Coming Soon--Our 1st Honduran Vacation!

This weekend, we will hopefully tell you all about our Honduran vacation.  I am calling it a Honduran vacation b/c we went to an island that gringos normally don't visit but many Hondurans do.

Happy Birthday, Amy!!!!

Today is Amy's birthday (my oldest sister)!  I wont reveal her age because she's very sensitive about that. :-)  She is not just my sister but a close friend.  We talk about everything (when we're able to talk) and are very similar in many ways.  I miss her and all of her sweet babies!  Here are a few pictures of her.  (Amy, don't be mad!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!!! I LOVE YOU!!

Trip to Valle de Angeles

Today we took the bus to another town about an hour away from school to do a little shopping.  I am always in awe of God's beautiful creation!  It's so easy to spend the bus ride starring out the window looking at the scenery.   Here are a few pictures we took on our trip

On our way to Valle de Angeles

Some of our group that we walked around town with.

This was taken from the balcony where we ate lunch.

From the other side of the balcony.  I LOVE seeing mountains every time I turn around.

Ruth and Luke our neighbors and friends.

We enjoyed our time shopping and hanging out with friends for the day.

A Great Sunday!!!

This past Sunday (Sep. 4) was amazing. It started with Liz and I visiting Union Christian Church in Teguc. It was an all-English-speaking church, so we understood everything. This was the first time in a month. Not only that, but the pastor (a TEDS grad) was brand new 3 weeks into his ministry, and he preached a great sermon on Psalm 45. I enjoy hearing a Christocentric OT sermon. He nailed it. Anywho...

Afterwards, we went to Dunkin Donuts for some coffee and donuts (cf. a few posts below for pics). I ordered in Spanish and the end result was Liz's iced fruit drink was tiny. I felt bad.

From there, we went with our neighbors the Moss's to the mall to pick up a cell phone for Liz. It was nice to walk through the mall without being rushed. You also appreciate shopping in America a whole lot more since speedy service is very low on the priority list around here.


Leaving the mall, the 4 of us went to dine at the very elegant Pupusaria Camino del Valle where it is advertised that they have the best pupusas in Honduras (in Spanish of course). Having had quite a few pupusas since arriving in Honduras, I have to admit that it was pretty good. By the way, if you are wondering what a pupusa is, imagine a thick corn tortilla with a middle layer of cheese or meat (or both). They are really good with the toppings (whatever that is).


Once we got home from our eventful morning, it was nearly late afternoon. Our other neighbors, the Holtrops, have a beautiful German shepherd named Grizzly. I.e. Brutus has a girlfriend. We took the dogs to the soccer field and let them romp around for a bit. Brutus is still learning how to fetch a tennis ball that is thrown farther than 10ft. So far... fail. But he runs around with Grizzly a lot. Check out the Holtrop's blog; they posted pics and a video of the 2 dogs playing. It's lots of fun.


As Liz posted earlier, she made an amazing home-made pizza for dinner. What better way to top off a great day? I hope to experience many more like this one here in Honduras.

My Nephew Dekoda

These are the days it is hard being so far from family.  Today, September 6th is Dekoda's 4th birthday.  He is such a comical little boy and always puts on a show when people are around.  Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of him.

Happy 4th Birthday, Dekoda!!

Pizza Dough

Living in Honduras has changed the way we eat in some ways. Tim and I used to eat frozen pizzas at least twice a week. We LOVE pizza! But here we can't buy frozen pizzas so easily. If they are at the grocery store we go to, they are usually a bit pricey because it's imported. In order for us to have pizza, I have to make it from scratch. I know, it's much healthier this way, but it takes more time!

Problem solved (sort of)...
I found a really easy pizza dough recipe on the internet. We usually put green peppers, red peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, pepperoni, and sometimes bacon if we could find it in the store.

Here is the recipe -

Ingredients:

1 package of active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white sugar


Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. Cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

It's really easy and honestly doesn't take too much time. Making our own pizza is more fun than having a frozen one. We can decide what toppings we want and how much cheese to add.

I must admit, Amy (my sister) has a much better recipe or maybe she just cooks better than I do. Her's is a little bit harder and more involved. If I was in the States right now, I would get her to make me a chicken pizza! It's delicious!


(The link to the recipe ... http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/pizza-dough-iii/detail.aspx )

A Bit of Home

Today we went down the mountain with some friends who own a car.  They took us to an English speaking church (which was awesome!) and then we ran a few errands.  This was the first time we rode in a car to town and could enjoy walking around the mall without being rushed to get back on the bus.  One of the stops we made was to a Dunkin Donuts.  It was so nice to eat something familiar.

The only problem was that it was all in Spanish so it was hard to find what you wanted and the price.  The second problem was Tim ordered for me.  His drink is on the left and mine is on the right.  It just doesn't seem fair.  :-)  I'm ready to learn Spanish!

Market Day

Every weekend we go to town (about a 45 minute bus ride) to do our grocery shopping.  Every other weekend we go to the Open Market, a regular grocery store, and a bakery.  I have started enjoying this trip more and more.  The first time was a little overwhelming but today we knew what to expect and could find what we needed easily.  Here are a couple pictures I took while we were there.

Tim's getting some tomatoes.

I was picking up a few onions.

We are walking through the market.  There are hundreds of vendors on the sides.

They sell everything at the market but the purpose of the picture was the background.  I love the scenery. 

You can also buy authentic Honduran food if you get hungry while shopping.  (I don't enjoy the food very much but Tim does.)

We spent about 250 Lempira which equals about $13.50 for all the fruits and vegetables in the picture below.   I LOVE being able to get it so cheap.

It's hard to see because some are in a bag.  We have a cucumber, potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, green peppers, red and yellow peppers, onions, oranges (in the green bag back in the back), and two bags of lemons (for homemade lemonade). 

If you come visit, we'll take you with us so you can experience the fun! :-)

Four Weeks...

Four weeks ago today we flew into Honduras not knowing what the next month would hold. 

• Many many many meetings
• Long hours planning lessons
• Going into the city and shopping
• Attending a Spanish speaking church
• Getting a dog and trying to train him
• Setting up our house to feel more like home
• Getting acquainted with our maid
• Making many new friends

Thanks for your prayers!  We look forward to many more months serving the Lord in Tegucigalpa, Honduras!