It was quite an adventure getting to Honduras. The plane that took us from Columbus to Miami was the smallest plant I have ever ridden on. It only had three seats across. I slept for most of the flight, which was very much needed. We had a short layover in Miami and then boarded a huge, full plane for Tegucigalpa. Shortly after takeoff, they informed us that there was a problem with one of the engines and we needed to return to Miami. We sat on the ground in Miami for over an hour while the mechanics looked at the plane. In the end they couldn’t find anything wrong, but elected to change planes. When all was said and done, we arrived in Honduras three hours late.

Boris & Nena along with their kids Andres and Dulce met us at the airport. We then went to the home of Boris’ brother and met him and Boris’ mother. They were both very nice. We went through the drive thru at Wendy’s, bought some bottled water at a gas station and headed off to the camp. It was rush hour in Tegucigalpa and there were many people walking along the busy roads amid the heavy traffic. We drove outside the city and turned off onto a dirt road that that took us through the mountains. This road was in very poor condition, contained many sharp curves, and had no guardrails. We passed a couple of small villages along the way.

We finally arrived at the camp around 7:00pm (local time is now an hour behind Ohio). The camp is much better than I expected. It has a lot of land and has several small buildings, open areas, and a large dining hall (just like every other camp I’ve been to). We found most of the guys from Oasis shortly after our arrival, including Andres, Maynor, Santos, Jonathan, Jorge, Israel, Oscar, and of course, Pablo – who was especially happy to see me. We also met Juan Ramon, one of the leaders, who found us a place to sleep.

Then everyone went over to the dining hall and lined up in straight lines outside for dinner. The line with the best discipline (straight, quiet, etc) would be dismissed. The food was good! There was chicken, mashed potatoes, vegetables, rolls, and salad. Following dinner they had a big Christmas party which consisted of several musical acts performed by some of the over 300 students at the camp. Stevie and I found ourselves in Juan Ramon’s group; these guys are amazing! They cheered loudly for the ones performing musical acts, they did the wave, and they did this thing with their hand as a way of showing applause instead of clapping. They had a big countdown then everyone cheered, sang Feliz Navidad, and hugged each other wishing Merry Christmas. We then moved our bags into Juan Ramon’s room. Oscar and Edwin from Oasis were also in this group/room.

The weather here is really good. In the evening, the temperature was probably in the upper 50s or 60. What’s funny is that most of the students think that is really cold – especially those from really hot places like Choluteca. Stevie and I are certainly not complaining; it’s Christmas in July for us.

Then the guys in our group/room (2nd Samuel, shown above) came together for a tie down. It started with everyone going around the room saying their name. Then Juan Ramon opened the floor to anyone who wanted to share. It was hard to understand all that was said, but I could tell the guys were encouraging one another as brothers in Christ. One even wrote a letter to everyone in the group (21, including Stevie and I). As time went on many of them were fighting back tears. The emotion and intensity continued to increase and then…God showed up. One of the other leaders, Favi, started talking and praying and all at once several of the guys started crying. They started praying for each other, laid hands on one another, and were brought into the presence of God with one another. I prayed with a few of them as I felt led. It was amazing to be a part of that and I really wished I knew all they were saying. I played my guitar and they sang along to a couple songs (Agnus Dei, Alleluia, and Open the Eyes of my Heart). I encouraged them to write their experience in a journal so they would remember it long into the future. Many guys did just that. I kept thinking how much these teenage guys were like American teenage guys. They all want and crave this kind of deep friendship and want to be able to express their emotions openly. I saw them resist, try to put on the “tough guy” façade, but then give in and enjoy the freedom of authentic manhood with Christ.

It’s after 1:00am and I’m told the alarm is set for 4:30am! I’d better get to sleep.