Good morning to the team! I was in bed when they arrived at 1:30am. It was very nice to meet them over breakfast.
Charlie Brown is here with this team and will stay for 2 more weeks after. It was good to see him, too. He brought some Tshirts with the VOH logo on them for staff and translators to wear. They are the brightest orange that I have ever seen, next to glow-in-the-dark. You can surely see the staff when we are out in the neighborhoods!
There are 14 total in the team, so we are traveling to churches together today. We started out at the Rose of Sharon church in town. This is the big one that has such great music from their wonderful praise band. It’s always hot in there, even with the new wall and ceiling fans, but the worship is awesome and we always love going there. The team had an eye-opening experience seeing the raw, pure worship of the Nica people. It was great.
We came back to the team house for lunch and then Mike had an orientation meeting with everyone. We demonstrated the Sinbox Sally drama and Mary and I were the drunks. Mike forget to say not to get him wet, so Mary and I both made sure to dribble some water on him.
I spent the afternoon working on the computer to update last week’s blog posts. Some of the team swam and others rested. I did lay down to read for about 45 minutes and then we were off to 2 church services back to back. We stopped at the team house between services for the bathroom and I decided to stay at the house to serve dinner when the team got back. This way the cooks could leave at 7:00pm (since they had been here since 5:00am and were coming back at 5:00am tomorrow). Dinner was taco salad, so it was easy to serve and clean up.
While waiting on the team to come home from the second church service, I practiced the guitar. It was a nice evening! I also got the chance to talk with Mike some about the Feeding Centers records and the year end reporting. It’s always nice to get a little time for planning and reporting and catching up.
I went to bed a happy camper and was looking forward to going to the English class 4 mornings this coming week.
The team is having a great time here. It is way out of some of the people’s comfort zone. It’s always rejuvenating to see the ministry and the country and people through a new person’s eyes. Sometimes we take for granted the work that God is doing around us. I pray I never get blasé about it. He is worthy of praise for every little thing!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
November 10, 2012
I got up and worked a little on the computer until Lesly asked me to help her run errands. I was more than happy to pull off of the computer!
Edmundo drove Lesly and I to Palí to buy some more plastic bowls that the team was donating to the Feeding Center at the Old Dump. Then we went by to deliver them and I got some pics of the set up there. The team did so much good work to help people with tooth pain. What a blessing!!
Next we went to La Unión to buy groceries for the incoming team. It takes hours just to buy groceries sometimes and we had 3 carts of food, even though the team is only 14 people. Then we ran by the bakery and had to stop to get water and ice. German had called Lesly as we were checking out at the grocery store and asked her to be back to the team house in 30 minutes. It was going to be close!!! León has many one ways streets and it sometimes takes a while just to circle the block. Lesly had Edmundo drop her off at one end of the block from the bakery and by the time we drove around to pick her up, she was ready to come out. The back seats in the van have been taken out to haul stuff, so the groceries were all piled back there. The boys who put the stuff in the van had stacked 4 crates of 2 dozen eggs each on top of each other. They fell over when we turned the corner. But God protected those eggs and none were broken! Yay!
After lunch, some of the team ran to town to buy a few last minute souvenirs and some coffee to take back to the states. Some took naps and some took a quick dip in the pool. A few got massages from Mayela.
Then we all loaded up and headed toward the beach. On the way, we stopped at the new neighborhood by the little León airport. The leaders asked that we come and pray over their land. We are trying to bring each team there so that it can be covered in much prayer.
We headed to the beach and took pics then went to Suyapa restaurant for dinner. It takes a while to get your food, so we ordered and then most of the team walked along the beach for pics. Our food finally came and it was so delicious! As we were waiting to pay and leave, Pastor Jamie and Sandra started doing a little dancing together. I caught it on video and then Carolyn and Marilyn (who work in the Dentist’s office) did a few dance steps themselves. I downloaded the videos onto facebook. It was a nice dinner and evening.
