It's the last day of November. Wow! Time has flown by for this year. It also feels surreal being here in Nic where the weather is hot and knowing that tomorrow is the first day of DECEMBER! I guess they are having cold weather and even some snow back in Rogers AR. My sister Sandy said that it was getting cold and rainy in Indiana, too. I'm sitting on my bed in a tank top and shorts in front of the fan. I'm sure Deanna is snug in flannel pants and a sweatshirt and under a blanket back home!
We've had a good day today. It's so quiet without a team here. It's good for studying and reading. We got ready this morning and German picked us up about 9am. We went to the Sewer Ponds and met Pastor Miguel there. He was pumping the water pump to help some of the people get their water for the day. He said it was good exercise, especially since he ate so much food last week when the team was here. Anyway, we told the people who had gathered that we would be back for some classes to teach the adults about the Bible and Christianity. And we would also be back to do a feeding one day. We will also be going back the week of Christmas to give them some toys for the kids, but we are keeping that part a surprise for now.
Then we followed Pastor Miguel to an area that he is working with another pastor in ministry. It was close to the area that Mike wants us to start ministering to. When I had asked Mike via text message where the area was, here is his reply: "There is an area on the east side of the bypass down the road at the traffic light that rarely works on the left where the big concrete pit is. German will know this area. There is no church in the area." Mary and I had to laugh when we read this. I don't think it would do any good to type that into a GPS system! By the way, the 'bypass' is not like an interstate in the US. It's a 2 lane highway that swings out around the city on that side. German was perplexed, too, so he called Mike and we found the place. It turned out that it was just a kilometer from where Pastor Miguel was showing us.
Mary and I met 3 brothers at the Concrete Pit site. They let me take their picture. I asked which of them is most handsome, but they didn't really have an opinion. They were playing with some kite string that had gotten tangled in a tree. The kite was long gone, but they were enjoying the string.
Pastor Miguel will go to the Sewer Ponds and the Concrete Pit site tomorrow to tell them that we will be returning on Thursday (and for a few days afterward) to do the classes. Pastor Miguel is so good with the kids. Hopefully, we can keep the kids busy while Mary and I are leading the class for adults. It can be hard to minister to everyone when there are just a couple of us, but I'm looking forward to being out there with them.
My dream is to be here in Nic for long periods of time so that we can start weekly Bible studies in each area. Oh how awesome that would be! God is opening doors and His timing is perfect. But it's hard sometimes to wait when He gives us big dreams.
German, Mary and I went to lunch at a buffet that is really good. (if you get there while they still have a selection) Anyway, I had some beef with chimichurri sauce, rice, beans, cabbage salad and tortilla. It was sooo good. Mary had grilled chicken, rice, beans, salad, a fried mashed potato ball with cheese inside and bread. German had chicken (kind of like chicken cordon blue), rice, beans, fried cheese and tortilla. The most expensive dinner was about $5. Mine was only $3 something. We were there soon after they opened, so we got good stuff. It became quite crowded after we sat down. I really enjoyed the meal.
We made a stop at La Union grocery store for some essentials (brown sugar to make stewed apples, chocolate snack pack pudding which I spied last time there, chocolate chip cookies and a few veggies). All very important stuff! I'm really impressed with how well the grocery store has been cleaned up, stocked and kept up. It was not so nice last summer and there is a lot of veggies and fruits now. I think being here right after the rainy season helps with that. I've seen pics that we have taken from inside the store and it looks like it could be in the states! The meat department is still a little iffy sometimes, but it's good by Nic standards.
German took us by to see his house that is being built. It's right as you go into León from the west (team house). He is going to finish part of it and move in so that he can apply his rent money for building supplies. It's all concrete block and will have concrete slab floors. It will be nice when it is finished. I'm sure he will be glad to get it to the place where he can live there and work on it. I asked about the neighborhood (it's gated even thought it's not too fancy). He said it's called "Los Altos de Vera Cruz" or Vera Cruz Heights in English.
Seeing German's house being built makes me excited to think about the future of VOH and building a new team house, chapel, training center, etc. It will be awesome to see that materialize. God has big plans for this ministry and there is much work to be done here in Nic. Please keep VOH, it's staff, volunteers, prayer partners, financial partners and volunteer teams in your prayers.
I took a long nap this afternoon and woke up in time for a walk on the beach before sunset. German had given Mary and me the keys to the front gate and the front door of the house. This way we can lock up, go out the back door (that locks us out) and walk the beach. Then we can come back through the alleyway and come in the front door. It was getting dark quickly and we got to the front gate. Saturnino had already returned from his visit home and had the gate open for us. He probably thought we were going to be stranded again. He probably thinks we are pretty helpless sometimes. We were proud to have our own keys and confidently walked to the front door only to find that we couldn't get the key to turn correctly. He came to our rescue with a smile which I'm sure meant 'you ARE helpless women'. ha. It's so good to have him to take care of us.
We rested a little bit. Mary was still stuffed from lunch and I was just a little bit hungry, so I had a peanutbutter sandwich for dinner. I came upstairs and took a quick shower and jumped on my bed with the computer. I've had some correspondence to keep up with and, of course, I needed to check on facebook! I'm ready now for a good night's sleep. We wake up early here and fall asleep early, too, at least when there are no teams. I'm looking forward to some good rest so I can get rid of this stupid cold. I'm taking lots of vitamins this week. Someday, I should be able to hear clearly again. Won't that be a hoot!
Thank You God for all Your blessings today. Keep me focused on seeing this world through Your eyes.
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