The Promise Land

     Wednesday we went to a village called The Promise Land. In order to have water these people would have to walk 4 kilometers to get water and carry back two buckets full. The water wasn't even sanitary. To fix that, we would be putting in half a mile of water pipes so that every house can have access to water. The ditches were already dug when we got there, so we could tell the people were excited. Everyone pitched in to help and by the end of the day we were nearly finished. We served dinner to everyone in the village and Kory did a short message. It was a work-filled day but a good one. 

     The next morning we loaded up and headed back to the village. The guys finished laying the rest of the pipes and making sure every house had a spicket to access water. After checking for leaks they said to give it about an hour before using the water. It was awesome to know that now every house would have clean water right there and would not have to walk 4 kilometers anymore. They had been praying for water and God answered their prayers by working through this team. 

     Today is the last day at the school and it is going to be tear-filled. However, I know we will all see these kids again someday and we will never forget them. 

New Shoes

     The rest of Monday's plans changed a little bit. When we started work at the school after lunch it started raining. We couldn't do much with the rain so instead we took the time to hit the market. We went to a different market this time, but it had a lot of the same things as the other one. For an hour everyone shopped around and when we got back to the bus there was a flat tire. Luckily Mike, a team member, is a mechanic so he worked on fixing the tire. As he did that we hung out with some kids who were trying to sell us leaf sculptures. They are really talented kids. While we were waiting a girl came up to our group. Taylor and I noticed she didn't have any shoes on and was walking barefoot through the dirty parking lot. I grabbed Evert and asked him to ask the girl if we could buy her a pair of shoes. She said yes so we lead her back into to market. Her name was Diana and she was ten years old. We bought her a good pair of red sandals that would last her a long time for only 100 cordobas (equivalent to about $4). Then we walked over to a hot dog stand and bought her and one other young boy a hot dog. She was very grateful and nothing made me happier than seeing her walk away with a new pair of shoes and a full stomach. I do not know her story, but God does. He used Taylor and I in that moment to provide her with something maybe she never would have gotten otherwise. 

     When the bus was repaired we headed to the big mall again to grab some dinner. We got about 40 pizzas to share between us all. We didn't stay long at the mall because it was getting late. 

     Tuesday while the team went to the school Taylor and I went back to our house to pack. Yes, we are now staying at the mission house (just for this week) because it's easier. We ended up missing recess by the time we got to the school. :( It was okay, though, because we still got to see our little friends. It was lunch time then so we ate and got to work after. On one side of the school some of the team kept digging. On the other most of the girls helped clear out a small building that was full of junk. It took a while, but it looked so much better when we finished. That building will be part of the kitchen being built next to it. The rest of the day we spent resting for tomorrow. 

     

Hardin Team Two

     The second team has arrived and we are busy yet again. Saturday me, Taylor, Patricia, and Claudia rode the bus to the mission house to help clean. We were there for part of the day and then went back home to rest. The team came in around 9:30 that night, but we didn't see them until Sunday. 

     On Sunday morning we went to Belén church again. After the service we split up again and went to Sunday school. It was much the same as last Sunday (aka couldn't understand the message:). It was Father's Day here in Nicaragua yesterday so the church had an evening service. After lunch and a good nap the team headed back to Belén. The service was somewhat long and everybody was hungry by then. It was nice, though, because they recognized all the fathers and some of the kids had poems or songs they performed. The pastor that spoke was apparently quite popular even in the States. I'm sure his message was great. They had a piñata as well, but we didn't get around to it. Once they started the diaper changing contest between dads that's when we left. We had dinner and then hung out for a while. The girls and us headed back home to get some rest before the next morning. Unfortunately, the girls have university this week so it's just Taylor and I with the team. 

     This morning we visited La Panamá again and I was so happy to see our girls:) They all hugged us and Taylor and I got more little gifts. One girl, Angie, gave us a gift with a note that melted our hearts. She told us we were her best friends and that she loved us. I don't know how we are going to say goodbye to them on Thursday. 

     We only got in three buildings today for lesson four because this morning we were stuck in a traffic jam on the way to the school. In a little bit we will head back to the school to work. This week we will be working on the kitchen. 

Adios for now! 