We got back to town and it was all dark. When the lights are out in León, it’s beyond dark. Danilo, one of our drivers, said that most of the whole town was without electricity. We found some flashlights and everyone started to their rooms for some packing. Then the lights came back on and Mike held his ‘goodbye’ meeting with the team. The lights flickered a few more times, but stayed on, so everyone could get packed up. This has been a great group and even though I didn’t get to go out and work with them, I really enjoyed having them around.
Everyone found a place to rest for a little bit. The next team was arriving around 1am. This team was leaving at 4am. I plan on sleeping through most of the changing of the guard. ☺
Edmundo drove Lesly and I to Palí to buy some more plastic bowls that the team was donating to the Feeding Center at the Old Dump. Then we went by to deliver them and I got some pics of the set up there. The team did so much good work to help people with tooth pain. What a blessing!!
Next we went to La Unión to buy groceries for the incoming team. It takes hours just to buy groceries sometimes and we had 3 carts of food, even though the team is only 14 people. Then we ran by the bakery and had to stop to get water and ice. German had called Lesly as we were checking out at the grocery store and asked her to be back to the team house in 30 minutes. It was going to be close!!! León has many one ways streets and it sometimes takes a while just to circle the block. Lesly had Edmundo drop her off at one end of the block from the bakery and by the time we drove around to pick her up, she was ready to come out. The back seats in the van have been taken out to haul stuff, so the groceries were all piled back there. The boys who put the stuff in the van had stacked 4 crates of 2 dozen eggs each on top of each other. They fell over when we turned the corner. But God protected those eggs and none were broken! Yay!
After lunch, some of the team ran to town to buy a few last minute souvenirs and some coffee to take back to the states. Some took naps and some took a quick dip in the pool. A few got massages from Mayela.
Then we all loaded up and headed toward the beach. On the way, we stopped at the new neighborhood by the little León airport. The leaders asked that we come and pray over their land. We are trying to bring each team there so that it can be covered in much prayer.
We headed to the beach and took pics then went to Suyapa restaurant for dinner. It takes a while to get your food, so we ordered and then most of the team walked along the beach for pics. Our food finally came and it was so delicious! As we were waiting to pay and leave, Pastor Jamie and Sandra started doing a little dancing together. I caught it on video and then Carolyn and Marilyn (who work in the Dentist’s office) did a few dance steps themselves. I downloaded the videos onto facebook. It was a nice dinner and evening.
We got back to town and it was all dark. When the lights are out in León, it’s beyond dark. Danilo, one of our drivers, said that most of the whole town was without electricity. We found some flashlights and everyone started to their rooms for some packing. Then the lights came back on and Mike held his ‘goodbye’ meeting with the team. The lights flickered a few more times, but stayed on, so everyone could get packed up. This has been a great group and even though I didn’t get to go out and work with them, I really enjoyed having them around.
Everyone found a place to rest for a little bit. The next team was arriving around 1am. This team was leaving at 4am. I plan on sleeping through most of the changing of the guard. ☺
November 9, 2012
It’s Friday and there are no English Classes today. I stayed at the team house and washed a load of clothes for me and some clothes for Dr. Driggers so he could have clean scrubs for tomorrow.
My sister had texted me to see if I was ok. I tried calling her on both her home and cell numbers, but couldn’t reach her. When I finally got through, she said that Mom had called and told her that there was an earthquake and wanted to know if I was ok. I hadn’t heard anything, which is not unusual for here. It turns out that the earthquake was in Guatemala and hid killed about 50 people. My sister said that she wasn’t worried for long because she had asked my niece to look on Facebook to check up on me. I had just posted that morning about the team and had not said anything about earthquakes, so Sandy knew that I was okay. That goes to show you, the first thing to check is facebook!
I spent about 8 hours on Feeding Center files and was quite pleased with myself for getting so much done.
I showed Mike the banners I had been working and he really liked them. We came up with more ideas.
Sherry and Manuel left Friday morning early for the states. Manuel will start some processes for ARKids insurance, disability, and some diagnostic tests at Children’s Hospital in Little Rock AR to see what can be done to help him cope with his brain damage and other issues. He’s only been gone a couple of hours and we miss him already!
