Fourth of July, by Denise

It's TOTALLY awesome here!!! Yesterday the President of Honduras came to Utila for the first time. We waited 3 hours to see him. We finally left and his helicopter showed up as we headed to the beach, but by then, we just wanted to swim. Besides, I saw him 2 yrs ago in Tegucigalpa with Chuck Watson's mission group. lol Spanish school ended for the week. It's so good. We're already understanding more! It's a lot to take in . Glad it's the weekend. We love our teachers! For the 2nd time we went swimming in the Caribbean. Today there was like calipso music on the beach for it. We just swim and flow with the waves with the warm sun and cool breeze. We've found out that there are 'sea eggs' that have spines and really hurt if you step on them Andi saw one. We sure wish we brought water shoes with us. We celebrated the 4th by having hot dogs and Coke, and sang Grand ole Flag and God Bless America. They did some fireworks tonight on the beach, but they stopped by the time we walked there. We attempted to bake cookies, but the oven wouldn't work, so we baked them on a pan like a pancake, they were okay. We searched each store and only found one that carried them- most didn't know what they were! Their sweets aren't sweet here. Washing dishes is a process- wash in soapy water, rinse, dip in bleach water, drip dry. time consuming and awkward- but- what else is there to do?- it's all relaxing. We've met so many islanders who have never left here. They love the safety here- no worries- little to zero crime. Even tiny kids walk and shop alone all day. Kids riding bikes, 4 wheelers and golf carts all over, open shops on the street to stop in . Most people shop for each day, not bulk shopping for the week like we do at home. They love the freedom of the island life. No worries, all freedom, no deep needs for material things, no crime, just relationships, and island fun. They call themselves islanders.

I checked today on skype. Some kind of internet telephone service. They said we need to google it and each sign up for an account. It's free to talk if we both have an account. I'd have to pay to go use it here, but it's cheap. $4/hr. If they're open tomorrow, I'll check on a cell phone. If not, I'll check on Monday. We loved the Baptist church we visited. The pastor spoke only in spanish except one time when he said something and looked at us,and so did everyone else, then he said in English, "Do you all understand anything I am saying?" So we all responded with , NO. Everyone laughed. The pastor explained to them that we're here for 3 mo to learn Spanish. They all welcomed us. They meet 5 days/week, so we'll go as often as we can. When the time is right, we'll ask about the Bible Clubs we'd like to do. Also, I asked about a mailing address, it's going to be simple. They said it's our name and Utila, Bay Island......but I'll find out exactly on Monday and put it on the Blog. The internet signal is too weak for us to post pics. Bummer! We might try to pay an internet cafe to let us post them. We're enjoying all of Erin's visit with us. She'll leave for TX on Sunday or Monday. Who is next ????

Thanks for all your prayers and sharing our excitement with us.
With love, Denise and Girls