First arrival...

Hello to everyone from Honduras! I'm sorry that it has taken me a little while to give everyone an update, but here it goes.

Its been so amazing just seeing how God has worked in this whole thing and how he's continuing to do so. Even at the airport, I was so worried about whether my bags would make it within the weight limit, so I prayed about it right before they were going to be checked and they were exactly at the weight they were supposed to be at. While that is amazing in itself, it seems even more so because many of the teachers who arrived the same day that I did had to leave much of their stuff behind because Honduras recently decided again to change their embargo laws, and as the laws stood I got away with bringing in 40 lbs. more than I should have been able to. Another thing Honduras decided to change that I was completely unaware of was the time zone they affiliated themselves with. Not too long ago for Daylight Savings Time, the government decided to change with the western ways and spring forward an hour. Well, it appears on Sunday that the government decided they didn't like it and they changed back, which was interesting because nobody really knew what time it would be when my flight landed....not even the pilot. THey even had different times printed on the airline tickets, but somehow I was able to get picked up by the school on time and we now are officially on mountain time, at least for the time being.

The weather here has been truly amazing, and I'm sure everyone reading this will be insanely jealous. It has been no hotter than 75 degrees my entire time up here and the climate in really different up on my mountain than it is down in the city. I actually live in what is considered a rain forest, not because it rains so much but rather because we are right at cloud level. The other morning when I woke up I was almost freaked out because as I looked around it looked like the room was filled with smoke, but in my panicked state I noticed that it didn't smell like smoke, and it was then that I realized that I was actually breathing in cloud, which by the way smells so fresh and clean.

The flowers here are also so beautiful, and everything is so lush and green. Outside my window I have a view of El Tigre national forest, which is completely pristine jungle that has not been touched since the late 1800's. I also have lots of hummingbirds that fly around my window in the morning and I have not seen one hissing cockroach yet! The school is amazing, my apartment is amazing, and if anyone wants to visit I have a whole other room in my apartment that is going unused that could really fit quite a few people.

Well, I must go for now, but if everyone could pray for me for a few things that would be great.

*First, there is an issue with teachers and the Honduran government that has arisen with some violence the past few days, and though the riots seem to be under control, they completely disrupt the city because the military has to be called in and roads are shut down.
*Next, please pray that I will be able to venture outside of Los Pinares. It seems like it can be pretty easy to be in your own little north american bubble here on top of the mountain, and I really don't want that.
*Please pray that I continue to adjust okay. Its been a little difficult not being independent at all since I don't know my way around the city and I don't speak that much Spanish. I don't know any of the bus routes yet, so I'm really just kind of stuck here for the meanwhile.
*Last, please pray for our students that we would be able to create meaningful relationships with them and really share God's love with them. There is a lot of skepticism there since many of the teachers only stay for a year or two, so many kids don't want to get attached.


I better be wrapping it up now. I will try to keep everyone posted, and please feel free to e-mail me and let me know how all of you are doing.