Sunday and Monday---Trisha---June 30 and July 1

I can't believe it's already Tuesday! When we arrived Saturday we went to the hotel, then met Steve and part of the group from Arkansas for supper. The Arkansas was finishing up their week, so we didn't get to spend much time with them, but it was enough to feel like we had known the for quite a while. Honduras seems to bring people together to make strangers become friends and friends become family.

Sunday we all went to church at Otuta. It is always a blessing to worship here, but I was a little nervous to do that this time. I have always had, Aine, Valerie, or Arely interpreting in my ear during the sermon. God always breaks down those barriers when we give it to Him! I had my Spanish/English Bible, so I thought I would at least be able to follow along IF I could find the passage. Not only was I able to follow along with the Scriptures, I could also understand a FEW of the words he was saying. There was a young Honduran sitting beside me who helped me find the verses. She seemed to be very amazed, though, when I marked the passage in my Bible, put the date, and Brother Elias' name. She pointed and showed all her friends. When the service was over I had her write her name in my journal...Leticia Jacqueli Montofar.

I was also afraid this would be a sad trip because it is the first time I've been to Honduras since Arely Gonzalez passed away. I have such great memories of my trip here with Arely, and I was concerned I would be overwhelmed with sadness. Rather than this being a sad time, I can only think of the happy times we had. Thank You, Lord, for reminding me Arely is in Heaven praising you with people from every nation who have professed their faith in You.

We went back to the Mission House after church and had lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing. Jenni played her guitar and she and Mikala sang. It was beautiful! They even let the "old" people sing with them. After dinner we said goodbye to them since they were leaving at 5:00 the next morning and we were NOT going to be awake at that time.

Monday we moved our luggage to the Mission House. Since the Arkansas team was gone we would stay there the rest of the time. After a great breakfast we usually load up and go to villages. This is not how we would be doing things this trip. (Being in Honduras is all about being flexible.) There were only three of us this time, and the team on the ground here in Honduras had a hard week previously, so it was decided that we would do things differently this trip. Mark spent most of Monday studying the Scriptures with Edgardo and trying to answer any questions he might have. They sat at the kitchen table in the Mission House, opened their Bibles, and began visiting. (With the help of an interpreter, Samuel). Mark answered Edgardo's questions as best he could, and the ones he wasn't sure about he promised to get answers for him. It was a joy watching and listening to them talk back and forth. Mark even gave him homework for the next day. :) We relaxed then walked through the rain to eat supper at Jim's Pizza.