It's Wednesday already! I'm having a 'required' day off today, so I'm trying to catch up on a lot of stuff.
The last few days of ministry have been great. 12 Fiestas, 1 Feeding, 10 church services, 1 Baptism, tons of candy and unmeasurable fun. 575 Professions of Faith so far. One more ministry day left.
The team has been a lot of fun. It's been great to catch up with Ric and seeing some of the ones who came to NYC while I was there.
It's been very HOT. Power goes off and on a lot, so we lose the fans sometimes. It rained part of a couple of days. Today has been very sunny.
One of the team members was baptized on the shore this afternoon. How special! Hopefully, he didn't feel upstaged by the fishermen who were gutting a sting ray and a hammerhead shark nearby. I wonder who had more pics taken of them, Nick or the shark. hmmm
We're going back into town late this afternoon for some ice cream and some shopping. We went Monday afternoon, but by the time we did an added Fiesta, we only had time for ice cream. I don't think the team will want to shop too long today, since it's so hot. They will get to shop on Friday at some good places, since it's Fun Day.
Time to get off the internet and get ready for town.
¡Bendiciones!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011 Nicaragua
What a great day of worship! We split into 4 groups and went to 4 churches this morning and then 4 more churches this evening.
Each of the four groups has a ‘preacher’, musician, testimony giver and some singers. They learned and practiced some songs in English and Spanish to share in the services. Everyone has done a great job. The churches are diverse and the groups are seeing a variety of worship styles and even building types for this country. The thing that every church has in common is that they are happy for us to share with them and we all love Jesus!
Our afternoon consisted of lunch, then some Fiesta training. Mike shared information about the Fiestas and the VOH staff demonstrated the Sinbox Sally drama. Afterwards, we got some volunteers to help put candy in little baggies. There was 2 big plastic tubs of candy. And some other volunteers put prizes together for the girls, boys and women that will receive them in the 12 Fiestas this week. Then I cleaned up all the mess and we are ready to rock and roll for the week! It feels good to have it all done on Sunday afternoon, so that we can have rest time during the week between meals and serving times.
It is so great to have Ric here with his team. I met him when I led teams to NYC in 2005 and 2006. Then I moved to NYC to take Ric’s place working with mission teams coming up to serve with the church plant there. Ric and his family moved to Louisiana and began serving at a church there. He brought a group up to work with us in NYC in 2008. The team this week is fun and it’s great to catch up with Ric. We have lots to talk about. ☺
We’ve had a good day with the team today and enjoyed getting to know them a little yesterday afternoon and evening. I know that the week is going to go really quickly. We have lots of ministry planned and it will be Fun Day and travel day before we know it.
I’m looking forward to seeing what all God is going to be doing this week. It’s so nice of Him to let us be a part of His plans. How blessed are we?!!
Each of the four groups has a ‘preacher’, musician, testimony giver and some singers. They learned and practiced some songs in English and Spanish to share in the services. Everyone has done a great job. The churches are diverse and the groups are seeing a variety of worship styles and even building types for this country. The thing that every church has in common is that they are happy for us to share with them and we all love Jesus!
Our afternoon consisted of lunch, then some Fiesta training. Mike shared information about the Fiestas and the VOH staff demonstrated the Sinbox Sally drama. Afterwards, we got some volunteers to help put candy in little baggies. There was 2 big plastic tubs of candy. And some other volunteers put prizes together for the girls, boys and women that will receive them in the 12 Fiestas this week. Then I cleaned up all the mess and we are ready to rock and roll for the week! It feels good to have it all done on Sunday afternoon, so that we can have rest time during the week between meals and serving times.
It is so great to have Ric here with his team. I met him when I led teams to NYC in 2005 and 2006. Then I moved to NYC to take Ric’s place working with mission teams coming up to serve with the church plant there. Ric and his family moved to Louisiana and began serving at a church there. He brought a group up to work with us in NYC in 2008. The team this week is fun and it’s great to catch up with Ric. We have lots to talk about. ☺
We’ve had a good day with the team today and enjoyed getting to know them a little yesterday afternoon and evening. I know that the week is going to go really quickly. We have lots of ministry planned and it will be Fun Day and travel day before we know it.
