Saturday April 13... We made it!

What time did you get up this morning?  Your El Hogar team was on the road around 3:00 am to make our 6:15 am flight.  With 1300 lbs of baggage checked, that included the generous donations from supportive friends, family and parishioners, we were at our gate in plenty of time to enjoy an early breakfast and cup of coffee.

Lynn joined us at the Toronto airport having driven from Ottawa a few days before.  We met up with Tom and Jane Habig at our stopover in Atlanta and arrived safely in Tegucigalpa by noon.

The Tegucigalpa airport is small and hectic, but we made it through customs and baggage inspection to be greeted by Raul, our work team coordinator and his son, Raul Jr.  There were no acrobatic feats this year to get all our luggage strapped on top of the 15 passenger van.  With all 14 team members arriving at the same time, they brought one van for our luggage and one van for us.  We bought our Lempira (Honduran currency) outside the airport from this "official" currency exchanger!

We arrived at El Hogar to be greeted by familiar faces of children and staff who welcomed us.  We spent the afternoon settling in to the volunteer house.  There was some discussion about who was going to get a top bunk and who was going to get a bottom bunk.  For some reason, nobody was jumping at the opportunity to shimmy their way up and down to the top bunk, so Darla and Erika took one for the team.

We walked around the school grounds to get acquainted or reacquainted with our home for the next week.  There was a baking class in the old kitchen, and some team members were lucky enough to try a fresh baked savoury pastry.

Some team members were lucky enough to enjoy some live music...

...And some team members needed to catch up on some sleep after the short night.  (Who took that picture?!)

Feeling at home and refreshed, we enjoyed a dinner of eggs, beans, tortillas and plantain.  We got to eat in the new dining hall for the first time!  The volunteers have a separate dining area from the children with a lovely view overlooking the city.  Chris snuck in some hot sauce to help spice up the beans.

Now we are off to bring out some activities to play with the kids.  We are happy to be here and to have a meaningful and fun filled week.

More tomorrow!