Vickie: Missionary In Residence

Thursday, January 19, 2012

2012-01-19T20:04:00.001-08:00

It's Thursday night and bedtime, but I'm not sleepy, so it's a good time to post here.

I've had a strange week mentally and emotionally. It's very interesting to see how your mind can rule over your body. Another reason to stay grounded in the Word so that your mind doesn't get too off kilter when it's wandering around. I haven't felt anxious or nervous about anything. I've just felt like my mind hasn't been totally engaged. I'm sure there are lots of people with some funny remarks to make about that last statement. :)

The last couple of days I have felt more in control of my mental capabilities and have gotten some productive work done. There is so much I want to do in these next few weeks and so many things depend on something else to happen first. It's like a cobweb all intertwined and fragile. But God will walk me through each step if I will only seek Him and allow Him to lead.

I've worked from home all week and actually left the house today for a meeting at the Olive Street building. I'm out of ink for my home printer, and don't want to spend tons of money on new ones for just a few weeks, so I made a list of things to print off while at the church. I got part of the list printed before my meeting. I met with Brian Sander, Youth Pastor of FBCR about details of the Spring Break trip that a team of 20 are planning to make to Nica in March. I'm excited for them all to come down. A few on the team have been there before and some of the newbies are relatives of previous team members, so I think they will be pretty well acclimated to serving with us. I'm looking forward to it!!

I had dinner with a friend tonight and went to see a precious (almost) 3 month old baby. What a treat! I just love little babies!

My sister Sandy has been keeping me up to date on the saga called 'settling Dad's estate' in Indiana. It's been interesting to say the least! It's been keeping her busy for sure. Hopefully, everything will be completely settled by year's end.

I stopped by the Post Office to check my box today and I had some very nice sympathy cards. It is so nice to be thought of and prayed over. I truly appreciate everyone's kindness and love. I'm so glad that God has brought so many loving people into my life.

Friday, January 13, 2012

2012-01-13T19:58:00.000-08:00

It’s Friday the 13th. It’s been a pretty good day.

I slept well last night. Even though I woke up about 4:30am and read myself back to sleep, I had a good sleep until 8am. I woke up feeling very rested and peaceful.

After some Bible Study and some cereal for breakfast, I worked on sorting through some stuff to take back to Nica.

There’s a lot that I need to be doing and working on, both physically and on the computer, but my mind is just kind of in neutral right now. I guess I just need to recalibrate after trip to IN for Dad’s funeral. I’m giving myself the weekend off of anything too complicated and trying to get plenty of rest and relaxation. I’m also trying not to feel guilty about it.

Nana Ruth and I had lunch together today. We went to Golden Corral and I treated myself to roast, potatoes, green beans, corn, greens, creamed spinach, dressing and broiled fish. Yum! I kind of pigged out, but it was mostly healthy food. I then I had a dessert plate with a spoonful of cherry cobbler, a spoonful of peach cobbler and a spoonful of bread pudding. I wasn’t stuffed, but pleasantly full. I came back home and took a nice nap. I really needed this day of treating myself to quietness.

I had lost some of my meds over the last few months. I didn’t know it until yesterday, since I have been gone and travelling back and forth everywhere. The meds that I was missing happened to be my hormone replacement patches. Not a good thing to run out of!! Ha Anyway, I called the pharmacy and they had to contact the Dr to renew the prescription. The doctor’s office didn’t answer yet. It’s the weekend. I need the meds today. With everything that has happened in the past couple of weeks, it’s not a good time to go without this med. I’m so thankful that my regular doctor is a friend and just a cell phone call away. He called in a month’s script for the meds to hold me over until the other doctor renews the script. Insurance won’t cover this refill, since it’s too soon (due to my losing the other), so I paid full price without insurance for the meds. But it was very much worth it for me. I’m thankful that God allowed me to get a hold of Dr Bob, that he was willing to call in the refill, that I had the money in the bank to cover the full cost, that the pharmacy filled it right away and that Deanna let me borrow her van to go and pick it up. The world will be a much safer place this weekend now that I have my meds. HA

While out with Deanna’s van, I went to Walmart to pick up a few things and some groceries. I also walked around and just looked at stuff as sort of a mind numbing therapy. I enjoyed it very much. I was in there over an hour. I even found some great clearance deals in the Christmas Clearance aisle, including some reindeer antler headbands that light up for just $1.11 each. Guess what I’ll be wearing in Nica next Christmas Eve. ☺
I came home and fixed a sandwich and sunchips for dinner. I also indulged in some hummus, which I can’t get in Nica and I didn’t have in IN either. It was tasty. Deanna and I shared some Dove chocolate pieces and watched a little tv.

Even though I’ve had naps the last few days, I still have went to sleep fairly easy and slept most of the night. When I wake up to read in the middle of the night, it’s not for long. My mind is pretty clear and peaceful. But I do feel kind of slowed down and in a healing mode. I’m not going to force concentrating on things for the rest of the weekend. I’ve asked God to show me His agenda for me and I am okay with some quiet time.

My sister Pam and her husband Rob drove straight from IN to FL today so that they can be there for Rob’s step-dad’s surgery on Monday. I worry about them driving so long with their health issues, but flying is not an option, so I just covered them in lots of prayer for their safe travels.

I need to spend some time studying Spanish this weekend. I think it will be a good thing for my mind to concentrate on as well as Bible study. Yeah, that’s a good weekend

Wednesday, January, 11, 2012

2012-01-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

I’m starting this post while sitting at the airport in Indianapolis IN, returning to AR after the week long visit for my Dad’s funeral. There are so many thoughts and feelings swirling around in my head and heart. I will try to capture them here, but I can’t guarantee that they will make sense. I think it will feel good to get them on paper, though.

Emotionally, I feel that I have been through a month long marathon of feelings, both on the surface and buried deep inside me. Over this last week I have felt heartbreaking pain and blissful peace as I have reconciled my feelings for my Dad. I have to admit that the first thought that crossed my mind when my sister Sandy called to say that Dad has passed was to just ‘show up’ for the funeral. But I knew that she needed support to handle everything and that my duty was to come as soon as possible. I knew it would be a hard time for me, but I also knew that I needed to do it. I know that God is with us through every thought and feeling in our lives, but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be pain. But I trust Him more than anything and I knew He would be with me through it all.

It’s been stressful for me to be the only person that everyone was actually communicating with lately. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t necessarily great relationships, and there has been time periods throughout the years when Mom didn’t speak to me, Dad didn’t speak to me and each of my sisters have been estranged from me. It’s just the dynamics of my family from as early as I can remember. I can’t even begin to imagine what a family that likes each other (even a little bit) would be like. I’m not feeling sorry for myself, just stating that the ‘normal’ for my family wasn’t good. And therefore, any life-altering event was complicated by the relationships. I’ve gotten to the point that I tell whoever can’t stand the other at the time to ‘just stay the heck away from each other’. That’s the best advice that I can offer them. I wasn’t looking forward to being in my hometown amidst the people and relationships that cause so much pain, sadness, doubt and regret. But God was right by my side through it all.

I felt kind of numb as I traveled on Wed, the day after they found Dad. He had actually died on Sunday evening, but wasn’t found until Tuesday evening. The cause of death was a ruptured aortic aneurysm, and it’s believed that he passed in his sleep. He didn’t look like there was any distress and he looked peaceful. People keep saying that it’s the way to go. I’m glad that he didn’t suffer pain.

I stay with my sister Sandy when I visit Indiana, and this is where I needed to be to help her, too. There was so much to do and to take care of that it kept us distracted from too much of the emotions. What a physical mess Dad left with his house and his personal papers and such. It is way beyond what most people go through at a time like this. But it was keeping us busy.

I think the hardest part for me through the whole experience was to hear how nice and giving Dad was to other people. That’s a good thing, but it was hard to hear when most of my life I have experienced his expressed disappointment in me. So much of my issues with self-worth have come from my relationship with him. He was cold, critical and judgmental with me for as long as I can remember. I think that my relationship with him affected my image of what God is like. I was always afraid of God and thought he was like my Dad with high expectations and no forgiveness at all. But those feelings are what drew me to a relationship with God when I finally found out who God really is. How precious to me is my relationship with God, who loves me unconditionally and patiently and forever. So I guess I can be thankful for my hurtful relationship with my earthly Dad to make me treasure my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Throughout the plans and meetings and conversations and duties that come with settling an estate, planning a funeral and just dealing with people at times like these, I worked through wave after wave of emotions, some of which I didn’t even know that I had buried inside. It was so painful at the time, but so healing in the long run.

I can say that I truly forgive my Dad for his part in the relationship that we had (or didn’t have) and I’m no longer jealous of how he treated people, some total strangers, better than his own daughters (especially me). How healing for me now.

Over the years, I’ve tried to let Dad know that I loved him. I think he knew. He has always had a lot of difficulty expressing emotions and once I realized that a lot of the aloofness was caused by that and not totally on his feelings for me, I started to be more open to showing him love and not being afraid of being pushed away. That all came from God and I’m grateful for that.

It was interesting talking with Sandy as we tried to remember childhood memories, especially happy ones, and we can’t remember much. I thought maybe it was just me, but I think we subconsciously block out things from our early years when we don’t know how to deal with them. But that’s okay, because that’s how it was and it’s in the past now. I think Sandy is like me, also, in the fact that due to our childhood, we don’t want to see children suffer emotionally when parents go through divorce and all the ugliness that followed. I know she showers her grandkids with much love and devotion. And I loved my stepsons dearly and tried to protect them from the ugliness of their parents divorce. I have also championed kids everywhere so that they will feel loved and worthy of that love. Another good thing to come from a not so happy childhood.

One part of the duties to make funeral arrangements was to talk with the minister who would handle the service. Dad was a member of First Christian Church since he was a child. To my knowledge, he never went to church after he was married to my mom and I never remember him ever going to church at all. He would send a donation every year, and even had a couple of pictures in the church directory made after his divorce (I guess he was starting a new life), but he said that the checks were as close as he wanted to get to church. He once told me that he didn’t like being ‘preached to’. He was baptized in the Christian church when a teenager. I don’t know what all that entails in that denomination, but I pray that it means that he accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. During the funeral message, the minister (who didn’t know Dad at all or the history of our family) said that Dad was a loving and loyal father who took us girls to church and shared his faith. That untruth, even though well intended, was hard to listen to. But the minister did the best he could with what facts he had. I was afraid that Jesus wouldn’t even be mentioned in the service and that broke my heart and ate at my soul. But I was thankful that there was a faith message shared. I missed having lots of Christian friends around to lean on, and I pray that those in my family who don’t know a saving relationship with Jesus will come to know him soon.

I have always dreaded the trips that I made back to Indiana after I moved to Arkansas in 1990. Sometimes I wouldn’t go back for a year or two. I always felt the stress of trying to run interference between the people who don’t get along. Even though there is still a long way to go with the family relationships, there was a lot of healing that happened over the past week as we gathered for Dad’s funeral. I feel at peace and I’m not anxious over any event. Things will happen as they happen and it’s not up to me to be a protector or mediator. We all need to take responsibility for our parts in the interactions and to make the decision to accept, love and forgive each other. I pray that the healing continues.

I feel at peace. As I have been spending more and more time serving in Nicaragua over the last 18 months, I have found it easier and easier to disconnect from my family in IN. But after this past week, I feel more connected and in a good way. I’ll be going back to IN for my niece’s wedding on Feb 11 (just a few weeks from now) and a 2 week visit. Then I’ll be off to Nicaragua (after a few days in AR) for 6 months. Even though I will only be back in the states for a month or so in the late summer, I intend to visit my family in IN during that time, too. It feels good to look forward to it.

God has worked so much healing and growing in my heart and mind this week. I would never choose this experience, but God knows what is best and I’m thankful that He guided me through it.

God is in the business of forgiveness and redemption. He knows us all and all our ‘issues’ with this life and those that we have relationships with. He knows the best plan for redeeming us to a relationship with Him and for restoring and preserving loving and forgiving relationships with each other. I’m so thankful for that.

Monday, January 9, 2012

2012-01-13T19:56:00.000-08:00

These last days have been a whirlwind. It seems that I have been here in Indiana with my family for a month instead of just under a week. So many things have happened, both good and bad, happy and sad, heartbreaking and healing…

Once I arrived in IN I was ready for the usual difficult time with family only intensified by the death of my Dad. I knew it would be a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I knew it would be extremely hard for my sister Sandy, who has been a part of Dad’s life every week for the last 30 years. I knew it would be awkward for my sister Pam, whom Dad hasn’t spoken to in almost 30 years. I knew it would be hard for me to reconcile my feelings hurt and emotional abandonment from my Dad for as long as I can remember. I knew it would be an issue to be around my Mom and Stepdad because of problems between them and my sister. I was dreading seeing people from my past at the visitation, because of the life I used to lead. So many things going through my little pea brain as the plane landed last Wed night.

My nephew and 2 great nephews picked me up at the airport and we stopped for dinner. It was nice to spend some time with them. We got to my sister Sandy’s house and I got settled in for my week’s stay.

We began our duties on Thursday with a trip to Dad’s house to work on cleaning out the junk and trash that this bachelor of 40 years had accumulated. Add to that his penchant for hoarding things, especially unnecessary things. Then add to that his hobby of 40+ years of collecting toy tractors, making replicas of tractors, trucks, engines and making various other items out of wood. His house was literally filled with display cases holding thousands of items. There were only a couple of chairs and an end table in the living room. The eat-in kitchen area was filled with shelving and displays. His bedroom held a fullsize bed and dresser and the rest was filled floor to ceiling with shelves of collectables. The 2nd bedroom was filled with display cases of collectables. The house had a small path from one room to the next and the carpet was worn through along that path. The funeral home people and paramedics had a terrible time trying to get the stretcher out of the house with him on it. There was so much dirt and dust that we worked with masks and gloves. Because there was so much stuff, there was no way to clean the place, so it was quite a mess. It’s an older house and the ceiling was falling in at places. Bless his heart for living in that house. But what was important to him wasn’t the house, but spending time with his grandkids and great-grandkids. He didn’t care about comfort for himself.

We spent a lot of time over the next couple of days working on the house and hauling stuff to the dump as well as Goodwill. Papers were stuffed everywhere and we had to go through everything to find documents that were needed to start tieing up his estate.

My sister Sandy was named as the person in charge of all of his affairs. I went along on some appointments with her for moral support and to help ask questions and remember details. There have been quite a few meetings over the last few days.

We met with the funeral home on Thursday and got the arrangements made for his funeral service. We started looking at family pictures at 5am that morning to take for the picture collage during visitation and funeral time. We went to the insurance office with 2 of the 3 grandkids for them to sign papers. Sandy made tons of phone calls and sorted mountains of papers. Her husband Terry went through this with his Mother’s estate, so he set up a long table in the living room of their house and it became office central of everything having to do with Jim Rogers.

In between the meetings and appointments and phone calls, we kept working on the house, trying to get out what we could so that we could find what was in there. Every wall was covered with floor to ceiling shelving and displays. He had made wooden display cabinets and they were in rows across each room, leaving just a little path to walk, if at all. Closets were dug out and emptied of items of clothing and other things dating back to the 70s. It was crazy.

Saturday, we met with the minister from the church that Dad was a member of since childhood. He didn’t attend church since his teenage years and didn’t have much use for church, except to send a check once a year. The minister didn’t know Dad and asked some questions to try to get an idea of what to say to honor his life. It was hard for me to try to find the right things to share. I wanted to be nice and paint a pretty picture, but I cannot hide my feelings and cannot shade the truth. I struggled very much with the rosy narrative being shared. It was a very hard few days.

Sunday was the visitation time from 2-5pm at the funeral home. We all met there at 1:30 for our personal time with Dad. Sandy was taking it the hardest, since she had the strongest relationship with him. I cried more for her loss than my own. I did struggle with feelings stemming from childhood and our relationship through adulthood. It was very difficult to sort out all of those feelings. I was also trying to be the link between my 2 sisters, who have not had a good relationship with each other most of their lives. But that kept me distracted from my own grief for part of the time. I saw family members that I hadn’t seen for 40+ years. It sure felt strange. Everyone is grown up and has families. All Dad’s siblings are gone except for his brother Bob. We had some laughs as we shared what few memories that we had in common.

We had made the appointment with the attorney as soon as I got here, but the only opening was Monday morning. As the date and time of the funeral service was set, our option was for Monday afternoon. I thought my sister remembered the attorney appointment for the same day. She had forgot, but it all worked out fine. It actually gave us something to concentrate on for the morning and didn’t have to sit around and think too much about the service coming up. The attorney appointment went well and was a relief for us, especially Sandy. That made the rest of the day a little easier to handle.

Dad had dated a few women over the years since his divorce in the 70s. One longtime special friend is Mary Lou. I was so happy to get to talk with her and hear stories about Dad. She is closer to him than me or Pam. She and Dad had a standing date once a week for the last 30+ years. She was good for him. She understood his difficulty with expressing his emotions. She was there to listen to him when he did actually want to talk about things. She was patient and kind to him. I’m so thankful for her being in his life. We brought Mary Lou with us to the visitation and funeral to be with the rest of the family. I’m glad that we got to be there for her, too.

The funeral was nice. We had picked out a nice casket in wood, in honor of Dad’s love of woodworking. The inset had an embroidered tractor. Dad wore his favorite “Grandpas are just antique little boys” sweatshirt that he wore all the time. It also had a tractor on it. He wore jeans and tennis shoes. He looked just like himself and I know that was comforting for the great-grandkids. He also had his constant companion of an old vinyl camera case in the casket with him. He always had his camera with him. He took millions of pictures of the kids and he often let them take pictures with the camera. He looked quite natural having the camera case with him.

Many people came to talk about their relationships with Dad. He had an easier time relating to other people than family members. Many people knew him from his woodworking projects, exhibits across the state, donations of replicas of old fire trucks that he would donate to fire stations around the state, his love of history and hundreds of hours documenting local history, being a ‘mall walker’, etc. So many people talked about how nice he was to them. Sometimes that was hard for me to reconcile in my mind with the way our relationship had been. But I’m so glad that he brought happiness into the lives of others.

The funeral was nice. It was a beautiful, sunny day. The graveside service was short and nice with a poem about the ‘woodworker’ read by the minister. I have to say that the minister did a pretty good job with his words considering that he didn’t know Dad at all. He did get a couple of things wrong, but no one but us girls would know the difference. He shared a message of faith, which I appreciated, especially since I didn’t think it would be a gospel message and that really bothered me. We were all through about 2:30pm and everyone went their own way. The funeral home gave Sandy a really nice collection of things in a lovely box to keep. We were very pleased with the way the funeral home handled everything. Sandy says they are getting her business when she goes. Might as well, since the rest of Dad’s family has always used them!

Anyway, it was a nice day and many good things came out of this time of difficult emotions. I’ll write more about that in the next post. Right now I’m going to go to bed and relax and feel thankful for the life that God has blessed me with and the wonderful Christian friends who have lifted me up in prayer these past days. I am blessed.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

2012-01-04T05:00:00.001-08:00

I received a call from my sister Sandy last night that she had just found my dad deceased in his home. What a surreal moment. My heart broke for her as she was so upset. I can't imagine what that moment felt like for her.

My dad was kind of aloof and had a hard time expressing his feelings. Our relationship has always been kind of distant. We only spoke a couple times a year, and that was always instigated by a phone call from me. When I visited my family in IN, I would see him when he made his weekly visit to my sister's house to see the grandkids. That was the extent of our interaction.

As the years progressed, I became bolder in letting him know that I loved him. I pray that he actually knew how much.

It appears that he passed away in his sleep sometime over the last few days. I pray that he did not suffer any physical pain.

Most of all, I pray with all my heart that he had come to know the Lord. It may sound strange that I wasn't close enough to him to know this, but that is part of the limitations of the relationship that he had with everyone. I won't know for sure until I reach Heaven, but I do pray that he will be there to greet me.

I'm heading to IN later this morning. I'll spend a week there with my sister and help her with decisions and all that goes into these situations. My family is estranged from each other. I am the link between everyone. I pray that the heightened emotions will not cause the problems to escalate. I pray that perhaps we can all come together as a family.

More than anything, I pray that God is glorified and honored as our Creator and Sustainer. And that He is sought after as our Savior.

I pray that I will be honoring to our precious Father in Heaven and shine with His light as I'm with those who do not know Him.

I miss my Dad even though we have spent so little time together over the years. I never thought this moment would be so emotional for me, since we weren't very close. But God puts love in our hearts that supersedes our human logic.

Our God is Holy. And I pray that my Daddy knows Him.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

2012-01-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

It's probably going to take a while to get used to typing 2012. ha

I woke up this morning and read a little bit and snoozed just a little bit more. I got up at 7am and did some Bible study for an hour or so. Since Cuerpo Vivo had a New Year's worship service last night, we had church today at 2pm instead of 10:30am. So I had time for messing around with Spanish stuff, like studying some song lyrics and a little bit of verbs. I got to take my time getting ready for church. It was a nice morning.

Elaine and Jake and the kids came by to pick up some of their stuff so they could pack the car for the drive back to Las Vegas. This week went by fast, but I'm glad that we got to spend a couple of days in the same place so we could at least share a couple of hugs and promise to pray for each other.

It was so nice to be in worship service at Cuerpo Vivo today. Jaime had me stand up to say hi and asked me to speak in Spanish. It put me on the spot so much that I couldn't think of anything to say. It was funny! The music was great and I felt right at home. I could understand more of the song lyrics since I now can recognize the conjugation of the verbs. :)

Linda Bailey was back from Argentina. She was at Cuerpo Vivo when I returned to AR from NYC. We were in Oliver's Spanish class together for awhile and then she went back to Argentina about a year ago. She came back to AR while I was in Nica. Funny how our paths cross.

I enjoyed talking to my friends at church. After service, we had left overs from last night's dinner. One of my favorite dishes, the seafood pasta made by Cesar (a chef at Abuelo's restaurant). Soooo good! I even got to bring some home for tomorrow. It was nice to sit around and chat. Even in Spanish!!

I got home and Deanna was all wrapped up in a blanket sitting in her room reading. Jet was doing his best to stay inside. Although, he knows when it's 6pm and wants to go for a walk. Deanna is trying to explain to him that it's dark at 6pm. He doesn't much care about that. He just wants to have a walk. Maybe I'll get to walk him tomorrow afternoon.

It's gotten colder so I'll get to experience some winter weather for the next 7 weeks. I just don't want any ice. Especially when I travel to Indiana and back in February.

I want to get a lot done tomorrow, so I'm praying for a good night's sleep and an energy filled morning. I'll be excited if I get a lot on my list done. I know the time will fly by over the next few weeks and I have tons to take care of. But I'm not stressing over it, since I don't have to take care of anything else except of VOH stuff and my personal business. It's kind of nice! I hope I can fit in all the get togethers with friends that I'm hoping to have. I need to get my schedule organized!

Time for bed and I'm very content with the new year so far. God's blessings are new every morning and I hope to keep that feeling every day of this year.

God is faithful!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

2011-12-31T21:23:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!!
I'm trying to stay up until midnight and it's only 30 minutes away. I was going to the Cuerpo Vivo dinner and service tonight, but woke up from my afternoon nap feeling yucky, so I opted to stay home. I'm hoping it's just a cold or sinus infection and not a flu. Probably the switch in temperature from Nica to here. Although, everyone has been raving about the warm weather this week. :)

I slept well last night and got up to work on my Bible Study. I read the last entry for 2011 and have made it completely through the Bible this year. I'm so thankful to the Women's Ministry at FBC Rogers for having the Chronological Bible study this year. I was out of the country about half of the year, but when I was in AR I got to attend and loved the lecture time with Lisa and all the ladies and then the small group time with Cathy. I'm still working on the commentary that goes with the study, but will finish it tomorrow. I'll start reading the Bible through again in the morning. I'm hooked and can't wait to see what new things God will show me as I read His Word again.

Cora and JD, Deanna's grandkids spent the night tonight. Cora and I made some fudge for Deanna. Other than that, and a load of laundry, I've had a pretty quiet day.

I'm so thankful for the blessings and challenges of 2011. Even the tough times are valuable because they lead me closer to the Father.

My deepest desire is to serve Him better this coming year. There is so much that He is allowing me to do in my life and I'm very humbled and blessed. I don't want to let Him down. I want to cherish each moment He allows. And I want to share Him with everyone. I pray that all those who don't know Him yet will find a relationship with Him this next year. I pray He finds me faithful. He is my all.

Friday, December 30, 2011

2011-12-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

I've been back in the states for a few days now. It feels great to be 'visiting'. I truly feel grounded in Nica as my home and visiting my friends and family in the states.

I've slept well in my room at Deanna's. I've cleaned out and organized my rooms a little every time I leave for Nica. The tubs of stuff stacked in the room now will all end up in Nica by the end of March. Slowly I'm getting my material things in this world in order. I won't feel so strung out everywhere one of these days.

I've been to Walmart 4 times in the last 3 days. A few things each time, but all needed. I enjoy walking around looking at stuff. I don't want to own it, but it's fun to look at pretty things. I'm glad that I wasn't around for all the crazy hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping. It's nice to shop when other people are tired of it (or probably out of money).

Wednesday, Kellie took me to lunch and then dropped me off at the Olive Street church to pick up some packages that were delivered there while I was gone. I hung out a little bit and talked with Glenda and Teresa. I got the chance to chat a little with Jerry for a few minutes. My friend Cathy dropped in and offered me a ride home. I borrowed Deanna's van to run to Walmart to get some groceries. Then I spent the rest of the evening at home.

Thursday, I borrowed my friend Donna's car for the day and got my haircut first thing and then went to the post office to pick up 3 months of mail. Of course, I don't get much mail besides junk stuff, but I was expecting a bunch of the junk. Happily, I only had a handful of mail and just a little bit was junk. I went to the desk to ask when my box rental was due, because I couldn't remember if I had paid for 3 months or 6 months when I rented it. I found out that 6 months is the minimum, so I'm in good shape for now. I came home and visited with Deanna and Elaine for a little while and then went to Walmart to look around and pick up a few more items before I turned the car keys over to Donna when she finished working at the Vision Center. Donna brought me home and I settled in watching some tv with Deanna. I thought it was 10pm and I was very tired so I said I was going to bed. When I said that I was glad that it was 10, Deanna informed me that it was only 8. I couldn't believe it. I finally made it to bed at 9pm and read for a little while. Then I slept pretty well, but still woke up very early.

This morning I grabbed a ride from Teresa to go to the Olive Street church to fill out some papers to continue my group health insurance for the next 12 months. I won't be considered on staff at the church after 12/31, so I needed to find health insurance. I was thrilled to be able to continue the coverage that I have at a descent rate. Even though the US insurance doesn't work in Nica, it's good to have the coverage for the future and in case anything happens that I need to come back to the states for treatment. The best thing is that the premium is only $50 more than the increase of the support from FBCR. I was afraid the cost would be twice what it actually will be. So my support needs will be going up for 2012, but not as much as I thought. For that I'm grateful.

After doing my business at the church, I walked over to Nana Ruth's apartment. We went to the bank and to Walmart and then to lunch at Olive Garden. Then we stopped off at Lifeway Christian store for some great bargains and to the other Walmart to look for something for Deanna. I think I now have enough food to last for the next week or so. I needed to restock after being gone.

When I got home, Elaine and the kids were here with Deanna and everyone was sad because they had just put their dog Heidi to sleep. Jake had taken Heidi to be 'put to rest'. We sat around for a while until Jake came back. JD went to spend time with a friend and then Cora went to spend the night with a friend. It's just Deanna and I here tonight and we're not too wild or crazy.

I've enjoyed the 'normal' highspeed internet here in the states. I've had lots of stuff to research and take care of. I need to get serious next week on getting some loose ends tied up. I know this month will go by fast.

Noemi offered to take me to the Spanish church tomorrow night for the special dinner and games and then New Year's Worship service. I'll need a nap tomorrow afternoon, but I will surely enjoy the evening. I can't wait to see all my friends from Cuerpo Vivo church.

I'm enjoying this weekend of reflection on the past year and the promise of the new year. I feel so peaceful with God's plan for me, even though I don't know the details. But I feel a stronger commitment to whatever He asks of me. It's going to be a big year, whatever He has planned!

I guess I should head to bed for now. A little quiet time with my Kindle sounds pretty good.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 Travel Day

2011-12-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

Travel Day back to the States.
I woke up at 1:30am and couldn’t go back to sleep because I was worried I wouldn’t wake up at 3am to get ready to leave. I read a little bit and prayed a lot and then got up to take my last cold shower for awhile.

I had everything ready for the departure, so it was a very peaceful morning. God really blessed me with a great time with Him.

German and Joana came to get Beth and me a little after 4am. Alberto was putting the cat’s home in his little casita, so he wasn’t at the gate when German pulled up. I opened the gate and made sure to tell German that Alberto was up and about, but busy. I didn’t want him to get mad at Alberto, thinking that he was sleeping in. ☺

We headed off toward the airport in Managua. On the way, we stopped in Las Paz Centro to drop off Beth at the Speigel’s house, so she could spend time with them and have breakfast. Then John was going to take her to the airport later, since she had a later flight than me. We got to the Speigel’s house earlier than planned, but that gave them more time to visit, even if it was before 5am.

I relaxed on the rest of the way to the airport and German and Joana were chatting in the front seat. They seemed like they were on a date, so I let them chat without interruption. We made it to the airport early, about 5:40am. I gave them a big hug and promised to spend more time with their family when I’m back.

I went in to line up at the ticket counter. I was the fourth in line behind some couples. The counter wasn’t open until 6am, so I played around with my phone and filled out some immigration forms to pass the time. Check in was fine and I glanced at the shops as I was walking to immigration. I usually like to look around in the shops, but passed this time. I got through immigration fine and then through security (where I got wanded because I beeped for some reason) and upstairs to the gates. There is a restaurant at the far end of the terminal and I had some scrambled eggs and pancakes and orange juice. Not bad. Then I walked around a bit waiting for boarding time. I did stop at a little shop upstairs and bought a map of Nica that I have seen in the past and wanted.

The flight from Managua to Houston was only about ¼ full. I usually take the 7:15 flight it’s usually full. This flight was comfy. I got to move to a row of 3 empty seats and stretch out. I dozed off and on for the 3 ½ hour flight. I did eat the ‘breakfast’ which appeared like magic when I was snoozing. ☺ I read and just relaxed.

We got into Houston by 11:30am. I went through Immigration like a breeze. There was hardly anyone there. I got my luggage, stopped at the customs spot and took it to the next drop off place. Then it was off to the security check again. It went fast, as there weren’t that many people traveling on Tuesday. I did have to go through the xray machine thingy and my backpack had to go through the xray twice. They finally decided that I wasn’t a threat, and I was on my way. Now for the 8 hour layover at the Houston airport.

I walked around a bit and then had a nice lunch at Chili’s Too. I ordered a small salad and some appetizers for my entre. One of the things on the appetizer plate was not available, so I got some baked potato soup instead. What a nice little lunch! I then walked around more and sat in some of my favorite seats and read and worked on lists and receipts and stuff. I actually dozed off sitting there, even with hundreds of people walking by, carts driving by and announcements from the speakers. It was a nice little nap of about 20 minutes and it did me good.

I walked through some shops and found some very interesting and humorous things. I amazes me what people will buy with their money. I found a nice little store that was having some great discounts for after Christmas. The salesperson was very friendly and a Christian. I ended up purchasing a few things from her. I love bargains!

I checked out the new Kindle Fire at one of the bookstores. I’m thinking of getting one with Christmas money. It was nice to test it out. I’m pretty sure that I’m going to upgrade soon.

I had a giant smoothie for a snack and walked around more and sat more. I made some phone calls and just tried to have a tranquil time.

Before boarding time at 6:40pm, I stopped at Schlotzky’s for my usual sandwich that I like to get at that airport. I packed it well in my carryon and went to wait on my flight.

Before they boarded our plane, they asked for volunteers to give up their seats and take a flight for tomorrow. I thought about it, but since I had a pick up scheduled with someone, I decided not to. Then they asked again later and offered even more for compensation. I called my ride and asked if it was a problem to switch. Cathy said it didn’t matter to her, but by the time this conversation happened, I saw many people lined up for the deal. It was a hard decision between getting a nice voucher for a future flight plus hotel and meals free, or get home to Deanna’s and not mess up other people’s plans. As it turned out, the people getting the ‘deal’ ended up on the plane anyway and we had a few empty seats. Evidently, some of the travelers who made the flight overbooked, were stuck somewhere and didn’t make the flight anyway. But the incident made me decide to figure that option into my plans in the future. The same thing had happened from NWA to Houston on my way down to Nica. I’ll be prepared to act promptly next time. Those vouchers would come in handy!!!

The flight to Rogers was uneventful. I ate my sandwich and read my Kindle. When we landed, we were just a few minutes early. While waiting on my luggage I noticed that people had gotten their bags quickly and left. There were 2 other people with me waiting for ours. It didn’t seem to be coming. Then I heard our names announced to come to the ticket counter. It turns out that our luggage got on an earlier flight out of Houston and had beat us to NWA. I grabbed my bag and headed out the door to find Cathy waiting for me at the curb.

It was good to see Cathy and get a hug. I enjoy her company very much and don’t get to spend much time with her, but we’re going to try to get together often while I’m here in Rogers. She is coming down to Nica over Spring Break with FBCR and also planning a Women’s Ministry trip in the fall. It will be fun to work with her on that.

I got to Deanna’s about 10 and was greeted by Deanna and Jet (the dog) and Heidi (Deanna’s grand-dog from Las Vegas). We sat and chatted for awhile and I settled into my room. It was nice to be back in my room, especially since it was all clean and organized from when I left it. I hope not to make a mess of it while I’m here! Actually, many of the tubs of things are going to Nica with the Spring Break team, so the room will be even more organized when I leave in Feb.

I slept very well and snuggled under a quilt. I haven’t slept under sheets or covers for most of the last 3 months. It felt different, but cozy to sleep all warm.

All in all, it’s been a nice day of travel. It’s good to be in my ‘other’ home. I’m very much at peace. And very thankful for the life that God is allowing me to live. So blessed.

Monday, December 26, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

When I booked my plane tickets back in August for my trip to Nica from Sept 30 to Dec 27, the date to leave Nica seemed very far away. Now it’s just hours away. In fact, I’ll be getting up at 3am to be on the road to the airport by 4am. Not long from this moment.

I’ve stayed in Nica for various times since I’ve started coming here; sometimes 1 week, then 5 weeks, then 7 weeks, 3 weeks, 8 weeks and now 12 weeks. I have to say that staying longer doesn’t feel longer at all. In fact, it feels so natural to be here that time doesn’t feel the same.

I’m so sure of God’s call for me to live and serve here in Nica at this time in my life, that I’m very peaceful and content, no matter what the circumstances are. God is always faithful and is always there looking out for me, no matter how hard life can be. Those are the times that I draw closer to Him, and for that reason I am thankful.

Since I’m not taking much back to the US besides some books and souvenirs, I don’t have much to pack. I’ll carry my laptop and Kindle and camera back and forth as usual, but everything else stays here. I don’t even have to pack up my room. I just lock it up and come back in Feb and start living here again. Sweet!

I got up this morning and headed out to visit Jeremy and Kelly at their house. They have a little store in the front room of their place and I bought some earrings. We had a nice visit and looked at pictures and spoke mostly in Spanish. How fun for me! Kelly is learning English and Jeremy is one of our translators, so we had lots of laughs together. Jeremy wanted to give me a ride home on his motorcycle, but I opted to keep walking.

After leaving Jeremy’s house, I walked downtown to one of my favorite shops, Plaza del Carmen. I picked up a couple more gifts for the folks back home and then walked back towards the Mission House. I stopped in at Pacheco’s school and visited with Juan for a while. It was nice to just sit and talk. He has been such a good friend and great teacher for me these past months. I truly appreciate him.

I caught a taxi back to the house and visited with Lesly and Jaasiel and Beth until lunch time. Lydia made a yummy lunch for us and then Lesly, Jaasiel and I left in Jorge’s taxi. We dropped Lesly off near her home and Lesly and I continued to her house, where we spent an hour or so visiting. I love being welcomed into my friends homes. Jorge picked us up and dropped me off at the Mission House about 3:30pm.

Beth got back to the house right after I did and we called German to pick us up at 4pm to visit his family at their house. I hadn’t gotten to see the drop ceiling that they had put in lately, so I was anxious to see it. We had a good visit and I love their house more and more as they add on. I’m so proud and thankful for them. They deserve the house and are building it as they get the money. It’s a labor of love and it’s filled with love.

German brought us back to the Mission House and I retired to my room while Beth left with Chico to visit with his family for a while.

I’m all ready to leave in the morning. I just need to make myself go to sleep early. We’ll see…

I’m not anxious or bothered about leaving this time, because I know it’s just a visit to the states and I’ll be back ‘home’ here in Nica in 7 weeks.