I’m looking forward to seeing what all God is going to be doing this week. It’s so nice of Him to let us be a part of His plans. How blessed are we?!!
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011 Nicaragua
Friday was a good day of working on getting the team house ready for the team from Louisiana who arrived today.
Haley and I also hung some curtains up in our room to privacy. The room looks so much bigger now. I'm nesting with little things to make it efficient. I like it.
I rode into Managua with Mike and Danilo this morning to pick up the team. German met us there in his van and Manuel met us there in his van. I was able to use the USB thingy for internet on the drive into the city. I was able to do some downloads since it was a long drive.
We picked up the team from LA and it was good to see Ric, as well as Chuck and a few others who had come with Ric to NYC when I was there. We all loaded up into the vans and headed to the Mall for lunch at the food court. It had rained most of the morning and was still drizzly and then hard rain. But we didn't care. Lunch was good and everyone was ready for the 2 hour ride to the team house.
Everyone got settled in and we had a brief team meeting with house rules and such. Then dinner was served. We had hamburgers and fries and everyone seemed pleased. It is good to have Mike and Sherry here to greet the teams. I know they are happy to be here, too.
Haley and I also hung some curtains up in our room to privacy. The room looks so much bigger now. I'm nesting with little things to make it efficient. I like it.
I rode into Managua with Mike and Danilo this morning to pick up the team. German met us there in his van and Manuel met us there in his van. I was able to use the USB thingy for internet on the drive into the city. I was able to do some downloads since it was a long drive.
We picked up the team from LA and it was good to see Ric, as well as Chuck and a few others who had come with Ric to NYC when I was there. We all loaded up into the vans and headed to the Mall for lunch at the food court. It had rained most of the morning and was still drizzly and then hard rain. But we didn't care. Lunch was good and everyone was ready for the 2 hour ride to the team house.
Everyone got settled in and we had a brief team meeting with house rules and such. Then dinner was served. We had hamburgers and fries and everyone seemed pleased. It is good to have Mike and Sherry here to greet the teams. I know they are happy to be here, too.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011 Nicaragua
It's been a busy week and it's been really good. It's always good to be serving here in Nicaragua!
Tuesday, we held 2 Fiestas in the morning and there were 72 professions of faith. (did I mention the 93 on Monday?) God is working on the hearts of the Nica people and the churches in the area do a good job of working in the neighborhoods before we get there. They also do a good job of following up on the names of those professing faith in Christ at the Fiestas. We are just the tools for God to use in the big picture. I love the way it's a team effort between VOH, the mission teams and the local churches.
We went to a local church, Cristo Viene, here in Poneloya/Las Peñitas. It only took 5 minutes to drive there, and since Danilo had taken someone into town in the big van, we all rode in Chin Chin, our little VOH van, and Sherry drove! Fun! Church was good. Saturnino (our guard), Aracelys (our cleaning lady) and Pilar (our cook) all go to Cristo Viene church. It's fun to see them and their families there. John did a song, Haley shared her and we had a great message from the team. I love that church. It's always so welcoming. The pastor reminds me of a cowboy for some reason. He's always nice. We gave out lots of candy after the service. Then we came home. It was a good night.
Wednesday, we went to a neighborhood called Hamburgo and did 2 Fiestas in that community. There were 38 professions of faith. We went to church there last night and another 5 people came forward. The music was great last night. It was another good day.
Today, we did a 2 hour VBS at the Las Quimeras community. Haley (our intern from El Dorado AR) was the leader and did a fine job. The team all pitched in to help with acting out the story, crafts, songs, snacks, games and the drama. A few of the team members went out street witnessing. We had about twice as many kids as we thought would be there. The school let the kids out mid-morning to attend. That was a nice surprise! We scrambled to share everything that we had brought. The Pastor was very pleased with everything. He is doing a great job growing that church. The team went back there tonight for a special Father's Day service (today is Father's Day in Nica).
