Wow, it's the middle of December! Time is going fast.
Today was nice. We woke up and got ready to go into town. We caught the 9:00 (ish) bus. It takes about 50 minutes to get to town after we get on it, but only about 35 minutes to get home. On the way there, we go through another little beach town called Las Peñitas. It stretches along the beach to the south of us and has some little inns and restaurants. Then we come back out to the highway and head east. We stop along the way to pick up people waiting along the road.
The bus was really packed in tight today. Mary and I could wait until the bus comes back down our road to get on, but we might not get a seat, so we grab it when it comes into the little town and sit patiently at the end of the road at the official stop. There was someone with loud music today. It always feel a little festive on the bus. Friends talking, sometimes music, stopping every 5-10 minutes or so, stopping and starting. You just get on and go with the flow.
When we got to the stop in León, we were the last ones off the bus, even though we were in the front seat. There were soooo many people on the bus today. It was like a clown car unloading. At one point, I thought people must be entering through the back door and walking down the aisle to get off in front. Always an interesting experience. We like riding the bus.
After German picked us up, we went to La Unión for some groceries. Then we went to eat lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant. It was very nice in Nic standards. We were the only ones there at 11:10am. Mary thought that might mean that it wasn't very good, since no one was eating. German said it is a nice restaurant for dates and special occasions, and that small children are not encouraged to attend. It was very pleasant for lunch. Cloth tablecloths and napkins, waterglasses, etc. It was expensive for Nic, but was only about $7 per person. I was happy to treat everyone. I love being able to go different places and try different things. I loved going there.
After lunch, we stopped by the used book vendor who sets up on the sidewalk (literally) on the corner. He sells books for $2, and even though that pains Mary to spend that much, it's cheaper than we have found anywhere else so far. We also walked around some outdoor shops quickly. The closer it gets to Christmas, the more that vendors are setting up on the streets. German took us to a place where there were some vendors from Masaya (where the Gringo market is). I bought a couple of leather items and also a Spanish Monopoly game. How fun!!!
We went through part of the open market, looking for candy to give out to the kids at the Sewer Pond for Christmas. German said we could do better getting big bags at La Unión, so we'll pick the candy up when we go to town again on Friday.
We returned to the van and since we were driving past Eskimo, Mary said we had to stop for an icecream cone. Well, inflation has hit and the cono jumbo (giant waffle cone with 2 dips) has went from 20 córdabas to 30, which in USD is about $1.50. We were stunned at the huge jump in a matter of a few days. But we still think it's a lot cheaper than Braums! Needless to say, we were stuffed by the time we made it back to the house. It was a nice shopping day.
I laid on my bed and read for a little while, until I dozed off. I was trying to download an update for my computer, but because the internet is slow, after 1.5 hours, it still hadn't loaded. I'll try again some other time.
We went for our 4:30 walk on the beach. We get back about 5:45 or so. We've noticed that they sun is setting a little bit later each day. Again today, we saw how different the beach was from Monday. The waves were staying way out today. And at the north end of the beach, there was a lot of sand missing. The hill was leveled off and we could see the houses from the water's edge. Usually, we just see the tree tops. We also saw a hole in the sand about 3" wide. Probably a large crab hole. There was a small fish tail sticking out of the top. I didn't have my camera, so I didn't get a pic. It was funny to look at.
After getting back home, I jumped in the shower and settled in with the computer to catch up on some people who are battling (and winning) some health challenges. I'm so thankful to be able to get on line to follow their progress. I also called my sister Pam to see how she is doing. She sounded pretty good. Still sore and still tired of only laying on her back, but she's getting there. She's still a little worried about the results of the test on her lymph nodes. Hopefully, those results will be back next week. She has appointments with all her doctors (4) in the next 2 weeks. I appreciate everyone's prayers for her.
When we were at La Unión today, we found Cheetos! They have them every once in a while, and had been out for weeks. We stocked up today! We were very excited! Mary has a special friend that works as a sacker at the store. His name is Ricardo. He always takes good care of us! He's her favorite. She always tips him more than the others. He's quite the cutie, too!
I miss watching the news on tv. I try to follow CNN on line, but it's not the same. It takes a while for the stories to download and I get impatient. I guess if anything earth-shattering happens, I'll hear about it one way or another.
Tomorrow is another work day here at the house. And we'll spend some quality time on Spanish lessons, for both of us. Mary wants to start putting sentences together, so we will be delving into the world of Spanish verbs soon. Pray for us people! It's not going to be pretty! :) But it is a big hurdle and big stepping stone to move on. With God's grace, we'll make it through a few sessions. I'm going to put Mary on a couple of websites that have good interactive lessons. I hope it will be easier for her than just a book. She's trying very hard and I'm proud of her.
I also need to get lessons ready for the class that we will do with the Translators next week. I'll work on that tomorrow, too.
I got word today that I'll continue to receive support from FBC Rogers for 2011. I get $8,000 per year from the church and I depend on God to encourage individuals to support me to make up the difference for living expenses. God has provided a wonderful place for me to live for free with my friend Deanna. I'm so thankful for that! I borrowed a vehicle from the Eatons for the last 18 months, and that helped tremendously. I won't have a vehicle when I get back in January, but it works out fine since I will work from home most of the time. When I meet with people, I'll ask for a ride. It will work out fine. I'm thankful that my personal bills are covered by the support (life insurance, health insurance, tax payments, medicines, groceries, etc). God always makes it balance out just fine. And He provides house/pet/kid/granny-sitting jobs when I need to make extra money. I'm very thankful for the way He takes care of me, especially when He gets others involved. He's a good provider.
It's only 9pm, but I'm ready to call it a night. I think I need my beauty sleep!
Thank You Lord for all Your blessings today. Thank You for allowing me to be here in Nic right now and for the relationships You are building for me. Thank You for the ministry that VOH has here and for the people who work hard to reach the Nica people for You. Show us all what You have planned for us each day. Help us to be ready and willing to serve in the way that YOU have planned.
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