Nicaragua – 2/20-2/28

Day 1 2/20/10 Saturday

The flights down were smooth and uneventful.  Leaving Indy we boarded our plane 10 minutes prior to take off, cutting it just a little too close for my comfort.  The connection in Houston was great.  We arrived in Managua around 9:00 PM local time.  Going through immigration was easy….waited in line about 20 minutes, showed my passport and got my first stamp, paid $5 and went on my way.  By the time I got to baggage claim, Andy and Eddy had all of our bags loaded on carts since they were in the front of the plane and got through security quickly.  The customs guys took our info and off we went.  We waited in the 82* humidity (ahhh….hot weather!) till the bus came.  We got everything and everyone loaded and off we went.  It was about a 30 minute drive to Quinta Primavera where we are staying.  Since it was so late, it was already dark so we couldn’t really see much of the city.   Once we got here, we unloaded the bus and were assigned our rooms.  I am rooming with Merrie and Stephanie for now.  The team from TX will arrive tomorrow and we’ll likely get 3 more roomies.  After our room assignments were made, we had a very brief team meeting.  We learned a few interesting tidbits about Quinta (aka the compound).  One such tidbit is that we are not to put toilet paper in the toilet.  We have to put it in the little trash can beside the toilet.  That’s going to be difficult to get used to.  I chose a top bunk so I am next to a window.  We have two fans going and all the windows open.  It’s really not too bad now as far as the heat goes.  There is a Coke machine in the dining hall that’s like a big refrigerator case.   It doesn’t have Diet Coke….yet.  Andy and Eddy drink Diet Coke too so Andy said we’ll go up to the corner store tomorrow and get a 12 pack.   Cola is sold in old-fashioned glass bottles.  Breakfast is at 7:00 and devotions are at 7:30, so we have an alarm set for 6:00.  It’s midnight so I should get to sleep so I’m ready for the day tomorrow.  We may not actually need our alarm since we were told the roosters may wake us up!!

Day 2 2/21/10 Sunday

There are a lot of noises here at night.  There’s the nearby security guard who blows his whistle every few minutes as he’s patrolling, Pepito the dog who lives on the compound, the mangoes falling on the roof, traffic whizzing down the road, horns honking, and finally the rooster who started crowing sometime around 5:30.  I got into the shower and was overjoyed to find we have hot water!  Breakfast was omelets, rice & beans, toast, and fresh fruit.  The cooks, Yolanda and Juanita, are incredible cooks and very gracious.

During devotions, Cecil talked about John the Baptist and led into being judgmental – toward each other, toward the Nicaraguans, Nicaraguans toward us.  It made me think about how I need to watch my attitude and thoughts this week.

After devotions we got busy unloading totes.  Merrie and I worked on the gifts for the children at the Joshua 1:8 school.  Then it was time for lunch.  I had to laugh when I saw that here I was in Nicaragua and we were having lasagna and French bread!  J  Oh, yeah, we had rice with lunch, too.

After lunch the team from Texas arrived and we played a get-to-know you game with them.  Then we met with Ruth, the director of the special needs class.  She is a passionate woman who loves these kids.  Even though we don’t understand each other, I think I’m going to enjoy working with her this week.

After that meeting broke up, most of both teams walked up the hill to a small grocery store.  Angela, Courtney from TX and I found our happy place when we found Diet Dew!   I bought a 6-pack to get me through the next few mornings.  We got back in time to get changed and head to Oscar’s church for Sunday service.

I rode in the front seat of the van Cecil was driving.  Driving here is *much* different than driving in the US.  It’s very aggressive, and I found myself white-knuckled a few times.   Oscar’s church is about 30 minutes from Quinta and is located in the inner city.

