Our last day in Roatan

Our last day in Roatan, Honduras was eventful, to say the least. We decided to start out with a quick breakfast at 7am and then straight to the beach. It was so strange knowing that it would be our last time piling into the little Nissan pick up, all windows down, kids hanging out the windows, no seat belts, you name it, we did it, only if it was something we didn't normally do in America. Too funny. To put minds at ease, there are hardly any cars and the roads are so hilly and curvy that no one can go over 40mph, seriously. So, it is not all that bad, really. We even end up picking up hitch hikers often, don't think that we have mentioned that little tid bit yet, but as we drive by and slow down a little they hop in the back of the truck and off we go. No big deal, everyone gets around here that way, like I said there are hardly any cars here. What is so amazing to us it that the hitch hikers are so polite and thankful, they say, "thank you, sir" or if it's just me and the kids, "thank you, momma" and they even say, "have a blessed day"...it is very refreshing to see such gratefulness. Anyway, we finished up at the beach and headed home from the beach for the last time, it was surreal, almost to the point of knowing that we would be back some day, hopefully soon :)

We got home to the power being out, great, we actually need to shower at this point and we have a load of clothes in the washer that have to be dried before we can finish packing....can it get any better? All we wanted was to get our last beach day in.....

Well, of course, a knight in shining armor always has been found while we have been here; Henry of lw4r, called and came straight over to grab our clothes and take them to their house to dry them for us (they still had power). How great is that? We truly do have favor in the midst of many moments that seem hopeless at first, even if it is only laundry. Henry and Frances are just like a set of parents that God hand-picked and placed in our lives while here in Roatan. What awesome role-models that we know our own parents would want right by our side in if they could not be here themselves. So, we ended up calling on Jeremy and Melissa (rchurch) for our showers, they have running water when the power is out, we do not. Gotta love crashing in on our friends with sandy kids to just shower and run, oh and say good bye. The thing is, they are just a great, normal, family that we will know for the rest of our lives and like she said, "we don't even need to go there," (of, me saying, "we wouldn't know what we would have done otherwise"). We miss them so much!

So, we get all the bags into the back of the little Nissan and off to West End for lunch with Henry and Frances of lw4r; as well as get our now dry laundry. Goodness, it does get better, doesn't it? Our lunch was much needed nourishment for the journey ahead and we were running a little behind getting to the airport. Nonetheless, the ticket agent that said he would be there, was actually there, we were the last to check our many bags, and off to pay our$34 per person to exit the country. Does America do that? Surely we have thought about doing that??? We said goodbyes and hugged and took pictures and it was a great farewell. Jeremy, Melissa and the boys showed up to see us off and help out, Henry and Frances were there and even as we were paying our fees we saw Marvin, a teenage boy that we met while working at the Colonia. What a blessing that was, he had little puppy dog eyes when he saw us leaving and I can promise you that he will never forget us for the rest of his life. He remembered all the kids' names and said goodbye to them; what an angel. He even had told me that he 'loved' the group from Roopeville, GA. that had just left a couple of weeks ago. "I love them, " he said. So, I promised to let them know that he said hi and of course will tell them every word he said. This is what it is all about, even if you only effect ONE person, you really end up having an effect on EVERY single person in that one person's life, forever.

So, we sat in the VERY back of the plane, the flight attendant nearest us was a grandmother, so of course, our awesome favor was as such, she passed m&ms when needed and we had a great flight home. Customs was a breeze and our good friends, Brandon and Fawn Creighton, picked us up at the airport. We had to go by and get our car from Trey's grandmother's house and then to our friends' house, Spencer and Karyn Ashton. They were out of town, so we just unloaded and got everyone bathed and in bed. Lord, thank you for getting us home safely, we could not have done it without you!

Sunday, we hit FOTW, our church, and then went to lunch with some friends that we usually do lunch with every Sunday. Wayne, Stacia and the kids are actually moving back to Louisiana, so this may be the last time we see them until they have their fourth baby and Craig, and Craig and Diana just wanted another excuse to go to Wings and More (right?).

After lunch, the kids stayed at Karyn's house to swim while Trey and I divided and conquered. He went by one storage place to drop off extra stuff while I went to another to pick up sheets and towels for the beach house. We left Conroe and are here in Crystal Beach, TX. We slept like rocks, all six of us, last night. It was great. Time to get our ducks in a row and figure out where we are supposed to be.

Take care and God bless!