Gotta try!

My heart hurts as I think about not being here for three whole months. Laura and Fany, my church, my home, my work and my coworkers, even my gym, the sights, the smells, the food! I'm going to miss it all. But I know this is a blessing and I will be grateful for this time to rest. A part of me already can't wait to come back home.

Sunday Laura and I baked cookies and spoke in English. Fany is amazed how much Laura can do when given the opportunity. Besides the hot stuff and getting out some of the lumps, Laura did it all on her own!

After the first pan came out of the oven, we grabbed a cup of milk and sat on the floor, eating cookies and watching the second pan bake. It was heaven! Not many people here drink milk. Laura didn't like it. She's accustomed to this weird milk that comes in a box with lots of chemicals so it will last forever. But real milk is still my favorite to accompany cookies.

I learned today that there will be no more swimming. I thought they'd go to the pool once more so I pushed them hard, trying to cram as much as possible into their last real class on Saturday. But they are having the final party at their community groups, not at the pool.

The important thing is that they did learn to swim. All but three are very competent. One boy was very scared. He did his best but never conquered his fears. Two girls chose to walk through the classes, rather than swim. It was interesting because their peers realized they were falling behind and encouraged them to try to swim. If nothing else, the peers learned a lesson. You can't learn if you don't try!

I started packing last night. It's hard to pack for Northern NY. I can't remember how to dress there. Even in the hottest weather, people here wear jeans. I'm sure I'll get rid of that habit much more quickly than I acquired it.

Today I went to immigration. They started the process for my residency card, but are sticking firm to the new law that you can't renew more than seven days in advance. The good part is, now that I've started the process I don't have to pay the big fine. The bad news is, they took my old residency card. The other good news is, a person can be in Honduras for 90 days as a "tourist". When I leave on Wednesday I'll have been here for 86 days since I traveled to Jamaica! God is looking over every single detail of this crazy trip.

Now I need to take a lesson from the two girls who walked instead of swimming. I need to dive in head first and learn everything that God has for me in this trip to New York.