Village Day 3

June 29, 2010

Great day in the village. Started low as Caleb Mckee was sick all last night. Poor thing! It was his first trip to Nicaragua, and it was his birthday. He laid low most of today and seems better tonight.

I got the chance to work in the clothing ministry today. I so enjoyed picking out dresses and outfits to give the little girls. A lady in the states started a ministry that she calls "Hemmed in Prayer." She and a group of ladies take one pattern and sew numerous little cotton dresses in various sizes and fabrics. As they sew, they are praying for each little girl who will receive a dress. We took a number of these dresses to Nicaragua, and I loved seeing the little girls' faces light up when we handed them their new dress.

I also got to teach in youth girls' ministry today. Since I'm married, the other two leaders designated me to give the sex/true love waits talk (smile). Sexual promiscuity is rampant among teens and adults in Nicaragua because it is viewed as a cultural way of life. I talked to the girls about God's design for sex and the physical and emotional consequences that result from sex outside of marriage. I told them that without Jesus in their lives, they would struggle to keep themselves sexually pure. I think they understood. At least they didn't have blank stares on their faces. Several responded to the Gospel message. Praise the Lord! I must not allow the busyness and craziness of life to keep me from praying for these precious girls as they began their journey of faith in Christ.

Today was not quite as busy as yesterday (for me), since I was not working in the pharmacy. I had more breaks and opportunities to interact with the people. Got to talk to lots of children. A tiny bit of Spanish came back to me after four years of Spanish classes---not enough.

In the afternoon, the youth girls came back and we cut and fixed their hair. I volunteered to fix. Cutting hair is probably not a good idea for me! Most of the girls did not want any of their hair cut. Apparently, long hair is the "thing."

Loved church tonight! We sang a lot of the familiar Spanish songs that I've learned through the years. Adolfo and the band were fabulous, as always. I really missed my Dad being with us tonight. He LOVES worshipping with Adolfo and the band. Today, someone sneezed really loudly and obnoxiously, and I turned around expecting to see Dad standing there (you will understand this if you've ever heard him sneeze). It's so strange not having him here, but we fully trust that it is all part of God's perfect plan.

Mom has been talking to Philipe', the interpreter in the pharmacy. She learned that he does not know the Lord. He seems to be searching. This is his first week working for BMDMI and going out with a team. He came to the church service tonight. We are praying for his salvation. May God move in his heart and open his eyes to truth, drawing Philipe' unto Himself! He sure is hearing the Gospel---a lot! He is such a nice, out-going guy. We've really enjoyed getting to know him and pray that he will see the difference in our lives.

Today we saw 941 patients and filled that many prescriptions. Hard work! Good work!

Showers were quite an experience. While I was in the shower, completely lathered in soap, the water and the light-bulb hanging over me cut off. AHH! Help! Mr. Mike and Mr. Nick (our maintenance men) were already in bed. Someone called them and they were out in a jiffy to fix the problem. One of the water buckets (providing our shower water) had just run out of water, so they had to switch the hose to another bucket. I'm not sure what happened to the power. Anyway, they got it all fixed, and I finished cold shower (that doesn't feel so cold by the time you're done).

Another funny nightly incident: Mom and I decided to avoid the disgusting experience of the bano. It's just such a pain to trudge through the tall, muddy grass in the dark with a flashlight to go into a stinky, roach infested little box JUST to quickly use the bathroom before bed. So, we took styrofoam cups and headed out to find a deserted spot behind the school building. Ha. Much quicker, easier, and less stinky than the whole bano experience, I must say. However, we were a sight to behold (that, hopefully, no one beheld)!

Church Service

Sex talk
Excited about her new dress!

Village Day 2

June 28, 2010

The sun has not been shining brightly, and the rain has fallen often. For this, we are very grateful. One of our interpreters, Philipe', told us that Cayanlipe' is the hottest place in Nicaragua. The rain has definitely helped to keep things cooler. I think the temperature is very pleasant...actually feels cooler than last week in Louisville. However, we've traded the heat for the mud. Yuck! I'm so glad that I brought my old running shoes. Poor Mom only brought flip flops, and she is really wishing for some close-toed shoes as we slosh through the mud. Everyone anticipated dry heat rather than sloshy, rainy mud.

Today has been another busy day. The medical clinic saw 1,009 patients, and the pharmacy filled that many prescriptions. There were not many breaks today. I'm used to a bigger team and more opportunities to sit down and rest. With a smaller team, everyone is needed all the time! The work is tiring but fulfilling. You know that you're doing something valuable---something that makes a difference.

