Day 2- Terra Firma in Tegucigalpa

Day 2- 3:30 came pretty quickly. I was pretty wired and I had so many thoughts in my head; I tossed and turned for most of the night. And I was wide awake at 2:45. Never heard any of the guys snore last night, although Clinton said that Richard was in about 11th gear at about midnight. We checked out and had the vehicles loaded up and ready by 4 o’clock. Rapid city regional has about 6 terminals- so check in and security was uneventful. We had a little breakfast before the flight took off for Denver. Made connections in Denver and Houston. And boarded the 737 to Honduras. Last time I was here in 2005, the runway was so short and was pretty bumpy... And it still is. They have said that Toncontin International Airport is one of the most dangerous airports if not the most dangerous in the world. Don;t let that alarm you! Apparently in the last few years they have made some drastic improvements to the whole airport. And it looks like it has been repaved and smoothed and everything modernized. At one end of the airfield is a mound of dirt and the other end is a bunch of people's houses. It was pretty bumpy and turbulent on the last few miles of the descent in to the capital city. When we finally touched down- the whole airplane erupted into applause. Delane said that the runway is shorter than the one that is in Baker, MT- put that into perspective! We got through customs, grabbed our luggage and found Travis Hawk (One of the directors of El Sembrador) and Israel (a former student) and John (a missionary here for the last 3 years). We then proceeded to load up our luggage and things onto the school bus. It was really hot and humid! Probably mid to upper 80's almost 90. We checked into rooms at the Missionary guesthouse in Teguc. We have some of the most gracious and hospitable hosts here! The hosts have made internet access available and we were able to call our families tonight! We have been reminded that we cannot drink the water here in the guesthouse. Can't even wet our toothbrushes to brush our teeth. Thankfully as we go to the farm school tomorrow, their water supply is clean and don't have to worry about getting Montezuma's Revenge. I think that the traffic was a shock. Lots of honking horns and very congested traffic and speeding vehicles everywhere! It is pretty much every man for himself. But the thing is is that people don't have road rage. It is just an accepted thing that you cut off people and you go fast. And you use your horn as a means of communication rather than a means of punishing another driver. As chaotic as it seems- it is just the lifestyle... and it works. But the missionaries say that accidents and fender-benders are commonplace. You should have seen Travis negotiate the bus on some of these side streets... barely inches from parked cars. You should hear some of these ladies hold their breath and say "Oh dear." Or “Ai-ai-ai”. Travis took us out to eat for pizza- Here’s a panning shot of everyone.

It has been a long day and we are looking forward to worshipping with and interacting with the students tomorrow. It is a good four hours drive, but Travis reassured us that the streets are largely vacated on Sunday. Until later! B