Before the service started we got a quick tour of the school.  The special needs room looks nice.  It was amazing to see how stark the regular rooms were – just desks and a chalkboard pretty much.  The service started around 6:00.  We did praise and worship for quite a while.  I was not able to recognize any of the songs but still entered into praise with the others.  A young lady who was several months pregnant sat down next to me and then someone brought her a little boy about 4 months old.  I was smiling at the baby and she just kind of looked at me and held him toward me.  I asked if I could hold him and she gratefully handed him to me.  He was such a sweet little guy.  I held him most of the service and he fell asleep on me even with the ear-piercing volume of the music.  Oscar gave an altar call and several locals went forward.  A few were slain in the spirit.  It was interesting watching the people pray for others.  They would put their hands on the person’s chest, run their hands down the length of the body and then concentrate on the feet for a bit.  When I asked Cecil about it later he said they were likely praying for healing.  The service ended around 8:00.  Even though I didn’t understand any of it, I enjoyed the authenticity and energy of the worship.

We stopped at Pizza Hut to pick up pizzas to bring back to Quinta for dinner.  Now we’re hanging out waiting for further instructions for tomorrow.  I think I’m going to borrow one of Merrie’s books on CD things and listen to that tonight to see if that helps drown out some of the noises of the night.   The weather today was sunny, hot and humid.  I’m guessing it was low 90’s.

Day 3 2/22/10 Monday

I used Merrie’s book on MP3 and my headphones last night and slept MUCH better.  I’m honestly not sure if it was the headphones or the exhaustion that did it, but I woke up rather refreshed.  Breakfast was pancakes, rice & beans, and fresh fruit.  I had a slice of pineapple and it was delicious!  Today’s devotion was about freedom and not enslaving the people we are trying to help.

We left Quinta at 8:30 to be at Oscar’s school by 9:00.  We met the morning special needs kids briefly.   We helped the PE teacher as he worked on dribbling with the kids.  I played basketball with a young man whose smile lit up the courtyard whenever he made a goal.  We said adios to the morning kids and ten had lunch. We took our lunch to school and had ham & turkey sandwiches, PB&J, chips, cookies, fried plantain and fried eggs from the feeding area (aka cafeteria).

After lunch it was time for the older kids to come.  It was amazing watching the principal with these kids.  She was maybe 5’ 5” in 3 inch heels and was wearing a power suit.  She had the kids line up according to grade and proceeded to do an inspection.  First she checked the guys’ hair.  They are allowed to have their hair gelled, but not standing up too high In front and not standing up at all anywhere else.  If she deemed their hair unacceptable, they had to go to the fountain and get water to flatten it down.   Then she checked the girls’ skirt length.  If it was too short, they got a warning to wear an appropriate skirt the next day or they would be out.  After inspection and the national anthem, all the students went to the chapel for devotions.  We set up for our craft for the special needs kids.  I was in charge of this craft.  We did Spin Art and made cards with them.  Ashlyn Huffman took over the Spin Art table and did an awesome job.  The rest of the team who was in the room helped the kids make the cards.  The students loved the Spin Art and made some beautiful creations.  After this craft we went outside to help the teachers as they made pencil pouches with the younger kids out of craft foam.  The older kids were getting their hats and aprons and practiced making dough for the bakery shop they will be opening soon.  Right before dismissal I met Rudolpho’s mom.  Rudolpho is a 12-year-old boy with Down syndrome.  Thankfully Carlos, a 25-year-old employee of the school, was standing there.  Carlos is practicing his English so he translated for us.  I showed them Mickey’s pictures and they loved her and kept commenting on how beautiful and angelic she is.  J  As this wonderful encounter ended, it was time to board the bus and head back to Quinta.

Once back here we had about an hour before dinner.  Never had a shower looked like paradise!  Dinner tonight was steak, mashed potatoes, bread and rice.  Then we had a meeting about the parent meeting that we are hosting tomorrow for the special needs parents.  Christine, Jill, Stephanie, Melynda and I are will be speaking about how God has worked in our lives through having a special needs child.  When that meeting wrapped up we had a team-wide meeting to discuss tomorrow’s agenda.  Tomorrow will be crazy busy.  Health Fair at 9:00, teacher appreciation lunch at noon, inauguration of new vocational area at 3:00 and parent meeting at 4:00!