I praise God for all that He has allowed to happen through the ministry these past 3 months. I can’t wait to see what He is going to do in the future!!!

Sunday, December 25, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-25T20:04:00.001-08:00

Christmas Day. I had a lovely day starting with some wonderful quiet time celebrating Jesus’ birth.

Jorge came over to take Beth and me to Las Quimeras church to give out gifts provided by Jamie Hill’s church in TX. What fun! It also gave us a chance to tell the sweet people of the church goodbye until February. I will surely miss them!

On the way home, we stopped at Maxi Palí to buy more minutes for our phones and to pick up a couple of things to snack on. Beth had not had the chance to shop there yet and we had fun walking around pulling the little baskets on wheels. My favorite reason for stopping in there. HA

We fixed pasta for lunch, but didn’t have any spaghetti or macaroni, so we broke up some lasagna noodles and used canned sauce. It was oaky, but I don’t think that Alberto was too crazy about it. Thank goodness there are lots of leftovers in the fridge from previous meals.

Beth and I both grab some naps and loved it. I was still doing laundry all day, trying to get all the towels from the team washed up. I then started in on the sheets, because I couldn’t stand the thought of the washing machine sitting dormant when there were many loads of sheets to finish up. I enjoyed getting them done. And I know the cleaning ladies will be happy to have so much of it taken care of when they come in tomorrow morning.

As I was doing laundry today, I was thinking about how content I am to be here. I was walking up and down a dusty hill to the clothes line, hanging up dozens of towels and sheets, after they had been washed in a very slow filling washer that we add water by the 5-gallon buckets to so that it will fill up quicker. I did use the dryer on every other load. It was a good feeling to see the clean laundry stacking up high all folded and fresh.

While thinking about these things I was comparing it to the way that many of my family and friends were spending the day. I admit that it would be nice for them to all be together, but I also think about the stress and hard work that goes into trying to make it the perfect holiday for everyone. I wouldn’t have traded my day sweating and serving for anything in the world.

I finished sewing a couple of Christmas presents this afternoon. I think I’m ready to put the sewing machine away for now. I sure have loved having it! Can’t wait to get back and start more projects!

I took a quick dip in the pool to cool off. Beth was laying in the hammock near the pool and we chatted a while. Buster the dog was aggravating Scratch the kitten. But Scratch is getting bigger and stronger and tries to bite Buster’s legs. Crazy animals.

We fixed chicken quesadillas for dinner and they were tasty. Alberto liked them better than the pasta.

German and family came by for a quick visit. I gave the kids their gifts and we all sat around and talked. Mostly in Spanish I might add. I guess I’m making progress after all! I’m going to go their house tomorrow at 4pm. I’ve only gotten to visit there one other time this trip. I love that they welcome me into their family.

In the morning I’m going to visit Jeremy and Kelly at their house and then come back to the house for lunch. I’ll travel with Lesly to her house in the early afternoon. Then I’ll come back and head to German’s. I just need to do one last load of laundry tomorrow evening before going to bed early. I think I’ll be in good shape.

I worked on my room this evening. I think everything is pretty much put away and ready for me to be gone for 7 weeks. It feels really good not having to take stuff back and forth. I love my room here. I feel very much at home.

My suitcase is full of souvenir type stuff to take back to the states. And a few books. I travel light on the way to the states. ☺

I’m going to go to bed now and try to get up with Buster (about 5 or 5:30am) in the morning, so that I will be ready for bed early tomorrow night and can get up at 3am on Tuesday to head to the airport. Tuesday will be a very long day, but fun.

It’s been a very happy Christmas Day for me. I’m so thankful. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Friday, December 24, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-25T20:03:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve. I had multiple offers to go and do things today, but I opted to stay at the Mission House and do laundry (team sheets and towels and donated clothes), nap, study, read, swim, and just chill.

Beth went with the Speigels (missionaries from her home church) to give out Christmas gifts here in León. I thought it would be fun to go, but really needed a quiet day.

Joe and Marcela came over for a little bit after evening church. They invited me to go to Joe’s family’s house for Christmas Eve dinner like last year, but it was already 8:30pm and I was ready to relax for the evening. It was wonderful to see them. I hadn’t gotten the chance to spend much time with them this trip. Just a quick chat when we ran into each other at the park one day and then a few phone calls. We’re are definitely going to get together more when I come back in February.

While they were still here, Beth arrived home with Chico and his son Benjamin in tow. Elieth, Chico’s wife joined us a few minutes later, after visiting with some family at the park. It was wonderful to see them, too. Chico was the first ‘son’ that I adopted here in Nica. We don’t work with him as much as we did the first year that I came down, since he’s very busy, but it’s been great to spend some time with them now.

Beth had went to church at Todopoderoso (Jeremy’s church) and said that Jeremy and Kelly and some others had asked about me. I was very tired and wanted to stay home and I have such a terrible time hearing in large places, especially with a lot of talking and loud music. I was also waiting on Joe, so I opted to stay at the Mission House. Jeremy sent me a fb message telling me to come to the dinner tomorrow night. I replied and explained my reasons for not coming. But I’ll get to spend some time with them at their house on Monday, so it will be fine. I love those two!

German had called in the late afternoon to invite me and Beth to go to the park and then home with them for dinner. We already had our plans for the evening. But I would have loved to spend that time with them. I think it surprised German that we had so many plans going on.

I’m going to spend some time with them before I leave, though. I treasure those moments.

Buster is going crazy barking at stuff tonight. I’m ready to shoot him! I hope he doesn’t scare off Santa’s reindeer!

Time to talk to Jesus about His birthday. ☺

Friday, December 23, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-23T19:06:00.001-08:00

I’m spending a very appreciated quiet evening in my room having some ME time. The team left this morning in 2 shifts. The first at 4am (we got up at 3am) and then the other at 9:30am (I napped from 4-7am). They were all anxious to get home, but they had a great week.

I started doing laundry before the cleaning ladies got here to start the mountains of dirty towels and sheets and donated clothing. (30+ people generates a lot of stuff) Our washer takes FOREVER to fill up and Saturnino was helping it out with the garden hose. LOL The ladies got all the rooms cleaned while Leslie and I helped with the common areas.

Leslie, Beth and I ran downtown to pick up a few things this morning. We figured it was better to do it this morning than to wait until tomorrow (Christmas Eve) which will be crazy. Nicas celebrate on Christmas Eve and rest on Christmas Day. We rode one of the little ‘buses’. It’s actually a small pickup truck with metals bars and covered with a tarp. They drive crazy and you have to really hold on. Going to town wasn’t too bad, but trying to hang on with your arms full of purchaces while standing was a little dangerous. I think my gray hair made people be more accommodating to me than normal. Someone even offered me their seat. But I think that was because I was flying around with bags on my wrists and a hammock and they were afraid that I would hit them up side the head or something. Anyway, I was glad for the seat! I still had to hold on tight, though. It only costs 3 cords, so it’s way cheaper than a taxi. Sometimes you are smashed in there, but it’s fun.

One interesting thing we saw on the way home in the little bus was a horse laid out across the road. It didn’t look like it had been hit by a vehicle, but it was barely breathing. I think it just went down from exhaustion and heat and malnutrition. It’s very sad.

We got back to the house and had lunch. Steak, mashed potatoes and corn. Yum. Beth took a nap while Leslie and I chatted and rested a little bit. Then it was time for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church. Jorge took us in his taxi. I took the Bible bags filled with notebooks and pens that I had been sewing for the last 2 weeks. The ladies loved them. We also showed them what the Bibles that they will be receiving look like. They are excited. We finished up the Mary study and had prayer together. I will miss them all so much and I’m SO anxious to get back here in Feb to start the study again.

I had some left overs for dinner and did another load of laundry. Beth went out on the town with Pacheco, Chico and Oscar. I was invited, but decided to stay at the house and have some Vickie time. I get to see the guys all the time and Beth is only here a few weeks a year, so I thought she might like to visit them by herself.

I started packing my suitcase for my visit to the states next week. I’m taking mostly souvenirs and items to sell for the ministry. I’m not taking any clothing back. And my toiletries all stay here. It will be light packing for the trip north. (it’s always heavy packing for the trip here). I also listened to Spanish Christmas music while painting my toes and downloading pics. I think I’ll head to bed early, though, since I was up early. Bed sounds pretty good.

I’m thankful for the team that came down this week. It has been a busy week and everyone was very tired, but happy. A lot of people heard the Gospel this week and 992 people accepted Christ. An awesome week.

I’m so thankful to be here and serving with VOH and learning Spanish. It feels perfectly normal to walk the streets, see the sights, interact with the people. I just love it. God is so good!

Thursday, December 22, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-22T19:30:00.001-08:00

So, it’s December 22. We’ve been wrapped up in the team this week. They leave in the morning so that they can be home or Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Right now they are having a party under the rancho with chocolate cake (in honor of a birthday) and potted meat with crackers (which some of them brought with them from AR). What a combo!

Everyone leaves in the morning except me and Beth. The Hulsey’s, Mary, Megan and Talon will be leaving with the team. It will be pretty quiet around here for the few days that Beth and I are still here. I’m looking forward to a reflective Christmas.

Today, the team finished up the last of 12 Fiestas, 4 VBS and 4 days of construction (they finished 3 days of English Club yesterday). They also helped with 2 Feedings this week and gave out some gifts at the Sewer Pond neighborhood. They visited 8 churches. They went downtown for a while this afternoon and bought fireworks to set off after dinner tonight. (this team likes fireworks) It’s been a good week and everyone is tired, but happy.

There have been 992 salvations this week and thousands of people have had the chance to hear the Gospel. To God be the Glory!!!

I spent this evening in my room catching up on some work on the internet, since I finally got the chance to use the internet card. (still don’t have the wireless going yet, will probably happen the day after I leave) I’ve got my mind in ‘business’ mode now and am ready to jump in with both feet to get some things accomplished in the next month.

I also sewed some pajama pants for Leslie’s little boy, Bruno. I had to do it without a pattern, but I think they will work okay. Children’s clothing patterns will be on my list of things to bring down in Feb. (among many other things)

I studied some on my Spanish lessons, too. I need to keep going strong on those studies. I want to surprise my friends in Rogers and to make Juan proud when I get back here.

I’m ready various books on my Kindle and have a backlog of books that I want to get to. There will be some good reading time over the next few days.

I will also visit with Joe and Marcela, Jeremy and Kelly and Leslie and her family over the next couple of days.

So much to be done, so much I want to do. We can’t take even one minute for granted. Time is precious and we should be thankful for each second. We are so spoiled and forget about that a lot. I’m very thankful for all that God allows to enter my life.

And I’m so thankful for Christmas, the time to remember the best gift of all. How can you not be thankful for Jesus?

Wednesday, December 21, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-22T19:29:00.000-08:00

An awesome day! The team went out to do their 2 Fiestas this morning, VBS and Construction. After a wonderful lunch (meatloaf, mac & VELVEETA cheese, green beans and slaw) they headed back out for English Club, another Fiesta and more Construction.

Sherry, Mike, German, Manuel and I ran to town to pick up some more supplies and I needed a few more things to finish up the presents for the kids at Las Quimeras. Manuel helped me put the new stuff in the bags. Then Manuel and I made little goodie bags for his brother and sister and their spouses for Christmas. Of course, Manuel will play with everything in the bags, but he is so excited to have something to give to them. ☺

Mary and Leslie went to Las Quimeras for Bible study. Mary was finishing up her training on Evangelism. She led 3 more ladies to the Lord today! When she got home and told me, I gave her a big hug and started crying! What awesome news!!! Since we have been doing the Bible studies over these last 2 months, there have been 4 salvations and 3 rededications from that group of ladies. God is working in that sweet little church plant!!!

Our van named ChinChin finally broke a belt that has been squealing really loudly for a few weeks. It stranded the team for a little while, until we could send another van. Since ChinChin is made in China (thus the name), the belt cannot be bought in Nicaragua anywhere. We were planning on selling the little feller after this team, but it gave up too soon. So we’ll need to replace ChinChin after the new year. Somehow, God will supply the funds for that. And we will praise Him when He does!

Tonight before dinner, 2 of Lydia’s kids performed 2 Nica folk dances for the team. Then Manuel danced with the little girl (Melissa) and we all took more pictures. It was a nice treat. One of the little girls on the team tried on the dress and had pictures made. Fun.

While Megan and I helped Liana do dishes and clean the kitchen, Mike, with the help of German translating, shared the Gospel with Coco and Lydia. Seeds were planted deep, but they weren’t ready to accept God’s gift of Salvation. They still think that they need to be as perfect as possible first. Hopefully, we can keep letting them know that God wants them just like they are. Keep them in your prayers!

Beth and a volunteer from the team are putting together the gifts for the Sewer Pond kids. Beth and I’ll give them out at the Feeding on Friday, after the team leaves for the airport.

The Internet company finally came and installed the phone line so we can get the wi-fi internet. But they probably won’t start the internet for a few more days. Until then, we just have the usb connection (like dial up) and as of this evening, it wasn’t even working. So we’ll see if I have service before I leave next week.

I’ve been thinking about what I need to pack to take back to the states and have realized that pretty much everything stays here in my little room. I’ve always left clothes and other items, but now that I have a permanent place, I can leave just about everything! How nice! I just have some gifts to pack and that’s about it.

Now that the time is getting closer to leave, I’m anxious to get to the states and get some things accomplished and get back here. I’m okay with it. But I’ll miss my friends here very much over the next 7 weeks. I know that God will have many useful things for me to take care of over those 7 weeks, so it’s okay.

The team is having their share time early this evening. I’m ready to retire to my bed and read for a while. I also have some Bible study to do. It will be a nice quiet evening for me! Yay!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

Another busy day. The team was up and out of here this morning to do 2 more Fiestas, VBS and Construction in the morning. Back for lunch. (yummy grilled chicken breasts, salad, rice, beans, tortilla) English Club, 1 more Fiesta and Construction in the afternoon.

I worked on Bible study, had a long talk with Sherry about the ministry, worked on gifts for the kids at Las Quimeras, prepped for Sewing Class and before I knew it, it was lunch time!

We had our last Sewing class for this ‘semester’. We gave the ladies their bag of sewing supplies and some pieces of fabric to take home and make things while we are gone. They started making more drawstring bags and waited in line for the 1 sewing machine that we have. We had a good time together. It was great to think about how much they have learned in just 5 weeks of class one day a week. They are sweet ladies.

The team groups got back in for some downtime and dinner before getting ready for church tonight. One of the guys had bought a live iguana on the way back to the Mission House. He had it in his backpack. He asked one of the kids on the team to look for something in his backpack. She came across the iguana and screamed. The iguana escaped the backpack and started running around the rancho. The guys were trying to catch it. When the iguanas are sold, their mouths are sewn shut so they can’t bite. This one had pulled his stitches out and was ready to bite. The guys caught him and I got them some rubberbands for the mouth. If I would have been the girl who opened the backpack, I would STILL be slapping that guy!

After more of the group got back to the house, another guy took the backpack and opened it up while making a speech. He pulled the iguana out, hoping to scare the lady sitting closest to where he was standing. She just looked at him. He was disappointed in the lack of reaction. Then all of a sudden she realized it was ALIVE and she screamed and ran! I think I would have slapped HIM, too. Anyway, the iguana was butchered, amongst many interested on-lookers and then cooked. Some of the team tasted the little guy. I opted not to try it. But the others said it was good ,and that even though it didn’t taste like chicken, it did taste a little like frog legs.

The team split into 2 groups for church tonight. I stayed back to finish up the dishes and work on Christmas gifts. When the first group got back, Alberto had dozed off in his little casita and didn’t hear the vans honking at the gate. I ran out and opened the gate for them. I had already showered and had on my sleeping duds, and thankfully they are shorts and tshirt, so I could run out there quickly.

I was listening to a little more Spanish Christmas music on my computer while working in my room. I’m enjoying it very much.

It’s hard to realize that Christmas is on Sunday. The hot weather and being so busy with the team here makes it easy to forget. I’ll read the Christmas story in my Bible in English and in Spanish to set the mood. I’ll also get to be at Las Quimeras church on Christmas Sunday, so that will be nice.

My niece sent me an email update on her wedding plans for February. It sounds like it’s going well. I think it will be very pretty. She and Rob are doing most of the planning and stuff themselves. I look forward to meeting him. He sounds like a good guy. February will be here before I know it!

I’m sad to leave here for a while, but anxious to get a lot of things taken care of in the states next month. It’s sometimes hard to get business taken care of from down here. I’ve got quite a list of things to research and organize and implement. Plus lots of people to talk to. I’m ready to get busy doing these things and then get back down here.

Megan just came by my room to return my Nica phone, which she borrows to call the states with. We had a nice chat. I don’t get to talk to her as much now that the team is here and she is busy with them. It’s been nice to get to know her since we’ve been here. I hope I get to see her when I’m in Rogers sometime. I’m sure she is ready to get back to Rogers to her husband and little boy.

I guess that’s all for today. I love getting to see the translators when they come to meet up with the team in the mornings. I’m looking forward to spending time with Jeremy and Kelly , and hopefully, Joe and Marcela after the team leaves. It will be quieter for a few days and then I’m gone to the states. I want to make the most of these last few days.

I am so blessed by God in so many ways. I’m thankful for everything He brings into my life. The hard times as well as the good ones. They all bring me closer to Him and that is what I want more than anything else.

Monday, Dec 19, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-22T19:26:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I didn't write anything on Monday. oops!
Busy day with the team on their first day of ministry.
Can't remember any specifics right now. :)
But I know that God was blessing the day!!!

Monday, Dec 12 thru Sunday, Dec 18, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-19T18:51:00.000-08:00

This will be a quick list of things that have happened over the last week.
I needed some time to pray over some things. I felt that it was important enough to ‘fast and pray’, and since I can’t ‘fast’ meals due to health issues, I decided to ‘fast’ the computer and internet. It was a difficult week with many highs and lows. But I feel stronger in my commitment to follow where God leads me and feel secure in my relationship with Him. Many prayers for direction were answered during that time and I’m thankful for the experience, even though it was tough sometimes. Walking with the Lord is not always easy, as is life, but it’s so worth it to know you are in His will. These times of ‘recalibrating’ like a GPS are very beneficial.

I had my usual Monday thru Thursday Spanish classes and ended my semester (8 weeks) with Juan. I’ll return to classes with him when I return to Nica in mid-February. I see how much more of a mountain that I have to learn, but I do see great results from these past 2 months. It’s hard not to feel frustrated when I want to speak fluently right this minute, but Juan said that I did excellently and everyone who has studied Spanish in High School and College has told me that I have accomplished a lot thus far. So I’m thankful and even more determined to learn more while I’m in the states for the next 7 weeks. It will be fun to get back here and see how I’ve improved and then move forward in the spring. I still struggle with hearing loss and that hinders my learning experience, but God knows how much I want to be fluent and I know that He will help me accomplish it. Sometimes when we have to fight harder for something, it’s more precious to us. That’s how I feel about my Spanish learning. It’s precious to me.

Tuesday, we had our regular Sewing class. The ladies finished their drawstring backpack bags. They were a hoot watching them on the sewing machine. They were troopers and helped each other along. It will be so nice to have more machines in the spring. We will have our last class for this year on Tuesday. I picked up some pins, pin cushions, seam rippers and thread for them. A team supplied some scissors. This will make nice parting gifts for them to use while I’m gone.

Wednesday, we went to Las Quimeras for Women’s Bible study. Mary is finishing up her evangelism training, so I opted to let her have the whole hour. I spoke with Pastor Sergio about the list of Sunday School kids that we’re providing Christmas gifts for. I also used the time to read some scripture that was perfect for the ‘seeking’ mood that I was in. Mary went to babysit Manuel after Bible study, so I fixed dinner for me, Megan and Talon. Then Megan and I tried to match up kid’s names between the list that Pastor Sergio gave me and the file of kids from the feedings so that I could determine their ages. It was a difficult task. Everyone spells differently (usually because of lack of education) and everyone has 4 names. We did pretty good though.

Thursday, I spent a lot of time sewing on Bible bags. I’ll have them ready to give to the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church this Friday. Sherry and I had a long talk and I really appreciated it. She told me how much she and Mike appreciate me being a part of the ministry and how I fit in with future growth of the ministry. I love doing what God has called me to do here. I’m thankful to be a part of Voice of Hope.

I’ve been very reflective this week as I have been praying about direction, words to express my calling and situation and the work that I need to do personally to communicate to my supporters and prayer partners what the needs and opportunities are to join me in this journey for the new year. I have lots of thoughts floating around in my head, but nothing to put on paper yet. It’s all okay, though.

Friday, I sewed some more and helped get ready for the team which arrived at the Mission House on Saturday. I caught up with my laundry and organized some stuff in my room.

Beth arrived on Friday night and we talked for about an hour to catch up on things. It was nice. She liked my new home.

Saturday, Megan and Talon left very early to go and meet the team in Managua (they had spent the night at the hotel there) and take them to do the Fun Day stuff. Since Megan and Talon neither one had went on a fun day before, it was quite the experience for them. First thing, the phone that Mike gave Megan to use had a low battery and died early morning. Chico was their translator. A school bus (belonging to a church here) was used to get the team and take them around. Unfortunately, the driver didn’t know where he was going and was constantly stopping to ask for directions. Chico was trying to explain things to them, but they ignored him. Then the bus overheated on the way up the mountain to look at the volcano. The team had to walk the rest of the way up. They weren’t happy about that. Since it takes a long time for a big team to get through the zip line tour, the team didn’t get to eat lunch until about 2:30pm. The service at our favorite restaurant is slow, but the food is good. Then they went shopping at Catarina and started for home. Unfortunately (again), the bus driver was having trouble getting out of Managua and finding his way around. Megan noticed that the fuel light was ‘on’ on the bus, but the driver assured her that it didn’t work right and that they had plenty of gas. They stopped at a gas station and had a debate over the situation. When the team finally arrived in León, the team leader wanted to go to Tip Top Chicken to eat, but it was way too late for that. The team was getting in about 4 hours later than expected. I think they ended up getting some food before getting to the Mission House. I was in bed when they arrived, as was Mary. Beth stayed up to greet them and get them squared away in their rooms. They had quite the adventure for that long day. Glad I was safe here in my room!

This morning, we all had breakfast and got ready for church. As we were preparing to leave, Sherry asked if I would stay back at the Mission House with her to help translate to the cooks and other workers. I said sure. I wasn’t looking forward to riding in the school bus anyway. I figured I would get car sick and had taken a couple of ginger pills. I was glad to help with getting lunch ready and icing some cakes for the social time. The team split into 2 groups and half went to Telica church and the other half went to Las Quimeras. They all loved it. Some people from both churches were going to get baptized here in our pool, so they and their families came to the Mission House via our vans. It was great to share the baptisms with them. Few Nicaraguans know how to swim and therefore are afraid of the water. A couple of the ladies were terrified, but they were obedient in following the Lord’s command of baptism. I got some pictures and was very proud of them all. We had cake and juice and then they all went home.

The team had grilled chicken, rice, tostones and veggies for lunch. Yum. Then we had a training time and Mike did a wonderful job of explaining the ministry and then some of the VOH staff demonstrated the Sinbox drama. I think everyone is ready for the ministry week. The team split into their work groups for the week and got stuff prepared for the Fiestas and VBS.

Part of the team will work on construction of the church at the Sewer Ponds, part on doing a VBS each morning, and the rest on doing 12 Fiestas. Beth will teach an English club on Mon, Tues and Wed afternoons at Las Quimeras. I’ll still teach my afternoon classes. There will be church services on 2 nights. It will be a busy week.

Tonight (Sunday) Talon and I stayed back from church to serve dinner to the team as they returned from church services. Sherry needed to get Manuel to bed and the cooks needed to get home. The first group returned for dinner at 7:30pm. We got them served and then the next group was here by 8pm. We started cleaning up the dishes and Mary and Talon finished cleaning up the kitchen. The cooks had the place all cleaned up. We just needed to wash up the plates, cups, silverwear, pans, etc. It wasn’t too bad.

A lot of the team chose to swim this afternoon and this evening. They like having the pool here. It’s lights out at 10pm and everyone complied this evening. They were having a really good time and then all of a sudden it got quiet. By the end of the week, they will be more tired and less loud. It’s always funny to see that happen. I think everyone had a good day and I hope it made up for yesterday’s crazy adventure.

I’m working on putting together 60 gift bags for the kids at Las Quimeras to be delivered by me and Beth on Christmas Day. I’m also getting some gift bags of sewing notions ready for the Sewing class on Tuesday. I’ll have the Bible bags, notebooks and pens ready for Friday’s Women’s Bible study at ROSCC. It will be a week of gift giving! I love it!

Tomorrow I should get some info back from a company about getting individual health insurance. I’m losing what I had through FBC Rogers at the end of January. I’ve had to wait until I heard from them what my support for 2012 will be so that I could determine if and what I can afford to get. I’ll need to get a lot of loose ends tied up in the next weeks. It will be easier to do in the states, so I’ll be busy the week I get back there. Lots of things to work out and figure out. Gotta get the ‘worldly’ stuff in order so I can concentrate on the ‘Kingdom’ work. ☺

Sunday, December 11, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-11T20:20:00.000-08:00

Let’s see, what has happened today…

I woke up hearing the birthday party people taking down the decorations from yesterday and moving tables and chairs around. I got up prepared for church. The Hulsey’s came to pick us up about 10:15 and we got to ROSCC church about 10:30. Surprise! No services there this morning! It was too late to get to any other church without being very late, so we came back to the Mission House. Alberto gave us a strange look and the people cleaning up after the party wondered who we were and what we were doing. Haha

I started some laundry and sewed some more Bible bags. Sherry heated up some left overs from the Christmas dinner and we had lunch. Coco and her kids and nieces and nephews over at 2pm for a nice afternoon swim. They had a blast. I didn’t get a nap today, but it was a very pleasant day.

I got the chance to talk with Mike and Sherry a little bit about the future of the ministry and then later Mike and I got a chance to talk more about strategy. It was nice to have time to sit and talk and not be rushed.

Danilo came to get ChinChin (van) to drive to the border to pick up Mary and Megan after their overnight trip to Honduras. They said the kids there were doing pretty good. Mary took them to eat at Wendy’s (very expensive) and to a store to pick out their own Christmas presents. They had a blast. Mary and Megan got back to the house about 6pm. They were ready for a shower and relaxation. But they had a great trip.

I fixed a baked potato with cream of mushroom sauce on it for my dinner. I enjoyed it. I’m enjoying the cashews and trail mix that sweet Haley sent to me. And I’m enjoying my vitamins that she sent with Talon. I didn’t pack enough vitamins on this trip, so it’s great to have these.

I’ve still got some Bible bags to finish, but they are at the end stage and I’m not feeling stressed about it. I have some other things to be sewing this week, too. Then the team will be here and it will be busy. I better get my stuff done before Saturday!

I got a facebook message from John Caubble this morning. It’s funny that I was thinking about them and planning to send them a message today. God connected our minds, I guess.

I came to my room about 6:30 and started studying Spanish verb tenses while listening to Spanish Christmas songs. When I got frustrated with the verbs, I switched to Bible study and that did the trick to soothe my mind!

Right now I’m very relaxed and content. I know that tomorrow will be an intense class for Spanish and I’m ready for it. This will be my last week of classes until Feb, so I know we will push hard. I’m praying for a clear mind and a steel trap memory!

I only saw one spider in my room today. I blasted him with the lethal bug spray. At least it was more of a ‘wood’ spider and not the hairy black kind.

I guess I’ll go to bed now. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the fresh week. Time is sure going by quickly!

Saturday, December 10, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Woke up to the sounds of people arranging tables and chairs for 300 and decorating for the Quinceaños (birthday party) that will be held here tonight. Mary and Megan left about 7am for Honduras to visit the VOH Children’s Home that raises 6 children. They will be back tomorrow night. Long trip for an overnight, but they will be very blessed. The kids will love getting some Christmas blessings and seeing Mary and meeting Megan. I’m so glad that they got to go.

Talon, Josselin and I got ready and walked to Pacheco’s English school to chat with the Saturday class. On the way there, Talon and Josselin were practicing their English/Spanish words. They are learning each other’s language. It was a fun walk.

I got to take a picture of the ‘viejos’, the sort of scarecrow old men that are made to celebrate the new year. I think it’s kind of like saying goodbye to the ‘old’ and welcoming the ‘new’. On New Year’s Eve, the viejos are burned and/or blown up with firecrackers in the streets. I was wanting to get some pictures of these guys and there is a place that makes them up to sell.

I also took a picture of Mundal Escolar Librería where I buy my notebooks and pens and such. I was getting ready to take a picture of my favorite second-hand clothing store when I heard someone calling to me. It was the owner getting ready to get into a taxi. She greeted me and I told her I was taking a picture of her store/house. What a nice surprise to see her. I also got a picture of the ‘studio’ of the artist whose paintings I like. I still need to grab a pic of Bazar Jerry, where I buy sewing notions and ribbons and stuff.

I’m starting to feel the pull of my departure date in a few weeks. I need to get some pics and info put together to share in reports to my supporters, churches and also the Homeschool group that I will share with at the end of January.

Anyway, when we got to the English school, Juan’s wife Ana told me that Juan could not be there and that the regular teacher could not be there. So they asked if I could lead the class, at least for a couple of hours. No problem. Talon and I talked with them and asked questions and answered questions. Oscar videoed a little of the conversations. It was a fun time. We were allowed to finish early and we got pics with the class. There were some great questions, including some God questions. Some good seeds planted. I hope I can go back there next Sat.

Josselin had left with Oscar and would meet up with us downtown. Talon and I walked to the park and on the way we stopped in to see Linda at the House of Bible. I thought Talon would like to see the Bible store. Linda took my phone number because German told her I would be the person in charge of buying Bibles. I do want to get some Bible story posters for the Sunday School classes that have started at ROSCC and Las Quimeras. I like to get the Bibles for the Women’s Bible study groups from the other House of the Bible where Carlos works. But I always love to stop in at the Bible store.

We met up with Oscar and took possession of Josselin. ☺ The three of us headed over to Tip Top Chicken and had lunch. Then we took a taxi home and rested in our rooms for the afternoon. I sewed and got on the computer a little bit.

There were many tables and chairs all over the place and we had to ask to have one moved a little so I could get to my door. The decorating for the party took all day and the crew worked very hard. It was beautiful. I got some pics of it about half way done.

We each went to our rooms and rested or whatever we wanted to do. Mike called about 4:30 and said that they would come to pick us up for dinner a little after 5pm. I let the others know and we waited outside the gate. The guests were arriving for the party, so we walked down the street a little bit and met the van. We went to Suyapa for dinner and it was delicious. Talon had not gotten to eat there on his trip last year. He loved being outside and watching the sunset from our table. He went and took some pics. The food was good. I had grilled shrimp for a change and it was yummy.

We got back home about 7:30 and the party was in full swing. So beautiful. Like a wedding. The live band was awesome and played many Christian songs that I have on my Spanish Praise cds. Josselin came to my room to hang out and we sang along. I was on the computer a little bit and then let her use it for facebook. I worked on the Bible bags a little more. Then it was time to retire, so I watched a movie and stayed up way too late. But it was a great evening.

The party ended promptly at 9pm and all the guests left. The decorators started taking down their stuff and worked until very late in the night. They have a big job ahead of them. They worked very hard. I hope they got paid a lot of money. ☺

It’s been a very blessed day. I’m thankful for every minute here.

Friday, December 9, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Fun morning. NOT. Woke up and started moving things around that I had sat on the floor last night when I cleared off my bed to go to sleep. While moving the items, a sort of big, very hairy, black spider scampered across the floor. I didn’t shriek, but I did do a Nica two-step. It found refuge under my mini fridge. It was decided that our rooms would be sprayed this morning, since we saw a rather huge, very hairy, black spider outside on the wall and one near the kitchen already. As I was moving stuff out of my room, another sort of big, very hairy, black spider was spotted and scared Josselin very much. My room was pretty much emptied, sprayed by Alberto and then I sprayed again with an aerosol can of bug spray that seems to kill very quickly. Hopefully, (and prayerfully) the hairy things will be long gone. I love God’s creatures, but that doesn’t mean that I want to room with them…

I had some oatmeal for breakfast and then pinned some sewing pieces outside under the rancho while talking with Megan and Josselin. Mary and Sherry and Talon went to the grocery store to buy food for tonight’s Christmas meals for the staff. I hemmed some pants for Josselin and finished the handwork on a dress for Sherry. I was trying to find the things that I could do away from my room for a little bit.

I worked on sewing Bible bags when I could get back into my room. I’m making good progress on them. I’m not feeling stressed (yet) on getting them done by the time the team gets here.

We got the place ready for the dinner. Juver and Leslie put up balloons. Josselin and Megan helped blow them up. Since I can’t stand balloons, I didn’t offer to help. Mike and German met with Pastor Marvin for a while. Mike also spoke with the leader of next week’s team about the construction on the church.

We had a great lunch of grilled chicken, rice, beans and cucumber/tomato salad, and tortillas. I worked more on sewing and everyone had their own things to do. Sherry was cooking all afternoon, which is her love. Talon made some Hello Dollies (bar cookies) and needed shredded cocoanut. Alberto and Juver got a couple of cocoanuts from our trees. It was a pleasant afternoon.

We got ready for Bible study and left about 3:40pm. Megan went with us and was going to talk a little bit about Priscilla. Mary decided to wait until next week to present her next part of Evangelism training, but she did have 3 ladies share their testimonies and it was great. I didn’t have to do anything but enjoy the moment. It was a nice break from teaching for me. Since it’s the holiday month and also the day of many graduations, there were few ladies at the study. It started out with very few and then about 12 showed up in total. It was good to see them. I’ll be glad when our numbers get back up to near 30 again.

We got back to the Mission House about 5pm and helped get everything ready for our guests. People arrived slowly. We had 40+ people for dinner, which included our workers and their many kids. It was fun.

Sherry had made spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken alfredo, 7 layer salad, garlic cheese biscuits and brownies. We also had Talon’s Hello Dollies and ice cream. Everyone got full and had a great time.

Sherry had bought gifts for all the kids. The adults got their Christmas bonuses. (it’s called the 13th month and everyone gets an extra month’s salary in December). Lydia’s son and daughter (around 10 and 11 years old, I think) dressed up and danced to a Nica folk song. It was nice. I tried to video it on my camera, but it may be a little dark. They were precious and the dance was their gift to Sherry and Mike.

The North Americans served the Nicas and it was fun. Lydia and Aracelys kept trying to help and we wouldn’t let them. Lydia even came in the kitchen after the meal and tried to take over washing the dishes. We had to throw her out of the kitchen! I think they finally got used to being served, even though it was a strange position for them to be in.

Everyone went home, mostly by Mike taking them in the van. It took 3 trips to get everyone delivered, including the Hulsey’s. Juver and Alberto tore down the plastic tables and locked them and the chairs up so that the people setting up for the birthday party tomorrow would have open access to the place. Juver, Megan, Josselin and I talked for a while (in Spanish) under the rancho. I was keeping up really well. I guess I’m improving afterall! I did say something very funny, though. I mean to ask Juver how old his parents are and was using the word for ‘couple’ which in Spanish closely sounds like the word for ‘birds’. Yep, I asked how old his birds are. Which was very funny, because in the context of the conversation, everyone knew I meant parents. We all laughed a lot. It was fun talking, though.

I went to my room and ended up talking with Megan until after 11pm. Then it was time to go to sleep.

It’s been a good day. Many blessings. Can’t believe we’ll be leaving in a few weeks. I hope our Nica workers know how much we consider them as family. I especially do.

Thursday, December 8, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

It’s a holiday here in Nica. The Day of Mary. Last night was a huge celebration all over the country. We stayed safely at home. Today, town was pretty quiet while everyone stayed home to recover.

The Youth, who had a retreat here overnight, got up and started swimming at 5:30am. So much for sleeping in. I got up about 6:30am and started sewing.

The Hulsey’s and Mary went to Managua with German to pick up Talon, an intern from El Dorado AR. Megan and Joceline went with Oscar to paint at his church. I wanted to go and paint also, but decided that I needed to spend the time sewing instead.

After the painting excursion ended, Megan and Joceline picked me up in a taxi and we went by to get Oscar and his son Axel to go to lunch. We ate at a Chinese restaurant, which was pretty good for Nica. Then we walked around the park and looked around inside the Cathedral. Then we caught one of the few taxis running today and dropped Oscar off at a meeting and we came to the Mission House.

When we got here, everyone was back from Managua and was cleaning up after the group left. With everyone pitching in, it didn’t take too long. Then pizzas were ordered for dinner and I had a can of tuna.

I came on to my room to sew some more. I put in another $1 movie and sewed quite a bit. Then I watched the remainder of episodes for season 4 of Army Wives. It’s late now and I’m ready to go to bed.

