It's a car!

It's an overcast Saturday morning. The kind that makes it hard to get moving. So far I'm a batch of pancakes, a cup of coffee, and one internet sermon into my day. Later I'll be heading out in the new car with Daniel up to the school to help out with an alumni soccer event they're having, while Daniel spends a few hours practicing with the worship team at the church.

So, yes, my newest news is that I bought a car here in Tegucigalpa!
It was something I've talked about most of this year, and only dreamed of last year. The truth of the matter is that after a few years in Mexico and one year here of relying on taxis and buses, I was pretty much over it. That may sound snobby of me, but when you add the safety factors into the inconvenience of the public transportation options here in Honduras, owning a car became the best option for me.

Finding the car was a bit of a process. Using connections from church, we'd had and lost several car options... including Toyotas and Hondas from the mid-nineties and a 2005 VW polo in need of a new 'gear box'?

The thing is, here in Honduras cars are expensive. Like, loads more than a used car in the States would be. I think it's because nearly everything is imported from the States, and just the shipping and taxing of imports add up to thousands of dollars. So, without any real money, and without a church support system in the States (like many of my friends here have used to buy cars), cost was another thing standing in my way. I didn't want to spend thousands on a piece of junk... but I couldn't afford anything else.

I think God helped us, because the car Daniel found is SO much nicer than anything else we'd looked at, and for MUCH less money. Actually, the mechanic who checked it out for us and then subsequently did the oil change/tune up on it thought we spent the double of what we actually did. He told us they "gave it away"!

Yeah, I said "we spent" because this car is kind of our joint endeavor. Daniel is able to borrow money through the school he works at, so he helped me out with that by getting a little loan... and of course with the whole finding/testing/buying of the car. So we're sharing this sporty little car that is OH SO different from my beloved Honda CRV sitting up there all lonely in Florida.

I learned to drive in a Suburban and a mini van. My first and only (until now) car was an SUV. And now I'm plopped into this ultra low, two-door, zippy little thing that feels like a space craft. I had to do serious shifting and adjusting just to feel like I could see over the steering wheel, out the mirrors, and through the back windows (whoever thinks spoilers are cool must not understand what it's like to be short and nervous about not fully seeing what's behind you!)

I've spent this week practicing, and so far, it's been really good! Yea, drivers here are insane. The roads suck. Half of the traffic lights don't work and the other half of the intersections are either free of signs/lights all together, or the people just totally ignore them. Driving here is indescribably different from driving in Florida, where the roads are all straight and fast and well-maintained. Here, I feel like I'm flying and I'm only going 35, maybe 40... because I'm constantly on the lookout for a pothole or a manhole without the top (people steal them to sell for the metal).

Anyway, I guess that's all I'm going to tell you at this moment about my newest adventure here. I just ask that if you're the praying kind, that you please pray for my safety and that I may use this new freedom to bless other people! I've felt stifled in the 'mission' aspect of my life here, mostly due to lack of transportation. And now that I have it, I don't want to miss on opportunities to serve others.

(did i mention it even has leather seats??)