The team will be leaving in the morning for their Fun Day in Masaya and Managua. They are going to get rooms at the hotel across from the airport in Managua and spend the night. That way they only have to get up at 4am to go to the airport, instead of driving back here tomorrow night and then leaving here at 2:30am Saturday morning. They have been a great team.
Ralph is on the Board of Directors of VOH and this is his 6th trip. His wife and son came last year and this year. A dad and daughter joined them on this trip. It's been fun with them.
We will use the team-free time tomorrow to get the house ready for the LA team that flies in at noon on Saturday. It will be a busy day of laundry, bed making, grocery buying, etc. I can't wait to see Ric and the team on Saturday. I'll ride into Managua to help with greeting them. I met Ric when I led teams to NYC before I moved there to serve fulltime for 2 years. I actually took Ric's place as the missions 'person' with that church plant, when he moved to LA. He brought a team back up to NYC while I was serving there. It will be nice to see him. I think their team will be a lot of fun!
I've got computer stuff to work on and Bible reading to catch up on. Better take advantage of this free time this evening.
God is so good. The time is going by too quickly! I'm truly blessed to be here! Thank You Lord.
Tuesday, we held 2 Fiestas in the morning and there were 72 professions of faith. (did I mention the 93 on Monday?) God is working on the hearts of the Nica people and the churches in the area do a good job of working in the neighborhoods before we get there. They also do a good job of following up on the names of those professing faith in Christ at the Fiestas. We are just the tools for God to use in the big picture. I love the way it's a team effort between VOH, the mission teams and the local churches.
We went to a local church, Cristo Viene, here in Poneloya/Las Peñitas. It only took 5 minutes to drive there, and since Danilo had taken someone into town in the big van, we all rode in Chin Chin, our little VOH van, and Sherry drove! Fun! Church was good. Saturnino (our guard), Aracelys (our cleaning lady) and Pilar (our cook) all go to Cristo Viene church. It's fun to see them and their families there. John did a song, Haley shared her and we had a great message from the team. I love that church. It's always so welcoming. The pastor reminds me of a cowboy for some reason. He's always nice. We gave out lots of candy after the service. Then we came home. It was a good night.
Wednesday, we went to a neighborhood called Hamburgo and did 2 Fiestas in that community. There were 38 professions of faith. We went to church there last night and another 5 people came forward. The music was great last night. It was another good day.
Today, we did a 2 hour VBS at the Las Quimeras community. Haley (our intern from El Dorado AR) was the leader and did a fine job. The team all pitched in to help with acting out the story, crafts, songs, snacks, games and the drama. A few of the team members went out street witnessing. We had about twice as many kids as we thought would be there. The school let the kids out mid-morning to attend. That was a nice surprise! We scrambled to share everything that we had brought. The Pastor was very pleased with everything. He is doing a great job growing that church. The team went back there tonight for a special Father's Day service (today is Father's Day in Nica).
The team will be leaving in the morning for their Fun Day in Masaya and Managua. They are going to get rooms at the hotel across from the airport in Managua and spend the night. That way they only have to get up at 4am to go to the airport, instead of driving back here tomorrow night and then leaving here at 2:30am Saturday morning. They have been a great team.
Ralph is on the Board of Directors of VOH and this is his 6th trip. His wife and son came last year and this year. A dad and daughter joined them on this trip. It's been fun with them.
We will use the team-free time tomorrow to get the house ready for the LA team that flies in at noon on Saturday. It will be a busy day of laundry, bed making, grocery buying, etc. I can't wait to see Ric and the team on Saturday. I'll ride into Managua to help with greeting them. I met Ric when I led teams to NYC before I moved there to serve fulltime for 2 years. I actually took Ric's place as the missions 'person' with that church plant, when he moved to LA. He brought a team back up to NYC while I was serving there. It will be nice to see him. I think their team will be a lot of fun!
I've got computer stuff to work on and Bible reading to catch up on. Better take advantage of this free time this evening.
God is so good. The time is going by too quickly! I'm truly blessed to be here! Thank You Lord.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011 Nicaragua
The team made it in about 11pm on Saturday night. They were ready for a bed. Mary got them all settled and I woke up to say hi.
