Happy New Year everyone!!
I'm trying to stay up until midnight and it's only 30 minutes away. I was going to the Cuerpo Vivo dinner and service tonight, but woke up from my afternoon nap feeling yucky, so I opted to stay home. I'm hoping it's just a cold or sinus infection and not a flu. Probably the switch in temperature from Nica to here. Although, everyone has been raving about the warm weather this week. :)
I slept well last night and got up to work on my Bible Study. I read the last entry for 2011 and have made it completely through the Bible this year. I'm so thankful to the Women's Ministry at FBC Rogers for having the Chronological Bible study this year. I was out of the country about half of the year, but when I was in AR I got to attend and loved the lecture time with Lisa and all the ladies and then the small group time with Cathy. I'm still working on the commentary that goes with the study, but will finish it tomorrow. I'll start reading the Bible through again in the morning. I'm hooked and can't wait to see what new things God will show me as I read His Word again.
Cora and JD, Deanna's grandkids spent the night tonight. Cora and I made some fudge for Deanna. Other than that, and a load of laundry, I've had a pretty quiet day.
I'm so thankful for the blessings and challenges of 2011. Even the tough times are valuable because they lead me closer to the Father.
My deepest desire is to serve Him better this coming year. There is so much that He is allowing me to do in my life and I'm very humbled and blessed. I don't want to let Him down. I want to cherish each moment He allows. And I want to share Him with everyone. I pray that all those who don't know Him yet will find a relationship with Him this next year. I pray He finds me faithful. He is my all.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 30, 2011
I've been back in the states for a few days now. It feels great to be 'visiting'. I truly feel grounded in Nica as my home and visiting my friends and family in the states.
I've slept well in my room at Deanna's. I've cleaned out and organized my rooms a little every time I leave for Nica. The tubs of stuff stacked in the room now will all end up in Nica by the end of March. Slowly I'm getting my material things in this world in order. I won't feel so strung out everywhere one of these days.
I've been to Walmart 4 times in the last 3 days. A few things each time, but all needed. I enjoy walking around looking at stuff. I don't want to own it, but it's fun to look at pretty things. I'm glad that I wasn't around for all the crazy hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping. It's nice to shop when other people are tired of it (or probably out of money).
Wednesday, Kellie took me to lunch and then dropped me off at the Olive Street church to pick up some packages that were delivered there while I was gone. I hung out a little bit and talked with Glenda and Teresa. I got the chance to chat a little with Jerry for a few minutes. My friend Cathy dropped in and offered me a ride home. I borrowed Deanna's van to run to Walmart to get some groceries. Then I spent the rest of the evening at home.
Thursday, I borrowed my friend Donna's car for the day and got my haircut first thing and then went to the post office to pick up 3 months of mail. Of course, I don't get much mail besides junk stuff, but I was expecting a bunch of the junk. Happily, I only had a handful of mail and just a little bit was junk. I went to the desk to ask when my box rental was due, because I couldn't remember if I had paid for 3 months or 6 months when I rented it. I found out that 6 months is the minimum, so I'm in good shape for now. I came home and visited with Deanna and Elaine for a little while and then went to Walmart to look around and pick up a few more items before I turned the car keys over to Donna when she finished working at the Vision Center. Donna brought me home and I settled in watching some tv with Deanna. I thought it was 10pm and I was very tired so I said I was going to bed. When I said that I was glad that it was 10, Deanna informed me that it was only 8. I couldn't believe it. I finally made it to bed at 9pm and read for a little while. Then I slept pretty well, but still woke up very early.
This morning I grabbed a ride from Teresa to go to the Olive Street church to fill out some papers to continue my group health insurance for the next 12 months. I won't be considered on staff at the church after 12/31, so I needed to find health insurance. I was thrilled to be able to continue the coverage that I have at a descent rate. Even though the US insurance doesn't work in Nica, it's good to have the coverage for the future and in case anything happens that I need to come back to the states for treatment. The best thing is that the premium is only $50 more than the increase of the support from FBCR. I was afraid the cost would be twice what it actually will be. So my support needs will be going up for 2012, but not as much as I thought. For that I'm grateful.
After doing my business at the church, I walked over to Nana Ruth's apartment. We went to the bank and to Walmart and then to lunch at Olive Garden. Then we stopped off at Lifeway Christian store for some great bargains and to the other Walmart to look for something for Deanna. I think I now have enough food to last for the next week or so. I needed to restock after being gone.
When I got home, Elaine and the kids were here with Deanna and everyone was sad because they had just put their dog Heidi to sleep. Jake had taken Heidi to be 'put to rest'. We sat around for a while until Jake came back. JD went to spend time with a friend and then Cora went to spend the night with a friend. It's just Deanna and I here tonight and we're not too wild or crazy.
I've enjoyed the 'normal' highspeed internet here in the states. I've had lots of stuff to research and take care of. I need to get serious next week on getting some loose ends tied up. I know this month will go by fast.
Noemi offered to take me to the Spanish church tomorrow night for the special dinner and games and then New Year's Worship service. I'll need a nap tomorrow afternoon, but I will surely enjoy the evening. I can't wait to see all my friends from Cuerpo Vivo church.
I'm enjoying this weekend of reflection on the past year and the promise of the new year. I feel so peaceful with God's plan for me, even though I don't know the details. But I feel a stronger commitment to whatever He asks of me. It's going to be a big year, whatever He has planned!
I guess I should head to bed for now. A little quiet time with my Kindle sounds pretty good.
I've slept well in my room at Deanna's. I've cleaned out and organized my rooms a little every time I leave for Nica. The tubs of stuff stacked in the room now will all end up in Nica by the end of March. Slowly I'm getting my material things in this world in order. I won't feel so strung out everywhere one of these days.
I've been to Walmart 4 times in the last 3 days. A few things each time, but all needed. I enjoy walking around looking at stuff. I don't want to own it, but it's fun to look at pretty things. I'm glad that I wasn't around for all the crazy hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping. It's nice to shop when other people are tired of it (or probably out of money).
Wednesday, Kellie took me to lunch and then dropped me off at the Olive Street church to pick up some packages that were delivered there while I was gone. I hung out a little bit and talked with Glenda and Teresa. I got the chance to chat a little with Jerry for a few minutes. My friend Cathy dropped in and offered me a ride home. I borrowed Deanna's van to run to Walmart to get some groceries. Then I spent the rest of the evening at home.
Thursday, I borrowed my friend Donna's car for the day and got my haircut first thing and then went to the post office to pick up 3 months of mail. Of course, I don't get much mail besides junk stuff, but I was expecting a bunch of the junk. Happily, I only had a handful of mail and just a little bit was junk. I went to the desk to ask when my box rental was due, because I couldn't remember if I had paid for 3 months or 6 months when I rented it. I found out that 6 months is the minimum, so I'm in good shape for now. I came home and visited with Deanna and Elaine for a little while and then went to Walmart to look around and pick up a few more items before I turned the car keys over to Donna when she finished working at the Vision Center. Donna brought me home and I settled in watching some tv with Deanna. I thought it was 10pm and I was very tired so I said I was going to bed. When I said that I was glad that it was 10, Deanna informed me that it was only 8. I couldn't believe it. I finally made it to bed at 9pm and read for a little while. Then I slept pretty well, but still woke up very early.
This morning I grabbed a ride from Teresa to go to the Olive Street church to fill out some papers to continue my group health insurance for the next 12 months. I won't be considered on staff at the church after 12/31, so I needed to find health insurance. I was thrilled to be able to continue the coverage that I have at a descent rate. Even though the US insurance doesn't work in Nica, it's good to have the coverage for the future and in case anything happens that I need to come back to the states for treatment. The best thing is that the premium is only $50 more than the increase of the support from FBCR. I was afraid the cost would be twice what it actually will be. So my support needs will be going up for 2012, but not as much as I thought. For that I'm grateful.
After doing my business at the church, I walked over to Nana Ruth's apartment. We went to the bank and to Walmart and then to lunch at Olive Garden. Then we stopped off at Lifeway Christian store for some great bargains and to the other Walmart to look for something for Deanna. I think I now have enough food to last for the next week or so. I needed to restock after being gone.
When I got home, Elaine and the kids were here with Deanna and everyone was sad because they had just put their dog Heidi to sleep. Jake had taken Heidi to be 'put to rest'. We sat around for a while until Jake came back. JD went to spend time with a friend and then Cora went to spend the night with a friend. It's just Deanna and I here tonight and we're not too wild or crazy.
I've enjoyed the 'normal' highspeed internet here in the states. I've had lots of stuff to research and take care of. I need to get serious next week on getting some loose ends tied up. I know this month will go by fast.
Noemi offered to take me to the Spanish church tomorrow night for the special dinner and games and then New Year's Worship service. I'll need a nap tomorrow afternoon, but I will surely enjoy the evening. I can't wait to see all my friends from Cuerpo Vivo church.
I'm enjoying this weekend of reflection on the past year and the promise of the new year. I feel so peaceful with God's plan for me, even though I don't know the details. But I feel a stronger commitment to whatever He asks of me. It's going to be a big year, whatever He has planned!
I guess I should head to bed for now. A little quiet time with my Kindle sounds pretty good.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 Travel Day
Travel Day back to the States.
I woke up at 1:30am and couldn’t go back to sleep because I was worried I wouldn’t wake up at 3am to get ready to leave. I read a little bit and prayed a lot and then got up to take my last cold shower for awhile.
I had everything ready for the departure, so it was a very peaceful morning. God really blessed me with a great time with Him.
German and Joana came to get Beth and me a little after 4am. Alberto was putting the cat’s home in his little casita, so he wasn’t at the gate when German pulled up. I opened the gate and made sure to tell German that Alberto was up and about, but busy. I didn’t want him to get mad at Alberto, thinking that he was sleeping in. ☺
We headed off toward the airport in Managua. On the way, we stopped in Las Paz Centro to drop off Beth at the Speigel’s house, so she could spend time with them and have breakfast. Then John was going to take her to the airport later, since she had a later flight than me. We got to the Speigel’s house earlier than planned, but that gave them more time to visit, even if it was before 5am.
I relaxed on the rest of the way to the airport and German and Joana were chatting in the front seat. They seemed like they were on a date, so I let them chat without interruption. We made it to the airport early, about 5:40am. I gave them a big hug and promised to spend more time with their family when I’m back.
I went in to line up at the ticket counter. I was the fourth in line behind some couples. The counter wasn’t open until 6am, so I played around with my phone and filled out some immigration forms to pass the time. Check in was fine and I glanced at the shops as I was walking to immigration. I usually like to look around in the shops, but passed this time. I got through immigration fine and then through security (where I got wanded because I beeped for some reason) and upstairs to the gates. There is a restaurant at the far end of the terminal and I had some scrambled eggs and pancakes and orange juice. Not bad. Then I walked around a bit waiting for boarding time. I did stop at a little shop upstairs and bought a map of Nica that I have seen in the past and wanted.
The flight from Managua to Houston was only about ¼ full. I usually take the 7:15 flight it’s usually full. This flight was comfy. I got to move to a row of 3 empty seats and stretch out. I dozed off and on for the 3 ½ hour flight. I did eat the ‘breakfast’ which appeared like magic when I was snoozing. ☺ I read and just relaxed.
We got into Houston by 11:30am. I went through Immigration like a breeze. There was hardly anyone there. I got my luggage, stopped at the customs spot and took it to the next drop off place. Then it was off to the security check again. It went fast, as there weren’t that many people traveling on Tuesday. I did have to go through the xray machine thingy and my backpack had to go through the xray twice. They finally decided that I wasn’t a threat, and I was on my way. Now for the 8 hour layover at the Houston airport.
I walked around a bit and then had a nice lunch at Chili’s Too. I ordered a small salad and some appetizers for my entre. One of the things on the appetizer plate was not available, so I got some baked potato soup instead. What a nice little lunch! I then walked around more and sat in some of my favorite seats and read and worked on lists and receipts and stuff. I actually dozed off sitting there, even with hundreds of people walking by, carts driving by and announcements from the speakers. It was a nice little nap of about 20 minutes and it did me good.
I walked through some shops and found some very interesting and humorous things. I amazes me what people will buy with their money. I found a nice little store that was having some great discounts for after Christmas. The salesperson was very friendly and a Christian. I ended up purchasing a few things from her. I love bargains!
I checked out the new Kindle Fire at one of the bookstores. I’m thinking of getting one with Christmas money. It was nice to test it out. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to upgrade soon.
I had a giant smoothie for a snack and walked around more and sat more. I made some phone calls and just tried to have a tranquil time.
Before boarding time at 6:40pm, I stopped at Schlotzky’s for my usual sandwich that I like to get at that airport. I packed it well in my carryon and went to wait on my flight.
Before they boarded our plane, they asked for volunteers to give up their seats and take a flight for tomorrow. I thought about it, but since I had a pick up scheduled with someone, I decided not to. Then they asked again later and offered even more for compensation. I called my ride and asked if it was a problem to switch. Cathy said it didn’t matter to her, but by the time this conversation happened, I saw many people lined up for the deal. It was a hard decision between getting a nice voucher for a future flight plus hotel and meals free, or get home to Deanna’s and not mess up other people’s plans. As it turned out, the people getting the ‘deal’ ended up on the plane anyway and we had a few empty seats. Evidently, some of the travelers who made the flight overbooked, were stuck somewhere and didn’t make the flight anyway. But the incident made me decide to figure that option into my plans in the future. The same thing had happened from NWA to Houston on my way down to Nica. I’ll be prepared to act promptly next time. Those vouchers would come in handy!!!
The flight to Rogers was uneventful. I ate my sandwich and read my Kindle. When we landed, we were just a few minutes early. While waiting on my luggage I noticed that people had gotten their bags quickly and left. There were 2 other people with me waiting for ours. It didn’t seem to be coming. Then I heard our names announced to come to the ticket counter. It turns out that our luggage got on an earlier flight out of Houston and had beat us to NWA. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door to find Cathy waiting for me at the curb.
It was good to see Cathy and get a hug. I enjoy her company very much and don’t get to spend much time with her, but we’re going to try to get together often while I’m here in Rogers. She is coming down to Nica over Spring Break with FBCR and also planning a Women’s Ministry trip in the fall. It will be fun to work with her on that.
I got to Deanna’s about 10 and was greeted by Deanna and Jet (the dog) and Heidi (Deanna’s grand-dog from Las Vegas). We sat and chatted for awhile and I settled into my room. It was nice to be back in my room, especially since it was all clean and organized from when I left it. I hope not to make a mess of it while I’m here! Actually, many of the tubs of things are going to Nica with the Spring Break team, so the room will be even more organized when I leave in Feb.
I slept very well and snuggled under a quilt. I haven’t slept under sheets or covers for most of the last 3 months. It felt different, but cozy to sleep all warm.
All in all, it’s been a nice day of travel. It’s good to be in my ‘other’ home. I’m very much at peace. And very thankful for the life that God is allowing me to live. So blessed.
I woke up at 1:30am and couldn’t go back to sleep because I was worried I wouldn’t wake up at 3am to get ready to leave. I read a little bit and prayed a lot and then got up to take my last cold shower for awhile.
I had everything ready for the departure, so it was a very peaceful morning. God really blessed me with a great time with Him.
German and Joana came to get Beth and me a little after 4am. Alberto was putting the cat’s home in his little casita, so he wasn’t at the gate when German pulled up. I opened the gate and made sure to tell German that Alberto was up and about, but busy. I didn’t want him to get mad at Alberto, thinking that he was sleeping in. ☺
We headed off toward the airport in Managua. On the way, we stopped in Las Paz Centro to drop off Beth at the Speigel’s house, so she could spend time with them and have breakfast. Then John was going to take her to the airport later, since she had a later flight than me. We got to the Speigel’s house earlier than planned, but that gave them more time to visit, even if it was before 5am.
I relaxed on the rest of the way to the airport and German and Joana were chatting in the front seat. They seemed like they were on a date, so I let them chat without interruption. We made it to the airport early, about 5:40am. I gave them a big hug and promised to spend more time with their family when I’m back.
I went in to line up at the ticket counter. I was the fourth in line behind some couples. The counter wasn’t open until 6am, so I played around with my phone and filled out some immigration forms to pass the time. Check in was fine and I glanced at the shops as I was walking to immigration. I usually like to look around in the shops, but passed this time. I got through immigration fine and then through security (where I got wanded because I beeped for some reason) and upstairs to the gates. There is a restaurant at the far end of the terminal and I had some scrambled eggs and pancakes and orange juice. Not bad. Then I walked around a bit waiting for boarding time. I did stop at a little shop upstairs and bought a map of Nica that I have seen in the past and wanted.
The flight from Managua to Houston was only about ¼ full. I usually take the 7:15 flight it’s usually full. This flight was comfy. I got to move to a row of 3 empty seats and stretch out. I dozed off and on for the 3 ½ hour flight. I did eat the ‘breakfast’ which appeared like magic when I was snoozing. ☺ I read and just relaxed.
We got into Houston by 11:30am. I went through Immigration like a breeze. There was hardly anyone there. I got my luggage, stopped at the customs spot and took it to the next drop off place. Then it was off to the security check again. It went fast, as there weren’t that many people traveling on Tuesday. I did have to go through the xray machine thingy and my backpack had to go through the xray twice. They finally decided that I wasn’t a threat, and I was on my way. Now for the 8 hour layover at the Houston airport.
I walked around a bit and then had a nice lunch at Chili’s Too. I ordered a small salad and some appetizers for my entre. One of the things on the appetizer plate was not available, so I got some baked potato soup instead. What a nice little lunch! I then walked around more and sat in some of my favorite seats and read and worked on lists and receipts and stuff. I actually dozed off sitting there, even with hundreds of people walking by, carts driving by and announcements from the speakers. It was a nice little nap of about 20 minutes and it did me good.
I walked through some shops and found some very interesting and humorous things. I amazes me what people will buy with their money. I found a nice little store that was having some great discounts for after Christmas. The salesperson was very friendly and a Christian. I ended up purchasing a few things from her. I love bargains!
I checked out the new Kindle Fire at one of the bookstores. I’m thinking of getting one with Christmas money. It was nice to test it out. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to upgrade soon.
I had a giant smoothie for a snack and walked around more and sat more. I made some phone calls and just tried to have a tranquil time.
Before boarding time at 6:40pm, I stopped at Schlotzky’s for my usual sandwich that I like to get at that airport. I packed it well in my carryon and went to wait on my flight.
Before they boarded our plane, they asked for volunteers to give up their seats and take a flight for tomorrow. I thought about it, but since I had a pick up scheduled with someone, I decided not to. Then they asked again later and offered even more for compensation. I called my ride and asked if it was a problem to switch. Cathy said it didn’t matter to her, but by the time this conversation happened, I saw many people lined up for the deal. It was a hard decision between getting a nice voucher for a future flight plus hotel and meals free, or get home to Deanna’s and not mess up other people’s plans. As it turned out, the people getting the ‘deal’ ended up on the plane anyway and we had a few empty seats. Evidently, some of the travelers who made the flight overbooked, were stuck somewhere and didn’t make the flight anyway. But the incident made me decide to figure that option into my plans in the future. The same thing had happened from NWA to Houston on my way down to Nica. I’ll be prepared to act promptly next time. Those vouchers would come in handy!!!