I’ll get up early tomorrow and sew like a crazy woman again. But I feel good about the progress that was made today.

Talon brought me a care package from Haley and I appreciate all the goodies!! She’s such a sweet girl! She sent me some vitamins that I was running out of, some crossword puzzle books, trail mix and cashews and some earrings. She sent Mary some ritz peanutbutter crackers. Yum for all of us!

Signing off now. I can’t believe how quickly time is passing by. I’m starting to get in my reflective mood that always comes a few weeks before leaving Nica. I’m cherishing every minute of ministry and relationships here. I’m so thankful for everything.

Wednesday, December 7, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

It’s been a good day. I slept better last night than I have for about a week. Hope that trend continues!

Megan went with me this morning to Spanish class. We left a little early so we could walk and stop in at the little stores that I frequent on the way. It was fun. She liked Juan and we had fun in class. She was impressed with how much he has taught me these 2 months. He’s a good teacher. I just wish that it all made more sense to me than it does right now, but I know it will soon. I just need to have patience and keep practicing!! Megan is speaking Spanish to me most of the time and that helps a lot.

We had meatloaf and mashed potatoes for lunch. It was good. We all kind of hung out and visited a little this afternoon. We made some plans for the ministry, but mostly chatted. It was nice.

I spoke with Brian Sander at FBC Rogers today about the team he’s bringing down in March. It will be a good team and I can’t wait for spring break to get here! We’re going to plan at least one training meeting for the team while I’m in Rogers in January. Can’t wait to get them acquainted with the ministry and praying about what God is going to accomplish through them.

Because of all of the traffic and craziness of the Day of Mary celebration tonight, we decided not to have the Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras. It felt funny to have the afternoon off.

A youth group from a local church is having an overnight retreat here this evening, so it’s been interesting to have commotion going on outside. But it’s nice to hear them having fun.

Since tomorrow is a holiday, everyone has the day off (except the guard). The Hulsey’s, Mary and Manuel are going to Managua to pick up Talon, an intern coming from El Dorado AR. Megan and I are going to go help paint at Oscar’s church. Joceline is deciding what she wants to do, but I think she may end up going with Oscar and us to paint. Tomorrow late afternoon, we may swim a little bit. Depending on if the group leaves at 4pm like they are scheduled. I’m betting they won’t actually get out of here until more like 6pm, but we’ll see.

I spent this evening in my room sewing on Bible bags. I’m making good headway. Mary sewed straps together for about half of the bags. That is a help.

I watched a movie on my computer. We can buy movies here for $1. I had it playing while I was pinning the pieces to be sewn. I enjoyed it.

I got on facebook for a little while and now I’m ready to head to bed to read and go to sleep. We are leaving at 8am in the morning to paint, so I want to get some good sleep.

I’m thankful for all the blessings of today. No matter how hard or uncomfortable life can be down here, it’s exactly where God wants me and I’m so thankful to be here

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

Boy, am I tired tonight. I think I will sleep well. I hope so.

Last night I left with German to pick up Danilo at On the Run (convenience store) and then we went to pick up the Chinchin van from the Hulsey’s house. Danilo took the green van and German and I took Chinchin to Managua. It took about an hour to get all this rearranging done and to be headed off. It was nice to get to spend some time talking with German.

We got to the airport a little after 9pm. Megan’s flight was delayed almost an hour, so I sat in the van while German and Danilo and Danilo’s mother (who needed a ride from Managua to León) sat outside on the parking lot curb and chatted. Megan’s plane landed a little after 10pm, so we went into the terminal to wait for her. She saw and recognized me (which is good since I have only seen her picture on facebook). We packed her 2 suitcases in the van and retrieved Danilo’s mom and jumped in for the ride home.

Megan and I chatted the whole way and started to get to know each other. I didn’t even think to ask if she wanted to use my Nica phone to call Josh. Duh. I was very excited to hear that she speaks Spanish. How wonderful for her ministry time here and also that she can help interpret around the house and she will be able to talk to Joseline more than I can. I’m so happy that Joceline will have someone to talk to!

It was good to get Megan and bring her to the Mission House. We got her settled in for the night and I went to bed. We got home about 12:30pm last night and I went to bed about 1am. I woke up at 5am. I slept pretty well, but not long enough!

I was going to call Juan and cancel Spanish class for today, but decided to just ask to come at the usual time of 10am instead 9am. I started walking and Jorge stopped to offer me a ride. I jumped in his taxi and didn’t feel one bit guilty about skipping my walk. He didn’t want me to pay, but I insisted. He is very nice, but I want to bless his family as much as I can.

While waiting for Juan, I found out that his grandmother passed away last night. I wish I would have known that when we spoke on the phone this morning. I would definitely have told him to skip class today. Bless his heart.

But he was excited to get his copy of the Spanish verb book that I had ordered for him. We jumped right in and abused my brain!

During the class, he had a couple of visitors who came to sign up for his promotion of getting the first level of English classes free. He had bee handing out flyers last Friday. The 2 guys are going to start classes tomorrow morning, so I’m going back to 2 hours a day instead of 3, so that he can teach them the 2 hours before my class. I’m excited for them all.
I walked home from class today and it was very hot. I felt that I should walk home since I didn’t walk to class. I was glad to get home. We had a yummy lunch of Canelones and salad. I really wanted to take a nap, but settled for getting things ready for the Sewing class at 2pm.

We had fun with the ladies today. They are starting to make some drawstring backpacks. They got to use the sewing machine today and they were a hoot! Megan sat in on the class and had a great time talking to the ladies. They had difficulty getting on the bus to León because of all of the travelers coming to town to prepare for tomorrow night’s Day of Mary celebration. The buses were overflowing and some weren’t even stopping because they could not hold another person. And in Nica, that means they were FULL!

It was decided that we wouldn’t go out for the Bible study tomorrow afternoon because only 3 ladies would be present. Everyone else would be busy with the Day of Mary stuff. I hate to miss a class, but I think it was a good decision. I use my time to sew instead.

After the ladies left today, Megan, Joceline and I went for a quick swim. The water was a little bit cold, but it was nice. I had some cold Canelones and some cream of mushroom soup for dinner. Then I got my shower and pinned some Bible bags together to be ready to sew tomorrow afternoon.

I downloaded my Spanish verbs cds and listened to them while I was working on the Bible bags. I was reciting verb endings from outer space (ha) and trying to keep track of what I was doing. Not an easy task for my tired brain tonight. But I’m very thankful to have the cds. I’m downloading the audio onto my phone and iPod.

Megan asked if she could go to Spanish class with me tomorrow. It will be fun to have her here. I know that Juan will be glad to meet her. We’ll walk, so she can see some of the stores and homes and stuff on the way. It’s nice to see the people and neighborhoods when walking. If we leave early enough, maybe we’ll stop by Bazar Jerry and the Librería that I like. Maybe even the used clothing store and the artist place, too.

I told Megan that maybe on Friday or Saturday, we could walk to downtown and see everything. I know she is interested in everything she can see.

Well, I guess I should get off of here and go to bed. I’m ready to drop off to sleep! It’s been a good day and even though it is only Tuesday night, I feel like it’s been a week already. HA Looking forward to the rest of the week! God is good!

Monday, December 5, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

I’m writing this at 6pm today instead of my usual evening timeframe. I’m waiting on German to get here to pick me up so we can drive to Managua to pick up Megan Bryant from FBC Rogers, who is going to serve with us this month. So far, so good. I think we have the right day and everything!! LOL

I didn’t sleep well at all last night and woke up at 5:13am feeling crappy. I laid down for a little while, but didn’t feel much better. I did do some personal Bible study and got showered and dressed for Spanish class.

I went ahead and walked to class, albeit, slowly. I was a little late, but Juan is never there on time, so it didn’t matter.

We had a good class. Discussed some good stuff and I used my verbs in all different tenses. We can’t wait to get those Spanish books that Megan is bringing to me. Juan said we are going to hit those verb books hard and heavy this week and next, because they are my last weeks for class. Juan gave me the words to some of the songs that we sing in churches here. I was wanting to get them, but kept forgetting to ask my 2 musical sons, Jeremy and Joe, to give them to me. It was a nice blessing to get them today.

I walked home and we had quesadillas for lunch, with rice, beans and salad. Yum! The electricity had been out since about 10am, so everyone was sitting out under the rancho doing their own thing. I was planning on sewing a lot, but couldn’t, so I worked on my notes for the Women’s Bible study this week. I laid on my bed for a short while with my battery-powered fan and rested. Then I took some pieces of sewing out to rancho and pinned a bunch of stuff, getting it ready for sewing later in the week.

Sherry made us quesadillas with the left overs for dinner and they were still very good. I had some pudding and some almonds, so I’m ready for my road trip now.

I have a full week planned and I know it will go by very quickly. There is excitement in the city because of the holidays. The Day of Mary is Thursday, and festivities start on Wednesday night. It will be crazy getting around. We may not have the Wednesday Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras. We’ll decide for sure tomorrow. I hate to miss a week, but if it’s not good timing, we could save about $15 on the taxi that day and I could also get some sewing on the Bible bags done that afternoon. We’ll see…

Better get off of here for now. German will be pulling up soon. We’re taking Chinchin, our little van to Managua. It’s been a little sick lately, so I’m praying that it makes it okay. It would be a long walk, late at night if it breaks down! But it gets the best gas mileage. We’ll just pray extra hard.

Sunday, December 4, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

What an interesting day. I kept waking up all night and couldn’t go back to sleep. I was reading most of the night trying to get sleepy. I have felt tired all day. But that’s okay.

This morning I talked with my sister Sandy on the phone to confirm that my flight options for Feb are fine with her. My niece is getting married on Feb 11, so I’ll spend Feb 1-13 in Indiana. I bought my tickets on line this morning. Then I looked up something to buy on Walmart.com and ship to the store in Paragould for the team coming on Dec 16 to bring down. Isn’t technology wonderful? (when it’s working)

I copied a cd of kids’ Bible songs in Spanish for the church in Telica. I also took one of the Proclaimers (recorded New Testament in Spanish) for the church to set up listening groups and use it.

Joceline was not feeling very well last night, but was much better this morning. She and Oscar left for church right before German stopped by to pick up Mary and I. We headed over to pick up the Hulsey’s and then went to the church in Telica. It was nice to be there again. I’m so excited to get to start a Women’s Bible study there when I get back in mid-February. The kids were funny this morning. The Pastor lady asked Mike if he would like to preach, so he did. The Bible says to always be ready to share about Jesus and he did.

After church, we went back to the Hulsey’s for dinner, but the electricity had went out and the food in the crockpot was not done. So we jumped in the van and headed to a restaurant that German and Jorge recommended. It’s a little place on the side of the road what serves Cuban cuisine. The owner didn’t speak any English and we held our own with my limited Spanish. We ended up having whatever he suggested, which was like a quesadilla made out of a different kind of tortilla with pork, beans, cheese and I don’t know what all else. It was okay, but I don’t think anyone else liked it. The place was decorated kind of neat. You would never know what it was like by just driving down the road and seeing the little sign on the ground. Kind of fun.

We got back to the Mission House and I was waiting for German’s family to come and pick me up to go to Managua to get Megan. I got on the computer for a while and was all ready and waiting for my pick up. Then Mike re-read the email from Megan and realized that she isn’t coming in until TOMORROW night. He called German to let him know. I’m glad we weren’t already on our way. I was really looking forward to spending some time with German’s family this evening, but I was pretty tired already. It will be better to go tomorrow night.

I had posted on facebook that we were picking up Megan tonight and she commented that her flight is tomorrow night. I told her we aren’t really this disorganized. Well… maybe so, but we’re fun!

My discussion with Juver, our substitute guard, was hilarious. I had originally told him that I would be arriving back about midnight-1am with Megan and that he would need to be ready to open the gate for us. He was going to set his alarm. I would call when we were in León. Then with the change of day, I was trying to tell him that we weren’t coming back tonight. We would come back tomorrow. He said, yes, at 1am. I said no, Tuesday at 1am because we were going to the airport tomorrow night. I was saying that the flight (el vuelo) was coming tomorrow night. He thought I said abuelo (grandfather) and thought that I was talking about Alberto. So Juver was explaining that his UNCLE Alberto (who is our regular guard who Juver is filling in for) was coming back Thursday night, not tomorrow night. I know you had to be there to appreciate it, but it was very funny. We finally got it all straightened out and laughed. As I was walking away, he called me back and in all earnestness told me that my Spanish was really improving. LOL It was like those ‘whose on first’ gags. The last time my Spanish got me in this much trouble was when I was trying to say excuse me (disculpeme) and said escupame (spit on me). I always say that if I can’t communicate in Spanish, at least I can be entertaining. ☺

I ended up spending some time doing my Bible study and getting on here. It was a good time to swim a little bit, but I just didn’t have the energy. I had some cold pasta for dinner and changed into my sleep shorts and tank top. I’m ready to relax for the rest of the evening.

I have so much that I need to get done that I feel guilty for resting. But I’m just not willing to focus too much this evening. Tomorrow starts a full and busy week, so I’ll take today for my rest.

I’m going to kick back now and hope to be asleep by 9pm. My biggest wish is to sleep all night long, at least until 5am.

Man, December is sliding by so quickly! I will miss being here so much for the 7 weeks or so that I’m in the states, but it will be fun to be there and talk with people, see my niece get married and then hurry back here. I really have a wonderful life. I’m so thankful to God for His blessings!

Saturday, December 3, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

What a lovely evening. I’ve had a great day. Saturdays seem to be a day of rest, sometimes, and I love it! This morning I walked to German’s house to see how long it takes. 30 minutes there and it will take longer getting home since it’s uphill. But once I got there and visited with Johana, German was ready to come to the Mission House, so I grabbed a ride with him. So, my walk wasn’t as long as I had planned, but the visit was much more fun! I miss seeing Johana. Ishmael was a hoot and Mariangel was her darling self.

Once we got to the house, I doctored German’s thumb, which he had banged really hard with a hammer while working on Johana’s breaks. It could probably use some stitches. I asked if it hurt and German said oh yes. But he still had his usual smile. He and Mike met a construction guy here and went to the site of the new church that is going to be built at the Sewer Pond neighborhood this month. Manuel went with them since it was a manly thing to do. Sherry came to the house a little before noon.

Since Mary and I had the place to ourselves this morning, it was pretty quiet. Joceline got up and we all just hung out and did laundry and stuff.

I got started on sewing the 40 Bible bags. I think I have the process ready for a little sewing every once in a while and will eventually get it all done over the next 2 weeks. I’m trying not to stress over it. I know that God will allow me to get it done.

I got to take a nice long nap this afternoon. That’s 2 days in a row. May, I love naps! Especially after I’ve been out in the sun for a while. My plan was to sew some more, which I did, and then swim a little for exercise, which I didn’t get to do. But it was an enjoyable afternoon anyway.

Manuel, Joceline and Juver were playing baseball and Sherry and Mary were sitting at the end of the veranda watching and cheering. Manuel did pretty good. He doesn’t have really good coordination due to some effects of seizures and the condition of his arm, so the workout did him well. When he connected with the ball, it went far. Once we lost the ball over the wall. When we opened the gate to go looking for it, Oscar walked in with flowers for Joceline. How funny! He ended up joining the ballgame for a little while.

Manuel is in love with Joceline. He doesn’t appreciate Oscar’s presence. It is interesting to see the interaction. Joceline is very aware of Manuel’s feelings and tries not to upset him. She is sweet. Oscar and Joceline joined us for dinner tonight. Sherry had made baked chicken and rice, peas and corn, and salad. Yummy!

After dinner, the Hulsey’s went home, including Buster the dog. Mary and I each retired to our rooms for showers and hanging out. Oscar and Joceline are enjoying the hammocks under the rancho. It’s pretty quiet here tonight.

I got quite a bit of sewing done today and am happy about it. Laundry is all done and put away. I’ve had my chocolate pudding and I’m listening to Spanish Christmas music. Sweet!

We’re going to the church in Telica tomorrow morning. Then we are having lunch at the Hulsey’s. I’ll be leaving with German’s family about 4pm for Managua to pick up Megan tomorrow night. We are going to hang out at the mall for awhile and have dinner and then Megan’s plane comes in at 9:20pm. It will be a late night, probably midnight or later when we get home. I’ll enjoy hanging out with German’s family. And I can’t wait for Megan to get settled in and start serving with us for the month.

I’m going to burn a couple of cds of kid’s Bible songs for the Telica church. I’m also going to take the prerecorded New Testament to them. It’s in a very conversational translation that the kids will enjoy hearing. It will be good to be back at that church again. I went for the first time with the team 2 Sundays ago. We are going to get involved with this church and start a Women’s Bible study there after I get back in Feb. I can’t wait!

Well, I guess I’ll close here so that I can burn those cds for church tomorrow. I’m thankful that it’s easy. I’m not much of a techie.

God has blessed me yet again today. I’m so thankful. I pray that I am pleasing Him with what I do. I’m looking forward to hearing the message tomorrow at church. And I look forward to my personal Bible study in the morning. Good stuff!

Friday, December 2, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

I keep thinking it’s still November until I see the date when I type my blog post. Every day is hot and sunny here, so it’s not much indication of the time of year. Now, the changes in downtown is a different story. Tons of vendors setting up booths to sell things to be given out on the Day of Mary next week. Lots of Christmas decorations and gifts to be sold. It’s the ‘13th Month’, meaning that everyone gets an extra month’s pay for the year. And everyone is busy spending it. The streets are getting more crowded due to the booths. Traffic flow is not the best anyway, with the narrow streets. Tall Ladies are everywhere and you can hear the drums for blocks around signifying that there is a performance around. I hope to capture it on video this year.

This morning (my one morning a week without Spanish class) is still woke up at 5:30am, and Buster wasn’t even here to bark early. I got up and did some computer work, Bible study and got ready for a little trek to downtown to buy some material for more Bible bags. Mary and I left the house about 8:40am via a taxi. He could get us as close as about 1 block away. We looked around the park and sat on a park bench while waiting for Leslie to meet us.

We went to a couple of fabric stores and I spent another $40 on fabric to make 40 more bags. I’m thankful that has allowed me the resources to provide these for the ladies. I’ve made about 30 so far and have another 40 to go. But the ladies love them and it’s a blessing to me to this for them. We stopped at a plastic store and got a few more little storage items. Then we headed out to find a little store that German told Mary about so she could buy some movies in English. We couldn’t find the store, but it was a nice morning for a walk.

Houses are built right out to the street and if the windows and doors are open, you can look in as you walk by. One house had some Christmas decorations up and Mary stopped to admire them. The people looked at her a little strange. Leslie said they would think she is trying to see what they had so she could rob them. I called her a peeping Tom. She said they shouldn’t open their windows and doors. I guess they should just keep shut up in a hot house. Ha I walked past the House of the Bible and waved to Linda who works there. It’s nice to have friends to greet.

I handed over my packages to Leslie and Mary, who were going to take a taxi back to the house, and I walked back to the house. I stopped by Bazar Jerry and bought a couple pieces of ribbon. I got home about 11am. It was hot, but a nice walk. The heat does wipe me out, though.

We had steak (Nica steak gives your jaws a workout), rice, beans, steamed veggies and tortillas for lunch. It was good. After lunch, everyone got busy doing their own stuff and I started cutting out the pieces of fabric for the bags. I got everything cut out, so now I just need to grab some pieces everytime I get the chance and start getting the bags done.

About 3pm I stopped to take a shower and dress for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church. We were down in number there today, too. This time of year is not conducive for good attendance. But we had a good class. I introduced the study on Mary and our Mary taught about how to share your testimony.

We got back home and I boiled a big pan of pasta to eat on for the weekend. I talked with Juver while the food was cooking. He is filling in for Alberto while he is on vacation. I came to my room and started working on the computer since I have the usb connector tonight. I watched a copy of the video that Oscar shot from the Bible study at Las Quimeras and ROSCC churches, the Feeding at ROSCC and this week’s Sewing class. It was funny. I hope that JP can pull some snippets off to put on my new website when we work on it in January.

Speaking of websites… Voice of Hope has a new look to the website that will be put into place very soon. It’s awesome! There’s a guy here who is working on it for us. It will have a version in English and one in Spanish. You can click between the two. There are lots of pictures. I love it! Can’t wait till it’s finished and everyone can see it.

Mike called to let me know that Joceline was on her way home from babysitting at their house and for us to open the gate for her. At the same time, German was beeping at the big gate to get in so his father-in-law could pick up German’s motorcycle. Lots going on at once. It was funny.

I think I’m going to the airport with German’s family to pick up Megan (from FBCR) on Sunday evening. It will be grand to spend some time with German’s family. I look forward to greeting Megan and I hope she likes living here with us this month as she serves with the ministry to finish up her Masters’ degree. I can’t wait to get my new Spanish books from her, too! Ha

Well, guess I’ll get off of here. I’ve enjoyed today very much. If I wake up early like I plan, I want to go for a long walk in the morning. We’ll see. After that, it’s sewing time baby!!! Life is grand!

Thursday, December 1, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-01T18:36:00.000-08:00

Well, it’s been another good day. But you knew I was going to say that, didn’t you? I just can’t say enough how blessed I feel to be here in Nica, serving in the ways that God allows. I am so blessed.

I got up early this morning, even though Buster stayed at the Hulsey’s last night and wasn’t barking at his usual too-early time. I did some Bible study, had breakfast, showered and dressed and had time to chat a little with Mary. My phone was ringing when I was getting out of the shower and the read out said it was Sherry. I can’t get good reception in my room and usually have to go outside. Since I wasn’t dressed yet, I hurried up and got ready so I could call her back and see what she wanted. It turned out to be Manuel using Sherry’s phone while she was out running. He said that he had sent me an email (pretend) and wanted me to be looking for it. He hears his daddy telling this to his brother in the states. Manuel said that he had sent a couple of emails to Mary, too, but she must be asleep since she didn’t answer the phone. He’s so funny. He had also taken the internet usb connector home last night, too. That wasn’t so funny.

Anyway, I left for school and talked to Deanna on the phone while walking. She could tell when I was going uphill. It was noisy, too, since it’s a major road and lots of buses and trucks are going by. At least there were no cattle to dodge this morning. Unfortunately, I ran out of minutes while talking to her. I didn’t want her to think that I had gotten run over, so I called her quickly on my iPhone just to let her know that I was okay. It was good to hear her voice. She said that she is ready for me to come home. I told her it would be less than a month now. I miss her and Jet.

The walk to class was good. As I passed by Bazar Jerry, the clerk waved to me again. I stopped in the Librería for a notebook and said hi to Yerling. As I walked past the artist in his little spot, he waved to me, too. How nice to have these little blessings. It was hot this morning, but I wasn’t as sweaty as yesterday when I got to the school. Jackie was there to greet me and I got settled in with the fan and my books and started reviewing until Juan got there.

We had a good class and talked about many things (all in Spanish). Taxes, IRS, dating, pre-marital sex in the US, saving money, buy Christmas gifts out of obligation, all kinds of stuff. One of the students from Juan’s Saturday English classes last year, Gerald, stopped in for a few minutes. He remembered me from that day. It was nice to see him again. He wished me luck with my Spanish classes.

I walked home and it was pretty hot. It gave me a good excuse to stop in at my favorite used clothing store on the way, to cool off. I found 2 large denim skirts to cut up for sewing material. I also found a couple pairs of capris and a couple of tops. It was nice to be welcomed by the owner. She is nice and loves that I spend money there.

We had a great lunch of grilled chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes and coleslaw. After lunch, I went to my room to lay down a little. I fell asleep and dozed off an on for 2 hours. Oh my! But it sure felt good! I woke up about 4 and everyone was leaving. Sherry and Mary went to the movies, Mike and Manuel ran errands and hung out a while. Joceline and I went for a late afternoon swim and practiced English and Spanish words with each other. About 5:15 we got out of the pool so she could get ready for her date with Oscar and I grabbed a shower and some leftovers for dinner and got on the computer. It’s been nice and quiet.

Mary got home just a little bit ago. Aberto is leaving tomorrow morning for 8 days off. His cousin or nephew of something, Juver, is going to stay here in his place. It will be nice to have him here. Unfortunately, he runs his words together like Ablerto does, so it’s hard for me to understand what he is saying. But we will talk a lot, I’m sure and I’ll get used to it.

I was reminding Juan this morning that my left ear has profound hearing loss and I can’t hear a lot of sounds in it. It makes it difficult to learn new words by just hearing them. I’m going to listen to the Bible in Spanish on my iPod while reading it in my bi-lingual Bible. That will help me a lot. I can pick up new words and understand a lot by reading. It’s just this dumb ear that gives me problems. But it will be okay. It’s teaching me patience and to depend on God.

Even with my 2 hour nap today, I’m ready for bed early. I think walking in the heat is getting to me more than I realize. I need to watch that more closely. I’m just so hungry for exercise!

Oh, on the way home from class, I was almost to where the buses to Poneloya and Las Peñitas (the beach towns) pick up and I saw a motorcycle with Teresa (from ROSCC church) on the back. They stopped and she introduced me to her husband. She asked if I was going to ride the bus to the beach. I told her that I was walking home from Spanish class to the Mission House. She was impressed that I was walking so far. I think she was questioning my good sense about walking in the heat, though. She got back on the motorcycle (sidesaddle I might add, since she only wears skirts) and they rode off. How nice to see her.

Okay, now I’m getting off of here. Time for another episode of Army Wives and bed. Many blessings today and I know there are more to come.

Wednesday, November 30, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-12-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

The last day of November. Hard to believe. Day follows day and week follows week and it’s the same weather, hot and sunny. Time goes by so fast.

This morning I awoke at 5am and did some personal Bible study and some work on the computer since I still had the usb connection. Then I had breakfast, showered and prepared for class.

I walked to class this morning and of course, beat Juan there. But we made up the lost time by staying over. As I was walking by the Bazar Jerry, I looked over and one of the clerks recognized me and greeted me. I may try to stop in and buy some thread or ribbon or something from them. I like to keep in touch.

I did stop in at Mundo Escolar Librería, my favorite little bookstore, and bought some dry erase markers and a new eraser for Juan. It was nice to see Yerling.

Class was good and we talked about a lot of things. I speak much slower when I’m trying to figure out the right ending for the verb tenses, but it’s getting better. Juan is always so proud of me when I get it right. I’m realizing that I’ve covered a lot of ground these past 5-6 weeks, but I still see so much more that I need to learn. I’m hard on myself. I’m thankful for this time of study. What a blessing.

My niece emailed me the notice of their engagement in the newspaper. She said the wedding plans are coming along nicely. It will be February before I know it.

I still don’t have data capability on my US phone, but they say it’s a glitch with the Nica company. I think I may just cancel the international data plan when we finally get wireless internet here at the house. They keep saying ‘tomorrow’. Maybe they are related to Scarlett O’Hara. ☺

Juan’s school is in town and, like most homes and businesses, is open to the ‘fresh’ air. There was some road work going on along his block. The dust got so bad that you couldn’t see across the street. When I packed up my books to go home, there was a thick layer of dust on them. This is not a place for dirt-a-phobics. The dust will just get worse and worse as the dry season goes on for the next 5-6 months. But it’s better the perpetual rain and mud.

I was walking home from class and saw the van with German, Mike, Sherry and Leslie. They picked me up and we came back to the Mission House for lunch. Then I laid down and read for a little bit until I fell asleep for a short nap. It sure felt good. Leslie had left with Sherry and Mike, so when the taxi came to pick Mary and I up for the Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras, we swung by to pick up Leslie on the way.

We had a good class this afternoon, although the attendance was down to 9 this week. Many people are on ‘vacation’ now since the schools are out until February, and people travel to visit family during December. I wonder if our numbers will be down the rest of the month, too. But we had a good discussion about Mary. Next Wednesday is actually the celebration for the Day of Mary, where she is worshipped. It’s a big deal. We are learning that the Bible describes Mary as a humble, simple young woman whose ‘blessedness’ comes from God using her for His plan. It will be an interesting month of studying.

We got home and had some dinner. I opted for chicken noodle soup and crackers. I’ve been really thirsty today and have drank about a gallon of water since I got home. But I guess that’s good.

I worked on some Women’s Bible study stuff, some Spanish grammar charts and now the blog. I don’t have any internet capability at all tonight, so I’m going to relax and watch another episode of Army Wives on my computer. I’ll start back with my sewing marathons this weekend, but for tonight, it’s going to be relaxation time!!

I found out that a faithful supporter of VOH is going to send some money from his church to help buy Christmas stuff for the kids at the Las Quimeras new Sunday School. What a blessing!! I’m going to donate some money for Christmas presents for the kids at the VOH Children’s Home in Honduras. There are 6 kids there that Sherry and Mike (and VOH) support. It will be a privilege to help fulfill the kid’s Christmas blessings.

Well, time for relaxing. Loving my life. Even the tired moments. God is good. I am blessed.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-30T05:42:00.001-08:00

Man, was I tired today!! I was so excited to have the internet usb connection last night and to get to download some stuff, that I was jumping up all night when I would wake up to roll over in bed. I would check to see that the downloads were still going. I know I will sleep very well tonight!

Hopefully, the wireless, ‘stronger’ internet will finally get installed this week. They keep saying ‘tomorrow’, but that started over 2 weeks ago. I’m thankful for what we have and will be even more grateful for the better one!

Spanish class was good this morning, but I could tell I wasn’t thinking at 100% due to being tired and also being pre-occupied with conversations that I was having during the morning with FBCRogers. I always hate having to deal with support and stuff. I just want to serve and forget the worldly stuff. Fortunately, living as a missionary is pretty much at the bottom of the material world, so there’s not a lot to handle. Just praying for God to show me how He wants me to involve people in the ministry by giving them the opportunity to help.

Juan was pre-occupied with some stuff, too, but we had a good class anyway. He said that he can tell a difference every day in my usage of all those silly verb tenses. ☺

Juan said that Jonathan and Salvador, the guys in the English class I help with, have job interviews in Managua using their English skills. I hope they get the jobs, if it’s God’s will, but I will miss them!

I walked to and from class today, which made me even more tired, but it felt good to get the exercise. I had lunch and then sat a visited a little bit with Mary, Sherry, Joceline and Leslie.

We prepared everything for the Sewing class and had a great time with those 10 ladies. They learned how to make little drawstring bags by sewing them by hand. Oscar was here to video a little bit of the class for our VOH ministry video. Mary was taken by surprised and a little worried about what she looked like, but we all look like we’ve been busy and could use some freshening up most of the time. No worries.

After the ladies left, Mike and German returned from Managua. The Hulsey’s took Joceline home with them to babysit Manuel tonight so they could have a date night. Mary and I had tuna for dinner and then went to our rooms. I had a ton of correspondence to take care of and Mary watched part of a movie on Manuel’s computer. Joceline came home and got all tucked into her room. Alberto had me catch Buster for him so he could tuck Buster into bed for the night.

Mike said that internet has been a problem all over Nicaragua today, but I got on it this evening on my computer. It was good to get some correspondence done about ministry opps for December and for the coming year.

I watched 2 episodes of Army Wives on my computer and now am ready for bed. I’m so thankful for all of God’s blessings. And tonight I’m especially thankful for the blessing of rest! Goodnight!

Monday, November 28, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-30T05:41:00.001-08:00

Woke up early and was ready to start the day. Very good night’s sleep.
I got up and did some Chronological Bible ready/study. Then I reviewed Spanish a little before getting breakfast and a shower.

I was planning on walking to class, but German came by to do an errand and was leaving soon and asked if I wanted a ride. I haven’t had the chance to spend much time with him and talk since we are all so busy with our own parts of the ministry. So I decided to accept the ride. A bonus was that we went by his house to pick up his wife and I got to see Ishmael and Mariangel (and Joanna’s mother, who was going to babysit) for a little while. I miss them a lot. Our schedules haven’t allowed us to all be together for weeks.

I got to class right on time, and of course, Juan was late, but it gave me more time for review. Not having class all last week made me a little rusty, but happy for the things that are sticking to my brain. We had a great class, discussing many things in Spanish, like what all the team did last week, how Mary is, etc. I had taken some Christmas Carols to translate and we worked on a couple. I spent more time trying to explain the carols than on translating them into Spanish. I’m becoming more aware that North America has lots of frivolous stuff that the rest of the world doesn’t deal with, especially for holidays, and even more so for Christmas. It makes me even more aware of how far western culture has deviated from the true meaning of Christmas. Of course, here, they worship Mary for Christmas and put Jesus on a backburner, so there are challenges wherever you go to spread the Gospel.

I walked home from class and Sherry had made taco salad for lunch. Taco salad is more of a North American food, but everyone here likes it. Me especially.

Mike and I met for a little bit about administrative stuff for the ministry and the plans for the future of the Women’s Ministry here. We also talked about my future and the options for my financial support. Sherry, Manuel and Joceline went swimming, Leslie looked over the notes for this week’s Women’s Bible study, Mary read a book and Mike worked on his computer. It was a very peaceful afternoon.

Mary was itching to get out of the house for a while, since she doesn’t go anywhere except church, Bible studies and out to eat with the group. She and I had planned on going shopping to buy flip flops this afternoon, but the meeting with Mike took a little longer than anticipated. But Sherry, Mary, Joceline and I ran downtown for about an hour and got flip flops and then some ice cream. We walked to La Unión grocery store and the girls bought cold sodas while I ran into the sewing notions/craft store next door. I got some ribbon and another crochet hook. Leslie’s husband, Jorge, picked us up in his taxi and brought us home. We had a quick dinner of snacks and then it was time for the VOH weekly Bible study.

While at the park downtown, we ran into Joe and Marcela. It was so good to get some hugs!! I can’t wait until we can spend some time together.

Oscar came to the study and I teased him about smelling extra nice for tonight. Joceline is his girlfriend and now that she is living here, he is putting his best foot forward. Manuel, Mike and Sherry’s son, is in love with Joceline and is planning on marrying her. He has told Oscar in no uncertain terms that Oscar is out of the running and to find another girl. On Joceline’s cell phone, she had a picture of her and Oscar as the wallpaper. Manuel deleted it. He gets serious about his ‘girlfriends’, but luckily, he changes girlfriends often, especially when teams come down, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Jaasiel said that Manuel did very well in his schoolwork today. He had a week off last week, too, since the team was here and Jaasiel worked as a translator for us. His new medication is slowly kicking in to make him more focused and even out his emotions. Meds and prayers are the order of the day. It’s good to see his sweet smile with those cute little dimples.

VOH Bible study was good and Oscar and German joined Mary, Sherry, Mike and me. Jonathan and Salvadore weren’t here and I missed seeing them.

I messed around with some crafty stuff this evening while downloading stuff on my computer. I downloaded some Christmas songs from iTunes, which would normally take a few seconds per song. Here it took about 5 minutes per song. Then overnight I downloaded app updates for my phone.

The internet company, which was supposed to show up 2 weeks ago, then last week, then yesterday morning, is supposedly coming this morning. We will have ‘higher than what we have now’ speed internet and it will be wireless. That means I can get on it any time and since I don’t have to use the usb connector, I can use my printer while still on the net. It will be almost like normal! Ha

I was thinking about anything unusual that I saw today, keeping in mind that unusual is a very relative term down here. One thing sticks out in my mind. There was a guy in a wheel chair that had been rigged up with the pedal part of a bicycle for him to use with his arms to get around. You could tell that it was home made.

Another funny thing is that there is a guy at the corner by the ice cream shop who takes it upon himself to direct traffic with a very loud whistle. Everyone ignores him and he never helps the situation at all, but he’s very serious about his self appointed job.

All in all, it has been a great day. I love all the blessings.

Sunday, November 27, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-30T05:39:00.000-08:00

A nice quiet night. No one here but Mary, me, Jocelina (not sure about how to spell her name yet), Alberto and Buster the dog. I miss having the team here, but it was nice to get so much done today, too.

Since we had been at church many times this week, Mike said we would be staying home today. I spent some good time doing Bible study this morning and loved it. I then started doing some much needed laundry. I ended up doing 2 loads of clothes plus stripping my bed and even washing the sheet/bedspread and pillow shams that I made. Everything is all put back where it belongs and it feels good.

I also worked on my notes for the Women’s Bible study this week. We will be studying Mary over the next 4 weeks. I’m excited to see how the ladies react to some of the truths in the Bible that don’t line up with their Catholic upbringing. It should be good for some interesting discussion time.

I also studied a few hours on Spanish. I was reading some of my notes (I’ve filled 2 notebooks so far) and read stuff that I forgot we even discussed. No wonder my brain is crazy. Too much stuff in it!

For dinner, I fixed a baked potato and some cream of mushroom soup. It was yummy. I had trail mix for dessert.

I spent another few hours on the internet looking up info about projects for our ladies to work on in sewing class for the next few months. I can get drawn in and lose track of time doing that. But it’s been a fun day.

I’m pretty tired and I need to get up early tomorrow for extra hours in Spanish class, so this will be short.

