Road Trip!

Last Monday-Wednesday me and 5 others from the Ranch took a little road trip to Copan. It was 4 single adults (Tammy, Sara, Steve, and myself) and 2 boys from the Ranch (Brayan and Obed.) Copan is 7 miles from the Guatemala boarder. It is also the town that hold the Maya ruins. It was a great three days and was awesome to have the chance to visit other parts of Honduras.

Lake Yajoa

On the way to Copan we took a short pit stop at Lake Yajoa. Lake Yajoa is the largest lake in Honduras. We had time to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery. Across from Lake Yajoa is a little rest area with a HUGE tree house and a playground. We climbed the tree house and had an awesome view from up there. I finally convinced Sara and Brayan to play on the teeter-toter with me. It was fun!




Copan

So we got to Copan after a 7 hour car ride. The ride didn't take to long and it was really gorgeous view. We stayed in a cute little town nestled in the mountains. Our hotel had a pool and we were able to swim and play tag in the pool at night. We ate at a local restaurant that served Mexican food. It was the best meal I have had since Christmas. It had great service and fantastic food. We also got to shop around the town.


Waterfall

Shortly after arriving in Copan we set out for more adventures. We heard that there was a waterfall close by, so we set out to find it. We drove around a little and felt kind of lost but finally came to the path that lead to the waterfall. We hiked down the mountain a little and came to a "bridge" we had to cross it to get to the falls. It looked pretty old and shaky but we made it across alive. The falls were really pretty and covered by a canopy of trees. I was fun because the water was really deep by the falls and we could swim. We also found a really cool spider. Brayan, Obed, and myself also climbed a really cool tree.




The Ruins

On Tuesday morning we started out to see the Maya ruins. We had a tour guide and she was able to tells us about what the different statues and stuff represented. It was a really cool experience, and I felt like it was something not many people could say they've done. In a lot of ways the ruins reminded me of Egypt. They had all kinds of cool statues, buildings, houses and tunnels there. The tunnels were under or in the structures and often time a burial place. Everything there was carved in such intricate detail. Our guide told us that everything use to be colored but over time all the color faded out of the stone. On a few things you could still see the color. It was very beautiful and I enjoyed seeing everything.




Horseback Ride

After the ruins we all took a 3 hour horse ride up into the mountains. I was really fun because we were allowed to run them or do whatever, which was really cool. I love to ride horses. It was a really fun experience to have in Honduras. Our whole trip was a blast, and I'm so glad I went.

Swimming with Spiders

This beauty was part of the scenery that captured our attention as we swam in Copan. We saw the spider near the bottom of a waterfall we visited. The spider was bigger than my hand, making it the largest spider I've seen up close. While I don't know what type of spider it is we all agreed that is had to be some kind of poisonous spider. It may be something in the tarantula family but was much skinnier than the other tarantulas I've seen in Honduras. Your guess is as good as mine.

South Beach

Last Friday I went to the south coast of Honduras with a bus load of people from the Ranch. We had a sewing team at the Ranch and the team treated all the kids that completed their sewing projects to a day to the beach! It was a really great idea and we all had a lot of fun. It took us about 4 hours to get to the beach. We spent the afternoon swimming in the ocean and catching the rays. I think that it goes without saying that the boys brought a soccer ball and played soccer on the beach. We also brought a frisbee, and others enjoyed a game of frisbee with sand between their toes. While the south coast doesn't compare with the north coast (the islands) it was still really pretty. One thing that I really liked about the beach we went to was that there were large trees right on the shore. The beach had these gigantic trees just sitting right there, the trees were dressed with hammocks, making for a very relaxing resting place. When you looked to the sky you were graced with a beautiful canopy of leafs. I think there is something so romantic about big old trees. We returned to the ranch last that night. It was a really fun day. It was great to get off the Ranch for the day and enjoy the kids with different scenery.

Scorpion

Here is a picture of a scorpion I saw in a public women's bathroom on the south coast of Honduras. I have learned not to be surprised by anything here.If you look closely at the picture you can see lots of tiny baby scorpions on it's back. It was really cool to see in person! Honestly, I was really excited that we found the scorpion, since I knew that they live here but hadn't seen one before that day! ENJOY!!!

Quilt

Since moving to Honduras I have learned so much more than I thought possible. I have come to realize that everyday holds the opportunity to learn about or learn how to do something new. I think that many people believe that once you finish school you finish learning. I think that in my subconscious I kind of believed that too. Well, my thinking has completely changed, that's for sure. I now believe that you can learn more out of school, than in it. Of course there are certain things that are necessary to go to school to learn about, but there is so much that you can learn if you just look around yourself. I find that most people are willing to share their life experiences with you, and are often eager teach what they know. You can learn so much if you are a good listen and student. I have most recently learned about quilting. At the Ranch we often have teams come down to help with various projects, and the last team we had was a sewing team. This team has been coming for the last few summers to teach our kids how to sew. They are a remarkable team, and our kids look forward to them coming each year. This year the team came for two week and had some "adult" sewing time, giving me the opportunity to make a quilt. It was a really fun experience and one that I will never forget. I really liked the process of making the quilt and seeing it change. It went much faster than I thought it would. Of course, being my first quilt it is a very simple design, but I really like it. I also made a matching pillow. I found that the work was very rewarding and hope to make more quilts in the years to come. I am very grateful for such a fun learning experience.