Today I met a prime example of how lives of real people are being changed by the special needs program at Oscar’s school.   Patti has Down syndrome and started the program 5 years ago at age 18.  She was violent and out of control.  She would hit, bite, slap the teachers.  Today Patti is very sweet, kind and a wonderful addition to the class.  In fact, Ruth the director said she does not want Patti to leave the program because she is such a wonderful person.  Patti is a living, breathing example of the work being done here.

Today’s weather was so hot!  It was just miserable except when the breeze was blowing.  The school is without electricity for a few hours each day until some work can be finished next week, so we didn’t have fans.  The evening has been very pleasant and not overly warm and humid.

On a side note, the lack of electricity at the school made going to the windowless bathroom quite an adventure!  Thankfully I had a flashlight with me.  I was called a boy scout a few times today because I was prepared for just about everything that came up.

Day 4 2/23/10 Tuesday

I am so tired right now that I hope this journal entry makes sense.  Breakfast was scrambled eggs, toast, some sort of white cheese and fresh fruit.  Devotions were about the culture of the Kingdom, the culture of the US and the culture of Nicaragua.

We loaded up the bus and headed to Oscar’s school.  The health fair went wonderfully.   I worked with Courtney, Rod and Eddy on the tooth brushing station.  The kids got a kick out of the giant teeth and tooth brush we used.  The other stations were hand washing, coloring, and healthy food choices.  We then set up for the teacher appreciation luncheon.  The ladies here at Quinta fixed lunch of chicken, green beans & carrots, salad, and potatoes.  After we ate Christine, Jill and I spoke briefly about how teachers have helped our special needs kids.  The teachers then got to “shop” from tables of clothes, bags, jewelry, etc. that we brought down.  They had so much fun!  As they finished “shopping” we gave them hand treatments and manicures.  Aaron sat down and had me paint his nails.  It was so funny!

We cleaned up the lunch in time to go to the inauguration of the new vocational rooms.  They had a ribbon-cutting ceremony and asked Jill to help cut the ribbon.  We saw both rooms and then Ginny prayed a blessing on the rooms and the program.  As soon as that was over we went back into the special needs room for a special program.  The kids had memorized a verse about friendship and then they sang a song about friendship for us.  Then one of the older girls did a beautiful dance for us.  It was so sweet!  The work they had put into the program was amazing!

We headed up to the parent meeting after the program.  We were introduced to the parent board (like PTA) that has just formed.  It was so exciting to see the passion these parents have for their kids and this program.  Stephanie read “Welcome to Holland” in Spanish and led into Christine, Melynda, Jill and me speaking.  After we spoke 3 moms got up to tell their stories about how they appreciated Oscar’s school because there was no other place would take them.  Several parents came up to hug us after the meeting was over.

Finally it was time to head back to Quinta.  We were all exhausted!!  Thankfully dinner was ready.  We had chicken loaf, French bread, fried plantains, rice and beans.  Then I called home!!!!  It was so good to hear Michael and the kids’ voices and to tell them about what I’m doing here so far.  We headed up the hill to a little ice cream shop.  I got a wonderful caramel sundae with chocolate chip ice cream.  YUM!

After a stop at the grocery it was back here for a meeting to get our assignments for tomorrow.   I will be going to Oscar’s to paint.  I will go to Joshua 1:8 on Thursday since they will have a parent meeting that day.

The neatest thing about today is an example of the butterfly effect.  A 14 year old girl with Down syndrome is getting a pair of Specs for You.  If our family hadn’t switched to Tim’s practice and asked about these glasses, Angela wouldn’t have brought them here and this young lady would not have gotten them.  What a God thing!!!

Day 5 2/24/10 Wednesday

Breakfast today was French toast, rice, and fruit.  I put syrup and crunchy peanut butter on my French toast.  The syrup is as sweet as our syrup.  And today was the first time all week we’ve had crunchy peanut butter!  Dave from TX led devotions today.  He talked about it being the “hump day” of the trip, the middle of the week at the schools.  He said that today was about each of us to look for what God wanted to tell us or show us.