We said goodbye to Steve Wood and his family this morning. Jocelina moved into her room this afternoon. Next Sunday our intern from FBCRogers will arrive for 3 weeks and then on Thursday, Talon, our intern from El Dorado AR will arrive for a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to have them here and get geared up for the big December team.

Mike says we’re having a staff meeting about Dec and the future, etc., after lunch tomorrow. I’ll scurry home from Spanish class to be ready. Then I think Mary and I may go down town for a little bit. She wants to get some flip flops and Monday afternoon is about our only free time to do so.

I grabbed a quick shower, my second one today, so that I would be fresh and clean for my clean sheets. I think I hear them calling my name…

Saturday, November 26, 2011

2011-11-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

Almost 10pm and I’m comfortably relaxing in my room. The team from Eastside Baptist Church, Paragould AR, left this morning. We worked a little cleaning around the house. I did some Bible study and then I grabbed a nap and put laundry away, ate left overs for lunch and dinner, then showered, got on the computer and then watched a few episodes of Army Wives on the computer.

I’m very relaxed and comfy and ready to go to sleep.

It has been a really good week. We start back to the regular routine next week. I’ll be in Spanish class Mon-Thurs, teach sewing on Tues afternoon, teach Bible study on Wed and Fri afternoons and help with the English class on Thurs afternoon.

Time is going to really fly by these last 5 weeks.

Buster the dog is having to get used to just Me and Mary and Alberto being here at night. No team for him to play with. Maybe he’ll catch up on his napping, too.

We are taking it easy tomorrow since we’ve been so busy this week. We’ve been to so many church services this week, that Mike said we could take the morning off. I’ll spend a few hours on Bible study and will enjoy my time with the Lord.

I also need to be studying on Spanish to prepare for class on Monday.

I have decided that I will work on sewing the Bible bags for the ladies at ROSCC church over the next few weeks and give them to the ladies right before Christmas. I am going to pace myself a little bit on the workload.

I need to get projects lined out for the Sewing class ladies to work on while I’m gone during Jan and half of Feb.

It really does feel like I’m preparing for ‘vacation’ in the states and returning ‘home’ to Nica in a couple of months. I like that feeling.

I’m waiting to find out what my support will look like from FBC Rogers, so that I can put together my newsletter and support letter for the end of the year. I know that God will provide for me. I’m just waiting to see how He has it planned and what I need to do to pull it together.

German is going to find out next week about getting some of my meds here in Nica. That will be cheaper and also I won’t have to buy 3 months worth at a time. The change/possible loss of health insurance at the end of Dec will help to determine my options. There are some definite advantages to getting the meds here. Like price, availability, etc. We’ll see.

We’re getting ready for a big team the week before Christmas, who will build a church at the Sewer Pond neighborhood. At the same time, I’ll be turning over the reigns of the Bible studies and Sewing class to Leslie, our fulltime translator, to keep things going while we’re in the states.

I had a really great blessing today. While getting passports for the team out of my safe, I realized that the little bag that I keep my passport in felt more full than just my passport. I looked inside and there was an envelope from my bank back in the states with some money that I had put aside and forgot about. I was so happy to find it! What a blessing!!! I love it when God surprises me like that!

Well, bed is calling my name. Looking forward to a restful night and I’m so thankful to sleep in peace that comes from knowing God.

Friday, November 25, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-26T04:47:00.000-08:00

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!

Thursday, November 24, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-26T04:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day. I spent that holiday last year here, too. I love it. We went out to Las Quimeras and held a morning VBS time and then were there to pray over the feeding of kids. It was a beautiful day. Sunny, but not too hot, with a slight breeze. The kids had fun and the team enjoyed working with them and also going street witnessing. More than one of the team members mentioned how appreciative the kids (and even adults) were to get to color with crayons, make a paperbag puppet, play simple games and just have fun. I was happy to get to help cut up some of the vegetables for the lunch that was served to the kids. I am so happy to see the simple, but new and very functional outdoor kitchen at the church. It’s a lean-to built up against part of one of the walls. It has a tin roof and the supports are made of tree limbs. The cooking area is made up of cement blocks that make 3 spots for putting fires and setting large pots. There is a work table for chopping food. The ladies were quite happy to work in the new kitchen. They were from the Women’s Bible study group and it was fun to get to see them 3 times this week! We mostly stayed out of their way, but felt happy to be there.

We came back to the Mission House and had lunch. Sherry had planned a special lunch since it was Thanksgiving dinner. We had grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese (made with boxes of velveeta cheese that she had brought from the states), slaw and corn. It was very good. She had baked some cakes for us, too.

After lunch, everyone relaxed in their own ways. I laid down on my bed and had a little snooze. Mary woke me up about 15 minutes before we left for church service.

We went back out to Las Quimeras church for a special service. The lady Pastor from the Telica church, along with some others from that little church, were present. The team had purchased 40 chairs for the Telica church, so we took them with us and presented them to the Pastor. They were very glad to get them.

Pastor Marvin was there from Rose of Sharon CC church, along with his mom and dad and the little praise band. It was nice to see them. It was a good service with lovely music and the message and testimony were brought by the team. Very good jobs by everyone.

We got back to the Mission House about 7:30pm and had dinner, a traditional daily Nicaraguan meal: beans, rice, fried plantain, fried cheese and tortilla.

Mike talked a little bit to the group and thanked them for the great work they did this week. Tomorrow is fun day and the group is having a fun time tonight talking and laughing under the rancho and I can hear them from my room. I’m going to miss having them here.

I’ll be going with the group to go shopping tomorrow morning, along with Leslie. We’ll eat at either Tip Top Chicken or Hollywood Pizza, which are side by side. Then we’ll come back to hang out at the Mission House and then about 3:30pm go to the beach and to Suyapa for an early dinner. It will be a fun day.

Usually, we are exhausted at the end of a team ministry week, but being here at the Mission House and having a great team to work with has made this week very fun and enjoyable. I haven’t had to go out with the team for Fiestas since I’m still carrying on the Bible Studies and Sewing Class, so it has been a lot easier on me than in the past. It is such a blessing to have Leslie to be in charge of Fiestas and the VBS today.

The stars were beautiful tonight. Since there are few lights and no tall buildings, even in town, it was easy to see the start. Leslie and Jaasiel asked if I think we have the same stars in the US. I said no, these are prettier. Haha

I’m ready to head to bed for now. It’s been a good day. I did get the chance to call one of my sisters and my mom early this morning before we left for Las Quimeras. I was waiting until later in the day to call my other sister and my dad, but when I had the chance, we were out of cell range and then I fell asleep in the afternoon when at the Mission House and didn’t get them called. I’ll try tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and is truly thankful for God being in their lives. I know I am.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

Just realized that tomorrow is Thanksgiving. How funny to not be thinking about it. I was aware that it is ‘this week’ and ‘this Thursday’, but it still didn’t connect in my head. I like the Thanksgiving holiday, but I also am glad to be away from all the stress of people trying to make it a ‘perfect’ holiday.

This morning I went for a walk with Steve, the visiting Pastor here to do a conference. We walked down to Todopoderoso church and back. Probably 4 miles. We stopped in at the ‘gym’, a House of the Bible book store and a health food kind of store on the way. We enjoyed it.

I did a little bit of work getting things in order and then got my much needed shower. The team got back when I was finishing up and we all had a good lunch of simmered beef steak with onions and tomatoes, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and beans. Very yummy! As all the meals are!

We had some down time and some of the team napped and some swam in the pool and some sat around and talked. Charlie (the team leader) was asking me for a list of items that they can get for us and send down. So I talked with him a little bit about that list.

Mary, Leslie and I left for the Women’s Bible Study in Las Quimeras and we had a very good class today. We finished up the study on Eve today and then Mary talked to them about Evangelizing and their favorite verses and such. We had some new women come starting today. It’s good to see the ministry grow in that community.

When we finished the Bible study, we thought that Danilo was just going to pick us up after he dropped part of the team off at the church in Malpaisillo and then take us to the church to meet up with the group. Instead, we got out to the van and there were all but one of the translators and German. There wasn’t room in the other van for everyone and there wasn’t enough time for Danilo to make multiple runs, so they came to get us and the service was almost half over already and the ride there is 30 minutes. So German made the decision for us to just go to the Mission House and call it a night. The funny thing is that all the translators, except Jeremy were missing from church. It’s only funny to us, I guess…

We got home and had some tacos. These are giant taquitos with a chicken filling. I can’t have the fried food, so Claudia and Lydia gave me some before frying. Since the meat filling is already cooked, it’s like having a chicken salad wrap. Yummy! We also had beans, rice and salad.

I was sitting outside under the rancho on my computer, but the mosquitoes were attacking me, so I’ve moved inside my room. They have gotten the internet back up, so I’m going to take advantage of some downloading time tonight! At least until the team gets back.

Danilo drove Leslie home (or at least partway) and then picked up Pacheco to come to translate for Steve tonight at Rose of Sharon CC church. It was good to see Juan. I really miss seeing him 4 times a week. I told him that I studied a little bit today. I really want to concentrate on all my Spanish so that we can charge ahead on Monday. Being out of class for 11 days is not good!

The team has had over 150 salvations this week so far. Tomorrow is VBS and a feeding at Las Quimeras church and then a worship service tomorrow night there. That will be the last ministry time for the team. Friday will be their fun day around here in León and at the beach in Poneloya.

I was thinking about one of the women at the Bible study today. She had a hurt big toe. Instead of a bandaid, she had wrapped her toe in a leaf and tied it with a string. How much we take for granted having bandaids!

I’ll go to bed tonight thinking about all the things that I’m thankful for. I try to do that as much as possible, but since tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the states, I’ll make a special effort to do so.

First of all, I’m thankful for my God and my Savior. I’m thankful for the life as a missionary. I’m thankful for Voice of Hope Minsitries and I’m thankful for the people of León Nicaragua that I have grown to love. That’s a pretty good start.

PS Another thing to be thankful for…
The team (Eastside Baptist Church from Paragould AR) just called me out to sit in on their share time and presented me with $640 to buy Bibles for the Women’s Bible Study at Rose of Sharon CC church! Praise God! All these women have been praying for God to send them Bibles and this wonderful group has answered that prayer! I’m so excited and THANKFUL!!! Woohoo! Now I’ll get busy making the Bible bags! These ladies will be sooo surprised! God, You are so good!

Tuesday, November 22, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

Had a great morning! Woke up early and took my bloodpressure medicine so that I could walk later in the morning without getting a bad sunburn (a side effect of the meds). I did my Bible study in the conference room where we have drinks set up for the team to buy (since we don’t stop at the convenience store anymore). This way they can find me as they are finishing breakfast and getting packed up for the Fiestas that morning. We had yummy scrambled eggs, fresh fruit and oatmeal today. I really enjoyed it.

After the team left, I went for a good long walk to downtown. I don’t know for sure how far it is, but I think I ended up walking about 5-6 miles all together. It felt sooo good. I didn’t take my little backpack, but just put my 2 phones and some Nica money in my pockets. I carried my water bottle and wore a baseball cap.

As I was walking past Texaco, I noticed German on the his motorcycle talking on the phone. I waved hello and kept going. By the time I got to Pacheco’s school, German pulled up on the motorcycle and said that I sure walk fast. I told him it was an exercise walk. He asked where I was going and I told him downtown. He asked if I wanted a ride and I said no that I wanted to walk. He said REALLY??? And I said again that it was for exercise. Haha

He left and I saw Pacheco coming out of his school heading for a taxi. We spoke for just a couple of minutes. I got to practice my verb tenses on him. That made him smile. I miss having Spanish class this week. Hope I don’t forget anything.

My first stop was Plaza del Carmen, where I love to look at pretty stuff and buy sandals. I got a neat pair today that looked like they had every decoration available all put on one pair of sandals. (I later removed some of the special effects and now they are more subdued. They are very comfortable, which is why I bought them. You can get sandals here for $5-6 US. Not bad.

I went to the fabric store where I have started a little friendship with a guy who works there. Through our business dealings, he has told me that he wants to learn English. I had told him I would bring him a flyer from Pacheco’s school and I kept forgetting to put it in my bag. So today I had one in my pocket. I found him and gave him the flyer and he was very thankful. I hope he takes advantage of the special free first level. I think he would be a very good student.

I then stopped at another fabric store and found some very cheap cotton to make the linings, pockets and straps for the Bible bags. I walked over to La Unión and went to the sewing notions/crafts store there and got spools of white thread and some pins for the ladies in Sewing class. Then I walked back to the Mission House. It was a good long and hot walk, but I did like the Nicaraguans and kept to the shade where possible.

I really enjoyed my walk and hope to get to do it lots more.

I got back to the Mission House and consolidated some of the team stuff so that the conference room would be ready to have the Sewing class in it later in the afternoon. I helped with things around the place a little bit and then got my shower. Just as I was getting dressed, the team got back from the 2 Fiestas. We had a wonderful lunch of canalones, my favorite! I got to do some laundry for a couple of people for the team and then started getting stuff ready for the Sewing class.

The class was very good. The ladies learned about cutting out simple patterns, pinning the pattern pieces on the fabric, cutting the pieces out, putting the pieces together and pinning them and then hand sewing the pieces together. They were making the little Kleenex holders that I’ve been making out of my scraps of fabric left from other projects. They did really well. Mary had them laughing a lot. Leslie is a great translator and she is learning to sew right a long with the ladies.

Due to the bus schedule, we’ve decided to change the time of the class to 2-4pm instead of 3-5pm. This suits Mary and I well, too. The ladies left for the bus to Las Quimeras and Mary and I returned to chatting with the team.

We had hamburgers and frozen French fries for dinner. Since I can’t eat the fries, I opted for eating some leftovers that Sherry let me have for my fridge. I had cold meatloaf (a favorite) and some potato salad. It was good.

I started feeling really tired so I sat in my rocker for about 20 minutes before getting ready for church. My back is hurting a little bit tonight. I think it’s from all the bending over to cut out sewing projects and then sitting at the sewing machine so much. I also was bending and lifting in unusual ways when organizing all the stuff in the conference room earlier. I’m getting way too out of shape. Need to exercise more!

This afternoon, Breken (on of the guys on the team, who happens to be an assistant manager at a gym in the states) went with Chico (translator) and another guy on the team to the gym not far into town. It’s a little place, dirt floor, with exercise equipment setting around. They worked out a little bit and witnessed to some guys there. 2 of the guys were Christians, 2 accept Christ and 1 guy wasn’t ready to make a decision yet. Then they walked down to Texaco and talked to some more people. 1 person accepted Christ there. They had a good afternoon. I sent my camera with them and they got some good pictures for me.

Tonight the team split into 2 groups and went to churches. I went with the group to Oscar’s church. It was my second time there. The Pastor’s wife recognized me and that it was my second time. I really like that church. It’s very peaceful, even though the worship is loud and strong. You can feel the Holy Spirit there. TL gave his testimony and it was very moving. Breck preached because his son had misplaced his notes for tonight. It was a very good service. At the end many of the congregation came forward to be prayed over by us. They the entire church circled us to pray for us. The Pastor kept saying to squeeze into a tighter circle. Just another example of how there is no personal space in Nica! It was lovely, though, and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

We got back to the Mission House and got settled in. The team surrounded Mary and prayed for her and her family, especially her great-grand daughter, Bristol, who is in Children’s Hospital in Little Rock AR, because she kept having trouble breathing (a problem she has had since being a preemie). She had stopped breathing on the way to the hospital. Very scary for a 3 month old! Mary gave her daughter my US cell number and my email address, since I can be reached immediately on both. Our internet is down here at the house, so my phone is a great blessing. I told Mary that I would leave it on loud ring and let her know if there was any word. She said she hopes not to see me tonight. Me, too. I pray that the Doctor’s figure out what is going on in Bristol’s little body and can fix it. That is, if God doesn’t heal her first.

I’m very tired and going to sleep now. It’s been a very good day and I’m thankful for so many things. God is good. And I am blessed.

Monday, November 21, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-23T18:10:00.002-08:00

10pm and it’s time for bed. It’s been a good day. The team went to do a Fiesta this morning and the 4 ladies went with me to do the Women’s Conference at Rose of Sharon Country Club church. Someone asked me how they came up with the name Country Club. It’s actually the name of the community (made up of cement block, tree limbs, plastic, tin houses) that doesn’t look at all like what you would call a Country Club in the states.

The conference was good. We were celebrating being women and having fun after finishing our month long study on Eve. The ladies from the team painted all the ladies’ fingernails. We had a song, 4 testimonies and a game. Then we had a raffle and gave out lots of prizes. We had 65 women all together. It was great! About 20 of them were first time visitors to the church. Most of the Friday Bible study group was there and many of the women from the church joined us. Pastor Marvin was very excited! We got everyone’s names. We are praying that the visitors will come to the Sunday services, Friday Women’s Bible studies and Friday night Women’s Worship Service. I had a good time seeing my friends there. They are a very loving bunch of people.

After the conference ended, Pastor Marvin took us on a tour of the neighborhood. We came across lots of kids going to the church for their one meal of the day. We then met back at the church and waited for the rest of the team to get there to do a Fiesta with the kids while waiting for their lunch. The ROSCC ladies were cooking over the open fires in the outdoor, lean-to kitchen that I got to help in before. They were very gracious to allow us to come and get in their way.

The Fiesta there was fun and the team has some good drama people on it. The kids bring their own bowl/plate and cup. It gets a little hectic trying to figure out who belongs to each set, but the kids know theirs and are very orderly in getting their food. Our team felt that things were a bit disorganized and being North Americans wanted to ‘fix’ the process. I explained that we were in their way and although their process is not like ours, it works for them and we need to be respectful of letting them do their work. It was very humbling for the team to see how people in this community live and eat. I’m very proud of the work that the church does for the community. There are 5 ladies who cook all morning 5 days a week to provide the lunch for these 140 kids. I’m making them each a new apron to show our appreciation.

We left the feeding and came back to the Mission House for lunch. It was grilled chicken (with Claudia’s special marinade), Sherry’s potato salad, mixed steamed veggies and beans. Yummy!!

We had down time for a little while and a few people got in the pool with Manuel and had some fun. Then about 3pm we took the team into town to tour the Cathedral, have ice cream, look at the old market and visit the grocery store. We came back to the Mission House about 5pm and had dinner. I broke off long enough to go to buy the fabric for the 5 aprons and to get a couple more plastic storage containers for my shelf. I found out that the name of the guy at the fabric store that I have started conversations with (because he wants to learn English and I am practicing my Spanish on him) is named Bismark. I told him that I would bring him a flyer for the first level of Juan’s English Academy for free. I need to try to get back to his store sometime soon. Hopefully this week! At least on Saturday after the team leaves. He said that he is familiar with Juan’s school and knows who Juan is. I think he will be another great student like Jonathan and Salvador. He’s really hungry to learn English.

We had a light dinner tonight and it was good. Tuna or ham & cheese sandwiches, salad and fruit salad. I enjoyed it very much. It helped to offset that candy bar and ice cream that I had earlier. Ooops.

Tonight a part of the team went to church tonight at Rose of Sharon Panteleon church to a youth worship service. The rest of us stayed back and visited and talked about serving in missions. It was a nice evening.

I had the chance to use the internet cable this evening, but wouldn’t you know it, the service was not working right and I couldn’t get on the internet! Argh. At least I have my phone to check emails and facebook on. I’m thankful for that.

I will stay back tomorrow morning and not go to the Fiestas since I have a class to teach in the afternoon and church tomorrow night. After the team leaves in the morning, I’ll go for my good exercise walk. I can’t wait! It’s been too long since I’ve had the chance to do that.

I’m looking forward to the Sewing class tomorrow. We are going to teach them how to cut out a simple pattern for tissue covers and to pin the pieces together and to hand sew them. It will be a good first project. We are trying to find many things for them to do by hand, since they will only have access to the sewing machine once a week when they come in here.

I can’t believe that December is less than 2 weeks away. Thanksgiving is this Thursday, but it’s hard to notice down here. Sherry is fixing a special meal for us, but it won’t be turkey. It’s fine by me. I’ll fix a turkey dinner when I’m back in the states. Maybe I’ll talk my sister into fixing one when I’m in IN in February, too. Ha

Guess I better go to bed now. I need my beauty sleep today especially! It’s scary when I look in the mirror sometimes! Haha I’m glad that God looks at my inside!

Sunday, November 20, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-23T18:10:00.001-08:00

Almost time for bed. It’s been a good day of worship. We split into 3 groups (2 for the team from AR and 1 for the Wood family) and went to 3 churches this morning. Then we came home and had a yummy lunch of meatloaf (Sherry taught the cooks), mashed potatoes (they still don’t understand that North Americans eat A LOT and we ran out of spuds), salad and bread. Pretty good.

Mike held orientation at 1pm and we showed the team how to do the drama for the Fiestas. Everyone always thinks that it’s silly, but even thought it won’t work in the states (NAs think they are too sophisticated for this) the cheesy overacting works great down here.

The ladies on the team worked with me a little bit to get some drawstring bags done and filled with candy for the women at the conference tomorrow. Carla, one of the ladies, said that her grandmother gave her a sewing machine, intending to teach her to sew, but Carla was never really interested and her machine is like new. She is donating it to our sewing ministry. She will take it to Fayetteville when she picks up her kids from her mom and her mom will get it to FBC Rogers for me. I’ll get it down here. It will only cost us the $40 extra baggage fee on the flight. Woohoo! We can use all the machines that we can get! Anyway, Carla helped me pin some straps for a couple of aprons today. She said that she is learning to sew whether she wants to or not. Haha..

The group split into 3 groups again this evening and went to 3 more churches. I stayed back to help Sherry with the meals and to finish sewing for tomorrow. I’ve got everything done and my room cleaned up from the sewing mess for now. It feels good.

I got to go the little church in Telica that we are going to help from now on. We will start a Women’s Bible study group there and help start Sunday School classes. Pastor Sergio will help out as Pastor until God sends one. A lady Pastor has been leading worship until now, but she feels convicted that a man should be in that role. She is a Chemistry teacher at one of the schools. Her name is Fanny (not sure of spelling). My grandmother’s name was Fanny, too. We had a great time worshiping there and one of the teenage boys sang a beautiful song. He has a good voice and you could tell his heart was in the worship. I enjoyed it very much. One of the students on our team gave his testimony and one of the adults gave the message. It was very good. The church asked if we would pray over them and we obliged. They had cooked food for us to join them, but we explained that we had to pick up the rest of our group and come back to the Mission House. How wonderful of them to want to share with us!

Before the service, TL and his wife Carla and I got the chance to meet Raymon. He’s an older gentleman and the church meets in the front part of his house. His daughter is the lady ‘Pastor’. German was our translator and he was tied up with our speakers and the Pastors. So I tried to interpret with my limited Spanish. We did pretty good. We had about a 15 minute conversation about religion, Catholicism (TL and his wife are former Catholics), the need for trained leaders in the church, etc. Raymon and I agreed that even though my Spanish abilities were limited, God made the communication work. I told him that the heart of Voice of Hope Ministry is to train Pastors and leaders and make good foundations for the churches. He was so pleased that we are going to start working with them. I can’t wait to start the Women’s Bible study and also to see those beautiful, attentive kids in Sunday School. I felt that this place is already a part of my heart and a part of our Voice of Hope family.

My time will be even more full once we begin the Women’s Bible studies in the 2 new locations. That will make 4 afternoons a week for Bible study and 1 afternoon for Sewing classes. I plan on continuing my Spanish classes 4 mornings a week until summer. I will be one busy girl! But God will give me the strength to make it happen. It’s all in His strength and His timing. I’m glad to be a part of it.

I’ve been really bad about time management and haven’t gotten to do my exercise walking in quite a long time. Walking to class 4 mornings a week is only about 1 mile there and 1 mile back. And it’s not a good exercise walk. I don’t want to be too stinky when I get there and when I walk home at noon, it’s too hot to push too hard. I haven’t been very good about my arm exercises with weights either. Back in Rogers, I would do the arm stuff while watching the nightly news. I don’t have TV here and don’t have a regular pattern before bedtime. I need to figure something out. I’m backsliding very quickly and I don’t like that!!! I’m busy a lot, but that doesn’t count like a good workout. And sitting at the sewing machine these long hours is taking its toll on my backside. Ha I’ll have to alternate sewing with working out. I’ll figure it out somehow.

I’m ready for a good night’s sleep in my cleaned up and uncluttered (for now) room tonight. This week will be fun with the team. It’s so peaceful here at the new place. You can feel God’s presence and calming spirit.

Well, time to go to bed now. I can still hear Buster outside barking at the team as they relax under the rancho. He’s such a funny dog. Alberto said that he doesn’t cry anymore at nighttime. He’s gotten used to sleeping in Alberto’s little house. They are buds. Even though Buster still barks at Alberto when he’s walking around the grounds. This dog thinks he’s the boss of everyone. He’s a blessing.

So many blessings around here. I’m thankful.

Saturday, November 19, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-23T18:09:00.000-08:00

It’s only 9pm and I am soooo tired. I have been sewing and working on things for the Women’s Conference on Monday all day today. I also got all my sheets and towels washed up for the week.

The team from Eastside Baptist Church in Paragould AR got here about 3:30pm. It was good to see Charlie Brown and to meet his new wife Lisa. They brought lots of good ministry supplies and really blessed us bunches!!! They even brought printer ink! Charlie is a great team leader. I think we are all going to have a great week.

This is the first time that Claudia has cooked for a North American team. It’s customary here for your one main meal to be lunch. Breakfast is pinto gallo (beans and rice) and then you have a big lunch. Then for dinner, you just have left-overs or some kind of snack. When Sherry saw that just one pot of meat was fixed for this group of mostly guys, she hurried up and had Claudia fix chicken and veggies as well. Claudia and Lydia only had 45 minutes to get it ready, but they did great! We always have a time of a learning curve with new cooks, since they are not used to people eating as much as North Americans do. You could tell that both cooks were exhausted today. Bless their hearts. I hope they both will hang in there.

Anna and Grace Wood (from the family that is also here this week for a conference) helped me with some of the gifts for the Women’s Conference on Monday. They folded and stuffed Kleenex into the fabric tissue holders that I had made. They also put drawstrings into the little bags that I’ve been sewing like a crazy woman. They want to help with more, so I’m sewing more little bags. Grace (teenager) wants to help me make some knotted bracelets, too. I hope we have time to work on them this week with all that is going on. It will be fun.

I also cut out 16 more Bible bags today. I sewed up 2 so that I could have 5 ready for Wednesday for the new ladies at Las Quimeras. I cut out 2 aprons to sew up for door prizes for Monday’s Women’s Conference. I am so tired of sewing for today, but I love it!

I found some Singer sewing machines at PriceSmart in Managua. They have off brand ones here in León and I would rather have a major brand so that I can get accessories and parts. They are the same price as the ones here in León, so I think they will be the best bet. I’m just waiting on God to bring on the donations to buy them. The sewing ministry is really going to make a big difference in some of these ladies lives. I’m so glad that God created me with a heart for sewing and crafts. How awesome to get to do that as a ministry!

Saturnino make my little shelf to put on top of my table. It’s 7” high, 12” deep and 22” long. Alberto kept asking me if it is a stool for my feet. I told him no, but that is a good idea! This shelf will let me put the printer on top and have room underneath for desk-type accessories. When you live in a small space you have to go verticle!!!

I was thrilled to get a new handle for my toilet. I’m still very happy about it. But now I am dealing with a leak where the supply line goes into the tank. My bathroom floor floods about once a day. At least it’s clean water, though. Saturnino will have to work on it for me again on Monday.

Charlie was very excited to see the new Mission House. He likes it very much. He knows how much it means to the ministry to have a good place for the teams to stay. I think everyone will love it. It’s not new or fancy, but by Nica standards it’s pretty nice. There are all kinds of ‘issues’ since it’s an older building and in a third world country, but it’s just right for me!

The team went to church tonight to hear Steve preach. We don’t usually send the team out on the day that they arrive, but since Steve was going to be preaching, Mike thought it was a good idea. Sherry took Manuel home. Mary and I stayed here at the Mission House to take care of some things. I think they are all back now. I heard them for just a little bit going to their rooms and now it’s all quiet. I’m sure they are beat. Charlie said they left Paragould at 2:00am this morning. They will sleep good tonight!

Speaking of sleeping, I’m headed to my bed now. Fresh sheets, a relaxing (cold) shower and a couple of aspirins, and I’m all set.

Tomorrow we will split up to go to 2 churches in the morning and then 2 in the evening. I love it when we have teams and get to go to different churches all week long.

Well, better hit the hay. What a blessed day.

Friday, November 18, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-23T18:07:00.000-08:00

It’s been a long and full day. I went to bed at 9pm last night and woke up for good at 6am. I got some Bible study done and had my quiet time. Then I put some clothes in the washer. It always makes me happy to get a chance to do my laundry. Seems like I’m so busy, that the chances are few and far between. After the first load, I walked to my favorite Librería to get some stickers and some notebooks. Then I caught a taxi downtown to price some things at the market in Central Park and then to buy some fabric. (the taxi driver was funny and I could tell my Spanish is getting better when I could understand his speech about how some of the roads were closed and they weren’t even working on them since they were perfectly good roads. We noticed later that there was cross country bikers coming through with escorts, so that’s why some of the roads were closed.) I also stopped in to get a couple more plastic storage containers for my sewing/craft supplies. Then I hightailed it back to the Mission House to do more laundry and other things.

A funny thing that I realized on my way home in the taxi is that there was a car on the main road, just past our street, that had burned to the ground and it was still sitting on the road. The thing was toast. The tires were burnt completely off. All that was left was metal. There was a guy trying to get something off of the burned out shell. The weird thing is that I didn’t even notice that car when I walked down the road earlier. Must have been traffic keeping my attention. So weird that I didn’t see it!

I finally got the chance to work on my notes for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church. I would just get my mind clear on a thought and someone would call my name for something. My Spanish is not the best yet, but sometimes I’m the best option for translating to the staff. There was a lot going on to get ready for the team tomorrow and I was running from one conversation to another as well as helping Mary on the computer. I got a lot of exercise jumping out of my chair. HA

Leslie and Jorge went shopping for the groceries for the team. It took 2 trips in Chinchin, our little van. They stopped for lunch here at the Mission House in between. They finished up about 2:30 and then rested until we left for the church at 3:30pm. Poor Jorge was tuckered out!

Claudia fixed yummy chicken and veggies for lunch. Of course, beans and rice were the side items along with a tortilla. Good stuff. I warmed some up for dinner tonight, too.

Coco’s sister, Lydia, came over with Coco to talk to Sherry about working this week as a cook’s helper for Claudia. She is nice and Coco came with her. Coco was wearing one of her ‘new’ blouses that we gave her on Monday. Sherry said that Coco is so happy with her stuff. I asked Coco if she needed me to alter any of the clothes, but she said they are all just right. It’s so good to make her happy. Coco is going to come and help Aracelys with the cleaning this week while the team is here. It’s good to have jobs for them. They are all hard workers, too.

Jorge drove Chinchin to take us to Bible study this afternoon. There is a really steep hill and big ditch from the road to the drive into the area where the church is. Chinchin is small and lightweight. I was sitting up front with Jorge and Mary and Leslie were sitting in the first seats behind us. Jorge got the van hung up because the rearend was so light. So he had Mary and Leslie move to the back seat. That didn’t help. So he had me move to the back seat also. That didn’t help. 2 guys in a truck stopped to help push. That helped just a little bit, but we were still too light. There was a lady with her 2 kids walking down the road and Jorge had them get in the van, too. We finally made it across the ditch and up the hill. It’s a good thing that the lady was going to the Bible study, too, because that’s where she ended up! We were all laughing.

We had a great Bible study today and finished up talking about Eve. Mary gave her testimony and told the ladies that she would be speaking to them for part of each class time for the next 5 weeks about witnessing. They enjoyed her talk. It’s a great group of ladies and I enjoy being with them every Friday.

Right after we got started with the class, Leslie and I were sitting in chairs in front of the semi-circle of ladies. Mary was among them. Pastor Marvin tried to discreetly bring us drinks. He had 2 bottles of water (for me and Mary) and a Pepsi for Leslie. Mary turned down the water and then when she saw that he gave Leslie the Pepsi, she interrupted the class to get the Pepsi. It was very funny. Leslie tried to explain how much Mary loves Pepsi. We’ll be laughing about that for a long time to come!

After the class, the Women’s Ministry leaders came to ask if we could start teaching sewing classes to their ladies. We told them that we are praying for money to buy more sewing machines so that we can have bigger classes. They are adding it to their prayer lists, along with money to buy Bibles for their group.

We got back to the Mission House and the family coming for a conference this week was here with Mike. We had passed German on the road as he was walking, which was really weird to see. I think he may have come back for Chinchin when he saw we were back. I honestly can’t remember.

Manuel had dressed like Usher today and enjoyed it when I kept calling him that. He really wants to dress like Justin Beiber, but it was harder to come up with that exact outfit. Usher was easy with a v-neck white tshirt, jeans, necklace and sunglasses. Manuel had went to Managua with Mike and German today. He had a pretty good time.

The Wood family were tired and hungry, but glad to be here. The Hulsey’s took them to dinner while Mary and I went to our rooms to relax for the evening.

I got the chance to hem a dress, put away laundry, check emails, paint my toenails and watch a couple more episodes of Army Wives on my computer. I’m getting to used to that luxury and need to break the habit!

Tomorrow I’ll finish my laundry and wash my sheets and spend most of the day sewing. I have a lot of sewing to get done before Monday and then some that needs to be done by Wednesday. I don’t plan on leaving the house all day long. I would love to catch a nap if possible before the team gets here about 5 or 6pm. Then it will be busy!

Since we have the family here now, we’ll have breakfast, lunch and dinner prepared by the cooks for the next week. Yum!

Anna, the wife of the Wood family that arrived today, asked what I missed about the US since I mostly live here now. I told her not a thing. I feel complete and totally at home here. This is exactly where God wants me to be at this moment in my life. I really feel grounded here. What a good feeling!

I’m going to try to live the challenge that I expressed to the ladies at the Bible study this afternoon… to pray to God each day to show me how to live out the plans that He has for my life and to fulfill the purpose that He created me for. A good thing to think about every day.

Thursday, November 17, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

It’s only 8:30pm and I’m ready for bed. Ha! That’s what a day of 6 hours traveling in the van and another 5 hours of shopping and eating will do to a body! I’m comfortably tired, though, so I’m not complaining.

We left this morning with Danilo as our driver. Mary, Sherry, Leslie and I went to Masaya (3 hours away) for shopping at a market to buy things that the team might like to purchase when they come. We will no longer be driving that far on ‘Fun Days’ for the teams and want to make sure that they have good, affordable options for souvenir shopping. Between our little store here at the Mission House and the vendors at the Central Park here in León, they should be happy.

We had a late lunch at Narcy’s and enjoyed it very much. Narcy’s is a chicken restaurant adjacent to a Pappa John’s Pizza place. You can order from both menus. I had a calzone with mushrooms, black olives and chicken. Yum. Sherry and Mary shared a Hawaiian pizza. Leslie had some chicken tacos and Danilo ordered a special of hot wings. Danilo is a stout guy and when his plate came out we all laughed, because it looked like a child’s portion. We shared our stuff with him. We had also ordered cheese sticks, but they came out as part of our meal instead of as an appetizer. We also ordered 2 Nacatamales to try them out. Leslie (nica) does not like them, but Danilo does. Sherry and I loved them and Mary liked them okay. They are a lot like Mexican tamales, but have specific stuff in them. I love any kind of tamales, so I was very happy!

We were driving German’s new (used) van and got stopped by the police twice because we had no license plates and the temporary papers were expired. Both times, the police were going to take us to the Police station and keep the van, but a little bribe money got us on our way. Sherry was ready to have a stern talk with German and Mike for sending us off in a vehicle with expired papers. Thankfully, we didn’t get stopped any more the rest of the day. It could have gotten expensive!

After lunch, we went to PriceSmart in Managua. We stocked up on some things and I was tickled to find snack packs of craisins and some trailmix. I also got some granola bars, soup and some snack pack pudding. I priced a Singer sewing machine there and am thinking about getting it for myself for Christmas, if God provides the money. The little sewing machine that I brought down is great and we use it for sewing classes. But we need to buy more machines and the one at PriceSmart is a Singer and not a strange brand like the ones in León, which the ministry will still buy for the classes. Anyway, I’m praying about this nice Singer model.

We had a nice drive home and I dozed off a little bit. It was nice riding in German’s van (even if it is a police magnet). We got back to the Mission House and unloaded all our stuff. Danilo has only been to this place once before, so we asked him to drive on in. Before he picked up and dropped off at the little gate and parked by the street. While we were unloading the van, Buster (the miniature Doberman puppy the size of my foot) came running up. In the darkness it was hard to tell what he was. I think Danilo might have thought that he was a rat or something, by the look on his face! He asked me if it was a little dog (with an incredulous lilt to his voice). When I said yes, he just laughed and said that Buster would protect us.

