July 8 - 14, 2012

Sunday, July 8, 2012

I got up and walked 2 miles before getting my shower and breakfast and then got ready for church. The team was up and eating breakfast and left early for their church service. I went to La Quimera, as usual, so I didn’t have to leave until a little later. It was a nice quiet morning for me!

After church and lunch I typed up some blog notes and posted them on my site. I’ve been lax in getting these posted in a timely manner, but with teams here, the schedule is crazy and I’m not the best at discipline sometimes.

I also sewed on some aprons and table/pot covers for the Feeding Centers. The team practiced their drama and also got things ready for the week.

I typed up some of the Bible Study notes for the next set of lessons and went to bed early. It was a very nice day.




Monday, July 9, 2012

The team went out on their first day of ministry; fiestas, VBS, English Club, etc.

I didn’t feel really great when I woke up, so I didn’t walk. I did get up and start working right away. I printed off the Bible Study notes so that Estefanie could start translating them into Spanish for me to type up.

I took Lesly to the market by the terminal to get veggies for the week for the Feeding Centers. That always takes a while.

I got back to the team house and worked on some emails. Then Mayela and I visited the Noah’s Ark Feeding Center. It was a good visit. Mayela got some things straightened out with the Pastor and plans are being made to run the Feeding Center more smoothly.

I talked with the step-daughter of a friend. She is beginning her career as a social worker and she was interested to see if there was an opportunity to work with our ministry. The requirements for her project do not line up with how we work, but we had a very nice time talking. Mayela translated for me, but I think the girls understood English pretty well. They have been studying it in the University, too.

I picked up some sewing supplies from Bazar Jerry (one of my fav little stores) and then had a meeting with Mayela, Lesly, Mike and Sherry about the Feeding Centers and plans for the future ones. It was a very good meeting.

We went to Suyapa (restaurant on the beach) for dinner. It was a nice evening and yummy food.

I did some Bible study and worked on memorizing some scripture in Spanish. Then time for bed!


Tuesday, July 10, 2012

I got up and walked 2 miles. I like walking farther, but I need to get up earlier to make that fit into my schedule. Baby steps…

The team set out for another busy day of ministry.

I ran Auxiliodoro to the Monte Horeb Feeding Center with all her veggies for the week. I asked her when we got in the car if she wanted the windows down or the airconditioner on. She was like a little girl and excitedly told me that she wanted the airconditioner on. I love to bless her. She is very special.

I worked on computer stuff for the Feeding Centers and also some emails regarding upcoming teams. I got to talk to Kellie from FBCR on the phone. We were discussing the GIC Missions Conference at my home church (FBCR) in October. It will be great to get to see everyone that week.

Lesly and I went to town to buy me a new phone. I didn’t like my previous one (too fancy after all) so I decided to get a simpler one and gift my old one to Lesly (who will gift her old one to someone else). We stopped in at Eskimo for an ice cream and ran into the team.

I got back to the team house and spent many more hours on the computer doing Feeding Center stuff. There is a lot of work to be done, but when I think of those awesome kids that are getting fed, it’s worth every minute!!!

I went to bed fairly early. I think the walking at 6:30am is changing my body clock to an earlier bedtime. That’s okay by me!



Wednesday, July 11, 2012

I got up early and walked 4 miles this morning. It felt good! I was very hot and sweaty when I got back to the team house and the cold shower was wonderful! Oatmeal for breakfast and busy to work on the computer again. The team went out for more ministry.

Mayela and I visited Noah’s Ark Feeding Center again. It’s always interesting there. Some of the kids are such dolls!

After lunch, I worked on more computer stuff for the Feeding Centers and finished typing up the Spanish version of the Women’s Bible Study notes. I got things printed off for me and Estefanie and also the women.

Estefanie and I went to La Quimera for the Bible Study. It was really good! The ladies are so interested in this discipleship series. They are really paying attention and asking questions and giving input. It makes my heart sing!

The team was out for dinner for the evening, so I had the team house to myself. I made some salmon patties with canned salmon that I had brought from the states. So yummy! I shared a couple of them with Alberto and he liked them, too. I like to put them in a flour tortilla with oliveoil mayo, lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Yum! Just as I was fixing everything on my plate, the electricity went out. I got out my flashlights and finished dinner. Then I went to bed early to read my Kindle.

