forgot to mention!

Mother's Day Lunch

Isla de Ometepe

Cow crossing....apparently

See! we do work!

Oops! forgot to mention, spiritual retreat out at La Isla de Ometepe went really well. The entire MCC team headed out there. The topic was spiritual gifts and although I have heard the "talk" before, it was a really great reminder that we are all 'gifted' in some way. A lot of us don't have roles front and center but they were given to us by the grace of God and to be used with grace to serve others. We also had a few hours for some solo time which was so great because I feel like I haven't had or taken the time for a few solid hours of devotional or prayer and journaling time. And it can never hurt to have it on an island with a huge lake surrounding you right? :)

Anyways, here are a few pics from there and also from Mother's day (May 30th).

This is UNREAL!

Teaching Cris how to swim

I love hanging out with kids, they give you all sorts of good reasons to eat ice cream and watch cartoons!

Batter up!

Birthday cake! That's a 1lb solid cake right there.

My bday buddy, playing Ratz!

Shopping spree :) To support the Nicaraguan economy of course

MMMM.....breakfast buffet

Little Elvira had surgery again to remove the screws from her hips. Looks like they did something else too but not sure what. Unfortunately that likely means a slip-back in the progress she has made this year.

Lunch time!

I am at 3 weeks until I leave Nicaragua and a month until I am home in Canada! UNREAL! is about all I can say. I seriously remember back in September when I felt like I still had such a long time ahead of me, and now I can hardly believe how quickly time has gone. And the unfortunate thing is that it is only going to go even quicker.

Tomorrow morning I will be heading out to Honduras for our Central America meeting. All the MCC teams within Central America meet every 18 months.....and hallelujah, it falls within the time I am here. So we are heading out tomorrow, I haven't totally looked at the itinerary yet but I will fill you in when I get back but it looks like some of the subjects are regarding stereotypes, paradigms we have re: men and women, made in the image of God, and what MCC is doing worldwide and within Haiti at the moment. So I am really looking forward to meeting up with others, and it feels like one of the last Spanish tests I will have to go through (we shall see how I do...you will be able to tell by the summary of the meetings in the next blog update). And then...I am going to check out the east coast of Honduras....also known as the caribbean. A few other MCCers convinced me (with much difficulty) that since I am so close, I should check out Roatan Island....and so I am going to do just that :) Definitely looking forward to it, it will be a quick trip for sure (only a couple of days), but great. Hoping to do some scuba diving as well while I am there.

The last month has gone really well with work and family. I was able to take some of the older kids out to Toy Story 3 which was hilarious, and it's always fun watching kids in the theater. One of the little guys Wilfredo got super scared during one part (Large flying stuffed pig) and hid his face in my shoulder (is it bad that I found it funny?) After the movie, we went for ice cream which they of course LOVED. I was also able to give a capacitacion, which is pretty much just an education session for the ladies who look after the kids. I covered some of the things I have been doing with the kids as well as things I hope they continue to do with them when I leave. Things like positioning the kids, stimulation, using the wheelchairs properly etc. Overall it went well but unfortunately we didn't have too great of a turnout due to some lack of communication but nonetheless. Now I am working on putting together a little info pack on therapy, working with the kids etc. so that when next year's volunteer comes she won't have to start from scratch and hopefully we can get some continuity. It is in Spanish, so copy and paste have definately come in handy in putting it together :)

OH! and I had my birthday as well. It was a little different....a little lonely actually. Kind of a mis-communication with my family/ slash they had to go to church in the evening to another community and didn't get home until 1030pm...so I was a little bit disappointed, although there was a HUGE cake, and I spent the evening playing a card game with my little bro Cristofer, so really I have no reason to complain. Plus I was able to talk with some family and friends back home and open a couple gift packages which is always a delight! The next day I went to the Holiday Inn for a breakfast buffet with my mom and then we went out to Huembus market to do a little shopping.....needless to say I think I got my money's worth.

The next week was followed by ANOTHER buffet for father's day. I bought a membership at the Holiday Inn to use their pool, anyways, it comes with a few perks, so off we went for lunch. Father's Day is the 23rd here, but we went this past Friday which was great. It was also great to spend time with my dad because usually we don't get to do as much together, and I think he really appreciated it as well.

