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.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011 NICARAGUA
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!
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011 NICARAGUA
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!
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)