The answer is, "one more." So we piled into the car and headed to Río Esteban to meet the rest of the gang. When we arrived, there was no one there and I was a little discouraged because Doris and Cristian had promised me they'd be there. Dr. Don was about to head up to the mountain instead of waiting for the rest when kids came flooding down the road. Marcos, Doris, Cristian, Delmi, Deyni, her friend, Agaza, Carmela, and so many others. I know those names mean nothing to you but just thought I'd give you an idea of how many people met up with us. Once everyone arrived, we began the trek to Las Niguas. For the most part, I walked with, Marcos (pictured below). He is the silliest, sassiest little boy. He LOVED my camera (which by the way, resurrected itself AMEN). Most of the pictures in t
his post were taken by the future photographer himself. The walk up the mountain to Las Niguas seemed much shorter with 15 people walking alongside, in front and behind you. I think the fruit on the way helped too. I've discovered the most delicious fruit, mamones. I forget if I mentioned this earlier but they're these little grape looking things and you just pop them open and eat the fruit around the seed. Very peculiar but very tasty. Before we left, Dr. Don told the kids that the gringos like mamones, so of course Marcos found bushels and bushels and shared them with me.Once we arrived at Las Niguas, we started singing songs with the kids. Even the tiniest of the kids in the village came to sit and listen to the songs. They're adorable and from what I gather from Dr. Don, the kids of Las Niguas are often the "forgotten." Sometimes their teacher doesn't show up for class but they still wait for Dr. Don every week. After some time of singing songs, we went with all of the kids down the mountain to the river. A little girl named, Rosa, grabbed my hand right after Dr. Don announced we were going and led me down the hill to the river. There were already tons of kids when we got to the river. The sun was pretty brutal today so I was ready to swim. I was about to get in when I noticed Doris wasn't getting ready to swim. She told me she didn't know how to swim so we ended up having some swim lessons. I think she'll be swimming by herself in no time. She's a quick learner. And since it's summer here year long, practicing shouldn't be a problem. Soon, I ended up being the human lau
ncher for the kids. I think Fernando started it and then other kids just got in line. There was one cute little boy that wanted me to throw him so we counted 1....2.....3! After three I was so shocked, because I realized that I had just thrown this naked boy. His bare butt was just flying through the air. Hondurans have no shame! After swimming for a couple of hours, we were able to go up to one of the huts and check on a week old baby with Dr. Don. Apparently the baby had some heart problems after he was born and wasn't expected to live. It was really incredible to see the little babe healthy and thriving. I was so sad to leave Las Niguas because it meant that this experience was coming to a close. I know there will be more experiences but I seriously had the time of my 
life in that river, teaching kids how to swim and how to do handstands. Dr. Don just gave Karin and I the opportunity to take a canoe with Deyni out to the islands for a youth retreat this weekend instead of spending the night with Delmi and Bictelia in Río Esteban (like we had originally planned). We still haven't decided what we're going to do. Both situations are opportunities to be immersed in the culture so I think I'll be happy either way. But if you don't hear from me for a few days, you can assume I'm on an island with the locals and if that's the case, please pray for me. I know my spanish speaking skills and I will need it. Thanks for reading. Xoxo.
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