The team got back while it was still dark. After about an hour, the electricity came back on. It wasn’t bad at all. Didn’t even have to start the generator for the fridge.

I love spending time in my room by myself. Especially, when we have back to back teams. I really like my room and I’m so thankful that God has provided me with a comfy place to live and the peace of mind to live in a small room as my house. He is so faithful!



Thursday, July 12, 2012

I walked 4 miles again this morning. I usually see the same things each day, but like to look for something different. There are shopkeepers that get to know well enough to say hello to. I like to visit my painter friend. Someday, I hope to be able to buy one of his paintings. They are so beautiful. I was neck and neck with a garbage truck for most of my walk. That part was not very pleasant. Also, there were some people carrying large bundles of balloons tied together. I HATE balloons and get very anxious around them, waiting for them to pop. These people were dragging these bundles of balloons down the street. I hurried up and passed them and kept walking fast until I was far ahead of them. That was a good cardio workout for me!

The team is out doing their last day of ministry. They have had a great week. Hundreds of people have accepted Christ at the Fiestas and school visits. VBS and English Clubs have went well, too. They have visited a couple of churches in the evenings and shared music, drama, messages and testimonies. It’s been a good week for them.

After breakfast, I got busy (you guessed it) on the computer. Then Mayela and I visited Noah’s Ark Feeding Center again. We’re getting the last of the kids on the list set up with their ID cards.

I talked with Cathy Krupka by phone about the women from FBC Rogers coming in October to do some Women’s Ministry. It was good to talk with her.

Another team is working on getting a dentist down here for a trip. We really have a need to work on these people’s teeth. I can’t wait to see how God provides the people and supplies/equipment for us to minister in this way.

Sewing Class was small, but fun. We’ve been working on different projects to help teach different kinds of skills. Lately, we’ve been making hair scrunchies and headbands. Some of the ladies are taking the classes seriously and trying to get better. Some of the ladies are just using the class as entertainment. It can get crazy in there sometimes. We have a small room dedicated to the sewing ministry. It is extremely hot and we have 6 fans in it, but we can’t blow the fans directly on us or they will blow away the fabric and thread, etc. We come out of there knowing that we have been working in a ‘sweat shop’. But we are very thankful for the space, the donated machines, the sturdy tables and the electricity that was wired for us. We hope that in the fall, we will have women ready to make some marketable items to help support their families.

I spent the evening relaxing and watching a video. The team went to their last church service. Everyone had a great evening.


Friday, July 13, 2012

I didn’t get to walk this morning, but I got ready early and took Lesly to La Unión grocery store for some items and then to Palí grocery store to get the week’s worth of meet for the 4 Feeding Centers. After I got back to the team house, I took my shower (I always feel nasty after dealing with the bags of meat) and got busy on the computer.

The team was enjoying their Fun Day adventurers. They went to Cerra Negro, a volcano about an hour or so away. You walk up the side of this rocky, hot and dirty volcano carrying a heavy wooden board. It takes about 45 minutes to walk up. Then you ride the board down the volcano. It’s hot and dirty and can be a little bit dangerous if you fall off of the board. Any time a team has done this on Fun Day, there have been a few people with road rash and some with gashes. It doesn’t sound like fun to me, but some people like it. They got back to the team house about 1 and got showers. Then they headed to town to have lunch and do some more shopping.

I worked on the computer more and then after lunch, Mary and I went to town to get some sewing stuff and have some ice cream. It was a nice little get away for us. As much as we love having teams here, we suffer a little from ‘visitor overload’ since Mary and I live here at the team house. It was a nice afternoon.

I watched 2 movies on my computer while cleaning out some clutter in my room. It was a very nice evening.

The team finished packing for their departure tomorrow. They ordered pizza for dinner and brought it back to the team house. They were having a great evening.



Saturday, July 14, 2012

I went for a 2 mile walk and then came back to say goodbye to the team, who left at 8:00am. I got my shower and had my oatmeal. It was such a peaceful morning!!! We had had 5 teams back to back and were ready for a little tranquility.

I worked on Feeding Center stuff on the computer and got a major chunk of work done. I rewarded myself with a nice 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Ahhhhh…

I love being a part of VOH ministries and I love the work that God accomplishes through the teams that come. I love the hustle and bustle of the work that goes on here. But I have to say that I really love the time with it’s just us who live here, doing our own thing, in our own time and in our own way. God blesses us in many ways.