It’s the day after Thanksgiving in the states and a day called Black Friday. I usually think of this day with very tired feelings from shopping. But this year I’m thinking of it as a day with very tired feelings from being here in Nica.
The pastor here to do the conference for church leaders on the book of Revelation, was going to mention to the audience something about this being Black Friday. He had told one of the translators that it is called Black Friday because people get up when it’s still dark to go shopping. I explained to the translators that it is really called Black Friday because of the fact that retailers acknowledge that this one day of shopping is so huge that it usually puts their books in the ‘black’ instead of the ‘red’ for the year. Chico said that what the pastor told him made more sense. Oh brother. Anyway, both translators decided that the term Black Friday sounded too ominous to say and wouldn’t translate into this culture, so they went with the idea of it being a big shopping day. Sometimes it’s just hard to explain the western culture.
Today was the team’s Fun Day. We had breakfast and then Leslie and I took the team shopping downtown for some souvenirs. We all ate at Tip Top Chicken and then headed back to the Mission House for a few hours.
While we were walking around and then waiting on the others to finish shopping, I had the chance to talk to a young lady about Christ. I could understand about 90% of what she was saying. She believes she will go to heaven by doing what is right and good and that she didn’t really need North Americans to tell her about her religion. I think we got on better ground, but I still don’t think that she is a Christian. I didn’t want to push her away with more talk, since I was getting in deep enough that I needed a translator to help out, so we agreed that I could pray for her. I hope that the seeds were planted deep and that she will be open to the next person to come along and share about Christ.
We got back to the Mission House in time for the group to catch the Arkansas/LSU ballgame on the internet. Unfortunately, the electricity had been out since right after we left this morning. That meant that the internet was knocked out, too. Two of the guys were very distraught about it. I came into my room to start studying my notes for this coming week’s Bible study and after a while I heard my little microwave beep and knew that the power was back on. I hollered out my door that it was on and the two guys almost killed themselves jumping back to the computer. It was soon time to leave for the afternoon activities. Since we only had one van today, I opted to stay at the Mission House and wait for the second trip to Poneloya. Sherry took the group past their house and then on to the beach. They went by Suyapa restaurant to pre-order their meals, and then went to walk along the beach. Kelton came back to pick up me, Mike, Steve and his family after the conference was over. We all met at Suyapa and had dinner. It was really good and I enjoyed it very much. Kelton was the only person there who can’t speak English, so I sat with him and tried to keep up a conversation. Manuel was sitting beside me and kept having me to tell Kelton things. I’m sure that Kelton thinks my Spanish is very weird, since most of the things that Manuel said were off the wall. It was funny. I think Kelton had a good time anyway.
While I was waiting at the Mission House this afternoon, I got to get on the internet a little bit. It’s only the second time this week that I could get on it. The team has kept the cable very busy. The last 2 days I have lost the international data capability on my phone, which I how I usually keep up with emails and facebook. I haven’t got to post on facebook much this week. I thought I would get the chance to get on it this afternoon, but Mike needed the internet connection right away when he got back from the conference. Maybe I’ll get to use it tomorrow. I hope they get our permanent internet hooked up here at the house this coming week. It will be wonderful when they do!
The team is having their last sharetime tonight. I can hear them singing and laughing and then quiet while they are praying. We will really miss them. They have been a great team to work with. They have blessed us very much. It’s been great to be able to be here at the new Mission House, too. It’s worked out well.
They will be leaving for the airport about 9:30am tomorrow. After they leave, I’ll probably go for a long walk and then get cleaned up and take a nap! I have lots of studying to do to prepare the Bible study on Mary for the coming 4 weeks. Then it will be time to go back to the states for a while. Time is flying by!!
I also need to study some Spanish this weekend, too, to prepare for next week’s classes. I’ll be doing extra time each morning to make up for being off this week. I’m hoping it will continue to stick to my brain. I’m so anxious to learn it and to be able to use it without having to hesitate so much. I know God will make it happen for me. I’ll keep working hard.
I’m nice and tired tonight. That seems to be a recurrent theme for me. But it’s good to be physically tired. It feels good not to be stressed, too. I am very busy but love everything that God allows me to do. He is awesome!
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