2 weeks In....

We’re loving all the “firsts” that the past two weeks have brought our way. We've been busy setting up house, buyings groceries and SIM cards, and setting up Honduran phone numbers.   

Our grocery store is quite the change from the Piggly Wiggly in Manchester, GA.

The grocery store even has an aisle labeled "gourmet products.  This is where they shelve the Spam!!

At first we were excited to see the real maple syrup that we buy in the States on the shelf here in Honduras.  Then we saw the $24 price tag and abandoned our high syrup standards in favor of the cheap stuff on the bottom shelf. 

After our first checkout at our little Wal-mart owned market, Dean and our friend Jaden stopped to process the whole  experience.  My receipt reminded me of home.  

Two weeks in, Dean has mastered the meat counter.  IN SPANISH, EVEN!  Here, he's ordering 15 leg quarters for dinner.

Trips out are pretty quick and easy.  We don’t have a car, so we walk nearly everywhere we need to go.  The kids love running down to the pulperia (a little corner market) to buy things for me.  When where we need to go is too far to walk, friends have given us rides, and we’ve learned all about taxis.  You can grab a taxi here in Siguat and be at the grocery store $1 and 5 minutes later.  We're pros now at walking to school and back...uphill both ways through the snow!  Just kidding!  We don't have snow, but we do have cows, herds of them right in the road!

There seem to be unattended cows everywhere.  When a cow grazes by our gate, the kids all run outside yelling, "COW!!!!" - every single time. Our neighbors think it's pretty funny. 

We are pretty excited about the fresh milk, bread, and tortillas we pick up from one of the stores close to us.  The kids loved the treat of ice cream we picked up for them there, too.

We started language school a week ago Monday. The grownups and the teens attend an intensive study program at the language school, while the younger kids work through their curriculum at home.  School is challenging, but we’re enjoying the company and instruction of our teachers.  We work one-on-one with our teachers for four-hour sessions, five days a week. Some of us go to school in the morning, while some go in the afternoon.  This way there’s always someone here with the younger ones and we can keep the cooking, cleaning, and laundry going.  The classes move quickly and afterschool we have homework and have to practice a lot.

The kiddos keep asking when we’ll take them on an adventure. We sorta feel like we’re already on one, which is hysterical to me.  Being in a new country with so many new and unusual things, it’s easy to feel like there should be an amazing adventure around every corner just waiting to be experienced.  Don't get me wrong, it is adventurous, but most of the time life here is somewhat similar to life in the States:  worship, school, homework, cooking, cleaning, playing, reading, working, studying, etc. Y’all pray I can make all these things seem adventurous to the ones among us who formed all their ideas about living in Honduras from watching REI commercials and videos!!

Ultimately, as we work through all the ins and outs of setting up life, we are mindful of the real reason we’re here.  Long ago God opened our eyes to the plight of the orphaned and at risk child.  He’s moved on our hearts with the promise that He places the lonely in families, and He’s given us the desire and power to do what pleases Him.  The time we spend here in language school is so important in our preparation to work with orphaned and at risk children and their families here in Honduras, and this will truly be an adventure. 

Thanks for reading along.  Your prayers, encouragement, love, and support are so appreciated!  Love, the Robinsons