The flight to Rogers was uneventful. I ate my sandwich and read my Kindle. When we landed, we were just a few minutes early. While waiting on my luggage I noticed that people had gotten their bags quickly and left. There were 2 other people with me waiting for ours. It didn’t seem to be coming. Then I heard our names announced to come to the ticket counter. It turns out that our luggage got on an earlier flight out of Houston and had beat us to NWA. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door to find Cathy waiting for me at the curb.
It was good to see Cathy and get a hug. I enjoy her company very much and don’t get to spend much time with her, but we’re going to try to get together often while I’m here in Rogers. She is coming down to Nica over Spring Break with FBCR and also planning a Women’s Ministry trip in the fall. It will be fun to work with her on that.
I got to Deanna’s about 10 and was greeted by Deanna and Jet (the dog) and Heidi (Deanna’s grand-dog from Las Vegas). We sat and chatted for awhile and I settled into my room. It was nice to be back in my room, especially since it was all clean and organized from when I left it. I hope not to make a mess of it while I’m here! Actually, many of the tubs of things are going to Nica with the Spring Break team, so the room will be even more organized when I leave in Feb.
I slept very well and snuggled under a quilt. I haven’t slept under sheets or covers for most of the last 3 months. It felt different, but cozy to sleep all warm.
All in all, it’s been a nice day of travel. It’s good to be in my ‘other’ home. I’m very much at peace. And very thankful for the life that God is allowing me to live. So blessed.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Monday, December 26, 2011 NICARAGUA
When I booked my plane tickets back in August for my trip to Nica from Sept 30 to Dec 27, the date to leave Nica seemed very far away. Now it’s just hours away. In fact, I’ll be getting up at 3am to be on the road to the airport by 4am. Not long from this moment.
I’ve stayed in Nica for various times since I’ve started coming here; sometimes 1 week, then 5 weeks, then 7 weeks, 3 weeks, 8 weeks and now 12 weeks. I have to say that staying longer doesn’t feel longer at all. In fact, it feels so natural to be here that time doesn’t feel the same.
I’m so sure of God’s call for me to live and serve here in Nica at this time in my life, that I’m very peaceful and content, no matter what the circumstances are. God is always faithful and is always there looking out for me, no matter how hard life can be. Those are the times that I draw closer to Him, and for that reason I am thankful.
Since I’m not taking much back to the US besides some books and souvenirs, I don’t have much to pack. I’ll carry my laptop and Kindle and camera back and forth as usual, but everything else stays here. I don’t even have to pack up my room. I just lock it up and come back in Feb and start living here again. Sweet!
I got up this morning and headed out to visit Jeremy and Kelly at their house. They have a little store in the front room of their place and I bought some earrings. We had a nice visit and looked at pictures and spoke mostly in Spanish. How fun for me! Kelly is learning English and Jeremy is one of our translators, so we had lots of laughs together. Jeremy wanted to give me a ride home on his motorcycle, but I opted to keep walking.
After leaving Jeremy’s house, I walked downtown to one of my favorite shops, Plaza del Carmen. I picked up a couple more gifts for the folks back home and then walked back towards the Mission House. I stopped in at Pacheco’s school and visited with Juan for a while. It was nice to just sit and talk. He has been such a good friend and great teacher for me these past months. I truly appreciate him.
I caught a taxi back to the house and visited with Lesly and Jaasiel and Beth until lunch time. Lydia made a yummy lunch for us and then Lesly, Jaasiel and I left in Jorge’s taxi. We dropped Lesly off near her home and Lesly and I continued to her house, where we spent an hour or so visiting. I love being welcomed into my friends homes. Jorge picked us up and dropped me off at the Mission House about 3:30pm.
Beth got back to the house right after I did and we called German to pick us up at 4pm to visit his family at their house. I hadn’t gotten to see the drop ceiling that they had put in lately, so I was anxious to see it. We had a good visit and I love their house more and more as they add on. I’m so proud and thankful for them. They deserve the house and are building it as they get the money. It’s a labor of love and it’s filled with love.
German brought us back to the Mission House and I retired to my room while Beth left with Chico to visit with his family for a while.
I’m all ready to leave in the morning. I just need to make myself go to sleep early. We’ll see…
I’m not anxious or bothered about leaving this time, because I know it’s just a visit to the states and I’ll be back ‘home’ here in Nica in 7 weeks.
I praise God for all that He has allowed to happen through the ministry these past 3 months. I can’t wait to see what He is going to do in the future!!!
I’ve stayed in Nica for various times since I’ve started coming here; sometimes 1 week, then 5 weeks, then 7 weeks, 3 weeks, 8 weeks and now 12 weeks. I have to say that staying longer doesn’t feel longer at all. In fact, it feels so natural to be here that time doesn’t feel the same.
I’m so sure of God’s call for me to live and serve here in Nica at this time in my life, that I’m very peaceful and content, no matter what the circumstances are. God is always faithful and is always there looking out for me, no matter how hard life can be. Those are the times that I draw closer to Him, and for that reason I am thankful.
Since I’m not taking much back to the US besides some books and souvenirs, I don’t have much to pack. I’ll carry my laptop and Kindle and camera back and forth as usual, but everything else stays here. I don’t even have to pack up my room. I just lock it up and come back in Feb and start living here again. Sweet!
I got up this morning and headed out to visit Jeremy and Kelly at their house. They have a little store in the front room of their place and I bought some earrings. We had a nice visit and looked at pictures and spoke mostly in Spanish. How fun for me! Kelly is learning English and Jeremy is one of our translators, so we had lots of laughs together. Jeremy wanted to give me a ride home on his motorcycle, but I opted to keep walking.
After leaving Jeremy’s house, I walked downtown to one of my favorite shops, Plaza del Carmen. I picked up a couple more gifts for the folks back home and then walked back towards the Mission House. I stopped in at Pacheco’s school and visited with Juan for a while. It was nice to just sit and talk. He has been such a good friend and great teacher for me these past months. I truly appreciate him.
I caught a taxi back to the house and visited with Lesly and Jaasiel and Beth until lunch time. Lydia made a yummy lunch for us and then Lesly, Jaasiel and I left in Jorge’s taxi. We dropped Lesly off near her home and Lesly and I continued to her house, where we spent an hour or so visiting. I love being welcomed into my friends homes. Jorge picked us up and dropped me off at the Mission House about 3:30pm.
Beth got back to the house right after I did and we called German to pick us up at 4pm to visit his family at their house. I hadn’t gotten to see the drop ceiling that they had put in lately, so I was anxious to see it. We had a good visit and I love their house more and more as they add on. I’m so proud and thankful for them. They deserve the house and are building it as they get the money. It’s a labor of love and it’s filled with love.
German brought us back to the Mission House and I retired to my room while Beth left with Chico to visit with his family for a while.
I’m all ready to leave in the morning. I just need to make myself go to sleep early. We’ll see…
I’m not anxious or bothered about leaving this time, because I know it’s just a visit to the states and I’ll be back ‘home’ here in Nica in 7 weeks.
I praise God for all that He has allowed to happen through the ministry these past 3 months. I can’t wait to see what He is going to do in the future!!!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011 NICARAGUA
Christmas Day. I had a lovely day starting with some wonderful quiet time celebrating Jesus’ birth.
Jorge came over to take Beth and me to Las Quimeras church to give out gifts provided by Jamie Hill’s church in TX. What fun! It also gave us a chance to tell the sweet people of the church goodbye until February. I will surely miss them!
On the way home, we stopped at Maxi Palí to buy more minutes for our phones and to pick up a couple of things to snack on. Beth had not had the chance to shop there yet and we had fun walking around pulling the little baskets on wheels. My favorite reason for stopping in there. HA
We fixed pasta for lunch, but didn’t have any spaghetti or macaroni, so we broke up some lasagna noodles and used canned sauce. It was oaky, but I don’t think that Alberto was too crazy about it. Thank goodness there are lots of leftovers in the fridge from previous meals.
Beth and I both grab some naps and loved it. I was still doing laundry all day, trying to get all the towels from the team washed up. I then started in on the sheets, because I couldn’t stand the thought of the washing machine sitting dormant when there were many loads of sheets to finish up. I enjoyed getting them done. And I know the cleaning ladies will be happy to have so much of it taken care of when they come in tomorrow morning.
As I was doing laundry today, I was thinking about how content I am to be here. I was walking up and down a dusty hill to the clothes line, hanging up dozens of towels and sheets, after they had been washed in a very slow filling washer that we add water by the 5-gallon buckets to so that it will fill up quicker. I did use the dryer on every other load. It was a good feeling to see the clean laundry stacking up high all folded and fresh.
While thinking about these things I was comparing it to the way that many of my family and friends were spending the day. I admit that it would be nice for them to all be together, but I also think about the stress and hard work that goes into trying to make it the perfect holiday for everyone. I wouldn’t have traded my day sweating and serving for anything in the world.
I finished sewing a couple of Christmas presents this afternoon. I think I’m ready to put the sewing machine away for now. I sure have loved having it! Can’t wait to get back and start more projects!
I took a quick dip in the pool to cool off. Beth was laying in the hammock near the pool and we chatted a while. Buster the dog was aggravating Scratch the kitten. But Scratch is getting bigger and stronger and tries to bite Buster’s legs. Crazy animals.
We fixed chicken quesadillas for dinner and they were tasty. Alberto liked them better than the pasta.
German and family came by for a quick visit. I gave the kids their gifts and we all sat around and talked. Mostly in Spanish I might add. I guess I’m making progress after all! I’m going to go their house tomorrow at 4pm. I’ve only gotten to visit there one other time this trip. I love that they welcome me into their family.
In the morning I’m going to visit Jeremy and Kelly at their house and then come back to the house for lunch. I’ll travel with Lesly to her house in the early afternoon. Then I’ll come back and head to German’s. I just need to do one last load of laundry tomorrow evening before going to bed early. I think I’ll be in good shape.
I worked on my room this evening. I think everything is pretty much put away and ready for me to be gone for 7 weeks. It feels really good not having to take stuff back and forth. I love my room here. I feel very much at home.
My suitcase is full of souvenir type stuff to take back to the states. And a few books. I travel light on the way to the states. ☺
I’m going to go to bed now and try to get up with Buster (about 5 or 5:30am) in the morning, so that I will be ready for bed early tomorrow night and can get up at 3am on Tuesday to head to the airport. Tuesday will be a very long day, but fun.
It’s been a very happy Christmas Day for me. I’m so thankful. Happy Birthday Jesus!
Jorge came over to take Beth and me to Las Quimeras church to give out gifts provided by Jamie Hill’s church in TX. What fun! It also gave us a chance to tell the sweet people of the church goodbye until February. I will surely miss them!
On the way home, we stopped at Maxi Palí to buy more minutes for our phones and to pick up a couple of things to snack on. Beth had not had the chance to shop there yet and we had fun walking around pulling the little baskets on wheels. My favorite reason for stopping in there. HA
We fixed pasta for lunch, but didn’t have any spaghetti or macaroni, so we broke up some lasagna noodles and used canned sauce. It was oaky, but I don’t think that Alberto was too crazy about it. Thank goodness there are lots of leftovers in the fridge from previous meals.
Beth and I both grab some naps and loved it. I was still doing laundry all day, trying to get all the towels from the team washed up. I then started in on the sheets, because I couldn’t stand the thought of the washing machine sitting dormant when there were many loads of sheets to finish up. I enjoyed getting them done. And I know the cleaning ladies will be happy to have so much of it taken care of when they come in tomorrow morning.
As I was doing laundry today, I was thinking about how content I am to be here. I was walking up and down a dusty hill to the clothes line, hanging up dozens of towels and sheets, after they had been washed in a very slow filling washer that we add water by the 5-gallon buckets to so that it will fill up quicker. I did use the dryer on every other load. It was a good feeling to see the clean laundry stacking up high all folded and fresh.
While thinking about these things I was comparing it to the way that many of my family and friends were spending the day. I admit that it would be nice for them to all be together, but I also think about the stress and hard work that goes into trying to make it the perfect holiday for everyone. I wouldn’t have traded my day sweating and serving for anything in the world.
I finished sewing a couple of Christmas presents this afternoon. I think I’m ready to put the sewing machine away for now. I sure have loved having it! Can’t wait to get back and start more projects!
I took a quick dip in the pool to cool off. Beth was laying in the hammock near the pool and we chatted a while. Buster the dog was aggravating Scratch the kitten. But Scratch is getting bigger and stronger and tries to bite Buster’s legs. Crazy animals.
We fixed chicken quesadillas for dinner and they were tasty. Alberto liked them better than the pasta.
German and family came by for a quick visit. I gave the kids their gifts and we all sat around and talked. Mostly in Spanish I might add. I guess I’m making progress after all! I’m going to go their house tomorrow at 4pm. I’ve only gotten to visit there one other time this trip. I love that they welcome me into their family.
In the morning I’m going to visit Jeremy and Kelly at their house and then come back to the house for lunch. I’ll travel with Lesly to her house in the early afternoon. Then I’ll come back and head to German’s. I just need to do one last load of laundry tomorrow evening before going to bed early. I think I’ll be in good shape.
I worked on my room this evening. I think everything is pretty much put away and ready for me to be gone for 7 weeks. It feels really good not having to take stuff back and forth. I love my room here. I feel very much at home.
My suitcase is full of souvenir type stuff to take back to the states. And a few books. I travel light on the way to the states. ☺
I’m going to go to bed now and try to get up with Buster (about 5 or 5:30am) in the morning, so that I will be ready for bed early tomorrow night and can get up at 3am on Tuesday to head to the airport. Tuesday will be a very long day, but fun.
It’s been a very happy Christmas Day for me. I’m so thankful. Happy Birthday Jesus!
Friday, December 24, 2011 NICARAGUA
Christmas Eve. I had multiple offers to go and do things today, but I opted to stay at the Mission House and do laundry (team sheets and towels and donated clothes), nap, study, read, swim, and just chill.
Beth went with the Speigels (missionaries from her home church) to give out Christmas gifts here in León. I thought it would be fun to go, but really needed a quiet day.
Joe and Marcela came over for a little bit after evening church. They invited me to go to Joe’s family’s house for Christmas Eve dinner like last year, but it was already 8:30pm and I was ready to relax for the evening. It was wonderful to see them. I hadn’t gotten the chance to spend much time with them this trip. Just a quick chat when we ran into each other at the park one day and then a few phone calls. We’re are definitely going to get together more when I come back in February.
While they were still here, Beth arrived home with Chico and his son Benjamin in tow. Elieth, Chico’s wife joined us a few minutes later, after visiting with some family at the park. It was wonderful to see them, too. Chico was the first ‘son’ that I adopted here in Nica. We don’t work with him as much as we did the first year that I came down, since he’s very busy, but it’s been great to spend some time with them now.
Beth had went to church at Todopoderoso (Jeremy’s church) and said that Jeremy and Kelly and some others had asked about me. I was very tired and wanted to stay home and I have such a terrible time hearing in large places, especially with a lot of talking and loud music. I was also waiting on Joe, so I opted to stay at the Mission House. Jeremy sent me a fb message telling me to come to the dinner tomorrow night. I replied and explained my reasons for not coming. But I’ll get to spend some time with them at their house on Monday, so it will be fine. I love those two!
German had called in the late afternoon to invite me and Beth to go to the park and then home with them for dinner. We already had our plans for the evening. But I would have loved to spend that time with them. I think it surprised German that we had so many plans going on.
I’m going to spend some time with them before I leave, though. I treasure those moments.
Buster is going crazy barking at stuff tonight. I’m ready to shoot him! I hope he doesn’t scare off Santa’s reindeer!
Time to talk to Jesus about His birthday. ☺
Beth went with the Speigels (missionaries from her home church) to give out Christmas gifts here in León. I thought it would be fun to go, but really needed a quiet day.
Joe and Marcela came over for a little bit after evening church. They invited me to go to Joe’s family’s house for Christmas Eve dinner like last year, but it was already 8:30pm and I was ready to relax for the evening. It was wonderful to see them. I hadn’t gotten the chance to spend much time with them this trip. Just a quick chat when we ran into each other at the park one day and then a few phone calls. We’re are definitely going to get together more when I come back in February.
While they were still here, Beth arrived home with Chico and his son Benjamin in tow. Elieth, Chico’s wife joined us a few minutes later, after visiting with some family at the park. It was wonderful to see them, too. Chico was the first ‘son’ that I adopted here in Nica. We don’t work with him as much as we did the first year that I came down, since he’s very busy, but it’s been great to spend some time with them now.
Beth had went to church at Todopoderoso (Jeremy’s church) and said that Jeremy and Kelly and some others had asked about me. I was very tired and wanted to stay home and I have such a terrible time hearing in large places, especially with a lot of talking and loud music. I was also waiting on Joe, so I opted to stay at the Mission House. Jeremy sent me a fb message telling me to come to the dinner tomorrow night. I replied and explained my reasons for not coming. But I’ll get to spend some time with them at their house on Monday, so it will be fine. I love those two!
German had called in the late afternoon to invite me and Beth to go to the park and then home with them for dinner. We already had our plans for the evening. But I would have loved to spend that time with them. I think it surprised German that we had so many plans going on.
I’m going to spend some time with them before I leave, though. I treasure those moments.
Buster is going crazy barking at stuff tonight. I’m ready to shoot him! I hope he doesn’t scare off Santa’s reindeer!
Time to talk to Jesus about His birthday. ☺
Friday, December 23, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011 NICARAGUA
I’m spending a very appreciated quiet evening in my room having some ME time. The team left this morning in 2 shifts. The first at 4am (we got up at 3am) and then the other at 9:30am (I napped from 4-7am). They were all anxious to get home, but they had a great week.
I started doing laundry before the cleaning ladies got here to start the mountains of dirty towels and sheets and donated clothing. (30+ people generates a lot of stuff) Our washer takes FOREVER to fill up and Saturnino was helping it out with the garden hose. LOL The ladies got all the rooms cleaned while Leslie and I helped with the common areas.
Leslie, Beth and I ran downtown to pick up a few things this morning. We figured it was better to do it this morning than to wait until tomorrow (Christmas Eve) which will be crazy. Nicas celebrate on Christmas Eve and rest on Christmas Day. We rode one of the little ‘buses’. It’s actually a small pickup truck with metals bars and covered with a tarp. They drive crazy and you have to really hold on. Going to town wasn’t too bad, but trying to hang on with your arms full of purchaces while standing was a little dangerous. I think my gray hair made people be more accommodating to me than normal. Someone even offered me their seat. But I think that was because I was flying around with bags on my wrists and a hammock and they were afraid that I would hit them up side the head or something. Anyway, I was glad for the seat! I still had to hold on tight, though. It only costs 3 cords, so it’s way cheaper than a taxi. Sometimes you are smashed in there, but it’s fun.
One interesting thing we saw on the way home in the little bus was a horse laid out across the road. It didn’t look like it had been hit by a vehicle, but it was barely breathing. I think it just went down from exhaustion and heat and malnutrition. It’s very sad.
