The Lone Taquito

Since it was Greg’s first night back, I attempted to make some Honduran Tacos (or taquitos as we call them in the states) as his ‘welcome back’ meal. I discovered tonight that I have no idea how to actually ‘fry’. (Could be a blessing in disguise, fried food can’t be good for you!) Here is what happened… after boiling and shredding the chicken and preparing the corn tortillas, I rolled up the individual tacos. I heated the oil in a pan and carefully placed each taco inside. This is where the disaster began. They tortillas started breaking and falling apart, unleashing the already cooked chicken to be fried in addition to the shell. I tried and tried and kept getting the same results (see photo left)…even the Bicecreamman himself couldn’t pull it off! We (actually only Greg) ended up eating about 7 fried corn tortillas topped with guac, chicken, sour cream, and salsa. He claimed it was tasty, but I am afraid all I did was clog his arteries! So, on my last attempt I was finally successful in making 1 Honduran taco. Afterward, I made myself a quesadilla….in the microwave!

The Bicecreamman Returns!

It was an interesting weekend, no doubt! I flew up Rochester, NY for the MLL championship weekend…getting out of Honduras, no problem…getting out of Chicago, big problem. I spent Thursday night and most of Friday in Chicago with about half my team trying get to the Roch. We had weather issues, mechanical problems, air traffic control problems and too much fuel. That’s right, too much fuel…I don’t think Ken Jennings could even figure that one out! Once we got out of Chi-town everything went smoothly. The weekend was a ton of fun and it was great to be reunited with my teammates…even Spencer Ford! We won our first game and made it to the championship game only to fall short to Philly…but it was a great weekend none the less!

I arrived back in Honduras just in time to catch the begging of a nation wide protest. What they were protesting depended on who you asked…I heard everything from teachers wanting increased salaries, privatization of Hondutel, the phone company (which by the way, the owners of our apartment waited 5 years to get the phone line installed our place and for some reason, we can only receive calls, not make any), lower prices on purified water, and the return of the Bicecreamman! They did not want this hombre back in the country because he is rumored to be the notorious Chancharro de la vincha….a mysterious gringo who plays soccer with a head band and is an extremely dirty player! He is also strappingly handsome, extremely romantic and his charm is surpassed by none, or so I hear...

I was told that I would not be able to leave the airport because protests are known to become violent. I had no clue what I was going to do…but then our good friend Bill came to the rescue yet again! Who is Bill? He is Emily and I’s surrogate father/guardian angel who continues to save us day after day. The same man we met on the plane on our way to Honduras. This guy is right out of a movie…think any movie where some wide-eyed youngster is embraced by an old man, that through completely ridiculous methods, opens his eyes to the world…a Mr. Myagi of sorts (I am Daniel LaRusso of course and Emily is my Elizabeth shoe…I don’t have a nemesis like Johnny Lawrence yet…on second thought, I am Johnny Lawrence). Bill sent one of his friends/co-workers, a Honduran native familiar with the back roads of Tegucigalpa, to pick me up. When I say he knew the back roads what I really meant is that he is not scared to drive the wrong way down a one-way street with an 18 wheeler comin’ head on…seriously! We managed to avoid all protests and get out of the city and back home in one piece.

It was fantastic to get back to Emily, Comayagua and our apartment. Our A/C even got fixed! That night, Em and I got the best sleep we have had in a while…I brought back some bed sheets (Thanks Dave and Ava) from the US that don’t scratch your face when you lay on them and thanks to our fully operational cooling unit, it wasn’t above 100 degrees in our house. Everything was coming up Bice!

And then we went to school this morning…I still don’t have any clue what a lesson plan is supposed to look like and I have to have my room decorated by this Monday, the first day of school. Did I mention that my room has not yet been built? Hopefully, it is finished when school is supposed to start or we might have to push back the start date another week, again. When we got home our A/C had crapped out again…

While all this sounds bad, it is fantastic…I wouldn’t have it any other way! Everything is great and each day is a blessing! Remember to be thankful for all that the Lord has given and remember that He will fulfill your needs! Dios le bendiga!

