The Thbursday before my mission trip departure I met up with some of my volleyball friends and a former co-worker for dinner. It was great to share a meal and the time with them. Their well wishes were sweet and funny at the same time!
Originally, (over the 4th of July Holiday) my friends devised a "rescue" plan in the event I'm captured while in Honduras. Kip would come...prepared with his U.S. Military background/training. Justin would use his ninja skills and Rusty would be there for his charming good looks. They only had 1 stipulation if I get captured...They get to spend at least 1 day on the beach before coming to my rescue. It's great having friends who care so much for you, I think.
I left work in Richmond, VA at noon on Friday and began my trip to WV to meet up with the rest of my mission team. I was able to spend some time with my parents and nieces before meeting everyone at Chestnut Ridge Church. I was attempting to explain to my nieces (soon to be 3 and 5 years old) where I am going and what I will be doing. They asked me to blow dry and braid their hair after their bath and then we said their bed time prayers. Brooke (soon to be 5) said she wanted to say the "Now I Lay Me" prayer. She did an excellent job! I only had to help her a couple times. Paige (soon to be 3) says, Tía, I'm going to need some help with my prayers because I'm much littlier than sissy." We did the 'God Bless" prayer. We say God Bless and then say a family member, friend, or pet we want God to bless and protect. The girls were then tucked in and kissed good night.
This has not left me with about 45 minutes for a quick nap. It definitely was NOT enough time. We all met at the church, loaded luggage, prayed and traveled to the Pittsburgh International Airport. I enjoyed the drive to Pittsburgh because I got to know Beth, Dillon, and Justin some during this time. It took quite some time to get ALL of our baggage checked and our boarding passes printed. The printer kept locking up and starting from the beginning. We had so many tickets/bags, the machine/computer would time out and we would have to start over. I think Ben Franklin/Geutenburg could have printed our boarding passes faster on a printing press faster than this printer was doing. Not to worry...everyone stayed calm and the United employees were very helpful.
We got through security and when we got to our gate, we were able to board. No waiting!
I got a very brief nap on the flight to Houston. The air was quite cold, but I was so exhausted, I didn't really notice.
Upon arrival in Houston, we migrated to our gate. We flocked to the Starbucks for coffee and quick snack before boarding the plane to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. There were 2 other mission groups on our flight. Their mission is to dig wells to provide drinking water to the people of Honduras.
Our flight was scheduled to depart at 9am Houston time. However, a passenger didn't make the flight and according to international flight regulations (says the pilot -- I'm taking his word on this and not researching it) each piece ofl uggage must be accompanied by its passenger. The workers were in the "belly" of the plane retrieving the luggage before we could depart. This took about an hour and the flight was full and the air conditioner was not working well. The exact opposite of our last flight. This time did allow me to get acquainted with one of my group leaders, Dave Bayles. He shared with me about his trip to Honduras last year as well as his career. I feel slightly like and outisder on this trip because pretty much everone else already knows everyone else on the trip and I met all of them because of this trip. I know my life has already changed and positively impacted by our paths crossing. I will stop for now. Mostly because I am still in flight to Honduras and nothing else has happened :)
More to come!
Dear God:
Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to serve the people of Honduras and show them your love. I pray that you use me and our group for your glory. Please wrap us in your protection. Amen.
"I will prise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies." Psalm 57:9-10
"Look down from Heaven, your holy dwelling place, and bless your people..." Deuteronomy 26:15
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