We got back to the house and had lunch. Steak, mashed potatoes and corn. Yum. Beth took a nap while Leslie and I chatted and rested a little bit. Then it was time for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church. Jorge took us in his taxi. I took the Bible bags filled with notebooks and pens that I had been sewing for the last 2 weeks. The ladies loved them. We also showed them what the Bibles that they will be receiving look like. They are excited. We finished up the Mary study and had prayer together. I will miss them all so much and I’m SO anxious to get back here in Feb to start the study again.
I had some left overs for dinner and did another load of laundry. Beth went out on the town with Pacheco, Chico and Oscar. I was invited, but decided to stay at the house and have some Vickie time. I get to see the guys all the time and Beth is only here a few weeks a year, so I thought she might like to visit them by herself.
I started packing my suitcase for my visit to the states next week. I’m taking mostly souvenirs and items to sell for the ministry. I’m not taking any clothing back. And my toiletries all stay here. It will be light packing for the trip north. (it’s always heavy packing for the trip here). I also listened to Spanish Christmas music while painting my toes and downloading pics. I think I’ll head to bed early, though, since I was up early. Bed sounds pretty good.
I’m thankful for the team that came down this week. It has been a busy week and everyone was very tired, but happy. A lot of people heard the Gospel this week and 992 people accepted Christ. An awesome week.
I’m so thankful to be here and serving with VOH and learning Spanish. It feels perfectly normal to walk the streets, see the sights, interact with the people. I just love it. God is so good!
I started doing laundry before the cleaning ladies got here to start the mountains of dirty towels and sheets and donated clothing. (30+ people generates a lot of stuff) Our washer takes FOREVER to fill up and Saturnino was helping it out with the garden hose. LOL The ladies got all the rooms cleaned while Leslie and I helped with the common areas.
Leslie, Beth and I ran downtown to pick up a few things this morning. We figured it was better to do it this morning than to wait until tomorrow (Christmas Eve) which will be crazy. Nicas celebrate on Christmas Eve and rest on Christmas Day. We rode one of the little ‘buses’. It’s actually a small pickup truck with metals bars and covered with a tarp. They drive crazy and you have to really hold on. Going to town wasn’t too bad, but trying to hang on with your arms full of purchaces while standing was a little dangerous. I think my gray hair made people be more accommodating to me than normal. Someone even offered me their seat. But I think that was because I was flying around with bags on my wrists and a hammock and they were afraid that I would hit them up side the head or something. Anyway, I was glad for the seat! I still had to hold on tight, though. It only costs 3 cords, so it’s way cheaper than a taxi. Sometimes you are smashed in there, but it’s fun.
One interesting thing we saw on the way home in the little bus was a horse laid out across the road. It didn’t look like it had been hit by a vehicle, but it was barely breathing. I think it just went down from exhaustion and heat and malnutrition. It’s very sad.
We got back to the house and had lunch. Steak, mashed potatoes and corn. Yum. Beth took a nap while Leslie and I chatted and rested a little bit. Then it was time for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church. Jorge took us in his taxi. I took the Bible bags filled with notebooks and pens that I had been sewing for the last 2 weeks. The ladies loved them. We also showed them what the Bibles that they will be receiving look like. They are excited. We finished up the Mary study and had prayer together. I will miss them all so much and I’m SO anxious to get back here in Feb to start the study again.
I had some left overs for dinner and did another load of laundry. Beth went out on the town with Pacheco, Chico and Oscar. I was invited, but decided to stay at the house and have some Vickie time. I get to see the guys all the time and Beth is only here a few weeks a year, so I thought she might like to visit them by herself.
I started packing my suitcase for my visit to the states next week. I’m taking mostly souvenirs and items to sell for the ministry. I’m not taking any clothing back. And my toiletries all stay here. It will be light packing for the trip north. (it’s always heavy packing for the trip here). I also listened to Spanish Christmas music while painting my toes and downloading pics. I think I’ll head to bed early, though, since I was up early. Bed sounds pretty good.
I’m thankful for the team that came down this week. It has been a busy week and everyone was very tired, but happy. A lot of people heard the Gospel this week and 992 people accepted Christ. An awesome week.
I’m so thankful to be here and serving with VOH and learning Spanish. It feels perfectly normal to walk the streets, see the sights, interact with the people. I just love it. God is so good!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011 NICARAGUA
So, it’s December 22. We’ve been wrapped up in the team this week. They leave in the morning so that they can be home or Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Right now they are having a party under the rancho with chocolate cake (in honor of a birthday) and potted meat with crackers (which some of them brought with them from AR). What a combo!
Everyone leaves in the morning except me and Beth. The Hulsey’s, Mary, Megan and Talon will be leaving with the team. It will be pretty quiet around here for the few days that Beth and I are still here. I’m looking forward to a reflective Christmas.
Today, the team finished up the last of 12 Fiestas, 4 VBS and 4 days of construction (they finished 3 days of English Club yesterday). They also helped with 2 Feedings this week and gave out some gifts at the Sewer Pond neighborhood. They visited 8 churches. They went downtown for a while this afternoon and bought fireworks to set off after dinner tonight. (this team likes fireworks) It’s been a good week and everyone is tired, but happy.
There have been 992 salvations this week and thousands of people have had the chance to hear the Gospel. To God be the Glory!!!
I spent this evening in my room catching up on some work on the internet, since I finally got the chance to use the internet card. (still don’t have the wireless going yet, will probably happen the day after I leave) I’ve got my mind in ‘business’ mode now and am ready to jump in with both feet to get some things accomplished in the next month.
I also sewed some pajama pants for Leslie’s little boy, Bruno. I had to do it without a pattern, but I think they will work okay. Children’s clothing patterns will be on my list of things to bring down in Feb. (among many other things)
I studied some on my Spanish lessons, too. I need to keep going strong on those studies. I want to surprise my friends in Rogers and to make Juan proud when I get back here.
I’m ready various books on my Kindle and have a backlog of books that I want to get to. There will be some good reading time over the next few days.
I will also visit with Joe and Marcela, Jeremy and Kelly and Leslie and her family over the next couple of days.
So much to be done, so much I want to do. We can’t take even one minute for granted. Time is precious and we should be thankful for each second. We are so spoiled and forget about that a lot. I’m very thankful for all that God allows to enter my life.
And I’m so thankful for Christmas, the time to remember the best gift of all. How can you not be thankful for Jesus?
Everyone leaves in the morning except me and Beth. The Hulsey’s, Mary, Megan and Talon will be leaving with the team. It will be pretty quiet around here for the few days that Beth and I are still here. I’m looking forward to a reflective Christmas.
Today, the team finished up the last of 12 Fiestas, 4 VBS and 4 days of construction (they finished 3 days of English Club yesterday). They also helped with 2 Feedings this week and gave out some gifts at the Sewer Pond neighborhood. They visited 8 churches. They went downtown for a while this afternoon and bought fireworks to set off after dinner tonight. (this team likes fireworks) It’s been a good week and everyone is tired, but happy.
There have been 992 salvations this week and thousands of people have had the chance to hear the Gospel. To God be the Glory!!!
I spent this evening in my room catching up on some work on the internet, since I finally got the chance to use the internet card. (still don’t have the wireless going yet, will probably happen the day after I leave) I’ve got my mind in ‘business’ mode now and am ready to jump in with both feet to get some things accomplished in the next month.
I also sewed some pajama pants for Leslie’s little boy, Bruno. I had to do it without a pattern, but I think they will work okay. Children’s clothing patterns will be on my list of things to bring down in Feb. (among many other things)
I studied some on my Spanish lessons, too. I need to keep going strong on those studies. I want to surprise my friends in Rogers and to make Juan proud when I get back here.
I’m ready various books on my Kindle and have a backlog of books that I want to get to. There will be some good reading time over the next few days.
I will also visit with Joe and Marcela, Jeremy and Kelly and Leslie and her family over the next couple of days.
So much to be done, so much I want to do. We can’t take even one minute for granted. Time is precious and we should be thankful for each second. We are so spoiled and forget about that a lot. I’m very thankful for all that God allows to enter my life.
And I’m so thankful for Christmas, the time to remember the best gift of all. How can you not be thankful for Jesus?
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 NICARAGUA
An awesome day! The team went out to do their 2 Fiestas this morning, VBS and Construction. After a wonderful lunch (meatloaf, mac & VELVEETA cheese, green beans and slaw) they headed back out for English Club, another Fiesta and more Construction.
Sherry, Mike, German, Manuel and I ran to town to pick up some more supplies and I needed a few more things to finish up the presents for the kids at Las Quimeras. Manuel helped me put the new stuff in the bags. Then Manuel and I made little goodie bags for his brother and sister and their spouses for Christmas. Of course, Manuel will play with everything in the bags, but he is so excited to have something to give to them. ☺
Mary and Leslie went to Las Quimeras for Bible study. Mary was finishing up her training on Evangelism. She led 3 more ladies to the Lord today! When she got home and told me, I gave her a big hug and started crying! What awesome news!!! Since we have been doing the Bible studies over these last 2 months, there have been 4 salvations and 3 rededications from that group of ladies. God is working in that sweet little church plant!!!
Our van named ChinChin finally broke a belt that has been squealing really loudly for a few weeks. It stranded the team for a little while, until we could send another van. Since ChinChin is made in China (thus the name), the belt cannot be bought in Nicaragua anywhere. We were planning on selling the little feller after this team, but it gave up too soon. So we’ll need to replace ChinChin after the new year. Somehow, God will supply the funds for that. And we will praise Him when He does!
Tonight before dinner, 2 of Lydia’s kids performed 2 Nica folk dances for the team. Then Manuel danced with the little girl (Melissa) and we all took more pictures. It was a nice treat. One of the little girls on the team tried on the dress and had pictures made. Fun.
While Megan and I helped Liana do dishes and clean the kitchen, Mike, with the help of German translating, shared the Gospel with Coco and Lydia. Seeds were planted deep, but they weren’t ready to accept God’s gift of Salvation. They still think that they need to be as perfect as possible first. Hopefully, we can keep letting them know that God wants them just like they are. Keep them in your prayers!
Beth and a volunteer from the team are putting together the gifts for the Sewer Pond kids. Beth and I’ll give them out at the Feeding on Friday, after the team leaves for the airport.
The Internet company finally came and installed the phone line so we can get the wi-fi internet. But they probably won’t start the internet for a few more days. Until then, we just have the usb connection (like dial up) and as of this evening, it wasn’t even working. So we’ll see if I have service before I leave next week.
I’ve been thinking about what I need to pack to take back to the states and have realized that pretty much everything stays here in my little room. I’ve always left clothes and other items, but now that I have a permanent place, I can leave just about everything! How nice! I just have some gifts to pack and that’s about it.
Now that the time is getting closer to leave, I’m anxious to get to the states and get some things accomplished and get back here. I’m okay with it. But I’ll miss my friends here very much over the next 7 weeks. I know that God will have many useful things for me to take care of over those 7 weeks, so it’s okay.
The team is having their share time early this evening. I’m ready to retire to my bed and read for a while. I also have some Bible study to do. It will be a nice quiet evening for me! Yay!
Sherry, Mike, German, Manuel and I ran to town to pick up some more supplies and I needed a few more things to finish up the presents for the kids at Las Quimeras. Manuel helped me put the new stuff in the bags. Then Manuel and I made little goodie bags for his brother and sister and their spouses for Christmas. Of course, Manuel will play with everything in the bags, but he is so excited to have something to give to them. ☺
Mary and Leslie went to Las Quimeras for Bible study. Mary was finishing up her training on Evangelism. She led 3 more ladies to the Lord today! When she got home and told me, I gave her a big hug and started crying! What awesome news!!! Since we have been doing the Bible studies over these last 2 months, there have been 4 salvations and 3 rededications from that group of ladies. God is working in that sweet little church plant!!!
Our van named ChinChin finally broke a belt that has been squealing really loudly for a few weeks. It stranded the team for a little while, until we could send another van. Since ChinChin is made in China (thus the name), the belt cannot be bought in Nicaragua anywhere. We were planning on selling the little feller after this team, but it gave up too soon. So we’ll need to replace ChinChin after the new year. Somehow, God will supply the funds for that. And we will praise Him when He does!
Tonight before dinner, 2 of Lydia’s kids performed 2 Nica folk dances for the team. Then Manuel danced with the little girl (Melissa) and we all took more pictures. It was a nice treat. One of the little girls on the team tried on the dress and had pictures made. Fun.
While Megan and I helped Liana do dishes and clean the kitchen, Mike, with the help of German translating, shared the Gospel with Coco and Lydia. Seeds were planted deep, but they weren’t ready to accept God’s gift of Salvation. They still think that they need to be as perfect as possible first. Hopefully, we can keep letting them know that God wants them just like they are. Keep them in your prayers!
Beth and a volunteer from the team are putting together the gifts for the Sewer Pond kids. Beth and I’ll give them out at the Feeding on Friday, after the team leaves for the airport.
The Internet company finally came and installed the phone line so we can get the wi-fi internet. But they probably won’t start the internet for a few more days. Until then, we just have the usb connection (like dial up) and as of this evening, it wasn’t even working. So we’ll see if I have service before I leave next week.
I’ve been thinking about what I need to pack to take back to the states and have realized that pretty much everything stays here in my little room. I’ve always left clothes and other items, but now that I have a permanent place, I can leave just about everything! How nice! I just have some gifts to pack and that’s about it.
Now that the time is getting closer to leave, I’m anxious to get to the states and get some things accomplished and get back here. I’m okay with it. But I’ll miss my friends here very much over the next 7 weeks. I know that God will have many useful things for me to take care of over those 7 weeks, so it’s okay.
The team is having their share time early this evening. I’m ready to retire to my bed and read for a while. I also have some Bible study to do. It will be a nice quiet evening for me! Yay!
Tuesday, December 20, 2011 NICARAGUA
Another busy day. The team was up and out of here this morning to do 2 more Fiestas, VBS and Construction in the morning. Back for lunch. (yummy grilled chicken breasts, salad, rice, beans, tortilla) English Club, 1 more Fiesta and Construction in the afternoon.
I worked on Bible study, had a long talk with Sherry about the ministry, worked on gifts for the kids at Las Quimeras, prepped for Sewing Class and before I knew it, it was lunch time!
We had our last Sewing class for this ‘semester’. We gave the ladies their bag of sewing supplies and some pieces of fabric to take home and make things while we are gone. They started making more drawstring bags and waited in line for the 1 sewing machine that we have. We had a good time together. It was great to think about how much they have learned in just 5 weeks of class one day a week. They are sweet ladies.
The team groups got back in for some downtime and dinner before getting ready for church tonight. One of the guys had bought a live iguana on the way back to the Mission House. He had it in his backpack. He asked one of the kids on the team to look for something in his backpack. She came across the iguana and screamed. The iguana escaped the backpack and started running around the rancho. The guys were trying to catch it. When the iguanas are sold, their mouths are sewn shut so they can’t bite. This one had pulled his stitches out and was ready to bite. The guys caught him and I got them some rubberbands for the mouth. If I would have been the girl who opened the backpack, I would STILL be slapping that guy!
After more of the group got back to the house, another guy took the backpack and opened it up while making a speech. He pulled the iguana out, hoping to scare the lady sitting closest to where he was standing. She just looked at him. He was disappointed in the lack of reaction. Then all of a sudden she realized it was ALIVE and she screamed and ran! I think I would have slapped HIM, too. Anyway, the iguana was butchered, amongst many interested on-lookers and then cooked. Some of the team tasted the little guy. I opted not to try it. But the others said it was good ,and that even though it didn’t taste like chicken, it did taste a little like frog legs.
The team split into 2 groups for church tonight. I stayed back to finish up the dishes and work on Christmas gifts. When the first group got back, Alberto had dozed off in his little casita and didn’t hear the vans honking at the gate. I ran out and opened the gate for them. I had already showered and had on my sleeping duds, and thankfully they are shorts and tshirt, so I could run out there quickly.
I was listening to a little more Spanish Christmas music on my computer while working in my room. I’m enjoying it very much.
It’s hard to realize that Christmas is on Sunday. The hot weather and being so busy with the team here makes it easy to forget. I’ll read the Christmas story in my Bible in English and in Spanish to set the mood. I’ll also get to be at Las Quimeras church on Christmas Sunday, so that will be nice.
My niece sent me an email update on her wedding plans for February. It sounds like it’s going well. I think it will be very pretty. She and Rob are doing most of the planning and stuff themselves. I look forward to meeting him. He sounds like a good guy. February will be here before I know it!
I’m sad to leave here for a while, but anxious to get a lot of things taken care of in the states next month. It’s sometimes hard to get business taken care of from down here. I’ve got quite a list of things to research and organize and implement. Plus lots of people to talk to. I’m ready to get busy doing these things and then get back down here.
Megan just came by my room to return my Nica phone, which she borrows to call the states with. We had a nice chat. I don’t get to talk to her as much now that the team is here and she is busy with them. It’s been nice to get to know her since we’ve been here. I hope I get to see her when I’m in Rogers sometime. I’m sure she is ready to get back to Rogers to her husband and little boy.
I guess that’s all for today. I love getting to see the translators when they come to meet up with the team in the mornings. I’m looking forward to spending time with Jeremy and Kelly , and hopefully, Joe and Marcela after the team leaves. It will be quieter for a few days and then I’m gone to the states. I want to make the most of these last few days.
I am so blessed by God in so many ways. I’m thankful for everything He brings into my life. The hard times as well as the good ones. They all bring me closer to Him and that is what I want more than anything else.
I worked on Bible study, had a long talk with Sherry about the ministry, worked on gifts for the kids at Las Quimeras, prepped for Sewing Class and before I knew it, it was lunch time!
We had our last Sewing class for this ‘semester’. We gave the ladies their bag of sewing supplies and some pieces of fabric to take home and make things while we are gone. They started making more drawstring bags and waited in line for the 1 sewing machine that we have. We had a good time together. It was great to think about how much they have learned in just 5 weeks of class one day a week. They are sweet ladies.
The team groups got back in for some downtime and dinner before getting ready for church tonight. One of the guys had bought a live iguana on the way back to the Mission House. He had it in his backpack. He asked one of the kids on the team to look for something in his backpack. She came across the iguana and screamed. The iguana escaped the backpack and started running around the rancho. The guys were trying to catch it. When the iguanas are sold, their mouths are sewn shut so they can’t bite. This one had pulled his stitches out and was ready to bite. The guys caught him and I got them some rubberbands for the mouth. If I would have been the girl who opened the backpack, I would STILL be slapping that guy!
After more of the group got back to the house, another guy took the backpack and opened it up while making a speech. He pulled the iguana out, hoping to scare the lady sitting closest to where he was standing. She just looked at him. He was disappointed in the lack of reaction. Then all of a sudden she realized it was ALIVE and she screamed and ran! I think I would have slapped HIM, too. Anyway, the iguana was butchered, amongst many interested on-lookers and then cooked. Some of the team tasted the little guy. I opted not to try it. But the others said it was good ,and that even though it didn’t taste like chicken, it did taste a little like frog legs.