Mike and I got the chance to talk about plans for my ministry duties in 2013. I’ll be teaching the Women’s Bible studies (and training women leaders in each church plant), teaching the Sewing classes (and putting together the co-op to try to market some of the items to help the ladies support their families), putting together the curriculum and training workers for Children’s ministry in each of our church plants, and starting a very basic Bible study to be taught in English for all of the students who want to practice English. I will be so busy, but sooooo happy! I have a lot to do to get ready for the first of the year. These last 2 months of 2012 are going to fly by!
Jaasiel and I had a nice talk about the future today. We don’t always get the chance to talk uninterrupted. I enjoyed it very much.
My deposit finally cleared my AR bank account, so I could take care of some personal business. Thank God for the internet! It sure makes living out of the country so much easier! I transferred some money to VOH to pay toward my utility cost for Oct/Nov/Dec. And I got my plane tickets for Nica for Jan-May2012. I got a good price!
I worked a little more on the last banner and then practiced guitar. I’m excited about the slow progress on the guitar. One of these days…. Oh, the other night, Katty had me play a song for her on the guitar. She is going to be my tutor when she is in León. I closed the door to my room so no one else would hear. She was thrilled with my little song and said that she is proud of. That made my heart sing!!!
Tomorrow will be the last day for the Dental team. They are going to work half a day at the Dump neighborhood and then come for lunch. Then have a little fun day time. I will miss them. They have been a good team to have around. So pleasant and easy. God has blessed us!
My sister had texted me to see if I was ok. I tried calling her on both her home and cell numbers, but couldn’t reach her. When I finally got through, she said that Mom had called and told her that there was an earthquake and wanted to know if I was ok. I hadn’t heard anything, which is not unusual for here. It turns out that the earthquake was in Guatemala and hid killed about 50 people. My sister said that she wasn’t worried for long because she had asked my niece to look on Facebook to check up on me. I had just posted that morning about the team and had not said anything about earthquakes, so Sandy knew that I was okay. That goes to show you, the first thing to check is facebook!
I spent about 8 hours on Feeding Center files and was quite pleased with myself for getting so much done.
I showed Mike the banners I had been working and he really liked them. We came up with more ideas.
Sherry and Manuel left Friday morning early for the states. Manuel will start some processes for ARKids insurance, disability, and some diagnostic tests at Children’s Hospital in Little Rock AR to see what can be done to help him cope with his brain damage and other issues. He’s only been gone a couple of hours and we miss him already!
Mike and I got the chance to talk about plans for my ministry duties in 2013. I’ll be teaching the Women’s Bible studies (and training women leaders in each church plant), teaching the Sewing classes (and putting together the co-op to try to market some of the items to help the ladies support their families), putting together the curriculum and training workers for Children’s ministry in each of our church plants, and starting a very basic Bible study to be taught in English for all of the students who want to practice English. I will be so busy, but sooooo happy! I have a lot to do to get ready for the first of the year. These last 2 months of 2012 are going to fly by!
Jaasiel and I had a nice talk about the future today. We don’t always get the chance to talk uninterrupted. I enjoyed it very much.
My deposit finally cleared my AR bank account, so I could take care of some personal business. Thank God for the internet! It sure makes living out of the country so much easier! I transferred some money to VOH to pay toward my utility cost for Oct/Nov/Dec. And I got my plane tickets for Nica for Jan-May2012. I got a good price!
I worked a little more on the last banner and then practiced guitar. I’m excited about the slow progress on the guitar. One of these days…. Oh, the other night, Katty had me play a song for her on the guitar. She is going to be my tutor when she is in León. I closed the door to my room so no one else would hear. She was thrilled with my little song and said that she is proud of. That made my heart sing!!!
Tomorrow will be the last day for the Dental team. They are going to work half a day at the Dump neighborhood and then come for lunch. Then have a little fun day time. I will miss them. They have been a good team to have around. So pleasant and easy. God has blessed us!
