Well, we made it to Tocoa, but what a journey. I didn’t blog last night because it was after midnight when we arrived and after 1am when we finally got to bed. Flight wise our two different groups, had good smooth flights with early landings into Tocoa. We all met up in customs and then the fun began. I believe our group had about 16 or so team bags with supplies and medications etc and of course the process is customs takes us aside and begins to go through stuff and open bags and attempt to find something wrong with our paperwork etc. Unfortunately, due to as se rious of hiccups our paper work had not 100% come through for us and we hadn’t receive the final permit. So, most of the group was allowed to leave with personal luggage but two stayed behind with the bags to await the permit, while our coordinator Milton talked to lawyers and tried to speed up that permit. Almost 3 hours later, detained in customs, our two team members and supplies were finally approved. So, of course that delayed us getting on the road. Finally have grabbing food and using the bathroom, we loaded the vehicles and piled in the vehicles. Traffic for the most part didnt’ seem too bad, but the roads seemed slower. A few bathroom breaks, and stops for food, our final stop was in La Ceiba and we knew we had about 3 hours left to go. The longest, craziest, washboard, giant pothole road, 3 hours of my life!! Wow! The road from La Ceiba to TOCOA was the worst I’ve ever seen it. There were many sections it looked like ripples and rivets in the road with big holes that were unavoidable. Soooo slow going and I think riding in a washing machine would have been smoother! It was most certainly a wild ride. We finally arrive in Tocoa at our hotel around midnight, almost 9 hours later. Tired and sore and ready for bed, we unloaded the luggage and headed to our rooms.
Sometimes in life, we experience the same ride, with so many bumps along the way, and we get so tired its hard to keep looking up at the road ahead and having faith knowing we will make it. Sometimes those roads are very long and sometimes we see no end in sight. Even when things are dark and bumpy, we have to keep our eye on the road and know that God has our back and He will get us where we need to be. It may not always be where we thought we would be or where we necessarily wanted to be, but it’s always where we need to be. This I believe. Today, I woke up relatively rested, listening to the sounds of the little city of Tocoa and enjoying my coffee and thinking about the plans for the week and wondering what beautiful things God has in store for us. What will be the things we will experience that will change our hearts and perspectives in ways we didn’t know we needed? What beautiful souls will we meet along the way? Honduras is beautiful and I love the mountains and people and love that is here. The washboard, bumpy road to get here – worth every ache and pain in my back. It’s why I keep coming back, keep listening to God and letting him lead me here.
Let the work begin in preparation for the rest of the team arriving Saturday and the work to be done next week!
