We are the CHAMPIONS!!!

If you know Greg, you know he can´t go for very long without somehow getting involved in some sort of athletic activity. Well, once we gained access to the base, a couple of the men sized him up and realized he had the body of an athlete...then they learned about his lacrosse career...then they recruited him to play on their flag football team! He was happy to join them! Now, this wasn´t your typical flag football league - this was VERY intense. They strategized, had practices, and the QB even wore a wristband inscribed with plays! Apparently, it paid off though, because Greg´s team went undefeated, won the tournament, and was named the Champion of Soto Cano Flag Football Fall 2007. CONGRATULATIONS!

Okay, a quick funny story...during one the of the games, a player from the opposing team reached out and went for Greg´s flag (he was carrying the ball). Well, the guys missed the flag, but got a hold of Greg´s atheletic shorts....ripped those things clean off his body! :) TOO FUNNY! He had to borrow a pair from another guy on the base in order to finish the game!

One last thing....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILL BICE!!!!

Pura Vida

So we made it to Costa Rica! We spent more time traveling to and from Costa Rica than we actually spent there, but nonetheless it was a great trip! I feel like we really redefined the meaning of the word ´roadtrip.´ Forty hours on the road in only three and a half days! However, we did ride in style! At about hour 17 on travel day 2, we officially named our vehicle ´The Bun.´ You see, we could never really figure out what to call the thing...Was it a bus? Was it a van? Leave it to Greg to morph the two words together and bestow the name ´Bun´upon our ride! (See her in all her glory to the left.)

Anyway, so we departed the school around 12:30pm on Friday afternoon. They cancelled school for the rest of the day and the students got to leave early since 10 of the teachers (all of the missionaries) were skipping town. We drove to Tegucigalpa (that capitol of Honduras, about an hour and half away) where we met the father and son team that would be driving. We all piled in the Bun and we were off! About that same time, several of us requested a bathroom break. Little did we know that almost 2 hours would go by until ´the drivers´were willing to stop. That should have been our first sign that we had a long trip ahead! This ´unwillingness to stop´ for basic human needs (bathroom and food) was a constant theme throughout the entire trip! For example, on the way home, we ate breakfast at about 7:00am. Around noonish, which is quite typical, we (meaning everyone besides the drivers) were ready for lunch. We voiced our request, and around about 2:15pm we finally got our wishes! Half of us were about ready to pass out! If the Bun only had a bathroom and a microwave we would have been set!

So we stopped on Friday night in a town in Nicaragua called Esteli. There we ate dinner at a gas station restaurant called ¨Tip Top.¨ It was okay for most of us, but sadly one of the missionaries got sick! I guess 1 out of 10 isn´t too bad... Anyway, so that is when we adapted our group name ¨Team Tip Top¨ or ¨T3¨ (T cubed) for short. (See photo left) We stayed in a pretty nice hotel that night. Greg and I felt like royalty since our entire room was painted in a very loud lavender color. Even the silk curtains matched perfectly! (See photo right) We got a good night´s rest, then set off the next morning around 8:30am. We reached Managua, Nicaragua (the capital) around 12:00pm. We stopped at the mall to look around and grab a bite to eat. That is when we were blessed with a taste of America....SUBWAY! (See Greg posing with his foot long to the left!) It was truly fabulous! About 12 hours later we finally arrived in Alajela, Costa Rica! We rolled into our dorm room around midnight at the Adventist College ´Unideca´ and passed out soon after! We were determined to ¨Carpe Diem¨on Sunday so we could make our trip worthwhile! (Oh, one more note worth mentioning...we got Papa John and Burger King for dinner that evening. It was delicious! We ate at this place called the Auto Mall in Costa Rica. It was basically a free standing mall food court...with no mall attached!)