November 8, 2012
Day 4 of English Class. We had finished the material that we used the first 3 days, so I took the book “Chicken Soup for a Woman’s Soul” to share some stories. They LOVED it! It was a tough 2 hours of study, but they took notes and were very happy with all they learned.
First I had to explain about “Chicken Soup” meaning more than just the food. I explained it as something that is: good for you, makes you happy, makes your life better, etc. They also learned a lot about how people write in different ways. The phrasing was difficult sometimes to grasp and the idiomatic phrases were challenging. The class leaned lots of new things and absolutely loved the 3 stories that we shared. They want more of it!
We also took turns adding to a collective story in English. One person would give a name for a character, then the next would say something about him/her, as so on. This would continue until we had a very interesting story going on. The only rule was that what you added to the story, you had to be able to write it in English. What fun! This make-believe person was named David, was married, had 9 children, owned a store, his favorite color was blue… When we got to the part about him going to the grocery store, we veered off of the story and decided to write up a grocery list. They could only add items that they knew in English. Another thing we did was list the names of musical instruments in English after someone said the word orchestra. Lots of good stuff!
They keep telling me that they want more of Vickie and no more Pacheco. Haha. I told them it’s because he is teaching them the important grammar stuff and I’m teaching them fun things. Anyway, we love spending time together and learning.
They are encouraging me to speak Spanish, too. At the end of each class, they have me talk in Spanish. We had discussed what a “spelling bee” is. Someone had seen it on tv. So they started giving me big words in Spanish to see if I knew what they meant. It wasn’t too hard because the words they chose, even though they were big, were closely spelled to the English words. So I could guess pretty well. One time Arrón said the Spanish word for extraterrestrial and they all cheered when I knew it. Then I handed Arrón the marker and told him to write it on the board in English. We all laughed at his face! What a fun class!
When time to leave, I walked more into town and made a few stops along the way. I was hoping to find a printing place that could print a large file for me from my USB drive. But I didn’t find anyplace that could do it. On the way, I stopped at the House of the Bible to see my friend Linda and to see what kinds of specials she had going on. I also stopped at a few Nica souvenir stores that have nice pottery and wooden items and such. I bought a hotpad for the Sewing class to try to make and also a handpainted Christmas card of the nativity.
It was very hot, so I tried to get a taxi. I saw a red one parked on the corner and asked the driver if he was working. He said that he was waiting for his customer to come back out of a store. I noticed while talking to him that he was missing a hand. If you have read my old blog posts (2010) you might remember the funny incident that Mary, Sherry and I had with getting into the wrong taxi and this was the driver. It’s a long story, and one of those that you had to be there to appreciate. Just know that it made me smile to see him and when I told Mary and Sherry about seeing him, they broke out laughing, too. Small world. The next vehicle to come by happened to be German and Mike in one of the vans, so I got a ride back to the team house with them! God sure is watching out for me and providing unexpected rides this week!
After lunch, I got on the computer for a marathon time of Feeding Center files and other communication. Lesly left me with some pants to shorten for her. I’ll have to get those done in the evenings after guitar practice!
Mayela called Teresa for me so that I could set up a time to chat with her about the new way that we will do the Sewing Classes/Co-op for January.
Estefanie’s great-aunt passed away and the funeral was today. Estefanie texted me to say that they were getting ready to pass by the team house on the way to the cemetery. (the casket is carried either by horse and cart or a vehicle and the family and friends walk behind it from the service was held at the deceased home to the cemetery). They hire musicians to play as they are walking along. When I heard the procession coming by, I opened the little gate and watched for Estefanie. When she saw me, she walked over and I got to give her a hug. It was a special moment for me to be able to reach out to her. She’s a sweetie.
