La Ceiba

Honduras. Day 40.

I just got back to the apartments in Teguc. We took a big "family" vacation with Marc this weekend to the beautiful seaside city of La Ceiba. It was like we stepped out of Honduras and into "Pirates of the Caribbean." There were thatched roof huts all along the beach, tons of old fishing boats pulled up to the shore, and a variety of different people that you could encounter everywhere you turned. From French Canadians to Rastafarians, La Ceiba was full of interesting people. But it was the sheer beauty that I experienced while I was there that is what I really want to get at with this blog entry.

We got there Friday afternoon at around 2:00. The others laid in bed and chilled around the "resort" (a term I use loosely because, after all, it's still Honduras), but I was there only to change into swim trunks and hit the beach. I picked a direction and just walked. I saw so many beautiful things along the way. And after I was a few miles down the beach from where I started, I just started praying. I found it so easy to connect with God at that beach. I would stand with my feet buried under the white foam as the waves tugged at my ankles and swirled all around me, ocean spray against my skin, and I could just so easily lift up my eyes and see God in that place. And that's a feeling I greatly desire to chase with every chance that I get to experience Him through His creation.

That night we went out to a seafood restaurant on the beach. And you could tell this place was FRESH seafood at that. I had shrimp thermidor that was killer good (especially because Marc paid for it). We got back late that night, and a few of us walked around on the beach and talked and just soaked it all in.

I decided not to go white water rafting Saturday morning. I desperately wanted to go, but I even more wanted to just stay at the beach and enjoy the spiritual recharge that the beautiful scenery offered. So I woke up at around 11:30, grabbed Kale (he stayed behind too), and we went for a walk. We met up with some Rastafarian friend ("Robert") that Kale had met the night before. We went with Robert to his beach hut and looked at his rock collection. Robert was an interesting character; he was convinced that his rocks were worth a lot of money because you could "see things" in the rocks.

I gotta' tell you: I stared at those rocks for a good 30 minutes, and never really saw anything that'd make me want to pay $100.

:)

But I enjoyed playing along with Robert, and talked about how I "definitely" saw the "frog" and the "snake head." Then Robert went into a big spill about how what we see is all in our perception. Now that... that was actually wise. He said that we wouldn't be able to see the "frog" in the rock unless he pointed it out to us, but then, once he had pointed it out, we wouldn't be able to see anything BUT the frog. I thought about that for a while, and I think it actually makes sense. Were it up to me, I would have never molded that rock in my mind to look like a frog; but once he said, "frog," I have to admit, I kind of did see a frog.

And it makes me wonder if we do that with religion a little too much. Some religious leader tells us that "this" is what a particular verse means. And once he has told us that, it's almost impossible for us to see it any other way. And so that makes me wonder how much of the stuff we believe we believe because it's how we've been shaped to see it. And that's kind of scary.

We have to break past pre-conceived perceptions and look at things with raw eyes and hearts and minds... And that's tough. But if we can do that... That is where we will find truth.

Kale stayed with Robert a little while longer, but I just went out to walk the beach some more. Eventually a wave got me soaked and, unfortunately, soaked my camera too (so no more pictures for the rest of the summer, most likely). I just kept praying and praying as I walked the shoreline. I eventually went back and grabbed some lunch with Karis and a few of the others. Then I went and walked the beach a little more, until the sun started to set.

I don't think I've ever seen a more beautiful sunset in my life. The sun poured light through a suspended canopy of cirrus clouds, dancing golden light all over the now-darkening waves, casting a surreal glow over everything in it's path.

And they say this was all an accident... In that moment, seeing that sunset, I couldn't help but tell God, over and over, how much I loved Him. It was a huge spiritual recharge, and a much needed one at that.

That night, we all went out to Applebee's. When we came back, we chased sand crabs for a little while. Then we laughed at Milton pretending to be a frog in the pool. Me and Karis walked on the beach for a while, and eventually Kale and Nolan came back from some hotel they were hanging out at and we talked with them for a little while. This morning, we got up for "church," which meant going out to a grove of trees and sitting around while Marc talked from 2 Corinthians 5 about being "crazy for Christ" and being truly forgiven. Then we passed around some sugar bread and a juice bottle and took a good period of reflection on Christ's sacrifice at the same time. It was great. Then we loaded up, went to Lake Yahoa for some AMAZING bass for lunch, and then finished the long drive back to Teguc.

What a weekend... You can drive six hours to the Caribbean coast of Honduras and experience God there in such an amazing way. And yet, now that I'm back, I know that the truth is that you can never escape from His presence so, really, you can experience Him in different and amazing ways with every step you take, wherever He may take you.