And seize the day we did! We were up at 6:00am and around 7:00am we zoomed off in the Bun, bound for the mountains. Our final destination was Volcan Paos (an active Volcano in Alajela). It took about 45 minutes to get to the parking lot and from there it was about a 15 minute hike to the ´look out.´ The drive through the mountains was absolutely gorgeous! Rolling hills full of coffee plants, beautiful flowers (my favorite were the wild hydrangeas), and lush green foliage. Of course, by this point we were craving some freshly ground brewed coffee. Fortunately, they were selling some at the entrance to the national park, so Greg and I indulged and enjoyed as we hiked up to the volcano. (It was very tasty!) The park was a very beautiful natural wonder. Almost surreal in look because it was so scenic. After visiting the volcano, we were off to the natural laguna (about a 15 minute hike away) that was formed from an extinct volcano. We reached it just in time, because about 10 minutes after arrival, the normal morning fog (think very thick like San Francisco) began to roll in and disguise the scenery. By this time, it was around 11:00am and we had scene all there was to see there. We decided to head back down the mountain and head about 30 kilometers south to San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. However, along the way, we stopped at a coffee plantation´s coffee shop to grab a mid morning pick me up. The coffee was so fresh and delicious, and the view was gorgeous! It overlooked their miles and miles of coffee fields. I had the pleasure of indulging in a strawberry latte (strawberries and coffee are two of the main exports of Costa Rica). It was fabulous!

Then we were off to the shopping mall in San Jose. We headed straight for the food court when we arrived (we heard rumors that there was a Taco Bell!) It was true!!! However, Greg and I both opted to eat at a some local Costa Rican restaurants. I got a nice big salad with avocado and smoked salmon, and Greg got fresh lamb tacos. It was quite a treat! We shopped around the very Europeanesque mall for about an hour and a half then retreated back to the Bun. Costa Rican people tend to have lighter skin and hair. The country clearly has more money as well (the
mall had shops like Oscar de la Renta, Lacoste, Sony, etc.). They don´t have any military forces in Costa Rica....instead, they use the money that they would have spent on armed forces to preserve their natural resources and create an inviting tourism atmosphere. Obviously it worked because Costa Rica seems to be flourishing! It is far more developed then most of the other Central American countries! Each of them share the same natural beauty, but Costa Rica really focuses on keeping their country clean! Following the mall experience (where the only thing we purchased was some gum and batteries) we went to the Museo de Oro (Museum of Gold). It was neat because we got to learn a lot of Costa Rican history. (See Greg, left, posing with one of the exhibits.) It also had a lot of information of their development of the countries money (and its evolution through the year). The currently use Colonias....and the exchange rate is 518 colonias to $1 USD! Crazy! Things looked so expensive...I paid 900 for a one pancake! However, it was really less than $2. The cost of living was definitely a lot higher in Costa Rica though. For dinner we went to a typical Costa Rican restaurant. It was so cool...they served all their food on banana leaves! (See photo right). The food was really good! We got back to the dorm room (it sounds so weird saying that) at about 9:30pm. We felt pretty accomplished with the ground we covered in one day! We hit the sack around 10, because we had to get up at 4:30am on Monday morning for our 5:00am departure back home to Comayagua. We all took bets on what time we would actually leave and what time we would return to Comayagua (we had to push through that day because we had to be back at school and teach on Monday). We officially rolled out of the gates at 5:12am (pretty impressive). Clearly the drivers would get a bonus if they got us home early or something because he was driving ultra aggressively. At one point, he passed a car on the right! I was seriously scared (Greg was too!) We nearly rear ended several cars and almost picked off a motorcycler! I mean yes, the rules of the road are very different here, but this craziness was just not going to fly! After much complaining to our bilingual school representative, the two men finally rotated responsibilities and things calmed down a little bit (Thank God because I was truly worried about our safety!) It was crazy! Around noon time, we requested a stop for lunch....so as usual, at a little after 2:00 we stopped! We were all famished! The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. (See some of the scenery in the photo to the right. Can you see the faint volcano in the background?) We stopped at a little buffet once we got into Honduras around 9:00pm for dinner (the drivers must have been hungry because we didn´t even ask!) And around1:00am on Monday night (20 hours after departure from Alajela) Greg and I set foot in our apartment! What a relief, we were home! Then, we though about getting up at 5:45am to start our week at the school...AHHHHHH!!!!! :) In the end, 40 hours in the Bun was definitely worth it! It was a great bonding experience, we got to eat some good ´ol American fast food (I can´t believe I just said that!) and we were able to visit 2 beautiful Central American countries! It was truly a¨Pura Vida¨ experience! (Pura Vida, or Pure Life, is the national saying of Costa Rica.) Thanks to God for safe travels and new memories!