We took the team to worship service at Jericho Baptist Church. They got the experience of hearing ‘Nica’ singing. The team gave 2 testimonies, Katty played a couple of worship songs and Pastor Jamie brought the message. It was a good service. At the end, after the invitation and all, Pastor Jamie asked everyone who would like to have prayer to come forward. I noticed the young lady who led their music up on stage kept looking at her young son (probably about 5 years old) and motioning for him to come forward for prayer. He did budge. She then looked at me and motioned to him and put her hand on the top of her head. I motioned to ask if she wanted me to pray for him and she nodded yes. I prayed over the little guy, who I found out is named David, and was very blessed to do so. Afterward, while the mamá was still singing, she mouthed ‘gracia’ to me. After the service she told me his name and that he has been sick. I told her that I didn’t know what she had wanted me to pray, so I asked God to protect David’s health and help him to grow up strong in body and in spirit. For God to draw David to Jesus at an early age and to watch over his family. She was pleased that I covered everything. It was a sweet moment for me. Our God is faithful!
First I had to explain about “Chicken Soup” meaning more than just the food. I explained it as something that is: good for you, makes you happy, makes your life better, etc. They also learned a lot about how people write in different ways. The phrasing was difficult sometimes to grasp and the idiomatic phrases were challenging. The class leaned lots of new things and absolutely loved the 3 stories that we shared. They want more of it!
We also took turns adding to a collective story in English. One person would give a name for a character, then the next would say something about him/her, as so on. This would continue until we had a very interesting story going on. The only rule was that what you added to the story, you had to be able to write it in English. What fun! This make-believe person was named David, was married, had 9 children, owned a store, his favorite color was blue… When we got to the part about him going to the grocery store, we veered off of the story and decided to write up a grocery list. They could only add items that they knew in English. Another thing we did was list the names of musical instruments in English after someone said the word orchestra. Lots of good stuff!
They keep telling me that they want more of Vickie and no more Pacheco. Haha. I told them it’s because he is teaching them the important grammar stuff and I’m teaching them fun things. Anyway, we love spending time together and learning.
They are encouraging me to speak Spanish, too. At the end of each class, they have me talk in Spanish. We had discussed what a “spelling bee” is. Someone had seen it on tv. So they started giving me big words in Spanish to see if I knew what they meant. It wasn’t too hard because the words they chose, even though they were big, were closely spelled to the English words. So I could guess pretty well. One time Arrón said the Spanish word for extraterrestrial and they all cheered when I knew it. Then I handed Arrón the marker and told him to write it on the board in English. We all laughed at his face! What a fun class!
When time to leave, I walked more into town and made a few stops along the way. I was hoping to find a printing place that could print a large file for me from my USB drive. But I didn’t find anyplace that could do it. On the way, I stopped at the House of the Bible to see my friend Linda and to see what kinds of specials she had going on. I also stopped at a few Nica souvenir stores that have nice pottery and wooden items and such. I bought a hotpad for the Sewing class to try to make and also a handpainted Christmas card of the nativity.
It was very hot, so I tried to get a taxi. I saw a red one parked on the corner and asked the driver if he was working. He said that he was waiting for his customer to come back out of a store. I noticed while talking to him that he was missing a hand. If you have read my old blog posts (2010) you might remember the funny incident that Mary, Sherry and I had with getting into the wrong taxi and this was the driver. It’s a long story, and one of those that you had to be there to appreciate. Just know that it made me smile to see him and when I told Mary and Sherry about seeing him, they broke out laughing, too. Small world. The next vehicle to come by happened to be German and Mike in one of the vans, so I got a ride back to the team house with them! God sure is watching out for me and providing unexpected rides this week!
After lunch, I got on the computer for a marathon time of Feeding Center files and other communication. Lesly left me with some pants to shorten for her. I’ll have to get those done in the evenings after guitar practice!
Mayela called Teresa for me so that I could set up a time to chat with her about the new way that we will do the Sewing Classes/Co-op for January.
Estefanie’s great-aunt passed away and the funeral was today. Estefanie texted me to say that they were getting ready to pass by the team house on the way to the cemetery. (the casket is carried either by horse and cart or a vehicle and the family and friends walk behind it from the service was held at the deceased home to the cemetery). They hire musicians to play as they are walking along. When I heard the procession coming by, I opened the little gate and watched for Estefanie. When she saw me, she walked over and I got to give her a hug. It was a special moment for me to be able to reach out to her. She’s a sweetie.