First Beach Trip

     Today is the last day for the team. We drove a couple hours to Pochomil Beach where the team would have a fiesta for anyone who wanted to come. When we got here we walked around and invited people to come at noon. We had free hot dogs, rice, beans, crafts, and music. There was a great turn out and all the food was gone by the end. While the team fed and entertained the people Taylor and I got to do something really special. Lisbet and Celeste have never been to the beach, so during the fiesta we took them down to the water and played. The girls had a blast jumping over waves and looking for shells in the water. I've never seen two kids more excited to be at the beach. Taylor and I are so happy we got to share the experience with them. 

     Another experience the four of us shared was horseback riding on the beach. However, that was definitely nothing compared to playing in the water. Taylor and Lisbet rode together and me and Celeste rode together. The poor horses were so skinny and didn't look like they could hold anyone, much less two people. Sitting on the horse was uncomfortable and the whole time I felt it was just going to fall over. We rode for maybe five minutes and I was fine with that. It was nothing I would do again, but I am glad Celeste and Lisbet got to do it. The two of them went back to the water with Bethany and Amber from the team. I would have gone too, but I got sunburned and didn't want it to get worse:/ As for now we are just hanging our here at the beach and will be heading back to the mission house soon for dinner.  

     

Last Day At La Panamá

     Wednesday was spent doing lesson two with the kids. We got to two buildings before recess started. There were so many kids, but we had a blast playing with them. There is a group of girls who drag Taylor and I around everywhere and are always the first ones to find us. We absolutely adore them:) After recess we did the lesson for two more buildings. There are five buildings and about four or five classrooms for each building. The oldest kids are on one side of the schoo and the preschoolers are in the last building on the other side. 

     We can back to the mission house for a quick lunch before going back to the school to work. Taylor and I were completely exhausted from lack of sleep so while she stayed at the mission house I went to the market with Kegan and Miriam. The three of us came back to the mission house to get Taylor. They dropped us of at our house around three and the two of us crashed until almost 6:30. We got to eat dinner with the girls and took our nightly walk. I have definitely missed hanging out with them, but working with the team is fun too. 

     Thursday was the last day for the team to be at the school. We did lesson three and got to take the preschoolers behind their building to play on the new playground the team put up on Wednesday. There was a slide, swings, and a see-saw. They loved it and had so much fun playing. Now they have their own place to play without all the big kids. 

     We came back to the house again for lunch and then went back to the school. While the guys worked on getting the desks and computers put together the girls set up something special for the women teachers. Diana is a hairstylist and cut their hair. Me, Taylor, and a couple other girls from the team gave them manicures and pedicures. They looked great afterwards and had fun being pampered:) 

     Taylor and I left early to go to the store again with Kegan and Miriam. Before we left we heard some girls yelling through the gate of the school. It ended up being some of our friends wanting to say hi. We got to talk to them for a few minutes and told them we would be back on Monday. I couldn't imagine leaving them after four days and am grateful we get another week. 

     The rest of the day was pretty unevenful. We ate dinner and two little girls, Lisbet and Celeste, from the school got to come back with us. They even got to spend the night at the mission house and are going to the beach with us this morning. :) 

Adios for now! 