I worked in the Pharmacy most of the day. I always enjoy the pharmacy and the fellowship with everyone. There is always lots of talking and laughing as we work to find the medicines and fill each prescription (FYI: You don't have to be specially trained to work in the pharmacy. You are basically just locating pre-labeled medicines and putting them in a bag for the patients). It was fun to get to spend lots of time with Mom.

The Mosquitoes are AWFUL here, and they absolutely LOVE me (especially my legs). Last night, my feet were being bitten through tennis shoes and socks. WHAT?!? I've been rubbing down in mosquito spray with 100% deet all day long. My legs look diseased with all these bites that I keep scratching. It would be easy to complain about these little pests, but I am trying to keep my mouth closed. I'm reminded of Betsy and Corrie Ten Boom, who thanked God (even) for the fleas that were biting them while they were in a concentration camp during WWII. They realized that God is completely sovereign, even over bugs, and we are to rejoice always. What an example!

I enjoyed helping out in the youth girl's ministry today. Meghan Howard taught the girls about inner beauty and about how God is more concerned with the condition of their hearts than the condition of their outer appearance. She shared the Gospel and several girls responded by putting their faith in Christ.

I have also really enjoyed getting to know the new field missionaries, Timothy and Jessie Crabtree. They are only a few years older than Adam and me and moved to Nicaragua a month ago after language school in Costa Rica for a year. It has been encouraging to talk to Jessie about their call to the mission field and all that God is doing in their lives. They are just so sweet and down-to-earth. I love building new friendships! I hope that we can stay connected with their work in Nicaragua, a country and a people we so love.

Adam preached in the evening church service. He did a great job! I love seeing his passion for the Gospel when he speaks.

Showers and Bed (a little earlier than last night...Gracias, Dios!)

(I'm have trouble posting pics for this post! Maybe later...)

Remembering Nicaragua--Village Day 1

Adam and I just returned from a week-long mission trip to Cayanlipe, Nicaragua. This was Adam's fourth trip and my seventh trip to this country to serve. When I look back on all my summers in Nicaragua, each trips run together. So, this year I decided to keep a journal during my time in the village. I did this for two main reasons. First, I want to be able to look back and remember the details of this trip in years to come--the hard things, the funny things, and the GREAT things God did. Second, my Dad was not able to be with us on the trip this year, and I want him to be able to read about how each day went. So, I'm going to attempt to record a journal entry from each day of the trip during the coming week. Here goes....

June 27, 2010

Today was a day of firsts. It was my first day in the village of Cayanlipe, Nicaragua. It was my first trip to Nicaragua with Adam since we have been married. It was my first day to ride a bus into a Nicaraguan village without my Dad leading our team.

We arrived in the village later than expected. The travel from the mission home in Managua took longer, particularly our snack stop. As we neared the village of Cayanlipe, we passed the village of Canafistola. This was the first Nicaraguan village that I visited as part of a medical mission team ( in 2002). It was neat to see it again after all these years. When we arrived at Cayanlipe, I surveyed that it was very similar to Canafistola and about as primitive as they come. Roberto told us that this village would have running toilets (some villages do and some don't), but when we arrived we found that the toilets were "out of order," if you will. We will be using the banos (aka..outhouses) for the week.

Getting our ministry areas set-up and organized was chaotic as always. There were MANY boxes to be hauled to different areas of the school. Everyone worked together as a team to get things put together quickly. We were all dripping sweat as we hauled things to and fro. I spent most of my time helping in the pharmacy, getting medicines organized into various baskets and packaging worm medicine into individual bags.

We saw the first round of patients late in the day--almost supper time. The first church service started around 5:30, and we didn't finish until around 8:30 (all the patients have to go to a church service and hear the Gospel before getting their card to come see the doctor. So, there is a church service before every group of patients). The clinic saw about 250 patients this first night. I recorded weights on patients' cards before they entered the clinic. This was a challenge, since it got dark around 6:30. I had to do everything by flashlight. Ed Howard preached at the first church service and several responded and put their faith in Christ. What cause to rejoice! This is why we come. We had a late supper and completely missed the first evening church service. Adam went to preach, and none of the people showed up because it was so late. We had our first cold showers of the week around 11:00 and fell into bed exhausted.

The Bano

First people I saw upon arrival in the village
About 1/4 of the boxes we had to carry to get set-up