We took the team to worship service at Jericho Baptist Church. They got the experience of hearing ‘Nica’ singing. The team gave 2 testimonies, Katty played a couple of worship songs and Pastor Jamie brought the message. It was a good service. At the end, after the invitation and all, Pastor Jamie asked everyone who would like to have prayer to come forward. I noticed the young lady who led their music up on stage kept looking at her young son (probably about 5 years old) and motioning for him to come forward for prayer. He did budge. She then looked at me and motioned to him and put her hand on the top of her head. I motioned to ask if she wanted me to pray for him and she nodded yes. I prayed over the little guy, who I found out is named David, and was very blessed to do so. Afterward, while the mamá was still singing, she mouthed ‘gracia’ to me. After the service she told me his name and that he has been sick. I told her that I didn’t know what she had wanted me to pray, so I asked God to protect David’s health and help him to grow up strong in body and in spirit. For God to draw David to Jesus at an early age and to watch over his family. She was pleased that I covered everything. It was a sweet moment for me. Our God is faithful!
November 7, 2012
Engish Class again and the walk was fun! We finished up the Creation to Christ story and the class took up a collection to go and get the papers copied for each of them. They want to use it to share with others!
The team started their ministry day at La Quimera doing dentistry. They had a short night of sleep, but were raring to go!
I went with the van taking lunch to the team. So I got to visit the church, which was made into a dentist’s office by hanging rope and sheets. They had a folding dentist chair. Dr. Driggers had brought one of his daughters and 2 of his employees from his office. There were 2 other young ladies helping and Pastor Jamie and wife Sandra rounded out the team. I took a few pictures, but I didn’t linger long where the tooth stuff was going on. I get chills thinking about dentists!!! I rode back to the team house with the empty lunch containers and cooler.
I got the chance to study some Spanish with Jaasiel, who will tutor me once a week. Mostly, we reviewed what I’ve learned so far. We laughed a lot. She gave me an assignment for next time. It will be fun to work with her.
The VOH Praise Band practiced for awhile and I like listening to them. Manuel was allowed to help sing and he enjoyed it!
I downloaded some pics & videos to Facebook and did some other computer work until sunset.
I practiced my guitar for a while and then went to bed to read. It was pretty early, but I was tired. Another good day!
The team started their ministry day at La Quimera doing dentistry. They had a short night of sleep, but were raring to go!
I went with the van taking lunch to the team. So I got to visit the church, which was made into a dentist’s office by hanging rope and sheets. They had a folding dentist chair. Dr. Driggers had brought one of his daughters and 2 of his employees from his office. There were 2 other young ladies helping and Pastor Jamie and wife Sandra rounded out the team. I took a few pictures, but I didn’t linger long where the tooth stuff was going on. I get chills thinking about dentists!!! I rode back to the team house with the empty lunch containers and cooler.
I got the chance to study some Spanish with Jaasiel, who will tutor me once a week. Mostly, we reviewed what I’ve learned so far. We laughed a lot. She gave me an assignment for next time. It will be fun to work with her.
The VOH Praise Band practiced for awhile and I like listening to them. Manuel was allowed to help sing and he enjoyed it!
I downloaded some pics & videos to Facebook and did some other computer work until sunset.
I practiced my guitar for a while and then went to bed to read. It was pretty early, but I was tired. Another good day!
November 6, 2012
Tuesday morning, and the team comes in late, late tonight. It’s going to be a busy day in many ways around here.
I walked to English Class again and the walk was a little easier than yesterday. I’m so out of shape and haven’t walked consistently for a long time. I need to get serious about it!
