oh International Travels

Well, 48 hours after first arriving to the Tulsa International Airport, I have reached my final destination. Luma de Luz, Honduras. It is hot. Very hot. I am constantly sweating. I'm sure I will get used to it after awhile but it sure hurts right about now. I arrived in San Pedro Sula yesterday, met up with Brogan, then took a taxi to the Hedman Alas bus station to validate our tickets. We then took a 3 hours luxurious (i'm not being sarcastic, it was really nice! :)) bus ride to La Ceiba where Penny and John Alden met us. They told us that we would not be able to travel back to Luma de Luz (our final destination) that evening because many kidnappings have occurred after dark and they did not want to take any risks. So we stayed the night with another missionary couple. Went to be at 9 pm to wake up at 6 am to travel to Luma de Luz to be back in time for church. We made it to the Rumbaugh's house (where we will be living) around 7:30 am and really hit the ground running. After getting a tour of the house, Dr. Don and Suzanne shared a few expectations and rules with us, they shared their hearts their mission and their vision. They then asked us to share what we were wanting to get out of this trip...I didn't have an answer because I really hadn't thought about it. We then joined the Rumbaughs for a quick Purpose Driven Life Study they are doing with some missionary youth. After that we went to the missionaries church and fellowshipped with them. Mrs. Rumbaugh then gave us a more external tour, driving us around to neighboring villages where we will be serving. After our tour we came back for lunch. And quickly following we joined Dr. Don in his "jam session," ie. teaching guitar to anyone who will learn. He informed us that we will be learning, so Brogan and I picked up the guitar and starting strumming.. I have learned the chords G, C, D, E minor, A, and A7. Soon after learning the chords we were thrown in a told to play a few songs...needless to say it was not worship worthy! Hah, i'm getting the feeling that things are learned through diving in head first here as opposed to toe-ing in to see how cold the water is.
The scenery here is beautiful. There is jungle everywhere. My back porch overlooks the Caribbean. I cannot wait to take pictures! Everyone is very kind here and forgiving at the fact that I know no Spanish. I feel handicapped not knowing any, but I know that my vocabulary will grow and i'll be able to better communicate.
My main purpose is teaching english to children in different villages. I will also be given the opportunity to follow around a rural midwife making visits to different villages and clinics. This first week Dr. Don has us going to a Bilingual school reading stories to the children and having them read stories to us to better improve their English.
Thank you all for your prayers throughout my travels. The only trouble I had was missing my flight to Honduras...haha kind of a big deal I know; but the Lord just gave me a peace about it. I knew I was suppose to come and so I knew he would figure out a way to get me there. I got my luggage when I arrived, which I was very very surprised by; I thought it was going to get lost with all the chaotic events in the airports. So thank you again for your prayers.
Thank you for your investment in this trip. I hope this blog finds you doing well! If you every have any questions about me or what i'm doing or anything at all feel free to e-mail me at karin.shacklett@okstate.edu I would love to hear from you!