So, time is winding down, I have no idea when I will be back and no idea what is waiting for me back home in Canada. But I am definitely conscious of each moment here and so appreciative of the people God has put in my life here. When I get back from Honduras I will only have about a week to work, spend time with my family and do a couple last minute things. Oh and I have a date....with my cousin. If you invite somebody here, you have to pay. So I think I explained earlier on in my blogs that I sometimes am paying to have friends because if you want to go to a movie....you pay for everyone. Anyways, I went with my brothers and cousins to a movie awhile ago...and now he wants to take me out, so he told me he now has two weeks to save so that he can take me out when I get back from Honduras. Now that my friends, is a good date ;)

Photo Op

Dad came to visit and spent the day at Hogar Belen with me

Catarina Mirador, overlooking Laguna de Apoyo

Volcan Mombacho

Petroglyphs on La Isla de Ometepe

Sunset on the island and view of Volcan Concepcion

Just another day at work

The kids from church

Serving up some dinner after the church/birthday service for Grandma

Grandma's 79th birthday

Nail painting session :)

Yeah, I rarely pay attention during meetings. This is Violeta, she really helped me while I was first learning Spanish.

Last year's, this years and next years one year volunteers (SALT, IVEP, and YAMEN). One of them is probably coming to Winnipeg

Out for a nature walk.

I love these frogs by the way

Some of the MCC team came to my family's house for dinner and to meet the fam.

Hogar Belen: Maria Clarita...so cute!

Some pinyata action for Mother's day.

Another new little guy- Wilfredo!

Seasons of Change

Hey.........how are you? I will do my best to update you on the past events, some of my thoughts and challenges (unfortunately I´m still falling slightly short of perfect.)
Hmm, what to say. The beginning of May started out with time with my dad. He was here from the 7-16th and we had a great time spending time with my host family, playing with the kids at work, and exploring volcanoes, zip-lining, heading out to La Isla de Ometepe to see some petroglyphs and swim in a volcanic spring and dipping our feet in the ocean in San Juan del Sur. I would just like to note that if any of you ever have to go on a road-trip with me, let it be known that I apparently have a terrible sense of direction....or take directions poorly....HOWEVER, there is usually a sweet surprise at the end of the wrong turn and some great friends to be made. Perfect example was at Laguna de Apoyo which is the volcanic crater lake. I had gotten directions from our guide that day for where a good spot to swim would be as most of the shoreline of the lake is privately owned or you need to pay a fee to use the hostel. We only had about 15 minutes and didnt think it was worth paying, so we wanted to know the local spots ;) Well apparently, turn left meant turn right. Nonetheless, we ended up at a dead end with only signs saying ´Propriedad privada´informing us that we had turned the wrong way and now had no public shoreline. Anyways, I asked directions from a gentleman on the road and asked if he knew of a place close to where we were.......he ended up opening up the gate for us to swim and enjoy a gorgeous property that is actually owned by Canadians (vancouver). He maintains the property, the place can be rented, but there was no one at the time and he said we could go for swim if we wanted. One of those blessings that can´t be planned, only seen and enjoyed.

Last weekend we had a reunion with previous YAMENers/ IVEPers (went to the states or other country with MCC), us current volunteers, and next years group who will be going to Winnipeg, USA, and Bolivia. Definitely a great time to relax a bit, do some reflection, start thinking about coming home and some of the mental prep. for that, and encourage others for their year coming up.

Other than that I have been working and today actually I have an unexpected day off. I had a foot infection and went to the doctor last night. So now I am on some antibiotics etc and decided to take the day to rest up a bit and enjoy the sound of rain on the roof. It is officially rainy season. It has been raining for the past 3 days off and on, which is actually a nice break from the heat/ ridiculous humidity.

So now that you have the past events, I´ll try to share some thoughts and challenges. Well, as of today I have made some flash cards for prayer and prayer requests. I have soooo many people praying for me, and although I care about and think of you all daily....the sad truth is that I have not been too diligent in prayer. This book on prayer had recommended making flash or cue cards (I wont be using them like those math flash cards for multiplication so I guess cue cards is more accurate). Anyways, I will be starting to try and get in the habit of that. You can call me on it if you want :)
Challenges: hmmmm, I would be lying if I said I wasnt thinking about the future. God has definitely been working in me and I want to be open to where He is leading and continue seeking Him. I have made some work contacts for Occupational Therapy positions when I get home but I am not totally sure where to look, where to live, and a bunch of other things surrounding those questions. Whatever and wherever it is, I want to continue growing...and i want another adventure.
I´ll try and post some pictures this weekend.