There were 6 people in class today. Dora, Maykellyn, Aarón from yesterday and then Bixmark, Arielka, and Meylin were new today. I think the new ones are from another class and they joined us to practice talking with me. It was good to get to know them and have them participate in class. What we are working on translating is the Bible Storying materials called “Creation to Christ”, which covers a few Bible stories to explain how God created the earth, mankind, the fall, the law of the Old Testament (10 Commandments), Jesus purpose for coming, Jesus’ sacrifice and how we can be forgiven and become followers of Jesus. The class is really enjoying this material, even though it is written in a way to relate to Oral Learners (no written language) in Africa. We changed phrasing to be relevant to the Nica culture. They enjoyed that part of it, too.
I was just filling in for Juan for 2 days while he had other commitments and couldn’t teach the class. The students want me to come back, so I’ll find out from Juan if he would mind if I continue. I’m sure he will say okay. I’m excited to spend more time with the class.
On my way walking home from English Class, I stopped by my favorite second hand clothing store and picked up some jean capris. The lady was missing me. She keeps up with when I’m in the country. It was nice to see her.
I then stopped at my favorite Librería where I get notebooks, pens, etc. I picked up some glue and some glitter paint to finish up the banners. Then I stopped at my favorite bazaar for some thread and more glue. It was fun to see those people again.
As I was walking and was almost home, I noticed a van pulled up next to me and stop. It was José, one of our drivers. He picked me up and drove me the rest of the way home.
After lunch, Estefanie came to work with me on notes for the Women’s Bible Study that will get started after the first of the year. We are going to hold the study once a week for women leaders from our church plants. Then those women will go and teach that lesson to the ladies in their churches. I’m excited about it multiplying like this and I’m anxious to get all of the materials and resources ready. I always love working with Estefanie!
I worked more on the Feeding Center files the rest of the afternoon. Mary went with Lesly to run errands for preparation for the team. She picked a few items from the grocery store for me. The most important was the chocolate bars!
I moved the banners to the Sewing Room so that I could lay them out to finish drying. They are turning out nicely. I hope that they hold up in the weather over time.
I practiced the guitar for awhile and then read more of “Not a Fan” and went to bed.
At 1:30am, the team arrived and I heard the light tapping on my door from Alberto, who was asking which rooms everyone was assigned to. They got settled in and we all went back to bed. It’s been a good day!
I walked to English Class again and the walk was a little easier than yesterday. I’m so out of shape and haven’t walked consistently for a long time. I need to get serious about it!
There were 6 people in class today. Dora, Maykellyn, Aarón from yesterday and then Bixmark, Arielka, and Meylin were new today. I think the new ones are from another class and they joined us to practice talking with me. It was good to get to know them and have them participate in class. What we are working on translating is the Bible Storying materials called “Creation to Christ”, which covers a few Bible stories to explain how God created the earth, mankind, the fall, the law of the Old Testament (10 Commandments), Jesus purpose for coming, Jesus’ sacrifice and how we can be forgiven and become followers of Jesus. The class is really enjoying this material, even though it is written in a way to relate to Oral Learners (no written language) in Africa. We changed phrasing to be relevant to the Nica culture. They enjoyed that part of it, too.
I was just filling in for Juan for 2 days while he had other commitments and couldn’t teach the class. The students want me to come back, so I’ll find out from Juan if he would mind if I continue. I’m sure he will say okay. I’m excited to spend more time with the class.
On my way walking home from English Class, I stopped by my favorite second hand clothing store and picked up some jean capris. The lady was missing me. She keeps up with when I’m in the country. It was nice to see her.
I then stopped at my favorite Librería where I get notebooks, pens, etc. I picked up some glue and some glitter paint to finish up the banners. Then I stopped at my favorite bazaar for some thread and more glue. It was fun to see those people again.
As I was walking and was almost home, I noticed a van pulled up next to me and stop. It was José, one of our drivers. He picked me up and drove me the rest of the way home.
After lunch, Estefanie came to work with me on notes for the Women’s Bible Study that will get started after the first of the year. We are going to hold the study once a week for women leaders from our church plants. Then those women will go and teach that lesson to the ladies in their churches. I’m excited about it multiplying like this and I’m anxious to get all of the materials and resources ready. I always love working with Estefanie!
