Nicaragua 08 Day Six

This, the last work day, started with entertainment by the hotel cat at the expense of a local caterpillar.



The ladies planted in the garden at the church building today. Julianna took this picture of the soil I assume they had recently completed. I'm surprised you can't see the seeds sprouting already in this fertile land.


After lunch, Julianna decided to stay at the cement job and we put her right to work!



Yes, if Julianna is working in a picture, that means her Daddy is not working because he is behind the camera. ( No offense to the professional photographers out there...)



One of the family members at this house was Zerling, a new friend of Julianna's from VBS. Here they are enjoying the crayons and coloring book from the care package she received at VBS. Each child at VBS got a T-shirt and a package with school supplies and coloring books, etc. We also passed out a care package to the church members that included food and cooking oils, and medical supplies, etc.

Zerling taught Julianna how a household structure can double as a jungle gym. This combines strength, stamina, creativity, risk, and shade. Not a bad idea.



This is the victory lap, the last cement slab of the trip. I'm sure the backs are quite tired at this point.


After cleaning up, while waiting for dinner, Julianna and I hung out on the hotel grounds.




She said this flower looked like a popcorn ball.



If you are ever in Diriamba, Nicaragua, I can recommend this hotel.


The hotel also has a bird exhibit just out the back door.

Nicaragua 08 Day Five Pt. 3

Sunday Night Dinner

First a couple more shots from just after VBS wrapped up.
Rabbit ears are timeless and they break any language barriers. Julianna had no idea and it sure brought a smile to my face and the adults around me as I took this shot. The local kids loved posing for pictures and digital cameras supplied many smiles this week.


This is Cruz Guido with Julianna. She is very active in the church and community. She is in her second year of psychology studies at the local college. She really took a liking to Julianna. (I can't blame her.)


The next two shots are for all the family from Texas who can appreciate a good ride down the highway in the back of a pick-up. This was another one of those firsts Julianna got to experience on this trip.




This small three wheeled taxi has been nick-named a "mosquito" by the members of our group. The name stuck sometime last year since they were always buzzing around. Julianna, Bethany and I were able to catch a ride after dinner one night back to the hotel for 15 Cordobas ( about 75 cents ).





Dinner Sunday night was at the local preacher's house. Giovanni and Carolina put out quite a spread. Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and homemade ice cream for desert. Ummm, Ummm, good!!!


After dinner, Carolina showed the girls her pet birds. A couple of them were especially defensive protecting their eggs, but these two were very friendly.





Here is a group shot. Giovanni and Carolina, son Gabriel and (maybe someday soon, daughter) Cruz. Cruz and Gabriel seem to be an item. Gabriel, along with two other young men, Jose Guido (Cruz's brother) and Juan Pablo, from the congregation are attending the Bible College. All three of these men are good hard workers and are a bright future for the church in this area.

Nicaragua 08 Day Five Pt. 2

Sunday Afternoon VBS


Look at the length of the registration line for VBS. Everyone has got to have a name tag. It took over an hour to get everyone "inside". It even rained a little and no one budged. The kids are really patient and polite.

This is another view of the main facility. Parents were required to stay out of the VBS activities. Some of the parents have been known to want to take over for the kids and we wanted the kids to do all of their own crafts. The parents respected this request and socialized around and in the kids normal classroom. Interesting turn of events...


We had over 200 kids in attendance for VBS. It lasted two plus hours for three days. It started with singing led by own own bilingual super teacher and skit by the local high school kids.

Then the kids were divided into eight groups based on their random name tag animal/color combination. Each group did four activities each day, three crafts and a snack station. The kids stood around tables to do the crafts and shared supplies. Julianna has been blessed with years of craft training and had only a small amount of difficulty understanding the instructions in Spanish.

The theme of the week was " Firmes en Cristo" from Primero Corinthios 16:13.
- Again, I was paying attention.




Julianna actually adopted a small girl each day and tried to assist them with their crafts. She did find time to create a nice puppet for herself.


The girl in this picture is Reyna. Two years ago when I came to Nicaragua, as I was packing, Julianna on her own accord brought me a picture of herself, a piece of candy and a small stuffed animal. She gave me the instructions to find a little girl her age and give her the toy and candy and show her the picture so they could be friends. This is that girl I chose two years ago. It really made me happy to see them get together.

Nicaragua 08 Day Five

Sunday Morning


Look at the pretty girl all ready for church. God sure makes some very special things!

The Sunday attendance was extra high, possibly because they heard Julianna was gonna be there. They have one class for the children and one class for the adults.

This is the left half of the children's class room. Pretty full.

The right half. Also full.


Notice the line of attendees still filing in down the road through the doorway.


This is the over flow area just outside the children's class. A couple teachers inside, one just outside. It was very impressive how nicely all the kids acted. Julianna and Bethany watched through the window during the lesson.


After class Julianna and some of the local kids tried their best to chit-chat.

After class, all of the kids move their chairs into rows right behind the adults and all of the kids sit together during the combined worship service. Wow. That sounds like a recipe for riots in America. But, in Nicaragua the children were really well behaved. Of course they squirmed and some whispered, but overall they were better behaved most adults I know.


It really was a full service this particular morning.


If you look closely, you can see a red-head in the center of this picture.


I don't know if they were reading the words or looking at the highlight colors, but they are sure sharing the right book!

OK, I'm gonna have to post the VBS activities in another post. After the morning service we had a lunch on the premises for everyone and just about everyone stayed. After lunch we started preparing for VBS and the children never left the church grounds. Church really lasted all day and it was wonderful! Stay tuned...

Nicaragua 08 Day Four

Another Work Day and VBS Day 2

Again, I don't have many pictures of the VBS on this day. But tomorrow's post will have a few pictures of all the kids. I promise.


I do have a picture of some of the kids after VBS having a good laugh with the big, funny-looking guy. Those kids are right, he is fun to be around in any language.

Here is another picture of the incredible trees of the area. These are in David and Kim's yard. We had dinner at their place Saturday night. They have a really nice place that isn't very far from the church building right on the Pan American Highway.

This is Manuel or Manny as his American friends called him. He is sitting in front of the pile of care packages. Manny is a great young man who is very helpful and has kinda adopted the missionaries.


Julianna and Manny (and Bethany too. ) really had a great time. OK, I know it looks as if Manny is in a painful position is this photo, but really, it is just a friendly game of keep away with a small Nerf Football. I think someone should blow the whistle.

Manny also happened to be on hall monitor duty at school when a few of us stopped by. David knew the Principal and thought we'd be welcomed to take a tour. He was right. Manny led us through the school. Brent was with us carrying his professional camera and we got the royal treatment. The grade school kids and teachers were very polite. They did have a computer lab with seven Microsoft loaded PCs. The students were learning basics. This day they were typing a document, in Spanish, about autism. See, I pay attention.

David and Kim have some of the most comfortable rockers ever made. There is a great success story about the man who made the furniture. He started with a hobby and now employs a couple dozen in a growing business.

Kim made us a tortilla soup that was wonderful. Their place is set up well for groups to gather and we had our evening devotional in the living room this night.

Julianna actually had a small cry, missing Mom and home, after her phone call this night, but she recovered well. Tomorrow is Sunday and that is really something special in Nicaragua.