Bendiciones
amanda

Double Digits- Under 100 days Until I am Home!!

I should probably write about the day to day since the last two blogs have been about my visitors....and my next one will likely be about my visit with my dad (he comes in a week).

Well yes, as of today I think it is 87 days until I come home....crazy indeed because I still remember back in September and saying "Yeah I have only been here for 3 weeks and I have 11 more months to go." And yet, here it is and it has come up soooo fast. And the next 3 months are only going to pass by even quicker because they are filled with MCC meetings.

Mid-April we had a team meeting in Matagalpa. I always enjoy them, not only is it a little bit of a break but our team is wonderful. It's great to hear what everyone is doing, some great things happening and also struggles. I was able to talk through some issues I have been struggling with with some of the people who have been here a bit longer. One of them is trying to live simply even though in reality compared to the majority of people here, I am rich or at least have access to more luxuries. I have been struggling with the feeling of sometimes feeling like I live two separate lives, I can grab a coffee or go to a movie or go on all these great weekend trips but then I come home and try to live within the same means as my family. I struggle with the balance of knowing how much to actually show because I think there can be generosity but then their can be flaunting....i'm not explaining it very well but maybe some of you reading this have gone through the same sort of experience. Anyways, I came to a semi-resolution and I went to the swimming pool with my cousins and a friend of mine and later on we all headed to the theaters. It was my little brother and cousins very first movie (How to train your dragon), so that was pretty exciting....at least for me :) And although it was all in Spanish, I think I laughed at all the appropriate spots ;)

I honestly cannot be grateful enough for the family God has so richly blessed me with. My family in Canada as well of course. But my Nicaraguan family has been amazing. I think if I was living alone, I would feel a lot more homesick. However, I am constantly surrounded by family (cousins, brothers, nieces) and I am involved in the church a bit too, so there really isn't time. Or when I have felt homesick, God has usually blessed me with a really great conversation with my parents or host mom especially. I feel like we have been able to really build a relationship, I have been able to learn and grow from watching her interact in our family and with others. The generosity of my family is unbelievable. Honestly, if anyone reading this even mentioned that they knew me, you would have a place to stay instantly for as long as you wanted. They have already built onto their house and made a room bigger for me and my 'husband' haha I told them they could wait awhile on that one, but either way...it's ready!

The last couple of weekends I have spent more time at home. Actually a couple weeks ago I went to Granada with my brothers and the church. They had some baptisms in the lake there, and then we literally swam all day. I was somehow the only one to completely burn my face. It was a great time to get to know more people and young people in the church and also kind of go out on my own as usually I am always with Leyla and Ebert while at church. My grandma was also in the hospital and so Leyla was often there to watch her and keep her company....which left me to fill the 'good daughter role.' Which meant getting up at 5am and putting on the rice and beans and making sure lunch was ready to go and a cup of hot coffee in Ebert's hand when he woke up! haha thankfully it's not a permanent role and I chose not to wash any of their clothes, because let's be honest, I wait until the last possible minute to wash mine (and then I take about 5hrs to do it). Nonetheless I now have good practice with making rice (next time I won't forget to add the salt) and whipping up a few things to eat.

Work has been going okay. We have a few new girls. I am not sure if I mentioned that we have one girl about 10 years old, her name is Eloisa. Another girl Jenifer who is about 6yrs and the most adorably precious baby girl named Maria Clarita. All girls have different diagnoses but it's been neat to kind of take them from step one. For example, Eloisa has now just started going to our school at Hogar Belen, Jenifer is blind and was apparently pretty much left to sit in the hammock all day when living with her family. When she first came she was really scared of any movement, hated standing and most definitely did not like walking with us. We are gradually having her walk (with assistance) a little farther each time and she is responding more to outside stimulation rather than just sort of curling up into a ball (where it is safe and she has her feet and hands tucked in.) Well and then there is Maria, she is adorable and has Down Syndrome. She just came this past week and is apparently 14 months although looks much younger than that. We are working on getting some of her muscles working and some core stability as she is pretty much a rag-doll (which could come in handy when I put her into my carry-on to bring her home!) There have been some frustrations for sure at work. I think part of it is just cultural differences and the other part is that I have different expectations and priorities than some of the workers and management do. So I have been trying to work within the environment while also gently pushing for some change...we'll see how it goes.