Mike and Manuel had ran to Tip Top Chicken while we were gone and came back to the Mission House shortly after we got back. I gave Manuel a little keychain for his surprise from me. I’m sure he’s wanting some keys to go on it.

I settled into my room and had some chicken noodle soup for dinner. Then I did a little bit of sewing.

Mike left me the internet cable, so I’ve been updating my blog, downloading Iva May commentary for my daily Bible study and returning emails. We are supposed to have internet here at the Mission House by the end of the week. So far we’ve had 2 people show up but the internet has not materialized yet. Oh well, I’m thankful to get to use the cable sometimes!

I’m going to get up early tomorrow and through some clothes into the washer. I haven’t been able to wash for almost 2 weeks. My schedule keeps me gone a lot and this past week, the washer was busy with the 45 sets of sheets and towels from the group over the weekend. I’m looking forward to some clean duds!

While the clothes are washing, I’m going to head downtown to pick up some more fabric that I need to sew up this weekend and also to pick up some things from a bookstore. Then I’ll head back here to help get the place ready for the team. One family who is coming to do a conference next week is arriving tomorrow. Then the team from Paragould AR comes in on Saturday afternoon.

I can’t wait to have a team here! It’s gonna be great! Can’t wait to see how many people come to Christ next week.

Better go for now and finish downloading stuff while I can.
Things are really busy here and I love everything that God allows me to do. I am so blessed.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

I was very tired when I woke up this morning about 6am. But I couldn’t go back to sleep so I just laid in bed talking to God and thinking about all that I have to be thankful for. A pleasant way to pass the time.

I walked to Spanish class this morning and on the way, I talked to Charlie Brown, who is leading a team down here next week. It was good to talk with him and we went over some details for the ministry that they are going to do here. They’ll be here on Saturday. Can’t wait.

Spanish class was good. It was an extended 3 hour class today. Juan added the Subjunctive mood of the Present Tense. Aaaaaaaakkk! He held the book up with the title page for that chapter and wielded it like a threat. It was funny. It’s a confusing part of Spanish grammar that isn’t used in English. I don’t like it, but I’ll conquer it! It was a good class, never the less. While he had to run and pick up his daughter from preschool, Jackie (a lady who helps out at the school in the mornings) chatted with me in Spanish. It was fun. I can tell that I’m understanding more and more of the language. I still have a long way to go, but I’m getting there.

After class, it was overcast so it was cool enough to enjoy the walk home. Bazar Jerry had not closed for lunch yet when I by, so I popped in to get Mary some thread she was needing.

We had spaghetti and salad for lunch. Then Sherry filled me in on some decisions that were made this morning. I’m gone to class 4 mornings a week, so I miss some of the little meetings.

I rested for about 30 minutes and then got ready for the Bible study at Las Quimeras church. Due to the taxi costing so much, Mike decided to take us and he and Sherry sat in the van while Mary, Leslie and I did the class. Manuel played with some of the kids.

It was a good class. We had a few new people and some of the regulars had to miss. We made a sign that says “Gracias por las Biblias” and the ladies signed it. Then they held it up and I took a picture of them. I’ll post that picture on Facebook to thank those who donated money for the Bibles that we were able to give out at Las Quimeras.

Carlos was supposed to come by the Mission House this evening to talk to me about getting more Bibles, but it was raining and he rides a motorcycle, so he had to reschedule for tomorrow morning. I fixed a little bit of dinner and then sewed a few more drawstring bags for Monday. I also pinned a skirt for Sherry (from fabric cut off of a long dress that Mary is hemming for her). I hemmed up a skirt that I had cut off for myself, too. Then I watched a few more episodes of Army Wives cds on my computer.

Now it’s time for bed and I’m comfortably tired and ready for a good night’s sleep. We’re going to Masaya tomorrow to buy souvenir stuff for the teams and also stopping at PriceSmart for groceries. It will be a long day, but fun.

Danilo is driving Sherry, Mary, Leslie and I. Manuel will stay with Mike and German here in León to get more work done for the team. Mike says he feels sorry for Danilo having to put up with us women all day. But I think Danilo is going to enjoy it. He’s a good guy.

I don’t have another Spanish class for 11 days, due to skipping tomorrow and then not having class next week because of the team. I’m going to study everyday to keep up and I can’t wait to have the next class. This was my fourth week and I can’t believe how much we have covered. I’m loving it. Well, everything but Subjunctive mood. Ha

I’m going to get off of here for now so I can get to sleep by 11pm. I need to be ready early tomorrow so I can meet with Carlos about the Bibles before we take off for Masaya. I’m looking forward to some sweet dreams!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-17T18:27:00.000-08:00

Another great day! Went to Spanish class at 9am instead of 10am so that we could make up some time for me being gone to Masaya on Thursday. It was a good class. Talked about verbs (as usual) but also reviewed different types of pronouns and objects. I wish I would have paid more attention in English grammar classes, so that I wouldn’t have to try so hard to remember it now so that I can associate it to Spanish. Ah, we always think we know best when we’re young. Kind of like how we think we will never use math skills when we grow up either. Ha

Anyway, it was a great class. We had a long discussion (all in Spanish) about how I feel living and serving here in Nica (almost full time). I am exactly where God wants me to be. Juan was asking if I miss many things from the states. I truly don’t miss anything personally. I just sometimes think of things that would make the ministry more effective if we had those items here. The only things that I have been craving are hummus and HGTV. LOL other than that, I’m good with cold showers, no TV, walking to many of the places I need to go, riding in dilapidated taxis, wearing bug spray as cologne and sunscreen as moisturizer. I love my room and am very comfortable here. I haven’t felt this ‘at home’ in a long, long time.

My health has been very good, considering the chronic problems I have. And the sinus infection/cold is about all gone. I’ve been keeping up with my vitamins and supplements and feel pretty good most of the time. I could probably slow down a little bit and get more rest, but I’ll work on that over time. I’m very content with the life that God is allowing me to have.

Juan and his daughter Kati and I took a fieldtrip today at class. We walked a few blocks away to another House of the Bible store to price Bibles for the ladies at ROSCC church Bible study. I wasn’t impressed with the selection or the prices, and think I will probably keep buying the ones that I get from Carlos, but I did find a kid’s devotional book in Spanish and bought it for myself. I will have fun reading each day’s Bible story all year round.

On the way to class I stopped at the Librería and bought some pens for the ladies Bible study, as well as a nice notebook for Pastor Sergio, a big eraser for myself, and some large pieces of paper for the sewing class. On the way home I stopped in at the second hand clothing store that Mary and I like. Partly to look for a green top to go with a green skirt I just bought, and partly to get in the shade for a few minutes. (It’s getting too hot to walk home from class at noon) The owner was so happy to see me. She should be, I spend money in there often. They have nice used clothing for a good price and their store is very clean and organized. Keep in mind that it’s the front part of their house and the size of my bedroom. Her name is Melonia and she asked me lots of questions about where I live and what I do, etc. I was surprised at how much better my Spanish is while speaking with her. Anyway, I told her all about Voice of Hope Ministry and what we do. It was great to talk with her.

I got home for lunch and we had churrazco (steak with chimichurri sauce), mashed potatoes, corn and salad. Yum! Then I chatted with Mary, Sherry and Leslie about some plans for the sewing classes and other ministry stuff.

Soon it was time for the ladies from Las Quimeras to get here for the sewing class. It takes them 45 minutes to ride the bus into town and across to the Mission House. We have a 2 hour class and then they have another 45 minute bus ride home. Bless their hearts! At least the ministry pays their bus fare for them. We had fun at the class. We ended up with 9 ladies (including Leslie, who is our translator, but also wants to learn how to sew). We went over the basics. Then we watched the dvd that came with the sewing machine and then they got to try their hand at sewing a little bit. They each took a turn. We gave them each a couple of needs and some thread and a piece of fabric to take home and practice on. They are excited and we are, too! We’re all praying for 2 more sewing machines so that they can all get busy learning and making things for their families as well as maybe making things to sell to provide groceries for their families.

It started to rain before class was over and we let them leave early to catch the bus back to Las Quimeras. I hope they made it home safely and didn’t get too wet. I’m very excited about their classes. I know this is going to be a great ministry.

Mary got ready to go and babysit for Manuel tonight at the Hulsey’s house. I heated up some left over Nica chop suey from last night. Then I got busy cutting out some fabric to make drawstring bags for the women’s conference on Monday. Last night I sewed up 32 tissue holders (for a lady’s purse or backpack) and tonight I cut out 30 drawstring bags. If I can get them sewed up tomorrow evening, I’ll just have about another 50 items to get done by Monday.

We have a family of 4 coming on Friday afternoon for the week, to do a conference. We also have the team coming in on Saturday afternoon. It’s gonna get busy around here! I love it. Also, I’ll still be doing the 2 Women’s Bible studies on Wed and Friday, as well as the Women’s Conference on Monday. We’ll still have the Tuesday sewing class. But I’ll be working with the team and won’t have Spanish class in the mornings, but Juan is translating for us and we wouldn’t have class anyway. I know that the week is going to fly by!

I’m going to get off of here for now. I’m tired and need my beauty sleep. Ha
I hope to find time tomorrow evening to get some laundry done. Otherwise, I’m going to have to go back to the used clothing store and buy something clean to wear!

I hope that everyone back in the states is getting ready for Thanksgiving and having a great time preparing to be with family. Nica is exactly where I want to be for the holidays. I’m thankful for that!!!

Monday, November 14, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

Almost time for bed again. I’m feeling better this evening. This morning was kind of rough, but I can tell that it’s getting better each day.

I walked to class this morning, instead of taking a taxi like I felt like doing, because it was cooler and overcast. Also, I needed to stop at Basar Jerry and at the Librería and at the corner to get money exchanged. I hate to waste a cooler morning by taking a taxi. Getting to walk when it’s more comfortable is something that I don’t take for granted. ☺

I got some more cord for the little drawstring bags that I’m going to sew for the Women’s Conference next Monday. Also, I got some elastic for the skirts for the sewing class and some medium safety pins. I’ve been looking for medium ones for a few weeks now. Funny how you have to search and hope to find things. We take way too much for granted in the states. But I like getting to stop in and visit the ladies at the stores. I priced some satin cord and some satin ribbon, too, for future projects.

I bought 40 notebooks at the Librería for the ladies at ROSCC Bible study. I was weighted down as I carried them to class with me. After class I relented to taking a taxi home. It was well worth it.

Spanish class was very good. Juan said I am doing really great. That’s good to hear because I still think I’m doing badly, but I can tell that I’m making progress. We are trying to cram all the learning we can into these 2 months and there is very little time between ‘getting’ something and then moving on to more that I don’t know. But it’s all worth the hard work. Juan is a very encouraging teacher, too. He always has such a big smile when I get a really hard thing correct. He’s a blessing.

We had Nicaraguan chicken chop suey for lunch and it was good. Then Leslie and I talked and decided that we didn’t need to go to the other market today, since I had bought fabric on Sunday and the elastic today. I really want to go walk around and look at stuff, but I decided to do the responsible thing and stay here this afternoon and start cutting out and sewing some of the stuff for Monday.

I finished up Coco’s skirts and got all her shirts together. She was so surprised tonight when we gave her the new wardrobe. She couldn’t believe it was for her. She doesn’t get anything new ever and most of her clothes don’t fit. It was a blessing for Sherry, Mary and me to do this for her.

Our VOH Bible study was good tonight. Sherry, Mary, German, Oscar, Jonathan, Salvador and I attended. Mike always has good messages. Mary got to meet Jonathan and Salvador tonight. I sure have missed them! I didn’t get to see them at all last week since I had so much going on. I won’t see them in English class this week or next week either. And we will not have our Bible study on Monday night because the team will be here.

I’m going to miss them! They are doing so great with their English. They said that Teacher (Juan) told them what a good job they are doing and he told them that I’m doing well, too. We are in the same boat wanting to learn as fast as we can. Just in different languages.

I got an email from my niece and she filled me in on the wedding plans so far. It will be here before we know it! I’ll wait and buy my dress when I get back to the states or maybe even when I get to IN in Feb. I guess it will be a good excuse to buy a new dress.

Buster, the dog, lives here at the Team House most of the time now. He sleeps in Alberto’s little house. He is such a funny dog. Not much bigger than my foot, but he thinks that he is ferocious. He barks a lot at Alberto and won’t let him pick him up. I have to catch him and hand him to Alberto. It’s funny. Alberto cooks scrambled eggs for Buster every morning (as Sherry used to do) and then feeds him canned dog food each night. He stays in Alberto’s room a lot and barks because he wants out with people. I don’t know how he will do with the teams. We’ll see.

After everyone left tonight, I came in my room and sewed for about hour and a half. Then I opted to get on the computer to do my blog. We should have internet here at the Mission House by the end of the week. Woohoo!!!

After writing this update, I need to study my Spanish lesson for about an hour and then I’m off to dream land.

I’m off to dream land and I feel so blessed today. Thank you Lord.

Sunday, November 13, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-14T05:08:00.001-08:00

Due to circumstances beyond our control… we weren’t able to go to church this morning. Mary and I got to hear some of the music and ceremony here at the Mission House that the Women/Teen girls’ conference was having. I spent a lot of time on my personal Bible study this morning and enjoyed the time with the Lord.

Sherry joined Mary and I for some shopping around and lunch. It was nice to get out and walk around and look at second hand clothing stores. We each found a few pieces and had a nice lunch at Tip Top Chicken. We then caught a taxi and went to Maxi Palí to look around. It’s owned by Walmart and is kind of a step up from their other grocery stores of regular Palí and La Unión. We had fun walking around and looking at stuff. Mary and I got some little baskets that have wheels and pull handle. We liked just walking around with the baskets. ☺

While downtown, I bought some fabric for the sewing class that starts on Tuesday. I still need to get some elastic, so I’ll have to stop by Basar Jerry tomorrow on my way to class. I also need to stop by the Librería and let her know that I want to buy 40 notebooks by Friday. These will be for the ladies at ROSCC church. I don’t have the money to get their Bibles yet, but I’m going to give them the notebooks and pens this week.

While out today, I got a call from Juan and he said that he picked up a new student, I believe for the 8-10am timeslot, so my classes will be the usual 10a-12p this week. We had decided to add an extra hour each day, but that will not happen now. We’ll talk tomorrow about how to work in the extra hours. I think I will have to miss class on Thursday, too, because we need to go to Masaya before the team comes on Saturday. But it will all work out okay.

When through downtown, we got a taxi and headed back to the Mission House about 2pm. The conference was still going on and I had a sinus headache, so I laid down in my room for a while and Mary and Sherry visited in Mary’s room. Mike and Manuel came over to finalize money and stuff with the leader of the conference. Then the Hulsey’s went home.

The conference ended at 6pm, but the praise music and worship kept going until about 7:30pm. It’s nice and quiet again.

I studied on Spanish verbs for a while and then fixed some soup for dinner. I nuked a couple of small potatoes to add to the veggie soup and it was pretty good. I packed my meds/vitamins for the next 2 weeks and then studied a little more Spanish. Then I watched 2 more episodes of Army Wives on my computer.

Now I’m ready for bed and praying to wake up with a clear head. My headache is better and I’m not as stuffy. I actually feel worse now that my antibiotics are through. Hmmmm

It’s been beautiful weather. No rain for days and days. It will soon be drying out for 6 months. I have to say that I’m enjoying not having the continuous rain like in October. But I’m sure I’ll complain about it being too hot and dry soon. ☺

Looking forward to a good night’s sleep and then a great Spanish class and then lunch and then Leslie and I are planning on going to a market here in León that I haven’t been to so I can look for some more supplies and storage containers. Then I’ve got lots of sewing to do tomorrow afternoon before the VOH Bible study.

Time to start another busy week and I love it.
The team comes in on Saturday. Woohoo!!
God is good!

Saturday, November 12, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-14T05:06:00.000-08:00

Almost 11pm. Just getting on the computer tonight. After a long day going to Managua and shopping a little bit, we got back about 5pm. The Oriental Market is huge (about 5 acres) of little shops all crammed together in a very disorganized manner. It was crazy! But we found some good deals on things for the team house. We ate lunch at the food court of a mall and then headed home. I only bought one thing and that was as we were leaving the mall. It was a cell phone tassel that I wanted to get to use as a pattern to make more. It was a beautiful day, though.

I had some cream of mushroom soup and a tortilla for dinner and worked for about 4 hours on making 6 more Bible bags for the ladies at Las Quimeras church. Now I can start on another project tomorrow!

While sewing, I watched the Jesus Film in English and then watched it again in Spanish. I then watched 2 episodes of Army Wives (that Sherry loaned me). I took a break to help Mary put together her new wardrobe contraption for her room. It didn’t take long at all, since I’ve put 2 together twice for myself. She’s tickled with hers.

I’m going to try to copy some cds for the ROSCC church to use with their children’s service. Hope I can do it correctly.

I am really beat, but I can’t believe how much I got accomplished this evening. God blessed me with good time management!

I can’t believe that the team comes next Saturday! It will be fun to see how they like the new place. It will be great to have a crazy ministry week schedule, too!

I’ll be hopping all week as I’m doing 3 hours of Spanish class each morning, instead of 2, teaching 2 Bible studies, starting Sewing classes, helping with English class and trying to get about 100 drawstring bags made before the next Monday (21st). I also need to get some bracelets made in the next 2 weeks so that we can start the jewelry classes the week after the team leaves. But I’m loving it so much!

This is going to be short because I’m ready for bed and the women/teen-girls, who are having a retreat here this weekend, finished up their very loud praise music time. It’s so quiet now. Yay!!

Mary and I are going to take a taxi downtown tomorrow for lunch and to do a little shopping for supplies for the sewing class and for next week’s Bible classes. The retreat ends at 6pm tomorrow, so it will be good to be out and about while they are here. I don’t mind staying in my room since I have my computer, sewing machine and plenty of Spanish lessons to memorize, but I think Mary gets a little stir crazy. Luckily, we don’t rent out the facility too often.

Ok, going to bed now.
Thank you Lord for your blessings. I’m thankful as always.

Friday, November 11, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

Another great day. I love Fridays. Almost every Friday, I have a break from morning Spanish classes. I got up early (since Manuel spent the night and he gets up with the roosters) and had cereal and jumped on the computer since I had the iternet cable. I was downloading some instructions for making jewelry when the Hulsey’s got here, so I gave the cable to Mike to use.

Mike took Mary and I to the little second hand store that I stop at on my home to and from Spanish class. She liked it much better than the stores that we went to downtown yesterday. We both found tons of bargains. By the time we finished shopping, the Husley’s were coming back to the Mission House, so they picked us up.

I worked on some notes for the Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church and then we had lunch. Then I worked a little more on the notes and sorted out clothes for Coco. She is going to be so happy when she sees what all we have for her. I also sorted out the clothes that I bought for me that needed altering.

I laid down for about a half hour and then got my shower and dressed for the Bible Study. Jorge took us today and Oscar joined us to video class.

We arrived a little early (which is unusual for us, unfortunately) and they were putting ceramic tiles on the stage and front part of the church. They had also put blocks up to the ceiling in that area. The rest of the church still has walls up about ¾ of the way and is open at the top for air circulation. The tiles look very nice. The workers kept going and it was rather noisy, but you get used to just keeping on with what you are doing. On the other side of the church, a man was using a chain saw to cut up some huge tree trunks that they use for firewood for the feeding of children during the week. Noise everywhere, but God made it possible for us to hear each other.

Before the class started, Oscar videoed some interviews with the leaders of the Women’s Ministry. It was fun talking with them. Leslie translated for me and for them, so that anyone watching the video could understand in their own language. It was fun. The ladies also were very good about answering questions today, too. I think I should bring Oscar and his camera more often! I love the ladies at that church and I’m so excited for their hearts to reach their neighborhoods.

I got back to the Mission House about 5:45pm and Mary was reading under the rancho. We fixed some leftovers for dinner and went to our rooms about 6pm. We are renting the place to a Christian group for the weekend, so Mary and I will spend the evenings in our rooms and we are going to Managua all day tomorrow and church on Sunday morning. It won’t be inconvenient at all.

I spent a lot of time in my room tonight sewing and at the same time, watching the Disney movie, Tangled, on my computer in Spanish. Then when I was doing some hemming, I watched 2 episodes of Army Wives (season 3) which Sherry loaned me. It was different and fun. I usually only have Spanish praise music playing in the evenings. I like having something to look at.

I cleaned out my little backpack that I carry around and got it ready for tomorrow’s trip to the Oriental Market in Managua. I put a large cloth bag in it to carry some of my purchases. I have no idea what we will find, but I’m ready!!

I have my sewing and mending and hemming and altering all caught up as of tonight. The next thing on my sewing agenda is to make more Bible bags for the ladies at Las Quimeras church and to start making about 100 small drawstring bags for the Women’s Conference at ROSCC church which will be a week from Monday. In a few weeks, I’ll start making the 40+ Bible bags for the ladies of ROSCC church. Whew!

I also need to start making some samples of knotted projects like bracelets, keychains and bookmarks, so that I can teach some of the ladies how to make them. We will be starting the sewing classes next Tuesday with about 7 women from Las Quimeras. We’re getting busier and busier, but it’s all wonderful work and God is allowing me to do the things I love. In other words, He’s putting into place His plan for me to do the things that He has made me love to do. Funny how your perspective on that changes when you remember that He is control, huh?

Well, better go to bed for now. Big day tomorrow.
I’m just so blessed!

Thursday, November 10, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-10T19:34:00.001-08:00

I’ve been fighting a splitting headache all evening. It’s not getting any better and I think being on the computer is making it worse. So I’ll make this short and sweet.

This morning I got up and headed for class. I stopped on the way at Bazaar Jerry for some crochet thread for some projects for the ladies in our Tuesday classes which will start next week. I want to make some sample projects for them to see. Lizabeth called me by name 2 or 3 times while I was there. I was thinking how sweet it was to hear my name coming from her. I guess because I’m here. Then I was thinking about how sweet it is that God calls my name every time He speaks to me and that I take that for granted. I’m going to try to remember that and it will bring a smile to my face when I’m talking to Him.

I also stopped at Mundo Escolar Librería, my favorite little paper & supply store for some binder clamps that I will need for the projects. I also picked up a mini stapler to carry in my book bag. I enjoy seeing that sweet girl who works in there. I think she enjoys seeing me come to shop, too, since I spend a little money in there often.

I stopped by the Texaco station and bought a cold bottled water, because I knew I would end up drinking all of the water in my backpack during class. I then stopped at the corner and exchanged some more money. That guy is getting used to seeing me 2 or 3 times a week. He probably wonders why I don’t exchange more money at one time instead of coming so often. Oh well…

I made it to class a little early and reviewed until Juan got there. We had a very good class. I grabbed a taxi for the trip home, since I knew I would be out in the sun in the afternoon. We had the most delicious Canelones today. Claudia had seen them being made before, but this was her first time to make them. They were sensational! I’m her biggest cheerleader!

After lunch, Mike took Leslie, Mary and me to downtown for some shopping. Leslie helped Mike negotiate a refrigerator for the Mission House, so we would have plenty of room for the food for the teams. Then he and Manuel ran errands while Mary, Leslie and I ran around to different clothing and second-hand stores. We found some shirts for Coco so that she can have a new little wardrobe along with the skirts that I made for her. I bought a pretty top for myself. Mary found a few things for herself, too. Then we stopped at La Unión and I picked up a few groceries for my room. We grabbed a taxi for home and Leslie headed to her house.

When Mary and I arrived at the Mission House, the Hulsey’s were leaving. Alberto said they were coming back to drop off Manuel for an overnight with us. Mary and I sat outside and had dinner (I had cold Canelones and Mary had chocolate cake) and we waited for Manuel to arrive.

Buster the dog is now a resident of the Mission House and he thinks he is really big stuff. He will sleep in Alberto’s little house at night and he runs all over the place barking at everything. He took off with my flipflop this evening. I didn’t notice until I was ready to put my shoes back on (I had put my feet in a chair to relax). That little stinker had taken off with the shoe and left it in the yard. I then put the shoes in the seat with my feet and he still tried to take the shoes. Little stinker!

Manuel had dinner and then sang to Mary and me and then played his drums. Mary showed him some cds of the kids in the children’s home that Voice of Hope runs in Honduras. We had popcorn for a snack and then all retired to our rooms. Manuel is sleeping in Mary’s room to protect her.

Alberto’s daughter from Costa Rica and son Carlos from here, along with Carlos’ 2 boys are coming tomorrow to visit with Alberto and swim in the pool. Manuel will enjoy swimming with them.

I’m going to enjoy having the morning free. I have some sewing and craft projects to get done this weekend. Tomorrow afternoon is Women’s Bible study at ROSCC church and Saturday we are supposed to go to Managua for the day. So, I’ll have limited time to get things done, but I hope to be home on Sunday afternoon to finish some stuff up.

Tomorrow night, we have 40+ people coming to stay at the Mission House for a retreat. They will use the rooms, kitchen (to cook all their own meals) and the pool. Mary and I will be gone on Saturday and part of Sunday, so we won’t really notice them too much. I’ll be spending time in my room sewing anyway, so I don’t mind having them here. It’s nice to hear people on property sometimes. It’s a blessing to church groups to use the Mission House and it helps us to pay the rent! I love using what God gives us to bless others. And return God blesses us through it all.

Next week will be busy with extra hours for Spanish classes, 2 Women’s Bible studies and the beginning of the sewing classes on Tuesday. There’s just not enough time to get everything done! But I bet if I ask God to tweak my schedule He will make it just right!

Time to go to bed and get rid of this headache. I sure do like my room and the new table. Everything is fitting just perfectly. I’m very thankful.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-09T19:13:00.000-08:00

I had to stop and think what day it is today. The only thing that clued me in was the Bible study at Las Quimeras church. Getting too busy and the days are running together!

I felt a little better this morning. I’m so thankful for antibiotics! I got ready for my early Spanish class. Carlos brought 10 more Bibles over for me. I’m so thankful for the donation by Jamie Hill and his church. It’s so important to provide Bibles to these ladies. Anyway, Carlos brought them over early before I left for class.

Mary took custody of my room key since I needed to leave the room open for Aracelys to clean today. Since I’ve been going to class earlier than usual, she has not been able to clean for me and I had lots of dust and threads from sewing. It was heavenly to come home to a clean smelling room today!

I walked to class and stopped by the Basar Jerry for some particular thread. Then I proceeded to walk to the Mundo Escolar Librería to buy the notebooks and pens for the ladies Bible study. I just love stopping in that store. The lady seems happy to see me too, since I’m always buying stuff in there!

I made it to class a few minutes late, but Juan was later than me, so I reviewed some before he got there. We had a great 3 hour class today. We worked on verb tenses and I’m trying to get them to make more sense to me. I’m making headway. I think it would have been easier if I hadn’t had to learn so many of them at the same time. Also, I’m still working on memorizing the 400 verbs he gave me. I’m about 50% on those. We had some great conversations in Spanish and enough variety in his teaching style that it makes the 3 hours fly by. Tomorrow will only be 2 hours, as usual, but I know it will be very beneficial, as well.

As I was walking home, Mike and Sherry came along in the van. They pulled over and picked me up. Leslie was with them. We got to the house and waited for lunch to be ready. Manuel had done really well in school this morning. He is enjoying having Jaasiel as a teacher. His meds are good in the morning, but by afternoon, he has a hard time with emotions sometimes. We’re praying that things will calm down for him as the med changes kick in.

Lunch was good, but I ate way too much rice. Saturnino, Alberto, Leslie and I sat together and I enjoyed catching most of what they were saying in Spanish. It’s encouraging to me to get better each day.

Leslie and I put the Bibles and bags together for the Bible study ladies who haven’t received theirs yet. Then I got changed for the class.

Mike had bought some raw wood tables and I picked one out for my room. It’s rectangular and fits perfectly in the corner of my room designated as my desk/sewing area. Saturnino had treated it for termites and stained it with our special Nica stain. It looks nice, but I cover it with a long table cloth anyway. I paid Mike for it so that it would be mine and the ministry wouldn’t have to foot the bill. It was quite a bargain. I’m very happy with it! Now I have room to leave my printer on it and still have room to sew. Yay! Since it isn’t as wide as the square plastic table I had in here, I could move my bed down the wall about 5 more inches. This gave my rocking chair space more room and I love that, too. I’m quite cozy. I guess I should take some pictures and post them on fb sometime soon, since I’ve been here 7 weeks now and I guess you could say I’m settled in.

The Bible study at Las Quimeras was very good. We had 19 out of the 22 today. Sherry talked to Pastor Sergio about 6-7 women that he would recommend to start our sewing class next week. I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t wait for them to start working on stuff for themselves, their families and stuff to sell to the North Americans as souvenirs. What a blessing!

We got home and I baked a potato and added it to my split pea soup for dinner. Yum! I had chocolate pudding for dessert.

I’ve spent most of the evening on the computer, since Mike left the internet cable for me. Mary tried to get on the computer they left here for her to use, but couldn’t get it to work right. I’m not familiar enough with it to help much. She didn’t want to mess with my computer, so she’ll wait until tomorrow when Mike can help her to check her facebook and emails. She was going to call her daughter tonight on her cell phone.

I called my sister Sandy this morning as I was walking to class. I don’t get good signal down here all the time, so I haven’t called the states much over the last weeks. I need to be better about that.

I guess I should get off of here, study a little more Spanish and go to bed.
I’m thankful that I’m feeling better. I’m so glad that I could bring those antibiotics down here (just in case).

Looking forward to tomorrow and all that God brings my way!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

A good day. I woke up feeling a little sick, like I was getting a sinus infection. I was feeling feverish (but who can tell in this heat) and a little weak. I decided to take a taxi to class today. I had some antibiotics that I had brought with me, so I started on them this morning. I got showered and dressed and had some cereal for breakfast and then left out for class. I arrived before 9am, so I reviewed stuff until Juan got there.

We had a good class today. Discussing lots of things in Spanish and then working on some idioms. Juan said that we would concentrate on the 400 verbs I’m learning this week as well as the 12 verb tenses that we have discussed over the last 2 weeks. I think that’s plenty for now. All the other stuff we have studied is pretty much in my brain. The verbs and verb tenses take more concentration and study. I’m glad we are going to work on them for a few days.

I got home (by taxi) for lunch. The taxi driver was helping me pronounce some Spanish words. He was trying to teach me to roll my rrrrr’s. I just can’t do it. I thought it was nice of him to try to help me. He was listening to a sermon on his cd player in the taxi. It’s nice to run into Christian people.

When I got home shortly after class, Leslie knew I hadn’t walked. She asked why and told me that she is feeling yucky, too, and had started some meds herself. Jaasiel has been on meds for bronchitis this past week. Maybe it’s something going around. Anyway, I’m hoping to feel ship-shape by week’s end.

The cook had not come this morning, so Sherry started lunch. Claudia got here a little before time to eat and said that she had had to take her mother to the hospital this morning. She finished cooking and we all had a great meal of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, quacamole, tortillas. Yummy. I went to my room to lay down for awhile and try to get rid of the sinus headache. I slept for about an hour. Mary red a book while Sherry and Manuel played in pool. Mike worked on his computer. Jaasiel came to have class time with Manuel this afternoon. He is doing well considering his challenges. He has been reading to me and wanting to do some math questions and stuff. I know that Jaasiel is making a difference with him.

I found out that we are just going to Las Quimeras earlier tomorrow instead of going out there today to talk with Pastor Sergio about which women to start working with on teaching sewing. I was glad that we were staying put for the afternoon.

Also, we are going to the Oriental Market in Managua on Saturday, instead of Thursday. I called Juan and told him that I wouldn’t have to miss Thursday’s class after all. He said to come on in early tomorrow (to finish making up 1 extra day) and come on Thursday. That way I will be ahead by 1 day in case something else comes up and I have to miss a day. Good thinking, because I think we’re going to Masaya one day next week.

Mike and German went to a used furniture/appliance store. They found a second refrigerator for the team house and some wooden tables. Also, a coffeemaker for Mary. Jaasiel said that she knows where that store is and maybe Mary and I can go check it out sometime.

Part of the tables were delivered this evening. They came by bicycle-taxi. It was funny to see them tied into and onto the contraptions. Alberto came to my room to see if I had 300 córdabas to pay the delivery guys. He couldn’t get a hold of German by phone. Luckily, I had exchanged some money this morning at the corner before class. The rest of the stuff is supposed to come tomorrow. I picked out which table I want in my room. I told Mike I would pay for it myself, to help the ministry out. They have to be treated for termites and then stained and then I can put it in my room. Yay!

I skipped my dip in the pool tonight, even though I was home since I didn’t go to the English class this afternoon. I want to get as much rest as I can to get over this head thing going on.

Mary used the sewing machine for a few minutes this evening and I took up a few skirts that were getting too big. Then I put all that away, ate some left overs, showered and settled down to study my verbs and verb tenses. I talk to myself a lot when memorizing things. People would find me rather funny if they could see inside my little room. ☺

I’m going to post this and then go to bed early tonight. Looking forward to a good night’s sleep and then an early morning, long Spanish class and then Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras tomorrow. Going to need some good rest.

I’m thankful for all that God brings my way. So many little things during the day. He is so faithful. And I am so blessed.

Monday, November 7, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Okay. 9:30pm and it’s time to write my blog and go to bed. Gotta get up early and go to Spanish class 1 hour earlier for the next 2 days so that I can skip class on Thursday to go to Managua with the VOH gang.

This weekend has flown by so fast! I guess because I went to the English school on Saturday morning, so Sunday and Monday were my ‘weekend’. Yesterday, I started sewing on aprons for Aracelys and Claudia and I finished them today. I also made a manly one for Manuel. I altered and hemmed a skirt for Coco and also make her 3 skirts. I hemmed a denim skirt for myself that I picked up at a used clothing store on my way home from Spanish class last week. I tweaked a shirt, took a swim, had leftover churrasco (steak) and mashed potatoes for dinner, studied Spanish verb tenses until I’m blue in the face. Speaking of blue, I’m admiring the navy pillow cases I made for my twin bed to make it look like a daybed. I like it.

The Hulsey’s were here for most of the day. I played with Manuel a couple of times. He is interested in learning now (for small bits of time). I hope he has good school time with Jaasiel this week.

Mary did some sewing today on hemming curtains. She sat on the pool steps while I swam this evening and we had a nice chat. We went to our rooms when the mosquitoes came buzzing. Saturnino will need to spray again tomorrow. Yesterday, Mary and I left our doors and windows open past dusk while enjoying the pool. We both got nibbled on last night by the mosquitoes. We made sure to shut up our rooms before heading for our evening swim.

With the exception of hearing fireworks last night, I haven’t experienced anything different after the elections. Of course, I haven’t left our compound for the last 2 days, either. LOL I’ll walk to Spanish class tomorrow morning, but I doubt that anything will be different on the road. Today was supposed to be the biggest day of celebration and demonstration.

Manuel’s dog, Buster, (a miniature Doberman) is about the size of a medium cat. He is getting a belly on him now and looks so funny when he lays down. Sherry makes him scrambled eggs every morning for breakfast. And he refuses to eat dog food. Only people food for him. Even chips. He went for a couple of dips in the pool today. When he dog paddles, he looks like a motorboat. He really moves! He doesn’t like the water too much though.

I’m feeling very peaceful and content this evening. I hope I sleep well. I’ve been having weird dreams for about 2 weeks now. Not nightmares, just weird. Oh well, it could be worse.

According to facebook postings, there was another earthquake in OK which was felt in AR. That makes 2 in just a few days. And I’m missing them! Maybe we’ll have a volcano eruption here. Nothing major, just want to see one of the smoking volcanos spew a little bit. Knowing me, I won’t have my camera ready anyway…

This is short, but I’m heading to bed. I hope everyone has had a blessed day. I know I have.

Sunday, Nov 6, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-06T20:11:00.000-08:00

It’s late and I should be getting ready for bed soon. It’s been an interesting day, since we didn’t go out anywhere today. The elections were today and churches were closed. There are people out everywhere and the streets will be blocked by celebrations and demonstrations (depending on which party you are a member of) for the rest of tonight and tomorrow. There isn’t any big surprise expected with the results, but with a Third World Country, you never know. We stayed here at the Mission House today and the Hulsey’s came over for lunch and to swim for the afternoon. I haven’t talked to them since they left at late afternoon to drive home. German (and all our other friends here) say not to go out on Monday, because of all the chaos in traveling. We’re happy as little clams to hang out here at the house. All of our workers, except Alberto (who lives here) and Claudia (our cook who didn’t want to take the day off) are staying home tomorrow.

My Monday Spanish class was moved to last Friday, so I have the day free to study and sew and nap. Ahhhh. Pretty much what I did today, actually.

Manuel spent the night with Mary and me last night. He slept on a mattress in Mary’s room. We took turns keeping him occupied last night and today. He was in a very good mood this morning and we had fun together.