I worked more on the Feeding Center files the rest of the afternoon. Mary went with Lesly to run errands for preparation for the team. She picked a few items from the grocery store for me. The most important was the chocolate bars!
I moved the banners to the Sewing Room so that I could lay them out to finish drying. They are turning out nicely. I hope that they hold up in the weather over time.
I practiced the guitar for awhile and then read more of “Not a Fan” and went to bed.
At 1:30am, the team arrived and I heard the light tapping on my door from Alberto, who was asking which rooms everyone was assigned to. They got settled in and we all went back to bed. It’s been a good day!
November 5, 2012
I got up early and headed to Pacheco’s English school. I’m so excited to get to help with the class for advanced students. This will be my 5th class to help with. Some I’ve only attended once and some a few times and one class I was blessed to help with for about 3 months. I love it every time!
I walked to the school, which is about 1 mile away from the team house. I’ve missed walking and desperately need the exercise! It’s hot, but worth it!
There were 4 people in class today. New acquaintances for me. All sweet! Dora is very advanced and ready to be a translator. She was very nervous and said that she wants to do an excellent job and worries that she will not be able to think when in front of people. I had her come up front with me and translate what I was sharing with the class. She didn’t miss a beat! She was surprised to see how easy it was and her confidence was boosted a lot. Christian is pretty knowledgeable in English, but I have a hard time understanding him when he speaks. My hearing loss doesn’t go well with way of speaking. We’ll work it out, though. Maykellyn is a rambunctious young lady that I met earlier in the year. She is so friendly and out going. She is not as advanced as the others, but she is not afraid to jump in there and try. I love working with her. Aarón is the Youth Leader at his church and I first met him when they came to the team house last summer to perform some music and drama for a team. He is very talented and is working hard on his English skills. I loved being with the class.
I walked home did some computer work until lunchtime. It’s a fairly quiet day getting ready for the team coming in on Tuesday night. It’s a good week for me to be working on the huge files for the Feeding Center sponsorships. A large task, but I enjoy it. I just have to pace myself so that I won’t feel burnt out.
I watched a movie on my computer while working on one of the banners in my room. I then read some in a new book on my Kindle. The book is called “Not a Fan” and I think I’m going to get a lot out of it.
It’s been a good day. I get hot, tired, refreshed, encouraged, excited, hot, tired (did I already say that???) and I enjoy every minute that God lets me be here. I’m very blessed.
I walked to the school, which is about 1 mile away from the team house. I’ve missed walking and desperately need the exercise! It’s hot, but worth it!
There were 4 people in class today. New acquaintances for me. All sweet! Dora is very advanced and ready to be a translator. She was very nervous and said that she wants to do an excellent job and worries that she will not be able to think when in front of people. I had her come up front with me and translate what I was sharing with the class. She didn’t miss a beat! She was surprised to see how easy it was and her confidence was boosted a lot. Christian is pretty knowledgeable in English, but I have a hard time understanding him when he speaks. My hearing loss doesn’t go well with way of speaking. We’ll work it out, though. Maykellyn is a rambunctious young lady that I met earlier in the year. She is so friendly and out going. She is not as advanced as the others, but she is not afraid to jump in there and try. I love working with her. Aarón is the Youth Leader at his church and I first met him when they came to the team house last summer to perform some music and drama for a team. He is very talented and is working hard on his English skills. I loved being with the class.
I walked home did some computer work until lunchtime. It’s a fairly quiet day getting ready for the team coming in on Tuesday night. It’s a good week for me to be working on the huge files for the Feeding Center sponsorships. A large task, but I enjoy it. I just have to pace myself so that I won’t feel burnt out.
I watched a movie on my computer while working on one of the banners in my room. I then read some in a new book on my Kindle. The book is called “Not a Fan” and I think I’m going to get a lot out of it.
It’s been a good day. I get hot, tired, refreshed, encouraged, excited, hot, tired (did I already say that???) and I enjoy every minute that God lets me be here. I’m very blessed.
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