Greg is back in Comayagua!

Thanks for all your prayers! Greg made it back safely to Comayagua yesterday amidst all of the craziness here! Praise God for travel mercies and protection! More later from the Bicecreamman himself...I just wanted to give a quick update! Have a blessed day!

Oh...several people have asked how to contact us so here are our email addresses:

Greg: bicecream44@yahoo.com
Emily: efarst@hotmail.com

The Adventure Continues...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA FARST!! WE LOVE AND MISS YOU!!

I really hope Greg makes it back today. He has been in the USA since Thursday to play in the Major League Lacrosse Championship. (http://www.lariptide.com/news/?id=2421) He left Houston this morning and should arrive in Tegucigalpa (the capitol of Honduras) today at noon. He is supposed to be catching the military bus back to the base here in Comayagua, however, I got a call this morning that the bus will not be making its daily run. People are striking in cities all over Honduras today due to the rise in the price of water. When they strike here, they shut down roads and no cars can travel through. Roads were blocked beginning at 6:00am this morning! Our friend that arranged for Greg to ride on the military bus is sending a Honduran friend to attempt to get him in Teguc. Please pray that he gets back to Comayagua safely! Fortunately, we have already talked to someone in Tegucigalpa that has offered to let him stay with their family tonight if he is not able to get out of the city. I will keep you posted!

So, TV is crazy here. Sometime they get ESPN, sometimes they don´t. Yesterday was one of those days that they didn´t! Since Greg´s team won on Saturday, they advanced to the championship game where they played against the Philadelphia Barrage live on ESPN 2. We went to Pizza Hut in attempt to watch the game on their large flatscreen in the waiting area, but unfortunately channel 23 (ESPN 2) was blank. Channel 22 worked, as did 24, but not 23. Out of desperation I called another friend with cable and internet and he invited us over to try to get the game there. Same thing...no channel 23! He swore he had it just a few days prior! So we went to the net as they were showing the game live on ESPN360.com. We tried to download the flash player the ENTIRE game and for some reason, the computer would not allow it! We were able to find a site that just gave the box scores every couple of minutes, so that is what we watched! I was going crazy the whole time because I so desperately wanted to watch the game! At least we got score updates every few minutes! Sadly, Los Angeles lost 16 - 13.

The weekend was good here in Comayagua. On Saturday night, I went up on top of a mountain with my friend and her boyfriend. He works for a phone company and had to repair the towers (on top of a mountain) so he took us up. It was crazy! It was about a 30 minute drive to the top, very rugged terrain with lots of curves and turns. Once we got up there though, it was a beautiful view! We were a little nervous on the way down though because after dark, there are banditos in the mountains that try to rob people and cars. For this, we had to drive pretty fast on the windy and rough roads. I definitely had an upset stomach once we got to the bottom, but that was a small price to pay for a safe return home! You can see the mountains with the towers on them from Comayagua, so now when I look up at them, it is hard to believe that I was actually up there - it look so high!

Last night as I was finishing up my lesson plans in Jenny´s room, the power went out. I heard lots of screams and screeches and as calm as I could, I retreated to the living room of the house to be in the company of other people. One of the family members was in the shower when we lost power - poor thing! The moon was very bright so we all went outside to look at the sky. There was beautiful heat lighting up in the clouds. We decided to be crazy and go out and drive toward it. We jumped in the truck and headed off! We felt like storm chasers or something. It was fun - definitely made the evening more eventful! Finally after the power had been off for about 3 hours, it came back on. Literally as I flipped the switch in the bedroom to go to bed (so the light wouldn´t come back on if power was restored) the fan started blowing. It was a miracle!

Week 2 in Comayagua down! Praise the Lord for our safety and comfort here! One week until school starts...

A Victory and a Battle

YEAH! Another organic food item spotting! Jumbo Supermercado is really coming through! I found organic soy milk...vanilla, chocolate and strawberry! This was great because the milk we bought before tasted funky...also, there is a good chance it was whole milk (YUCK!) We splurged and bought both the vanilla and strawberry. Cereal never tasted so good! hehehe! We are now up to two organic food sightings...pasta sauce and milk. (Yes, of course we bought them both!)

