Adios USA!

I'm in Honduras!!!!

I flew out of Houston yesterday after sitting in the airport all day and landed in San Pedro Sula where I met Jake, one of the directors for our school. The plane ride was actually really good. We watched 17 Again and I spent the first 20 minutes trying to fit the earphones into my ears- seriously, I've learned that my ears have got to be deformed because they never fit! Luckily I realized that I could just switch them out for my 'special' clip-on headphones but it was kind of funny for awhile.

I sat next to a lady named Nesla who had a three-month old baby. She is from New York but has family in Honduras and when we got to the airport and I wasn't sure if I'd have someone there to pick me up, she was so kind and offered to let me stay with her family and then stayed with me until I found Jake. It was wonderful!

Another wonderful moment was waiting in line at the Honduran airport. I randomly started talking to a woman and her 19-year old son about their plans for visiting Honduras. We talked for quite awhile and then they asked me what my plans were- as soon as I mentioned I'd be working at a Christian school, their faces changed instantly. They immediately started talking about how God was going to bless my life and how the Lord would use me in amazing ways. The guy asked how long I had known God and then told me his story of finding Christ this last year. It was such a beautiful story and both his mom and I were tearing up when it was time for me to hand over my passport and go through the line. :) I don't even know their names but I am continually amazed by the fantastic bond Christ creates between brothers and sisters. I am SO glad I'm a part of the family of God. (cue the Gaithers :))

I left the airport and Jake and I stayed overnight at a hotel and left early this morning for a five hour bus ride to Tegucigalpa (the capital of Honduras). This is where the rest of the teachers have been and I was so glad to see them when I finally arrived at about 11:30 this morning. I was greeted with hugs from all the girls and felt immediately accepted. We had lunch, I went around with Vicente (he's in charge of the scholarship programs for all the Vida Abundante schools and he's kind of our go-to guy with any questions) and got a bank account opened, a cell phone, my health insurance and now I'm good to go! In the afternoon, some of the teachers at the school gave us a presentation on how we would be conducting our orientation day for parents (Friday, August 21 - so a week from today! School starts August 24). I will be teaching sixth grade and also some elementary music classes so I'm very excited about that.

Some of us girls also went to a store that was definitely teacher heaven- bulletin board decorations, name tags, posters, calendars, stickers... absolutely wonderful. We all got quite a few things, although I'm sure we could have spent much more there if we had the time.

Instead of staying at the teacher store all night though, we instead went to the mall and had supper and then went bowling. It was an absolute blast- the bowling alleys have you pay by the hour instead of by the game, so we got through the first game (I got a 68!) and started a second- where I definitely got a strike. ;) It was a great time to bond with the girls and with the family I'm staying with tonight. The mom is an administrator for the school in Tegucigalpa and was so helpful and kind today. We also had a great time getting to know her 17-year old daughter and look forward to seeing them in Gracias occasionally!

Well, you're pretty much up-to-date. We are leaving tomorrow morning around 9 for a seven-hour bus ride to Gracias. There we'll finally get to see where we'll be living and the school we'll be teaching in. I'm so excited and ready to stop living out of suitcases!

ps I showed up to the school in Tegucigalpa to find that three of the other girls also have nose rings. so I'm sure you are all quite happy to hear that mine's back in :)