I headed to Oscar’s with Courtney, Rod, Barbara, Andy, Eddy, Christine, Sydney, Ashlyn and Stephanie.  After waiting 90 minutes for paint to arrive, we were finally able to start.  I worked with Barbara most of the day staining the new shelving unit that Andy and Dan built yesterday.  I was glad to be outside in the sunshine and heat since the others were stuck painting in a room with very little ventilation and no lights.  During the down time I played with the kids.  The highlight of the day was when I saw Teresa sitting at a table looking at The Hungry Mouse.  I sat down next to her and she handed the book to me to read to her.  I gave it my best shot, but butchered nearly every word in that book.  Then she saw the little handprints on my shirt and started counting them.  She counted up to 10!  That was the only time in the past 3 days that I was able to understand what she was saying.

We finished painting and waited for Cecil to come get us.  We got back in time for a shower before dinner.  Dinner tonight was like a stir fry of beef, onions and green peppers, rice, bread, salad and tres leche cake.  Tres leche translates “three milk”.  It’s a very wet cake- really rich but really different than normal cake.  After dinner we had a team meeting to talk about the day since we were split up.  It was fun to hear a bit about the day at Los Brasiles.  They got to see the horse that will be used for horse therapy.  I can’t wait to meet him tomorrow.  Once the meeting broke up a few of us started working on printing the pictures and cutting them out for the foam frames the kids decorated yesterday.  Little did we know it would take over 3 hours to do!  We finally finished around 10:30.

Eddy’s dad is having surgery on March 3 and Eddy is really worried about it.  Last night he had a nightmare about his dad dying so he asked some of us to pray for him tonight because he was afraid to go to sleep.  After we prayed I asked if he would like Chewy and Claude to keep him company while he sleeps.  He said he would try it for one night to see if it would help.  So we’ll see if they helped in the morning.

God is working on my patience this week.  The whole “hurry up and wait” thing is annoying.  We also have a team member who goes to bed between 8-9:00 regardless of what needs to be done for the next day.  She does not have a medical reason to go to bed so early; she just likes her sleep.  So I’ve been praying for God to help me not feel put out because she’s sleeping and I’m still up working.

Angela’s girls were a joy today at Oscar’s.  They worked hard all day and never once complained about the work.

The plan for tomorrow is to be at Los Brasiles (aka Joshua 1:8) in time to set up for the health fair that is to start at 8:30.  Then Christine and I are going to speak at the parent meeting there.  I’m not sure what we’ll do in the afternoon.  Part of the team will go back to Oscar’s to finish painting and part of us will stay at Joshua 1:8.

Day 6 2/25/10 Thursday

Today was the most emotional day so far.  It started out fine with the health fair at Joshua 1:9, the church at Los Brasiles. Eddy and I did the tooth brushing station again.  The parents today were much more involved than the parents at Oscar’s.  They were showing their kids the right way to brush and encouraging them to practice with the giant tooth brush and teeth.  After the health fair we went over to Joshua 1:8 for the parent meeting.  I didn’t get to stay for the whole thing because I got called over to help with the kids, but the parents appeared to enjoy our talks.  We had lunch with the teachers after the parent meeting before going out to distribute food to some of the students of Joshua 1:8.

The food distribution was tough.   It was hard to see how these kids live.  We delivered the bags of food, visited with the family and then prayed with them before we left.  The first house we visited actually had tile floors and was rather nice.  The houses got progressively more primitive as the afternoon went on.  Job’s house was the most primitive with dirt floors, corrugated metal exterior walls and cardboard interior walls.  Michelle and I both had a hard time there.  One thing that set Job’s family apart from the others is that his mom left and now his dad is raising Job and his sister.  That is very unusual in this culture.  But Job had a smile that lit up the whole house!  I cried as we prayed with each family and left them.  It was heart breaking.  This is the point I knew would come when I leave part of my heart here.  It was so hard to see these families living with so little knowing how much we have.  Yet they have boundless love for their children (or grandchildren in some cases).  It was amazing to see such joy and pride even in the midst of utter poverty.