The team split into 2 groups for church tonight. I stayed back to finish up the dishes and work on Christmas gifts. When the first group got back, Alberto had dozed off in his little casita and didn’t hear the vans honking at the gate. I ran out and opened the gate for them. I had already showered and had on my sleeping duds, and thankfully they are shorts and tshirt, so I could run out there quickly.
I was listening to a little more Spanish Christmas music on my computer while working in my room. I’m enjoying it very much.
It’s hard to realize that Christmas is on Sunday. The hot weather and being so busy with the team here makes it easy to forget. I’ll read the Christmas story in my Bible in English and in Spanish to set the mood. I’ll also get to be at Las Quimeras church on Christmas Sunday, so that will be nice.
My niece sent me an email update on her wedding plans for February. It sounds like it’s going well. I think it will be very pretty. She and Rob are doing most of the planning and stuff themselves. I look forward to meeting him. He sounds like a good guy. February will be here before I know it!
I’m sad to leave here for a while, but anxious to get a lot of things taken care of in the states next month. It’s sometimes hard to get business taken care of from down here. I’ve got quite a list of things to research and organize and implement. Plus lots of people to talk to. I’m ready to get busy doing these things and then get back down here.
Megan just came by my room to return my Nica phone, which she borrows to call the states with. We had a nice chat. I don’t get to talk to her as much now that the team is here and she is busy with them. It’s been nice to get to know her since we’ve been here. I hope I get to see her when I’m in Rogers sometime. I’m sure she is ready to get back to Rogers to her husband and little boy.
I guess that’s all for today. I love getting to see the translators when they come to meet up with the team in the mornings. I’m looking forward to spending time with Jeremy and Kelly , and hopefully, Joe and Marcela after the team leaves. It will be quieter for a few days and then I’m gone to the states. I want to make the most of these last few days.
I am so blessed by God in so many ways. I’m thankful for everything He brings into my life. The hard times as well as the good ones. They all bring me closer to Him and that is what I want more than anything else.
Monday, Dec 19, 2011 NICARAGUA
I just realized that I didn't write anything on Monday. oops!
Busy day with the team on their first day of ministry.
Can't remember any specifics right now. :)
But I know that God was blessing the day!!!
Busy day with the team on their first day of ministry.
Can't remember any specifics right now. :)
But I know that God was blessing the day!!!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, Dec 12 thru Sunday, Dec 18, 2011 NICARAGUA
This will be a quick list of things that have happened over the last week.
I needed some time to pray over some things. I felt that it was important enough to ‘fast and pray’, and since I can’t ‘fast’ meals due to health issues, I decided to ‘fast’ the computer and internet. It was a difficult week with many highs and lows. But I feel stronger in my commitment to follow where God leads me and feel secure in my relationship with Him. Many prayers for direction were answered during that time and I’m thankful for the experience, even though it was tough sometimes. Walking with the Lord is not always easy, as is life, but it’s so worth it to know you are in His will. These times of ‘recalibrating’ like a GPS are very beneficial.
I had my usual Monday thru Thursday Spanish classes and ended my semester (8 weeks) with Juan. I’ll return to classes with him when I return to Nica in mid-February. I see how much more of a mountain that I have to learn, but I do see great results from these past 2 months. It’s hard not to feel frustrated when I want to speak fluently right this minute, but Juan said that I did excellently and everyone who has studied Spanish in High School and College has told me that I have accomplished a lot thus far. So I’m thankful and even more determined to learn more while I’m in the states for the next 7 weeks. It will be fun to get back here and see how I’ve improved and then move forward in the spring. I still struggle with hearing loss and that hinders my learning experience, but God knows how much I want to be fluent and I know that He will help me accomplish it. Sometimes when we have to fight harder for something, it’s more precious to us. That’s how I feel about my Spanish learning. It’s precious to me.
Tuesday, we had our regular Sewing class. The ladies finished their drawstring backpack bags. They were a hoot watching them on the sewing machine. They were troopers and helped each other along. It will be so nice to have more machines in the spring. We will have our last class for this year on Tuesday. I picked up some pins, pin cushions, seam rippers and thread for them. A team supplied some scissors. This will make nice parting gifts for them to use while I’m gone.
Wednesday, we went to Las Quimeras for Women’s Bible study. Mary is finishing up her evangelism training, so I opted to let her have the whole hour. I spoke with Pastor Sergio about the list of Sunday School kids that we’re providing Christmas gifts for. I also used the time to read some scripture that was perfect for the ‘seeking’ mood that I was in. Mary went to babysit Manuel after Bible study, so I fixed dinner for me, Megan and Talon. Then Megan and I tried to match up kid’s names between the list that Pastor Sergio gave me and the file of kids from the feedings so that I could determine their ages. It was a difficult task. Everyone spells differently (usually because of lack of education) and everyone has 4 names. We did pretty good though.
Thursday, I spent a lot of time sewing on Bible bags. I’ll have them ready to give to the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church this Friday. Sherry and I had a long talk and I really appreciated it. She told me how much she and Mike appreciate me being a part of the ministry and how I fit in with future growth of the ministry. I love doing what God has called me to do here. I’m thankful to be a part of Voice of Hope.
I’ve been very reflective this week as I have been praying about direction, words to express my calling and situation and the work that I need to do personally to communicate to my supporters and prayer partners what the needs and opportunities are to join me in this journey for the new year. I have lots of thoughts floating around in my head, but nothing to put on paper yet. It’s all okay, though.
Friday, I sewed some more and helped get ready for the team which arrived at the Mission House on Saturday. I caught up with my laundry and organized some stuff in my room.
Beth arrived on Friday night and we talked for about an hour to catch up on things. It was nice. She liked my new home.
Saturday, Megan and Talon left very early to go and meet the team in Managua (they had spent the night at the hotel there) and take them to do the Fun Day stuff. Since Megan and Talon neither one had went on a fun day before, it was quite the experience for them. First thing, the phone that Mike gave Megan to use had a low battery and died early morning. Chico was their translator. A school bus (belonging to a church here) was used to get the team and take them around. Unfortunately, the driver didn’t know where he was going and was constantly stopping to ask for directions. Chico was trying to explain things to them, but they ignored him. Then the bus overheated on the way up the mountain to look at the volcano. The team had to walk the rest of the way up. They weren’t happy about that. Since it takes a long time for a big team to get through the zip line tour, the team didn’t get to eat lunch until about 2:30pm. The service at our favorite restaurant is slow, but the food is good. Then they went shopping at Catarina and started for home. Unfortunately (again), the bus driver was having trouble getting out of Managua and finding his way around. Megan noticed that the fuel light was ‘on’ on the bus, but the driver assured her that it didn’t work right and that they had plenty of gas. They stopped at a gas station and had a debate over the situation. When the team finally arrived in León, the team leader wanted to go to Tip Top Chicken to eat, but it was way too late for that. The team was getting in about 4 hours later than expected. I think they ended up getting some food before getting to the Mission House. I was in bed when they arrived, as was Mary. Beth stayed up to greet them and get them squared away in their rooms. They had quite the adventure for that long day. Glad I was safe here in my room!
This morning, we all had breakfast and got ready for church. As we were preparing to leave, Sherry asked if I would stay back at the Mission House with her to help translate to the cooks and other workers. I said sure. I wasn’t looking forward to riding in the school bus anyway. I figured I would get car sick and had taken a couple of ginger pills. I was glad to help with getting lunch ready and icing some cakes for the social time. The team split into 2 groups and half went to Telica church and the other half went to Las Quimeras. They all loved it. Some people from both churches were going to get baptized here in our pool, so they and their families came to the Mission House via our vans. It was great to share the baptisms with them. Few Nicaraguans know how to swim and therefore are afraid of the water. A couple of the ladies were terrified, but they were obedient in following the Lord’s command of baptism. I got some pictures and was very proud of them all. We had cake and juice and then they all went home.
The team had grilled chicken, rice, tostones and veggies for lunch. Yum. Then we had a training time and Mike did a wonderful job of explaining the ministry and then some of the VOH staff demonstrated the Sinbox drama. I think everyone is ready for the ministry week. The team split into their work groups for the week and got stuff prepared for the Fiestas and VBS.
Part of the team will work on construction of the church at the Sewer Ponds, part on doing a VBS each morning, and the rest on doing 12 Fiestas. Beth will teach an English club on Mon, Tues and Wed afternoons at Las Quimeras. I’ll still teach my afternoon classes. There will be church services on 2 nights. It will be a busy week.
Tonight (Sunday) Talon and I stayed back from church to serve dinner to the team as they returned from church services. Sherry needed to get Manuel to bed and the cooks needed to get home. The first group returned for dinner at 7:30pm. We got them served and then the next group was here by 8pm. We started cleaning up the dishes and Mary and Talon finished cleaning up the kitchen. The cooks had the place all cleaned up. We just needed to wash up the plates, cups, silverwear, pans, etc. It wasn’t too bad.
A lot of the team chose to swim this afternoon and this evening. They like having the pool here. It’s lights out at 10pm and everyone complied this evening. They were having a really good time and then all of a sudden it got quiet. By the end of the week, they will be more tired and less loud. It’s always funny to see that happen. I think everyone had a good day and I hope it made up for yesterday’s crazy adventure.
I’m working on putting together 60 gift bags for the kids at Las Quimeras to be delivered by me and Beth on Christmas Day. I’m also getting some gift bags of sewing notions ready for the Sewing class on Tuesday. I’ll have the Bible bags, notebooks and pens ready for Friday’s Women’s Bible study at ROSCC. It will be a week of gift giving! I love it!
Tomorrow I should get some info back from a company about getting individual health insurance. I’m losing what I had through FBC Rogers at the end of January. I’ve had to wait until I heard from them what my support for 2012 will be so that I could determine if and what I can afford to get. I’ll need to get a lot of loose ends tied up in the next weeks. It will be easier to do in the states, so I’ll be busy the week I get back there. Lots of things to work out and figure out. Gotta get the ‘worldly’ stuff in order so I can concentrate on the ‘Kingdom’ work. ☺
I needed some time to pray over some things. I felt that it was important enough to ‘fast and pray’, and since I can’t ‘fast’ meals due to health issues, I decided to ‘fast’ the computer and internet. It was a difficult week with many highs and lows. But I feel stronger in my commitment to follow where God leads me and feel secure in my relationship with Him. Many prayers for direction were answered during that time and I’m thankful for the experience, even though it was tough sometimes. Walking with the Lord is not always easy, as is life, but it’s so worth it to know you are in His will. These times of ‘recalibrating’ like a GPS are very beneficial.
I had my usual Monday thru Thursday Spanish classes and ended my semester (8 weeks) with Juan. I’ll return to classes with him when I return to Nica in mid-February. I see how much more of a mountain that I have to learn, but I do see great results from these past 2 months. It’s hard not to feel frustrated when I want to speak fluently right this minute, but Juan said that I did excellently and everyone who has studied Spanish in High School and College has told me that I have accomplished a lot thus far. So I’m thankful and even more determined to learn more while I’m in the states for the next 7 weeks. It will be fun to get back here and see how I’ve improved and then move forward in the spring. I still struggle with hearing loss and that hinders my learning experience, but God knows how much I want to be fluent and I know that He will help me accomplish it. Sometimes when we have to fight harder for something, it’s more precious to us. That’s how I feel about my Spanish learning. It’s precious to me.
Tuesday, we had our regular Sewing class. The ladies finished their drawstring backpack bags. They were a hoot watching them on the sewing machine. They were troopers and helped each other along. It will be so nice to have more machines in the spring. We will have our last class for this year on Tuesday. I picked up some pins, pin cushions, seam rippers and thread for them. A team supplied some scissors. This will make nice parting gifts for them to use while I’m gone.
Wednesday, we went to Las Quimeras for Women’s Bible study. Mary is finishing up her evangelism training, so I opted to let her have the whole hour. I spoke with Pastor Sergio about the list of Sunday School kids that we’re providing Christmas gifts for. I also used the time to read some scripture that was perfect for the ‘seeking’ mood that I was in. Mary went to babysit Manuel after Bible study, so I fixed dinner for me, Megan and Talon. Then Megan and I tried to match up kid’s names between the list that Pastor Sergio gave me and the file of kids from the feedings so that I could determine their ages. It was a difficult task. Everyone spells differently (usually because of lack of education) and everyone has 4 names. We did pretty good though.
Thursday, I spent a lot of time sewing on Bible bags. I’ll have them ready to give to the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church this Friday. Sherry and I had a long talk and I really appreciated it. She told me how much she and Mike appreciate me being a part of the ministry and how I fit in with future growth of the ministry. I love doing what God has called me to do here. I’m thankful to be a part of Voice of Hope.
I’ve been very reflective this week as I have been praying about direction, words to express my calling and situation and the work that I need to do personally to communicate to my supporters and prayer partners what the needs and opportunities are to join me in this journey for the new year. I have lots of thoughts floating around in my head, but nothing to put on paper yet. It’s all okay, though.
Friday, I sewed some more and helped get ready for the team which arrived at the Mission House on Saturday. I caught up with my laundry and organized some stuff in my room.
Beth arrived on Friday night and we talked for about an hour to catch up on things. It was nice. She liked my new home.
Saturday, Megan and Talon left very early to go and meet the team in Managua (they had spent the night at the hotel there) and take them to do the Fun Day stuff. Since Megan and Talon neither one had went on a fun day before, it was quite the experience for them. First thing, the phone that Mike gave Megan to use had a low battery and died early morning. Chico was their translator. A school bus (belonging to a church here) was used to get the team and take them around. Unfortunately, the driver didn’t know where he was going and was constantly stopping to ask for directions. Chico was trying to explain things to them, but they ignored him. Then the bus overheated on the way up the mountain to look at the volcano. The team had to walk the rest of the way up. They weren’t happy about that. Since it takes a long time for a big team to get through the zip line tour, the team didn’t get to eat lunch until about 2:30pm. The service at our favorite restaurant is slow, but the food is good. Then they went shopping at Catarina and started for home. Unfortunately (again), the bus driver was having trouble getting out of Managua and finding his way around. Megan noticed that the fuel light was ‘on’ on the bus, but the driver assured her that it didn’t work right and that they had plenty of gas. They stopped at a gas station and had a debate over the situation. When the team finally arrived in León, the team leader wanted to go to Tip Top Chicken to eat, but it was way too late for that. The team was getting in about 4 hours later than expected. I think they ended up getting some food before getting to the Mission House. I was in bed when they arrived, as was Mary. Beth stayed up to greet them and get them squared away in their rooms. They had quite the adventure for that long day. Glad I was safe here in my room!
This morning, we all had breakfast and got ready for church. As we were preparing to leave, Sherry asked if I would stay back at the Mission House with her to help translate to the cooks and other workers. I said sure. I wasn’t looking forward to riding in the school bus anyway. I figured I would get car sick and had taken a couple of ginger pills. I was glad to help with getting lunch ready and icing some cakes for the social time. The team split into 2 groups and half went to Telica church and the other half went to Las Quimeras. They all loved it. Some people from both churches were going to get baptized here in our pool, so they and their families came to the Mission House via our vans. It was great to share the baptisms with them. Few Nicaraguans know how to swim and therefore are afraid of the water. A couple of the ladies were terrified, but they were obedient in following the Lord’s command of baptism. I got some pictures and was very proud of them all. We had cake and juice and then they all went home.
The team had grilled chicken, rice, tostones and veggies for lunch. Yum. Then we had a training time and Mike did a wonderful job of explaining the ministry and then some of the VOH staff demonstrated the Sinbox drama. I think everyone is ready for the ministry week. The team split into their work groups for the week and got stuff prepared for the Fiestas and VBS.
Part of the team will work on construction of the church at the Sewer Ponds, part on doing a VBS each morning, and the rest on doing 12 Fiestas. Beth will teach an English club on Mon, Tues and Wed afternoons at Las Quimeras. I’ll still teach my afternoon classes. There will be church services on 2 nights. It will be a busy week.
Tonight (Sunday) Talon and I stayed back from church to serve dinner to the team as they returned from church services. Sherry needed to get Manuel to bed and the cooks needed to get home. The first group returned for dinner at 7:30pm. We got them served and then the next group was here by 8pm. We started cleaning up the dishes and Mary and Talon finished cleaning up the kitchen. The cooks had the place all cleaned up. We just needed to wash up the plates, cups, silverwear, pans, etc. It wasn’t too bad.
A lot of the team chose to swim this afternoon and this evening. They like having the pool here. It’s lights out at 10pm and everyone complied this evening. They were having a really good time and then all of a sudden it got quiet. By the end of the week, they will be more tired and less loud. It’s always funny to see that happen. I think everyone had a good day and I hope it made up for yesterday’s crazy adventure.
I’m working on putting together 60 gift bags for the kids at Las Quimeras to be delivered by me and Beth on Christmas Day. I’m also getting some gift bags of sewing notions ready for the Sewing class on Tuesday. I’ll have the Bible bags, notebooks and pens ready for Friday’s Women’s Bible study at ROSCC. It will be a week of gift giving! I love it!
Tomorrow I should get some info back from a company about getting individual health insurance. I’m losing what I had through FBC Rogers at the end of January. I’ve had to wait until I heard from them what my support for 2012 will be so that I could determine if and what I can afford to get. I’ll need to get a lot of loose ends tied up in the next weeks. It will be easier to do in the states, so I’ll be busy the week I get back there. Lots of things to work out and figure out. Gotta get the ‘worldly’ stuff in order so I can concentrate on the ‘Kingdom’ work. ☺
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011 NICARAGUA
Let’s see, what has happened today…
I woke up hearing the birthday party people taking down the decorations from yesterday and moving tables and chairs around. I got up prepared for church. The Hulsey’s came to pick us up about 10:15 and we got to ROSCC church about 10:30. Surprise! No services there this morning! It was too late to get to any other church without being very late, so we came back to the Mission House. Alberto gave us a strange look and the people cleaning up after the party wondered who we were and what we were doing. Haha
I started some laundry and sewed some more Bible bags. Sherry heated up some left overs from the Christmas dinner and we had lunch. Coco and her kids and nieces and nephews over at 2pm for a nice afternoon swim. They had a blast. I didn’t get a nap today, but it was a very pleasant day.
I got the chance to talk with Mike and Sherry a little bit about the future of the ministry and then later Mike and I got a chance to talk more about strategy. It was nice to have time to sit and talk and not be rushed.
Danilo came to get ChinChin (van) to drive to the border to pick up Mary and Megan after their overnight trip to Honduras. They said the kids there were doing pretty good. Mary took them to eat at Wendy’s (very expensive) and to a store to pick out their own Christmas presents. They had a blast. Mary and Megan got back to the house about 6pm. They were ready for a shower and relaxation. But they had a great trip.
I fixed a baked potato with cream of mushroom sauce on it for my dinner. I enjoyed it. I’m enjoying the cashews and trail mix that sweet Haley sent to me. And I’m enjoying my vitamins that she sent with Talon. I didn’t pack enough vitamins on this trip, so it’s great to have these.
