Fifth Work Day

This morning, after a breakfast of gallopinto, pancakes with peanut butter and/or syrup, and a banana, some of us took a tour of the house where the children live. They were good little hosts; one invited Tom Nebgen to be his patient as he pretended to be a doctor, and another took John Nafziger by the hand and dragged him from room to room pointing out things in Spanish.
It was a short workday. Ron had us just finish up with a few things and put the tools away, so we could leave the job ready for the next group.

The grounds crew was on trash clean-up detail as well as mowing and fertilizing today.

While I was on the tour of the childrens' home, I took photographs of some of the rooms, and later in the day I took some individual photos of the children themselves. I have so many other photos to show you today, I've decided to hold those for posting tomorrow. 

Moises, one of the boys who live here, had a problem with his bicycle, so Josh and Marc fixed it for him. They also fixed a bike for Karling.










Josh Houtzel worked part of yesterday and this morning building a gate for the fence where the childrens' home property adjoins Joel and Stephanie's land. Here he was cutting a pipe to fashion hinges for the gate. Marvin spent time watching and helping whenever he was needed. He was good help.

 I enjoyed accompanying Karrie, one of the childrens' care-givers (from the US), as she took five little boys for a walk. First they stopped at the goat pen, and took time to herd back into the pen one of the goats that had escaped. Then they proceeded to the pasture to see the cowboys. The land is owned by Global Ministries, but rented to someone who herds cattle on it. Then they found some yellow flowers and picked them. Finally they walked back to the compound. Josecito (Little Jose--the boy in the orange shirt) took my hand and walked back with me.

Taking a break on the wagon-bed are Marc Hinrichs, Josh Houtzel, and Mark Randall (whom we refer to as "the Surfer Dude"), one of the full-time missionaries here.

 When the gate was finished, the shop crew carried it out to the fence-site.

Here the second fifty-foot stretch of chain-link fencing is laid out on the ground beside the post/framework. The little house belongs to Joel and Stephanie, both full-time missionaries here and our hosts this week.

A lot of hands makes a job much easier. The fencing was lifted in place and hung temporarily with strips of wire. The next step is to weld to the posts and horizontals the quarter-inch steel rods woven into the fencing to hold it in place.







Here Josh is getting ready to weld the gate hinges to the uprights. This gate, along with a walk-in gate, will give Joel and Stephanie easy access to the childrens' home property where they both work. The little house beyond their property belongs to Joel's brother David and his wife.
Lunch was better than usual today--meaning no beans, no rice. We had spaghetti and salad, with a tangerine for dessert, and it was delicious.





 As we came to the close of our work week we took time for another group photo. Marvin manned the camera so I could be in the picture. Back row: John Nafziger, Ron Schaad, Jason Schaad, Mark Randall, Tom Nebgen, Marc Hinrichs, Ted Mitchell, and Bud Ritter. Front row: Ed Douglas, Margaret Naylor, Josh Houtzel, Tom O'Donnell, and Doug Olson.






After relaxing most of the afternoon, some of the guys challenged the Nicaraguan boys to a soccer game. The gringos lost. Next time we'll play American-style football.

Meanwhile, on another part of the grounds, the "little league" was also playing soccer.










Today, as usual, I found Jason Schaad in a hammock. Today the regimen was a manicure by Mark Randall. Never think that we aren't pampered by our hosts.
Supper was rice, re-fried beans, and white cheese. I washed it down with good Nicaraguan coffee.
Devotions included communion, and afterward we visited while we awaited the medical mission team which should arrive at the airport in Managua about 9:15. It will take them about 45 minutes to clear customs and another 45 to make the trip here, so we'll see them around 11:00 PM. Construction team #1 flies home Sunday, the day Construction team #2 arrives, and I join the medical team for the trip to Jinotega Sunday morning. Tomorrow we get to be tourists.