Apparently in all my bliss after having a big bowl of cheerios for breakfast yesterday, I made a terrible mistake. I LOCKED OUR KEYS INSIDE OUR BEDROOM! I know that doesn´t sound like a big deal, so let me explain. We really only have two doors inside our house...both are off of the living room. One is for our bedroom and one is for our office (the bathroom is located between them and is accessed from either room). We were having some servicemen come to work on our air conditioner, so we decided that we should lock up the two rooms before departing for school. So I locked and shut the office door, walked through the bathroom and into the bedroom, locked the door then pulled it shut. Immediately after doing so, I realized that I left the keys inside the bedroom (along with the spares). Not a big deal, right, we could still leave for school and just deal with getting the bedroom door open later in the day....WRONG! You see, every door to the outside of our house (front door and patio door) requires that you lock it using a key....from both the inside and outside. There is no knob you use from the inside of the door to turn the lock, you must use your key. Since keys are required to open the lock to get outside, we were literally locked INSIDE our house. Fortunately, we had our cell phones so we decided to call the 3 people we know here that could help us....our landlord, her son, and her nephew. Sadly, we could not get a hold of any of them. Two of their phones were off and the other one went to voicemail. So, we sat...and sat...and sat... Greg made the comment 'So this is what it feels like to be in jail.' We both cracked up! Maybe an hour later (and much stalking via cell phone) our landlord´s nephew called us back. He was able to get in touch with our landlord and about 15 minutes later, we were free! :) Praise the Lord! It was a little embarrassing explaining why we were late when we got to school, but hey, at least we made it! Oh and by the way, the servicemen never came!

Greg Receives Major League Lacrosse Honor

Congratulations, Greg!!! :) We are so proud of you! God continues to bless our family!

Check out this article on his team´s website: http://www.lariptide.com/news/?id=2406

ZZZZzzzz

I thought this photo was hilarious, so I had to post it on the blog.


Here is Greg, exhausted from a day of manual labor, relaxing on the sofa in our living room. (This is the big one...believe it or not!)

No more stinkin´clothes!

We have been here for over a week now so our laundry has really started to pile up! After not doing so good on the “Pila” (Honduran washing machine) we decided we would have to figure out another way to do laundry. Our landlord has so graciously agreed to purchase a washing machine for us, but we had to do something in the mean time. After asking around, we discovered that there was a laundry mat right around corner from our house. Desperate for some clean towels, we decided to check it out. We stuffed all our laundry in a big bag (as instructed) and took off.

The place looked good, about 5 washer and dryers sets were in the large room. When we first walked in, I noticed that they had Psalm 91 (in Spanish) taped on the wall...that was pretty cool since that is the passage we read every morning-praying for protection! The workers told us that it would be 6 lempira per pound to wash, dry, and fold the clothes. They would even neatly place them all back in the bag for easy transporting. Of course, Greg asked for a discount since we had about 30 pounds of clothes and fortunately for us, they agreed to give us 10% off. I asked them to have the towels ready to be picked up later in the evening, but the rest could wait until tomorrow. However, when we returned to get them around 6pm (only a few hours after we dropped it off), they were completely finished washing all of the clothes. We were quite impressed! The best part was when we got home and I was able to put away 30 pounds of clean, folded clothes without lifting a finger! This is one cultural difference that I could definitely get used to!

On the other hand, we had another cultural experience today that didn’t turn out as well. We decided to get out of the house and have dinner at a nearby restaurant. Alex, our landlord’s semi-bilingual 9 year old son joined us as well. We had eaten at Senorial previously while visiting Comayagua, and really enjoyed their typical Honduran cuisine. However, when we dined at the restaurant previously (during mission trips), a Spanish speaker from the group would always order the same plate for everyone. Now, it would be up to us to read the menu and decide for ourselves. Alex did his best to help us, however, some words were definitely lost along the way. So, we took a deep breath and ordered. I ordered the grilled chicken served with typical Honduran sides (rice, beans, eggs, tortillas, cheese) and Greg asked for a chicken empanada. Well, at least that is what we thought we ordered. Mine turned out to be pan fried chicken with toast, salad, rice and french fries and poor Greg ended up with breaded, deep fried chicken and the same sides (definitely not an empanada). Not quite what we were expecting to say the least! We just chalked it for another reason that we need to learn Spanish!

