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I have been in Nicaragua for about two weeks now and everything has been more than amazing! I am reminded daily of God’s goodness through His beautiful creation and His constant reminder of my need for Him. I live with a family (maybe a one minute walk from the beach) up a hill with a picturesque view of the beach. My family is amazing! Amber, Adrian (another student from Oregon), and I live with Marta, Salvador, and their two kids (Hansel-26 & Magdaline-15). The rest of the extended family lives in the surrounding houses. We’ve really only spent time with Marta, who cooks us three amazing Nicaraguan meals every day. Every morning we have four hours of Spanish class. It’s a one-on-one class and has helped me a lot. The afternoons are full of activities (some lead by the school, others initiated on our own). Here is a brief list of what some of these activties have included:

 

• An extra hour of Spanish tutoring almost every day
• Cooking class (where I just cut up peppers, talked to some people for a bit, then ate dinner)
• Dance classes
• Saw the ”Reina de San Juan del Sur” competition – which was a lot like the Miss America pagent, but everyone was extra excited about it
• Took a couple trips to nearby beaches
• Hiked/took some quads up a mountain with an INCREDIBLE view of the town and surrounding beaches
• Went to a church serivce
• Had (daily) some amazing food, fruit, juice… including fish & lobster
• Went to Masaya – saw a volcano for the first time and visited an old prisoner of war jail
• Live reggae concert in a bar on the beach
• Just spent some time in town with our new friends – most of whom we met through our school – and had some incredibly intentional and encouraging conversations
• Enjoyed the weekend events of ”Dia de San Juan”… which included lots of music and dancing in the street, some crazy guys trying to catch a greasy pig, some other crazy guys covering themselves in grease and climbing to the top of a 40 ft (?) pole, some more crazy guys (after a few cervezas) trying to provoke bulls in the rodeo, and more fiestas and dancing of course…

  

  View from our patio

  
  

  

  Sunset from my patio

  
  

  

  Walking to School :)

  
  

  

  Me, Amber, & Adrian in Masaya

  
  

  

  Frances, me, & Amber from the top of a mountain

  
  
  

I have been speaking way more English than I would like, but I do feel a little more comfortable comunicating in Spanish than before. The Christian community here has been an incredible encouragment to me. It’s so exciting how the Lord uses unexpected people to show me new things. My teacher (Danilo) is a Christian and it’s been really great to hear about the culture of the church from him. He has also streched my Spanish by engaging me in Biblical conversations. The church was overly welcoming and just clearly domonstrated the body. And of course, they would not let us leave without food. Every day I’m here, Christ’s glory is more evident.

I love the culture here and I don’t want to leave. However, I’m excited for the next part of my adventure. Amber left for Costa Rica on Friday, I leave today (Sunday) for Honduras and will be spending a week with my famiy in San Pedro Sula (I’m not sure what the plan is there). Then I will head up to Antigua, Guatemala to meet up with Amber & her friend Carolyn… after some adventures in Guatemala, we’ll return back to Honduras together for a little bit before we head back to the States (July 22).

I was able to upload some pictures because my friend in Nicaragua had the same camera, but I didnt bring my connection, so I’ll upload the rest when I get back to the States. I will try to post again at some point during my time in Honduras. ¡Dios les bendiga!

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