Yes, we’re still alive and well!

Man, things have been so hectic I just haven’t found the time to type. So now I have to see if I can remember what we’ve been doing to blog about it. It seems like there were a lot of times that I said, Oh, this is a story for the blog, but now I can’t remember what those things were!

Firstly, before I forget, I thought I’d give a shout out to the weather! Every time we talk to someone back home they ask about the weather, and I never do think about mentioning it. I’m not sure what the temperature is, but it’s hot, all the time, since we arrived three months ago! Well, actually, this last two weeks it’s been getting hotter. But in the shade it’s nice and there’s usually a breeze to provide some relief. It still rains a tiny shower now and then, which they say is strange for February. It’s probably in the low 90’s at the hottest part of the day. I don’t exactly have a tan, but I’m a darker shade of white now which is a tan for me!! Ok, enough about the weather.

We had a GREAT time with Tasha & Aaron here. It was nice to have company, especially company that cooks meals for you! They made some delicious dinners and a very tasty breakfast one morning. They found the way to our hearts!

Aaron & Tasha outside the house

So, we took them out in service with us while they were here. And we did some touristy things. As you may have already seen in the pictures we spent a day in Catarina and Granada which was a nice day. We did a horse and carriage tour around the city. Our guide spoke good English, so we let him practice on us. A lot of times I wouldn’t catch what he said because of where I was sitting and I’d ask what he said. Whenever he did that, he’d repeat it in Spanish. I’m not sure if by the end of the afternoon he was sure if I spoke English or not! He also turned out to be studying and going to the meetings on a Sunday at the English congregation in Granada. He was real nice and took us to a couple of places that we didn’t see last time we did the tour.

We also spent a day in and around Masaya. We went to the Masaya Volcano which is just at the edge of our territory. It was a different experience for us this time. Last time we went in October 2009 it was really smoky and you couldn’t see very far down, but this time you could see way into the volcano. I posted the pictures in our web album. The smell of sulfur was also a lot stronger than I had remembered. We were all coughing about halfway up the steps to the hill next to the volcano. After that we went into Masaya, and ate at the place you can see in the photos that has really tall tables and chairs. I had the BEST fruit drink I’ve ever tasted. Orange, pineapple, ginger & mint – sounds odd but it was fantastic! We also tried to go to the market where the locals do their grocery shopping. So we all followed Charley about 15 minutes in the wrong direction, then walked back and got lost again, and then after we’d given up and were trying to head back to the truck, we found the market. I don’t have a picture of it, but it was a rather intimidating looking place. It just kept getting narrower. But we did get some good prices on fruit, although after I got home I realized that half the mandarins they gave me were bad. That made me mad. Of the dozen I bought I think I’ve thrown half of them away since then. As you may be able to tell from the photos, Aaron & Tasha didn’t put sunscreen on that day, and so they got quite fried. Tasha stayed home the next morning. We think she got a bit too burnt, and a bit dehydrated. She survived it though. At the meeting Friday night Aaron ended up being a householder for a demonstration which he did nicely. You can see him in the pictures. And Charley, to make up for previous times, took a picture of me doing my demo!

On the way home that day we got stuck behind a funeral at a big cemetery in Masaya. The next day we drove past again, and there was another funeral procession. This time I took a quick video though. Click here to see it. I didn’t know if I should be taking a video, but I just had to. Have you ever seen a tuba player at a funeral before? Like I said… I just had to record a quick clip. I wish I could have got a picture of the hearse. It was a really fancy carriage, and the horses were wearing these sort of big, white, crocheted sheets.

On Sunday we went to the meeting in El Crucero. Mario Jr. (the youngest son of our friends who moved here) was giving the Public Talk and none of us had heard him give a talk before, so off we went. He did a nice job and we had fun seeing all of the congregation again. They also had a going away party for a brother and sister moving back to the States after being in El Crucero for 4 years. They had it on the land of a brother there. It was nice. We ate pelibuey – not sure if that’s how you spell it. Spellcheck says it’s spelled wrong, but it doesn’t have any suggestions on how to spell it correctly! It’s a sheep, that looks kinda like a goat. So, not sure if it goes to the right or to the left…….. Anyway, I didn’t eat much of it. The pieces that I managed to chew and not gag on were really tasty though. And some young brothers and sisters from a nearby hall came and did some traditional dancing. Which was nice to see, because I found out today that the party that our congregation was going to have had to be cancelled, so we won’t get to see the sisters do the dance they’d practiced.

So, we left Tasha & Aaron in El Crucero and on the way home the battery on the truck was dying. It died a couple of times but on hills so Charley managed to get it started. Oh and one time, an army truck pulled up beside us and some hopped out and pushed it until it started again. But then we finally got to a hill that it wouldn’t go up. We tried pushing it downhill to start it, then it got stuck up on the curb, so then Charley winded himself pushing it over the curb and down the other side into another lane, then I hit the clutch instead of the brake and almost hit a tree (but I didn’t hit it). Then we thought someone might stop and help if they saw me pushing it alone, so I did, and got it down the curb, but nobody took pity. Then we gave up. And we didn’t have any money on the phone, so we couldn’t call anyone! So I walked to the gas station to buy some minutes on the phone, and after making two trips, the lazy attendant finally got the energy to admit they did sell minutes and to sell me some. So we called the landlord’s brother and he said he’d come get us. In the meantime Charley noticed that the battery cable was loose, so he was looking for a stone to use as a tool to try and tighten it, when a Good Samaritan stopped, came over with tools and jumper cables and took care of it for us. He was super nice. We gave him a little something for his trouble, at which he insisted that he didn’t stop with that idea in mind, but gladly accepted. And he gave us his business card if we ever need the oven taking care of.  So we finally got home, accompanied by the landlord’s brother, about an hour later than we thought we would have originally.

While Tasha & Aaron were here we tried out their two-person hammock that they bought. Here are the pictures of Charley and me trying to figure out how exactly you would get two people in it. They’re a bit blurry because they were taken in a hurry and there was a lot of movement. As you can see Tasha is standing by trying to look innocent. Thanks for your help Tasha!

So, we’re already starting to wrap things up here. It’s amazing to think we’re leaving so soon. This month has flown by. I’m getting really attached to my studies, and now I have to find people to give them too which will be a challenge since everyone already has their own studies to take care of. We said Goodbye to a call or two today. So next week I’ll have to pass them on and hopefully they’ll keep studying. It’s been a really good month in the ministry. Tuesday went really well, I found all five people that I went to study with in the afternoon. Some study just for 20 minutes, others for an hour, but they’re all learning and enjoying it I think. Yesterday I found two that I hadn’t seen in a few weeks so that was nice. They’d just been busy with this and that, but they both studied.

The landlady will be arriving on Monday and will be here the rest of the time that we are, so we’ll no doubt have a busy week wrapping up our ministry here, and running errands with her. Part of me is ready to leave, but part of me is not looking forward to it! You get so attached to a congregation so quickly, and my eyes are all watery just sitting here thinking about saying Goodbye to them all.

Well, that’s enough of being sentimental! Time to go make some dinner and then have our Family Worship Night.