A good night’s sleep and no problems getting up (all week I’ve been energized in the mornings. God is great!). The usual breakfast, preceded by Isaiah 40. Today we did four worship songs: For All You’ve Done, Hope Of The Nations, Enough, & How Great Is Our God. J. shared an incredible story about perseverance from his days in the Air Force in 1971. It was a pleasure to listen to this wonderful man of God share some of his life’s experiences with us. We then had an extended individual reflection time which I spent reviewing my pictures and journaling. After we regrouped, A. shared about how he would like to see some people from our team serve in Honduras for an extended period of time.

Before we left for the day, I was able to speak to Boris & Nena, who were preparing for a marriage conference at the hotel. They were very happy to see me and recalled how nice it was that I was at the camp in December (and I was proudly wearing my shirt). My Spanish was working pretty well (I love it when God does that) and we had a very nice conversation. In fact, they wondered why I hadn’t been to their house yet, and told me “nuestra casa es su casa”. J I gave them a CD and they were very excited to receive it. They filled me in on what some of the older boys were doing now. We shared blessings and I excused myself. I’m glad I had the chance to see them. They are such amazing people.

It was then off to the market and we spent an hour or so viewing how most people do their buying and selling in Choluteca. After the market, we headed off to the new house for the Oasis de Amor kids in Choluteca (Casa Blanca as the kids call it). It was good to be there again to see all the kids: Cristian, Scarleth, Nauhn, Moises, Marlon, Samuel, Luís, José Daniel, Isaías, Andrés, & Mainor. I gave my greetings to everyone and gave cards and a CD to Andrés and Mainor. Then we were off to Wendy’s for lunch.

I sat next to Mainor on the 40-minute bus ride to the beach. We made some decent conversation, but the Spanish/English thing wasn’t working well. He told me that he enjoys drawing, which I didn’t know. It was great to see him and have a chance to talk with him again.

At the beach, I took the chance to adore the beauty of God’s creation again – this is one of the most beautiful places on earth (pictured below in a fraction of its true beauty). Most everybody headed down to the water, but a few stayed behind in the shade.

Shortly after we arrived, I saw Andrés sitting way off to the left by himself. I walked over and sat down next to him. We had an amazing connection time – possible the best connection time I’ve ever had with a native Honduran during one of my trips. We were able to talk about a lot of things and pray together. I’m glad we had the chance to connect for this time. We then went to rejoin the others. Andrés 14 th birthday was a few days before, too.

Before we left I was sure to connect with Isaías a little. On the way home, I sat next to Andrés and we talked the whole way. We shared some scripture, exchanged prayer requests, talked about music, and he dictated a letter for me to give to his sponsor. It was great connecting with him today. Below is a picture of Andrés, Mainor, and me.

Before we left I was sure to connect with Isaías a little. On the way home, I sat next to Andrés and we talked the whole way. We shared some scripture, exchanged prayer requests, talked about music, and he dictated a letter for me to give to his sponsor. It was great connecting with him today.

I didn’t feel well when we got back to the hotel so I tried to sleep rather than eat dinner. The church service at the GCLA church tonight was great. They started with “Trading My Sorrows” (“Sí Señor”) and third was “Fue En La Cruz”. The worship time was great; I love worshipping with my brothers and sisters in Honduras. Somehow the language barrier disappears when we worship God together. Nelson Reyes did a ‘qualities of a servant’ message from Luke 10. Afterward they had a special presentation for K. who had lived and worked there since January and was leaving the day after our team. They presented her with a nice gift. We were back to the hotel around 10:45pm.

I sat and talked to K. on a bench for about ½ hour about our week. While we were there, I had a chance to greet Paola and later Boris & Nena before heading in around 11:15pm. I did a small bit of packing, and then hit the sack.