Week one down!

What a great weekend! We got a fabulous introduction to Honduras cooking, family style, on Friday night. The family that owns our apartment (and lives below us) invited us over for a family dinner (grandparents, cousins, uncles, aunts, the whole gang!) It was delicious! They grilled 3 or 4 kinds of meat - the chorizo and pork were our favorites. The meat was accompanied by tortillas, avocado, salsa, beans, corn on the cob and cheese. I made some brownies with the help of Alex (our landlord´s son). We had to bake them in their house though since we don´t have an oven! They enjoyed them!

We spent Saturday with the group from Chicago. We began the day with devotions then did a tour of the new female group home. It is a place for the emotionally and mentally disturbed girls and women to live in order to get some special attention. They currently have 6 girls living in the home and two tias (care takers). Be thankful for all you have.

After visiting the house, we headed over to the construction site where we moved approximately 1000 bricks (about 25 pounds each) from the ground to the top of a two story building! It was quite a feat, but we did it! Needless to say, we were quite sore the next day! After refueling with some Wendy´s, it was time for the boy´s soccer game. There were several of us at the girl´s orphanage with no vehicle. Mario (one of the older orphans in college) suggested that we take the bus. I was adamantly against it from the horror stories that I heard. Worst of all, we would have to walk through the neighborhood outside of the girl´s orphanage to get to the bus stop. (My first time here two years ago, I was warned NEVER to walk in that neighborhood). So, after much nagging and begging and against my better judgement, I was somehow convinced that it would be okay to move forward with this plan. So, Greg and I, 2 junior high boys, another American girl, and Mario...or fearless Honduran guide...were off. By the grace of God (I truly mean that) we made it safely to the farm. There we met with the rest of the boys that would be playing in the game. We prepared to load up to head out, and realized, there was no vehicle for us to take! Again, we were forced to ride the city bus! I did feel a little better this time since there were about 15 Honduran boys with us, but nonetheless I was not happy about it! Finally we arrived in La Villa de San Antonio to play the futbol game! The boys wanted Greg play, and the other team allowed it! Greg was so excited to play in his first ´official´ Honduran soccer game! He was so fired up that he scored a goal and had an assist! The boys in yellow, the orphans, won 7-3. It was a great game! Fortunately for us (well, me at least) the rest of the group met us at the game. That meant NO MORE BUS!!! I was excited! Greg also was excited because he was given the keys to a brand new Toyota Hilux to drive the kids back to the orphanage! This would mark his first time driving in Honduras (I swear, they should require a special clearance to drive here. There are COMPLETELY different rules ....or maybe the problem is that they don´t have any rules...who knows!) Anyway, so with 6 people in the front, and rest of the boys in the truck bed, we headed back to the farm. Greg did a great job driving, and actually got a little too comfortable and started passing cars and speeding. We were so exhausted when we finally got home that we decided to just go to bed! We had a big day coming!

We met the our landlords and their family at 7am to depart for San Pedro Sula. Neither of us had been there before, so Greg and I were excited. I was really surprised that the little ones don´t have to ride in car seats here. The 18 month baby that was with us rode up front with her mom. Occasionally, she would lay on the floor, or jump into the back seat for a change of scenery. It scared me at first, but then I got used to it - it is their custom here! It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive, but we stopped halfway to get some breakfast. They ordered us a typical Honduran meal (eggs, avocado, fresh butter, a slab of meat, beans, and huge fluffy tortillas) and coffee with fresh cream. It was super tasty! On the way, the family taught us new Spanish words and we helped them practice their English. (Funny story...I will have to tell you later!) After much anticipation, we finally arrived at Zizima, a new water park in San Pedro! It cost L150 per person to get in (about $7.50). The park had water body slides, inter tube slides, a wave pool, a lazy river, a children´s area, lots or refreshments and a cabana area. We had a great time!