I’ve still got some Bible bags to finish, but they are at the end stage and I’m not feeling stressed about it. I have some other things to be sewing this week, too. Then the team will be here and it will be busy. I better get my stuff done before Saturday!
I got a facebook message from John Caubble this morning. It’s funny that I was thinking about them and planning to send them a message today. God connected our minds, I guess.
I came to my room about 6:30 and started studying Spanish verb tenses while listening to Spanish Christmas songs. When I got frustrated with the verbs, I switched to Bible study and that did the trick to soothe my mind!
Right now I’m very relaxed and content. I know that tomorrow will be an intense class for Spanish and I’m ready for it. This will be my last week of classes until Feb, so I know we will push hard. I’m praying for a clear mind and a steel trap memory!
I only saw one spider in my room today. I blasted him with the lethal bug spray. At least it was more of a ‘wood’ spider and not the hairy black kind.
I guess I’ll go to bed now. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the fresh week. Time is sure going by quickly!
I woke up hearing the birthday party people taking down the decorations from yesterday and moving tables and chairs around. I got up prepared for church. The Hulsey’s came to pick us up about 10:15 and we got to ROSCC church about 10:30. Surprise! No services there this morning! It was too late to get to any other church without being very late, so we came back to the Mission House. Alberto gave us a strange look and the people cleaning up after the party wondered who we were and what we were doing. Haha
I started some laundry and sewed some more Bible bags. Sherry heated up some left overs from the Christmas dinner and we had lunch. Coco and her kids and nieces and nephews over at 2pm for a nice afternoon swim. They had a blast. I didn’t get a nap today, but it was a very pleasant day.
I got the chance to talk with Mike and Sherry a little bit about the future of the ministry and then later Mike and I got a chance to talk more about strategy. It was nice to have time to sit and talk and not be rushed.
Danilo came to get ChinChin (van) to drive to the border to pick up Mary and Megan after their overnight trip to Honduras. They said the kids there were doing pretty good. Mary took them to eat at Wendy’s (very expensive) and to a store to pick out their own Christmas presents. They had a blast. Mary and Megan got back to the house about 6pm. They were ready for a shower and relaxation. But they had a great trip.
I fixed a baked potato with cream of mushroom sauce on it for my dinner. I enjoyed it. I’m enjoying the cashews and trail mix that sweet Haley sent to me. And I’m enjoying my vitamins that she sent with Talon. I didn’t pack enough vitamins on this trip, so it’s great to have these.
I’ve still got some Bible bags to finish, but they are at the end stage and I’m not feeling stressed about it. I have some other things to be sewing this week, too. Then the team will be here and it will be busy. I better get my stuff done before Saturday!
I got a facebook message from John Caubble this morning. It’s funny that I was thinking about them and planning to send them a message today. God connected our minds, I guess.
I came to my room about 6:30 and started studying Spanish verb tenses while listening to Spanish Christmas songs. When I got frustrated with the verbs, I switched to Bible study and that did the trick to soothe my mind!
Right now I’m very relaxed and content. I know that tomorrow will be an intense class for Spanish and I’m ready for it. This will be my last week of classes until Feb, so I know we will push hard. I’m praying for a clear mind and a steel trap memory!
I only saw one spider in my room today. I blasted him with the lethal bug spray. At least it was more of a ‘wood’ spider and not the hairy black kind.
I guess I’ll go to bed now. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the fresh week. Time is sure going by quickly!
Saturday, December 10, 2011 NICARAGUA
Woke up to the sounds of people arranging tables and chairs for 300 and decorating for the Quinceaños (birthday party) that will be held here tonight. Mary and Megan left about 7am for Honduras to visit the VOH Children’s Home that raises 6 children. They will be back tomorrow night. Long trip for an overnight, but they will be very blessed. The kids will love getting some Christmas blessings and seeing Mary and meeting Megan. I’m so glad that they got to go.
Talon, Josselin and I got ready and walked to Pacheco’s English school to chat with the Saturday class. On the way there, Talon and Josselin were practicing their English/Spanish words. They are learning each other’s language. It was a fun walk.
I got to take a picture of the ‘viejos’, the sort of scarecrow old men that are made to celebrate the new year. I think it’s kind of like saying goodbye to the ‘old’ and welcoming the ‘new’. On New Year’s Eve, the viejos are burned and/or blown up with firecrackers in the streets. I was wanting to get some pictures of these guys and there is a place that makes them up to sell.
I also took a picture of Mundal Escolar Librería where I buy my notebooks and pens and such. I was getting ready to take a picture of my favorite second-hand clothing store when I heard someone calling to me. It was the owner getting ready to get into a taxi. She greeted me and I told her I was taking a picture of her store/house. What a nice surprise to see her. I also got a picture of the ‘studio’ of the artist whose paintings I like. I still need to grab a pic of Bazar Jerry, where I buy sewing notions and ribbons and stuff.
I’m starting to feel the pull of my departure date in a few weeks. I need to get some pics and info put together to share in reports to my supporters, churches and also the Homeschool group that I will share with at the end of January.
Anyway, when we got to the English school, Juan’s wife Ana told me that Juan could not be there and that the regular teacher could not be there. So they asked if I could lead the class, at least for a couple of hours. No problem. Talon and I talked with them and asked questions and answered questions. Oscar videoed a little of the conversations. It was a fun time. We were allowed to finish early and we got pics with the class. There were some great questions, including some God questions. Some good seeds planted. I hope I can go back there next Sat.
Josselin had left with Oscar and would meet up with us downtown. Talon and I walked to the park and on the way we stopped in to see Linda at the House of Bible. I thought Talon would like to see the Bible store. Linda took my phone number because German told her I would be the person in charge of buying Bibles. I do want to get some Bible story posters for the Sunday School classes that have started at ROSCC and Las Quimeras. I like to get the Bibles for the Women’s Bible study groups from the other House of the Bible where Carlos works. But I always love to stop in at the Bible store.
We met up with Oscar and took possession of Josselin. ☺ The three of us headed over to Tip Top Chicken and had lunch. Then we took a taxi home and rested in our rooms for the afternoon. I sewed and got on the computer a little bit.
There were many tables and chairs all over the place and we had to ask to have one moved a little so I could get to my door. The decorating for the party took all day and the crew worked very hard. It was beautiful. I got some pics of it about half way done.
We each went to our rooms and rested or whatever we wanted to do. Mike called about 4:30 and said that they would come to pick us up for dinner a little after 5pm. I let the others know and we waited outside the gate. The guests were arriving for the party, so we walked down the street a little bit and met the van. We went to Suyapa for dinner and it was delicious. Talon had not gotten to eat there on his trip last year. He loved being outside and watching the sunset from our table. He went and took some pics. The food was good. I had grilled shrimp for a change and it was yummy.
We got back home about 7:30 and the party was in full swing. So beautiful. Like a wedding. The live band was awesome and played many Christian songs that I have on my Spanish Praise cds. Josselin came to my room to hang out and we sang along. I was on the computer a little bit and then let her use it for facebook. I worked on the Bible bags a little more. Then it was time to retire, so I watched a movie and stayed up way too late. But it was a great evening.
The party ended promptly at 9pm and all the guests left. The decorators started taking down their stuff and worked until very late in the night. They have a big job ahead of them. They worked very hard. I hope they got paid a lot of money. ☺
It’s been a very blessed day. I’m thankful for every minute here.
Talon, Josselin and I got ready and walked to Pacheco’s English school to chat with the Saturday class. On the way there, Talon and Josselin were practicing their English/Spanish words. They are learning each other’s language. It was a fun walk.
I got to take a picture of the ‘viejos’, the sort of scarecrow old men that are made to celebrate the new year. I think it’s kind of like saying goodbye to the ‘old’ and welcoming the ‘new’. On New Year’s Eve, the viejos are burned and/or blown up with firecrackers in the streets. I was wanting to get some pictures of these guys and there is a place that makes them up to sell.
I also took a picture of Mundal Escolar Librería where I buy my notebooks and pens and such. I was getting ready to take a picture of my favorite second-hand clothing store when I heard someone calling to me. It was the owner getting ready to get into a taxi. She greeted me and I told her I was taking a picture of her store/house. What a nice surprise to see her. I also got a picture of the ‘studio’ of the artist whose paintings I like. I still need to grab a pic of Bazar Jerry, where I buy sewing notions and ribbons and stuff.
I’m starting to feel the pull of my departure date in a few weeks. I need to get some pics and info put together to share in reports to my supporters, churches and also the Homeschool group that I will share with at the end of January.
Anyway, when we got to the English school, Juan’s wife Ana told me that Juan could not be there and that the regular teacher could not be there. So they asked if I could lead the class, at least for a couple of hours. No problem. Talon and I talked with them and asked questions and answered questions. Oscar videoed a little of the conversations. It was a fun time. We were allowed to finish early and we got pics with the class. There were some great questions, including some God questions. Some good seeds planted. I hope I can go back there next Sat.
Josselin had left with Oscar and would meet up with us downtown. Talon and I walked to the park and on the way we stopped in to see Linda at the House of Bible. I thought Talon would like to see the Bible store. Linda took my phone number because German told her I would be the person in charge of buying Bibles. I do want to get some Bible story posters for the Sunday School classes that have started at ROSCC and Las Quimeras. I like to get the Bibles for the Women’s Bible study groups from the other House of the Bible where Carlos works. But I always love to stop in at the Bible store.
We met up with Oscar and took possession of Josselin. ☺ The three of us headed over to Tip Top Chicken and had lunch. Then we took a taxi home and rested in our rooms for the afternoon. I sewed and got on the computer a little bit.
There were many tables and chairs all over the place and we had to ask to have one moved a little so I could get to my door. The decorating for the party took all day and the crew worked very hard. It was beautiful. I got some pics of it about half way done.
We each went to our rooms and rested or whatever we wanted to do. Mike called about 4:30 and said that they would come to pick us up for dinner a little after 5pm. I let the others know and we waited outside the gate. The guests were arriving for the party, so we walked down the street a little bit and met the van. We went to Suyapa for dinner and it was delicious. Talon had not gotten to eat there on his trip last year. He loved being outside and watching the sunset from our table. He went and took some pics. The food was good. I had grilled shrimp for a change and it was yummy.
We got back home about 7:30 and the party was in full swing. So beautiful. Like a wedding. The live band was awesome and played many Christian songs that I have on my Spanish Praise cds. Josselin came to my room to hang out and we sang along. I was on the computer a little bit and then let her use it for facebook. I worked on the Bible bags a little more. Then it was time to retire, so I watched a movie and stayed up way too late. But it was a great evening.
The party ended promptly at 9pm and all the guests left. The decorators started taking down their stuff and worked until very late in the night. They have a big job ahead of them. They worked very hard. I hope they got paid a lot of money. ☺
It’s been a very blessed day. I’m thankful for every minute here.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011 NICARAGUA
Fun morning. NOT. Woke up and started moving things around that I had sat on the floor last night when I cleared off my bed to go to sleep. While moving the items, a sort of big, very hairy, black spider scampered across the floor. I didn’t shriek, but I did do a Nica two-step. It found refuge under my mini fridge. It was decided that our rooms would be sprayed this morning, since we saw a rather huge, very hairy, black spider outside on the wall and one near the kitchen already. As I was moving stuff out of my room, another sort of big, very hairy, black spider was spotted and scared Josselin very much. My room was pretty much emptied, sprayed by Alberto and then I sprayed again with an aerosol can of bug spray that seems to kill very quickly. Hopefully, (and prayerfully) the hairy things will be long gone. I love God’s creatures, but that doesn’t mean that I want to room with them…
I had some oatmeal for breakfast and then pinned some sewing pieces outside under the rancho while talking with Megan and Josselin. Mary and Sherry and Talon went to the grocery store to buy food for tonight’s Christmas meals for the staff. I hemmed some pants for Josselin and finished the handwork on a dress for Sherry. I was trying to find the things that I could do away from my room for a little bit.
I worked on sewing Bible bags when I could get back into my room. I’m making good progress on them. I’m not feeling stressed (yet) on getting them done by the time the team gets here.
We got the place ready for the dinner. Juver and Leslie put up balloons. Josselin and Megan helped blow them up. Since I can’t stand balloons, I didn’t offer to help. Mike and German met with Pastor Marvin for a while. Mike also spoke with the leader of next week’s team about the construction on the church.
We had a great lunch of grilled chicken, rice, beans and cucumber/tomato salad, and tortillas. I worked more on sewing and everyone had their own things to do. Sherry was cooking all afternoon, which is her love. Talon made some Hello Dollies (bar cookies) and needed shredded cocoanut. Alberto and Juver got a couple of cocoanuts from our trees. It was a pleasant afternoon.
We got ready for Bible study and left about 3:40pm. Megan went with us and was going to talk a little bit about Priscilla. Mary decided to wait until next week to present her next part of Evangelism training, but she did have 3 ladies share their testimonies and it was great. I didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the moment. It was a nice break from teaching for me. Since it’s the holiday month and also the day of many graduations, there were few ladies at the study. It started out with very few and then about 12 showed up in total. It was good to see them. I’ll be glad when our numbers get back up to near 30 again.
We got back to the Mission House about 5pm and helped get everything ready for our guests. People arrived slowly. We had 40+ people for dinner, which included our workers and their many kids. It was fun.
Sherry had made spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken alfredo, 7 layer salad, garlic cheese biscuits and brownies. We also had Talon’s Hello Dollies and ice cream. Everyone got full and had a great time.
Sherry had bought gifts for all the kids. The adults got their Christmas bonuses. (it’s called the 13th month and everyone gets an extra month’s salary in December). Lydia’s son and daughter (around 10 and 11 years old, I think) dressed up and danced to a Nica folk song. It was nice. I tried to video it on my camera, but it may be a little dark. They were precious and the dance was their gift to Sherry and Mike.
The North Americans served the Nicas and it was fun. Lydia and Aracelys kept trying to help and we wouldn’t let them. Lydia even came in the kitchen after the meal and tried to take over washing the dishes. We had to throw her out of the kitchen! I think they finally got used to being served, even though it was a strange position for them to be in.
Everyone went home, mostly by Mike taking them in the van. It took 3 trips to get everyone delivered, including the Hulsey’s. Juver and Alberto tore down the plastic tables and locked them and the chairs up so that the people setting up for the birthday party tomorrow would have open access to the place. Juver, Megan, Josselin and I talked for a while (in Spanish) under the rancho. I was keeping up really well. I guess I’m improving afterall! I did say something very funny, though. I mean to ask Juver how old his parents are and was using the word for ‘couple’ which in Spanish closely sounds like the word for ‘birds’. Yep, I asked how old his birds are. Which was very funny, because in the context of the conversation, everyone knew I meant parents. We all laughed a lot. It was fun talking, though.
I went to my room and ended up talking with Megan until after 11pm. Then it was time to go to sleep.
It’s been a good day. Many blessings. Can’t believe we’ll be leaving in a few weeks. I hope our Nica workers know how much we consider them as family. I especially do.
I had some oatmeal for breakfast and then pinned some sewing pieces outside under the rancho while talking with Megan and Josselin. Mary and Sherry and Talon went to the grocery store to buy food for tonight’s Christmas meals for the staff. I hemmed some pants for Josselin and finished the handwork on a dress for Sherry. I was trying to find the things that I could do away from my room for a little bit.
I worked on sewing Bible bags when I could get back into my room. I’m making good progress on them. I’m not feeling stressed (yet) on getting them done by the time the team gets here.
We got the place ready for the dinner. Juver and Leslie put up balloons. Josselin and Megan helped blow them up. Since I can’t stand balloons, I didn’t offer to help. Mike and German met with Pastor Marvin for a while. Mike also spoke with the leader of next week’s team about the construction on the church.
We had a great lunch of grilled chicken, rice, beans and cucumber/tomato salad, and tortillas. I worked more on sewing and everyone had their own things to do. Sherry was cooking all afternoon, which is her love. Talon made some Hello Dollies (bar cookies) and needed shredded cocoanut. Alberto and Juver got a couple of cocoanuts from our trees. It was a pleasant afternoon.
We got ready for Bible study and left about 3:40pm. Megan went with us and was going to talk a little bit about Priscilla. Mary decided to wait until next week to present her next part of Evangelism training, but she did have 3 ladies share their testimonies and it was great. I didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the moment. It was a nice break from teaching for me. Since it’s the holiday month and also the day of many graduations, there were few ladies at the study. It started out with very few and then about 12 showed up in total. It was good to see them. I’ll be glad when our numbers get back up to near 30 again.
We got back to the Mission House about 5pm and helped get everything ready for our guests. People arrived slowly. We had 40+ people for dinner, which included our workers and their many kids. It was fun.
Sherry had made spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken alfredo, 7 layer salad, garlic cheese biscuits and brownies. We also had Talon’s Hello Dollies and ice cream. Everyone got full and had a great time.
Sherry had bought gifts for all the kids. The adults got their Christmas bonuses. (it’s called the 13th month and everyone gets an extra month’s salary in December). Lydia’s son and daughter (around 10 and 11 years old, I think) dressed up and danced to a Nica folk song. It was nice. I tried to video it on my camera, but it may be a little dark. They were precious and the dance was their gift to Sherry and Mike.
The North Americans served the Nicas and it was fun. Lydia and Aracelys kept trying to help and we wouldn’t let them. Lydia even came in the kitchen after the meal and tried to take over washing the dishes. We had to throw her out of the kitchen! I think they finally got used to being served, even though it was a strange position for them to be in.
Everyone went home, mostly by Mike taking them in the van. It took 3 trips to get everyone delivered, including the Hulsey’s. Juver and Alberto tore down the plastic tables and locked them and the chairs up so that the people setting up for the birthday party tomorrow would have open access to the place. Juver, Megan, Josselin and I talked for a while (in Spanish) under the rancho. I was keeping up really well. I guess I’m improving afterall! I did say something very funny, though. I mean to ask Juver how old his parents are and was using the word for ‘couple’ which in Spanish closely sounds like the word for ‘birds’. Yep, I asked how old his birds are. Which was very funny, because in the context of the conversation, everyone knew I meant parents. We all laughed a lot. It was fun talking, though.
I went to my room and ended up talking with Megan until after 11pm. Then it was time to go to sleep.
It’s been a good day. Many blessings. Can’t believe we’ll be leaving in a few weeks. I hope our Nica workers know how much we consider them as family. I especially do.
Thursday, December 8, 2011 NICARAGUA
It’s a holiday here in Nica. The Day of Mary. Last night was a huge celebration all over the country. We stayed safely at home. Today, town was pretty quiet while everyone stayed home to recover.
The Youth, who had a retreat here overnight, got up and started swimming at 5:30am. So much for sleeping in. I got up about 6:30am and started sewing.
The Hulsey’s and Mary went to Managua with German to pick up Talon, an intern from El Dorado AR. Megan and Joceline went with Oscar to paint at his church. I wanted to go and paint also, but decided that I needed to spend the time sewing instead.
After the painting excursion ended, Megan and Joceline picked me up in a taxi and we went by to get Oscar and his son Axel to go to lunch. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, which was pretty good for Nica. Then we walked around the park and looked around inside the Cathedral. Then we caught one of the few taxis running today and dropped Oscar off at a meeting and we came to the Mission House.