Sunday morning we had breakfast and then went to church at Rose of Sharon in León. It is a fairly large church and has a wonderful praise band. The church is nice, but does not have fans. It is always excruciatingly hot in there. We enjoyed the music very much and John gave his testimony and Ralph shared the message. There were baptisms after the main service and we ended up leaving before they were all done. 3 hours in that hot building was all we could take. It was a very worshipful morning!
We came home and had grilled chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch. It was sooo good. Pilar is our main cook now and Sherry is working with her to train her on some really good recipes. The food has improved tremendously this summer! A little rest and some work on ministry supplies for the Fiestas this week and then we were ready for church at Rose of Sharon at the Country Club community. It was a nice day of worship.
Today we did a Fiesta just this side of León. We enjoyed it very much. Then we did a Fiesta and Feeding at the Rose of Sharon church from last night. There were over 90 professions of faith today. There were almost 100 kids fed, too. It was extremely hot and muggy. We were ringing wet. We were inside a building and even though the walls did not go all the way up, there was no breeze inside. After we did the Fiesta, we were trying to fill in time till the food was ready to serve. We sang all the praise songs we knew in Spanish. Then we let the kids come up and sing a song and get a prize. It was 'open mike night' at the church! The kids were so precious. Finally, we got to serve the food and the kids were soooo thankful. We really enjoyed our day.
We dropped the translators off in León and headed back to the house for lunch of shredded beef, rice, beans, cabbage salad and tortilla. It was tasty!! Then some rest and we headed back into town mid-afternoon so the team could have ice cream and some shopping time at the park. I grabbed a few items and Haley and I went to a variety store to get a few more things for my room here. Then we headed to Suyapa for a great dinner. I just love the grilled fish there!
Back home and time for a refreshing shower and some computer work. It's past my bedtime now and 5am comes early! So I think I'll close for now and go to sleep. God is so faithful to fill each day with wonderful encounters with His people. I'm so blessed to be here serving Him. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Sunday morning we had breakfast and then went to church at Rose of Sharon in León. It is a fairly large church and has a wonderful praise band. The church is nice, but does not have fans. It is always excruciatingly hot in there. We enjoyed the music very much and John gave his testimony and Ralph shared the message. There were baptisms after the main service and we ended up leaving before they were all done. 3 hours in that hot building was all we could take. It was a very worshipful morning!
We came home and had grilled chicken and mashed potatoes for lunch. It was sooo good. Pilar is our main cook now and Sherry is working with her to train her on some really good recipes. The food has improved tremendously this summer! A little rest and some work on ministry supplies for the Fiestas this week and then we were ready for church at Rose of Sharon at the Country Club community. It was a nice day of worship.
Today we did a Fiesta just this side of León. We enjoyed it very much. Then we did a Fiesta and Feeding at the Rose of Sharon church from last night. There were over 90 professions of faith today. There were almost 100 kids fed, too. It was extremely hot and muggy. We were ringing wet. We were inside a building and even though the walls did not go all the way up, there was no breeze inside. After we did the Fiesta, we were trying to fill in time till the food was ready to serve. We sang all the praise songs we knew in Spanish. Then we let the kids come up and sing a song and get a prize. It was 'open mike night' at the church! The kids were so precious. Finally, we got to serve the food and the kids were soooo thankful. We really enjoyed our day.
We dropped the translators off in León and headed back to the house for lunch of shredded beef, rice, beans, cabbage salad and tortilla. It was tasty!! Then some rest and we headed back into town mid-afternoon so the team could have ice cream and some shopping time at the park. I grabbed a few items and Haley and I went to a variety store to get a few more things for my room here. Then we headed to Suyapa for a great dinner. I just love the grilled fish there!
Back home and time for a refreshing shower and some computer work. It's past my bedtime now and 5am comes early! So I think I'll close for now and go to sleep. God is so faithful to fill each day with wonderful encounters with His people. I'm so blessed to be here serving Him. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Saturday, June 18, 2011 Nicaragua
We woke up to a nice, humid morning. Haley wanted to join me on my morning 4 mile walk, so I woke her up at 6am and we took off. We didn’t have to navigate any herds of cattle and there were no dead dogs. It was a nice walk.