We headed back to Comayagua around 4:00pm. On the way, we stopped at one of their favorite seafood restaurants, Power Fish. It is located right on Yahoa Lake and had a beautiful view! As always, the family ordered for us - but we got somewhat of an idea what we would be eating when they opened up cooler to selected the fish they wanted to have cooked. After a few minutes of waiting, they presented us with our meals. The plate contained an entire deep fried fish (eyes, fins, skin and all) accompanied by some plantain chips. The family taught us to peel back the skin of the fish, season with a little lime and salt, then dig out the meat with our fingers (Greg and I used forks). After I got past the fact that there was a whole deep fried fish on my plate staring at me, I finally decided to dig in. Greg and I both really enjoyed it! Once we had skinned and consumed one side, we flipped it over and dug in to the other side. I was proud of myself for participating in this new experience! :) We were all exhausted by the time we got home around 8:00, bedtime came about 30 minutes later! It was a wonderful day, and a great ending to our first week here!

Greg and I are so thankful for the wonderful people God has put in our lives here. The family here has been so generous and kind to take us in and treat us like family...and we have only been here for 1 week! They are truly good people! We want to always remember how open and inviting they have been to us and treat others the same way. We have seen God through their actions this week and are extremely grateful! And don´t worry, we won´t taking the bus or walking through the girl´s orphanage neighborhood anymore!

Psalm 91

This is our daily prayer for protection. We have committed to saying it every day, asking the Lord to keep us safe in all that we do. Several of our friends and family join us by also reciting it on a daily basis. Connect with us by saying it too! Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement!

Psalm 91 1-13
You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow, Say this:

"God, you're my refuge. I trust in you and I'm safe!" That's right—he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. His huge outstretched arms protect you— under them you're perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. Yes, because God's your refuge, the High God your very own home, Evil can't get close to you, harm can't get through the door. He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. If you stumble, they'll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path. 14-16 "If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God, "I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust me. Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. I'll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!"

The Message Bible
www.biblegateway.com

God continues to provide!

We definitely slept better last night – thank heavens! We spent most of the day at the school today (Wednesday) from about 8:00am to 2:30pm. We learned more about the requirements for our classes, got some instruction from fellow teachers, and received our classroom supplies.

Here is what each teacher received:
1 glue stick
1 dry erase marker (which I learned that when it dies, I just exchange it for another one) l
1 pencil
1 eraser
1 black pen
1 red pen
1 tube of white out
1 one subject notebook
1 pair of scissors
1 set of rulers
1 dry eraser

The last three items on the list must be turned it at the end of the year, as they will reuse them. The librarian, Micha (pronounced Meecha) generously snuck a manual pencil sharpener in my plastic bag of supplies. She made me promise not to tell anyone she gave it to me though…not even Greg. I will be really impressed with myself if I don’t loose ½ of the supplies by next week. Well, maybe I’ll be more careful since I only have 1 of each item (or I’ll just steal Greg’s).

Our two foot wide closet and 2 drawers!

We finally had some time this afternoon to actually unpack! All of our luggage is officially empty! Although we don’t know where to find anything, we at least have it all put away! With only 1 armoire (think small), 2 drawers, and 3 shelves I must say that I really impressed myself by packing all our stuff into those tiny places! (Greg just happened to be really tired and in need of a nap when I mentioned the word unpack.)

Our three shelves...view from living room. Our bedroom is to the right.