When we got here, everyone was back from Managua and was cleaning up after the group left. With everyone pitching in, it didn’t take too long. Then pizzas were ordered for dinner and I had a can of tuna.
I came on to my room to sew some more. I put in another $1 movie and sewed quite a bit. Then I watched the remainder of episodes for season 4 of Army Wives. It’s late now and I’m ready to go to bed.
I’ll get up early tomorrow and sew like a crazy woman again. But I feel good about the progress that was made today.
Talon brought me a care package from Haley and I appreciate all the goodies!! She’s such a sweet girl! She sent me some vitamins that I was running out of, some crossword puzzle books, trail mix and cashews and some earrings. She sent Mary some ritz peanutbutter crackers. Yum for all of us!
Signing off now. I can’t believe how quickly time is passing by. I’m starting to get in my reflective mood that always comes a few weeks before leaving Nica. I’m cherishing every minute of ministry and relationships here. I’m so thankful for everything.
The Youth, who had a retreat here overnight, got up and started swimming at 5:30am. So much for sleeping in. I got up about 6:30am and started sewing.
The Hulsey’s and Mary went to Managua with German to pick up Talon, an intern from El Dorado AR. Megan and Joceline went with Oscar to paint at his church. I wanted to go and paint also, but decided that I needed to spend the time sewing instead.
After the painting excursion ended, Megan and Joceline picked me up in a taxi and we went by to get Oscar and his son Axel to go to lunch. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, which was pretty good for Nica. Then we walked around the park and looked around inside the Cathedral. Then we caught one of the few taxis running today and dropped Oscar off at a meeting and we came to the Mission House.
When we got here, everyone was back from Managua and was cleaning up after the group left. With everyone pitching in, it didn’t take too long. Then pizzas were ordered for dinner and I had a can of tuna.
I came on to my room to sew some more. I put in another $1 movie and sewed quite a bit. Then I watched the remainder of episodes for season 4 of Army Wives. It’s late now and I’m ready to go to bed.
I’ll get up early tomorrow and sew like a crazy woman again. But I feel good about the progress that was made today.
Talon brought me a care package from Haley and I appreciate all the goodies!! She’s such a sweet girl! She sent me some vitamins that I was running out of, some crossword puzzle books, trail mix and cashews and some earrings. She sent Mary some ritz peanutbutter crackers. Yum for all of us!
Signing off now. I can’t believe how quickly time is passing by. I’m starting to get in my reflective mood that always comes a few weeks before leaving Nica. I’m cherishing every minute of ministry and relationships here. I’m so thankful for everything.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 NICARAGUA
It’s been a good day. I slept better last night than I have for about a week. Hope that trend continues!
Megan went with me this morning to Spanish class. We left a little early so we could walk and stop in at the little stores that I frequent on the way. It was fun. She liked Juan and we had fun in class. She was impressed with how much he has taught me these 2 months. He’s a good teacher. I just wish that it all made more sense to me than it does right now, but I know it will soon. I just need to have patience and keep practicing!! Megan is speaking Spanish to me most of the time and that helps a lot.
We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes for lunch. It was good. We all kind of hung out and visited a little this afternoon. We made some plans for the ministry, but mostly chatted. It was nice.
I spoke with Brian Sander at FBC Rogers today about the team he’s bringing down in March. It will be a good team and I can’t wait for spring break to get here! We’re going to plan at least one training meeting for the team while I’m in Rogers in January. Can’t wait to get them acquainted with the ministry and praying about what God is going to accomplish through them.
Because of all of the traffic and craziness of the Day of Mary celebration tonight, we decided not to have the Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras. It felt funny to have the afternoon off.
A youth group from a local church is having an overnight retreat here this evening, so it’s been interesting to have commotion going on outside. But it’s nice to hear them having fun.
Since tomorrow is a holiday, everyone has the day off (except the guard). The Hulsey’s, Mary and Manuel are going to Managua to pick up Talon, an intern coming from El Dorado AR. Megan and I are going to go help paint at Oscar’s church. Joceline is deciding what she wants to do, but I think she may end up going with Oscar and us to paint. Tomorrow late afternoon, we may swim a little bit. Depending on if the group leaves at 4pm like they are scheduled. I’m betting they won’t actually get out of here until more like 6pm, but we’ll see.
I spent this evening in my room sewing on Bible bags. I’m making good headway. Mary sewed straps together for about half of the bags. That is a help.
I watched a movie on my computer. We can buy movies here for $1. I had it playing while I was pinning the pieces to be sewn. I enjoyed it.
I got on facebook for a little while and now I’m ready to head to bed to read and go to sleep. We are leaving at 8am in the morning to paint, so I want to get some good sleep.
I’m thankful for all the blessings of today. No matter how hard or uncomfortable life can be down here, it’s exactly where God wants me and I’m so thankful to be here
Megan went with me this morning to Spanish class. We left a little early so we could walk and stop in at the little stores that I frequent on the way. It was fun. She liked Juan and we had fun in class. She was impressed with how much he has taught me these 2 months. He’s a good teacher. I just wish that it all made more sense to me than it does right now, but I know it will soon. I just need to have patience and keep practicing!! Megan is speaking Spanish to me most of the time and that helps a lot.
We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes for lunch. It was good. We all kind of hung out and visited a little this afternoon. We made some plans for the ministry, but mostly chatted. It was nice.
I spoke with Brian Sander at FBC Rogers today about the team he’s bringing down in March. It will be a good team and I can’t wait for spring break to get here! We’re going to plan at least one training meeting for the team while I’m in Rogers in January. Can’t wait to get them acquainted with the ministry and praying about what God is going to accomplish through them.
Because of all of the traffic and craziness of the Day of Mary celebration tonight, we decided not to have the Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras. It felt funny to have the afternoon off.
A youth group from a local church is having an overnight retreat here this evening, so it’s been interesting to have commotion going on outside. But it’s nice to hear them having fun.
Since tomorrow is a holiday, everyone has the day off (except the guard). The Hulsey’s, Mary and Manuel are going to Managua to pick up Talon, an intern coming from El Dorado AR. Megan and I are going to go help paint at Oscar’s church. Joceline is deciding what she wants to do, but I think she may end up going with Oscar and us to paint. Tomorrow late afternoon, we may swim a little bit. Depending on if the group leaves at 4pm like they are scheduled. I’m betting they won’t actually get out of here until more like 6pm, but we’ll see.
I spent this evening in my room sewing on Bible bags. I’m making good headway. Mary sewed straps together for about half of the bags. That is a help.
I watched a movie on my computer. We can buy movies here for $1. I had it playing while I was pinning the pieces to be sewn. I enjoyed it.
I got on facebook for a little while and now I’m ready to head to bed to read and go to sleep. We are leaving at 8am in the morning to paint, so I want to get some good sleep.
I’m thankful for all the blessings of today. No matter how hard or uncomfortable life can be down here, it’s exactly where God wants me and I’m so thankful to be here
Tuesday, December 6, 2011 NICARAGUA
Boy, am I tired tonight. I think I will sleep well. I hope so.
Last night I left with German to pick up Danilo at On the Run (convenience store) and then we went to pick up the Chinchin van from the Hulsey’s house. Danilo took the green van and German and I took Chinchin to Managua. It took about an hour to get all this rearranging done and to be headed off. It was nice to get to spend some time talking with German.
We got to the airport a little after 9pm. Megan’s flight was delayed almost an hour, so I sat in the van while German and Danilo and Danilo’s mother (who needed a ride from Managua to León) sat outside on the parking lot curb and chatted. Megan’s plane landed a little after 10pm, so we went into the terminal to wait for her. She saw and recognized me (which is good since I have only seen her picture on facebook). We packed her 2 suitcases in the van and retrieved Danilo’s mom and jumped in for the ride home.
Megan and I chatted the whole way and started to get to know each other. I didn’t even think to ask if she wanted to use my Nica phone to call Josh. Duh. I was very excited to hear that she speaks Spanish. How wonderful for her ministry time here and also that she can help interpret around the house and she will be able to talk to Joseline more than I can. I’m so happy that Joceline will have someone to talk to!
It was good to get Megan and bring her to the Mission House. We got her settled in for the night and I went to bed. We got home about 12:30pm last night and I went to bed about 1am. I woke up at 5am. I slept pretty well, but not long enough!
I was going to call Juan and cancel Spanish class for today, but decided to just ask to come at the usual time of 10am instead 9am. I started walking and Jorge stopped to offer me a ride. I jumped in his taxi and didn’t feel one bit guilty about skipping my walk. He didn’t want me to pay, but I insisted. He is very nice, but I want to bless his family as much as I can.
While waiting for Juan, I found out that his grandmother passed away last night. I wish I would have known that when we spoke on the phone this morning. I would definitely have told him to skip class today. Bless his heart.
But he was excited to get his copy of the Spanish verb book that I had ordered for him. We jumped right in and abused my brain!
During the class, he had a couple of visitors who came to sign up for his promotion of getting the first level of English classes free. He had bee handing out flyers last Friday. The 2 guys are going to start classes tomorrow morning, so I’m going back to 2 hours a day instead of 3, so that he can teach them the 2 hours before my class. I’m excited for them all.
I walked home from class today and it was very hot. I felt that I should walk home since I didn’t walk to class. I was glad to get home. We had a yummy lunch of Canelones and salad. I really wanted to take a nap, but settled for getting things ready for the Sewing class at 2pm.
We had fun with the ladies today. They are starting to make some drawstring backpacks. They got to use the sewing machine today and they were a hoot! Megan sat in on the class and had a great time talking to the ladies. They had difficulty getting on the bus to León because of all of the travelers coming to town to prepare for tomorrow night’s Day of Mary celebration. The buses were overflowing and some weren’t even stopping because they could not hold another person. And in Nica, that means they were FULL!
It was decided that we wouldn’t go out for the Bible study tomorrow afternoon because only 3 ladies would be present. Everyone else would be busy with the Day of Mary stuff. I hate to miss a class, but I think it was a good decision. I use my time to sew instead.
After the ladies left today, Megan, Joceline and I went for a quick swim. The water was a little bit cold, but it was nice. I had some cold Canelones and some cream of mushroom soup for dinner. Then I got my shower and pinned some Bible bags together to be ready to sew tomorrow afternoon.
I downloaded my Spanish verbs cds and listened to them while I was working on the Bible bags. I was reciting verb endings from outer space (ha) and trying to keep track of what I was doing. Not an easy task for my tired brain tonight. But I’m very thankful to have the cds. I’m downloading the audio onto my phone and iPod.
Megan asked if she could go to Spanish class with me tomorrow. It will be fun to have her here. I know that Juan will be glad to meet her. We’ll walk, so she can see some of the stores and homes and stuff on the way. It’s nice to see the people and neighborhoods when walking. If we leave early enough, maybe we’ll stop by Bazar Jerry and the Librería that I like. Maybe even the used clothing store and the artist place, too.
I told Megan that maybe on Friday or Saturday, we could walk to downtown and see everything. I know she is interested in everything she can see.
Well, I guess I should get off of here and go to bed. I’m ready to drop off to sleep! It’s been a good day and even though it is only Tuesday night, I feel like it’s been a week already. HA Looking forward to the rest of the week! God is good!
Last night I left with German to pick up Danilo at On the Run (convenience store) and then we went to pick up the Chinchin van from the Hulsey’s house. Danilo took the green van and German and I took Chinchin to Managua. It took about an hour to get all this rearranging done and to be headed off. It was nice to get to spend some time talking with German.
We got to the airport a little after 9pm. Megan’s flight was delayed almost an hour, so I sat in the van while German and Danilo and Danilo’s mother (who needed a ride from Managua to León) sat outside on the parking lot curb and chatted. Megan’s plane landed a little after 10pm, so we went into the terminal to wait for her. She saw and recognized me (which is good since I have only seen her picture on facebook). We packed her 2 suitcases in the van and retrieved Danilo’s mom and jumped in for the ride home.
Megan and I chatted the whole way and started to get to know each other. I didn’t even think to ask if she wanted to use my Nica phone to call Josh. Duh. I was very excited to hear that she speaks Spanish. How wonderful for her ministry time here and also that she can help interpret around the house and she will be able to talk to Joseline more than I can. I’m so happy that Joceline will have someone to talk to!
It was good to get Megan and bring her to the Mission House. We got her settled in for the night and I went to bed. We got home about 12:30pm last night and I went to bed about 1am. I woke up at 5am. I slept pretty well, but not long enough!
I was going to call Juan and cancel Spanish class for today, but decided to just ask to come at the usual time of 10am instead 9am. I started walking and Jorge stopped to offer me a ride. I jumped in his taxi and didn’t feel one bit guilty about skipping my walk. He didn’t want me to pay, but I insisted. He is very nice, but I want to bless his family as much as I can.
While waiting for Juan, I found out that his grandmother passed away last night. I wish I would have known that when we spoke on the phone this morning. I would definitely have told him to skip class today. Bless his heart.
But he was excited to get his copy of the Spanish verb book that I had ordered for him. We jumped right in and abused my brain!
During the class, he had a couple of visitors who came to sign up for his promotion of getting the first level of English classes free. He had bee handing out flyers last Friday. The 2 guys are going to start classes tomorrow morning, so I’m going back to 2 hours a day instead of 3, so that he can teach them the 2 hours before my class. I’m excited for them all.
I walked home from class today and it was very hot. I felt that I should walk home since I didn’t walk to class. I was glad to get home. We had a yummy lunch of Canelones and salad. I really wanted to take a nap, but settled for getting things ready for the Sewing class at 2pm.
We had fun with the ladies today. They are starting to make some drawstring backpacks. They got to use the sewing machine today and they were a hoot! Megan sat in on the class and had a great time talking to the ladies. They had difficulty getting on the bus to León because of all of the travelers coming to town to prepare for tomorrow night’s Day of Mary celebration. The buses were overflowing and some weren’t even stopping because they could not hold another person. And in Nica, that means they were FULL!
It was decided that we wouldn’t go out for the Bible study tomorrow afternoon because only 3 ladies would be present. Everyone else would be busy with the Day of Mary stuff. I hate to miss a class, but I think it was a good decision. I use my time to sew instead.
After the ladies left today, Megan, Joceline and I went for a quick swim. The water was a little bit cold, but it was nice. I had some cold Canelones and some cream of mushroom soup for dinner. Then I got my shower and pinned some Bible bags together to be ready to sew tomorrow afternoon.
I downloaded my Spanish verbs cds and listened to them while I was working on the Bible bags. I was reciting verb endings from outer space (ha) and trying to keep track of what I was doing. Not an easy task for my tired brain tonight. But I’m very thankful to have the cds. I’m downloading the audio onto my phone and iPod.
Megan asked if she could go to Spanish class with me tomorrow. It will be fun to have her here. I know that Juan will be glad to meet her. We’ll walk, so she can see some of the stores and homes and stuff on the way. It’s nice to see the people and neighborhoods when walking. If we leave early enough, maybe we’ll stop by Bazar Jerry and the Librería that I like. Maybe even the used clothing store and the artist place, too.
I told Megan that maybe on Friday or Saturday, we could walk to downtown and see everything. I know she is interested in everything she can see.
Well, I guess I should get off of here and go to bed. I’m ready to drop off to sleep! It’s been a good day and even though it is only Tuesday night, I feel like it’s been a week already. HA Looking forward to the rest of the week! God is good!
Monday, December 5, 2011 NICARAGUA
I’m writing this at 6pm today instead of my usual evening timeframe. I’m waiting on German to get here to pick me up so we can drive to Managua to pick up Megan Bryant from FBC Rogers, who is going to serve with us this month. So far, so good. I think we have the right day and everything!! LOL
I didn’t sleep well at all last night and woke up at 5:13am feeling crappy. I laid down for a little while, but didn’t feel much better. I did do some personal Bible study and got showered and dressed for Spanish class.
I went ahead and walked to class, albeit, slowly. I was a little late, but Juan is never there on time, so it didn’t matter.
We had a good class. Discussed some good stuff and I used my verbs in all different tenses. We can’t wait to get those Spanish books that Megan is bringing to me. Juan said we are going to hit those verb books hard and heavy this week and next, because they are my last weeks for class. Juan gave me the words to some of the songs that we sing in churches here. I was wanting to get them, but kept forgetting to ask my 2 musical sons, Jeremy and Joe, to give them to me. It was a nice blessing to get them today.
I walked home and we had quesadillas for lunch, with rice, beans and salad. Yum! The electricity had been out since about 10am, so everyone was sitting out under the rancho doing their own thing. I was planning on sewing a lot, but couldn’t, so I worked on my notes for the Women’s Bible study this week. I laid on my bed for a short while with my battery-powered fan and rested. Then I took some pieces of sewing out to rancho and pinned a bunch of stuff, getting it ready for sewing later in the week.
Sherry made us quesadillas with the left overs for dinner and they were still very good. I had some pudding and some almonds, so I’m ready for my road trip now.
I have a full week planned and I know it will go by very quickly. There is excitement in the city because of the holidays. The Day of Mary is Thursday, and festivities start on Wednesday night. It will be crazy getting around. We may not have the Wednesday Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras. We’ll decide for sure tomorrow. I hate to miss a week, but if it’s not good timing, we could save about $15 on the taxi that day and I could also get some sewing on the Bible bags done that afternoon. We’ll see…
Better get off of here for now. German will be pulling up soon. We’re taking Chinchin, our little van to Managua. It’s been a little sick lately, so I’m praying that it makes it okay. It would be a long walk, late at night if it breaks down! But it gets the best gas mileage. We’ll just pray extra hard.
I didn’t sleep well at all last night and woke up at 5:13am feeling crappy. I laid down for a little while, but didn’t feel much better. I did do some personal Bible study and got showered and dressed for Spanish class.
I went ahead and walked to class, albeit, slowly. I was a little late, but Juan is never there on time, so it didn’t matter.
We had a good class. Discussed some good stuff and I used my verbs in all different tenses. We can’t wait to get those Spanish books that Megan is bringing to me. Juan said we are going to hit those verb books hard and heavy this week and next, because they are my last weeks for class. Juan gave me the words to some of the songs that we sing in churches here. I was wanting to get them, but kept forgetting to ask my 2 musical sons, Jeremy and Joe, to give them to me. It was a nice blessing to get them today.
I walked home and we had quesadillas for lunch, with rice, beans and salad. Yum! The electricity had been out since about 10am, so everyone was sitting out under the rancho doing their own thing. I was planning on sewing a lot, but couldn’t, so I worked on my notes for the Women’s Bible study this week. I laid on my bed for a short while with my battery-powered fan and rested. Then I took some pieces of sewing out to rancho and pinned a bunch of stuff, getting it ready for sewing later in the week.
Sherry made us quesadillas with the left overs for dinner and they were still very good. I had some pudding and some almonds, so I’m ready for my road trip now.
