God calls us. God goes with us.

Hi Friends.

I got up early in the morning for some of Juan's special super-light pancakes ( he whips up the eggs separate). Then Jessica, a med student and soon to be doctor with whom we worked at the children's home, came by to take me to church. We walked down, down, down to her church "Honor and Glory", where I found the leaders already on their knees praying ( they had started an hour earlier). The sermon was from Moses encounter with God in the burning bush ( Exodus 3:10-12). The gist of which was that God is with us and that He calls us to confront power and to set people free. What matters is not me or you. What matters is not the plan or the strategy. It's God that matters and that He has chosen us.

Jessica then walked with me all the way to the top of the hill, to Juan and Isidra's church. There I listened as each one of several brothers and sisters shared how God was speaking to them. Psalm 95:1-2 was the word that stuck with me, God invites us to come celebrate with Him, to recognize the reality that His Truth and Justice stand above the lies and injustice that surround us down here.

Juan went to the local Chinese restaurant on his motorcycle and picked up His favorite dish for our farewell meal. Today is a special day honoring Francisco Morazon, the founder of Honduras. Juan sees this man's life as a life of sacrifice to build a country where people could live a good life in peace. May God use Juan and all my friends here to make it so.

When the taxi dropped me off at the bus station, there I met Jenny's mom. She'd brought some clothes I'd forgotten at her house. She stayed to see me off and make sure I didn't forget my backpack. Gracias Senora Funes!

The bus trip to Siguatepeque went quickly. I decided to make friends with my seatmate even if he was sitting in my window seat. I think talking with him and finding out about his life ( he was on his way home from his cousin's wedding in Olancho and was going back to work in a steel fabrication plant in San Pedro Sulas) was way more interesting than picking up a little more scenery. Then too, there was more room to stretch my long gringo legs on the aisle.

I arrived some time before the team made it in from San Pedro Sulas, still I wasn't alone. Luis who had worked as the agronomist at Nuevo Amanecer ( New Dawn) in the early years was there, too. We had a couple hours to catch up. He had been studying for his masters, focusing on insect pests, at the University of Arkansas. A difficulty with his visa had forced him and his American wife, Christy, to return to Honduras and work until it is straightened out. They found jobs with World Gospel Outreach where they have been working with orphaned kids. Luis will be working with us all next week as we return to Nuevo Amanecer.

A couple hours later my friends rolled in. How great to see them, it seems like months since we last saw each other. Tomorrow we'll journey together to for another reunion at N.A. Till then, adios.