This entry has been a long time in the making! After COVID-19 hit in spring of 2020, we were unable to travel to Orphanage Emmanuel in Honduras due to travel restrictions for our typical 4-week stay from the end of July through the end of August. And although many countries had lifted restrictions by summer of 2021, they were not yet lifted in Honduras. This 2 year hiatus has been difficult on both me and the children, so this spring we were excited to hear that the Orphanage would allow teams and volunteers once again after Memorial Day. Of course there are still mask requirements (which is nothing new to me as I had worn one to school each day this past school year) as well as either having been vaccinated (which we are) or a negative COVID test. Again, to be able to return to this place that gives us so much spiritual rest and peace was a true blessing.
With that said, what we weren't prepared for was having the online paperwork filled out to enter Honduras (which involved immigration work as well as passport and vaccination work). Generally the immigration work is filled out on paper, on the plane about an hour before we land. We were not notified of the movement of the paperwork to online forms, and unfortunately I wasn't able to complete all of it prior to our ORIGINAL departure date of Monday, 7/25/22. So we had driven all the way to Chicago, parked the car, took the transport from the economy parking lot to the airport, waited in line, got sent to the back of the line to fill out the online forms, and ultimately missing that plane and had to drive the 3+ hours back home. I am very disappointed in this particular airline for lack of notifying us via email about these online forms, especially since United had emailed me about these requirements (but for Canada) when Bob and I went on our 20th anniversary trip just 2 weeks earlier.
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| Monday's failed attempt to fly (before picture) |
So here we are...once again having driven through the night and arriving at O'Hare, hoping that everything this time has been filled out properly. I even made copies on paper to prove I had filled it out! As it turns out, while in line we met up with another couple who was also supposed to fly out Monday morning (final destination was Honduras) and were denied for the very same reason (as well as not having paperwork filled out to bring their service dog). We chatted while in line and also found out that Guaimaca, the city where you will find Orphanage Emmanuel, was also the birthplace of the husband of this couple...Small world!
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| Wednesday's shuttle from parking to terminal |
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| Wednesday's shuttle from parking to terminal |
This trip is Jaden's 1st time on a plane. He handled it well, both to Fort Lauderdale as well as to Comayagua (Honduras). The airport in Comayagua is new, I believe it just opened earlier this year or last year. But because it was new, there was not yet a place to exchange money or buy chips for phone and internet. This is not problematic for me, but it does slow down the process of letting those back home know that we are doing alright.
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| Jaden's 1st plane ride |
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| Comayagua International Airport |
A man named Lucas (recommended by Morgan) picked us up to take us to Emmanuel. It would be a 3-4 hour drive depending on traffic, however ended up being a bit longer due to Lucas' truck overheating in the mountains. Thankfully, his son was able to meet us where the truck broke down and lend Lucas his truck while he waited for other family members to come and take care of this. Due to the delay, I asked if we could stop so I could get the kids a bite to eat because they hadn't eaten since about 2am. Lucas stopped at a gas station where I bought each of the kids a hot dog (normal toppings are ketchup, mustard and mayo), Chokis (a brand of cookie here), and Enjoy juice that was pear flavored.
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| Traveling by truck to Emmanuel |
We got to Emmanuel safely around 4pm. Alexander met us at the new team house and gave me the key, letting us know that church would begin at 4:30pm. He said they would understand if we couldn't make it, but after two years of not being here, I wouldn't have missed it for anything.
We unpacked after church and were in bed by 7pm. It gets dark here around 6pm and with a full day of travel it was very easy to fall asleep early.
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