Michelle from TX had a wonderful experience today.  Jeffrey’s mom, Melodie, came up to ask if Michelle would print a picture for her.  Michelle said of course she would do it.  Melodie then told Michelle that she was on Melodie’s heart from the day before and she would pray for Michelle.  Michelle decided then that she would sponsor Jeffrey.  We got to see Jeffrey’s house and deliver food there.  Jeffrey was out in the fields hunting iguana for dinner, so we didn’t get to see him.  We did get to meet Melodie’s daughter-in-law, granddaughter and Melodie’s 7-month-old son.  We spent quite a long time with her and she enjoyed almost as much as we did.

I feel like our family should sponsor a child, but my heart hasn’t been captured by any unsponsored kids yet.  There is a 6 or 7 year old girl with Down syndrome at Joshua 1:8 who is not sponsored yet.  Lisbeth is a sweet girl but does have behavior problems.  She runs away when she gets mad and likes to strip down to nothing in class.  (Melynda just came out to tell me that Lisbeth is actually already sponsored so that explains why she didn’t capture my heart.  Maybe I’ll meet our sponsor child next year.)

Tomorrow will find us taking the Joshua 1:8 kids to the zoo and out for lunch.  It should be a fun, fun day!

Day 7 2/26/10 Friday

I woke up early enough to call home today.  Again it was a blessing to hear my family’s voices.  I miss them all so much and was thrilled to talk to them as we were all beginning our day.  Michael said the kids have been wonderful and it’s been the easiest week.  We have all been praying here for our loved ones back home and I know God is answering our prayers.

Breakfast today was pancakes, meat candy, rice and white pineapple.  The white pineapple was very juicy and not as sweet as the yellow pineapple.  During breakfast I saw the list of kids at Joshua 1:8 who are not yet sponsored.  Raul, a 6 year-old with DS is not yet sponsored.  Since he and I share a birthday, I decided to spend the time at the zoo with him to see if we connected.  Cecil led devotions and talked about the foolishness of the cross; how the way of the cross is foolishness to the world.

Once devotions were over we waited for the bus from Joshua 1:8 to pick us up.  The kids, teachers and the few parents who were allowed to go were very excited about the day.  The zoo was unlike our zoos in the US.  Almost all the animals were in old-fashioned cages with concrete floors.  Raul’s favorite animals were the goats.  We spent a long time with them and then went back when we were early to the group meeting point.  Our mutual love of goats did not go unnoticed in my mind.  Raul held my hand and said, “No, Mama” several times wanting his mom to let go of his hand.  We had a wonderful time.  After the zoo we were off to Pizza Hut for lunch.

Pizza Hut has an indoor play place and the kids went nuts!!  Rod helped Joquin up to the top of the slide and went down with him.  It was so cool!  I sat at a table with all locals so didn’t have anyone to talk to.  However, we did converse through signs and laughter.  They were all using their knife and fork to eat the pizza.  A teenage boy who is deaf was sitting across from me and let me know through looks at his friend beside me and gestures to me that I should do the same.  When I picked up my utensils he grinned and nodded his head.  So I ate the rest of my pizza with my knife and fork.  J

We played for a while after we ate and Raul attached himself to David from TX.  I played with Dayling, a little 3 year old girl with DS.  She was clapping her hands with me and was singing a worship song for several minutes.  It was precious!  After more play time it was time to load up the bus and head back to school.  When we got back to Joshua 1:8 Ginny, Jill, Aaron, Courtney, Karen and I were going to pile in the van with Lisbeth and Raul’s moms to take them home and deliver their food.  Raul was so upset when David got on the bus and left without him. He kept calling “David, bus, me go!” and was crying and trying to run to the bus.  That told me that Raul is not mine to sponsor.  (I talked to Karen after we dropped Raul off and she thinks they may go ahead and take him since he and David made such a huge connection.)  Raul’s mom hugged us and thanked us for the school and told me that my baby is beautiful.  (I had showed her Mickey’s pictures yesterday.)  We then took Lisbeth and her mom home.  Lisbeth’s house was so primitive.  Her mom said that when it rains the water comes in through the roof and the floor is a giant puddle.  It hurt so much to see that.  But it was helped to know that Lisbeth is loved and well cared for.

