more visits than usual that Saturday before the time change. If people in the States miss church because of time change, what would happen here? We were afraid our small Bible study would be deserted. We spent almost an hour at one woman's house, who told us she would not be coming the next day because of the time change. "I have to get up at 3AM and change all the clocks! I'll be so tired!"
"No, no," we tried to explain. "Just change them when you go to bed!"
"But the newspaper said you have to change them at 3AM! That's when the time change is!"
After arguing back and forth for quite awhile, we realized we were getting nowhere.
Time Change Sunday did finally happen, but many simply refused to comply. Now we were forced to distinguish "New time or old time?" for every appointment. There were large-scale protests all over the country. It was all very confusing. We were scheduled to host a Medical Brigade the next month, and the school administrator lamented, "Well, this changes everything! Now the clinic will be from 7-3 instead of 8-4!" We tried once again in vain to explain that the time did not actually change every day, but our explanations fell on deaf ears.
Thankfully, Congress repealed the law to institute Daylight Savings, and we are back to waking up with the birds at 5:15. Trust me, I'm not complaining!
Our first year on the field, we found out that Honduras did not "spring forward" and "fall back" as we were accustomed. But in 2006, Honduran Congress had passed a law to institute Daylights Savings Time for the very first time. Since the sun comes up here around 5:15, we were very much in favor of the decision; others, however, felt quite differently.
We soon found that many Hondurans simply didn't understand this foreign concept. A woman on the news complained that "the children will have to get up an hour earlier for school every day! They'll be so tired!" Others were upset that they would "now being going to work at 5AM instead of 6AM!" Demonstrations were held to oppose the new law.
We made more visits than usual that Saturday before the time change. If people in the States miss church because of time change, what would happen here? We were afraid our small Bible study would be deserted. We spent almost an hour at one woman's house, who told us she would not be coming the next day because of the time change. "I have to get up at 3AM and change all the clocks! I'll be so tired!"
"No, no," we tried to explain. "Just change them when you go to bed!"
"But the newspaper said you have to change them at 3AM! That's when the time change is!"
After arguing back and forth for quite awhile, we realized we were getting nowhere.
Time Change Sunday did finally happen, but many simply refused to comply. Now we were forced to distinguish "New time or old time?" for every appointment. There were large-scale protests all over the country. It was all very confusing. We were scheduled to host a Medical Brigade the next month, and the school administrator lamented, "Well, this changes everything! Now the clinic will be from 7-3 instead of 8-4!" We tried once again in vain to explain that the time did not actually change every day, but our explanations fell on deaf ears.
Thankfully, Congress repealed the law to institute Daylight Savings, and we are back to waking up with the birds at 5:15. Trust me, I'm not complaining!
We have some people like this, too, in the states. Many of them do not yet believe that Neil Armstrong really went to the moon and walked on it!