A Corndog Summer

July 23rd-Day 45
    Saturday morning we were up at the usual time for breakfast, 7-8, and then we loaded the rest of the food we had bagged up onto the bus for the last food distribution in Mololoa.  We hiked pretty far up the mountain, farther up than I've ever been to hand out the food to people who haven't received any food from TORCH this year.  A lot of groups hit the houses lower on the mountain so it was our job to make it to the houses on the top.  I'd say it took about an hour and a half to give them all out and we were finished with that but the fun was just beginning.  The daycare in Mololoa was having Family Day where the families of all the kids and the families of the workers came to have lunch and see skits by the kids.  Sean also had a Bible study with the ladies at the daycare.  The skits by the kids were great.  Seeing 3, 4 and 5 year olds act out a skit is tons of fun to watch.  The most memorable one had to be Cinderella.  They acted out the entire story and even had costumes to dress up in.  They also all sung songs to us in spanish but they had also sang a few in english.  After that we had lunch and then the youth of Mololoa had planned to play a soccer game against us gringos but the soccer field was being used for a league match so we didn't get to do that.  Sean had his Bible study with the ladies that were there and we all had a great time.  We then loaded up after family day was over and headed back to the mission house.  Honestly, I have the feeling that we did do something else before heading to the mission house but I can't for the life of me remember.
July 24th-Day 46
    Sunday we worshipped with the church in Mololoa.  We got there about 9:30 and started service at like 10.  Dr. Aguillera preached and proved once again why he's so awesome.  After church we went out to the Valley of Angels again for a last chance souvenir shopping day.  I ate at the jalapeno restaurant with Sean and Nathan.  The shish-kabobs are just incredible there.  We then walked around for a little bit and peaked inside a few shops knowing we really weren't going to get anything.  We then left the Valley at 4ish and went back to the mission house were we ordered pizza and had a pretty relaxed evening.  Mark and Lori Connell came up to the mission house to say bye to everyone since it was the last night for the group.  We then had devo and sat around talking until it was time for bed.  Sunday was a pretty calm day to just chill.
July 25th-Day 47
    Monday we had to be leaving the mission house by 9:30 to get the Palmetto group to the airport so that they could get checked in and be on their flight at 1.  Things at the airport went fairly smooth, much smoother than I've seen on past trips.  A few of us had lunch upstairs while most of the group went on ahead through the checkpoints to go sit at the terminal.  We then finished lunch and said bye to those that were left and they went on through to head to the gate and wait on their flight.  Most of these guys I'll see once I get home but a few I won't like Erin, Jenna, Francisco and the Aguilera's.  So I know that they all made it safely to the airport and hopefully they all made it safely back home.  Tasha, Kate, Kaylee and I then left with Jenn Salgado.  Tasha, Kate and Kaylee will be staying here another 2 weeks to teach english classes to people in Mololoa.  They are going to have a 3 hour class each day at the church.  I needed a place to stay for the night and Jenn was more than willing to let me stay with her.  So we ran around with her for the rest of the day.  We went and bought food and supplies for the feeding center and daycare.  We then went up to Santa Ana to pick up Josue and then to Ojojona to pick up a couple of bunk beds.  I packed the beds onto the truck and thought that it looked pretty good, the truck was loaded down....at least to gringo standards.  Josue then comes out with another set of bunk beds and another mattress and we just had to pile them on top.  So he taught this gringo how to pack a truck Honduran style.  I bet the beds stood up 6 feet above the truck.  We actually hit a set of power lines with the post of the beds on the way out of Ojojona.  It was pretty crazy looking.  Even Jenn thought it was a crazy.  The good news is that we weren't electrocuted from the power lines thankfully, I would not have liked that again and we made it back to the house safely with all the pieces.  We then put the beds together and started to go to sleep until Tasha decided she wanted to talk....all night.  But it was all fun and I eventually got a few hours of sleep before getting up this morning.
