May 2016

I started off May in Rogers AR and got to have a wonderful adventure for the first week.  My niece and her husband bought me a ticket to fly to Indiana to visit family.  I hadn’t been there since Feb of 2015.  Since I was in the states for 2 whole weeks, it worked out perfectly to spend part of it in IN.  We decided to keep the visit a secret for Mothers’ Day for my Mom and sisters.  Stacey and 2 of her kids picked me up from the airport on Monday night and we arrived at my sister’s house at 11:30pm.  We just walked in and I said hi.  She was shocked.  It was so funny and fun!

We surprised my Mom on Tuesday morning.  I got to have lunch with my other sister and bro-in-law on Tuesday, too.  I then spent the afternoon at Mom and Gary’s house.  Pam and Rob joined me and it was a very meaningful visit.  I got to see one of my great-nephews play basketball.  It brought back memories of watching my niece play on a traveling team since she was 10 years old.  Fun!

While in the mid-west, Stacey, Sandy and I made a roadtrip to Fairbury IL to visit with a fellow missionary, Jeff and some of the ladies of Tapestry of Love sewing ministry.  It was about 4 hours each way in the car, and a couple of hours visiting and having lunch.  It was fun.  I was so glad to have Stacey and Sandy with me that day.  We loved the tour of the TOL ministry house.  God has blessed that ministry so much!  And it was born out of a visit to Nicaragua.  Now people all over IL are being ministered to by these ladies.  Not to mention, the ladies here in Nica.  I’m so thankful to be networking with Shinging the Light Ministry and Jeff and staff.  God is good!

I had really tight layovers flying back to AR from IN.  both layovers were under an hour (that’s on paper, in reality, it’s just minutes).  I had prayed for travel mercies and God made every single thing that could be a blessing happen on those flights.  It was great!  He even made things smooth where there was no need.  He spoiled me that day for sure!

I hit the ground running when I got back to AR.  I had 4 days to finish accomplishing all on my list.  Most got done.  Mother’s Day was that Sunday and I enjoyed church services in both languages at FBCR Olive Street.  That’s also the day we moved everything between storage units.  It started raining as we finished the second load.  Then we had a great dinner at Smokin’ Joes.  One of my favorite restaurants in Rogers.

When I returned to Nica this time, I was accompanied by Acadia Kimball, a college student from my home church.  She was super busy with finals and RA responsibilities while I was in AR, so we didn’t see each other until we got to the airport on Wednesday morning!  She was a great travel companion.  She is staying with us for one month.  She will interact with our classes, as well as, help with kids in my friend’s ministry.  She will also get the chance to see what real life on the mission field is like.  She will get a little chance to rest, too, after such a crazy semester at college and before she heads back to the states for a crazy month of working on the east coast.  It’s so good to have her here.  She has met some people who are learning English and they get together to practice.  She speaks some Spanish, so she goes out a lot on her own to explore the city.  She also knows some people from here in León and Managua, who studied at her university in AR.  She has had the chance to catch up with some of the them, too.  It’s been so nice to have her with us.  V loves her and Sofi is having a good time with her, too.  We’ll be sorry to see her go on June 9.

Sofi and V went to a baby shower (which lasts for hours, like the birthday parties), and they had a great time with friends.  I was so glad to see her get the chance to get out.  She and V were so beautiful in their party clothes.  Acadia treated me out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, and I introduced her to the Chinese restaurant and another chicken restaurant. 

Sofi and V went to Managua for their monthly visit to see family.  Acadia was doing her own thing.  The time went by so fast.  With the exception of missing my cuddles and kisses from V and having our prayer time together with Sofi, I almost forgot that they were in Managua sometimes!  They came home exhausted, but happy to be home. 

A friend and assoc pastor of his dad’s church, Jeremy, called to see if he could bring by a couple of ladies to meet me and hear about the ministry.  Madge and Lynn, are part of a church that has been sending workers to Nica for about 8 years.  They are starting to delve into the sewing ministry.  Since they only come once a year, they are looking for someone to network with to keep the education going year round.  Jeremy thought we would be a good match.  Veronica came over for the meeting.  We enjoyed meeting them.  And we look forward to how God will bring our hearts and skills and resources together for year-round classes for their ladies and also, workshops when they bring a team of ladies down each year.  God is so good!

Sofi is doing so great at school.  I so wish she could have been getting this caliber of education all along.  She got all 80s and 90s on her tests this month.  She was very proud of all of her hard work.  She was always told when she was a young girl that she was stupid and wouldn’t amount to much.  I’m so glad to see her getting away from that kind of thinking.  She is a wonderful child of God.  I’m proud of her.

