Honduras - Our Arrival (Part One)

I have some pictures on photobucket, but not nearly all.  However, I need to start somewhere, since there is so much to share!!  For those that weren't aware, from August 9th through 17th, my oldest son Harrison and I were on a missions trip with a group from our church.  We went to La Esperanza, Honduras to conduct Vacation Bible School and just do whatever needed doing on the church properly.  We arrived home this past Sunday night - very late, and without Harrison's suitcase! It did arrive the next day though - and I have been spending this week trying to get caught up in just about everything so that we can start school on Monday.

Saturday, August 9th - Harrison and I finished packing in the morning and we met at the church at 11am to load up the trailer and truck to go to the airport.

We checked in at the airport and got our lunch before boarding.  We left shortly after three and arrived in Miami around 5pm.  I got some Starbucks and then it was back on a plan at about 7pm.  It was a bit of a bumpy flight, but got us into San Pedro Sula, Honduras around 7:30 local time.  There was a very long wait at customs and it was hot and humid already.  Once we were all through customs (no problems, it just took awhile) we met the missionaries that would be hosting us, Bob and Kathy.  They had borrowed a yellow schoolbus in order to transport all of us.  First place we went was Pizza Hut for dinner, and then to the Hotel Casa Blanca for the night.  It was a very nice hotel, but still different from home.  Everyone was TIRED.  I had a quick shower and then slept hard, although it did take awhile to fall asleep since there were fireworks going on most of the night.  Oh - and some hygiene rules for our stay in Honduras:  1) Don't drink the water.  2) Don't flush the toilet paper.  Actually, surprisingly easy to adjust to!

Sunday, August 10th - We were up at 4:50am!  Which wasn't all that bad, really, since we were two hours earlier than at home.  Threw on some clothes and got on the bus.  We left at 5:15am as its about a three hour drive from San Pedro Sula to La Esperanza.  There wasn't much to see at first, but as dawn arrived, we were able to see the fog and clouds laying low over the mountains, small homes and farms, some plantations.  The country is beautiful.  The houses and businesses look very different - almost all buildings have a fenced or walled courtyard, and barred or shuttered windows.  I saw many people on bicycles, walking, or waiting for buses.  We had a breakfast of juice, milk, granola bars, and bananas while driving.  We stopped at a tourist plaza for a bathroom break and Kathy also picked up some grocery items there.  The place had toucans, macaws, and other birds; as well as some tortugas (turtles) in cages so it was almost like a mini-zoo.

There was also a little playground area.


Back on the road... As we climbed towards La Esperanza, the scenery was spectacular.  And boy, we were glad that Eric and Harrison weren't driving!! LOL  We made one more stop here:

so Kathy could buy fresh bananas and pineapples!



We arrived in La Esperanza about 8:30am.  We were assigned to our rooms and had some time to change and get freshened up for church.  Our rooms face the mountains and countryside.  There are cattle and horses, and we can see the school and a couple of houses.  It is generally quiet, unless there are kids or dogs around.  Here's the view from the porch of the dorm building:

The church service was so good, but we were all so tired, I don't think any of us got through the whole thing without drifting off at least once!! Everything was in Spanish, naturally, and spoken too quickly for most of us to understand more than a few words here and there.  But I found I could follow the prayers quite well!  There were announcements and testimonies as well.  I didn't take my Bible into the service (it was still in my suitcase) but I wish I had! I could understand the Scripture references and would have liked to follow along in English while it was being read aloud in Spanish.  I knew a couple of the praise choruses so I sang along in English.  When the preaching started, Kathy came and sat behind us and did some translating.  It was especially moving to hear and see the people respond so confidently to the portion of Psalm 23 "I shall lack for nothing" - these who, by American standards, lack so much, could testify firmly that in Christ they lacked for nothing - nada.  After the service the ladies of the church had food prepared - I guess for a fundraiser? - so we tried a few things.  Corn fritters that were AMAZING.  A pudding type of dish that I cannot remember the name - it was like a warm vanilla pudding but I know it was made from corn.  The coffee was good but very strong and slightly bitter and smoky flavored.  Didn't help that there was no cream and I always take cream in my coffee. 

That's the first installment!  I'll continue with Sunday afternoon's events in a new entry.