March brought more sickness to our household and extended
family. Lots of opportunities for
prayers!
Judith, the intern with our friend’s ministry, lives with us
and is such a delight! She was
planning a trip home to the states in April for visa requirements and
babyshowers. She had been a little
sick in her stomach for a while.
The pain got really bad and she went to a doctor here. They think she has a kidney stone and a
gallstone. So, she left March 1
for the states. She doesn’t have medical
insurance, so she gets a lot of runaround and let’s-wait-and-see advice from
the doctors. We’re praying for her
to be healed and get back here.
She misses her life here so much and we miss having her as part of our
Nica family.
Enia has still been out with sickness. She finally was diagnosed with
gallstones. She had surgery on
March 3rd at a clinic.
(thankfully not the free hospital)
It was costly, but she received better care. She ended up having over 45 gallstones. They gave them to her husband to keep
and he showed them to us.
YUK!! She was a mess inside
with infection and all. After a
few days, she went home to recuperate.
She was out from teaching classes all month. She would visit when she came to see the doctor. Each time she was a little better, but
still not good. At one point, they
thought she would need surgery for a hernia around her incision. Then they changed their minds. It was hard to see her in pain and
feeling rotten.
I sent some emails to a lady who works for a lawyer that
deals in residency applications for Nica.
Also, we are trying to get visas for Sofi and V to visit the states with
me in the future. The visa process
is like a lottery and you just go by luck. We are going to use some prayer!!! The lawyer cannot help me with residency, since I don’t
qualify as a pensioner (have to be receiving social security from the states),
or a mission organization (since LGM is not registered in Nica), and I am not
married to a Nicaraguan. We’ll
have to see if we can get some special dispensation for me. Even when a person does qualify, it’s a
long, drawn out, confusing, ever changing, and expensive endeavor. Otherwise, I’ll just continue to fly to
the states every 3 months. If God
provides the money for the ticket, it gives me a chance to share about the
ministry, receive donated materials for classes, take products to sell, collect
my medicines, handle personal business, etc. One missionary that lady I know of, has been traveling every
3 months for the last 10 years.
Also, this month, Yamilet’s mother had a stroke and was in
the hospital a few days and then needed round the clock care at home. Sofi and I filled in cleaning the house
so that Yamilet could stay home with her.
I also gave Yamilet paid vacation for Holy Week to stay home with her
mom. Sofi, Victoria, Veronica and
I went to visit them one day. It
was nice to meet her and we prayed over her. I’m thankful that she is doing much better now. She still has some very serious health
issues, but she is comfortable and stronger. Yami can return to work (she’s our part-time housekeeper) to
support her family.
My birthday was on the 9th. We had a special visit from some team
members working with another friend’s ministry, Restoration of the
Nations. This small group came
over and prayed over the ladies in our missionary women’s Bible study class
that we have on Wednesdays. It was
so wonderful to be prayed over specifically. One couple on the team were former missionaries and know how
much it means to be ministered to while living in the field. It was awesome.
Sofi has brought a few friends over to the house to visit,
but for the most part, they are shy about coming into the home of a
gringa. They think it’s weird that
Sofi calls me Mom and that we are a family.
Sofi had a few classes of English with a tutor, but the time
required does not fit in with our schedules right now. We will try to be more disciplined
about learning and speaking English in the house. I also need to study Spanish grammar. I can communicate and speak Spanish all
day long, every day. But my
grammar is horrible. I don’t like
grammar in any language, but I’ll muddle through for Spanish! Lol
Our missionary women’s Bible study has been doing the Armor
of God study by Priscilla Shirer.
It is sooooo good! I love
the times we get to study together.
It will soon be time for teams to come and not everyone will be
available to study together. We
really treasure these times of ministering to each other, as well as learning
more of the Word together. We need
each other so much. No one else
can know or understand our lives
here. God blesses us with each
other.
Alberto stopped by for a quick visit. He comes to say hello when he is in
town, about every couple of months.
I worked with him at a former ministry and we spent much time
together. I’ve always had trouble
understanding his Spanish, but we communicate the best we can. Lol
Sofi and Victoria try to visit Sofi’s maternal grandmother
every Friday afternoon. It’s
important for V to know her extended family. It gives them an outing once a week and gives me a change
for some solitude to get some work done, too. They also are starting to go to Managua once a month
to visit Sofi’s dad and her former step-mom and half siblings. Transportation is not very expensive,
but I worry about the highways. I
leave it in God’s hands to protect them and it’s good for all the family to get
together. Sofi tells me often that
she can see what her life would have been like if God had not brought us
together. She is thankful for all
that God has blessed her with, especially the hope that He puts in her heart.
I spent a lot of time working on receipts for 2015 and
preparing tax documents. Ugh. I always say that I will stay on top of
those things all year round, but I’m not very good at carving out the necessary
time for it. Also, it’s physically
not fun. Very hot temps make it
necessary to use fans. Fans blow
the papers all over the place. Not
using fans (or on very low settings) makes me sweat. My sweaty forearms stick to the papers. Ugh. But it feels so good to get it all done!
Holy Week is a big deal here and schools are out, businesses
close, people travel for vacation to visit family. It’s a crazy time at the beach and on the highways. There are many accidents during that
week. We let the ladies have
vacation and we enjoyed working on special projects. We made roast, potatoes and carrots in the crockpot for
lunch. I had made some yeast rolls
the day before. It was a great
treat to come home from church and eat a delicious meal and take a sweet
nap! Being together as family was,
as always, wonderful.
God is good and faithful and loving. Jesus is our wonderful Savior. We have the Holy Spirit with us at all
times. Life is sweet. We just need to look and see and feel
and celebrate!
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