sunday.

american airlines ended up giving us 2 free checked baggage each! praise the Lord!
we brought over many many donations for the kids.

it's been an adventure just to get to honduras. because of the huge snowstorm in toronto on friday, there were a lot of cancelled flights. i didn't think it would affect us since our flight was on saturday but as i'm sitting there on friday checking the gtaa website i see the word i've been dreading beside our flight number. cancelled. and it was the only flight to miami that was cancelled. i guess the Lord intended on us to go in on sunday! we rebooked our flight and the new itinerary took us to LA (3 hours behind toronto) then to miami (same time zone as toronto) and then San Pedro Sula, Honduras. and of course as we're on the flight to miami, a lady had a medical emergency and i was just praying that she would be alright. i saw the panicked looks on the flight attendants' faces and it didn't look good. we had to make an emergency landing in phoenix, arizona and the lady was escorted off the plane with her husband (hope she's okay!) it was a very long long flight but jen and i made it alive, tired but alive.

joby, melody and elsie (an intern from georgia) picked us up from the airport in their blue toyota corolla. we stuffed all four luggages in the trunk and they asked if we were hungry. jen and i looked at each other, we're always hungry! we stopped in el progreso at mr. taco. it was delicious! maybe even more so because we were hungry and tired but the tacos were fresh and the nachos were crispy and nothing like pouring salsa on tostitos chips. the kids who served us (literally couldn't be more than 14) were nice and i'm not sure if they were the ones doing the cooking. we were the only ones in the 5 table joint.

we made a quick stop to the megaplaza mall which also housed the supermarket. we picked up snacks, breakfast and food for the week (in hindsight the next time they ask if i want anything i'm going to request more salsa verde plantain chips-delish!). a young boy came to help us with our groceries and melody and joby tipped him. i think the culture is very different here...you can drive as fast as you want on the 2-lane streets and bypass people whenever you want, you can fit 15 kids in the back of a pickup truck, older ladies will bud in line ahead of you and ask if it's okay (and even if you say no they'll still do it and smile).

as we're driving to the orphanage compound we're surrounded by beautiful lush mountains. but as i look around me i see half finished houses (or what appears to be half finished) and children selling fruit on the streets. it's just different. 

stephanie and juan miqueas. no matter what country, kids love candy!

the kids here at the orphanage are SO adorable!! they've completely stolen my heart. and it was hard to remember all their names but i try. they're so excited to meet you and play with you and hug you. adorable. the kids call joby and melody, papi and mami. i can see why they wouldn't want to leave.

joby and walker kill a (potentially poisonous) snake.
it was the first time i heard the words "grab me my machete" spoken so casually.