Hmmmm, funny story for you though. I was given some money from some people in the U.S. to spend for the kids. As it has been really hot here, some people suggested we should get a small kiddie pool. So I went out and bought one and we've actually used it the last couple of Fridays. The kids LOVE IT! And I usually end up being in there for about 3 hrs while the kids are all rotated in groups of 4-5. Anyways, the last time we were in there, a little guy Moises apparently swallowed a bit too much water in all the excitement and ended up throwing up a little bit........so I hauled all the kids out of the pool so that we could change the water before the older kids got in. Well let's just say that God truly works in small ways because about 2 minutes after I got all the kids out, one of them spilled his beans....literally, spilled his beans all over the floor! haha sorry, I think my sense of humor has changed a bit, but really, I would have had to clean it up if it was in the pool, but this way I didn't have to! Plus, I can only imagine how many of the kids peed in the pool while I was in there, blowing bubbles and such...so really, I think I did my part :)

Tomorrow my family and I are heading to the big stadium here in Managua to watch Javier try out for a baseball team which should be pretty exciting. He says he'll take me out on a hot date once he starts making the big bucks in the major leagues.....so I'm all for it.

Not sure what else I can say. My dad is coming at this end of this week for a quick visit and then back to work :)

Hope everything is well with you.

Bendiciones

amanda

Karla in her little uniform for the opening ceremonies....we've had some issues with poo the last two times I've worked with her. Haha, character building I guess (for me)

The kids at Diriamba singing a song of thanks to the sponsors

Tatiana cutting the ribbon

My usual face when working with the kids!

Some of the staff at Hogar Belen. It was Dia de las mujeres! Day of the Women....something I am definitely bringing home to Canada!!

Alexis playing in the sensory room

Physio students working with Grethel

Sunset in Granada

Mom, Rob and I in Granada in front of one of the many Cathedrals

This road was SHOCKING!! on the way to our hotel on La Isla de Ometepe

Beautiful view, that is Volcan Concepcion in front.....not sleeping quite as much as we all thought

Another beautiful sunset

Um, some would say this was a crocodile. We saw 8....apparently timid though (so they say)

Kayaking

Costa Rica: Beautiful falls

Zip-lining in Monteverde

The traditional method of getting the coffee bean out of it's shell.

Haha, and this is the highway at the border!! Please notice three lanes of traffic (one passing through the center of the other two) and heaps of people all trying to get it flowing!

Lunch break after a very long day of driving!!

Wow I think I am actually getting worse at updating this blog. The last time I wrote I had just had a crazy week with my sister....and now I have just had an amazing week with my mom and her husband. The month of march has honestly just flown by. I have been working (I promise). At the end of February we had a big opening ceremony for a new home in Diriamba. It is an orphanage sponsored by Mustard Seed Communities as well. It is actually where all the older kids are (the ones that came in December for a month) right now. It was really neat to see how many people are behind the homes and supporting the work being done. There were visitors from Jamaica (as Mustard Seed also has homes there), and the U.S. that had all come down for the ceremony. So all the kids got into their little uniforms and we took off for Diriamba which is about half an hour away from Hogar Belen. The place will be great once it is done, and they are trying to work with the psychologist, nurse, physio, and teacher in order to implement some activities there.

Work has been going really well. Definitely still some frustrations but I think that goes for work and life anywhere. As a whole it has been going well. We have had a lot of groups coming in for a morning or an afternoon and actually we currently have about 10 physiotherapy students coming in Mon-Tues morning to work as part of their practicum. So that will be a good opportunity for them, for the kids, and for us as staff. Now I just have to practice more Spanish so that I can explain what and why I do what I do. (tough to tell if they are nodding their head and smiling, or if they really understand but are just shy, maybe a mix).

The weekend before my mom came, a friend of mine from Canada happened to be in Nicaragua. He is traveling through Central America and stopped by in San Juan del Sur. I had a chance to go down for the weekend and spend some time with him which was really great. Not only to spend time with a friend but also speak English with a guy who is really respectful and has no alternative motives (that maybe sounds bad, but unfortunately it's often the case here) We've been friends for awhile and you don't realize how much you miss those old friends....until they are here and gone.