July 26th-Day 48
    We were up at 8 this morning and were leaving Jenn's house by 8:40.  I had to be at the bus station by 10 to get a ticket to San Pedro.  We sat in traffic for literally 30 minutes just outside of Jenn's house in Nueve Oriental where they are doing road work.  The good news is that I got a bus ticket.  Had to say goodbye to the girls, 2 of them I might not see again which is always sad.   I'm sitting here at the bus station now waiting for my bus to leave at 12:30.  It is supposed to be a 4 hour ride but we'll see how that goes.
Ok so it was actually very close to a 4 hour ride.  I made it here to San Pedro Sula at about 5:30 and took a taxi to the airport.  The taxi was fun.  We had a stand-off with another car for about 5 minutes, which we won.  Then as we were coming up to the exit ramp, a full circle exit ramp, we were flying.  I thought he would slow down to make the turn but that wouldn't be any fun.  The tires barked the entire way around the corner and it was great.  So I've just been chilling here in the airport for the last few hours waiting for my plane to take me away at 1 so only a few more hours to go. 
July 27th-Day 49
    While I've got the time I'm going to guesstimate what is going to happen tomorrow.  I'm leaving here at 1 a.m and should be landing in Ft. Lauderdale at 5:35 and then leaving there at 7 to go to Atlanta.  I should land in Atlanta about 9:50 and my Dad is supposed to be there to pick me up.  A 3-4 hour ride and I should be home by 3 tomorrow afternoon.  So that is the plan for tomorrow and hopefully that won't change.
   
This trip has been incredible.  Starting in Costa Rica, moving on to Nicaragua and ending the trip here in Honduras has been much more than I ever imagined it would be.  I've met so many incredible people along the way from the states as well as from the countries we've been to.  I've gotten to see the look of relief on the faces of mothers as they are given food when they didn't have any in their kitchen.  I've gotten to see the tears of joy when we have built houses for families who had no place to call their home.  I've been able to see the smiling faces of kids in many places because of the joy that a simple VBS can bring them.  I've seen the worn out faces of gringos when they are completely worn out from serving the people in these amazing places.  In a place where there is sooo much poverty, injustice, hunger, homelessness, and corruption, the Torch mission teams were able to show the love of Christ to thousands of people.  Our hope is that through all the efforts this summer, that the people we have served will come to know Christ.  I know not all of them will but if even one of them gives their life over to Christ then we have done an extraodinary thing this summer.
One last story to explain the blog title.  The first Sunday that the Palmetto group was here, we went to the mall for lunch after Church service.  My brother, Sean and I decided to skip the food court and take a risk.  We found this little corndog vendor outside of the food court and my brother was like jackpot.  So he bought one and took a bite and said it was the best corndog he'd ever had.  Then Sean bought one and said the same thing.  I won't lie, it took me a minute to get up the courage to get one since I didn't want to get sick from it but I did and I must say it was the best corndog I think I've ever had.  So from that point on we started comparing everything to the corndog.  On a scale of 1-10, the corndog was an 11.  So if it was a corndog day then it was a good day, a corndog decision meant it was a great decision.  This summer has absolutely been a corndog summer.  It was a trip I was a little worried about at the beginning and as it neared I started getting more and more nervous but once I took that first bite I realized it was one of the greatest decisions I've made.  I'd like to thank everyone that I was able to work with for making these last 7 weeks such a blast.  It seems like just yesterday we were getting off the plane in Costa Rica and now it's all over with but what a ride it's been.  But for everything we were able to do we give God the glory.  God kept us all safe this summer, He provided us great places to go serve, He opened doors to new places, and most of all He showed us through His son what love is all about so that we can go out and show that love to those in need.  I hope yall have enjoyed reading these posts and if there are any of you that haven't been to Honduras before, I hope these things you've read have stirred up a desire in you to come and experience this for yourselves and serve God and the people of Honduras in a way you'll never forget.  From the San Pedro Sula airport and for the last time this summer, Peace Out!