We are here! We are here!

Well, after our scary snowy ride to Dulles and our long wait and the wee-hour gate, we had a blissfully uneventful pair of flights--the first to San Salvador and the second to San Pedro Sula--and a four hour bus ride to Copan Ruinas. The bus ride provided a little adventure in that the engine overheated a couple of times while climbing steep and windy mountain roads. But a little water and some time chillin' (literally) by the side of the road took care of that, and we made our way in good time. It is very good to be here.

I remember being told once that human beings tend not to remember pain. We remember times when we were hurt, but not the sensation of the hurt itself. I wonder if that applies to travel, as well. Trips like this always remind me that I don't like traveling very much. I like being places, seeing new things, having new experiences; but the process of getting there always seems to me to be kind of a pain. And invariably, when I look back on a trip, it's the fun of being there and not the hassle of getting there that I remember. So I'm going to chalk the airport anxiety and crowded-plan curmudgenism up to personal idiosyncracy, and, now that we've arrived, get on with the enjoyment of being here.

Several of us have opted for cleaning up and catching a nap after traveling through the night. But a few have gone to the work site at Mision Santa Cruz to check things out and see what we'll be doing during our week here. We dug trenches and laid foundations last year; and just recently we saw pictures of the walls that have been put on those foundations. It's beginning to look like a church! The roof needs to be put on next, and then interior finishing work needs to be started. We'll have a better sense of what all that will really mean when we get the report from the work site inspection.

But for now, having arrived and settled in a bit, it's time to go in search of dinner!

May the Peace of Christ be with you,
Paul+