On our way to church this morning we followed this truck-load of horses with "vaqueros" riding with them. The bull is actually a painting on the back. Behind them was a man riding in the bed of a pick-up--not an uncommon sight in Nicaragua--and apparently legal. We also met or passed a number of horse-drawn and ox-drawn vehicles.
Our host couple, Joel and his wife Stephanie, drove us to church in the same van that brought us here from the airport last night. Joel (pronounced "Ho el") is a native Nicaraguan; Stephanie is from Wisconsin. Both have worked here for several years.
Our mission group paused in front of this protestant church in Managua for a group picture.
Back row: John Nafziger, Josh Houtzel, Tom Nebgen, Ted Mitchell, Jason Schaad, Mark Hinrichs Front Row: Margaret Naylor, Ron Schaad, Bud Ritter, Doug Olson, Ed Douglas
Here are members of the construction team sitting in in church.
After a long period of very lively singing accompanied by guitar, drums, and recorded brass instruments, an usher passed out headphones to those of us who could not understand Spanish, and a young lady translated the scripture and sermon into English for us. These Nicaraguans are tech-savvy people, effectively using electronics to enhance the worship experience. They had a PA system and closed-circuit television as well. The service lasted nearly two hours. It was almost "standing room only." They have 2 services on Sunday, one on Tuesday night, and have a total attendance of around 1400.
Here I tried to upload a 2-minute video I recorded in church, an example of the music that was played and sung, but the internet service here is so slow, it was still uploading after a hour and then just quit, giving me an error message. Sorry. I really wanted to share that.
After church we went to a restaurant, "La Finca" (The Farm), in Managua, which calls itself (in English) a "homestyle grill." The food was great--delicious, plentiful, and reasonably priced. They had "Tabla de Criadillos" ("cajones de toro") on the appetizer menu, but none of us were THAT venturesome.
The decor of the restaurant was part tropical--with a palm tree growing in an atrium and parrots in a cage--and part wild west American--with a stuffed bull's head. Steak was a popular choice among our group, and a mixed platter that included beef, chicken, chorizo, and barbecued ribs.
In sad contrast, from the open-air seating area upstairs you can view rusty metal rooftops weighted down with concrete blocks and shabby slum dwellings.
We aren't exactly "roughing it" here. This is the women's dormitory; the men's is identical to the left of it.
The weather today was somewhat cloudy, but rather hot and humid.
This is the building where the little children live. Connected to it is a nice, shaded play area. Right now Los Cedros takes care of 18-20 babies and children up to 6 or 7 years old. They also provide a home for a group of teenage boys in a separate dormitory. Right now there are only 3 living here; in previous years there have been as many as 8 or 10, but some of those boys have grown old enough to be sent to another facility for vocational training.
In order to begin work on the fence tomorrow, we need electric power. They have two generators, but neither work, so Josh and several others tried to repair them. At last report they had one of them running. These are necessary to power the welding equipment.
Ron Schaad and several other workers started measuring and staking out the locations for the post-holes we'll have to dig. From what we hear, the ground is like concrete, because this is the dry season, so we'll have to start the holes and fill them with water to soften the ground so we can dig them deep enough.
After the "light work" of Sunday afternoon, we got to relax a while. Jason Schaad showed how that is done by trying out one of the hammocks.
Supper in the dining hall was a rice with enough chicken in it to add flavor, a delicious vinegar-based coleslaw, tortilla chips, and fresh watermelon. All that remains this evening is a short meeting and devotions led by Pastor Ted Mitchell (UMC, Chillicothe). Tomorrow the hard work begins.
Thank you for following this blog. God be with you.
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