Later this afternoon, Greg ran into our landlord, Alejandra (the mother of one of my future 4th grade students) and asked her up to our apartment to help us with our phone. It has a dial tone, but we cannot make phone calls (and no, people can’t call us because we don’t know the number…so we can’t give it out!) Of course, we got nowhere with that except that we will have to go to the Hondutel (phone company’s office) to find out the problem. However, she did give me lesson in washing clothes…Honduran style! We are very fortunate (no…that isn’t sarcasm in my voice!) to have our very own Honduran washing apparatus (see photo). What you do is fill the concrete basin (on the left) with water until it is nearly full. Next, take an article of clothing and place it on the left side where the built in scrubbing board is located. Wet the shirt by filling the bucket with water from the filled basin and emptying it on the piece of clothing. Then use the handheld detergent bar to lather up the article of clothing along the rough area of the scrubbing board. After a few minutes of scrubbing, rinse the piece of clothing with water (again from the basin reserve), ring out several times, then hang on the clothes line. Alejandra reminded me to spend extra time and work extra hard on the ‘armpit’ area of the shirts…as stink tends to build up in that area…especially in this weather! After she left, I did a couple more clothing pieces, then called it a day. I’m sure I’ll be back to do more tomorrow while the water is still semi-fresh as I was informed that you only drain and refill the water contained in the basin once a week (remember…it is outside and uncovered!)

Following that new experience, we joined Alan and the group at Mang Ying for dinner. It was great to be in the company of fellow Americans and learn about their path to Honduras. God continues to connect us with people here as while we were at dinner we met the Chaplain at the church on the base! He was having dinner with a young woman that we met yesterday at the school (she was there looking for a job). We recognized each other and she invited us over to meet her dining companions. The Chaplain said that he can get us clearance to enter the base on Sunday’s for church! We are very excited! It is so amazing how God keeps leading us to people that can help us! He truly is taking care of our every need! It is really cool to see His hand in everything! Greg and I pray that we continue to rely on the Lord everyday no matter where we are as much as we do while we are here! We were discussing earlier today how it is so easy to give yourself credit for the things that you have (I worked and made money, so I provided this food for myself! Or, I went to college and got this education, so I was offered this job because I deserve it!) Here, we are so unsure of everything that we have really have to rely on God to be our supply. We know He will not let us down!

Dia Tres

I can’t believe day 3 is already here! Time sure goes by quickly! A lot has happened in the past 48 hours! Greg and I had a tough time sleeping our first night here (due to several things…heat, scratchy sheets, a new environment, excitement, etc.) Fortunately, we were able to sneak a nap in later in the afternoon to make up for it a least a little! We got up at 6am and took to the streets in search of coffee. About two steps down the street we ran into a school girl who informed us there shops will not open until at least 8! Going on adrenaline, we decided to plug on! We walked around for about an hour and a half checking out the neighborhood and learning our surroundings. We headed to the school at about 7:45am as we needed to be there by 8:00am to begin. Once we arrived, we were greeted by the other teachers where we sang praise songs and had a brief Bible lesson (too bad all Greg and I could understand was Jesu Cristo!) Next, we met with one of the administrators, Norma, so she could go over some basics with us. She gave us more information about the subjects we will teach and sent us to the library to pick up our text books. We headed back to our apartment at around 10:00am. We dropped off our stuff, had a snack, the decided to do some more exploring. We also dropped by the Hotel Quan to see if we could meet with Alan, the head of All God’s Children (one of the organization’s that supports the Hogar de Ninos.) No luck, but we left a note for him, saying that we would come by later in the day.

Next task, get cell phones. We hiked over to the mall, only have a break down in communication with the saleswomen. They didn’t speak English, we don’t speak Spanish. We decided that it would probably be in our best interest to come back the next day with a local to make sure we weren’t getting ripped off! We then went across the street for a delicious meal at the La Casita Asado (a cute little Log Cabin restaurant that serves tasty barbequed meat with about 4 side dishes…all for only L60 (about $3)!

Later in the day we ended up meeting us with Alan. He invited us to have dinner with the group on Wednesday night – so we planned to meet then at Mang Ying for some good eats (and Gringo company!) For dinner, we headed over to Bill’s condo. He cooked up some yummy spaghetti and shrimp followed by some Kraft cheese and crackers. He also loaded us up with about 2 grocery bags full of “American” food that he purchased at the base! The prized item….real butter! Sure, all the packages in the supermarket say ‘Natural Butter’ but what they really mean is margarine! We were thrilled that Bill was so kind to fill our fridge and pantry with some items that reminded us of home! We are very thankful to have met him, as he has done so much for us already! Oh, and I can’t leave out one other important staple he provided for us…a coffee pot! He gave us his, complete with filters and some beans! He said he’d just pick up a new one at the post! Our life here is improving everyday!

