Thursday, August 16th
Time to head out...We had breakfast with the
Umaña family, and they insisted on taking us to the border! Wow! So Walquiria took the morning off, and they drove us to the border. They waited with us to get our visa and then walked with us to the bridge. (It's interesting to me that so far rivers have divided all of the countries that we've crossed into. According to Chris that's the way it is most of the time
because they are natural boundaries...news to me! I'm seeing the importance of taking a class on geography!)We walked about 5.5 miles when a truck stopped...it was the
Honduran police! Rider does investigations and Julio worked in Border Patrol. They asked if we wanted a ride, so off we went again. We stopped into San Lorenzo because Rider is from there, and 
he wanted to show us the beach. They have tons of mangrove trees growing which forms a sound. What a surprise! A tour from the police! They have a hard job...they live in barracks for 15 days then get to go home to their family for 4 days. For those 15 days, they are on call 24 hours per day! Thank you for the work you are doing to protect and to serve!The part of Honduras we are crossing through is just the little tail. They carried us 55 of the 137 km that we have to travel here. It may be a really short trip through Honduras. Thankfully we were here in Honduras last summer and we got to see a large part of the country. We also met a lot of really awesome people. We had hoped to see some of the pastors and maybe work in their churches again. We'll have to see what happens. We may have to take a mission trip from our journey! ha, ha, ha We'll see...right now we are just praying for discernment. We want to go where the Lord wants us to be even if that means heading on without seeing our friends.
It's time to translate the blog into Spanish...we should have done it 5 months ago, but we haven't had time. So we decided that we would stay in San Lorenzo in a cheap hotel until it's finished. So tomorrow and possible Saturday will be work days...
Friday, August 17th
We journaled in the morning then went to see if it were possible to fix our cell phone. We could hear people talking to us, but they couldn't hear us talking to them...slight problem. Thankfully there was a repair shop, and they had just the part the phone needed! Praise God! By then it was time for lunch, but we couldn't seem to find any where to eat. All of a sudden a lady came out in front of us on her bike...we asked her about a place, but she just told us about a restaurant. Not the best choice for price or for taste!
While we were talking to her, another girl on bike heard us and stopped. She told us that she and 8 other students from her school opened a place 1 month ago. It's the practicum for their school...they have 3 months left to run the place. Then they graduate! We are always excited to support a project that students are doing, so we went with Leslie to 
"Delicias del Valle."The food was really good, but while we were there this man named
Javier came up to our table and sat down. He said, "I'm hungry. Give me some chicken." I'm not sure that we've ever experienced anything like that...since we pray every morning that God will cross our path with those He wants us to meet each day, we ordered him a plate of chicken. As we began to share with him, a little boy came up to the table and asked for a Lempira (name of the money in Honduras). His mother was with him saying please give my son a tortilla. So we took the tortillas that we have and filled them with rice and gave them to him. He left and we continued to talk to Javier. He told us that spirits chased him all the time...trying to make him be afraid...as a result, he couldn't sleep. He reeked of alcohol...obviously in bondage. We explained that the only one who could free him was Jesus. I tried to walk through the plan of salvation with him, but he just asked if he could take the paper with him. We offered to pray for him, but he didn't want that either. Then he decided that he did want prayer but not right there. Then he decided that we could pray for him at the table. We shared with him...planted seeds...it's up to God to do the rest. Please pray for Javier.All afternoon we worked...Chris wrote while I translated the blog. I'm about halfway and Chris only lacks 3 days to catch up on his journal. Then he's got a few articles to write. There was a huge thunderstorm that knocked out the lights, so I had to stop working on the computer about 5:30. We filled in the missing details on his journal, and then went to eat around 6:30. The rest of the evening we just spent with each other. Looks like another workday tomorrow!! We are still seeking discernment about where to head from here!
Saturday, August 18th
We worked today...Chris finished "catching up" on his journal and wrote an article. I finished up the blog in Spanish!!! The only thing that I still want to add in Spanish and English is the plan of salvation. Tomorrow we'll look for a church, and if no doors open, we'll start walking again on Monday. We still don't know the direction...north or southeast.
The only thing out of the ordinary that happened yesterday was after lunch...we ate at a Chinese restaurant, and had a ton of leftover food. (I know you may think that it's comical to eat Chinese food in Honduras, but the absolute best Chinese food we've ever had has been in Honduras. However, if you are ever ordering Chinese food in Honduras, remember that one plate is enough for 2-3 people.) So we prayed about who to give the food to and set out. We walked about half a mile before encountering 2 homeless men to give the food to. Praise God for showing us people in need of food so that we didn't waste the resources that God had given us!!
