City Mall

Friday, the kids got a big surprise.  The group that came for the Jesus Banquet took them to City Mall to eat lunch.  City Mall is the newest mall in Tegucigalpa and has rides and games on the top floor.

I did not know about this outing until Thursday night.  And, I decided not to tell the kids until it was time to change clothes and leave.  I did tell the housekeeping staff they did not need to prepare lunch.  The original plan was to leave about noon.  Rarely, do we stick to the original plan.  Marc called at 9:30 and said we were leaving between 10:30 and 11:00.

I told the kids that the group wanted to take them to lunch.  I did not say where we were going and I did not say anything about the rides.  There was jumping and screaming and hugging.  I went to the other house to tell them.  Same reaction.  Because all of the other kids were jumping and screaming, Baby Josue tried to jump, too.  We all cheered for that since we had never seen him try to jump before.

Thanks to Abby Aurigema,  most of the girls had new clothes, or new used clothes.  But they were new to the girls and they dressed to the nines. 

Everyone is dressed up and ready to go to Tegucigalpa.

I decided everyone could go, even the twins.  I knew this might be a disaster and they might scream the entire time.  They are two years old and have never been on an outing like this and I decided to risk it.

The bus that the group was on had a break down and they were not even out of Santa Ana.  Welcome to Honduras.  At least, Cafe Gringo benefited from the break down.  I asked for one brave volunteer to ride in the van with me.  Kaye Messer volunteered.

We waved at the group and hoped they would join us soon.  I drove slowly down the mountain as I was hoping the bus would catch up with me.  I really was not looking forward to escorting 20 kids into the mall with only one other adult.

As we drove toward the mall, there was excitement in the van as they realized we were going to the mall.  

Cris saw the ferris wheel on the roof and got so excited.

We parked and made it across the parking lot and into the mall without incident.  We were greeted by Nicole, Haley, Emma Kate, and Guadalupe.  We are now three adults and 23 kids.  And the gringos are still in Santa Ana.  

The mall is beautifully decorated for Christmas.  Nicole and I began to pose the children in front of everything for pictures.  It was great entertainment.  For a few minutes.

No one can imagine what herding 23 kids through a mall is like.  And no picture does it justice.

With big eyes, some of the girls did some serious window shopping.

While the group was still sitting in Santa Ana, at least Marc arrived and escorted us to the food court.

Olman began to cry when we went to the bathroom, but at least the hand dryer was a big hit.

Once we knew the bus was almost to the mall, we took the kids upstairs.  If the screams were loud when I told the kids we were going to Tegucigalpa for lunch, it was nothing compared to the screams when they saw what was happening next.  Marc bought tickets and in we went.

First ride, the ferris wheel.

Almost everyone rode this.  Then they paired up with a gringo friend and went separate directions.

Yair was excited he was tall enough to ride the roller coaster.

 

The teacups were another big hit.

Rosy like all things spinning.  And the faster, the better.

The fun continued

Cindy may have been smiling before this ride, but she certainly wasn't when she got off.  But, a sucker quickly made her forget her fears.


And then, there were the games.

New friends.

After all the fun and excitement, we went for ice cream.

No, Olman did not eat that whole ice cream cone.

All of the kids had fun.  All of the kids, even the twins, behaved well.  I was proud of them.  I just did not think I could get everyone back to the van by myself.  I asked for help.  I had plenty.  We got into the parking lot and the kids scattered.  I gathered them back together and we got to the van.  Everyone was in the van and, immediately,  a fight broke out.  It was amusing.  And, it wasn't.  After that little issue was resolved, we started home.  A couple went to sleep. 

It was a great day and many, many thanks to the group for such a special day.