It's been a whole week with the team and I'm just now getting the chance to post anything on here. It's crazy getting internet access sometimes. Thank the Lord that I have facebook and internet on my phone to keep up with things. It's just too hard to type anything lengthly on that little keyboard. But I'm thankful!!
This week has been nice for me, because since Beth is here and can run the Fiestas, I get to do some things that I don't normally get to do. It's been a wonderful end of the hard summer schedule for me.
The team arrived Saturday evening and got settled in. Sunday morning we went to Rose of Sharon Church at the Country Club neighborhood. I enjoy that church very much and we are starting to do a lot of ministry with them. They are doing lots of outreach in the community. We had lunch, Fiesta training and rest time and then headed back into town for services at 2 churches. It was good worship.
Monday, the team held 2 Fiestas in the morning. I got the chance to do some street witnessing while the Fiestas were going on. I was blessed to lead 4 people to the Lord. After the Fiestas, we stopped by a little preschool and gave out toothbrush kits and some food packets. The kids were precious. They recited some English words for us and then a few of them did a little dance to a song. We loved it! What an awesome day! We came back to the house for lunch and then headed into town for some ice cream and shopping. Then back to the house for dinner.
Tuesday, the team held 2 more Fiestas in the afternoon (1 in a school). I was happy to join part of the team who were going to present a conference to Pastor's and Leaders. We broke for lunch and the team of 6 that I was with, plus 2 translators, grabbed a taxi and headed for my favorite restaurant (Callejón) for lunch. The Pastor's had lunch brought in, but we went to a restaurant since North Americans have delicate stomachs. The Nicaraguans understand this and don't get offended if we don't eat with them sometimes. One of the guys on the team thought that we should have eaten with them and said that this is his 3rd trip and has never gotten sick. He has now been sick for 2 days and he's been eating mostly food that we prepare, with the exception of something from a café when in town. You can't be too careful. Anyway, we finished the conference and rode the bus back to the house. This helped with the logistics of getting the Fiesta team where they needed to be, as well as getting us home. The bus was not crowded at all and it was a very pleasant ride. The team members got the chance to talk with some visitors from England who are staying at the beach, too. We all ended up at the house and had dinner and then headed off to church.
Wednesday, the team left in the morning for a Fiesta a little ways out of town. I went for my good long morning walk and then showered and headed off to the Rose of Sharon church to help the ladies cook the food to be given to the kids for lunch. I was going to take the bus, but missed it with its crazy schedule. I needed to take my phone to Sherry so that she could hook up with Mike. Various problems with 4 phones later, she got to talk to Mike. In the meantime, a taxi (a friend) was called to pick me up and take me to the little church. It was an interesting morning.
I absolutely loved helping the ladies cook. They were very gracious to let me come. Actually, I don't think they had a say in it, but Pastor Marvin was sweet to say yes. The kitchen is an open space beside a building. A tin roof covers 3 open fires. There, we cooked big pots of rice. We also fried lots of chicken pieces cut up like 'chicken tenders'. A special coating was made for them and then we dredged them in flour and fried them. The 'stove' was kept going by placing sticks of various sizes in the fire. The temperature was regulated by the size of the stick and the placement of it under the pots. There was lots of moving the sticks back and forth.
The ladies thought it funny that I kept getting smoke in my eyes and they would tell me where to move to. I understood them talking about how I must cook on either a gas or electric stove. When they realized I spoke a little Spanish, they asked if I have an oven. I told them yes and they asked if I can bake cakes in it. They then laughed and asked for some cake. They were just having fun, but when I told Sherry about it, she decided to make them some cakes and we'll take them on Sunday.
Cooking the chicken took a while and was very hot work. The air under that tin roof was sweltering. I can't imagine how hot it would have been if there were walls! They ladies also mixed up 5 gallon buckets of drinks. They shredded a 5 gallon bucket full of cabbage and carrots. It's kind of like a cole slaw without dressing. Tortillas torn in half completed the meals. We portioned it up into little plastic 'to go' containers. They reuse these at each meal. They even have to wash some from the earliest served so that the rest of the kids can have a plate. They washed and reused the forks, too. I think I'll try to find some more containers for them and donate them so that they can have enough for everyone.
The team got to the feeding in time to pass out the food. They also passed out the toothbrush kits made up the day before, along with some candy. We fed over 200 kids that day. This little church tries to feed the kids 3 times a week. They work very hard for the community. I'm blessed to be able to help them just a little bit. They ladies said I could come back again and help. I guess I did okay for a Gringa.
We came home for lunch and then rested until time to go back into town. The power went out right before the team was going to leave, so even those who were planning on hanging out at the house went into town. Kearsten and I were the only ones who stayed here. We had a nice visit in my room. The power was still out when the cooks came back to make dinner. They had to cook hamburgers and french fries by flashlight. We served the meal by flashlight, too. It was fun. About the time that the meal was over, the power came back on.
I had done a load of laundry and had it hanging out when the rain started. Without the power, I couldn't use the dryer. So I had to hang my clothes around my little room. It looked crazy with clothes hanging from every possible spot.
After dinner, Bethany and Kearsten came to hang out with Beth and me in my room. It was fun conversations. Then it was bedtime and I slept very well.
Today, we all headed out to Las Quimeras church to do a VBS with the kids, evangelize with the adults and to do construction on the church. The guys worked hard on pouring the concrete floor. They almost got it finished. The workers will finish up. At least they now have the concrete mix that is needed for the job. Mary, Bethany, Juan and I went street witnessing. We had a good morning there. We came back for lunch and then rested. They power went out again, but came back on before dinner. We then went to Todopoderoso church for the Youth service. It was fun and they had the Christian Rappers again. The team enjoyed it. I love the music there. I always feel 'at home' at this church and love it very much.
Now it's time for bed. The team is leaving at 6:30 in the morning for their fun day. They will got to Cerro Negro volcano and 'surf' down the side of it (after an hour hike up it carrying their boards). Not something I want to do... They will then stop in León for lunch at Tip Top and then headed home. For dinner, we'll all go to Suyapa. It will be a good day.
God has blessed us with almost 250 Salvations this week. A conference and a feeding were hosted. We had more down time than usual, but it was a good week. We even took the team by the Hotel to see where our new home will be. Some are planning on coming back next year and are excited about our new digs. God has blessed us tremendously. I'm thankful for all the new brothers and sisters in Christ this week. He is awesome.
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