I have a full week planned and I know it will go by very quickly. There is excitement in the city because of the holidays. The Day of Mary is Thursday, and festivities start on Wednesday night. It will be crazy getting around. We may not have the Wednesday Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras. We’ll decide for sure tomorrow. I hate to miss a week, but if it’s not good timing, we could save about $15 on the taxi that day and I could also get some sewing on the Bible bags done that afternoon. We’ll see…
Better get off of here for now. German will be pulling up soon. We’re taking Chinchin, our little van to Managua. It’s been a little sick lately, so I’m praying that it makes it okay. It would be a long walk, late at night if it breaks down! But it gets the best gas mileage. We’ll just pray extra hard.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Sunday, December 4, 2011 NICARAGUA
What an interesting day. I kept waking up all night and couldn’t go back to sleep. I was reading most of the night trying to get sleepy. I have felt tired all day. But that’s okay.
This morning I talked with my sister Sandy on the phone to confirm that my flight options for Feb are fine with her. My niece is getting married on Feb 11, so I’ll spend Feb 1-13 in Indiana. I bought my tickets on line this morning. Then I looked up something to buy on Walmart.com and ship to the store in Paragould for the team coming on Dec 16 to bring down. Isn’t technology wonderful? (when it’s working)
I copied a cd of kids’ Bible songs in Spanish for the church in Telica. I also took one of the Proclaimers (recorded New Testament in Spanish) for the church to set up listening groups and use it.
Joceline was not feeling very well last night, but was much better this morning. She and Oscar left for church right before German stopped by to pick up Mary and I. We headed over to pick up the Hulsey’s and then went to the church in Telica. It was nice to be there again. I’m so excited to get to start a Women’s Bible study there when I get back in mid-February. The kids were funny this morning. The Pastor lady asked Mike if he would like to preach, so he did. The Bible says to always be ready to share about Jesus and he did.
After church, we went back to the Hulsey’s for dinner, but the electricity had went out and the food in the crockpot was not done. So we jumped in the van and headed to a restaurant that German and Jorge recommended. It’s a little place on the side of the road what serves Cuban cuisine. The owner didn’t speak any English and we held our own with my limited Spanish. We ended up having whatever he suggested, which was like a quesadilla made out of a different kind of tortilla with pork, beans, cheese and I don’t know what all else. It was okay, but I don’t think anyone else liked it. The place was decorated kind of neat. You would never know what it was like by just driving down the road and seeing the little sign on the ground. Kind of fun.
We got back to the Mission House and I was waiting for German’s family to come and pick me up to go to Managua to get Megan. I got on the computer for a while and was all ready and waiting for my pick up. Then Mike re-read the email from Megan and realized that she isn’t coming in until TOMORROW night. He called German to let him know. I’m glad we weren’t already on our way. I was really looking forward to spending some time with German’s family this evening, but I was pretty tired already. It will be better to go tomorrow night.
I had posted on facebook that we were picking up Megan tonight and she commented that her flight is tomorrow night. I told her we aren’t really this disorganized. Well… maybe so, but we’re fun!
My discussion with Juver, our substitute guard, was hilarious. I had originally told him that I would be arriving back about midnight-1am with Megan and that he would need to be ready to open the gate for us. He was going to set his alarm. I would call when we were in León. Then with the change of day, I was trying to tell him that we weren’t coming back tonight. We would come back tomorrow. He said, yes, at 1am. I said no, Tuesday at 1am because we were going to the airport tomorrow night. I was saying that the flight (el vuelo) was coming tomorrow night. He thought I said abuelo (grandfather) and thought that I was talking about Alberto. So Juver was explaining that his UNCLE Alberto (who is our regular guard who Juver is filling in for) was coming back Thursday night, not tomorrow night. I know you had to be there to appreciate it, but it was very funny. We finally got it all straightened out and laughed. As I was walking away, he called me back and in all earnestness told me that my Spanish was really improving. LOL It was like those ‘whose on first’ gags. The last time my Spanish got me in this much trouble was when I was trying to say excuse me (disculpeme) and said escupame (spit on me). I always say that if I can’t communicate in Spanish, at least I can be entertaining. ☺
I ended up spending some time doing my Bible study and getting on here. It was a good time to swim a little bit, but I just didn’t have the energy. I had some cold pasta for dinner and changed into my sleep shorts and tank top. I’m ready to relax for the rest of the evening.
I have so much that I need to get done that I feel guilty for resting. But I’m just not willing to focus too much this evening. Tomorrow starts a full and busy week, so I’ll take today for my rest.
I’m going to kick back now and hope to be asleep by 9pm. My biggest wish is to sleep all night long, at least until 5am.
Man, December is sliding by so quickly! I will miss being here so much for the 7 weeks or so that I’m in the states, but it will be fun to be there and talk with people, see my niece get married and then hurry back here. I really have a wonderful life. I’m so thankful to God for His blessings!
This morning I talked with my sister Sandy on the phone to confirm that my flight options for Feb are fine with her. My niece is getting married on Feb 11, so I’ll spend Feb 1-13 in Indiana. I bought my tickets on line this morning. Then I looked up something to buy on Walmart.com and ship to the store in Paragould for the team coming on Dec 16 to bring down. Isn’t technology wonderful? (when it’s working)
I copied a cd of kids’ Bible songs in Spanish for the church in Telica. I also took one of the Proclaimers (recorded New Testament in Spanish) for the church to set up listening groups and use it.
Joceline was not feeling very well last night, but was much better this morning. She and Oscar left for church right before German stopped by to pick up Mary and I. We headed over to pick up the Hulsey’s and then went to the church in Telica. It was nice to be there again. I’m so excited to get to start a Women’s Bible study there when I get back in mid-February. The kids were funny this morning. The Pastor lady asked Mike if he would like to preach, so he did. The Bible says to always be ready to share about Jesus and he did.
After church, we went back to the Hulsey’s for dinner, but the electricity had went out and the food in the crockpot was not done. So we jumped in the van and headed to a restaurant that German and Jorge recommended. It’s a little place on the side of the road what serves Cuban cuisine. The owner didn’t speak any English and we held our own with my limited Spanish. We ended up having whatever he suggested, which was like a quesadilla made out of a different kind of tortilla with pork, beans, cheese and I don’t know what all else. It was okay, but I don’t think anyone else liked it. The place was decorated kind of neat. You would never know what it was like by just driving down the road and seeing the little sign on the ground. Kind of fun.
We got back to the Mission House and I was waiting for German’s family to come and pick me up to go to Managua to get Megan. I got on the computer for a while and was all ready and waiting for my pick up. Then Mike re-read the email from Megan and realized that she isn’t coming in until TOMORROW night. He called German to let him know. I’m glad we weren’t already on our way. I was really looking forward to spending some time with German’s family this evening, but I was pretty tired already. It will be better to go tomorrow night.
I had posted on facebook that we were picking up Megan tonight and she commented that her flight is tomorrow night. I told her we aren’t really this disorganized. Well… maybe so, but we’re fun!
My discussion with Juver, our substitute guard, was hilarious. I had originally told him that I would be arriving back about midnight-1am with Megan and that he would need to be ready to open the gate for us. He was going to set his alarm. I would call when we were in León. Then with the change of day, I was trying to tell him that we weren’t coming back tonight. We would come back tomorrow. He said, yes, at 1am. I said no, Tuesday at 1am because we were going to the airport tomorrow night. I was saying that the flight (el vuelo) was coming tomorrow night. He thought I said abuelo (grandfather) and thought that I was talking about Alberto. So Juver was explaining that his UNCLE Alberto (who is our regular guard who Juver is filling in for) was coming back Thursday night, not tomorrow night. I know you had to be there to appreciate it, but it was very funny. We finally got it all straightened out and laughed. As I was walking away, he called me back and in all earnestness told me that my Spanish was really improving. LOL It was like those ‘whose on first’ gags. The last time my Spanish got me in this much trouble was when I was trying to say excuse me (disculpeme) and said escupame (spit on me). I always say that if I can’t communicate in Spanish, at least I can be entertaining. ☺
I ended up spending some time doing my Bible study and getting on here. It was a good time to swim a little bit, but I just didn’t have the energy. I had some cold pasta for dinner and changed into my sleep shorts and tank top. I’m ready to relax for the rest of the evening.
I have so much that I need to get done that I feel guilty for resting. But I’m just not willing to focus too much this evening. Tomorrow starts a full and busy week, so I’ll take today for my rest.
I’m going to kick back now and hope to be asleep by 9pm. My biggest wish is to sleep all night long, at least until 5am.
Man, December is sliding by so quickly! I will miss being here so much for the 7 weeks or so that I’m in the states, but it will be fun to be there and talk with people, see my niece get married and then hurry back here. I really have a wonderful life. I’m so thankful to God for His blessings!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011 NICARAGUA
What a lovely evening. I’ve had a great day. Saturdays seem to be a day of rest, sometimes, and I love it! This morning I walked to German’s house to see how long it takes. 30 minutes there and it will take longer getting home since it’s uphill. But once I got there and visited with Johana, German was ready to come to the Mission House, so I grabbed a ride with him. So, my walk wasn’t as long as I had planned, but the visit was much more fun! I miss seeing Johana. Ishmael was a hoot and Mariangel was her darling self.
Once we got to the house, I doctored German’s thumb, which he had banged really hard with a hammer while working on Johana’s breaks. It could probably use some stitches. I asked if it hurt and German said oh yes. But he still had his usual smile. He and Mike met a construction guy here and went to the site of the new church that is going to be built at the Sewer Pond neighborhood this month. Manuel went with them since it was a manly thing to do. Sherry came to the house a little before noon.
Since Mary and I had the place to ourselves this morning, it was pretty quiet. Joceline got up and we all just hung out and did laundry and stuff.
I got started on sewing the 40 Bible bags. I think I have the process ready for a little sewing every once in a while and will eventually get it all done over the next 2 weeks. I’m trying not to stress over it. I know that God will allow me to get it done.
I got to take a nice long nap this afternoon. That’s 2 days in a row. May, I love naps! Especially after I’ve been out in the sun for a while. My plan was to sew some more, which I did, and then swim a little for exercise, which I didn’t get to do. But it was an enjoyable afternoon anyway.
Manuel, Joceline and Juver were playing baseball and Sherry and Mary were sitting at the end of the veranda watching and cheering. Manuel did pretty good. He doesn’t have really good coordination due to some effects of seizures and the condition of his arm, so the workout did him well. When he connected with the ball, it went far. Once we lost the ball over the wall. When we opened the gate to go looking for it, Oscar walked in with flowers for Joceline. How funny! He ended up joining the ballgame for a little while.
Manuel is in love with Joceline. He doesn’t appreciate Oscar’s presence. It is interesting to see the interaction. Joceline is very aware of Manuel’s feelings and tries not to upset him. She is sweet. Oscar and Joceline joined us for dinner tonight. Sherry had made baked chicken and rice, peas and corn, and salad. Yummy!
After dinner, the Hulsey’s went home, including Buster the dog. Mary and I each retired to our rooms for showers and hanging out. Oscar and Joceline are enjoying the hammocks under the rancho. It’s pretty quiet here tonight.
I got quite a bit of sewing done today and am happy about it. Laundry is all done and put away. I’ve had my chocolate pudding and I’m listening to Spanish Christmas music. Sweet!
We’re going to the church in Telica tomorrow morning. Then we are having lunch at the Hulsey’s. I’ll be leaving with German’s family about 4pm for Managua to pick up Megan tomorrow night. We are going to hang out at the mall for awhile and have dinner and then Megan’s plane comes in at 9:20pm. It will be a late night, probably midnight or later when we get home. I’ll enjoy hanging out with German’s family. And I can’t wait for Megan to get settled in and start serving with us for the month.
I’m going to burn a couple of cds of kid’s Bible songs for the Telica church. I’m also going to take the prerecorded New Testament to them. It’s in a very conversational translation that the kids will enjoy hearing. It will be good to be back at that church again. I went for the first time with the team 2 Sundays ago. We are going to get involved with this church and start a Women’s Bible study there after I get back in Feb. I can’t wait!
Well, I guess I’ll close here so that I can burn those cds for church tomorrow. I’m thankful that it’s easy. I’m not much of a techie.
God has blessed me yet again today. I’m so thankful. I pray that I am pleasing Him with what I do. I’m looking forward to hearing the message tomorrow at church. And I look forward to my personal Bible study in the morning. Good stuff!
Once we got to the house, I doctored German’s thumb, which he had banged really hard with a hammer while working on Johana’s breaks. It could probably use some stitches. I asked if it hurt and German said oh yes. But he still had his usual smile. He and Mike met a construction guy here and went to the site of the new church that is going to be built at the Sewer Pond neighborhood this month. Manuel went with them since it was a manly thing to do. Sherry came to the house a little before noon.
Since Mary and I had the place to ourselves this morning, it was pretty quiet. Joceline got up and we all just hung out and did laundry and stuff.
I got started on sewing the 40 Bible bags. I think I have the process ready for a little sewing every once in a while and will eventually get it all done over the next 2 weeks. I’m trying not to stress over it. I know that God will allow me to get it done.
I got to take a nice long nap this afternoon. That’s 2 days in a row. May, I love naps! Especially after I’ve been out in the sun for a while. My plan was to sew some more, which I did, and then swim a little for exercise, which I didn’t get to do. But it was an enjoyable afternoon anyway.
Manuel, Joceline and Juver were playing baseball and Sherry and Mary were sitting at the end of the veranda watching and cheering. Manuel did pretty good. He doesn’t have really good coordination due to some effects of seizures and the condition of his arm, so the workout did him well. When he connected with the ball, it went far. Once we lost the ball over the wall. When we opened the gate to go looking for it, Oscar walked in with flowers for Joceline. How funny! He ended up joining the ballgame for a little while.
Manuel is in love with Joceline. He doesn’t appreciate Oscar’s presence. It is interesting to see the interaction. Joceline is very aware of Manuel’s feelings and tries not to upset him. She is sweet. Oscar and Joceline joined us for dinner tonight. Sherry had made baked chicken and rice, peas and corn, and salad. Yummy!
After dinner, the Hulsey’s went home, including Buster the dog. Mary and I each retired to our rooms for showers and hanging out. Oscar and Joceline are enjoying the hammocks under the rancho. It’s pretty quiet here tonight.
I got quite a bit of sewing done today and am happy about it. Laundry is all done and put away. I’ve had my chocolate pudding and I’m listening to Spanish Christmas music. Sweet!
We’re going to the church in Telica tomorrow morning. Then we are having lunch at the Hulsey’s. I’ll be leaving with German’s family about 4pm for Managua to pick up Megan tomorrow night. We are going to hang out at the mall for awhile and have dinner and then Megan’s plane comes in at 9:20pm. It will be a late night, probably midnight or later when we get home. I’ll enjoy hanging out with German’s family. And I can’t wait for Megan to get settled in and start serving with us for the month.
I’m going to burn a couple of cds of kid’s Bible songs for the Telica church. I’m also going to take the prerecorded New Testament to them. It’s in a very conversational translation that the kids will enjoy hearing. It will be good to be back at that church again. I went for the first time with the team 2 Sundays ago. We are going to get involved with this church and start a Women’s Bible study there after I get back in Feb. I can’t wait!
Well, I guess I’ll close here so that I can burn those cds for church tomorrow. I’m thankful that it’s easy. I’m not much of a techie.
God has blessed me yet again today. I’m so thankful. I pray that I am pleasing Him with what I do. I’m looking forward to hearing the message tomorrow at church. And I look forward to my personal Bible study in the morning. Good stuff!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011 NICARAGUA
I keep thinking it’s still November until I see the date when I type my blog post. Every day is hot and sunny here, so it’s not much indication of the time of year. Now, the changes in downtown is a different story. Tons of vendors setting up booths to sell things to be given out on the Day of Mary next week. Lots of Christmas decorations and gifts to be sold. It’s the ‘13th Month’, meaning that everyone gets an extra month’s pay for the year. And everyone is busy spending it. The streets are getting more crowded due to the booths. Traffic flow is not the best anyway, with the narrow streets. Tall Ladies are everywhere and you can hear the drums for blocks around signifying that there is a performance around. I hope to capture it on video this year.
This morning (my one morning a week without Spanish class) is still woke up at 5:30am, and Buster wasn’t even here to bark early. I got up and did some computer work, Bible study and got ready for a little trek to downtown to buy some material for more Bible bags. Mary and I left the house about 8:40am via a taxi. He could get us as close as about 1 block away. We looked around the park and sat on a park bench while waiting for Leslie to meet us.
We went to a couple of fabric stores and I spent another $40 on fabric to make 40 more bags. I’m thankful that has allowed me the resources to provide these for the ladies. I’ve made about 30 so far and have another 40 to go. But the ladies love them and it’s a blessing to me to this for them. We stopped at a plastic store and got a few more little storage items. Then we headed out to find a little store that German told Mary about so she could buy some movies in English. We couldn’t find the store, but it was a nice morning for a walk.
Houses are built right out to the street and if the windows and doors are open, you can look in as you walk by. One house had some Christmas decorations up and Mary stopped to admire them. The people looked at her a little strange. Leslie said they would think she is trying to see what they had so she could rob them. I called her a peeping Tom. She said they shouldn’t open their windows and doors. I guess they should just keep shut up in a hot house. Ha I walked past the House of the Bible and waved to Linda who works there. It’s nice to have friends to greet.
I handed over my packages to Leslie and Mary, who were going to take a taxi back to the house, and I walked back to the house. I stopped by Bazar Jerry and bought a couple pieces of ribbon. I got home about 11am. It was hot, but a nice walk. The heat does wipe me out, though.
We had steak (Nica steak gives your jaws a workout), rice, beans, steamed veggies and tortillas for lunch. It was good. After lunch, everyone got busy doing their own stuff and I started cutting out the pieces of fabric for the bags. I got everything cut out, so now I just need to grab some pieces everytime I get the chance and start getting the bags done.
About 3pm I stopped to take a shower and dress for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church. We were down in number there today, too. This time of year is not conducive for good attendance. But we had a good class. I introduced the study on Mary and our Mary taught about how to share your testimony.
We got back home and I boiled a big pan of pasta to eat on for the weekend. I talked with Juver while the food was cooking. He is filling in for Alberto while he is on vacation. I came to my room and started working on the computer since I have the usb connector tonight. I watched a copy of the video that Oscar shot from the Bible study at Las Quimeras and ROSCC churches, the Feeding at ROSCC and this week’s Sewing class. It was funny. I hope that JP can pull some snippets off to put on my new website when we work on it in January.
Speaking of websites… Voice of Hope has a new look to the website that will be put into place very soon. It’s awesome! There’s a guy here who is working on it for us. It will have a version in English and one in Spanish. You can click between the two. There are lots of pictures. I love it! Can’t wait till it’s finished and everyone can see it.
Mike called to let me know that Joceline was on her way home from babysitting at their house and for us to open the gate for her. At the same time, German was beeping at the big gate to get in so his father-in-law could pick up German’s motorcycle. Lots going on at once. It was funny.
