Hola! We made it safe and sound to Honduras. The trip was much better than last year. One of the airports did a major upgrade and we were thankful for AC!
We stayed with a recommended proprietor, Barbara, and had a good German cooked meal before our second days flight.
Found a little beauty along the way!
No Cessna this year…Kurt was a little sad about that, but our flight was a little faster. Only hitch was that we were told, due to the need to fly to the major city after our stop (and maybe to avoid some smoke from a fire) they would need to fly around it which required more gas and therefore less luggage. Initially we were told to take what we needed for two days in our backpacks. All other luggage would be delayed. Praise that at the last minute, they loaded our small carryon luggage with all our clothes. Only the large suitcases were delayed. (Fans, creative stuff, gifts, extra shoes, other things that were not essential for the first few days.)
We are settling into life at La Casa del Camino. We are getting the food prep down. More on that in a moment. Did some meal planning to try to use up food that is aging. Getting a rhythm down for morning breakfasts and taking care of animals. Did an inventory to see what food supplies we have and what was needed and coordinated a run to the store by a couple of boys yesterday, so we have what we need for the rest of the week.
Weekday afternoons and evenings are pretty cut and dried – younger boys come home, get a snack, wash clothes, and do homework. Dinner at 5:00 on the dot. Older boys get home about 15 min after dinner is underway. After dinner, more homework, and then self led bible study at 7:00. 8:00 is time for boys to head to their rooms. About 30 min to an hour later they are winding down. Adults head to bed at the same time since sleeping is more difficult with the heat, we are allowing ourselves a little extra time for rest. A cold shower ends the day before we sweat most of the night and start the next day somewhere between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. again.
Gwen wanted to learn how to make pan (bread) Honduran style. No photos since Kurt was working on a juice project at the same time. Gwen gathered mangos and cashew apples and Kurt turned them into a tasty drink as a treat for all the boys at dinner. Bread for breakfast is made the day before. With Kurt’s help we asked one of the two cooks if she would teach Gwen to make bread. She agreed. Gwen told the cook, Marcella, that her husband likes to make bread, so she invited Kurt to come learn as well.
Kurt’s first bread baking session here.
Marcella, a fine teacher and cook.
Our luggage was delayed by two days but made it safely to our destination. We had a mini adventure driving to pick up our bags, navigating Puerta Lempira for the first time by ourselves. Trying to stay to the back roads, which we did a most excellent job as we took a wrong turn, yikes. Turning on your GPS and Google maps works even in the most remote places.
Our other venture, among those we will dream up along the way, is to work with the puppy. Right now he is a bit of an instigator and into everything. Gwen caught him chewing on a shoe and had to distract him to retrieve both a shoe and a T-shirt. Dog Klepto! And he was “helping” the day watchies so much, they asked to keep him in the house for a bit so they could clean up the piles of debris they have to rake up each day. (Lots of leaves, twigs, branches, mango, cashew apples, etc. get blown to the ground each night and throughout the day. The yard is kept clean so pest and snakes have no place to hide.) Gwen decided we needed to give the puppy, Boaz, something to do which led to the idea of teaching him to fetch. Which led to setting up an obstacle course to help him learn to be a working dog. Thanks Justo and Carlos, the day watchies, for helping Gwen set this up. Now the work begins, with daily touches, to see if Boaz will learn how to fetch and jump the obstacles before Dad (Mike) and Mom (Lisa) get home. We actually tired him out on the first round of the obstacle course. (Smile!)
Thank you so much for praying and your support.
Prayer Requests: 1) Pray for the boys as they study God’s word each night, that it would sink deep into their souls. (noticed they were all excited and had a hard time settling down after the study time with Pastor Ludy on Wednesday. Think that is a good sign – they were energized by being in the word and worshiping together. 2) Pray for Kurt as he leads the boys in identifying what was good and what went well each day. He has been asking this question each evening meal. 3) Pray for Kurt as he has small bible study times with two of the watchies who are past boys who lived in La Casa del Camino (Arnold and Justo). Pray that they would want to study God’s word on their own consistently. 4) The heat is making our feet and legs swell – pray that our bodies would get acclimated in record time. 5. Praise for the rain… we brought it with us apparently. It makes things more humid but keeps the blistering heat at bay. Pray we get enough sun for the solar collectors but enough rain to make it bearable.
Here is one of the reasons we are here in Honduras. Isn’t Lucy a cutie! Proud Grandma and Grandpa.
Blessings All!