Nicaragua July 19, 2010

Monday

We were up at 6:30am. I washed a load of clothes and had some quiet time and reading/study time. I'm enjoying the book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. I looked up some of the verses that were referenced and decided that they would make a good devotion for my turn this week. We had breakfast at 7:45 and devotions today were by Beth.

The girls split into 2 VBS teams: Mary, Bethany & Kaylie are the story & Bible verse team, Beth, Kearsten & I are the crafts & rec team. Each group worked on preparing our stuff for VBS for 4 days. We packed up the prizes and supplies.

I'm resting a little and reading. My stomach is not feeling very well. My liver isn't really happy with me right now. But I'll make it! I'm glad that this week we do not have a team and it's a little bit slower schedule. Time for a shower and to get my backpack ready for the day. It's going to be a fun afternoon.

The feeding was great. I love that little village and Pastor Calderon and his wife and team who do the feedings everywhere. There were some cute babies and some of the 'cool' young guys posed for some video. I took some footage of the girls helping with the feeding. I also got some footage of Pastor Calderon preaching to the crowd and also of German explaining to the people about the plan this week for the well.

The moms let the kids eat part of their food at the feeding and then they save the rest for later. The dis are so hungry and want to eat it all at one time (which we would consider normal), but the moms want to save some so the kids will have something to eat later. It's so sad.

Beth took some donated baseball equipment to Pastor Calderon. There is a great opportunity for a sports ministry. There are so many opps for so many kinds of help. I wish we could do it all.

We went to Monte Horeb (the sewer pond village) to start our 2 day VBS. We weren't sure how many kids would be there and quite a few showed up. We were early and the kids were finishing their meager lunches and getting bathed so they could come. It was a big deal to them to have something to do.

I took some random pics of the area; a sow and piglets, dracula dog, etc. Nicas don't understand our interest in animals, especially when we think dogs are cute. Here, animals are just something you co-exist with (or eat).

We split the kids into 2 groups by age. One group started with story time and Bible verse and the other group started with crafts and rec. It worked out pretty well. Christopher and Hector were our translators for the week. We presented the Gospel and gave out candy at the end.

We got back to the house about 3:30p. The girls and I went on a beach walk. I took some pics of these lovely ladies. They bless me so much.

Beth fixed pineapple chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. Bethany fixed a salad. We finished off the bread from the La Unión bakery. We put strawberry jam on it and called it Nic Strawberry Shortcake.

The girls cleaned up the kitchen and then worked on VBS stuff till evening. They blew up dozens of balloons for the games for tomorrow. (Have I mentioned that I HATE balloons?) The breeze was moving them all over the house. They even turned corners and ended up in the kitchen! spooky!

Beth and I went to bed early. My stomach was still not happy. But God will get me through.

I chatted with Deanna a little bit on the phone. She will be getting some alone time while I'm gone. I'm sure she can use it after having grandkids for the summer. :) I do miss her and Jet. Praying blessings over her.