June 18-24, 2012

Monday, June 18, 2012

The team went out to do Fiestas in the morning.

Lesly and I went to the market by the bus terminal to buy the weekly produce for the Feeding Centers. The market is crowded and noisy and so interesting! There is one particular section that we buy most of our produce from. They are very friendly and honest. They will also carry our huge bags of veggies to the vehicle. I can’t imagine putting a bag of 50-100 pounds on my head and walking blocks. I get a headache just thinking about it! It takes a while to get this shopping spree done each Monday. It is hot and dirty and smelly. It makes me feel ashamed when I have complained about shopping for groceries in the states where it’s air-conditioned, clean and pleasant.

Anyway, I worked more on the lesson notes for the Women’s Bible study and gave them to Lesly to edit (in case Estefanie and I made mistakes). I also worked more on the picture books of the kids at the Feeding Centers, ran to a store to buy some cups and bowls ($ donated by team) for the kids at the Monte Horeb Feeding Center. Mary and Austin (intern) went with me and we had fun driving crazy and getting looks from people in the store when we bought so many cups and bowls.

Mary had went to pick up her passport from the authorities. When we get an extension on our visas (past 30 days), you have to pay a fee of $1 per day past the original 30. If you do this in León, they hold your passport for a week. If you do it in Managua, you get to keep your passport, but it’s an all day trip just to get it done.

While the team went to the beach and Suyapa restaurant for dinner, I stayed at the team house and worked on Feeding Center files and pinned more aprons to sew for the volunteer cooks. It was a very pleasant night.



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

The team left for Fiestas and a conference. I set up the sewing room for Mary’s class later in the day. We spent most of the day working on the picture books of the kids at the Feeding Centers. The Interns helped out a lot. The team went to the crusade and I stayed back to work, do laundry, make some calls to the states, etc. It was another pleasant night.







Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Team went out for Fiestas and again and another conference. They are making visits to Feeding Centers on their way home for lunch.

I went with Lesly to drive her on errands. Back at the team house, I worked on Bible Study notes and emails, and of course, more pics for the Feeding Center books.

Estafanie and went to the Ladies Bible Study at La Quimera. We always have a great time with the ladies there. I took Estafanie home and felt very comfortable as I’m learning my way back home from different places in the town.

One of the ladies on the team, Connie, loves to sew and she worked very hard making many of the aprons that we had cut out and pinned. I was so thankful to her for all of her sewing help!

The team went to do the crusade and it was a good night!




Thursday, June 21, 2012

The team left for Fiesats and conference as usual. I chatted with Auxiliodor when she came to pick up the meet for the Monte Horeb Feeding Center. It’s nice to get to talk to Pastor Brian each morning, also, as he stops in to get the meat for the LQFC.

Mayela and I went downtown to take care of some business. I’ve been lucky to have access to a vehicle most of the time. It’s a hassle to drive and to park, but is very nice to have a vehicle on the long journeys.

We finally got the PayPal feature fixed on the VOH website and I could send some money down. I was excited!

Haley was sick and stayed back at the mission house while the team went to the crusade. We visited for a while. I fixed us some pasta for dinner and it was a quiet evening.

Mike needed to keep the Explorer here at the team house for the morning, so when he arrived we drove back to his house to drop him off and then I drove back to the team house. I made one wrong turn, which is not good at night, but I found familiar ground and made it home just fine.

When the team got back from the crusade, we got email addresses for anyone wanting to be on our newsletter list and also if they wanted to be considered for internships for next year.

Then everyone got packed up and ready to leave early in the morning. They would be staying in Managua after their Fun Day.



Friday, June 22, 2012

The team from the Highridge, Lifesong, and Temple Churches left at 6:30am for Fun Day and an overnight in Managua before flying back to the states on Saturday.

Everyone here at the team house was busy stripping beds, cleaning rooms, buying groceries, and getting ready for the Crosslife Church team that would arrive early evening. The changeover went pretty well!

I worked on Feeding Center files, emails, downloading pics to Facebook, etc.

Mayela and I went to visit the San Jacinto Feeding Center. It’s new and the volunteers are wonderful. I don’t know the ladies very well yet, but I’m very thankful for them! The kids are very thankful for the good lunch 5 days a week. God is really blessing!

On the way back from San Jacinto, Mayela and I stopped in at the La Quimera community. We didn’t go to the church/feeding center, because we didn’t want Pastor Brian to see us. We were dropping off some refreshments for a surprise party for him that would be held the next day. We weren’t sure where Syliva lived, so we stopped on the dirt road and yelled ‘Sylvia!!!’. One of her neighbors went to get her. It was kind of funny.

The Crosslife team arrived and got settled into their rooms.

Another funny thing that happened was that 2 of the Interns who went to escort the departing team on Fun Day, mistakenly got left with the group. The drivers had no idea that they were coming back to the team house. After a couple of phone calls, and just a short wait, they were picked up and brought back to León. That was a first!



Saturday, June 23, 2012

The Crosslife team went on their Fun Day at the beginning of their ministry week, instead of at the end. This was the first time they went on a Fun Day. They usually leave a day early. They had a good time, although there was a misunderstanding on the part of the Intern in charge of the group and they didn’t eat dinner before returning to the team house. It took a lot of phone calls and even more waiting time, but they ordered and picked up pizza for the group for dinner.

I really enjoy some of the people on the team. I got to spend some time chatting with a few of them during the day. It was great.

I worked a little more on Feeding Center stuff and pinned some more aprons. It was a good day.




Sunday, June 24, 2012

The team split into groups and went to several churches in the morning.

I went to La Quimer church as usual. It was decorated from the Father’s Day party the day before. It was a special party for Pastor Brian. The church loves having him as their spiritual Father. There had been 3 ladies doing some folk dancing for the party and Pastor Brian wanted them to do it for me (VOH) on Sunday. I took some pics and some video. It was fun.

When everyone got back to the team house for lunch, the electricity was out and stayed out until almost 9pm. In the late evening, we had to get gas for the generator to keep the fridges running. It was hot, sticky, sweaty and noisy. I did get a nap, though. I have a battery-operated fan that I use in extreme emergencies. It’s not very big and not strong at all, but it felt good moving the air across me a little bit.

I spent the rest of the day doing non-electric stuff like working on Bible Study notes and notes for my blog. Good ole pencil and paper!

The team went out to multiple churches in the evening. The cooks finished preparing the dinner by flashlight and generator. Everyone ate by flashlight. Very cozy!

We all cheered when the electricity came back on. We slept very well that night!