On the way home, Ginny stopped so Aaron could change money.  I was expecting a building like a bank, but it was just a couple of guys on the side of the road doing it.  Yowza!

I showered, changed and got some packing done.  The rest of the team just got back and Karen had me congratulate Dave on the newest member of their family.  He said they already have enough and he would like someone else to get to have Raul.  So I guess he’s still up for sponsorship…….

Dinner tonight was spaghetti, garlic bread, rice and tamales that Stephanie bought at the school today.  I tried the tamale and it was OK.  I just got the outer part so it was pretty much mush.

The evening was spent getting pictures from Team Indiana compiled in one folder on my computer and clearing out extras, rotating, etc.  Then we went up the hill for ice cream.  Tonight I got a caramel sundae with banana ice cream.  *Delicious!* We stopped at the small store and pharmacy then came back.  More work on the pictures and conversation took care of the rest of the evening.

Tomorrow is our play day.  We’re going to the market and then to the beach.

Day 8 2/27/10

This morning was a little more relaxed since we didn’t have such a strict time schedule.  Breakfast was cheese omelets, toast, pineapple, and oatmeal cake with cream poured over it.  Matt led devotions and talked about where we’ll be emotionally and spiritually when we get back.  Instead of asking “why do I have ______?” we should ask “for what purpose do I have _________?”  I ended up having to leave because I started crying too much thinking about leaving.  I had a good little cry in the room and was ready to go by the time the bus was loading at 8:45 for the market.

The market was incredible!  There was every sort of knick knack imaginable there.  Little kids would come up to us asking us to buy whatever  trinket they were selling whether it was a mesh bag, a coloring book, shells, whatever.  One little boy was making things out of some sort of leaves.  He made me a flower and I gave him 10 cordebellos for it (about .50 US).  I found gifts for everyone I could think of and spent less than $75 including the gorgeous $30 hammock for Michael.  Mickey is getting a traditional Nicaraguan 2-piece dress, a doll and a bracelet.  Brad is getting a t-shirt, 2 small clay pots and a bracelet.  Michael is getting the hammock.  I found necklaces made from coconut for Mom and Jackie.  Merrie and I got a wooden cutting board for Joy and Brian.  I had quite a conversation with the hammock lady with Denise from TX standing nearby.  Denise let me know that the hammock was a good deal and the lady was fair.  I got the small clay pots from her too.  I told her I was getting a pot because my son wants to be a potter when he grows up.  She put another one in the bag so “he can have more designs to learn from”.  I was thankful for the time I spent talking to her when I got on the bus and realized I did not have my hammock.  In all the paying and the packing of the pots and doll, I had walked off without it.  Denise and Daniella walked me back to the booth and as soon as they saw me approaching, someone brought the wrapped hammock out to me.  I was so grateful for their honesty!

After that little delay we were ready to head to the beach.  It was a 90-minute drive on a curvy, hilly road.  Still I was able to sleep for a bit.  The harrowing trip was worth it when, after a lunch of pretzels and peanut butter (we ran out of bread before I got to the table), I headed into the water.  It felt fantastic!!  We had fun jumping the waves for quite a while.  A few team members rented horses to go for rides.  It cost about $3 US for a 30 minute ride.  Denise paid a few dollars for a private surf lesson and loved it.  Jill’s sponsor son was with her today and she rented an ATV for him.  After she rode with him, she got off and had me ride.  It was so much fun!  I rode for about 10 minutes before getting off to let Denise ride.  We were set up on the patio of a hotel that had fencing around it.  There were several women and children selling jewelry and shell animals on the beach.  They are not allowed inside the hotel fence, though, so as soon as we would head onto the beach they were right there asking if we wanted to buy something.  That’s where I got the bracelets for Mickey and Brad.  Sydney bought a huge beautiful conch shell for $7.50 from one of the boys.