I don’t leave the house much and wish I did.  I have so many responsibilities here, and so much to do (much of which I love) that my time out and about is limited.  I used to go for long walks each morning and I need to get back into that habit.  I did get out a couple of times to run errands and I loved it!  Sofi takes care of most of the errands and shopping for the house.  Part of her job is to run the house and she does a good job.

Sofi’s brother Eddy came by to check out our kitchen lights, which quit working while I was in the states.  We thought it might be wiring.  The bulbs were fine.  He checked the switch and found that it was the culprit.  It only cost $1.50 to fix.  Thank You Lord!!!  While Eddy was here, we had him do some honey-dos, and that also allowed me to give him a good day wage.

Sofi has been keeping busy doing pedicures this month to make money.  She has some beautiful jewelry for sale and we are trying to figure a way to sell it on facebook.  She and Acadia (and V) have went to the beach a couple of times.  They take a taxi to the bus stop on the west side of town, and then the big bus to the beach.  V loves the water.  They have had great times.

Our friends, Jill and Robin, from Empower Nicaragua ministry, came by for a visit.  We always look forward to seeing them.  They brought their kids with them this time.  Robin’s daughters might join us for an extended time while working with Empower.  You never know what the future holds and how God will bring people together.

Judith is still in the states, awaiting surgery.  But she plans on being back in June.  Yay!  We miss her so much!

There’s a young lady from my home church who is thinking of coming down on her vacation to experience the ministry.  I look forward to spending time with her.

Also, there are a couple of senior ladies from my home church, who would like to come down to work along side of us.  I can’t wait to have them here with us.  It will be such a blessing for the ladies here and a huge blessing to me.  I’m thankful for all of God’s encouragement through people.

We’ve actually had some rainy evenings in the last weeks.  So thankful for the respite from the heat, even for just a few hours.  We have all kinds of leaks in the ceilings, but that’s part of living here.  Maybe they will get fixed this year. 

Mother’s Day is celebrated here on May 30.  We will have a special celebration in the skills classes that week.  We are planning special food and Veronica has been making some beautiful foam roses for the ladies. 

Sofi and I are having her grandmother over for a Mother’s Day lunch on the Monday before.  We are excited to make a special cake and have some good food.  Sofi asked her what she wanted to eat and she said to fix my favorite food.  How sweet!  I have a card and a special present for Sofi from V.  And Sofi always has a surprise for me.  We don’t celebrate expensive, but heart-felt.  I love it.

We are ending the month of May as we always do, super broke financially, but rich in blessings from the Lord.  He is so loving!  And we are so thankful to have each other and this life.

April 2016

April Fool’s Day is not really celebrated here on the 1^st.  They have an ‘Innocents Day’ another time of the year.  I didn’t even pull any pranks on facebook for my US friends.  But I was on guard for any pranks pulled on me. 

Sofi and Victoria returned from their family visit to Managua.  They are always happy to be home.  And I’m always happy to have them back. 

Our new 8 week old kittens, Rut (Ruth) and Ester (Esther) arrived!  Our landlady & neighbor, Danelia, had a litter to give away.  I originally only wanted 1 female, but at the last minute was talked into getting 2 so they could play.  I’m glad we got 2.  They are hilarious to watch playing.  They are both black.  One has a tiny bit of white, but I have to have them side by side to know which is which.  Sofi can kind of tell them apart on the run.  They are very timid and we keep them in the kitchen for now.  Hoping they will become good ‘mousers’ in the future.  Or at least that their scent will be a deterrent to rodents.  We’ll see.  Victoria is very interested in them.  We’ll see who is boss between the kittens and V.

I sent out over facebook a request for plane ticket help.  Two dear friends responded right away.  God is awesome in how He prompts people to provide for us.  Sometimes I feel oppressed by the constant need to raise money (and the awareness of the need).  But I know that God uses this as a way to get other people involved, too.

Sofi’s brother came and cleaned off our tin roof and gutters, getting ready for the rainy season.  He also took care of some honey-dos for us.  He is going to build a set of rough stands to put my bedside tables on.  My bedframe is tall (so I can store stuff underneath), and I would like to have the tables the same height.  Also, it will be taller than V and that has its advantages.  Our friend Denis came and cleaned out our bodega (shed) and organized everything once again.  Not too many critters had taken up residency this time.  Labor here is cheap, and when I can afford it, I like to give people work.  I’m thankful for both Eddy and Denis for working for us.