Sherry had fixed banana pancakes and fresh pineapple pancakes. They were yummy! We did some house work and I did a little more tweaking of my room. Saturnino hung a curtain from the upper post of the bunkbed (next to the bathroom door) to the adjacent wall so that we can leave the bathroom door open when we take a shower. We need ventilation! It’s like a sauna in there when you have the door closed and you cannot get your clothes on! Our little curtain looks funny, but it works great!
We have been working Saturnino very hard these last 2 weeks. He has done his regular handyman and groundskeeper stuff as well as stain rocking chairs, paint rooms, move furniture to a rental house down the road, do little odd jobs for us helpless girls, etc. He’s always very nice about it and always has a smile on his face.
I’ve been working on my Bible study today and Haley and I have worked a little on plans for Fiestas and chatted about Spanish. I’ve eaten way too much of Sherry’s delicious lasagna, though, and think I’ll turn in early just so I can lay down. Ha
We have a team of 5 coming in tonight. Their plane has been delayed and they are landing in Managua at 8pm. That means they will get to the house between 11 and 12. Their rooms are ready. I’m sure they will be glad to jump into bed.
Mary has been sick the last 2 days. She’s better today and we hope she can get back up to par for the ministry work this week. I know she is raring to go for street witnessing.
I spent the late afternoon washing all my backpacks and bags. I also charged all electrical appliances (2 phones, iPod, computer, Kindle). I’d be lost without them! ☺
Time to get off of here and do a little more studying. So thankful that I can read from a laying down position… Can’t wait for tomorrow!
Sherry had fixed banana pancakes and fresh pineapple pancakes. They were yummy! We did some house work and I did a little more tweaking of my room. Saturnino hung a curtain from the upper post of the bunkbed (next to the bathroom door) to the adjacent wall so that we can leave the bathroom door open when we take a shower. We need ventilation! It’s like a sauna in there when you have the door closed and you cannot get your clothes on! Our little curtain looks funny, but it works great!
We have been working Saturnino very hard these last 2 weeks. He has done his regular handyman and groundskeeper stuff as well as stain rocking chairs, paint rooms, move furniture to a rental house down the road, do little odd jobs for us helpless girls, etc. He’s always very nice about it and always has a smile on his face.
I’ve been working on my Bible study today and Haley and I have worked a little on plans for Fiestas and chatted about Spanish. I’ve eaten way too much of Sherry’s delicious lasagna, though, and think I’ll turn in early just so I can lay down. Ha
We have a team of 5 coming in tonight. Their plane has been delayed and they are landing in Managua at 8pm. That means they will get to the house between 11 and 12. Their rooms are ready. I’m sure they will be glad to jump into bed.
Mary has been sick the last 2 days. She’s better today and we hope she can get back up to par for the ministry work this week. I know she is raring to go for street witnessing.
I spent the late afternoon washing all my backpacks and bags. I also charged all electrical appliances (2 phones, iPod, computer, Kindle). I’d be lost without them! ☺
Time to get off of here and do a little more studying. So thankful that I can read from a laying down position… Can’t wait for tomorrow!
Friday, June 17, 2011 Nicaragua
Yesterday, we took food and clothing to Monte Horeb (aka Sewer Pond) neighborhood. The ladies of Todopoderosa church cooked the food and they do a wonderful job of it. Three of them helped serve the food.
We gave out lots of clothing to the kids and a few adults. We had 18 suitcases and tubs of clothing to give away. What we had left after distributing at Monte Horeb, we took to the Todopoderosa church for them to add to their clothing giveaway on Sunday. Hundreds of people are going to be blessed with a new article of clothing. A few hundred were fed a hot meal yesterday. Many smiles and hugs.