We Have Arrived!

Comayagua, Honduras officially has two more gringos! We are exhausted, but I really wanted to jot down today’s experiences. I am writing this from our new apartment…pictures soon we promise! It is located on the second level of a typical house, the owners live on the first floor. The stairs are quite steep and uneven, chances I will definitely be taking a spill down that at some time or another! Come to think of it, I actually fell up then on my first time using them – won’t be the last time I am sure!

Anyway, so Greg and I met in Miami yesterday (he was coming from Los Angeles after his final regular season game and I came from Ohio) for our last night in the Estados Unidos for a while. We had a nice dinner then headed back to the Springhill Suites to relax for the rest of the evening. We woke up this morning, both us in disbelief that we were actually moving to Honduras today! To be honest, it still hasn’t hit us! All went well at the airport in Miami this morning, our suitcases equaled 49, 50, 50, and 52 in weight after we did some major adjusting and shuffling items into our carry-ons.

We boarded the airplane right on time and at 1:40pm, we were off to Tegucigapla. There were definitely less than a handful of gringos on the plane (including us) but we just so happened to be assigned seats next to a fellow American. We got to talking with him, and he is a working as a contracted project manager on the military base in Comayagua. (½ American and ½ Honduran). He was extremely insightful, gave us his contact information, and even offered to try and get us clearance to have privileges on the base. We knew it wasn’t a coincidence that we met him – God continues to be faithful as he has since we decided to follow his call.

Upon arriving in Tegucigalpa got through customs with no problems. We grabbed our bags then were off to the waiting area to meet the school representatives picking us up. I was so excited because they were holding a sign with our names on it! I have never experienced that before, so I felt pretty special! There to meet us were Pastor Trundle (principal) and his two children (Eduardo and Nicole) and the school administrator, Loyda. We loaded up the vehicles and were Comayagua bound! Greg and I rode with Pastor Trundle so he could bring us up to speed on the game plan for the next few weeks (school doesn’t start until August 27). I found out that I will be teaching 4th grade homeroom. He said I will be very busy with a full schedule and will be teaching a new Language Arts program that incorporates grammar, spelling and reading. I am excited as I really enjoy those subjects – I do have a degree in Communications! Greg learned that he will be teaching algebra and geometry. However, Pastor Trundle asked if he would be comfortable teaching physics instead as that is an area of need for the school. Greg agreed to look at a text book to be sure he felt confident that he could do it, but is up for the challenge either way! He also expressed and interest in teaching physical education, and discovered that there is need for a teacher in the subject! So looks like he may be teaching physics and PE! We are both so excited! We also learned that there will be 8 more missionaries coming. Greg and I are the first 2 to arrive, and the more will be here on Wednesday.
We finally arrived in Comayagua around 4:30pm. We came straight to our apartment after a brief tour of the town. (We drove by the Hogar de Ninos – orphanage!) Our apartment has a bedroom, kitchen, sitting area and office. It is a nice place, but will take a little time to get used to. We definitely have to but some Bice touches on make if feel more ‘homey.’ I am sure you will hear a lot more about our humble abode as days go by! J I can already tell you that storage space is going to be an issue! (That’s just part of the adventure though, right!?)

