We have made it! The morning started early with our journey to Honduras. The flight was pretty uneventful but it was a great beginning to our bonding and friendship building. Thanks to Phil Hulst, our shirts were a great way to help set us apart from the rest of the masses coming to Honduras. Once we arrived at the airport in San Pedro Sula, that is when the waiting began. Yes, the getting through customs and immigration was a long process...but again, a great time for us to get to know those with whom we would be spending the next week. As soon as we passed through the glass doors and officially entered Honduras, I was taken back to last year with a flood of memories. We exchanged money with our local "money man", met up with our drivers Ato, Carlos, and Nelson and then got our first bite of food in Honduras...at Wendy´s. (Sometimes you just have to play it safe.) Then, we piled into the vans and began the over three hour journey to La Ceiba.
As we wound through the countryside, I was reminded about the stark contrast in what many people here have in comparison to what I have back in America. It really is almost overwhelming. For me, what was great about that long journey was getting to be a part of our new members´first experience of Honduras. The journey was long and at times a bit treacherous....let´s just say that Hondurans don´t always follow the driving rules quite as stricky as we might. Of course, there was a long spell of hard rainfall through the hillest part of the trip that didn´t really help that situation. In addition, some of our vans did get stopped at a few police checkpoints and had to show our passports. Well, and of course, there was Kelly trying to get a picture with the armed guard outside gas station. But alas, we made it to La Ceiba safe and sound. The Hotel Grand Paris welcomed us with open arms and we were able to spend some time resting before our dinner.
Dinner provided us our first time to all sit down and share a meal together. Our hotel provided a great meal and we had the opportunity to continue building relationships. During the meal, Byron asked us to share a bit about us and also share one word that described how we felt as we exited the plane here in Honduras. Some of the words were....beautiful, OMG, terrified, familiar, home, foreign, mi casa, happy, anxious, excited, mountainous, and blessed. I couldn´t agree more with the feelings of my teammates. It has been such a great start to the journey and we are off to rest and prepare for tomorrow´s adventures.
Till next time, trusting in the Lord and living without fear in Honduras.....
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