3 Days Notice

Sorry we haven´t written in a while. Our computer has been out of commission. One of our friends that works on base is reformatting and cleaning it up and will get it back to us this weekend. Well on Tuesday....when we return from Costa Rica! We were told on Tuesday (from the one of the administrators) that the school is taking all the missionaries to Costa Rica. Sounds fun right? Well, I am sure it will be...but they told us only 3 days before departure...crazy! (Who cares about our other plans this weekend!) We have to leave the country every 90 days to renew our passport stamp. You have to go at least 2 countries away and stay there for at least 3 days. Then you can be readmitted into the country for another 90 days. Well, Monday is the last holiday we have before Christmas break (and of course they don´t want us to miss school) so they decided at the last minute (which is pretty much the norm around here) that we will go this weekend. It is between 16 and 20 hours...ONE WAY...in the car. They rented a van so we can all fit (there are 10 missionaries and 2 administrators going). It is going to be pretty crazy since we are leaving today at noon, and will return on Monday! They wanted to take us all (and our luggage) in a dual cab pick up truck to Tegucigalpa, the capitol (about an hour and a half away) and then we would get the van for the rest of the journey. It is legal to ride in the bed of pickups here...however, definitely NOT SAFE! Thank goodness Greg defended us and talked them into bringing the van here to Comayagua so we can at least be in a closed vehicle! Anyway, we are staying in a dorm room at an Adventist College somewhere in Costa Rica...that is about all the details we know of the trip. I´m sure we will return with lots of new blog material! If you don´t hear from us for a while, it´s probably because we got stranded somewhere in south Central America...Kidding! Hopefully....

Everything is going well! We are finally getting in the flow of things are getting adjusted to our schedule. Anyway, just wanted to give you a heads up with what we are up to these days. More later...Please pray for our safety! We hope you have a wonderful weekend of relaxation!
God Bless You!

Karaoke: Breaking Down Cultural Barriers

Nothing says I love you like karaoke! Greg and I celebrated our 2nd Anniversary yesterday (October 7) singing a duet of the Bice rendition of Bryan Adams’ “Everything I do, I do it for you!” (Es verdad!) We had a ball! Yesterday was the 10th birthday of Alex (our landlord’s son and one of our favorite Honduran ninos!) We celebrated big style with a fiesta on the base. I would say there was around 50 people present. As always, they had delicious food (shish kabobs, beans, rice, tortillas, salsa, cake, ice cream, and it wouldn’t be a party here without sodas and chips!) So lunch was great! After eating, they broke out the piñata! The victim this time…Winnie the Pooh! He took a pretty good beating (even Greg took a few blows) but in the end, Pooh didn’t take it personally. (See photo right) We planned to go to El Torito for dinner in honor of our anniversary…it is rumored to be the fanciest and tastiest restaurant in all of Comayagua (priciest too). Well, lucky for our budget, we (mainly Greg) ate so much at lunch, that we decided we would have to go another night if we actually wanted to the enjoy the food! (Actually, we passed the restaurant on the way back in to town from the base and it was closed! Greg felt like he was ‘off the hook’ because that was now his excuse for not taking me out on our anniversary!)

After the party, Alejandra and Jony invited us back to their house to continue the celebration (basically a time for the adults to kick back and relax). We gladly accepted! We had no idea what we were in for! We sat around and chatted for a little while, then, the computer came out. They wheeled the whole desk out onto their patio, hooked up the microphone, and Shazam! our very own karaoke machine! One by one each person took a turn and belted out a familiar tune (well, to them at least, most were Spanish hits!) They actually had some songs in English too (think 80’s and early 90’s jams…Mr. Big, Ace of Base, Michael Jackson). It was awesome! We were all up dancing and whaling on the microphone for hours! Finally around 10:00pm we remembered we had school the next day. Sadly, we had to leave…however, we feel confident that last night was only the first of many more karaoke nights to come! J Besides, karaoke is a local favorite here in Comayagua….karaoke bars are about a dime a dozen! Good ‘ol karaoke…crossing cultural boundaries and bringing people of every race, nationality and religion together! I love it!