Sofi’s maternal grandmother and half-sister came for lunch one day.  They were very honored to come.  I was glad to have them here.

A missionary friend, Scott, looked at Sofi’s computer.  Turns out the keyboard doesn’t work anymore.  So he set it up to use an on-screen keyboard and we just point and click to type in the passwords to get to the links we want.  We mostly use it for youtube videos for V and for Netflix for me and Sofi.  She uses her tablet for internet searching.  We were very thankful for Scott doing this for us. 

Sofi got some chemistry tutoring from a friend of ours one day.  It’s so nice to have friends who are smart in different areas.  It takes a village…

After much hassle, frustration, traveling to Managua, waiting at the embassy, and praying, our friend Tamara received a 5 year visa for little Tamarita to go to the states.  She had some medical appointments to rule out some problems that she might have.  It was reason for much celebration when that visa came through.  I can only dream of getting visas for Sofi and V.  Someday…

Fridays are usually my admin catch up day.  My last chance to get things done for the week.  Tuesdays and Thursdays are dedicated to skills classes.  Monday and Friday are my admin days.  As I look at my planner/journal, I can see those days filled with the items accomplished.  Even though I don’t really like to do the admin stuff so much anymore, I appreciate the time I’m allowed to get these things done.

I finally finished my tax stuff for 2015 and emailed docs to my accountant in AR.  We always file an extension.  Starting with 2016, the ministry will have a separate accounting system and I’ll have my personal one.  I fear it will be a headache, but maybe God will take pity on me and make it easy.  I hope so!

I’m still trying to find any avenue to help me with my residency request.  I get so weary of red tape and bureaucracy in any language!  But especially in two at the same time!  Haha

Our friend Enia, who had the gallbladder surgery on March 3, had to have a second surgery on April 14, due to complications of infection.  Their family had to sell their little truck to pay for it.  She is so sick and weary and depressed.  We got the chance to talk to her and pray with her on her way to the hospital/clinic.  We pray for God’s mighty had of healing for her.  We miss her so much.

Veronica had a few days of bedrest due to her chronic spinal problem.  So, Sofi and I taught skills classes on a couple of days.  A new student (who is becoming another teacher for us) helped out, too.  We were hopping!

I took Sofi out to eat breakfast on her birthday.  We planned a joint birthday party for her and V, since V turned 1 year old while I was in the states with my knee in January.  We tried to keep it as economical as possible, but it still ran over $200.  And there is no one-stop at Walmart to get everything, either.  You go to the plastic store, the piñata store, the market for candy, the grocery store and market for food, the ice cream distributor for ice cream, another store for the party decorations, another store for the party favors, etc…  Here, birthday parties are huge events and you feed the guests a meal, have a piñata, cake, ice cream, balloons, party favors, etc.  Every stays for hours.  I made 72 cupcakes in the toaster oven (6 at a time) in 90 degree evening heat.  But it was worth it for my girls.  We also had her former step-mom and 3 half-siblings spend the weekend.  That was a workout.  By Sunday, I was spent, emotionally, as well as, physically.  We’ll probably never have another big event here, but I was glad to do this for Sofi and V.  Of course, V had no idea why all these people were here and why there was so much craziness.  I think she was glad to have things back to normal, too.

I traveled to the U.S. on the 27^th for a 2 week visit.  By the time I got control of the emergency money sent for the plane ticket (it has to process through my church), the costs had went up and I had to adjust my dates.  It was interesting that the sooner I traveled, the cost went down.  That’s how my 1 week visit turned into a 2 week visit.  My friend Eyner took me to the airport and I got a really good nap on the way.  He is so sweet to not be offended that I want to sleep on the way.  I think he is thankful that sleeping keeps me from throwing up in his car.  Lol

It was a whirlwind visit seeing people and getting some ministry admin stuff taken care of.  I got the chance to talk to each of the board members and we added a new person to take the place vacated by Traci when she passed away.  I stayed with my awesome friend, Nana Ruth.  It was so good to be with her.  And she was so generous with her van and also taking me places.  She took very good care of me.  I also got the chance to consolidate my 2 storage units into one.  And Cathy helped me sort and organize them into ‘yard sale’, ‘personal-keep’, and staged by priority ‘going to Nica’ piles.  Yay!  My exhusband, Steve, helped me move the boxes from Springdale to Rogers.  A task that I dreaded, but was made better getting to spend time together talking.  I’m glad that God has restored our friendship. 

I finished up April in Rogers AR, but more was to come of the visit!  God allowed some fun stuff to happen!  He is Faithful to give abundant life!  Never a dull moment!