beginning to land

Tomorrow begins my adventure to the third world country of Honduras. It's crazy to think that just three weeks ago I was planning to go backpacking through Europe right now, but God sure has a way of making things happen His way, right? 


From September 19 till November 19, I will be living in Honduras and serving with His Eyes Ministries (click here to view the ministry's website). During the month of September and most of October, I will live in the town of Talanga and help a church plant construct a building while serving the pastor and local community. Towards the end of my trip, I may move to Tegucigalpa to assist at a medical clinic, help with one of their clothing ministries, or remain in Talanga if needed. 


According to wikipedia, [a credible source, I know] Talanga is a medium-sized, agriculturally-reliant town that crops corn, sugar cane and fodder. [Now, if you're anything like me, you may be asking yourself, "what the heck is fodder?"]


Fodder: any agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock such as cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. 
[Now this is only a guess, but, if the town primarily crops food for cattle, goats, sheep, horses, chickens, and pigs, I can only hope to get in touch with my farm-boy roots... my goal is to kill and pluck a chicken for dinner]


Back to Talanga, the town's most notable feature is that the streets are all dirt. [Good thing I packed extra allergy pills] 
And the town just finished installing a sewer system as of 2006. However, I've still been warned to throw my used tp in the trash cans by the toilets as it may clog the pipelines. 
[Don't worry, I already said goodbye to my Starbucks' commercial grade toilets, that can literally swallow a bowling ball if you so decide to flush one] 
Rest assured, Mom, Talanga has a very good indoor market with produce, meat, pots and pans, and other household goods as well two internet cafes. 
[eh, who needs paved roads when we've got the internet; life in the 21st century]


I will fly into Atlanta tomorrow where I have an overnight layover. On Tuesday, I will arrive in Tegucigalpa, Honduras around noon CST. Oh yeah, did I mention the Toncontín International Airport is ranked the second most dangerous airport in the world due to its proximity to mountainous terrain, its short runway, and its historically difficult approach to the runway? check this out:

Yeeeah, let's hope I even have a second blog post. 


Here are some things you can be praying for if you'd like:  
1) Safety during travel to Talanga
2) Large amounts of patience and humility as I adapt to many new things
3) Quick immersion within the Spanish language
4) Current and future building construction in Talanga. Prayer for all the work to be done to God’s glory, that stress would be minimized, and things go smoothly. 


Thanks everybody. I'm excited to keep you updated on what happens, what I observe, and what I learn. 
Hopefully my next blog post will come straight from Honduras!