I’m happy to say that I am back in Honduras! Right now, I’m sitting in the kitchen of our new house in the city on one of the bar stools my brother built when he was here visiting. It was so nice having him come & letting him see the Ranch and meet my kids, see our new house, and go on unplanned adventures. I love my brother, so it was way cool that he was able to come and see my life here before I went back to the States for the summer.

It’s kind of weird having two lives. Two homes. Being part of two different cultures. Weird, but cool. It’s interesting to see the differences and similarities. There are some things I like way better in Honduras, and some things I prefer in the States. I have to say that I definitely prefer the movie theaters in Honduras. They’re cleaner and better quality for way less! I paid about $4 to go see Ant Man tonight with the girls and it was a lovely experience! While at home in the States, I went with my family to see the Avengers and I think we paid like $13 each (for 3D). It was hard for me to enjoy it just knowing that I could have seen three movies here for the same price! Also, if you pay about $10, you can go to the VIP theater with leather reclining seats and menu service. So yeah, on movies, Honduras wins! The US certainly takes the prize though when it comes to accessibility and convenience. Things are so quick and you have so much to choose from. When I first got back, I couldn’t stop freaking out about all the choices I had at HEB! And the States has Target. So that’s a big plus for them. I don’t think any country wins though. Definitely not. There are pros and cons to each and I’m thankful to get to experience the good (and bad) of both!

Wednesday night before I left to come here, I didn’t sleep. And for those of you who know me, you know it’s not just because I was super excited and couldn’t fall asleep; you know that I, of course, had saved my packing until the last minute and I was up until it was time to go getting it all done! I did get it done though AND (big plus) I was early to the airport! My flight was at 5:10 am and we got there at like 3:50. That’s the earliest I’ve ever gotten there for these early morning flights. So bam! I didn’t even have to rush. I will say that lack of sleep does not make for the best traveling experience, but I still made it to Honduras, and there were good things. I had coffee, the lady next to me on the plane was nice, I met a nice guy who is also a teacher & he helped me with my heavy bags, and I was greeted by my wonderful, beautiful friends when I came out from the baggage claim!! We picked up Popeye’s, came back to the house, hung out, I unpacked, we organized, etc. and then went to a store kind of like Sear’s (called Lady Lee) and paid for a couch and washer/dryer. They’ll be coming in tomorrow! We ran more errands today and I picked up curtains, a trash can, and a fan for my room. The curtains are awesome, the trash can is too small, and the fan didn’t work. We’ll be exchanging it tomorrow! And it’s sad because I was feeling so proud for figuring out how to put it together (with a tiny bit of help from Amanda). I’ll get another chance with my new one though and if it works, I can feel super proud!

I so enjoyed my time in the States. I loved getting to hang out with my sweet friends and make a million Target runs & drink lots of Starbucks. I got to go to Mid-Cities and go to the Spanish service! It was good to be with my family and spend time with them. My bed was really soft. And I had fun with my little animales. Driving was easy. And, you know, there was Target. I am so thankful for my six weeks back home, but I’m also really thankful to be back here. I know that this is where God has me and it feels good. I feel at peace (:

I’m excited to be living in the city this year, to be doing life with my four lovely roommates, and to be teaching second and third grade. I can’t wait to give you more updates as this year progresses! I’ll go ahead and tell you now that I’m planning to write a blog every two weeks. My original goal was once a month, but by the time the month was up, there was too much to write about and just getting started felt overwhelming! I didn’t write at all when I was at home during furlough and before that, I think my last post was at the end of May. So, sorry about that. Some of you may not have realized it’s been that long until now, but it has! Now though, that you know I want to write a blog every two weeks & you’ve seen it right here all typed up, you have permission to check in on me when I’m slacking. When it’s been 15 days and I haven’t posted a new blog, you can message me and say, “Lindsey, what’s up?! It’s been 15 days and you said you would write a blog every 14 days! I care about your life and your goals and so I just wanted to check in on you and help you to accomplish this goal that you have set for yourself.” It might sound like I’m kidding, but I’m really not. Help me out!! I’m giving you permission. I’m asking for it: Will you please check in on me?! Kindly..? (:

Okay. Thank you for reading my blog. Thank you for caring about my life. I appreciate it so much!! If you’d like to pray for me, I could use prayer to grow in loving people. Also, growing in obedience. God showed me while I was at home (through Spanish church) that I’ve been tolerating sin in my life and I don’t want to do that anymore. Please pray that I’ll continually choose the better thing (Jesus) and learn to truly delight in Him and enjoy Him. Pray that the next two weeks of Summer Learning with the kids will go well and be a good transition back into teacher life & that I’ll get everything organized for this school year. If I can be praying for you, please let me know! Message me, email me, Facebook me..whatever works for you!

May we be people who put our trust in God’s love and love others the way that He has loved us!

Love & blessings,

Lindsey

[Annnnd shout out to the people who came over to play games and drink coffee!! We must play Mafia again!]