Wow, what a week! The first leg of the trip is over, and I am now writing this on a bus to Honduras. Here is an update on how it went. 

  

    
After many delays and a lost supplies bag, we made it to the Managua airport on Saturday night. We stayed at the same hotel as usual and prepared to leave for Padre Ramos in the morning. We made it there with plenty of time to relax and prepare for the week.

 

  

 We spent Monday morning cutting vegetables to feed the kids and a few of their parents. We usually visit their school beforehand, but recent changes with the government prevented that. Nonetheless, many of them were able to come, enjoy the food, and play a few water games with us.

  

 We had more vegetables to cut Tuesday morning for a meal we were taking to a village. Normally, we visit Tentoll, but we decided to go to Venicia instead. It was a longer boat ride there, but it had been nearly three years since a group had visited them. We fed them a meal, performed a few songs, and joined them in some games.

  

 When I had first arrived at the camp, I found out that a family I was close to had moved away. However, Nicaragua celebrates their Mother’s Day on June the third, so the family was back on Wednesday! This immediately filled my schedule for the rest of the week, and I have the burn marks on my arms to prove how many kids I carried! For the Mother’s Day celebration, we had a service outside of our normal daily one. We gave away gifts, and fed all of the women. It was a huge event!

  

 Thursday was another very busy day for us. We got up in the morning to drive to Chinandega. We let some of the group shop for souvenirs, and then we all ate together at TipTop. We left for the dump shortly afterwards. You would not believe the changes their village has underwent! Roads have been built, and trash has been moved. It was a tremendous blessing to them, even though we had to perform and speak through the noise of construction. We gave out the usual rice and beans and then visited our friends from last year at the girls orphanage. They loved every minute of it and still might be one of the happiest and grateful groups we work with.

  

 Friday was more relaxed than we expected it to be because a large storm prevented a lot of the work we could do. We had children’s church, which included a few classic games of ours. We had our last service later that night and said goodbye to many of the people we formed bonds with.

 It was an early morning on Saturday to catch the bus. We were awfully tired from the busy week of daily Bible studies, church services, and special events, but it was all well spent. I am interested in how the next week will compare!

UPDATE: I had pictures to post with each caption, but they are not uploading. I will keep trying, so stay tuned for a finished post. Thanks!