It was so good to see friendly and familiar faces at Monte Horeb. The kids there are growing a lot. A special family with a baby girl named Dariela, always looks for me and I love to see them. Mother has a physical problem and sometimes uses a walker. Dad is always very welcoming and appreciative of what we can give them. He even found me on the street in León one day to say hi. Dariela is growing up so much and is so beautiful! She turned 1 year old in April. She had on a pretty dress and her hair was in pigtails. So cute! I didn’t get a chance for a picture on my camera, but I called to Mike to grab a pic for me. I can’t wait to see it.
We took the cooks/servers to lunch at Tip Top and then we ran to a few stores to try and find some help with Mary’s new camera. No luck on the camera help, but Mike took us to have ice cream to make Mary feel better. ☺ Then we came back to the house. Everyone laid down for some rest. We get up early and the heat drains us, so we grab times of rest when we can.
After a dinner of left-overs, we sat upstairs and chatted. It started lightning a lot and then came a downpour. It didn’t last too long, but we lost power. It was pretty stuffy trying to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, the power came back on and we had fans for sleeping again. It also rained again, but that sound was nice to hear.
I went for my almost-every-morning 4 mile walk this morning. I try to go at 6am because it’s so hot by the time I get back. The air was nicer this morning since there had been rain last night. I didn’t have to navigate any cattle, but there were plenty of piles on the sidewalk where they had been walking. I also saw a dead dog on the side of the road. Too bad. It was one of the more healthy looking ones. Except for being dead, of course.
I grabbed my shower and got ready to go into town. Mary isn’t feeling very well today, so she stayed home while Mike, Sherry, Manuel, Haley and I went to town to buy some things for the house, groceries for tonight’s dinner with some of the translators and groceries for the team that comes in tomorrow night. Haley and I got the chance to shop a little at some of the clothing shops. You never know what you will find there. I fell in love with a sun dress. They don’t have my current size, and since I’m losing weight, I bought one for my incentive. I hope to be in it by Christmas. If all goes well, it will be my Christmas picture. I picked up some plastic bins to store things under my bed. Stuff like that is expensive down here, but the size of these is too big to put into tubs or suitcases. I’ll get all organized some day!
I need to spend some time catching up on my Bible study. I seem to be a day or two behind all the time. There is so much I want to read and study, but even though we don’t have a team right now, we are pretty busy with stuff. I just pray for God to order my steps.
I’m really looking forward to the Translators and their families coming out for dinner tonight. Sherry has fixed lasagna and salad. German is bringing bread and ice cream to top it all off. Yum! I can’t wait to see how some of the kids have grown since we had them out last December. I better get my camera ready!
Manuelito has kept me busy playing his pretend wife. He loves to pretend everything. He loves to sing to his iPod and play the drums and keyboard upstairs. I’m sure the neighbors think a band has moved in. Ha!
I had brought down my old blackberry phone to see if it could be used here in Nica. Since it’s a Verizon model, it cannot be used here. It’s of no use to me in the states either, so I let Manuelito have it. He was very sad not to have a phone. Now he is thrilled. I’m glad to find a home for it! Speaking of phones, I bought an inexpensive phone to use here in Nica. It’s cute. Turquoise blue. Very easy to read and use. I wanted simple! I’m very happy with it.
I think people may start arriving soon, so I’ll get off of here and greet everyone. Let the party begin!!
Well… a huge thunderstorm came from the east, which meant that it hit León first. It knocked out power and flooded the streets. It rained hard here at the beach and knocked out our power, too. We have a propane gas stove, so Sherry finished cooking via flashlight. German brought Juan and his daughter, Oscar and his son and German’s own family out. No one else could make it because of the bad weather and other commitments. We ate by flashlight and jumped and squealed at the lightening and thunder. It rained hard. But we had a great time. After dinner, the power came back on and the adults all sat around and chatted as the kids played hide and seek. It was very fun. Thankfully, the power stayed on all night and we got a good night’s sleep with the fans. God is always so good to us.
We gave out lots of clothing to the kids and a few adults. We had 18 suitcases and tubs of clothing to give away. What we had left after distributing at Monte Horeb, we took to the Todopoderosa church for them to add to their clothing giveaway on Sunday. Hundreds of people are going to be blessed with a new article of clothing. A few hundred were fed a hot meal yesterday. Many smiles and hugs.