A moment passed with sleepy clouds

About a month ago I had to go into Tegucigalpa (Tegucigalpa: the capital city of Honduras and the main city where I do my shopping. Tegucigalpa is about and hour from the ranch.) for a meeting of sorts. I had to leave the Ranch around six in the morning in order to make my appointment. I rode in with a few of the teens who go to school in the city. The students happened to be in exams that same week, so on the way into the city most of them were getting some last minute studying in. I was enjoying the bumpy ride down the dirt road, thinking of nothing in particular. A few minutes later we came around a bend where a beautiful valley is nestled into the mountains. I really love this spot and my eyes quickly traveled to the valley, what I saw took my breath away. The clouds were still resting their sleepy heads on the sides of the mountains. It wasn't just "fog" that is like a large blanket, but it was like the clouds descended to have a slumber party. There were many clouds nestled cozily against the mountains and in the valley. It really was beautiful, I looked around the car, to get the others reaction to the beautiful landscape. They still had their heads bowed studying. That is when it hit me... how often was I like those teens? You know so busy with "life" that I missed the treasures that God placed before me. They were doing just what they "needed" to be doing. Most would agree that before a big test you should study, but yet they missed such an awesome moment. How do you balance that, living your life...and not missing out on life? How do you get the things done that you have to do, without neglecting the people who are important to you, or missing the little treasures given to you throughout the day? Even aside from missing out on stuff because of "duties" think how often we miss out on moments worrying about yesterday, tomorrow, 2 minutes from now. It was a great reminder to me that there really is more to life than deciding what I'm going to have for dinner, when I'm going to mow my grass, or how I'm going to spend the weekend. Jesus even talks about this in Matthew 6:19-34, He says,
"19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.25 Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Wow, He said that so much better than me. Isn't it even funny how often I have read those verses, and yet it didn't truly sink in until that moment. God is very patient, he teaches us the same lessons that He has been teaching us, but when we don't get it He is so kind to speak to us in an other way so that we do get it. What a great God we serve!

Island in the sun

I don’t think there could be a more magnificent place on earth than on a private island. Three of my fellow teachers and I had the privilege of escaping the everyday tasks to get a little R&R off the coast of La Ceiba. We traveled 6 hours by car and an hour and a half by boat to arrive at the most amazing beach I have ever been to. Words could not begin to describe the beauty I felt, pictures hardly do it justice. In a place like this, one comes face to face with the handy work of God like never before and wonders how anyone could ever question if there is a God. We were surrounded by nothing but His glory. At night we looked into the sky and watched the stars sparkle; and because we were around NOTHING but the ocean the stars shined brighter and we saw a lot more than normal. The night sky was enough to sell me, but then morning broke and the most astonishing pinks and oranges appeared and I knew that it couldn’t get better than that, and yet it did. God can not be limited. Never have I seen such a blue ocean! The water was crystal clear, clam and inviting. The water was so blue that it almost looked fake, in the pictures it looks like we are swimming in a pool, but there was no pool on the island. We snorkeled in the worlds second best coral reef, and I could not imagine there being a better one. There are NO WORDS! Really, I had no idea something like that existed. I have been to aquariums and thought it was cool, but I kind of thought that they just put a lot of really cool fish and things together and made it really big and stuff just so that you could see more fish and more types of coral. I guess I expected that stuff to be few and far between, but all of the that stuff was at our finger tips. The most marvelous fish swam easily as my jaw dropped, stunned by what I saw. If I had not seen it with my own eyes and don’t know that I would have believed it. We saw fish in every color imaginable, fish that looked like they came straight out of a fairy tale land. Big fish and tiny fish, ugly fish and the most beautiful fish all swimming there in perfect harmony. I also saw a sea turtle, it was a perfect looking sea turtle, as if it were a stuffed animal. To say that everything was breath taking would be an understatement. Other cool things that we encountered would be the pelicans that hung out on the docks and the vast amounts of hermit crabs that try repeatedly to get into our house at night. One night we even had hermit crab races! I didn’t know that hermit crabs could get so big, or that they stared so small, the smallest one that I saw was about the size of a comma mark on your key board, the largest was bigger than my fist. We also played hide and go seek in the dark, and lots of card games and I think that it goes with out saying that we laid out a lot too. I couldn’t imagine a more relaxing vacation, or a more beautiful place. I will add it to my list of things that I will never forget.