Dear friends, family, subscribers, and an unknown population of internet readers,
We arrived in Honduras August 31 around 1pm after a short 9 hour bus ride. Not too long when compared to 41 hours from Peru to Ecuador several months back! Prior to arriving in Honduras, we had just finished up a week of debrief with our squad in the pleasant city of Granada, Nicaragua. We had our 3rd team put into place and ventured on to Honduras to spend our last 3 months with this new team.
I honestly wasn’t looking forward to team changes, as I was in love with my former team and didn’t want to have to change for the last leg of the race. But then God did something crazy. Despite my lack of trust, He proceeded to give me a team that far exceeded my meager expectations and we are 7 women who are beyond excited to spend our final months of the race together. I got to stay with 2 really cool people from my last team, and 4 others that I’ve been hoping to get to know on the race.
2 really cool people from my last team (in black) and a friend we made in Nicaragua!
We’re living on the top floor of a church building that also operates as a feeding center for kids after school. After arriving, we quickly set up our tents to keep bugs out, furnished them with our packing cubes and sleeping mats, hung up a hammock using the support beams of the roof and clothes lines complete with an adjustable tot-line hitch. A few of us then proceeded to the supermarket with our host who patiently waited as we did a plethora of price comparisons and exchanged things out as we found better deals to fit our $4/day per person food budget. Thankfully, my team is excited to eat healthy and has been eating vegan-ish as to accommodate my partially unintentional vegan-esque diet!
After walking past several armed guards complete with helmets, bulletproof vests, and shotguns, I also casually withdrew some team money from the ATM to buy fresh fruits and veggies on the street. Following many wonderful interactions with our new English/Spanish speaking bilingual Mexican host, we made veggie fajitas and enjoyed some conversation before crashing for the night, as most of us had not slept much the night before due to an early departure time from Nicaragua.
Last month, we had running water everyday except Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Therefore, we learned to fill up water reservoirs to bucket shower, do dishes, etc. on water off days. This month, since Honduras is in a drought, we get running water 2 times a week, but we’re not always sure which days. It just kind of comes on randomly. But you best believe that when we hear that water turn on, we all drop what we’re do on and frantically begin filling up water containers, doing laundry, and lining up for showers.
Waiting on the bus for a travel day!
When we get home in a few months, don’t worry about your water bill going up Mom and Dad, we will know how to conserve that stuff! (or we’ll be so excited for hot showers in winter time that it’ll go through the roof…) Either way, we’re learning to live like Paul teaches in Philippians 4 when he talks about being content whatever the circumstances.
The 2nd night we met with church leaders to discuss our many very exciting ministry options for the month, and throughout the hour-ish meeting, I understood 95% of the Spanish! Yay for Spanish learning progress! Part of our ministry is cooking for the feeding center, hanging out with the kids, painting murals in the building, running youth groups, visiting the elderly, participating in small groups, and doing music with their worship team! Thankfully we have several fantastic singers on our team, and a friend on the squad has been letting me use her guitar and said I could keep it for the remainder of the race! Very exciting!
Until next time,
Live Well,
Crystal