After dropping off our stuff at the apartment, Loyda shared that as a welcome to us, they would take us to the Supermercado Jumbo to pick up groceries and other necessities….on them! Before we were off though, Pastor Trundle a work of prayer – it was very kind and we really appreciated his kind words. Next, we loaded up the truck and Greg, Loyda and I were off to the store. That was quite an experience! J I had no idea really what we needed, since we had only been in our apartment for a short time! We got some cleaning supplies, paper products and laundry soap then headed for the food! Again, not knowing what were really needed, we picked up a random plethora of groceries. I was quite proud of myself though as I was able to spot the only organic item in the place – of course I bought it! Ragu spaghetti sauce – certified Organic! J We bought brand names we recognized as much as possible and did our best to read the nutrition facts and ingredients (most of them were in Spanish, and some items didn’t even have them at all!) I am sure some trans fat snuck into our cart somehow, but ignorance is bliss! Oh, and I am about 90% sure we bought whole milk (we normally drink 1%). 5,250 Lempira later, we were outta there! (Approximately $280 US dollars) I felt sorta bad letting them pick up the tab for the hefty spending spree, but Loyda assured me that it was fine and they were happy to do so! She encouraged us to take advantage of the opportunity as it only happens once! Oh, and while we were there, we met 2 other teachers (locals).

Loyda then took us to Mendel’s so we could purchase some sheets for our sweet double bed. We found some for 585 Limps (around $30) so we grabbed ‘em. We walked back to our apartment (about 7 blocks…1 block makes up 2-3 city blocks in America). It was getting dark and everything was closing by that time. We tried to stop at an Internet Café so we could notify the fam that we made it here safely, but unfortunately, it was closed. So with no other options, we decided to head home and start unpacking. I did my best to clean the kitchen and organize the appliances (blender, toaster and electric burners) and cupboards (again, we have minimal storage space). Greg toasted up some grilled cheese sandwiches, and then the unpacking started! Well, sort of. I got out most of our toiletries, emptied our carry ons and electronics, then decided I was worn out! I wanted to record today’s events, so I sat down and just started typing! It is now about 9:45pm (11:45pm in the states) and I think I am going to call it a night! Greg has been reading in bed, and has already warned me that the sheets are quite itchy – I can’t wait! hehehe! We have to be at the school tomorrow morning at 8 am…I look forward to what day 2 will bring!

Good night!

The Farewell Tour

Wow...only 4 days until lift off! Crazy! It is unbelievable how fast time flies! Fortunately, much progress has been made since we last blogged. One major occurrence - we closed on our house in North Carolina! Yeah! Not that we know any of the details since the buyer insisted on having the closing at 10:00am (our flight arrived in Raleigh from Austin at 11:15am) and they were not willing to make an exceptions. All we know is that the money was wired to our account, so we assume that everything worked out! It has been over a week now since the closing and we haven't heard anything. You know what they say, no news is good news!

We have been in Ohio since Wednesday, August 1. It has been great to spend time with this side of the family and see our Midwestern friends. The family had a going away party for us in Columbus on Sunday and since then we have been making the rounds in Darke County. We found a storage unit and have been slowly but surely filling it with the few belongings we have left to our name. A special thanks to Stephanie for all of your help in getting us organized! :) Also since we last wrote, Greg's lacrosse team (Los Angeles Riptide) made the playoffs!

So, as I was laying in bed last night (well, every night for the past few weeks for that matter), feeling as if my body had been brutally abused (due to all of the grease I consumed at the state fair earlier that evening) when I finally realized why so many artists and bands do it! Do what you ask? The Farewell Tour....then The Farewell Tour 2, The Farewell Tour One More Time, then The Final Farewell Tour...and on and on...you get the point. Basically, one decides that this will be their 'last hurrah' or their 'final mission' before going separate ways, or parting to embark on new challenges only to discover that they just had the time of their life, and they must do it again! I mean, honestly, I used to make fun of Cher who has had at least a dozen Farewell Tours over the years, but now, I must apologize for those snide remarks as I understand her desire to want to wear the feathered wig just one more time! I mean, what is not to love about life right now! Since July 7, we have been straight up nomads. Traveling from state to state with not much more that the clothes on our back telling ourselves that we have to do this or we must do that because we don't know how long it will be until we get the opportunity to do it again! We could definitely get used to this lifestyle...fortunately for our family and friends across the family (who we have been living with), we do have booked airline tickets marking the official end to the tour. We could start a 'Welcome Back Tour' though when we return.....

Thanks to all of you who have done so much for use and made our Farewell Tour so much fun!