I have been planning...

I have been planning this blog for a few weeks now and it just seems to get longer and longer as the days go by. Interesting, huh! New things happen each day and I just add those to the blog list.

Well, going back to the week my parents were here. We had a wonderful time with them and I am so glad that they got to come visit Honduras and see what Chad and I have been talking about for so many years now. We drove up to the coffee plantation, visited all four of the Mission Lazarus early childhood development centers, toured the ranch, and introduced them to many people and friends that Chad and I know.

One day we drove out to the beach to visit a church building where Mission Lazarus has a cafeteria where we feed lunch to about 100 children daily. On the way there, I said to mom and dad, "We should try to get some shrimp while we are here and have that for dinner." Great idea, right? Well, I called a friend that I have out there and asked if he could help us get some shrimp and of course he was willing. I hung up and mom said, "Are these shrimp going to have heads?" I called Roberto back and asked him to have the heads removed before he got them. "O.k.", he said and so I thought nothing else about it. When we met up with him, he gave me the cooler and I took it and off we went toward San Marcos. Mom and I got ready to prepare them, opened the cooler and there were whole fish, eyes and all, crabs, and wouldn't you know, shrimp with the heads still on them. We gave the fish and crabs away to a friend of mine that has a restaurant here in San Marcos. While we were there delivering the fish to her I asked her how to best prepare the shrimp. She told me all we needed to do was break the heads off with our hands and then the shell and legs come off easily. Mom and I got back to the house, began the process like Carmen had explained and we gagged for the next hour trying to get the shrimp cleaned and ready to cook. We finally decided we needed to cut the heads off and boy was that so much better. After we got them peeled, I bet I washed those things 8 times before I felt like I had all the gunk off of them. We skewered the shrimp, rubbed them with garlic and butter and threw them on the grill. They were the best shrimp I think I have ever eaten. And oh so FRESH!!!

Mom and Dad, thank you for your visit. It was great getting to show you what all we do and experiencing Honduras with you. I am so blessed to have parents that love me the way you do and that are interested in what I am doing. Thank you also for spending my birthday with me. It was the best birthday gift I could ever receive. I love you both very much.

Last week the rain began here in Honduras. We were so ready to see it because it has been so dry and dusty for six months. It was a matter of 2 or 3 days that the landscape, the mountains and plants just returned to life. It is so green and picturesque here now. Last Thursday I was driving to the office and I had to stop on the side of the road and take this picture. After I took it I thought oh, I'll add that to the blog that I am planning to write too. It was so beautiful that I couldn't pass it up. All I could think when I looked at it was how truly AWESOME God is and how He provides us with His "artwork" every day for our pleasure.

Our summer interns arrived Monday. Chad, Meredith and I drove to Tegucigalpa early Monday morning to meet them at the airport. There are 8 right now, one more will arrive next week. We have been showing them around all of the Mission Lazarus projects and getting to know them over the past few days. They are a great group and I look forward to working with them this summer.

Today, Meredith, Jarrod and I drove to Nicaragua to a place where about 5 women make pottery. This place is absolutely in the middle of nowhere. Actually when we were driving in, Jarrod said, "I bet you guys are wondering how in the world I ever found this place." Yes, I was wondering because it truly is a hidden town down a dirt road. It was fun just getting spend time with them talking, catching up and crossing the border.

I hope all is well where ever this finds you. Our next group arrives Saturday, so keep us in your prayers as we travel to pick them up and as we continue through the summer. BLESSINGS!!

Shelly

Exciting day at the airport

Shelly and I were in the Tegucigalpa airport on Monday to pick up her mom and dad. We can walk through the airport with our eyes closed because we have been in there so much so to see something new and interesting stirred our curiosity.

First, the deportation plane from the States arrived before the normal flights to stop on the runway away from the airport to make the people on board walk off and down the runway to some area away from everyone. I wonder what happens to them once they do arrive on their native soil?

Second, as we were waiting for Hugh and Lynn to get through customs, I noticed a lot of very large guys coming through. I initially thought that they were US military coming in to serve for some time in Honduras. That is pretty common in the airport. I didn't think much about it until we were waiting for luggage to come along on the belt when I looked up and saw the head football coach at the University of Georgia. He had on his Georgia red logo shirt and I made the connection. The very large guys were football players and they must be on a team mission trip. At least I hope that is the case. If it is true, I respect him for doing that. We were out of there pretty fast with Lynn and Hugh's luggage so I did not get a chance to ask the coach any questions.

It was a pretty interesting day in the airport in Tegucigalpa on Monday. It is amazing what you will look for in the most common of places. We are having fun with Shelly's mom and dad. They are seeing the town and taking it all in for the very first time. We grilled hamburgers tonight and ate on the patio outside. The burgers were excellent!

Only 3 days until Shelly's birthday...the big 29. If you want to send her a card, you can email it to shelly@missionlazarus.org. She would love to hear from you.

Chad

Let the Groups Begin

Yesterday officially started our busy season. A group from Lipscomb University is the first group here as of yesterday and we have groups everyday until August 16th. My job is to keep up with them the whole time.

I picked them up at the airport yesterday and we loaded all the cars and I told them to wait for me to pull out of another parking lot to meet them and they follow me to San Marcos. We pulled out of the parking lot to find out that they were no where in sight. Where did they go? Did they decide to follow another white truck to who knows where? My heart sank. Luckily, they were forced out of the parking lot and turned the wrong way but had enough sense to come back to the airport after a few miles. Rule 1 - When lost, always return to your original place of departure. I only had to wait about 5 minutes before they returned. Did I say that they had no way to communicate also? It could have been a very bad situation.

After we reunited, we headed down the road about 10 minutes and one of the SUVs they rented stopped running right in the middle of the street. We pushed it over to the side and called the rental company to rescue us. I thought that we were doomed. How can you start your first group of the summer out like this within 15 minutes of their arrival? We waited about 45 minutes for a replacement vehicle and headed down the road again.

No more mishaps. We made it to the ranch within reasonable time and had supper, orientation, devo and then went to bed. They are working hard today. My goal this summer is to keep you informed of what is happening with all our groups...and their mishaps that only happen in Honduras...on our blog. Enjoy the stories. I just hope not all groups start out like this one.

Adios.
Chad