It was so good to see friendly and familiar faces at Monte Horeb. The kids there are growing a lot. A special family with a baby girl named Dariela, always looks for me and I love to see them. Mother has a physical problem and sometimes uses a walker. Dad is always very welcoming and appreciative of what we can give them. He even found me on the street in León one day to say hi. Dariela is growing up so much and is so beautiful! She turned 1 year old in April. She had on a pretty dress and her hair was in pigtails. So cute! I didn’t get a chance for a picture on my camera, but I called to Mike to grab a pic for me. I can’t wait to see it.
We took the cooks/servers to lunch at Tip Top and then we ran to a few stores to try and find some help with Mary’s new camera. No luck on the camera help, but Mike took us to have ice cream to make Mary feel better. ☺ Then we came back to the house. Everyone laid down for some rest. We get up early and the heat drains us, so we grab times of rest when we can.
After a dinner of left-overs, we sat upstairs and chatted. It started lightning a lot and then came a downpour. It didn’t last too long, but we lost power. It was pretty stuffy trying to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, the power came back on and we had fans for sleeping again. It also rained again, but that sound was nice to hear.
I went for my almost-every-morning 4 mile walk this morning. I try to go at 6am because it’s so hot by the time I get back. The air was nicer this morning since there had been rain last night. I didn’t have to navigate any cattle, but there were plenty of piles on the sidewalk where they had been walking. I also saw a dead dog on the side of the road. Too bad. It was one of the more healthy looking ones. Except for being dead, of course.
I grabbed my shower and got ready to go into town. Mary isn’t feeling very well today, so she stayed home while Mike, Sherry, Manuel, Haley and I went to town to buy some things for the house, groceries for tonight’s dinner with some of the translators and groceries for the team that comes in tomorrow night. Haley and I got the chance to shop a little at some of the clothing shops. You never know what you will find there. I fell in love with a sun dress. They don’t have my current size, and since I’m losing weight, I bought one for my incentive. I hope to be in it by Christmas. If all goes well, it will be my Christmas picture. I picked up some plastic bins to store things under my bed. Stuff like that is expensive down here, but the size of these is too big to put into tubs or suitcases. I’ll get all organized some day!
I need to spend some time catching up on my Bible study. I seem to be a day or two behind all the time. There is so much I want to read and study, but even though we don’t have a team right now, we are pretty busy with stuff. I just pray for God to order my steps.
I’m really looking forward to the Translators and their families coming out for dinner tonight. Sherry has fixed lasagna and salad. German is bringing bread and ice cream to top it all off. Yum! I can’t wait to see how some of the kids have grown since we had them out last December. I better get my camera ready!
Manuelito has kept me busy playing his pretend wife. He loves to pretend everything. He loves to sing to his iPod and play the drums and keyboard upstairs. I’m sure the neighbors think a band has moved in. Ha!
I had brought down my old blackberry phone to see if it could be used here in Nica. Since it’s a Verizon model, it cannot be used here. It’s of no use to me in the states either, so I let Manuelito have it. He was very sad not to have a phone. Now he is thrilled. I’m glad to find a home for it! Speaking of phones, I bought an inexpensive phone to use here in Nica. It’s cute. Turquoise blue. Very easy to read and use. I wanted simple! I’m very happy with it.
I think people may start arriving soon, so I’ll get off of here and greet everyone. Let the party begin!!
Well… a huge thunderstorm came from the east, which meant that it hit León first. It knocked out power and flooded the streets. It rained hard here at the beach and knocked out our power, too. We have a propane gas stove, so Sherry finished cooking via flashlight. German brought Juan and his daughter, Oscar and his son and German’s own family out. No one else could make it because of the bad weather and other commitments. We ate by flashlight and jumped and squealed at the lightening and thunder. It rained hard. But we had a great time. After dinner, the power came back on and the adults all sat around and chatted as the kids played hide and seek. It was very fun. Thankfully, the power stayed on all night and we got a good night’s sleep with the fans. God is always so good to us.
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