Sunday, Dec 9th: Getting Aquainted

Whoa! The sun comes up early here! So I slept ok, but was awake around 5:15am. Today we are going to the church in the village, which we learned is an Episcopal church. I am naturally anxious about meeting the people and seeing where & how they live, but I am also, surprisingly, excited. All the credit goes to God.

So I roll out of bed about 6am & get dressed- oh, by the way, we all shower at night here because oh how dirty we are at the end of the work day, but also because we have to get up so early! And the shower is cold water- NO hot water- and you can only drink the bottled water. All the water in the sink & shower is dirty so I have to be careful not to open my mouth when bathing and not to use the faucet when brushing my teeth. Ok, so anyway, devo is at 6:30 and breakfast at 7, so I have a few minutes to drink a cup of coffee. I am not a usual coffee drinker, but the coffee here is GOOD! There is a nice patio with awesome chairs that we sit in while we sip our coffee.

 Breakfast consists of eggs, cereal, toast, pineapple, papaya, & watermelon, and fried cheese. I promised myself I would try everything while here, so I gave the fried cheese a chance, but it was too "squeaky" for me. Thats the best way for me to describe it. After breakfast, we roll out.

 This is what I'll call the alleyway from the main road to the houses. The hygiene team walked down here everyday to get to our area.

 The drive from the compound to the village is about 20 min and on a very bumpy dirt road. Lauren, who has motion sickness, did a great job everytime we made the drive..she just had to get out right away! Once we got there we walked to the house where church was being held, and we only had to follow the singing voices. I felt awkward that we arrived late but the villagers didn't seem to mind. They pulled up extra chairs and ushered us into them. I was greeted by a boy named Dante (who's smile will forever be imprinted in my mind), who got out his Bible, quickly turned to where the pastor was reading (the women at the well) & handed me his Bible. Tears started flowing immediately. At first I was embarrassed but then I just let them flow. They came even more when we greeted one another and I saw their expressions of joy on their faces as I shook each hand. We got up and introduced ourselves & sang a few songs in English- they really like how we talk and wanted us to keep singing!

 When it was time for the sermon the young children went to what I'll call the "common area" of their little community, so the hygiene members (me, Lauren, Theresa, and Karen) followed. We got a chance to meet the kids and then Theresa read a Bible story in Spanish (we were so blessed that she knew Spanish because it REALLY helped as the week went on!). We we re-joined the group I was touched at how everyone (men, women, and children) has a turn either singing, praying, or reading scripture. I felt as if we were worshipping without all the "constraints". A short time later Adrian tapped us on the shoulder & told us it was time to go. Not sure why we had to leave before the service was over, but it left a weary feeling inside. When we got to the van we had to wait on the chicken...the chicken?? Yep, we purchased a chicken from the people in the community to eat for dinner! Wow.

This field shows upside down coke bottles attached to sticks to catch rain water for the plants.

Here's our dinner.

When we got back to the house we had lunch- grilled chicken strips over a bed of lettuce. Add a little of the homemade pico/salsa and you've got a pretty good plate of food! Our hygiene leader, Scarleth, came after lunch so we could meet and go over the lessons for the week. After the curve ball we were thrown- too much detail for now, ask me about it if you want- we packed the trunk with our supplies for the week. Then we piled into the van for a couple of hours of sight seeing in Granada. We went to the local square & looked at all the booths & then to the lake, then back to the house for dinner.



We had soup with a chicken leg & some kind of meatball-like thing in the broth with vegetables on the side. Not my favorite, but I ate it. The hygiene girls then worked for a few hours on our lessons & crafts, then turned in for the night. It was an emotional and long day. Looks like the next several days will be much of the same.

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.

Trick Or Treat, Smell My Feet

As usual, we waited til the last minute to carve the pumpkin! Josh told they boys that they had to help clean it out..Ethan didn't mind.

 But Isaiah literally almost threw up! He put his hand in there and started gagging right away! I thought his face was hilarious and am tickled that I got it on camera! We didn't let him help clean it out after that!

 The boys picked out a design, and this is the final product. Turned out really good, I thought!

 We went trick or treating with the Gibbins/Torres families again this year. They like to go really early, so since it was a school night it worked great. Plus, we got home in time to actually hand out candy FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!

 The dragon costume was way too hot for tonight, so luckily I had this Bam Bam costume from when Ethan wore it 5 years ago! I love it still! So cute!

Halloween Extravaganza!

The first couple of Halloween events I will group together. After much debate on the costumes, the boys decided they wanted to be ninjas. Here we go, I thought. No more cute, matching costumes. I hope I will be able to do a family costume before they grow too old for that...Anyway, so I had to come up with something for Jacob. I didn't have anything in mind, so when Ashley threw out that she had a dragon costume hanging up at home, I asked if we could try it on. I really thought it would be too big but it turned out so cute! Here we are trying it on:

Isn't he so cute? Wait til you see the whole thing!

 

We decided to take a trip to Sea World for their Trick or Treat exhibit, and some of our friends came along. It was pretty cool! Lots of pretty colors and LOTS of bubble machines!

 

Trunk or Treat snuck up on us...but this is my favorite time of the year so I was excited! We invited our friends Ryan and Jenny and were so happy they came! We had a great time going to all the booths (we had it in the gym because of rain). Making memories!

 Please excuse Isaiah's hood...it wasn't attached to the rest of the costume and was too big for his head. He looks like he belongs to a certain group...poor thing. He still rocked it, though!

 The Gang; I hope they still hang out when they get older, and can look back on times like this and know that they hold a special bond because they have been friends for life!

 



Playing Catch Up

So I am so behind in my blogging, what's new? After getting back from Nicaragua and wanting to blog about that right away, I realized I needed to catch up a bit...but very quickly. I will post pictures from Halloween and then probably skip November because I looked through the camera to see what happened last month and turns out I didn't take any photos! WOW, can't believe it! I guess I have just been so consumed with the trip that I kinda put alot on the back burner.
Anyway, Thanksgiving was good this year. We went to my mom's and Landy's turkey was great, just as I expected. I'm glad he takes pride in cooking the turkey, even if it is Martha Stuart style! The siblings played a few games and then we were off to the Zimmers. Josh and his dad fried a turkey for the first time and it was so delicious! I'm pretty sure we started a new tradition! Good food, good company, it was a good day!

Pumpkin Pics

So I am super behind on these but here are our pumpkin patch pictures this year. They turned out really good! So proud of my boys for being good for Jenny!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too Cute To Skip

This is Jacob's favorite thing right now. This horse has 6 different songs that it plays and he loves that he can finally climb on it and rock! He's so fun!

Champion

This year, Josh attended the 1st grade bike rodeo. And like the good husband he is, he took lots of pictures for me! Ethan did great (this was his first year without training wheels) and even won 2nd place! So proud!

 Mrs. Kurth's class