Speaking of here and gone....mom and Rob were here and now they are gone. I was good until she said "see you in a few months," then I just started to cry. But it was such a great time to see them. It was a really busy week though. They flew in on Saturday the 20th and we spent that evening and the next day with my family. Monday we did a quick visit at Hogar Belen....and then the adventures started. Thankfully we rented a car so we made a lot of ground in a really short time. We had a chance to go to Granada and visit Volcan Masaya (it is still active and emits sulphurous gases). Later on we walked through a tunnel which was melted out by lava. Fortunately it is only frequented by bats now. Might I add that in the first three days, I was stopped by the police 3 times without reason! It was started to get humorous so the 4th time I asked them for directions. At least I know the routine now, and I apparently have triangles and a fire extinguisher in the back which was good to know. Thank you Nicaraguan police for being worried about my safety.

Wednesday-Friday we headed to La Isla de Ometepe. It is a huge island in the middle of Lake Nicaragua, made out of two volcanoes, Volcan Concepcion and Volcan Maderas. Concepcion actually started spitting out some fumes about 5 days before we got there. Thankfully that's the extent of the activity (although on the roads there are signs that say "ruta de evacuacion"....all heading to the water, whichever shore is closer I guess.) The roads were nothing less than shocking! haha, Rob felt like he was in a mixmaster in the back seat. HUGE rocks and potholes....non dodge-able. It was fun after I got the hang of it though (I was the chauffeur for the week). We stayed at a beautiful place called Totoco Eco-Lodge, with a view of both coasts and Volcan Concepcion. And somehow I was treated to my own cabin with an outdoor shower, hot water, and an amazing view of the stars (i showered more than necessary, only to take full advantage of previously stated perks). The hotel was just opened a few years ago and it is amazing to see how the owners are both running a hotel but also starting community programs, and working to re-use water, utilize the land while also planting and building up the eco-system that was there...before it was all cut down.

Thursday we took a hike to San Ramon falls. It was a long hot hike with a small waterfall at the end but I really enjoyed it. Any chance to get some exercise, with a refreshing swimming hole at the end....and I'm in. Later on we went kayaking on Lake Nicaragua and then entered into a little river estuary type thing. It was absolutely beautiful. There were wild birds, approximately 8 little crocodiles (that we saw) and beautiful flowers and trees everywhere! It was unreal.

Friday we headed to Monteverde, Costa Rica. We had a little stop on the side of the road to walk to some amazing waterfalls, then headed up into the hills of Monteverde. It is actually really similar to Banff I think, and cold!! I'm a Canadian girl through and through so I can handle the cold, but it's been a few months since I have been in weather below 20C, so I took full advantage of layering up my clothes. It was a really quick trip to Costa Rica but again we took full advantage. We did a suspension bridge tour through the cloud forest and then mom and I went zip-lining through the forest. It was unreal and beautiful. Later on we followed it up with a most interesting coffee tour.

Unfortunately after a long day of driving yesterday, I had to drop them off at the airport this morning. God blessed our path the entire way and put amazing people along our path. From the random (and multiple) people on the side of the street that I had to ask for directions from, to the guys that helped us across the border, and others that gave me VIP parking :) Everything worked out so well and the week was a huge blessing.

This week is the beginning of Semana Santa or Holy Week. The kids are off school for the week and we all have a half day Wed and then the rest of the week off. It is a great time for everyone to go to the beach...but I've been spending a lot of time at the beach and feel like I need to stick around and spend a little more time with my family and community here in Esquipulas. They are all doing really well and my relationship with them continues to grow as they encourage me in different areas of life, set examples for me from marriage to walking with God, and talk out some difficult situations/relationships with me.

I've been struggling a bit with some ongoing issues which is a bit frustrating as I of course wanted to have dealt with them by now, but they apparently weren't left at the border so I will definitely be trying to use this next few days to journal, pray, and refocus. I still want to use this year to be intentional about seeking God, immersing myself into the lives and culture here and pouring into the lives of the kids at work (sometimes the poo and crying makes me forget to be gracious and patient). Although I have become comfortable with the day to day, I don't want to get back into the day to day habits that I've had before. I also really want to be accountable to your prayer and support as I know there are so many people that are praying and have been encouraging me throughout this entire process...thank you so much. I think God is working in me, sometimes it's hard to see and a lot of times I get in the way, but let's all just pray that He keeps at it :)

There are only about 4 more months left and the time is going to fly by. April 12-14th we have some team meetings in Matagalpa, more in May and June (June involves a trip to Honduras to meet with all the MCC teams from Central America. There may be a few more visitors scattered across the way as well.

I hope you are all doing well. I hear the weather is warming up at least a little bit.

Have a great Easter!

amanda