Dinner tonight was roasted chicken, squash and carrots (yes I ate some), rice and bread.  After dinner I finally got my shower and then set up to transfer all of the pictures to Melynda and Jill.  We finished that up just in time for ice cream sundaes for our end-of-week celebration.  After ice cream we went out to the porch for the awards ceremony.  Denise from TX created awards for each of us based on things she observed during the week.  Merrie got the Mother Therese award for being such a caring mother figure to us all week.  I got the 4-wheeler ATV calendar girl award because I enjoyed the ATV ride so much.  Eddy got the Butterfly Effect award.  The awards were great!  We got a group picture tonight since the
Austin crew has to leave at 4:30 in the morning for their early flight.  I did amazingly well telling them goodbye and only got teary-eyed when Denise hugged me and told me what a joy it was to meet me.

We just had a freak rain shower.  It lasted all of 5 minutes.  Amazingly it is more comfortable now.  I expected such a short shower to drive the humidity up, but it didn’t.  I need to get to bed since I am the keeper of the alarm clock and Stephanie is going to the airport with the TX team and I need to wake her up.  It’s hard to believe that in 24 hours, I’ll be back home with my family.  I miss them so much!

Day 9 February 28, 2010

I woke up before 4:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep, afraid that I would miss Stephanie’s alarm.  I didn’t miss it and she got up and left with the TX crew.  Merrie and I got up at 6:00 to work on packing before breakfast.  We ate, had a short devotion with Ginny, Cecil and the rest of Team Indiana before we headed back to finish packing.  I gave all of my skirts and shirts that I bought to Ginny to distribute as she sees fit (well, except for the shirts and skirts I gave to Michelle’s sponsor kid’s mom earlier in the week).  I took several pictures of Chewy in different places around La Quinta before it was time to board the bus.  We got to the Nicaraguan airport in plenty of time to check in and eat lunch before going through security.  Merrie and I did a little shopping then.  I found a cute purple bag with Nicaragua and children of the world embroidered on it.  Merrie found some wonderful chocolates and we got Denise from TX a “surf Nicaragua” t-shirt.  We boarded the plane and took off for Houston.  I had my phone out and ready to turn on as soon as they gave permission.  I called home to let Michael and the kids know that I was back in the US.  We had to get our bags then drop them off again (makes no sense to me!), go through customs, and go through security again.  After all that we had time to eat a leisurely dinner.  We ended up getting Wendy’s so we would have money left over for some Nestle Toll House cookies.   Good call!  The flight from Houston to Indy was incredibly short.  We landed 45 minutes ahead of schedule.  I texted Michael as soon as we landed and he called back to say he was at home but was getting in the truck right then.  I was so happy to see him when he got there. I ran up to him and jumped in his arms.  We got all of our bags and headed home.

Mickey was up on the couch with Linda when we got home.  I don’t ever remember being that happy to see her.  I just hugged her and held on as tight as I could.  Gil, Linda and Merrie left quickly to get Merrie back to Franklin and I went in to wake Brad up.  He was so funny!  He opened his eyes and just looked at me for a few seconds.  Then as soon as he realized I was really there, he grabbed a hold of my neck and did not let go!  We took a few minutes to look at souvenirs and then it was back to bed for the kids after many more hugs and kisses.

I am so glad to be home, but I miss the people at Agape and Joshua 1:8 already.  At this point, I am thinking of going back in June 2011 so Mickey can go with me.  But I need to talk to Jill and find out what that trip entails before we decide.  For now I will content myself with pictures, praying for the people and thinking of Raul, our new Nicaraguan son.