I cut out 8 full aprons for Aracelys and Claudia. I got 4 of them finished today. I was modeling one to show Mary and Sherry and Manuel saw it. He heard me say that my sister had made me some aprons when I was a stepmom and the boys called it my cooking dress. She also made them some (they were 4, 5, and 6 yrs old) for craft aprons. They called theirs cooking dresses, too. Manuel decided he needed one, too. He wanted to try on the one I had finished for the ladies. He looked like he was wearing a dress. He looked so cute. He told his dad to get him a pan because he needed to cook something. I had some plaid material with red, navy, green, etc in it and we decided it would make a good boy apron. So he commissioned me to make it for him. I got it done tonight, also.

I have lots of projects that I want to work on. It’s so much fun getting to do these things. Tomorrow will be another good day of sewing.

This evening, after the sun left the pool area, I went for a dip. Mary came out and sat on the pool steps and put her legs in. We chatted a while. It was very nice. Since Saturnino is spraying for mosquitoes twice a week now, they are not bad at all. Yay!! After my swim, I came back to my room and fixed a baked potato for dinner and had some pudding for dessert.

Mike left me the internet cord and I’ve been researching more craft projects for the ladies (who in the barrios where we minister) to make and sell to help support their families. I’m loving these projects.

I need to get some Bible study done, prepare for the Women’s Bible studies this week and practice my Spanish verbs. We’ll see how much of each I get done tomorrow.

Mary will start going to the Women’s Bible studies with me this week. Next week, she will start teaching how to share your testimony with the ladies during part of the time. Her class time should last about 6 weeks until she goes home on December 23. The weekly study of the 12 Extraordinary Women of the Bible will continue year round until we cover all 12 Women, then we will start a new study.

I have 10 more Bibles coming tomorrow afternoon for the ladies at Las Quimeras. I’ve got the next 6 Bible bags done for them. I need to buy their notebooks at the Librería on Tuesday or Wednesday morning when I walk to class.

I hope we are still going to the Oriental Market in Managua on Thursday. I can’t wait to get some things for my room and to also see what kind of supplies I can find for the projects. They say the market is huge and takes all day. We may need to take 2 vans to bring everything home in! ha

Time for bed for today. Time is marching on. So much to do and experience. Don’t want to miss a minute! Soooo blessed.

Saturday, Nov 5, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

Woke up early and headed off to Pacheco’s school to visit with the Saturday English class. Got there about 9am and stayed until 10:30. It was a wonderful class full of very dedicated students. It still amazes me that these kids can speak such good English in so short of a time. They are very hungry to learn the language, since it will help them get better jobs someday. If only others were as dedicated to learning as they are. We had a fun time. I shared my testimony with them and we talked about a lot of things. It was great. Later in the day, I saw one of the girls in the shopping area. I noticed someone looking at me and smiling. Then I realized it was she. How fun to run into her!

Jeremy called me during the class and I had to call him back. We ended up getting together at the Mission House for about an hour. Kelly had made some rice pudding for me and Mary and Sherry. I got to practice my improving Spanish skills on them and they were very pleased. I still have a long way to go, but I was encouraged by their comments on my progress. I love those two kids very much.

After they left, I grabbed a quick shower and got ready for Sherry, Mary and I to go to lunch to celebrate Sherry’s birthday. We ate at Al Carbón. It was very good. Then we walked around and did a little bit of shopping. Mostly looking. I picked up a few things at the sewing notions store and some groceries at La Unión and then we headed back to the house. I was thinking of spending some time alone just looking around, but was getting a sinus headache, so I opted to come back and rest.

The Hulsey’s went home and got cleaned up and then Mike dropped Manuel off to spend the night here with Mary and I. While waiting of them to get here, I started cutting out some of the pattern paper pieces for some projects. I don’t like that part of the process, but I put on some Spanish praise music and got busy cutting them out.

Manuel got here and ate his dinner. Mary and I listened to him preach and then he used his new little computer to send us pretend emails. We popped some popcorn and were ready to watch a movie, but Manuel decided he wanted to play instead. Finally, Mary talked him into watching a little bit of a movie and then they went to bed. I came to my room to do some research on the computer for some patterns to make friendship bracelets. That is one thing that gets bought a lot when teams come down. We are wanting to have some of the people in the areas we are ministering to, learn to make things to sell to the teams. It will take a while to get everything going, but it will be a big difference in the lives of these people if they can help to support their families by making handcrafts. The teams are always wanting to buy souvenirs, so we think this might be a good way to help support the families.

I finally received some money that I had wired down here, so I called Juan to tell him that I could pay him for my Spanish classes. Since it takes about a week between the check from the church being cut to me actually getting the money (my bank to VOH bank to wiring the money here), I went ahead and paid him for next month, too. He was quite happy!

There is so much I want to get accomplished in the next week or two, and the rest of my stay, actually. I need to confer with my Boss upstairs and see what He has planned for my agenda. I’m loving everything that I get to do and there just isn’t enough time to do it all.

Mary will start coming to the Women’s Bible studies and using part of the time to teach the ladies how to share their testimony. This will be a great addition to our time with the ladies.

We are planning on a trip to Managua on Thursday, so I’ll need to reschedule that day’s Spanish class. I think we are going back to Managua or Masaya the next week, too. I might just have to have 3 days of class those 2 weeks. Or maybe we can add an extra hour on 2 of the days to make up the time. I’m fine with either one.

The team will be here on the 19th. It won’t be long. It will be fun to have them here and see how they like the new place. I’m ready to get some high-impact ministry done, too, along with our on-going feedings and Bible studies.

Tomorrow I will get some laundry done, sew a few projects and do some Bible study of my own, as well as prepared for this coming week’s lesson. All good stuff!!

Time for bed now. I’m so thankful to have the internet cord tonight to do this time-consuming-but fun research on things for us to make. What an awesome job I have!

And what an even more wonderful God I serve!

Friday, November 4, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

In my room, showered and ready for bed by 7:20pm. Looking forward to a quiet night.

Last night I didn’t get much sleep and I had a big day today. God gave me the physical strength and the peaceful heart to enjoy this day.

I visited with Mary for a while this morning and then headed off to walk to Spanish class. I stopped on the way at Bazar Jerry to buy some safety pins. Then I stopped at the corner by the bank to exchange some money with the guy who sits on a stool at the corner for just that purpose.

Got to class at 9:59am and started reviewing my notes from this week. Juan was pleased with all my charts for the verbs and other parts of grammar that we have been studying. He wants me to email him the files for him to use. We had a good class of practicing the verbs. I need to spend a lot of time on that this weekend.

I walked home after class and enjoyed a yummy lunch of hamburger patty, beans, rice, cabbage salad and tortilla. It was very good. I relaxed under the rancho with Leslie, Mary and the Hulsey’s for a while. Then I got ready for the Women’s Bible study at Rose of Sharon CC church.

Sherry had made 4 cakes to take to the church for the ladies. One was for Pastor Marvin’s mother, who had asked for a cake just for her. We split the rest of the cake between the group of 30+ people including some kids and a couple of Pastors. It was appreciated by all. (they don’t usually have ovens here and they don’t ever bake cakes. They buy them from the bakery.)

Pastor Marvin was afraid that I was ending the Bible study since we were serving cake. I assured him the weekly Bible study would continue every week. The cake was just a special treat and that there would be more to come. He reminded the ladies about the special event on Monday, Nov 21, when the team is here. We are going to have a special time with the ladies at 8am and then about 10am we will help cook the food for that day’s feeding of the children. It will be great fun.

I have told all the ladies of the ROSCC women’s group that whoever brings a guest will receive a special treat and that guest will, too. They asked if they would get 2 treats if they bring 2 guests. I said of course. This is a perfect time for them to invited non-churched ladies in the area to come for some fun and to get to know the church ladies a little bit. It will make it easier for them to come and join our Bible study in the future. I’m going to make little drawstring bags (with my leftover fabric from other projects) and fill them with candy for the prizes. This way I can make a lot of prizes for little money and it will be a treat for them!

Today’s Bible study was on the consequences of sin in the Garden of Eden. When discussing the part about the curse of pain and sorrow in childbearing, I told them that when they get to heaven, to look up Eve and ask her “What were you thinking????” They all thought that was funny. We have a nice time together in the Bible studies.

After I got home this evening, I hung out at Mary’s window and chatted for a while. We were entertained by an amorous pair of frogs. Very interesting…. After chatting a while, I got a shower and fixed some soup for dinner. I’m going to use the internet cable that Mike generously left for me to use, maybe sew a little bit, study a little Spanish and then go to bed early.

Juan asked me to come by his Saturday morning English class to meet the students so that they will be acquainted with me when I come and help with the class in the future. The class is from 8-10am, so I’ll walk there first thing in the morning and then walk back before it gets too hot.

After the English class, I’ll get ready to go with Sherry and Mary to lunch to celebrate Sherry’s birthday. This will be fun. We’re going to Al Carbón, which Sherry and I like, and Mary will be going to for the first time. It will be fun to together.

We also need to get some supplies to Pastor Sergio at Las Quimeras church for them to start a Sunday School class for the kids. We’ll need to deliver that tomorrow.

Jeremy, one of my Nica sons, called this morning asking what my plans are. He is wanting for me to get together with him and his wife Kelly. Today was very busy, so we decided that maybe tomorrow we could get together. I think I’ll see if they want to come over for a visit here at the Mission House. I don’t if Kelly will need to be working in her little store or not. Anyway, I’m looking forward to seeing them.

Other than laundry, I will be having a quiet few days here at the Mission House. Because of elections, we will not be going out for church on Sunday (that’s election day and most churches are closed), and Monday will be like a holiday while they are counting the votes. Most schools and businesses are closed and there are celebrations and demonstrations in the streets, so travel is difficult. There’s no violence expected, but disruption in travel and such. It will be nice to have a few days of staying home for a change.

I guess I’ll get off of here for now.
I’m very blessed and very thankful today.

Thursday, November 3, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-04T18:46:00.000-07:00

Another great day.
I was wide awake for a few hours last night and ended up falling back asleep and waking up at 9:03am! I haven’t slept that late since I’ve been here in Nica! I jumped up and grabbed my shower and dressed, ate some cereal and headed out the door to Spanish class. I was just a couple of minutes late, but still beat Juan there. I had time to review some stuff before we got started.

On my way walking there, I ran into Claudia (our new cook) and Jassiel (one of our translators and current part time teacher for Manuel) as they got off the bus at the end of our street. It was so nice to see them.

I checked facebook and emails on my phone this morning and saw that a very generous supporter of VOH had donated $250 for Bibles for the Women’s classes. How wonderful! I need to buy a lot of them and he is going to bless many women with his wonderful donation. I’m so thankful!

I also saw the Hulsey’s driving in the van to the Mission House while I was on my way to class. Sherry noticed that I was late. ☺

After class, I walked home and had some delicious shrimp for lunch. Alberto’s family live in Chinandega, which is about an hour or so north of here. They had lots of fresh seafood there. His cousin brought us some very fresh shrimp for an unbelievable price. We ended up getting about 8 pounds or so for only around $3 something a pound. Woohoo! Claudia had made the shrimp 2 ways. We had fried shrimp (of which I tried one just to see how yummy it was) and some boiled shrimp in a fantastic white sauce. Rice, plantains and a tortilla rounded out our meal. Soooo good!

After lunch, I played with Manuel for a little bit and we watched Saturnino climb up the palm trees to knock down the cocoanuts so they won’t fall on anyone’s heads. Juvel was trying to tell me to have Manuel stay back so he wouldn’t get hurt, but I couldn’t understand what he wanted. I thought he was asking if they could have the cocoanuts. So funny! Anyway, Saturnino is like a monkey climbing those trees. So fun to watch.

Sherry and Manuel were heading to their house about 4pm, so I caught a ride in the taxi with them. They dropped me off at the English class. I was the first one there as usual. It was a lot of fun today. Jonathan and Salvador took turns translating the lessons that I use for the Women’s Bible study. Juan likes for me to use Christian material when I work with them. So glad to share Jesus in every circumstance!! We had a great time and Juan videoed us and then he took his turn translating and they videoed him. I talked faster and used longer sentences with him, since he’s a seasoned pro. They guys enjoyed listening and trying to keep up and figure out ahead of him what to say. I always enjoy my time with those guys. I’m so proud of them and the progress they are making. It blows my mind. They are through with their college studies, so English class is their priority and they are drinking in all they can get of English. It’s fun to see their progress.

The guys helped me catch a taxi for home and I told the driver Hotel Berlín, which is the name of the place that we are renting as our Mission House. He already had a fare in the back, so he dropped him off first. After that guy got out, he looked at me and asked which street and why wasn’t I getting out. I said Hotel Berlín again, and he reacted as if a light came on in his brain. Turns out that the neighborhood that we were dropping the other guy off at is called Berlín. LOL. The driver said he understood now and knew where the place is. He got me home safe and sound. I always call Alberto when I’m getting close, so he can meet me at the door. He watches over me very well.

After a quick pb&j sandwich and some pudding I settled in to review some Spanish notes. I typed up some charts and lists and printed them off for tomorrow’s class. I didn’t intend on spending so much time on it, but before I knew it, German was pulling into the property with Mary from the airport. I gave her a quick tour, got her some cups and showed her where the water dispenser is. I introduced her to Alberto and made sure that he would have coffee ready in the morning. Mary used to always make the coffee at the old place. She will have to get used to people doing things for her here. I think she’ll like it.

Mary and I talked a little bit and got her settled in for the night. I’m wide awake and hyper from yakking. I need to go to bed and sleep well so that I’m prepared for class tomorrow and also, so I’ll wake up on time. Can’t believe I slept so late today.

I don’t usually have class on Fridays, but because of the chaos that follows elections, most of the businesses and stuff shut down on Monday. Juan moved all his Monday classes to tomorrow. It will make a very full week for my brain, but next week will be like having a holiday! I plan to sew!!!

Going to bed now and thanking God for the opportunity to live and serve here. I’m very happy and blessed.

Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-02T21:51:00.000-07:00

Another great day. I’m exhausted, but happy.

I got up early to do Bible study before breakfast and getting ready for Spanish class. I enjoy my quiet time. Although, since I don’t have TV and other distractions, most of the time in my room is quiet time! Ha

Aracelys cleaned my room quickly before I locked up and headed off to class. I stopped by Bazar Jerry for the much needed light blue thread to make more Bible bags for the ladies. I also stopped at the libreria for some paper clips. By the way, I asked Juan how to say paper clips in Spanish and he said they just say ‘clips’. That should be easy to remember!

It was a lovely, sunny morning and not too hot for the walk. Soon it will be too hot for me to walk. I’ll miss it very much. I lather on the sunscreen and wear a hat now. My bloodpressure meds make me burn easily, so I try to be cautious.

I got to class a little early and started reviewing my verbs. Juan was late again. I think we have slowly moved my class from 10a-12p to 10:30a-12:30 or 1pm. But that’s okay with me.

We had a good class and I was very challenged. He is going very fast and I wish I had more study time at home to really grasp everything. I made him promise to let me nail some of this info before he starts throwing more at me. That lasted about 15 minutes this morning. LOL. I do enjoy the class very much.

I left for home about 12:30 and went a head and walked even though the sun was very strong. I just love walking and it’s hard not to do it.

I got home for lunch and we had shredded beef, rice, beans and a fried plantain. It was yummy. I’m liking this new cook very much! She was wearing the apron that I had made for her last night. I told her I would make more and prettier ones this weekend. She and Aracelys deserve some nice ones.

I played with Manuel a little bit. Then I started sewing some more on the Bible bags. Leslie and I talked about Spanish grammar and how she worked hard on her English lessons when she first started learning. She understands my challenges and joys.

Sherry talked to Mary and found out that her plane was delayed and she would have to spend the night in Houston and catch the flight to Managua tomorrow instead of today. The airline will pay for the hotel, but I’m sure she would rather be here than hanging out at the airport most of the day tomorrow. But at least she will be here soon.

The Hulsey’s left and Leslie and I prepared for the Women’s Bible study class at Las Quimeras. Leslie’s husband, Jorge, had the day off from the children’s psychology place, so he was driving his taxi. He took us to the Bible study and brought us back to the hotel. Today was a holiday for a lot of people. It’s the Day of the Dead, which sounds more like Halloween, but is like our Memorial Day. People go to the cemeteries and clean up and decorate the graves of their loved ones. Since we have a cemetery on each end of our ‘block’, we saw a lot of action on the street today.

When I left for class this morning, I came across 3 people walking and waving to me. I recognized them from the Sewer Pond neighborhood. They spoke with me a few minutes and I told them that I was going to Spanish class. They were proud of me. It was nice to see them. They said that they miss us.

I got home from the Bible study and sewed on 6 more Bible bags, then fixed a tuna wrap in a tortilla and some yuka chips, then had some pudding for dessert.

I’ve been working on the computer all evening. And I’m not near done with making all the charts that I’ve scribbled in my notebook. I can’t believe that it’s nearly 11pm already.

I need to get myself to bed so I can get to class early again tomorrow. Oh, speaking of class, we usually are off on Fridays, but since Sunday is the election for the country and the ballots will still be in the process of being counted on Monday, most places are closing. Some for a holiday. Some because you never know what the situation will be from the outcome of the election. It’s best to lay low. We aren’t having class on Monday, so Juan is having all of his Monday classes come this Friday instead. I hope my brain can take 5 days of study this week. Ha. At least it will be a quiet weekend at home. Most churches don’t meet on Election day either. But I think the Las Quimeras might be meeting anyway. At least I will have plenty of time to sew this weekend and that makes me very happy!

My friends Charlie and Leslie Cotton welcomed their daughter Jenna to the world today. They are doing well and are very excited. I’m so happy for them.!

Time to hit the hay. Praying for a good night’s rest so I’ll be ready for the day tomorrow! God is good and I’m so blessed to have Him order my steps

Tuesday, Nov 1, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

The first day of November already! Whew!

It was another great day. I slept very fitfully again last night. I guess I have too much on my mind. Anyway, I woke up at 7am and did some Bible study, had cereal and then got ready for Spanish class. I left early so that I could stop by the Bazar Jerry store to get some cording to make some drawstring bags. I also stopped at the bookstore to pick up notebooks and pens for the extra ladies at Las Quimeras Bible study. And I bought a stapler, which excited me so much that I forgot to buy staplers! Ha

I made it to class a little early and enjoyed the quiet time in the empty classroom with the fan blowing on only me and reviewing my verb tense chart. Juan was late, but it gave me a good chance for review. We had an awesome class. Learning all these tenses at once is killing me and I find it hard to keep them separated in my mind. But I know when it all clicks, it’s going to be awesome! I really appreciate Juan’s teaching ability. And I LOVE his smile when I get a really hard question correct.

I walked home for lunch and it was so good. Chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and tortilla. I’m loving have Claudia our new cook here everyday for lunch! I played with Manuel for a little while and then they headed home about 2pm. It is Sherry’s birthday today and she was going home for a birthday nap.

I threw a load of towels in the wash with some sheets for Mary’s room. She has a new bed and mattress. She will love it.

I started sewing the 6 Bible bags that I need to take to Las Quimeras church tomorrow. I need to buy 4 more Bibles, but I don’t have the money yet. I do have the notebooks and pens and will have the bags ready. Maybe God will provide a surprise deposit in the VOH account for some Bibles. We’ll see.

I sewed until I ran out of the color of thread I was using. I thought I had another spool, but it was a different shade of blue. I will have to stop at Bazar Jerry tomorrow for another spool of thread. Then hurry home after Spanish class to finish sewing.

At 6:20pm I put the sewing machine away and heated up some left over chicken and potatoes and veggies for dinner. I put some cream of mushroom soup on top and it was so good.

Mike had left me the internet cord this afternoon, so I immediately got on the computer. I need to post my blogs from the last couple of days and send some emails. I should be reviewing Spanish, but I have to take advantage of having the internet connection when I can get it! Mike said they are looking into getting internet permanently here at the Mission House. I told him I would pay half. It would be awesome to have access all the time!

I sewed up a couple of aprons from old sheets for the cook. I need to make some more and decorate them up a little. But the Bible bags are taking all my sewing time for now. One of these days…

Mary will get here late tomorrow evening. I won’t really get a chance to talk to her much until after class on Thursday. She’ll be busy getting her room all set up and visiting with the Hulsey’s, too. Friday morning I don’t have class, so I can have a relaxing morning and we can chat.

I’m getting tired and I really do need to review my Spanish homework for tomorrow morning, so I’ll sign off for now, have some chocolate pudding and snuggle up with my Spanish notes.

I’m thankful for all that God has allowed into my life. I’m so blessed.

Monday, Oct 31, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Ok. This will be short and sweet. It’s 10:15 and I’m just now getting around to typing my blog. I’ve have a very busy day and I’m ready to hit the bed so I can get up early and do it all over again tomorrow. LOL

I slept fitfully last night so I didn’t get up until 8:30am. That’s late for me, but I just had a hard time last night for some reason. Need to pray about that. I did my daily Chronological Bible study, grabbed some cereal for breakfast, showered and dressed.

I called FBC in Rogers and talked with Glenda for a few minutes and then with Teresa about some money stuff. I enjoyed speaking with them. There may be some good arrangements made for me to help with my future needs. I know that God will work everything out as He sees fit. I’m thankful for that.

I decided to call a taxi for the trip to class. That way I could stop and exchange some money on the corner. The taxi was taking a very long time to get here, so I called back to make sure they sent one. She must have called the driver to get his self over here because the next thing I knew, here comes the guy speeding down our very rutted road (potholes as deep as the little car is tall) and beeping at everyone and thing (horses included) in his way. He was very nice and was talking a lot in Spanish. I was answering as best as I could and told him that I am learning Spanish and was, in fact, on my way to class. He said I can practice on taxi drivers. He also said that he wants to learn English and I told him he should take classes from my friend Juan. ☺

After picking up 2 more fares on our way to my drop off, it was time for me to get out. I paid the 30 córdova fare with a 50. He needed to make change, so he had the person in the front seat to give him 20 for her fare. As I was getting out I heard him ask the person in the back for her fare so he could buy some papaya at the fruit stand that he was parked in front of. Riding in taxis is always interesting here. Besides being beat up little cars, sometimes missing what I would consider vital parts, the drivers are crazy and the traffic is chaos. But it’s part of living here and I love it.

Juan beat me to class this morning and I was only 3 minutes late. We had a good beginning of reviewing from last week, then we started on some new verb tenses. I don’t have the other million memorized yet, but this gives me a somewhat complete set agonize over. So far I’ve learned Present Indicative, Past Indicative, Simple Present, Present Progressive, Immediate Future, Simple Future, Present Perfect, Simple Past Perterite, Simple Past Imperfect, Future Progressive, Past Progressive, Past Conditional. As well as conjugating for Me, You (informal), You (formal)/He/She/It, We/Us, and Them for each and every verb in every tense. Needless to say, I don’t have them all down yet, but I can hold my own with the infinitve verb and really bad grammar. LOL

I can tell I’m making progress every day and since this was just day 5 of my 2 hour classes, I think I’m doing pretty well. I pray every day to have a focused mind and clear understanding. It’s kicking my booty, but the sooner I learn it, the sooner I will know it and I’ll have so much fun using it! Juan is a great teacher. I have been blessed with him and with Oliver back in Rogers. They are both gifted teachers.

Juan asked if I would do some recording of English grammar for his classes. We will figure out a good time to do that one of these days.

I walked home and enjoyed the lunch prepared by our new regular cook. She started today and will cook lunch for the staff Monday-Friday on the weeks that we don’t have teams. Today’s was very good.

I got a fb message from my ‘son’ Jeremy today. He has been super busy helping take on some of his father’s duties at their church. His father is the Senior Pastor and has been ill lately. Jeremy is the worship pastor as well as helping with many other things in the church, including filling in for his father teaching and such. Jeremy accidently found out when testing his father’s new blood pressure cuff that he has very high blood pressure. His uncle is a doctor and ran some tests and thinks they can control it with some meds, diet and less stress. Sounds familiar to me! I’m praying for my sweet boy and his beautiful wife Kelly. I can’t wait to see them soon.

I spent some time with Manuel today until he got mad that I wouldn’t give him my computer. That is a recurring issue with us. I also would not give him my iPhone. He was very mad at me. So play time ended for today. He was over it for the moment when he came back in the evening.

I got to talk to Sherry and Leslie a little bit and then they all left and came to my room to cut out 12 more Bible bags. I started sewing on them just a little until time for our VOH Monday night Bible Study. German, Oscar, Jonathan, Salvador, Sherry and me were here and Mike did a great job. I love learning new things about God and the Bible. I think that Jonathan and Salvador are enjoying learning that and also learning new English words.

After everyone left about 7:30, I came to my room and started studying Spanish grammar. Next thing I knew it was 10pm. I hurried and set up the printer so I could take my homework to class tomorrow. I also printed off some group questions from the weekly Bible study back in Rogers. Then I got the printer all put away and started my blog.

I’ve had a great day and I’m ready to call it a night. I’m hoping for sweet dreams tonight and lots of energy for what God brings my way tomorrow!

Sunday, Oct 30, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-11-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

Just got off the phone from talking to Mary in AR. She is due here on Wednesday night. She’s chomping at the bit to get here. Those last days before leaving the states are antsy. You just want to get down here. I think she will really like being here better than the other place. It’s so much calmer here. I love it because it’s my home more than the states now.

We had a great service at Rose of Sharon CC church this morning. I love listening to Pastor Marvin preach. He speaks so clearly. I can tell I’m getting better with understanding more Spanish words and I’m not having to rely on just getting the context of the sentences only. Every week is a little better. I can’t wait to get to where I can understand every word! Woohoo!

I had to stand outside to get a good connection on the phone. Some times I can get a call inside my room and sometimes you practically have to stand on the roof. But it’s nice to have phone service regardless.

After church this morning, we came back to the Mission House and had a very yummy lunch that Sherry had put in the oven before we left for church. Roasted chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions and tortillas. It was very good. We all enjoyed the feast.

Joanna didn’t know they were coming over for lunch right from church, so she had not packed swimming clothes for the kids. We found some shorts for Ishmael to swim in and a little 2 piece bathing suit for Mariangel. At first she wanted to wear a t-shirt and not the bikini top (she’s 9, I think). Then we showed her that Sherry wears a bikini, too, so she relented and looked so cute.

Sherry was teaching her how to swim. Mariangel said it was easier to learn from Sherry than from her dad. While they were in the pool, Mike and German were at the van tinkering under the hood. Manuel was going to play with Ishmael like he did the little boy yesterday and throw him into the water. He didn’t know that Ishmael didn’t know how to swim. Joanna is afraid of water and I was standing by her watching the swimmers. By the time we noticed that Ishmael was in the water, Joanna was yelling for German to come. I was surprised and much to my shame I just stood there. I can’t believe I didn’t jump into the water. I guess I was thinking since Sherry was in there it was okay. Sherry was near the other end with Mariangel on a raft. By the time she got to him German had jumped into the pool and grabbed him. It surprised Ishmael so much that he didn’t breath in any water. He wasn’t too upset. Mostly just surprised. Joanna was so scared! Manuel thought he was in trouble, but we explained that we knew that he didn’t mean any harm. It was tense for a little while, but Ishmael was playing around with the drum set and being his cut little self and Mariangel went back to swim lessons with Sherry. German’s 2 cell phones (one for each cell company here) were drowned. His wallet was all wet, too. We tried to lay everything out to dry. German doesn’t have back up for his hundreds of phone numbers of Pastors and various other important people. He said he is just not organized. I told him that I would help him make a book for those numbers when he gets them again. You never know when your phone will get broken, stolen or drowned. It’s better to be prepared. After all is said and done, I think Ishmael is fine and happy and the saddest part of the mishap is the loss of phone numbers.

I spent a couple of hours working on Spanish verbs and vocabulary. I set up the printer we brought down and printed off some lists and charts that I had been making. I had been putting off setting up the printer because I just don’t like messing with that kind of stuff. It was very easy, though and now I’m ready to rumble! Since I don’t need the printer all the time, and have limited desk/table space to share with the sewing machine when needed, I keep the printer on the big shelf that Saturnino built for me. To keep the dust and dirt off of it, I sewed up a little cover for it. Everything has its place in my room, and some things have their own covers. How special is that? Haha

I need to get ready for bed and to do some Bible study. My brain is fried as far as Spanish is concerned for today. I’m looking forward to lots of work on verbs this week in class. I need to spend my time wisely so that I can get both Bible studies read and notes taken and also get my Spanish homework done and words memorized. I haven’t even started sewing the new bags yet. I need to slow down a little and get rest as well as take some pressure off of myself to get things done all at the same time. I need to chill out like a true Nicaraguan.

Tomorrow is the end of October already. Time is flying by so fast. I love every day. I’m very blessed.

Saturday, Oct 29, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-29T19:49:00.000-07:00

A very different day and I loved it. I had a plan all worked out to get a ton of things accomplished, but God changed it and I’m okay with how it turned out. I get too focused on getting as many tasks done in the least amount of time as possible and am pretty hard on myself if I don’t succeed. But today was a productive day in ways that I had not planned.

I had the internet cord last night and today. I normally would have run some downloads and updates overnight, since it takes much, much more time to run those things here than with highspeed internet. But, with the storm coming through last night, it was not an option. So I started the computer doing its thing as soon as I woke up.

I fixed some cereal with milk what was purchased yesterday, but the milk was sour. Yuk. Later I fixed more cereal with the shelf stable milk. I worry about what is in it to make it so stable, but it tastes okay, and sometimes I just want some cereal. I got my shower and started some laundry. I also started sorting and organizing my sewing stuff and scraps and new fabric that I bought this week. My sewing marathon last week wreaked havoc in my room. It was nice to get things back in order. Now I have to start sewing bags all over again, but at least my work space is tidy to start with.

The Hulsey’s arrived about 9:30am. German was here having a couple of meetings with different people and taking care of business. He and Mike met while Manuel and Sherry started swimming. I sat under the rancho and talked with Sherry while she was lounging on a raft in the pool.

The little boy who belongs to one of the landscaper guys was here again and went swimming with Manuel. He ended up swimming for about 4 hours straight. He’s a little fish. He is only 6 years old and the whole pool is over his head, but he knows what he is doing and keeps on going non-stop. We gave him some snacks and he barely took time to eat any of them.

After the Hulsey’s left late afternoon, German’s family arrived to swim a little. He is teaching the kids how to swim. It was not sunny and Mariangel was a little bit afraid. I asked if she wanted me to come in with her and she said yes. I changed into my bathing suit and helped her get used to the water. German was working with Ishmael, who is 3. I got Mariangel to lie crosswise on a raft and kick her feet and paddle her arms. She did pretty good. German took turns with the kids, teaching them. Elias, the landscaper’s little boy, was coaching them, too. It was soo cute!

It started sprinkling and we kept swimming. The water was a little warm and the rain was a little cold. Then it started raining harder. Once a lightning and thunder clap happened we all got out of the pool. German’s family took off for home and I came in my room to change and fix a little supper. I had only had some crackers and peanut butter and an apple earlier in the day, so I fixed another baked potato with cream of mushroom soup on top. Then later I had a tuna sandwich and some pudding.

My computer was still downloading updates, so I worked a couple of hours on over 300 Spanish verbs that I’m trying to memorize before Monday. I already know most of them. Next week I’ll be learning to conjugate them in the different verb tenses for 1st, 2nd and 3rd person and plurals. I know my head will explode then!

I’ve discovered a leak in the roof where my split air conditioner is tied together to the condenser on the roof. I’ll have to have Saturnino look at it on Monday to fix the leak. Hopefully, it won’t rain too much before then.

I have a lot on my plate here, but I’m just going to take one bite at a time and enjoy my work. I love what I get to do here. The two Women’s Bible study groups are such a blessing to me. They are so different from each other, even though we are studying the same lesson. It won’t get old, that’s for sure. I enjoy working with the guys in the English class, but those 2 days are my flex days in case anything with the ministry comes up. It’s nice to be able to be a part, but not feel pressure. I’m learning so much from doing the Chronological Bible study with FBCR. I try to email my responses to the small group questions when I have the internet access. I miss those ladies, but I know that they are praying for me, so I feel connected.

We have a team coming on Nov 19 for the week of Thanksgiving. There are 4 women on the team and we’ll be having a special event for women at the Rose of Sharon CC church on that Monday. I can’t wait. I’ve challenged the women of ROS to invite guests. It will be an awesome morning!

December is going to be busy, too. We have a large team coming for one week before Christmas. We also have 2 interns coming for most of the month. Beth will come the week the team is here and stay until I leave on the 27th. The team, interns, Mary and the Hulsey’s will all leave on the 23rd. It doesn’t seem far off now!

There are some ladies in each of the Bible study groups who have come to me with financial needs. Of course, they all have needs, but these in particular have been expressed. One of the things we hope to start is helping whoever needs help to develop skills to make items that can be sold to the teams and churches back home to help provide income to these families here. It will be a complex and interesting journey, and I’m looking forward to it. Hopefully, we will have something organized by the time we leave in December, so that during the 6 weeks that I’m in the states in Jan and Feb, Leslie can have the ladies working on things. I can’t wait to see what God is going to provide for us to do!

Better get off of here for tonight and send some emails and post some pictures while I still have the internet cord. Thanking God for another blessed day.

Friday, October 28, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Another great day! Since I didn’t have Spanish class today, I got to sleep until 8am. It was wonderful! I got up and started doing some Bible study. I also threw a load of clothes and some new fabric in the wash since I was going to be home for most of the day.

The Hulsey’s came about 10:30 and Manuel and I had our play time together. Then I worked more on getting my notes ready for today’s Women’s Bible study at Rose of Sharon CC church.

When Sherry was through interviewing the new cook (who will just cook lunch for us and our workers when we don’t have teams), she was ready to give me a haircut. I like it. Good and short. I know it makes me stick out even more here, but it’s very functional and I don’t have to look at it. Ha!

I grabbed a quick shower and dressed and we all headed off to Callejon for lunch. Since I had churrasco yesterday at Al Carbón, I opted for chicken cordon blue and it was very good. The server remembers that I love veggies. She is very sweet. It was crowded at the restaurant, so the Hulsey’s sat at one table and Leslie joined me at another.

After lunch, we returned to the Mission House and Mike worked some more with German and Manuel swam a little bit more. There were some guys here who go to the ROSCC church and work at ‘landscaping’ (which here means to clear brush and mow – with a real lawn mower – and clean out neglected plants and such). They are getting the place descent for our first team at the new place. Anyway, the guys had a 5 year old and a 10 year old with them. We invited the kids to swim and Sherry promised to watch over the little one. They had a blast swimming and diving and doing flips with Manuel.

Leslie and I left for the Women’s Bible study. Her husband Jorge drives us on Fridays. There were just 5 women when we got there and I was afraid that we scared them off from last week, but soon the rest arrived and we had 29 (1 more than last week). We discussed Eve’s temptation and the Fall of Man today. The ladies were very attentive and participated in the discussion. They were very thankful for us to be coming and gave us hugs. It’s so wonderful to see how giving just a little bit of time to share insights (from John MacArthur, not mine) can make such a difference in their lives. We take the opportunities to hear and study the Bible for granted in the States. I pray that we all return to the state of hunger for the Word that these ladies have.

I got back home and fixed a baked potato and a tomato and lettuce sandwich. Yummy. Some Chips Ahoy cookies and an apple rounded out my even sustenance.

I have custody of the internet cable tonight, but there was a storm that came through and was making the electricity waver quite a bit. I chose to get off the net and just write my blog and read some commentary on my Chronological Bible study that I have saved on the computer.

I’m pretty tired tonight, so I’ll go on to bed while the storm is still hanging around and maybe it will be gone in the morning and I can catch up more on cyber stuff early. Then I plan to sew A LOT tomorrow. A little more laundry and perhaps a nap will be in my future. We’ll see. Sherry and Manuel are coming over for a swim, weather permitting, so it will be nice to have company, too. I’m ready for a quiet weekend.

I have tons of Spanish homework to memorize and always the Bible studies to prepare for. I never run out of things to do.

I’m so thankful for all that God has blessed me with. He is so gracious and generous. I hope He finds me to be thankful and honoring to Him. He deserves so much more than I can give, but I will give my all.

Thursday, Oct 27, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-29T19:46:00.000-07:00

I can’t believe it’s only Thursday! The 4 days of Spanish classes feels like a month, probably because we have covered what Juan teaches in over a month of classes in just these 4 days. Review of what I already knew and covered much new ground. I keep telling him that my head is going to explode!!

This morning I went ahead and took a taxi to Spanish class because I hurt my little toe and wearing walking shoes didn’t feel good. So I wore flip flops (or as Mary and I call them ‘flops’) and wasn’t planning on doing much walking. I got to the corner by the school early and exchanged some US money for Córdovas. Then I arrived to the classroom about 20 minutes early. It was a great time to review yesterday’s lesson before Juan arrived.