Sunday, August 19th
We went to church this morning at Dios es Amor (God is Love)...a Central American church...we hadn't been in one of them since we left Panajachel, Guatemala! The pastor taught the Sunday school lesson...ooh...He had a strong word about being critical and judging others. He said that as we do that, we tear others down...that's the devil's job and when we do it too, we're just helping the devil out. Yikes! We are called to love others! What a great reminder!
We went back to church in the evening, and the message was really good again...reminding us of characteristics of Jesus' disciples... they were working when He found them, but they were available so they were immediately obedient to what Jesus was calling them to...they were sold out! After the service, we met
Carlos who teaches Spanish and English at the local high school...he has about 450 students! I thought I had it rough with 34 students in one class!! Carlos wanted to show us around town a bit, so we took a tour with him. We were touched by his kindness!!Monday, August 20th
Time to walk!! We walked about 5 miles (early this morning) before running into
Elena, Maira, and Enox (pronounced Enoch). We were looking for shade to rest a few minutes, and we found it right in front of their house. They invited us to come sit in a chair in the shade of their trees!! How sweet!From there we walked a mile or 2 to the next town. It was only 10:30, but we were hungry. Plus we needed to find a place to wait until after 2 pm. We decided to head North towards Tegucigalpa. We've got about 60 miles to go to get there...maybe by the end of the week...
We walked 3-4 miles when the sprinkles started. I saw a store up ahead, so I told Chris that we should try to make it there instead of taking a break. We sat down to have a coke, and the bottom fell out! So we chatted with the family who owned the store.
Marvin and Yeni have been married two years, and they have a little boy named, Juan Manuel. We talked with them for over an hour waiting for the rain to stop. It was barely sprinkling, so we asked them if they thought we could make it to the next town...3-4 miles away before it started raining again. They told us "no" that the rain was going to continue...and sure enough about 5 minutes later, it was pouring again. As it started to rain, Marvin said, "we are going to pay for you to get on the bus. You don't need to walk to Tegucigalpa." We couldn't believe it...we tried to talk them out of it, but they were determined! Within 10 minutes we were on the bus headed for Tegucigalpa!The bus was packed full, but Chris had the opportunity to sit beside a man named
Lorenzo. I was pleased as I listened to Chris talk to him...he only had to ask for help with 5 or so words the whole 2 hours that they chatted!! Lorenzo and Chris shared testimony back and forth the whole way! He also asked us to pray for his son Edwin Francisco Zerón...he has really bad asthma, and he's only 8 years old. (Please help us pray for him.) Lorenzo rode all the way to Tegucigalpa as well, so he was able to help us get off at the right stop! Praise God for the people He puts in our path.When we got out, we called Ron and Susan who were in Tegucigalpa. (maybe you remember them from Chris's birthday in Louisiana...Susan is Chris's cousin, but Ron and Susan are also missionaries in Central America. They direct a ministry called International Christian Hospice. God continually brings us together so that we can work together! It's pretty interesting because they are involved in hospice and our heart is ministering to teens...not much in common...EXCEPT we all love the Lord a lot and we all seek to walk by FAITH and not by sight!!) They told us where to find them and within 30 minutes we were exchanging hugs!!
We had
dinner with them--Pupusas!! They still have them in Honduras!--and with Fernando, a young man they met while staying in this hotel about 3-4 years ago. When they first met Fernando, he didn't know the Lord, but Ron and Susan constantly witnessed to him. About 2 years ago, Fernando accepted the Lord. Now he's serving in his church with the children and in the praise band! Fernando told us that when he started serving the Lord that he told the Lord not to bless him...just to let his dad come to know Jesus as his Savior! And not too long ago, Fernando's dad accepted Jesus!! Now they even have a Bible study that meets in their home! Well, it looks like we’ll be with Ron and Susan for awhile. The Lord brought us here to support them and to serve alongside the team that Ron and Susan have coming in on Tuesday and Thursday. We’ll be in touch again soon! God bless you and keep you! We love you! Keep walking with Jesus!1)Raquel (Andrew and Ariel's baby-sitter) and Ariel watching a little TV. 2) Boanerges has an amazing collection of money from around the world.
Liches or Mamones Chinos (depending on the country)...one of our favorite fruits...yes, you eat these!
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