Work Hard Play Hard

     Day two with the team was the first day spent at La Panamá. The last post ended with us leaving the school and going to the mission house for lunch. The plan after that was supposed to be going back to the school for work. Instead the while group took the afternoon to go to the Mesiah market. It was the same one I went to last year. We had about an hour to shop around because we were going to see a movie. There was a big mall near the market that had a theater. That was also the same mall we went to last year where we walked around and ate crepes. We ended up seeing Superman and everyone pretty much agreed it wasn't a great movie. It was nice, though, because we got a break from all the heat due to the fact it felt like Antartica in the theater. The movie didn't end until 7:30 so we had a late dinner. Taylor and I got back home at a reasonable time and went to sleep because we had to wake up at 5:30 this morning.
     We visited La Panamá again today to do something fun with the kids and get to work. When we got to the school there were a few kids running around and another guy, Pero (Peter in English), was there. He was my age and spoke English so Taylor and I talked to him for a bit. Unfortunately, he couldn't stay to help us. After he left we started cleaning up the concrete bleachers and upper court. The lower court was once buried in dirt and they had already cleaned that off a long time ago. The one up top was starte to get covered on the edges so we shoveled and swept off the dirt.
     We got to spend recess with them and Taylor and I had quite the fan club. Little girls surrounded us and were braiding Taylor's hair while I drew with them in their notebooks. We had a few kids ask us to write our names in their notebooks and had to tell them we would another day. Really what they wanted was to remember our names by having us write them down. How do you say no to that? It's hard, but what's harder is not being able to understand them. I can sometimes figure out bits and pieces, but when you have ten little kids speaking at once and speaking fast it tends to be difficult. When recess was over we had to say goodbye:( The best feeling is having a bunch of kids loving on you and getting to love on them right back. Even though we can't communicate well with them or we forget their names they still come up and hug us. It's easier for them to remember us when we walk into the school but that doesn't change anything. I usually ask the same kid three times what their name is and I still don't remember it afterwards.
     After the kids went back to class we headed to the preschool building. We didn't get to visit them the first day so today we went into their classes. We had piñatas and the kids absolutely loved that. Then we went behind the building and had bubble machines going for the kids to play with. We broke pieces of chalk into smaller pieces for the kids to draw on the concrete wall surrounding the school. One little girl, Naomi, was with me the whole time and she was so sweet. She would hug me and then hold my hand and lead me wherever she went.
     The preschoolers were heading home then so we all went back to where the bus was parked and ate lunch. The rest of the kids were leaving so we said our goodbyes and hasta mañanas and started to work. Today the team mixed concrete to fill cracks in the stairs leading up to the next building. Mixing concrete in Nicaragua is very difficult. We had to mix rocks and sand together with shovels on the ground and then add the concrete mix. With the shovels we made a hole in the center of yhe pile and added water. After adding water a few times we then had to mix it all together fast before the water got out. Taylor and I only helped once because it was hard and the guys were much better at it. :) That was pretty much all the work we did today and at two o'clock we headed back to the mission house. There is a church service tonight we are going to after dinner. Tomorrow we will be back at the school to do more work and another lesson.
Adios!

La Panamá

     The team got here safe and sound! We picked them up at the airport late Saturday night and got them settled in at the mission house. Taylor and I got back to our house that night around eleven o'clock and had an early morning the next day. Breakfast started at eight at the mission house and then we left for church at nine. The church, Belen, was a short twenty minute drive away. It was bigger than the church we visited last year (which was four poles, a tin roof and dirt floor). This church was open and was fairly big. We sang a few Spanish songs and then the team went up on stage to introduce themselves. Cory, the leader, talked a bit about what we are going to do while they are here. After the pastor spoke everyone in the congregation moved to different rooms based on age and gender. David translated the message to us and it was still a little hard to understand it all. But the message was basically about having patience and putting all our trust in God. Even as Christians that can be hard, but we have to have faith and patience (you all know the Fruit of the Spirit:).
     We came back to the mission house for lunch, which was PB&J and rice with chicken and sausage. Then we had a few hours to rest up before goin back to the church for an evening service which Cory would lead. Tania, Patricia, Claudia, Crystel, and Luisa came with us and while the team napped we hung out and acted crazy (as usual). At four o'clock we left for the church and walked through the neighborhood inviting people to the service. There was a good amount of people there and one of the girls, Jordan, from the team lead worship. The whole team sang on stage and then Cory spoke. He started off talking about the differences between us and people who live in Nicaragua: our skin color, language, culture. The theme he centered his message around was one thing we all have in common: we are thirsty. Whether our thirst come from dehydration, or wanting to have a good time, or for health reasons we all are thirsty. However, there is only one person who can quench our thirst: God. Overall, it was a great message.
     When the service finished we swung by the grocery store to get a snack. Jumbo, another leader, kept asking the girls if they needed anything else and it's safe to say we went a little crazy. Ice cream, chips, apples, candy, and drinks... Dinner was at 7:30 and we had meat, rice, and chips with bean dip. We all headed back to our house soon after and Taylor and I went to bed almost immediately. In the morning we would have to get up at 4:30.
     It was an early morning for us, but it was worth getting up because we visited La Panamá school today. We got there a bit before eight o'clock when all the kids were showing up. The team introduced themselves and we all sang a song with the kids. Then they went off to their classes and we began our rotations. There were four teams and Taylor and I were on team #2. Each team had the same lesson plan. This week is the first half of the team from Ketucky and they are doing lessons 1-3 this week and the second half is doing lessons 4-6 next week. The first lesson involved a small skit, a craft, and a game. The kids especially loved it when we brought out the soccer ball. There were four buildings at the school and it was only elementary aged kids. During recess it was absolute chaos. There were kids running around everywhere and they would run up to us with notebooks and pens asking for our names.
     We were at the school until close to noon before heading back to the house for lunch. We really enjoyed going to the school and already made lots of little friends:) Gotta go for now, but I will finish  the rest tomorrow! Adios!