I think I’m going to the airport with German’s family to pick up Megan (from FBCR) on Sunday evening. It will be grand to spend some time with German’s family. I look forward to greeting Megan and I hope she likes living here with us this month as she serves with the ministry to finish up her Masters’ degree. I can’t wait to get my new Spanish books from her, too! Ha
Well, guess I’ll get off of here. I’ve enjoyed today very much. If I wake up early like I plan, I want to go for a long walk in the morning. We’ll see. After that, it’s sewing time baby!!! Life is grand!
This morning (my one morning a week without Spanish class) is still woke up at 5:30am, and Buster wasn’t even here to bark early. I got up and did some computer work, Bible study and got ready for a little trek to downtown to buy some material for more Bible bags. Mary and I left the house about 8:40am via a taxi. He could get us as close as about 1 block away. We looked around the park and sat on a park bench while waiting for Leslie to meet us.
We went to a couple of fabric stores and I spent another $40 on fabric to make 40 more bags. I’m thankful that has allowed me the resources to provide these for the ladies. I’ve made about 30 so far and have another 40 to go. But the ladies love them and it’s a blessing to me to this for them. We stopped at a plastic store and got a few more little storage items. Then we headed out to find a little store that German told Mary about so she could buy some movies in English. We couldn’t find the store, but it was a nice morning for a walk.
Houses are built right out to the street and if the windows and doors are open, you can look in as you walk by. One house had some Christmas decorations up and Mary stopped to admire them. The people looked at her a little strange. Leslie said they would think she is trying to see what they had so she could rob them. I called her a peeping Tom. She said they shouldn’t open their windows and doors. I guess they should just keep shut up in a hot house. Ha I walked past the House of the Bible and waved to Linda who works there. It’s nice to have friends to greet.
I handed over my packages to Leslie and Mary, who were going to take a taxi back to the house, and I walked back to the house. I stopped by Bazar Jerry and bought a couple pieces of ribbon. I got home about 11am. It was hot, but a nice walk. The heat does wipe me out, though.
We had steak (Nica steak gives your jaws a workout), rice, beans, steamed veggies and tortillas for lunch. It was good. After lunch, everyone got busy doing their own stuff and I started cutting out the pieces of fabric for the bags. I got everything cut out, so now I just need to grab some pieces everytime I get the chance and start getting the bags done.
About 3pm I stopped to take a shower and dress for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church. We were down in number there today, too. This time of year is not conducive for good attendance. But we had a good class. I introduced the study on Mary and our Mary taught about how to share your testimony.
We got back home and I boiled a big pan of pasta to eat on for the weekend. I talked with Juver while the food was cooking. He is filling in for Alberto while he is on vacation. I came to my room and started working on the computer since I have the usb connector tonight. I watched a copy of the video that Oscar shot from the Bible study at Las Quimeras and ROSCC churches, the Feeding at ROSCC and this week’s Sewing class. It was funny. I hope that JP can pull some snippets off to put on my new website when we work on it in January.
Speaking of websites… Voice of Hope has a new look to the website that will be put into place very soon. It’s awesome! There’s a guy here who is working on it for us. It will have a version in English and one in Spanish. You can click between the two. There are lots of pictures. I love it! Can’t wait till it’s finished and everyone can see it.
Mike called to let me know that Joceline was on her way home from babysitting at their house and for us to open the gate for her. At the same time, German was beeping at the big gate to get in so his father-in-law could pick up German’s motorcycle. Lots going on at once. It was funny.
I think I’m going to the airport with German’s family to pick up Megan (from FBCR) on Sunday evening. It will be grand to spend some time with German’s family. I look forward to greeting Megan and I hope she likes living here with us this month as she serves with the ministry to finish up her Masters’ degree. I can’t wait to get my new Spanish books from her, too! Ha
Well, guess I’ll get off of here. I’ve enjoyed today very much. If I wake up early like I plan, I want to go for a long walk in the morning. We’ll see. After that, it’s sewing time baby!!! Life is grand!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011 NICARAGUA
Well, it’s been another good day. But you knew I was going to say that, didn’t you? I just can’t say enough how blessed I feel to be here in Nica, serving in the ways that God allows. I am so blessed.
I got up early this morning, even though Buster stayed at the Hulsey’s last night and wasn’t barking at his usual too-early time. I did some Bible study, had breakfast, showered and dressed and had time to chat a little with Mary. My phone was ringing when I was getting out of the shower and the read out said it was Sherry. I can’t get good reception in my room and usually have to go outside. Since I wasn’t dressed yet, I hurried up and got ready so I could call her back and see what she wanted. It turned out to be Manuel using Sherry’s phone while she was out running. He said that he had sent me an email (pretend) and wanted me to be looking for it. He hears his daddy telling this to his brother in the states. Manuel said that he had sent a couple of emails to Mary, too, but she must be asleep since she didn’t answer the phone. He’s so funny. He had also taken the internet usb connector home last night, too. That wasn’t so funny.
Anyway, I left for school and talked to Deanna on the phone while walking. She could tell when I was going uphill. It was noisy, too, since it’s a major road and lots of buses and trucks are going by. At least there were no cattle to dodge this morning. Unfortunately, I ran out of minutes while talking to her. I didn’t want her to think that I had gotten run over, so I called her quickly on my iPhone just to let her know that I was okay. It was good to hear her voice. She said that she is ready for me to come home. I told her it would be less than a month now. I miss her and Jet.
The walk to class was good. As I passed by Bazar Jerry, the clerk waved to me again. I stopped in the Librería for a notebook and said hi to Yerling. As I walked past the artist in his little spot, he waved to me, too. How nice to have these little blessings. It was hot this morning, but I wasn’t as sweaty as yesterday when I got to the school. Jackie was there to greet me and I got settled in with the fan and my books and started reviewing until Juan got there.
We had a good class and talked about many things (all in Spanish). Taxes, IRS, dating, pre-marital sex in the US, saving money, buy Christmas gifts out of obligation, all kinds of stuff. One of the students from Juan’s Saturday English classes last year, Gerald, stopped in for a few minutes. He remembered me from that day. It was nice to see him again. He wished me luck with my Spanish classes.
I walked home and it was pretty hot. It gave me a good excuse to stop in at my favorite used clothing store on the way, to cool off. I found 2 large denim skirts to cut up for sewing material. I also found a couple pairs of capris and a couple of tops. It was nice to be welcomed by the owner. She is nice and loves that I spend money there.
We had a great lunch of grilled chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and coleslaw. After lunch, I went to my room to lay down a little. I fell asleep and dozed off an on for 2 hours. Oh my! But it sure felt good! I woke up about 4 and everyone was leaving. Sherry and Mary went to the movies, Mike and Manuel ran errands and hung out a while. Joceline and I went for a late afternoon swim and practiced English and Spanish words with each other. About 5:15 we got out of the pool so she could get ready for her date with Oscar and I grabbed a shower and some leftovers for dinner and got on the computer. It’s been nice and quiet.
Mary got home just a little bit ago. Aberto is leaving tomorrow morning for 8 days off. His cousin or nephew of something, Juver, is going to stay here in his place. It will be nice to have him here. Unfortunately, he runs his words together like Ablerto does, so it’s hard for me to understand what he is saying. But we will talk a lot, I’m sure and I’ll get used to it.
I was reminding Juan this morning that my left ear has profound hearing loss and I can’t hear a lot of sounds in it. It makes it difficult to learn new words by just hearing them. I’m going to listen to the Bible in Spanish on my iPod while reading it in my bi-lingual Bible. That will help me a lot. I can pick up new words and understand a lot by reading. It’s just this dumb ear that gives me problems. But it will be okay. It’s teaching me patience and to depend on God.
Even with my 2 hour nap today, I’m ready for bed early. I think walking in the heat is getting to me more than I realize. I need to watch that more closely. I’m just so hungry for exercise!
Oh, on the way home from class, I was almost to where the buses to Poneloya and Las Peñitas (the beach towns) pick up and I saw a motorcycle with Teresa (from ROSCC church) on the back. They stopped and she introduced me to her husband. She asked if I was going to ride the bus to the beach. I told her that I was walking home from Spanish class to the Mission House. She was impressed that I was walking so far. I think she was questioning my good sense about walking in the heat, though. She got back on the motorcycle (sidesaddle I might add, since she only wears skirts) and they rode off. How nice to see her.
Okay, now I’m getting off of here. Time for another episode of Army Wives and bed. Many blessings today and I know there are more to come.
I got up early this morning, even though Buster stayed at the Hulsey’s last night and wasn’t barking at his usual too-early time. I did some Bible study, had breakfast, showered and dressed and had time to chat a little with Mary. My phone was ringing when I was getting out of the shower and the read out said it was Sherry. I can’t get good reception in my room and usually have to go outside. Since I wasn’t dressed yet, I hurried up and got ready so I could call her back and see what she wanted. It turned out to be Manuel using Sherry’s phone while she was out running. He said that he had sent me an email (pretend) and wanted me to be looking for it. He hears his daddy telling this to his brother in the states. Manuel said that he had sent a couple of emails to Mary, too, but she must be asleep since she didn’t answer the phone. He’s so funny. He had also taken the internet usb connector home last night, too. That wasn’t so funny.
Anyway, I left for school and talked to Deanna on the phone while walking. She could tell when I was going uphill. It was noisy, too, since it’s a major road and lots of buses and trucks are going by. At least there were no cattle to dodge this morning. Unfortunately, I ran out of minutes while talking to her. I didn’t want her to think that I had gotten run over, so I called her quickly on my iPhone just to let her know that I was okay. It was good to hear her voice. She said that she is ready for me to come home. I told her it would be less than a month now. I miss her and Jet.
The walk to class was good. As I passed by Bazar Jerry, the clerk waved to me again. I stopped in the Librería for a notebook and said hi to Yerling. As I walked past the artist in his little spot, he waved to me, too. How nice to have these little blessings. It was hot this morning, but I wasn’t as sweaty as yesterday when I got to the school. Jackie was there to greet me and I got settled in with the fan and my books and started reviewing until Juan got there.
We had a good class and talked about many things (all in Spanish). Taxes, IRS, dating, pre-marital sex in the US, saving money, buy Christmas gifts out of obligation, all kinds of stuff. One of the students from Juan’s Saturday English classes last year, Gerald, stopped in for a few minutes. He remembered me from that day. It was nice to see him again. He wished me luck with my Spanish classes.
I walked home and it was pretty hot. It gave me a good excuse to stop in at my favorite used clothing store on the way, to cool off. I found 2 large denim skirts to cut up for sewing material. I also found a couple pairs of capris and a couple of tops. It was nice to be welcomed by the owner. She is nice and loves that I spend money there.
We had a great lunch of grilled chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and coleslaw. After lunch, I went to my room to lay down a little. I fell asleep and dozed off an on for 2 hours. Oh my! But it sure felt good! I woke up about 4 and everyone was leaving. Sherry and Mary went to the movies, Mike and Manuel ran errands and hung out a while. Joceline and I went for a late afternoon swim and practiced English and Spanish words with each other. About 5:15 we got out of the pool so she could get ready for her date with Oscar and I grabbed a shower and some leftovers for dinner and got on the computer. It’s been nice and quiet.
Mary got home just a little bit ago. Aberto is leaving tomorrow morning for 8 days off. His cousin or nephew of something, Juver, is going to stay here in his place. It will be nice to have him here. Unfortunately, he runs his words together like Ablerto does, so it’s hard for me to understand what he is saying. But we will talk a lot, I’m sure and I’ll get used to it.
I was reminding Juan this morning that my left ear has profound hearing loss and I can’t hear a lot of sounds in it. It makes it difficult to learn new words by just hearing them. I’m going to listen to the Bible in Spanish on my iPod while reading it in my bi-lingual Bible. That will help me a lot. I can pick up new words and understand a lot by reading. It’s just this dumb ear that gives me problems. But it will be okay. It’s teaching me patience and to depend on God.
Even with my 2 hour nap today, I’m ready for bed early. I think walking in the heat is getting to me more than I realize. I need to watch that more closely. I’m just so hungry for exercise!
Oh, on the way home from class, I was almost to where the buses to Poneloya and Las Peñitas (the beach towns) pick up and I saw a motorcycle with Teresa (from ROSCC church) on the back. They stopped and she introduced me to her husband. She asked if I was going to ride the bus to the beach. I told her that I was walking home from Spanish class to the Mission House. She was impressed that I was walking so far. I think she was questioning my good sense about walking in the heat, though. She got back on the motorcycle (sidesaddle I might add, since she only wears skirts) and they rode off. How nice to see her.
Okay, now I’m getting off of here. Time for another episode of Army Wives and bed. Many blessings today and I know there are more to come.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 NICARAGUA
The last day of November. Hard to believe. Day follows day and week follows week and it’s the same weather, hot and sunny. Time goes by so fast.
This morning I awoke at 5am and did some personal Bible study and some work on the computer since I still had the usb connection. Then I had breakfast, showered and prepared for class.
I walked to class this morning and of course, beat Juan there. But we made up the lost time by staying over. As I was walking by the Bazar Jerry, I looked over and one of the clerks recognized me and greeted me. I may try to stop in and buy some thread or ribbon or something from them. I like to keep in touch.
I did stop in at Mundo Escolar Librería, my favorite little bookstore, and bought some dry erase markers and a new eraser for Juan. It was nice to see Yerling.
Class was good and we talked about a lot of things. I speak much slower when I’m trying to figure out the right ending for the verb tenses, but it’s getting better. Juan is always so proud of me when I get it right. I’m realizing that I’ve covered a lot of ground these past 5-6 weeks, but I still see so much more that I need to learn. I’m hard on myself. I’m thankful for this time of study. What a blessing.
My niece emailed me the notice of their engagement in the newspaper. She said the wedding plans are coming along nicely. It will be February before I know it.
I still don’t have data capability on my US phone, but they say it’s a glitch with the Nica company. I think I may just cancel the international data plan when we finally get wireless internet here at the house. They keep saying ‘tomorrow’. Maybe they are related to Scarlett O’Hara. ☺
Juan’s school is in town and, like most homes and businesses, is open to the ‘fresh’ air. There was some road work going on along his block. The dust got so bad that you couldn’t see across the street. When I packed up my books to go home, there was a thick layer of dust on them. This is not a place for dirt-a-phobics. The dust will just get worse and worse as the dry season goes on for the next 5-6 months. But it’s better the perpetual rain and mud.
I was walking home from class and saw the van with German, Mike, Sherry and Leslie. They picked me up and we came back to the Mission House for lunch. Then I laid down and read for a little bit until I fell asleep for a short nap. It sure felt good. Leslie had left with Sherry and Mike, so when the taxi came to pick Mary and I up for the Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras, we swung by to pick up Leslie on the way.
We had a good class this afternoon, although the attendance was down to 9 this week. Many people are on ‘vacation’ now since the schools are out until February, and people travel to visit family during December. I wonder if our numbers will be down the rest of the month, too. But we had a good discussion about Mary. Next Wednesday is actually the celebration for the Day of Mary, where she is worshipped. It’s a big deal. We are learning that the Bible describes Mary as a humble, simple young woman whose ‘blessedness’ comes from God using her for His plan. It will be an interesting month of studying.
We got home and had some dinner. I opted for chicken noodle soup and crackers. I’ve been really thirsty today and have drank about a gallon of water since I got home. But I guess that’s good.
I worked on some Women’s Bible study stuff, some Spanish grammar charts and now the blog. I don’t have any internet capability at all tonight, so I’m going to relax and watch another episode of Army Wives on my computer. I’ll start back with my sewing marathons this weekend, but for tonight, it’s going to be relaxation time!!
I found out that a faithful supporter of VOH is going to send some money from his church to help buy Christmas stuff for the kids at the Las Quimeras new Sunday School. What a blessing!! I’m going to donate some money for Christmas presents for the kids at the VOH Children’s Home in Honduras. There are 6 kids there that Sherry and Mike (and VOH) support. It will be a privilege to help fulfill the kid’s Christmas blessings.
Well, time for relaxing. Loving my life. Even the tired moments. God is good. I am blessed.
This morning I awoke at 5am and did some personal Bible study and some work on the computer since I still had the usb connection. Then I had breakfast, showered and prepared for class.
I walked to class this morning and of course, beat Juan there. But we made up the lost time by staying over. As I was walking by the Bazar Jerry, I looked over and one of the clerks recognized me and greeted me. I may try to stop in and buy some thread or ribbon or something from them. I like to keep in touch.
I did stop in at Mundo Escolar Librería, my favorite little bookstore, and bought some dry erase markers and a new eraser for Juan. It was nice to see Yerling.
Class was good and we talked about a lot of things. I speak much slower when I’m trying to figure out the right ending for the verb tenses, but it’s getting better. Juan is always so proud of me when I get it right. I’m realizing that I’ve covered a lot of ground these past 5-6 weeks, but I still see so much more that I need to learn. I’m hard on myself. I’m thankful for this time of study. What a blessing.
My niece emailed me the notice of their engagement in the newspaper. She said the wedding plans are coming along nicely. It will be February before I know it.
I still don’t have data capability on my US phone, but they say it’s a glitch with the Nica company. I think I may just cancel the international data plan when we finally get wireless internet here at the house. They keep saying ‘tomorrow’. Maybe they are related to Scarlett O’Hara. ☺
Juan’s school is in town and, like most homes and businesses, is open to the ‘fresh’ air. There was some road work going on along his block. The dust got so bad that you couldn’t see across the street. When I packed up my books to go home, there was a thick layer of dust on them. This is not a place for dirt-a-phobics. The dust will just get worse and worse as the dry season goes on for the next 5-6 months. But it’s better the perpetual rain and mud.
I was walking home from class and saw the van with German, Mike, Sherry and Leslie. They picked me up and we came back to the Mission House for lunch. Then I laid down and read for a little bit until I fell asleep for a short nap. It sure felt good. Leslie had left with Sherry and Mike, so when the taxi came to pick Mary and I up for the Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras, we swung by to pick up Leslie on the way.
We had a good class this afternoon, although the attendance was down to 9 this week. Many people are on ‘vacation’ now since the schools are out until February, and people travel to visit family during December. I wonder if our numbers will be down the rest of the month, too. But we had a good discussion about Mary. Next Wednesday is actually the celebration for the Day of Mary, where she is worshipped. It’s a big deal. We are learning that the Bible describes Mary as a humble, simple young woman whose ‘blessedness’ comes from God using her for His plan. It will be an interesting month of studying.
We got home and had some dinner. I opted for chicken noodle soup and crackers. I’ve been really thirsty today and have drank about a gallon of water since I got home. But I guess that’s good.
I worked on some Women’s Bible study stuff, some Spanish grammar charts and now the blog. I don’t have any internet capability at all tonight, so I’m going to relax and watch another episode of Army Wives on my computer. I’ll start back with my sewing marathons this weekend, but for tonight, it’s going to be relaxation time!!
I found out that a faithful supporter of VOH is going to send some money from his church to help buy Christmas stuff for the kids at the Las Quimeras new Sunday School. What a blessing!! I’m going to donate some money for Christmas presents for the kids at the VOH Children’s Home in Honduras. There are 6 kids there that Sherry and Mike (and VOH) support. It will be a privilege to help fulfill the kid’s Christmas blessings.
Well, time for relaxing. Loving my life. Even the tired moments. God is good. I am blessed.
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