We had a great time together. Juan is an exceptional teacher. He and my friend Oliver in Rogers are 2 of the best teachers that I have ever had. God has really gifted them teaching ability. And I’m thankful to get the benefit of their skills.

One of the things that Juan had me to today was to tell him in English what the process of traveling by plane is. He has never flown and wanted to know all the details. It also gave me a very exercise in using words that I wasn’t aware that I knew in Spanish! We talked about checking in, security, waiting, boarding, what the space inside the plane is like, instructions from the flight attendants, announcements from the pilots, food, bathrooms, preference regarding aisle seats vs window seats, customs and immigration, etc. At one point he asked about the safety announcements by the flight attendants. I gave him pretty much a word-for-word example of the announcements, including location of emergency exits, oxygen masks and seat cushions that are used as flotation devices. I told him the seat cushion thing is not all that comforting to me, since I think if you end up in the ocean, you probably hit hard enough to be dead. But anyway… He asked ‘when do they tell you about how to use the parachutes?’ I said ‘there are no parachutes’. He said what if something happens to the plane while it’s flying?’ I gave him a wave and said ‘so long’. We both started laughing and couldn’t quit until we had tears in our eyes. We discussed this later in the English class with the guys and decided that 1. The air would not be breathable to jump out, 2. Everyone would get tangled up with each others parachutes, and 3. Probably that last thing that the flight attendants would say is ‘buenas suerte’ which means ‘good luck’. I’m sure we will laugh about parachutes for a long time to come.

At the end of the Spanish class, we talked about Simple Present Tense verbs and it was so much easier than the other 6 tenses we have studied this week, that I was happy and excited to leave the week on that note. Juan likes it when I get excited about what I am learning. I think he appreciates seeing his students understanding and being enthusiastic. I’m loving it!!!

After Spanish class, I walked downtown to Central Park. I stopped in at a shop at Plaza del Carmen and bought a couple pairs of sandals. I had a nice chat with the owner of the shop. She is always so nice to me.

Then I walked to Al Carbón restaurant and treated myself to churrasco (steak) for lunch. It was very good. The waiter was very nice and wanted to practice his English. I was sitting near the open courtyard and enjoyed the breeze. I made my to-do list for the day, weekend, and next week. Very enjoyable downtime for me. The waiter was explaining their lovely desserts, but I was too full to have any. Maybe one day I will stop in there just for the dessert. That will be fun.

It started raining as I was leaving the restaurant. I walked in the rain for a while. I stopped at a music store to see if I could find some drumsticks with the cushiony ends so that when Manuel plays the drums it won’t be so loud. They didn’t have any. They wondered why I wanted them and in my limited Spanish, I explained they were for a little boy. They smiled knowingly.

Then I walked to a Kodak store to get some pictures printed. These pictures were from last Sunday when Mike preached at Rose of Sharon CC church for a special service for their leadership. I took a picture of the group up front being prayed over by Mike and also of the whole group standing together after the service. The shop was out of 8x10 photo paper, so I had some 4x6 copies made for now. I will give these to Pastor Marvin tomorrow when we go to the Women’s Bible Study. Anyway, I had to leave the images from my camera card and go back and pick up the pictures in a couple of hours.

In the meantime, I walked to the sewing/crafts store next to La Unión grocery store. I got drenched. Jason, the guy who helps us find parking spaces when we go to the grocery store (we can find our own spaces, but he likes to get tips), was standing at the steps by the sidewalk. He took my elbow and helped me up the steps in the pouring rain. It was nice to see him and get a little help. I looked like a drowned rat. Good thing I like to keep my hair short so it will dry quickly. Anyway, the store was great. They have a little bit of everything there. A very nice clerk helped me find some thread, a bobbin, seam rippers, pin cushion and elastic. I told her I was glad that their store was there and I would be shopping often.

Next I went to another store nearby and the clerks asked if they could help me. I told them in Spanish that I was just looking around. I told them I was also learning and practicing my Spanish. One clerk noticed how wet I was and asked if I wanted to buy an umbrella. I was glad to! They asked where I’m from and I thanked them for helping to practice my vocabulary. Of course, as soon as I bought the umbrella, the sun came back out! LOL

I looked at sandals along this long hallway between stores that has a ton of inexpensive shoes. I found a cute pair of lavender sandals to wear with some of my skirts to church. Only $5.

I then walked to a couple of fabric stores to get material to make more Bible bags. I found a couple of different prints that would work okay. At one store, the clerk became talkative when I told him I was learning Spanish. I always feel that I have to explain that I am learning, even though it is evident that I’m not fluent. But I think that it breaks the ice more if I admit to them that I know that I’m not very good yet. It seems to make a difference in the way they treat me. They are more friendly. Anyway, this guy spoke a little English and said that he likes to speak English because it sounds nice. He did pretty well.

I stopped in a couple of other stores to price some clear vinyl. I have a project I want to try that requires it. Maybe I’ll get to play with it this week.

I stopped in a little libreria to get some more receipt books for Mike. It’s a store that German took Mary and I to and it’s very nice with lots of notebooks, pens, etc.

Then I stopped at a store that has household goods. I got a bag with handles to carry all the little plastic bags I was trying to carry. I also picked up a little cutting board for the kitchen corner of my room.

I still had some time to kill before picking up the pictures, so I stopped at Eskimo and had a double cone (café and chocolate). Yum!

When I got to the Kodak store, the clerk (who was practicing his English on me today) was just trimming my photos. They turned out good and we not very expensive.

I grabbed a taxi back to the school for the English class and arrived right on time. Jonathan was already there and we started talking about the verses in the Bible that Mike had him look up. I have loaned my bilingual NIV/NVI Bible to him and Salvador. When I asked Jonathan if he had read much of the Bible since I loaned it to them on Monday night, he showed me how he had started a chart of geneology in Genesis and mentioned how old people lived until the flood happened. He amazes me at the hunger he has for learning. I told him to keep the Bible for a while and keep reading it. I may go ahead and give it to them. I have another bilingual Bible here, but it’s RVR/NIV. But I think I can do okay with it and bring down another NIV/NVI one on my next trip. Anyway, it was great to see him diving into it.

English class was so great this afternoon! Juan had asked me to have some kind of story ready for the guys to translate. He wanted them to listen to full sentences and paragraphs and get used to having to store it in their memory before speaking. I had a copy of Creation to Christ Story, which Lori McDaniel had sent me to learn to help me teach oral learners about the Bible. I had not went over it much yet, due to all the other studying that I have been doing. I thought this might be a good example for the guys to translate. It was great! There are 8 parts to this story and each guy took turns listening to me say one sentence at a time in English and translating it in Spanish. Juan was there to help and correct. We all learned new words and phrases in each other’s language. We went through the entire thing twice. Once I read it and they translated it. Then they wanted to read it aloud themselves. So they took turns reading it and did an awesome job. I am soooo proud of both of them. The pages are the story, plus some questions to ask the listener and scripture references for the story teller. I gave the copy to the guys to keep. They will read it many times over. I hope to get the chance to ask them the ‘key question’ about it soon. God is working on their hearts to accept Christ. They have a lot of baggage from being cultural Catholics, but are becoming aware of the Gospel. I’ll just keep tending those seeds as we go along.

Juan had some verbs (70) for me to memorize the definitions and congugations in different tenses, but he had forgot to make the copies of the pages. Jonathan and Salvador walked me to a cyber store (internet place) to get some copies made. Then they walked me to the corner to hail a taxi. Traffic was kind of weird because a large group of people on motorcycles, pedicabs, trucks, etc were gathered on the main road and police were blocking it off for them. It was kind of a political parade. They had red flags. Other people that they passed were showing their red and black flags, so I guess the plain red flags represent a opposition party. There is another large party that has blue and white flags. I can’t keep up with it all. There will be elections in a few weeks, so this will probably happen a lot. Anyway, we had to wait a while for a taxi to come along. Jonathan took Juan’s book back to him. Salvador waited with me until I got in the taxi. They have a final test on Saturday for the ‘level’ they are studying in English. I told them I would pray for them as they study and take the test.

The taxi driver was nice and when he pulled into the Texaco station for gas he told me ‘sorry’. But I told him that I wasn’t in any hurry. He also picked up another fare on the way to take me home. It’s funny how they do that.

I couldn’t get my phone call to go through to Alberto to open the little gate, so I had to knock loud. He had called me at the beginning of my English class to check on me since I had not come home this afternoon. He takes good care of me, but sometimes I feel like I have a husband when he asks when I’m coming home. LOL

I got in and fixed a baked potato with half a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup on it. It was kind of like mushroom gravy that way. I called Manuel to tell him that I missed seeing him today. We made plans to play tomorrow. I don’t have morning class, so I’ll have time to pretend with him. He wants to pretend to be husband and wife. He’s so funny. Sherry is going to cut my hair tomorrow. This is the longest time I have went between haircuts in a long while. Leslie thinks I should let it grow out. 99% of women here have long hair and wear it in pony tails or buns. But I like my short for when I sweat, wear caps or get rained on.

I felt like some visual stimulation this evening, so I watched a Disney movie ‘Tangled’ on my computer. I’m glad that Manuel brought some movies down. ☺ I will watch it again in Spanish one of these days.

Now it’s past my bedtime and I’m going to go to bed a very relaxed and contented lady. This has been a whirlwind week and I’m ready to get some different things taken care of tomorrow, go to Rose of Sharon CC Women’s Bible study and do a little sewing.

God has been so gracious to me this week. I’m so thankful for all the blessings. I really feel like this is ‘home’ and I’m thankful for that. I’m thankful for everything. And I know that I am blessed.

Wednesday, Oct 26, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

Sooooo, so tired tonight. But it’s been a good day.
I got up early and was trying to review my Spanish homework before getting ready for the day. I kept getting phone calls from Mike, but the reception in my room was not good and the calls kept dropping. I went outside by the little gate and talked to him. Then I went back to my room to try and hurry and finish my homework, and then another call would come. Crazy! Then I gave up and took my shower and right when I got out the phone rang again, but I couldn’t go to the gate in my birthday suit, so I had to hurry and get dressed and call Mike back. Phone service can be very frustrating down here. Then Sherry called, but evidently had not talked to Mike and we had the same conversation with the dropped calls and everything. LOL Anyway, I got dressed and gave El Gato (our electrician) Mike’s message and then finished my homework really quickly.

Mike and Manuel got here before I left for Spanish class and Manuel was disappointed that I couldn’t take time to play with him this morning. I hated to let him down, but I had to get to class. (we did get to play later in the day)

I took off walking to class and it was a gorgeous morning. Sunny and not too hot yet. I had on my sunscreen and hat and was ready for the trip. I stopped at the little store with sewing notions for some oil for the sewing machine. I was glad that they have it. Then I stopped at the friendly little Libreria to buy a receipt book, another notebook for myself and a few goodies for my kid friends. It was fun shopping this morning. I made it to class a few minutes late, but Juan was even later, so it was fine. I was reviewing what we have studied so far this week and was glad to have a few minutes to cool down and rest after my walk.

We had a very good class today. I feel like I have been going for over a week and it’s just been 3 days. We are covering a lot of ground since I already knew some stuff. He said that the stuff we were studying today was what he teaches his classes in the second month. No wonder my brain feels like it is going to explode!! But I want to keep going as fast as possible because I want it all to sink in and keep it fresh.

After class, I walked back to the Mission House and just before I got there, German’s family pulled over to give me a ride. It was fun to see them.

The Hulsey’s and Leslie had went to La Unión for some groceries and came back to make hamburgers for lunch. I joined them and it was good. I jumped on the sewing machine for finish the last 7 bags for today’s Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras church. I was on a tight time line. After lunch I spent 5 minutes playing with Manuel and then told him that I had to work some more. Leslie came and sat in my room to chat and type on the computer while I was sewing. It was nice to have her visiting. I rushed to finish the bags, change and get packed for the study.

Oscar met us here and we all traveled to the Bible study together. We had to stop at a store on the way to pick up a cable that Oscar needed for his video camera so he could use the microphone when he was taping the Bible study. We go to the church a little late, but we made it!

What a great time we had at the study! We gave them their Bible bags and let them use colored sharpies to decorate the front pockets to personalize them. We ended up with more women than we anticipated, which is a good problem to have. I need to collect more money to buy more Bibles for them. And I need to make more bags! I was very encouraged by the turnout and the women seem so thankful to have us there to minister to them. Many of them give me and Leslie hugs for coming and it’s wonderful to know that the Lord is blessing this time together.

Darling is especially precious to me. She has the most beautiful eyes. I could never remember her name from each time that we went out there, even though it is a special name. She is tickled that I remember it now. She had 3 in-laws at the study as well as her 2 teen aged daughters. There were 3 teen sisters there that gave me a note after the class. Another lady was so happy to have us there that she kept smiling and smiling. These ladies are so hungry for the Word and for someone to minister to their spiritual walk. I love being there. Pastor Sergio said that he would try to get together some refreshments for the ladies for next week. We told them that the Bibles and bags and notebooks were gifts from our ministry and that their gift to us would be their presence each week. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do with this group of ladies!

After the study, we jumped in the van and headed back to León. We had a few errands to do on the way home to the Mission House. We were having a surprise birthday party for German’s wife, Johanna. Sherry was fixing a very delicious dinner. We stopped at Mike and Sherry’s house to pick up a few things, including Buster the dog. Then we had to stop at the flower shop so German could buy Johanna a bouquet of flowers. He picked red roses (good job German!) When we stopped to let German off to get his motorcycle, Leslie and Oscar jumped out and bought some fruit at a little stand on the corner. They felt bad not to have a gift for Johanna. Of course, Oscar had to ‘taste test’ the fruit to make sure it was good. We finally got back to the Mission House and Johanna’s parents were here. Her brother and sister-in-law came, too. German called Johanna to come over for some reason and when she got here she was very surprised. She said that she had not had a birthday party before and she felt very special. Leslie’s husband, Jorge, joined us, too. We had grilled chicken skewers with peppers, onions and pineapple, baked beans and homemade potato salad. Sherry had made a cake with Johanna’s favorite icing and also bananas Foster. So yummy!

Everyone had a good time. We all ate way too much food. Johanna was happy and it was a very nice evening.

Leslie will be working with us fulltime now. I’m so excited and she and Jorge are, too. She will be helping Sherry with translating with the workers and running errands and such. She’ll be available for translating for Mary and me on errands and shopping and stuff. She will translate for me at the 2 Bible studies I teach each week. And she will have a lot of responsibilities concerning the Fiestas when we have teams. It’s exciting to have her on board.

I’m so tired I need to get off of here for now. It’s been a fun day and I feel like I’ve run a marathon all day long. Now I am relaxed and feel like a wet noodle. My brain is so full it’s spilling out my ears and my heart is so happy it can only sing praises to my God and King! What a great life that God has given me. I’m very blessed.

Tuesday, Oct 25, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Another crazy busy day. The sun was shining all day long. Oh, how welcome that is!

I got up and headed out walking to Spanish class. Since the sun was so strong at 9:30, I put on plenty of sunscreen and a baseball cap. I love the walk there. I think it’s about a mile. Just right in the heat. I popped in to a little store just for computer ink cartridges on my way to price check. I beat Juan to class today and reviewed a little until he got there.

Our class was fast and furious. We are zipping through things as fast as possible so that these next 2 months will equal twice that long in a normal class. We get to review what I already know, add to it and learn all kinds of new stuff. We have a lot of fun. It is amazing how quickly the 2 hours goes by! I opted to walk back to the Mission House, even though it was noon. I thought I would save the taxi fare and get more exercise. I also wanted to see if that little store with sewing supplies was open. Turns out that it was closed for lunch (long lunch times here), but another store caught my interest. It had used clothing. (keep in mind these stores are actually the front of people’s homes.) Right behind the counter was their living room with the usual wood/cane rockers and a tv. I found 4 pairs of capris, 3 shirts and 3 skirts. So much for saving the taxi money! Ha The lady had yelled to the back of the house to bring a bolsita (small bag). Then after I made my final selections, she called for a bolsa grande (big bag). My Spanish is improving! Shopping is educational!

I got back to the Mission House about 1pm. Sherry and Manuel were in the pool and Mike was on the computer under the rancho. Alberto and Saturnino were fixing lunch (heating up pinto gallo, which is rice and beans). Manuel sat down on the step beside them and said he was hungry. They fixed him some, too. They really like him. I had some cold pasta left from last night and enjoyed it very much. Sherry just shakes her head about me eating cold food.

I visited with Sherry while she laid in the pool on a raft. I sat under the rancho with my legs sticking out in the sun. Since I wear my tennis shoes to walk to school, I need to let my feet get a little sun. Then I played with Manuel for 5 minutes. Then I gathered the 15 tote bags that I’m making for the ladies at Las Quimeras Bible study and sat under the rancho and pinned the last part of the projects together while chatting some more with Sherry. German arrived and took Manuel and Mike to get a big jug of water for the dispenser and to get sodas for Sherry and Manuel.

Manuel had told Mike and Sherry that he needed them to go on a date tonight so that I could come over and play. They told him that if he was very good that they would ask me. I said yes, so plans were made for German to pick me up on their way to someone’s house tonight and drop me off at the Hulsey’s. By the time German actually got here it was about 7pm and I was starving and Manuel was trying to wait patiently for me.

While I was waiting for German, Oscar came by to look at my video camera and tell me how it works and such. And to talk about the things that we want for him to video for VOH. We chatted a little while and then he left for church. It’s always nice to spend time with him. He has such a sweet spirit about him. He said that Axel was feeling better now and that he gets to go by and take Axel to school every morning now.

Manuel and I had some good food for dinner and then we played different pretend games for a while. Then he got tired and took his shower. He and Buster the dog laid down and I took turns with Manuel reading out of his story book. He was so very tired. He kept apologizing for being tired. Bless his heart. Buster went right to sleep. I remembered to tell Sherry that Buster was in the bed so that she could take him outside for a potty break. Manuel and I took turns praying. He let me go first just like a little gentleman.

After he went to bed, I got my computer out and could get on their neighbor’s wireless internet. That must cost a bundle. God bless that neighbor! I was able to download 4 days worth of blogs, notes and questions for this week’s Chronological Bible study, paypal some money for myself to spend down here and check facebook. It was kind of nice to have fast internet. It wasn’t long before Mike and Sherry got back and Mike brought me home.

I only had about an hour before I need to be in bed to get my rest. I had the option of reviewing notes for tomorrow’s Women’s Bible study at Las Quimeras, finishing sewing the bags, doing Spanish homework or writing my blog post. I opted for the blog post, since I probably wouldn’t write much about today if I wait until tomorrow night. Also, my brain is tired. I’ll review Bible study notes during my quiet time in the morning and review Spanish stuff right before class. Sewing will have to wait until tomorrow after class. But I should be ready for it all. With God’s help anyway. After Bible study tomorrow afternoon, we’ll head back here for a surprise birthday dinner for German’s wife Joanna. Sherry is cooking and it will be yummy! (Joanna’s birthday was last Sunday, and German had mentioned it to Mike, but being men, they didn’t think it important to tell me and Sherry. We just found out today, therefore, the party tomorrow. Men. Huh.)

This week is crazy busy and things will slow down just a little bit next week. But I love everything that I get to do. I just have to manage my time well. And get plenty of rest. Mary gets here next week, so it will be different than this past month. It will be fun.

Time for bed. Another blessed day in Nica. I’m thankful.

Monday, Oct 24, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

Interesting day! Lovely sunshine all day long. No rain even in the evening! Woohoo! I got up and had cereal and got showered and dressed. Then I spent some time with the visiting mission team before they left for the airport. I will sure miss having them around. I enjoyed them very much and they were very encouraging to me. I also loved hearing about all they were doing during the week here. The church they were working with was keeping them very busy!

I worked a little bit more on the sewing project and then got ready for my Spanish class. I walked to class since it wasn’t raining and loved the walk. I popped in to one of the little stores on my way that has some miscellaneous items. They actually had elastic and thread. I grabbed some light blue thread for my project since I had used up a whole large spool so far. I got some elastic to make Coco some more skirts. Then I hotfooted it down the street and was just a few minutes late for class, which is right on time for Nica! The husband of someone I had met once was visiting with Juan and I got to meet him. Now I don’t even remember his name. But I’m always glad to meet new people.

I had a GREAT time in class. It’s only me and we are reviewing and going at my pace so that I can get on to the things I don’t know, which is a lot, but Juan was pleased with what I knew for today. I loved every minute of it and the 2 hours flew by.

Leslie met me at the school when I was done and we went to lunch and to shop for sewing supplies and fabric and also to check prices at some souvenir places. That’s my assignment for when we go to the big markets in Masaya and Managua, so that we can get good prices on things to bring back and sell to the teams. We’re not looking for a profit, but wanting good prices for them. I always enjoy shopping at a little place called Plaza del Carmen. She has nice things. She was very helpful, even though she doesn’t always give people her prices unless they are buying something, which I totally understand. I saw a few things that I’m going back for when I get money at the first of the month!

We also went to Central Park, where some vendors are. We saw the usual stuff and a few new things. We stopped at 3 fabric stores and I got a little bit of fabric for my pillowcases and Coco’s skirts. There’s another store that was trying to close for lunch, so I’ll have to go back another time. They have tons of sewing supplies and crafts supplies. I was surprised. I think I’m going to love that store! It is next to La Unión, so it won’t be hard at all to stop in there.

We had lunch at Tip Top Chicken and both decided to try the chicken lasagna. It was so-so, but Leslie didn’t like it. It tasted more like tuna casserole to me, which I like, so I ate it. At least I know that I should just go ahead and get the grilled chicken. One happy note, the bathrooms at that little plaza have been redone and are pretty nice, for Nica, anyway.

I enjoyed my time with Leslie and then I took a taxi home and she grabbed the bus to her house. The taxi driver already had a fare going my way, well, sort of, so I went along for the ride. He dropped her off and then picked up someone else going my way. It was a nice, scenic drive home and I enjoyed seeing more of the city. It’s many, many streets that all look the same. It amazes me how people know where they are going, especially with very few street signs (on the corner of buildings).

I got back to the Mission House and the Hulsey’s were still here, so Manuel and I played together for 5 minutes. Then I got busy on sewing. I did that for a couple of hours and have all 15 bags in the final stages. I think I will be able to finish them tomorrow afternoon after I get home from English class.

I decided to have pasta for dinner and asked Alberto if the kitchen was unlocked so that I could get the pasta and a pan. He insisted on lighting the propane stove for me so that I wouldn’t blow up the place. ☺ I had to stand by the stove, which is outside the kitchen on the porch, so that the little bit of wind would not blow out the fire. I enjoyed the pasta and put the leftovers in my fridge for snacking over the next couple of days.

Soon it was time to prepare for the VOH Monday night Bible study. Sherry called and asked me to set up the computer and projector to play a moving. Tangled was in English and in Spanish so we set that one up. I’m getting better about this technology stuff. Although, at one point I was perplexed why the picture quit showing on the screen (mattress against the wall with a white sheet on it). I was trying all kinds of settings changes on the computer. Then I realized that the connection just wasn’t in tight enough. LOL. Anyway, we got it going and popped some corn. Coco and her son Nestor were enjoying the movie and Alberto came in to watch, too, since it was in Spanish. Manuel wasn’t too excited about it, though.

After everything was done tonight, Manuel had me tell Coco and Nestor that we were going to play for 5 minutes and that I was Manuel’s wife, Coco was his daughter and Nestor was his son. We pretended to go to church and hear him preach. I translated and we all had a great time. Alberto came to hear us, too. We were all clapping. I just love the simplicity of being here.

My two friends from English class, Jonathan and Salvador, came tonight. They arrived late because they were lost. I’m glad that they didn’t give up. German and Joanna couldn’t come, because German had to go to Managua today. Oscar didn’t make it and others had prior commitments. So it was a perfect night for Mike to get to talk with Jonathan and Salvador and me. They guys did really well understanding what Mike was sharing. I think they enjoyed being here. We told them they are welcome every Monday. I told them to just stop in anytime they want to visit. Mike also told them that as they get better with their English, to keep in mind that we are always needing translators for teams. Mike was very impressed with their Engish speaking ability after only 7 weeks of studying with Juan. He is a very good teacher. I hope he does wonders for me in Spanish!!!

Speaking of Spanish, I need to get off of here and do my homework and practice time. I have class again tomorrow morning. ¡Buenas Noches!

Sunday, Oct 23, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-25T20:08:00.000-07:00

Oh man! I’m sooooo tired! Just spent 7 hours straight sewing on the tote bags for the Las Quimeras Women’s Bible Study group. Making 15 bags in total. Spent hours yesterday cutting out all the pieces and making my prototype. Spent about an hour and a half this morning before church stitching up the straps. I have 7 ready for the last 2 steps, 13 ready to stitch up the outside, 13 linings ready to put in and then finish. Held up for now because I need more light blue thread. I used a whole large spool today. I hope that I can find some sewing supplies tomorrow when Leslie takes me to the market. Love making these for the women, but tired for today.

There was a church service here this morning under the rancho and baptisms in the pool. I got ready for church and stayed in my room until German & the Hulsey’s came to get me. We went to Rose of Sharon CC church because Mike was asked to preach about leadership. Then they had all 20something leaders (half of their congregation) come forward to be prayed over. It was neat. I took some pictures. I asked German to tell Pastor Marvin that I would take a group picture after church and have it printed off for the church. It was funny trying to get them all situated for the picture. The ladies from the Bible study all came and gave me warm hugs this morning. I know we are going to have a wonderful Bible study time together over the next months.

After church, German called in a delivery order from Tip Top Chicken and the Hulsey’s and I came to the Mission House for lunch. It was yummy! I got the usual grilled chicken breast. It comes with 2 tortillas and I cut it in half and make to servings out of it. I love the frijoles molida (smashed beans) and the cole slaw. I do have to admit that watching them eat fried chicken and fries was a little painful, but I’ve learned to stay away from the fried stuff. Manuel always donates his slaw to me since he doesn’t like it.

Manuel went swimming for a little bit and then he and I had 5 minutes of play time. He is so funny! I told him that I’m starting my Spanish classes in the mornings and won’t be able to have our first thing meeting times every day. We have already rescheduled tomorrow’s meeting. ☺

This evening the mission team stopped in to change clothes for church. I got to get some pics of them. I will really miss having them around! They leave in the morning.

I’ve got a lot of studying to do on many things. I need to prepare for the Women’s study at both churches. The groups are very different and I have a feeling we will be on different schedules as we move along at our own pace. I need to keep up with my Chronological Bible Study, but I have been ready ahead each day in case my time gets squeezed too much. Now I will have Spanish homework, but at first it will be stuff I already know, so that won’t be too bad.

The days are getting busier and the time is flying by. I’ve been here a month now and haven’t had the chance to lead anyone to the Lord. But I have had the chance to plant some seeds. I’m just trying to be obedient to what God wants me to do. I’m enjoying all the people I get to meet and interact with. This season of life is really sweet!

The Hulsey’s found out that they don’t have to go back to the states for any meetings until their planned departure on Dec 23. Yay! That will save them tons of money on plane tickets and frustration. Mary will be here in about 10 days or so. It will be fun to see how she wants to fix up her room. I hope that she enjoys her room as much as I like mine. I love living here at the new Mission House. I need to take some pics and post them on facebook. I keep thinking that I will wait until I get the next project done, but then I think of something else to do.

I’m so tired, I need to get off of the computer and head to bed. My feet are swollen from sitting at the sewing machine for so long. Time to put them up on the bed. Even dirty and swollen, they still represent Romans 10:15 ‘How beautiful are the feet that bring the Good News’. I’m glad that God looks inside our hearts and doesn’t pay too much attention to our outside appearance. Ha.

PS No rain at all today! Woohoo!!!

Saturday, Oct 22, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-25T20:07:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day! The sun was out all day long! It didn’t start raining until about 7pm tonight. It was dry and lovely!

I was awakened at 6:15am when someone was honking and knocking on the small gate. It was someone from the church that was going to have a Youth service here. They were wanting to drop off some equipment. Alberto’s little house is in the back part of the property and he couldn’t hear them. I went to the gate and told them to wait just a minute and that I needed to get Alberto, who has the key. They said ok, so I guess my Spanish was good enough to communicate! I called Alberto on his cell phone and woke him up. He came right away. I went back to bed for a little bit. I got up about 8am and got dressed for the day and had some cereal.

The group was getting things ready for the Youth event, along with the hosting church. They had some musical equipment set up and brought a lot of chairs. There ended up being 112 youth here today. Praise God! What a beautiful sight to see all those young faces in the rows of chairs waiting to hear about God.

The event started out with some talking, including some testimony time. They had asked all the youth to write questions about Christianity on pieces of paper that were collected and given to the Pastor and mission group. After about an hour and a half, the group of youth were allowed some free time and many chose to swim. They don’t use bathing suits here, they just jump in the pool in their clothes. They were having a wonderful time. The Spanish Christian music was blaring, people were talking and laughing and swimming and playing soccer and sitting around the property in groups chatting and it was awesome. I had my window and door open as usual, and it was like being outside with them. I didn’t want to intrude, but I did enjoy listening to the speakers and loved the music. While the kids had their free time, the Pastor had one of the vendors who ride bikes with little fridge boxes on the front and sell ice cream come into the property and give the kids all treats. He had to leave and get more ice cream for everyone. It was a great treat. I even got to have one! It was quite festive.

I was doing a couple loads of laundry, so I had to walk along the soccer game a couple of times to get to the building where the washer and dryer are located, but the soccer players didn’t seem to mind me interrupting. When in my room, I was cutting out pieces of fabric to make 15 tote bags for the ladies at the Las Quimeras Women’s Bible study. That took a few hours. I chose to use one of the patterns for bags that I had brought from the states and just tweek it a little bit. I finally figured out what I wanted to do. The outside of the bag is flowered fabric that I had brought. The pockets, straps and lining is from a king size sheet. I think they will be pretty nice for the ladies. I finished one as a test and made some more adjustments to the plan and think I have a prototype.

Carlos (Alberto’s son who we buy our Bibles from) brought over 15 Bibles in large print that I ordered for the ladies. I’m so excited! They are blue and the covers look like canvas, but are some kind of washable material, which will be easier to keep clean. They snap shut, which will be nice to keep the edges of the pages nice. They are in large print, which is a big hit with everyone here! So far, I’ve raised enough money to pay for half of the shipment for this group. I know God will encourage others to help out. It’s just $20 per women to furnish their materials for the study.

Anyway, while folding and putting away my clean laundry, I was listening to the youth service and they were praying and asking anyone who wanted to to come forward. I sit down in my rocker inside my door/window and prayed for those making decisions. What a privilege to be close enough to hear what was going on and to cover it in prayer. There were 20 youth who accepted Christ as Savior and 10 who had already done that in the past, but had gotten away from their walk with God and they rededicated their lives to the Lord. How wonderful!! It was an awesome afternoon!

I had some tuna and veggie sticks for lunch. I also was blessed with a taste of the roasted pork that the church provided for the kids. It was good, but I wasn’t sure exactly what parts of the pig I was eating. I tried not to think about it.

Most everyone left about 3:30pm. Some of the church leaders stayed around and chatted with the mission team for a while. I was busy sewing and didn’t notice that it was getting dark (around 6pm). I closed up my window and left my door open for just a little longer. Alberto’s grandsons (Carlos’ sons) came by my room to visit. I gave them some cookies. Their mother came to shoo them away, but I told her that I had been introduced to them when they came to visit Alberto a few weeks ago. She and I chatted a little bit, in Spanish, and we did pretty well! Everyone is so gracious to help me out. My ability to speak is getting better everyday. I’m thanking God for that!!

I called Deanna this evening. She said that people are always asking if she has heard from me. I wish she had email and facebook, so that she could keep up with my posts. Maybe I should have someone print them off for her. I’ll have to remember to ask someone. Anyway, it was good to talk with her. She said that Jet is doing well. She is doggie sitting for the 2 puppies of Bryon’s and Jet likes to play a little, then he’s ready to rest and they keep playing. She said that Jet gives her these funny looks. I miss that fluffy guy. I miss talking with Deanna, too. She’s keeping busy and enjoying herself. That’s good.

I finally closed up my room about 7pm and had a little break from sewing to enjoy a snack pack pudding. Then I sewed just a little bit more and decided that I needed to get my day on paper (or computer), so I’ll be ready for bed soon. We’re going back to Rose of Sharon CC church tomorrow, as Mike has been asked to speak. The church has recently elected new leaders (including the 5 women’s ministry leaders) and God is doing wonderful things with that congregation. It’s just down the road a bit and service starts at 10:30ish, so I don’t have to be ready to leave until about 10:20. It will be a nice calm morning. I’m looking forward to it!

This is my 4th weekend here already. Time is going by so quickly. Things are getting busier and I know that time will whiz by even faster from now on. I’m so glad to get to spend my time doing things I love. I am very blessed.

Friday, Oct 21, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Awesome day! I got up this morning and the rain was nowhere to be found. I walked down to my favorite Libreria and bought notebooks and pens for the women at Las Quimeras church. I got me a couple more notebooks, so that I can keep my studies separate, women’s groups separate, etc. I also picked up some masking tape, craft paint and brushes and a small set of dominoes. This little store has a little bit of everything. I got back to the Mission House and grabbed a shower. I was just fixing my oatmeal when Mike and Manuel came over.

Manuel and I had our special time together. I included me eating breakfast as part of our otherwise pretend time. It was nice of him to allow me to do that. We did the usual stuff and there were funny things that he said, but I can’t remember them at this moment. Just know that it is never dull with that little guy.

Sherry arrived and Leslie got here to talk with the workers. Sherry had made out a list for German to give to Alberto, but took it with him when he picked up the motorcycle. So Sherry made out another list. Always some hitch to the plans… and you just go with it and don’t even get frustrated most of the time. German is always on the go and so busy. I don’t know how that guy does it all.

The Hulsey’s took Leslie and I to lunch with them and we ate at Callejon for the third day in a row. Everyone loves it. I had my usually churrasco, beans and veggies. I am still stuffed! Then we stopped at La Unión for a few groceries.

Leslie and I returned to the Mission House to get ready for the Women’s Bible Study at Rose of Sharon CC church this afternoon. We had a couple of hours to kill. She had brought some laundry that she had finally gotten the chance to wash yesterday morning when there was no rain. But she didn’t get to hang it to dry because the rain came in the afternoon. We had talked her into bringing it to our place to use the dryer (and washer if she wanted). So she brought 2 loads to dry. While that was going on, we chatted a little bit and she also listened to me read some stories from my Spanish lesson book. She gave me some insight on some phrasing. I like getting help from everywhere I can.

At 3:30, her husband Jorge, came to get us in his taxi. He took us to Rose of Sharon CC church and waited while we had the Bible study. He then brought us back by the Mission House so I could drop off my Bible study materials and Leslie could get her clothes. Then we dropped Leslie off at home and Jorge took me to the Hulsey’s for my date with Manuel while the Hulsey’s had a date of their own. When Jorge dropped me off, Mike and Sherry got in the taxi. Then when Jorge brought them back home, I jumped in for my return trip to the Mission House. Jorge made good money off of us today! And we are so glad to give it to him.

Speaking of the Women’s Bible Study at Rose of Sharon CC church, it was wonderful! It was the first time for us to meet and there were 28 women there. The church is very mission minded and does feedings during the week and also provides the food and serves the meals at Las Quimeras church. They are very busy reaching out to people. They have 5 ladies who are their Women’s Leadership team. I am so excited to work with them!

We had a good introduction of this study and some participation. I know that I will learn a lot from some of these very godly women. I told them that I was collecting money from my friends in the US to buy some new Bibles for the women. They were very appreciative. Then they clapped very loud when we told them that the Bibles will be in large print. Another round of applause came when I told them that Sherry is planning on making cake for them one of these weeks. Few women here know how to make a cake, even if they have a stove and oven. It will be quite the treat.

I have a lot of study and review to do before next week’s Women’s classes. I’m also going to sew 15-20 tote bags for the ladies at the Las Quimeras church. Their Bibles will be delivered to me tomorrow afternoon. I have their notebooks and pens and a bookmark with the traits of the Virtuous Women from the Bible printed on it in Spanish. I can’t wait to give these to them next Wednesday. It will take me a few weeks to get enough money collected for the Bibles and notebooks for the ROSCC church ladies, and those same few weeks to sew the tote bags. I’m going to be a very busy woman! But I want to get them done before I start taking my Spanish classes in the mornings. Then my time will be very limited.

I’m planning on sewing most of tomorrow and Sunday after church. If it’s not raining on Monday morning, I need to run some errands, but will try to sew the rest of the afternoon until the VOH Bible study time. I should be done with the bags for Las Quimeras by then. I’m looking forward to staying home tomorrow, even if I wasn’t planning on sewing. Lots of running around goes on in my week. I love it all, but it sure makes the time go by very fast!

