It's been one month .....part 1.

It's hard to believe that just more than one month ago we boarded a plane for Honduras. In a lot of ways it seems like we have been here a lot longer. So much has happened in a relatively short period of time. I was going to write all that I wanted to write in one post but I have a feeling it will be too long so I will do it in a couple parts.

For the first couple weeks we lived in the team house while we looked for housing; a process that was almost draining.  We looked at nine homes in all.  Eight houses and one apartment. All of them I liked; except for the run down place with a bat flying out of one of the bedrooms. But even it had a lot going for it if it were fixed up.
  So many things to consider in looking for a home in a foreign country where everything is so different from everything we are familiar with, everything we know to be "normal".  I guess nine may not be that many to some, but by the end of it we were just done; ready to make a decision.

 I had been praying long before we even moved that we would be settled in a home before the kids started school on August 26th. One thing about God is he knows our hearts desire;  and when it came to timing of the house, He delivered right on time!
We ended up after much prayer deciding on a lovely home where we offered less than the asking price for rent. The real estate agent who had shown us the home told us that she would never go for that....but the land lady did! What a blessing and surprise that was. God never ceases to amaze me in how He blesses us. He is so good!
One of the things we had wanted was a view and this house definitely has views...some of the best in Honduras I  think. One cannot sit outside on the terrace, look at the view and not feel blessed by God; not feel His peace. We see his beautiful creation just outside our door or in looking out our windows.

The house itself is not in the best of areas. However, we are safe as we do have a gate and walls surrounding the property that are topped with razor wire and an electric fence.  It isn't safe for me to walk outside  of that gate, and those who know me, know how difficult that is, as I am such an outdoor kind of girl.   But, we do go to a place where I feel safe to walk and Dale can run. I also do walk in my area of three houses....up and down the hill and around the court yard and the top and bottom. Crazy I know; but it works for me.

We have been in our home for two weeks already. Slowly we are picking up furniture ( some of it hand crafted in Honduras and stained with nothing more than shoe polish) It is starting to look and feel like a home. We love it aside from the ants we can't get rid of . In all honesty they drive me crazy. I have almost been in tears over them...waking up and finding my counter and floor covered in hundreds of tiny ants. However I have been told that it is a part of tropical living and there really isn't a lot we can do about it. So I put up with them and try not to stress about it.  We are also getting used to no hot water....it's tepid but definitely not hot. I guess that is one of the "perks" of living in a third world country.

 

One really "cool" thing that I have mentioned before is that missionaries that I met on facebook a year ago, right after our dog died...previously lived in this home a few years ago!
 Back then it was very different and the owners have done a lot of renovating to this place...but it's the same home; just different. I can't get over the fact that in a city of 1.7 million people and how many houses that people I know lived here before us.  I have seen some of the before photos too and what a change!

We also bought our vehicle! It's a yellow Nisson and is the same colour as our house!  The great thing about it is that it is an automatic. I don't plan on driving anytime soon though; but perhaps some day I will tire of being a passenger and want to drive myself to the grocery store, mall or where ever.

The driving here is way different than in Canada. There just seem to be no rules to the road. People make their own lanes, they don't signal if they are turning and cars will pass you on the left and the right. If you are going to drive here you need to pay attention. I have been freaked out many times and have screamed several times while my hands are flapping. Not sure what all the hand flapping will accomplish but it's a reactionary thing. That being said, Dale is getting really good at finding his way around the city and at driving Honduras style!