We also had the great pleasure of watching our first Ohio State football game this season on Saturday night! It was so good to see then tear up Purdue! We got to watch it on base on the big screen TV (no offense Coby). It was quite a treat! The next morning, Greg lead the church service at the Friendship Chapel (on base) because the chaplain was out of town. He delivered a great message on be willing to take risks (inspired by Matthew 14:22-36 when Peter walks on water with Jesus). This was his second weekend in a row delivering the message at church. God is definitely using Greg and speaking through him!

Thanks for all of your prayers for our missionary friend, Mark. He is out of the hospital now and is recovering well. He is still weak, but said he should be back to school later this week. Praise the Lord he is feeling better and will return to school soon!

As always, MAY GOD BLESS YOU!

The Apple of My Eye

I am really pumped! So, I feel like an official teacher now. One on my students actually brought me an APPLE today! You better believe I downed every edible piece on that thing! It was so awesome to get a piece of fruit for my snack! Don´t get me wrong, we willingly accept any gift (especially food!) from the kids (they are always so sweet and sharing!) but it was refreshing to have something natural today...not fried or man made! Definitely a treat...and definitely made me feel like a real teacher! Greg was jealous to say the least!

Last night we felt like true ´hunters and gathers´ as we attempted to get dinner. We have made several attempts to meet our friends Kyle and Crystal at Sabor Azteca (a delicious Mexican restaurant) but due to last minute interruptions (like trips to the hospital--GREG, and loss of electricity) we had to keep cancelling. Finally, last night we were able to coordinate our schedules. We met there at 7:15 on the nose, only to find that it was closed! Oh well, we would go elsewhere. Since it was dark, we opted for a cab. However, there were none in sight! That is something VERY rare here as cabs are CONSTANTLY circling the streets, especially prowling for Americans so they can rip us off for some extra Limps. Well, not last night for! After walking about 5 blocks, we bartered with a station wagon cab and finally settled on a semi-fair price. We decided to go to a new restaurant Bhoyas outside of town (in a more rural area). We have met one of the owners (American) so thought we would give it a whirl. Thankfully, it was open when we arrived. We were seated and given menus...then were informed that the cooks did not show up for work that night (it was about 7:45pm by this time). Flustered, we realized we would yet again have to find another place for dinner. We all concurred...Pizza Hut was a sure bet so we were off to potential dinner site number 3. Since we were on the outskirts of town, we weren´t sure how we would find a cab to get there though. Luckily, right after we walked outside, a cab pulled up and unloaded some people. Perfect! However, the cabby was trying to charge us an outrageous price for driving us literally about 1/2 a mile down the road. I mean, the ball was in his court, it was dark, we were in a rural area, and we didn´t have many options. However, the strong, tough, prideful Americans that we are though, we were not willing to let this guy take advantage of us! After several bargaining attempts we turned him down and he sped off. (He drove right by Pizza Hut with an empty car...he could have made a couple bucks for doing the exact same thing he did for free.) But oh well! So we set off by foot. There were four of us so we felt a little safer. Plus, we were super hungry, and people do crazy things when they are hungry....I think we could have defended ourselves if need be! Anyway, so we trudged up the road, alongside the highway with dim lighting for about 10 minutes. We only passed one other pedestrian (a non-threatening woman), I nearly lost my flip flop in a mud pile, and our lungs suffered a little from all the pollution, but by the grace of God, we made it to Pizza Hut! We were greeted at the door and never felt so happy to have some wings and a gigante supreme pizza! It was fabulous! Just another story to add to our adventure arsenal here! It was a really fun and random Monday night!

Please pray for one of the other missionaries from our school, Mark. He is in the hospital with Dengue Fever (contracted from mosquitoes). Poor guy! He went yesterday and they plan to keep him for a few days. He doesn´t have any family here so it must be rough! Also, another one of the missionaries from our school (there are 10 total) was mugged on Friday night (She was out walking by one of the parks after dark with two other people). A man on a bicycle rode by and ripped her purse off her body. Sadly, she lost her camera, credit cards, cash, and ID, but somehow was able to recover her passport (a person brought it to the school when they say here Maranatha lanyard). Fortunately though, she is okay and was not harmed. Thank God! Anyway, some of our amigos are experiencing some difficulties so if you would be willing, please say a prayer for everyone´s safety and health! Thanks so much! God bless you!