I told Leslie this evening after the Women’s Bible study that I feel so blessed with what God allows me to do here, that I almost feel guilty. She said I shouldn’t feel guilty because I work very hard. But it is such a pleasure to spend my time doing these wonderful things. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.

Tomorrow there will be a Youth event here at the Mission House, hosted by the visiting mission team and the church they are working with. It’s from 9am-3pm. I’m not sure what all they will be doing, but it will be fun to have happy voices around using this blessing of a facility. I think Alberto is looking forward to having some excitement around here, too.

Saturnino is working on the shelves for the storage room (previous hotel office). He has to wait for more wood. The pieces that they brought a week ago were just part of the order. The rest couldn’t come to León until the rains stopped. We’re hoping that since it didn’t rain until late afternoon yesterday and not until this evening, that the wood made it to town by today and will get here on Monday.

Tonight, Manuel and I had dinner (Sherry made tuna casserole and green beans for us) and then played a while. We had planned on watching a movie, but he chose to play instead. His little dog Buster is so funny. He is a miniature Doberman and is only about as big as my foot right now and he’s about 3 months old. He thinks he is really ferocious. Manuel decided he wanted to trade rooms with his mom and dad and got mad at me when I wouldn’t help him move all their stuff to his room and move him into theirs while they were on their date. He got frustrated with me and called his dad to report that I was not being cooperative. Of course Dad had something to say about him wanting to trade rooms and that made Manuel even more frustrated. So I let him move a couple of hats and a book in there and told him he could fall asleep in there, but we couldn’t move anything else. He decided to take a shower in their bathroom instead of his and put his dirty clothes in their clothes hamper instead of his. Then he brought his phone charger in to their room and unplugged some of their stuff. He’s funny. Overall, we had a good night, though.

I got home a little before 9 and am ready to read and go to sleep. Another great day and the end of a nice week. God has been very good to me and I am so content. Bless His Name!!

Thursday, Oct 20, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-21T10:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Another great day! The sun was shining when we got up and it continued until mid afternoon! Woohoo!

I got up and wanted to hurry and take my shower so that Saturnino and Alberto could work in my room putting up my shelves. It was a tough decision not to walk first, but I didn’t want to waste any time or delay them getting it done. I was in the shower and turned on the knob and it was stripped or something and wouldn’t start the water. It just spinned. So I got redressed and went to find Alberto. He found a set of pliers and turned the water on for me. Then I got my shower and got dressed and went to find him to turn the water back off. Saturnino found a replacement knob from a new sink faucet set and put it on my shower. When he can get a new knob for the shower we will exchange the smaller sink faucet knob for it. The guys are pretty resourceful.

I got to spend some time talking with the ladies of the mission team staying with us while they had breakfast. I let them use my computer to check emails and facebook since I still had the internet cable. The Pastor showed me their church’s website. They seem to have a very nice church.

The Pastor asked if we had an iron and I had Alberto unlock some doors so that I could find it. The ladies asked to use the washer and dryer and I gave them some laundry soap and dryer sheets. They went out to start the washer and were looking at the water going in slowly and waiting for a little more water before they put in the washing powder. Alberto must have thought that they didn’t know how to use the washer (they aren’t common down here) and came and asked me to go and explain it to them. I was a little confused that they would need help, but went anyway. We all got a laugh about it when they said they were just waiting for the water to fill up more. It takes a long time for a load to go through since it fills up so slowly, but we are very thankful to have it.

The Pastor and his wife, who are our Landlords, came by to say hello to the mission team Pastor. They had rented rooms to them before in past years.

The Hulsey’s got here and Manuel and I had our special first five minutes together. Today we pretended to be husband and wife (as usual) and we drove to the airport to pick up a mission team. Of course the van broke down again, but we got it going. We got to the airport and Manuel was reading the ‘board’ that normally displays info for arriving and departing flights. But in our world, the board tells who is on the plane. We could pick and choose who we wanted to take with us. There were the usual people we know, and then Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, Michael Buble and Usher came with us. We opted to leave Michael Jackson and Little Wayne behind. All together Manuel said we had 27 people in our little van. It was quite cozy. It also took 30 hours of driving to get back to the Mission House and we stopped at Sonic for cherry limeades on the way. We had fun playing.

It was nice enough for Manuel to go for a swim and I put my stuff back together in my room on my new shelves. I was doing a happy dance!

The Hulsey’s and I went to lunch at Callejon again today. I never get tired of it! I had churrasco today with beans, steamed veggies and a tortilla. Yum! We got back to the house and Manuel and I got to have an extra 5 minutes of play time. That was a treat. The Hulsey’s left for home and I was going to settle in for a short rest, but decided to change things around in my room. Then it was time to leave for English class.

I had decided to walk to class today since it wasn’t raining and I haven’t gotten to walk in forever. Alberto asked if I had called a taxi and I said no, that I wanted to walk. I had not even gotten to the gate before it started raining! Urgh! I called Rigoberto and he picked me up and took me to class. He said he could pick me up at 5:30 and bring me home, and I like that better than grabbing a taxi at the busy corner.

Jonathan was already at class when I got there, so we started talking about our day and such. Salvador arrived and we started talking about Nicaraguan culture and lifestyle. It was their assignment to share this info with me in English. They covered many topics. It was a very good discussion.

Here are some of the topics we discussed: Food (including their limited knowledge of the recipes for favorite foods like nacatamal, tiste, pinalia, indo Viejo, gallo pinto, gallina rellena, quesillos), favorite past-times (soccer, card games like desmoche which is like rummy, poker, solitare, blackjack and games like dominoes), movies at the cinema cost about $2, most people have TVs and cable with 80 channels that cost about $15 a month. If people have pets (if they can afford the food to feed them) they usually have a dog or lots of birds. They don’t have pet laws, but sometimes a vet will give free vaccinations to all dogs, including strays. I’m not sure who foots the bill for this. They put a special color ‘necklace’ on the dogs so that people can know that they have been vaccinated. They buy their clothes at small stores here in town and very rarely make it to Managua to buy anything at the very expensive mall. They don’t feel the need to have lots of clothes and will sometimes buy a new outfit for a special event. Men mostly wear jeans and t-shirts when out of the house, even in the hot weather. They wear shorts and sandals at home. They wear long sleeve shirts in winter (rainy season). Very few people have washing machines and only rich people have dryers. A lot of people, but not everyone have refrigerators. A lot of people have bicycles and few have cars. There are lots of taxis and people mostly use the city bus (which is a small truck with a tarp over the top that they cram lots of people into). There are driving schools to teach you to drive. A driver’s license is available through the police department. Usually, young people live at home until they marry, no matter what age. There is legal marriage and church marriage. (in the US they legal part is usually done by the licensed pastor, but here you have to do it separate) We discussed pregnancy prevention, abortion (illegal but available here and they are trying to change the laws to allow it), and over population of the world. We also discussed the life plan for each of these 2 gentlemen. Salvador is 22 and has been dating Jonathan’s sister for 4 ½ years. He is through with college and is going to try to get a job in marketing and publishing. His girlfriend, Shirley, is studying to be a lawyer. They haven’t set a wedding date yet, because they want to finish their ‘career studies’ and get jobs first. Jonathan is almost 25 and is planning on waiting until he is about 32 years old for marriage, although he didn’t mention a girlfriend. He wants to have a job and get a house and furnish it before he starts a marriage relationship. Good life plan!

We were running out of time and I asked them if they still wanted to discuss religion more, but they said no, they would just wait. They did promise to come to our Voice of Hope Bible study on Monday night. Perhaps that is where God has planned for them to meet Jesus. Keep praying for them. Juan, the teacher was working all day and evening translating for a mission team, so I led the whole class time. His wife Ana, who also teaches a class during that time, thanked me very much for helping out. Jonathan and Salvador thanked me very much, too. I gave them cookies again. I’m very blessed to be there.

While waiting for my taxi to pick me up, Ana and I got to talk a little bit. It’s hard for her when Juan is translating, because he is gone for long hours. They have a 5 year old girl and a 7 month old boy. She takes them to the sitter’s for the day when she is working. She said that she had mentioned that she wanted to rain to stop for a while. Her daughter told her to just pray to Jesus. She did and the rain stopped for most of today. Giant, practical faith in a little girl.

Rigoberto arrived to pick me up and he had a friend with him. She is originally from Nicaragua, but now has lived in Costa Rica for 19 years. She said that there are many North Americans in Costa Rica and that it is very expensive to live there compared to Nica. She speaks English very well and said that my Spanish was pretty good. We discussed how you just have to try and practice and keep on. I asked Rigoberto if he speaks any English (he was listening an English version of ‘Sittin on the Dock of the Bay’ when he picked me up earlier). He said he knows very little. I told him that he would have to practice with me when I rode in his taxi. He said he is embarrassed and shy to try it. I told him to do it anyway and that he shouldn’t be embarrassed around people who like and care for him. I’ll keep encouraging him every time I ride in his taxi.

I fixed a baked potato in my microwave and cut it up into my chicken noodle soup. I know, it’s weird, but it was what I was craving. I ‘baked’ apples in the microwave again. Yum!

Tomorrow we will start the Women’s Bible study at Rose of Sharon CC church. I’m looking forward to that.

While I was waiting for the taxi this afternoon, Alberto was standing with me at our little gate. We were chatting about various things. We ended up on the subject of Mike and Sherry and Alberto said that they are good people and called Mike a noble man. I think he very much likes working for them and I have to agree!

Things are getting busier and busier all the time. There is much to do and many people to share with. The time is going by so fast. I’m trying to make the most of every minute and not miss any opportunity that God brings my way. So much fun in this journey called ‘life’. So blessed…

Wednesday, Oct 19, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-19T19:27:00.000-07:00

Another fun day. And yes, it’s still raining. It probably will rain for the rest of the month. I’m ready for a few hours of sunshine each day, but it’s not up to me. ☺ The rain does hamper some of the ministry work and for that reason I wish it would stop for part of the day.

The Hulsey’s got here early this morning and had a chance to visit with the team staying here. Manuel and I had our first five minutes time together. Today we pretended to be husband and wife and were going to buy a car. The car that cost $20 was too much, but he thought that $48 was a better bargain, so we bought that one. Then we had to toe it home because it didn’t run. You never know what he will come up with. Then he took me pretend grocery shopping.

Sherry brought me the internet cable and I quickly jumped on the computer to download some of the commentary for my Chronological Bible study. I also posted some blogs for the last week and emailed some people. It was wonderful to catch up!

Mike left with German. Sherry met with the workers (Leslie translated) and then Sherry, Manuel, Leslie and I went to Callejon for lunch. Yum! We found out today that the family that runs the restaurant is Jehovah’s Witnesses. We’re going to add them to our prayer lists. They are very sweet and remember me from eating there so much. Ha

We called Leslie’s husband to pick us up in his taxi. We dropped Sherry and Manuel off at home and then Leslie and I came back to the Mission House until time for the women’s Bible study. We got the chance to sit and talk for about 2 hours. It was very nice.

We had a certain taxi driver come to pick Leslie and I up to go to the Women’s Bible study in Las Quimeras. German couldn’t remember his name, but called him Brother Taxi since he is a Christian. It turns out that he is Rigoberto, who drove Sherry, Mary and I home to Poneloya one day from the grocery store. That was a hilarious, but long story. I asked if he remembered and of course he did. What a treat to see him again. There was confusion about the fee that German had negotiated, so I’m going to let German work that out. But it was nice to ride in Rigoberto’s clean taxi.

When we got to Las Quimeras, it was raining pretty steady. We arrived 15 minutes early and no one was there. That’s not unusual, but when no on was there at the start time, we decided to call Pastor Sergio. They had told about the Bible Study at church on Sunday, but because of the rain, no one was getting out. Also, some of them forgot. Pastor Sergio was walking down the muddy, deeply rutted road with an umbrella yelling for people to come. It was funny. We ended up with 6 ladies of various ages and some men, too.

As I was explaining what we are planning on studying each week (Twelve Extraordinary Women of the Bible), we had to delicately explain that the Women’s Bible study is for Women. I told the men that as much as we love them, that sometimes women need to gather together to pray together, encourage each other, and sometimes talk about men. They seem to understand. The ladies seem very excited about getting the study started.

I told them that I would provide them with a new Bible (one with large print, which is very important here where there is not good lighting and many people have sight problems but don’t have glasses), a notebook, pen and a tote bag (which I will make for them). They were really excited about the large print in the Bibles. Leslie gave me good advice to choose that one to order. I’ll start making the tote bags tomorrow.

I think we will have about 10 women to start with next week. It’s a small community, but there are people who live across the main road in another community that might come once we get started. They always send their kids when we have Fiestas and VBS there. I am soooo excited to get to be with these women and to get to know them better. I know that God is going to grow each of us very much from this new opportunity.

This church is one that we have spent much time at over the last year. We have had teams come down and help provide (and do construction on) the walls and floor. They keep it clean with a broom made from tree limbs tied to a handle. They have built a little ‘lean-to’ type of structure that houses the outdoor fire pit and ‘kitchen’ that they use to prepare the meals for 120 kids each weekday. We are happy to be a part of this feeding ministry. Pastor Sergio is proud of the facility and the way that the church is stepping up to serve. I hope to get to go out to help at a feeding every once in a while, but the cost of a taxi out that far is kind of pricey. Maybe later when we have access to the van more of the time…

Leslie and I got back to the Mission House and waited for her husband to pick her up. We talked with Alberto about various things. He enjoys the company. Once Leslie left, I went to my room and fixed some cream of mushroom soup, veggie chips and ‘baked’ an apple in the microwave for dessert. Yummy.

I still have the internet cord, so I’ll get this posted and do other catching up on friends’ blogs to see what God is doing in other parts of the world. Then it will soon be bedtime.

Saturnino and Alberto are going to build and hang my shelves tomorrow (I think), so I have to move stuff from that end of the room. I can’t wait to get them up! I’ve been talking about them for weeks, huh?

Tomorrow is another English class. The guys said that they want to talk about religion again. I’m praying about getting the chance to share the Gospel with them. I am always happy for our time together for them to practice their English. And they are always so appreciative of me taking the time to work with them.

Friday will be the first day of Women’s Bible Study at Rose of Sharon CC church. Fun!!

If you want to help support the Women’s Bible Studies…
Please pray for the women and their families.
Make a $20 donation to the Voice of Hope Ministry website centralamericahope.org by clicking the donate button. Note that the money is for the Women’s Bibles and if you want a tax receipt, please note your name and address.

I can’t wait to present these ladies with their new Bibles and materials. It’s going to be so good to be with them every week. God is so good!

Tuesday, Oct 18, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-19T09:08:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

What a great day! It’s still rainy off and on, but not quite as bad as the previous few days. I woke up to a very light knock on my door. German was here to get his motorcycle and I had the key in my room (at Alberto’s suggestion). I’m sure they hated to bother me, but it was no big deal. I got up and did some exercises in my room since I don’t trust the weather enough to take long walks. Then I showered and dressed and fixed oatmeal for breakfast. The team that is staying here this week were sitting under the rancho having breakfast provided by the church that they are working with. The ladies asked if I was familiar with gallo pinto. Oh yeah… If you are in Nica for more than a day, you learn about this beans and rice breakfast item.

I got the chance to chat with the ladies a little bit more this morning. It was so fun to talk about their walk with the Lord and how He has called them to be here this week. Since they live in New Jersey, we shared a lot about living in NYC, too. They think I am pretty lucky to get to live here and serve full time and I agree. They left for their assignments for the day and we plan to talk more later in the week when we run into each other.

Mike and German went to Managua today and Sherry called to say that she and Manuel were staying at home today. So it was just me and Saturnino and Alberto. They guys were busy doing chores and I got out the sewing machine and made stuff out of towels and some fabric that I had brought with me. I ended up making more cleaning cloths for Aracelys and an apron for her, a skirt for Coco and cut up some more towels for a bathmat and a doormat.

I spent some time talking with Alberto while he enjoyed lunch. Saturnino was very busy today. At one point I could hear him talking to Alberto, but could only see Alberto. Then I looked up and there was Saturnino on the roof of one of the little building fixing a leak. If I understood Saturnino correctly, I think they will start on my shelves tomorrow. I finished up my sewing for now so that I can move stuff out of their way if need be.

I had some chicken noodle soup for lunch. Before long, it was time to get ready for English class. Juan is translating this week, so I am leading the class today and Thursday. I called a taxi because I didn’t trust the weather for walking. Last Thursday, I walked to class and got rained on 3 times. I wasn’t sure if I was going to have enough Córdovas for a taxi there and back. I hadn’t exchanged any US money lately. I had the taxi drop me off at the corner by the bank close to the English school. They only let a couple of people in at a time and there was already someone waiting there by the guard when I pulled up. So I decided to go on to the school and figure exchanging money later. But when I walked across the street there was a money exchange guy right there. They are out sometimes, but I hadn’t seen him at all until that moment. Hmmmm… Anyway, I exchanged some money and was ready for the next few days of taxis.

I got to the class first and looked through my Spanish book. Then Salvador came in and we had a really nice chat. He is pretty quiet and doesn’t talk as much as Jonathan in class, so it was good to have one on one time with him. Jonathan came rushing in and then Mario came a little later.

We discussed all kinds of things today; idioms, trips we’ve taken, where we would go if we could pick anywhere in the world, politics, and then they asked me to tell them about my life. That was a long story! At one point, Mario asked me what is the most important thing in my life. Well, I was ready to share about my Jesus!!! I could tell from their reactions to ‘religious’ conversations that they weren’t comfortable at first, but I asked pointed questions (just getting to know them) and they shared that Salvador and Jonathan are Catholic, but don’t go to church much. Mario doesn’t go at all. As we were talking, I asked them what would they say to God if He asked them why He should let them into Heaven. That got the ball rolling! I then talked about Christ and the only way to eternal life is through Him. We talked about religious denominations and how others worship and how Catholics pray to their saints (although the guys called them idols) and how some denominations care more about what you wear or how you look on the outside. We even talked about my tattoo and that it is a scripture reference about going out to tell people about Jesus. It was a very good discussion. Some healthy seeds were planted.

When I asked them what topic they want to discuss on Thursday, they say religion again. I’m going to present the Gospel and share the best I can. I’m so thankful for this opportunity to talk with them.

I can’t believe how well they speak English, especially after 7 weeks. They were telling me about an eclipse of the sun, asking how I feel about the US participation in the war in the Middle East, and numerous other things. It blows my mind how much they have learned. They are taking the 4 month class in accelerated time and are doing great. They want to learn English as much as I want to learn Spanish. Juan, the teacher came into the school as we were wrapping up. After class, we talked for a while and then he walked me to the corner and ordered some chicken for me from a street vendor that German had taken us to before. (hope it’s still safe) And then I got a taxi home.

Alberto opened the door for me and the group of 5 mission team was preparing to leave for church. They had to split up into 2 groups, so the ladies and 1 guy left in my taxi. While they were waiting for another taxi, I talked to the 2 other guys. It’s cool that they are Hispanic, live in the states and come here to stay while they are working in Nica. I feel that God has blessed me with such a treat in getting to meet them. Especially, since we can talk about NYC. We talked about learning other languages and doing mission work. I am really enjoying them.

I fixed a baked potato to go with my chicken and then settled in to do some hand sewing. I was really missing video stimulation, so I put a Disney movie that Sherry loaned me into my computer and watched Beauty and the Beast. That was a nice change of pace.

A group of people from the church that the mission team is working with came by to bag up the rice and beans to be given out to 100 families. It didn’t take them long to get everything prepared. Now it’s just me and Alberto until the team comes back from church service. I’ll probably be in bed by then, but I hope to see them in the morning.

I can’t wait to surprise Aracelys tomorrow morning with her new apron. And all I lack on Coco’s skirt is to put some elastic in the waist. It’s even hemmed. I wonder if I can find and afford elastic down here. We’ll see.

Tomorrow afternoon is the first Women’s Bible Study at Las Quimeras church. It will be so fun to get to know the ladies. I hope the rain holds off, because that road from the highway is all rugged dirt.

I guess I should head to bed for today. It’s been such a pleasant day. I love living here at the Mission House. So much better than the old one. Lots more opportunity to interact with people, too. Life is sweet!!!

Monday, Oct 17, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-19T09:06:00.000-07:00

Monday, October 17, 2011

Another rainy day, but not the whole day. Just off and on. But when it starts raining, it pours. Everyone keeps saying ‘Just one more month of winter (rainy season)’. I’m ready for some sunshine! But it’s not depressing. Just refreshing and natural. It’s just a little unhandy sometimes.

I woke up this morning and stretched and fell back asleep until 8:30!!!! It felt wonderful, but I didn’t get my walk in. But it was raining off and on anyway. I sleep very well here. My bed is solid and a little bit hard, but I like it that way.

I had some quick cereal and a quick shower and some quick Bible study and then it was time to get busy around here. Aracelys was here cleaning and Saturnino and Alberto were working on the grounds. I thought I heard someone knocking at the little gate, but it was Saturnino and Alberto in the next room putting up curtain rods. By the way, you can’t buy ready made curtain rods here like in the states. You have to have them made out of wood. We’ve been waiting for the curtain rod guy for a bout a week. He couldn’t come because it was raining. ☺

German called to say that there was going to be meeting here and to make sure that Alberto got the tables and chairs put out. He was sweeping up the leaves on the ground and the wind would just blow them right back where they were. Poor guy. He was doing his best!

The first 2 people arrived for the meeting. Danilo was driving the van and I got a big hug from him. It was so good to see him. The couple are from the states and actually live in Noblesville IN, just an hour from where my family lives. They told me that they could hear a southern accent in my voice. I told them that I have lived in Arkansas for 21 years now, so it’s rubbing off on me.

Sherry and Manuel got here shortly after. Mike stayed home working on the computer. German arrived, as did others for the meeting. Sherry spoke with the Saturnino and Alberto (through Leslie) about their duties and how things are going and what materials they need for their chores. I got the chance to put a load of towels in the washer and Aracelys dried them for me. Sherry showed the guys how to vacuum the pool. They think it’s very ‘interesting’ to say the least. She explained that the pump needs to run 12 hours every day and that the bottom needs to be vacuumed everyday. Alberto seems to like skimming the top for leaves, too. It’s important to keep the pool as clean as possible here since the water is not filtered otherwise.

Manuel and I had our first 5 minutes of playing together today. He’s so funny. He seems to do well if he can get my (or anyone’s) undivided attention for a little while. Then he doesn’t mind so much having to share us with others. After playing, he decided to lay on my bed to rest and I sat in my rocker and we talked a little bit. His mom thought that was funny.

I asked Aracelys if she has a prefernce on styles of aprons. She wears one everyday when working. I’m going to make her some. She is such a hard worker and a very wonderful, sweet person.

Sherry, Manuel, Leslie and I went to have lunch and run errands. We get tired of eating chicken all the time (except for Manuel). Leslie was having a hard time figuring out restaurants for us gringos, since we need to have the food cooked with purified water, etc. Sherry remembered a new restaurant in down by the square. I think the name is Al Cabón. It was a very nice place and had delicious food. It took forever, but was worth the wait. The bathrooms were great, too. That’s a very important thing for down here.

We then went to a $1,2,3 store and found some mirrors for the rooms. I grabbed some little plastic bins to put my sewing notions in.

Then we were off to La Unión for groceries. You have to restock on fresh stuff every few days. I was out of OJ, milk and cereal. I’m good on everything else for now. Although, I always check the snackpack pudding aisle. They were down to the last package of chocolate and they don’t replenish for months, so I grabbed it for my little pantry. We split up at that point and Sherry and Manuel went home in one taxi and I went home in another. Leslie went home by bus, I think. The taxi I got in already had a fare going to a school. The guy decided we could drop off that kid and then take me home. On the way, he stopped to see 2 other people were going our way. He was making the best of his route! His taxi was missing the inside door panels. It’s funny to see the condition of vehicles here. You are thankful for anything than runs.

The people who are renting rooms this week got here finally. They are attending a conference and are staying here at the Mission House. This helps them out and also helps us out with the rent payment. I was told they were from El Salvador. I was talking with the ladies of the group and they told me that they speak English. I think the ladies are actually from the states. She said they left New Jersey this morning and was tired of travel. One of the guys said that it was one lady’s first time in Nica and the other’s 3rd time. One asked me what in the world brought me to Nica. I’m always glad to share my story. They got settled into their rooms and then left for dinner and the beginning of the conference. They got back this evening right when a downpour hit so I gave them some extra towels. I think I hear them outside on the veranda packaging the rice that they brought in huge bags. I hope to find out more about what they are doing this week. It’s always fun to see what God has people working on.

Our VOH Bible study was good tonight. Just German, Oscar, Me and Sherry were there, due to work schedules and the rain, of course. Mike did a good job of explaining things and we all had good discussions. German had ridden his motorcycle here and then the van was returned from its day of work, so German took everyone home and left the bike here. Good thing, since right when they were leaving it started a downpour. I told him that I would take the bike for a spin, but I don’t think he believed me.

Alberto’s nephew, Juvel is staying over tonight again. He is very nice and helps Alberto. Sherry had made some sandwiches and coffee for tonight and gave them some.

Coco came to take care of kids tonight during the Bible study. She only had Manuel and her son Joshua. She works for Sherry and is Aracelys’ aunt. She always wears her skirts with the zipper part way down, because they are too small for her. Sherry wants to give her some clothes. I asked Coco tonight if I could measure her waist to make her some skirts. She was very grateful. I can’t wait to whip some up for her. I don’t have much fabric here right now, but I’ll use what I have and then when I come back in Feb and when the FBCR team comes in March, I’ll have tons to use!

I talked to Juan Pacheco tonight (teacher at the English school). He has to work this week as a translator, and usually has to cancel his English classes when he is gone. This week, I’ll teach our little class so that the guys can still be there. I can’t wait. I enjoy so much our time together. I won’t be staying late this week, since Juan won’t be there to tutor me. I’ll have to spend more time studying on my own and surprise him next week!

I got my questions answered for the Tuesday morning Chronological Bible study back in Rogers. I usually email my answers to Cathy, our small group leader, to share with the class. Since I didn’t have access to the internet cord this time, I just called her and told her that I couldn’t send them. We had a nice chat. I told her to give my greetings to the gals. I really enjoy that study. I’m even ahead a few days on my reading. I can’t believe it will be finished in just a couple of months. Of course, I’m raring to go and start over again in January.

I guess I should go for now. Can’t think of much else to share for today. God has been gracious and generous with His blessings today. I’m going to sleep a very contented woman.

Sunday, Oct 16, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Nice and tired this evening. Got up early (after sleeping quite well, except for a drum procession going down the street towards the cemetery at 5am) and did my usual morning things. Got ready for church and sat and rocked and talked to God until German and the Hulsey’s picked me up for church. We went to pick up German’s family and then got to Rose of Sharon church at Country Club on time. Of course, that means we were about 30 minutes earlier than it actually started…

The music was good. Pastor Marvin leads the songs and he has a good voice. This church has a tin room and cement block walls most of the way up. They leave the top of the walls open for ventilation. It was raining off an on all day, really hard one minute and then nothing the next. It was raining in at the church and I moved up front to hear better and to try to stay dry. I enjoyed the message and it reminded me of being in church with Cuerpo Vivo back in Rogers. I try to listen and pick up what I can in Spanish. German was translating for Mike and Sherry and I didn’t want to be able to hear him, otherwise I wouldn’t try to pick up on the Spanish. I enjoyed it.

Pastor Marvin welcomed Voice of Hope to the service and mentioned that I would be starting the women’s Bible study on Friday. The ladies are excited. They are inviting lots of women from the community. I hope a lot of them come! Pastor Marvin also introduced me to Hermana Teresa, who kind of leads the women of ROSCC church. I told her that I was looking forward to spending time with her and the other ladies.

I found out that one of my favorite ladies at the church is actually Pastor Marvin’s mother. Her name is Maria Luisa. She is a dear. We prayed together before and she was supervising when I helped the ladies cook for the feeding one day. She always gives me a big hug and smile. I can’t wait to get to know the other ladies better.

After church, we went to Suyapa for lunch. I had my usual grilled fish. They were out of the boiled potatoes, so they brought me mashed potatoes. They were rolled into 4 little balls about the size of ping pong balls. They were good. My fish was grilled just right, very crispy on the bottom. Yum!

After lunch, we drove by the beach at Poneloya. The waves are so strong and scary. The beach is so beat up and eroded. It’s a hard time of the year for the beach.

We got back to the Mission House and a family was here to speak with German and Mike about having a Quinceaños here. It’s the party for the Quineñeros (girl who turns 15). The date is December 10. It will be quite a party.

It was still raining and the ground was pretty muddy. I’m ready for the sun to dry things up a bit. Maybe tomorrow…

Everyone went home and I came inside my room and started sewing. I made a cover for the stacking shelves that house my little pantry in my room. I also made a smaller cover for the shelves under the sink in my bathroom. Then I found some random fabric that I had used to pack around the sewing machine for bringing down here. It was just the right colors for my room. I made a long pillow cover for my body pillow and 2 regular size pillow covers for my bed pillows. During the day, I put these along the back of my bed to make it look like a daybed. It looks pretty good. Glad that God had me pack that particular piece of fabric!! It took about 3 hours to get everything made. I love the little sewing machine! It’s going to get a good work out around here!

I fixed a baked potato for dinner and had some pudding. Not very healthy, but yummy. I’m too tired to fix anything else. I skipped my nap in lieu of sewing, so I will be ready for bed soon.

Tomorrow is the beginning of a very busy week. Time to get crackin’!! Can’t wait to see what all God is going to do with us!

Saturday, Oct 15, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday, October 15, 2011

I woke up so relaxed this morning. I really slept well. The rain must have been a lullaby for me. I had oatmeal for breakfast, got my shower, did a little Bible study and hoped the rain would hold off so that I can get some laundry done.

I have many things on my to-do list. Some have sort-of deadlines and other can be done anytime. There’s always plenty to do, even when you live in one room and have a relatively simple schedule. I want to watch the video & read the instruction manual for the sewing machine (so I can have someone bring more bobbins and such down). I want to watch the instruction video for the Proclaimers (the devices that have the Bible recorded in Spanish) that I brought down to give to the small groups as we start them. I want to sew up the cover for my kitchen stacking shelves, and a cover for my new body pillow, and a bedspread. I want to study more to prepare for the women’s Bible study class next week. I want to diligently study my Spanish lesson book. I want to prepare the discussion outline for the English Academy classes next week. I want to cut apart the pieces for the patterns that I brought down from the states. I want to sew up some samples of the bags and other things in my plans. I have plenty of books to read on my Kindle. Sherry loaned me some Disney dvds to watch when I need a media fix. Social engagements with friends are always on my mind. And there is always time to be spent in my comfy rocker.

There is a birthday party hosted by a church that is going to happen here this afternoon. Some of the youth are here early to decorate. They are blowing up balloons and tieing them together in bunches and hanging them from the frame of the rancho (thatched roof living area). The rain and wind keep whipping up for a short time and then calming down and then whipping up again. The youth are doing a good job of holding on to everything. I hope it clears up and stays that way for the rest of the afternoon so that their party will be fun. Alberto’s son will be here, for this is his church. Maybe I will get to see his grandsons, who visited me last week.

I’m trying to get at least one load of laundry washed and dried today. The washer and dryer are outside a building, but under an awning. My main challenge is walking to them in the slippery mud and grass with all the rain. But it will be fine. I love to hang my clothes on the line to dry, but today’s weather is just too wet. We had our dryer fixed last week. It just keeps chugging along.

There was a small snake on the walk this morning. I called Alberto and Saturnino over to kill it. Alberto was amazed that I was afraid of snakes. I said this is truly the Garden of Eden now, we have our own snake. We also have some frogs. German said we can have a zoo and can charge people to come and see the animals. Haha. He’s always trying to find ways to support the ministry!!

Manuel called me this morning and asked me to send text messages to his imaginary friends. He said he slept well and was going to try to have a very good day. I told him I would pray for him to have a good day. He has some challenges that cause him to have emotional swings and other issues. He is a sweet boy and growing up is hard enough for anyone. I love spending time with him. He has such an imagination and such a heart to share Jesus with people. It’s a blessing to watch him grow up. I think he will get to stay here at the Mission House with me overnight some. That will be interesting. He will have a blast swimming. I hope the weather permits it! I know we will have lots of meetings!!

Better check on my laundry while the rain has taken a small break.

Friday, Oct 14, 2011 NICARAGUA

2011-10-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Friday, Oct 14, 2011

Woke up refreshed as usual. Love waking up in my room. I had a list of chores for today, since I was going to stay home all day. Then the Hulsey’s came and said that our trip to Managua that was scheduled for Saturday would be today. Ok. I’m flexible!!

Manuel and I had our 5 minute meeting that we have each time he comes over. This gives him some attention before I get busy with Mom and Dad. I hope it helps to keep him from feeling that he is being put off till later when we are busy. Sometimes he likes to pretend that we are husband and wife and he is usually on his way to the airport to go to an important meeting. I drive us there. Sometimes our vehicle breaks down, sometimes the luggage is too heavy. You never know what the situation may be. Sometimes we have an actual meeting and he gives me dictation, which I write in his notebook. I print it legibly so that he can read it back. And other times, we pretend that we are having Fiestas. He directs everyone where they need to go. (we split up the boys, girls and adults at the Fiestas and have team members share the Gospel with them) This morning he sent the boys to me and then the girls, too, and then added the adults for me to talk to. I asked him whom HE was going to talk with and he said ‘German’. LOL His daddy is always talking with German about important matters and Manuel is following suit.

Once Sherry and Mike were done talking with the staff (Alberto, Saturnino, Araceleys) using Leslie as their translator, we got ready to head to Managua. We dropped Leslie off at home and then proceeded to German’s inlaw’s home to pick up his family. After a quick stop at On The Run convenience store for a quick bite to take with us (I got my favorite Monterrey sandwich-grilled chicken chopped up with cooked onions and a touch of cheese on a hoagie roll), we were on our way.

We were driving ChinChin today and were all cozy. Manuel and Mariangel have fun together even though they both are very limited in each other’s language. But they are learning and teach each other. Ishmael is a busy 2 year old, even in the van. At one point, Manuel was sharing his iPod with Ismael and each had one ear bud. I took a picture of them. They were so cute.

We finally arrived at PriceSmart (like a Sam’s Club) in Managua after about 1.5 hours. We were ready to get out of the van! It’s fun to look around and see what all you can get there. The prices are a lot higher than the states, sometimes 3-4 times higher, but after living here, you appreciate the chance to just go and look around.

I got some soup, veggie chips, apples, spaghetti sauce and some copy paper for the printer. My favorite purchase was a body pillow. I have my twin bed against the wall long-ways and I was thinking of making a long pillow to put along the back so that it would be like a day bed. This body pillow was only about $20 US, so I figured that is a good bargain.

Joanna and Sherry were teasing me about hugging the pillow at night since I don’t have a man. (Sherry thinks I need a husband) We were discussing the pros and cons of the pillow vs a man. It was getting funny. Then when we checked out, the guy at the door said the pillow was not on our receipt. So we had to have someone figure out what the problem was. Sherry and Joanna said I pick pillows like I picked men in my past – always trouble. Ha We finally got the pillow paid for and I enjoyed it’s comfort on the way home.

We stopped by a couple of used car lots in Managua to look at vans. We found some we like, but there is always many things to consider. Mostly, how to pay for them. ☺ Manuel had decided that he wants to marry Mariangel and thought he would like to have her pick out a car to buy for her. They were so cute when they were picking out their cars. Manuel decided to get 3 cars, even though it’s just for the 2 of them. When I asked him why 3, he said ‘why not? I have plenty of money.’ Oh, if that were only true in the real world! Ha

We made our way back home by about 6pm. It was raining again and it was nice to get inside and get dry and cozy. On the drive to Managua, Ishmael was riding in Mike’s lap (no carseats here) and Mike fell asleep. Ishmael, who is usually very busy, was resting his head on Mike’s chest and just chilling out. He was so sweet. I got a picture of them. It’s kind of a tradition to take pictures of people when they fall asleep in the vans. I now have a collection of 3 of Mike. They may come in handy for blackmail someday, but I’m afraid they are getting more common everyday.

On the way home, Manuel was telling his testimony and I was translating it into Spanish for him. Joanna was helping me conjugate my verbs into past tense. It was a good exercise for both Manuel and myself.

The electricity was out when we got to the Mission House, so I grabbed my flashlight and carried in my purchases and put them away. I was only home about 5 minutes when the lights came back on. Then they went out again about 20 minutes later. I’m not sure how long they were off that time, because I was looking at facebook and emails on my phone. (love technology!) I went to bed about midnight and slept well listening to the rain.

I’ll try to do my chores on Saturday, if life permits. No worries. There’s always tomorrow for those kinds of things. People and sharing the love of God are the things that shouldn’t be put off. Another blessed day.