Saturday, Dec 8: Ready, Set, Fly!

Here we go!! I had been feeling anxious all day. I don't like trying new things and this trip will force me out of my comfort zone into a completely unknown territory. I am praying continually for God's transformation in me for the coming week.

 A look at a live volcano from the plane

 Once we finally arrived in Nicaragua & all made it through customs, I was eased a little, but still very weary of what lie ahead. We were greeted by our head driller, Adrian, and then headed for the van. We met our driver Ernesto (or Nester, who I later will learn is quite a character). He started loading our luggage-and there was alot-on top of the van. There was a young boy, my guess is about 13, who was helping. As we loaded into the van we learned he didn't work with LWI but was just trying to earn a buck. He was standing in the doorway, staring at us while rubbing his fingers together asking for a tip. Unfortunately, we were instructed to not tip because it often brings trouble, so we just sat there, feeling completely awful. Whats worse, is after we closed the door, he stood there with his face pressed against the glass. So heartbreaking.

We stopped for lunch at Tip Top (there is a pic below), which is a fried chicken place. Pretty good for my first Nicaraguan meal!

 After lunch we headed to the compound in Granada, which is about 45 min from Managua. When we arrived at the house I was surprised at how beautiful it was. There are 2 houses on the property, one for the host family and one for the teams (the pic below shows Jorge's house). We were greeted by a huge boxer named Max who is super sweet and friendly. Once inside we divided into rooms-3 women each in 2 rooms and the 6 men in another larger room. We all had our own a/c unit and bathroom, but could only use the a/c at night. Jorge, the director & host, came to welcome us and told us a little about our schedule. After we had dinner, made by the wonderful kitchen staff. It was kinda like chicken stir fry and was very good! We fellowshipped and played some games and then turned in early-it was a long day! Looking forward to visiting the church at the village in the morning.