Honduras - Arrival and Day 2

This past week our family took a trip to Honduras. The Schreckhises were having their annual youth camp and invited my dad to preach it. We were over the moon, excited about this trip. Excited to visit a new country, see the work of God there, and meet the Schreckhise family! 

We had to wake up at 2 am the morning we were flying out. It was exhausting! We did a lot of sleeping on the bus and in the airport...

Boarding our non-stop flight to San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Like I said - we did a lot of sleeping! 

I had lots of stuff to listen to on the flight, which was only a couple hours long. It seemed like just a few minutes and before we knew it we were landing, meeting part of the Schreckhise family, and stepping outside to take our first breaths of the oh-so-muggy Honduran air. 

Nicole, me, Allana, and Austin

The van was air-conditioned - something we were grateful for many times throughout our trip - but these Hondurans are used to the heat. :D 

A blurry picture, but these are fields of pineapple! So interesting! 

Looking down from the upstairs of the Schreckhise home

Josiah and Austin hitting it off

Nicole playing Guess Who with Charity and Lydia

Shortly after arriving, we went into the dining room to visit. Charity grabbed her sticker book out of the bookshelf and showered Nicole and I with them. I considered it a very sweet welcoming gesture! 

Me, my stickers, and Charity - aka Miss Eyelashes

"Lets do one with funny faces!"
Charity, me, and Lydia

The sounds of the jungle...they are so interesting. The house is not air conditioned so the windows to the house are open 24/7. We fell asleep to the noise of trees rustling, tree branches breaking every now and then, lizards making their clicking noises (sounds like someone knocking on the window!) crickets chirping, birds screeching, and most importantly: the fan going!!! Thank God for fans and moving air!

[After getting home Thursday night, I laid down to go sleep in my bed. A couple minutes passed and something just felt "off". All of a sudden my ears started pounding and it was like the silence of my house assaulted me. I ended up searching "cabin noise" which sounds like a fan going. Every night since then, I haven't been able to fall asleep without it. Honduran nights sound so soothing.]

I woke up the next morning and looked out the window - I was pretty sure I saw some kind of fruit hanging from the tree outside.

Look a little closer...and sure enough! Mangoes! 

A coconut tree, also in the backyard

 After breakfast Charity took me outside to the stream behind the house. She said we were going fishing. Here she is holding her tackle box. 

Me, Charity, and Lydia
These girls are adorable and sweet, sweet, sweet! 

Lydia and some mangoes that fell to the ground off their tree

Austin taming the jungle! :D

Like I said, we were in Honduras mainly for the youth camp. We went to the campgrounds in the afternoon to drop our suitcases off and get our beds set up.

They have a beautiful campground - several dorm rooms for the guys and several for the girls, nice bathrooms, a sanctuary, a large grassy area surrounding the whole camp. It is perfect!!

One of the girls dorms

The church bus from the Ceiba church

We went back to the house to pick up more stuff and in the process of things, ended up getting to hear some new songs that Bro. Schreckhise had written. We are sorely in need of one-God, Apostolic, Holy Ghost Spanish songs and Bro. Schreckhise has written a ton! Last year when my parents visited the Schreckhises, they came back with probably about 30 new songs. It was an exciting thing for us! We now sing those songs in our church and they have been a huge blessing. 

 They have these things in Honduras called Baleadas. A flour tortilla with beans, cheese, meat, egg, cream, or whatever you choose. 

They are very good! 

We stopped at a grocery store in the city. I'd seen bag milk before, but never bag chocolate milk! It make me chuckle. 

This bus is advertising alcohol, and the brand of it is "Salva Vida". "Life Saving" - what a shame!! 

The sanctuary at the campground

Sheep walking around the camp 

Feeding the sheep!

The ladies preparing dinner for the campers

Taquitos

Making tortillas

Francis' very veryyyyy curly hair! It only reaches her shoulders normally, but when stretched all the way out it reaches the middle of her back! Woah. 

The guys playing ball

Francis is the Schreckhise's adopted daughter. Her uncle is a shoe maker and she brought a bunch of them to sell at camp. Talk about a unique souvenir! Nicole bought a pair and they are so comfortable!

Nicole and I sat down in our room at the camp the first day. We were chatting about how nice it was in Honduras, how it wasn't really that unbearably hot, and that we could live here if we had to...
I think the devil was listening and thought he'd play a nice joke on us. The following two days of camp were so.hot. It's gross, but it's the truth - we sweated constantly. There was no reprieve. I never actually broke down and cried in frustration, but came close several times. If you've never been in this situation, you can't understand. It is miserable, but you can't give in to it or you'll go crazy. You literally have to "keep calm and carry on". 

The ladies of the Olanchito church serving dinner

The start of the first service
Bro. Schreckhise led, Allana played the piano, and Sarah sang. This family can SING. Their harmony is absolutely beautiful. 

The first service

The ten lepers

This is just the first two days of our trip. I realize some people may not find all these pictures to be very interesting, but I have whittled the amount down as much as I can. There were too many precious moments-- moments I never want to forget! I blog for you all as much as I blog for my own memories. Therefore, this will a multiple-parter. I'm thinking around 7 posts so stay tuned for more! We had an incredible time in Honduras - the Schreckhise family is doing an absolutely incredible work for God. I am excited about getting to share some of it with you all.

~Bethany~