Friday, July 8, 2005
Not long after, we woke up again at around 5:00 am. We all had a very good breakfast at the hotel, and we had our official last moments of air conditioning in the freezing cold restaurant. We set off to ride the mini plane to Bluefields. We had to weigh our bodies and our carry-ons to see if the plane could hold up our weight. After waiting a little while, we walked across a large black top, with an open field off to the side. We directly boarded the little plane on small steps. The plane was very small, with only three seats to a row. The plane started shortly, and we were in the air for only about an hour. We landed, and moved across another large black top, to a small building where pastor Anjel, the pastor of another church in Bluefields, was waiting for us. He greeted us, and we loaded out baggage and ourselves onto a flatbed truck. We drove down the streets of Bluefields for about twenty minutes, adjusting to how we are going to be transported the rest of the trip.
We arrived at New Jerusalem Assembly of God. It was under some construction, because they are building rooms above the church for housing. This church has a congregation of about 900-1000 people, so they need to have about three services every Sunday because the church is too small to hold them all. The youth need to meet at a school because they are too large also. We also met Anjel Jr., the pastor’s son. He would be with us the rest of our trip to help us. We exchanged twenty US dollars to the Nicaraguan currency, cordobas. There are approximately sixteen cordobas for every Us dollar, so we got quite a bit of cordobas. I took a moment to speak with teammate Jane Hildeburn while we were waiting for our truck to be ready.
C- Jane. How are you?
J- Good, I’m refreshed after the flatbed truck ride.
C- Yes, was that fun?
J- Yeah it was the funnest thing we’ve done so far.
C- So how are you feeling?
J- Feeling good, not too hot, well, I’m sweating but, not a lot.
C- Does it feel like it’s the second day?
J- Yeah, yeah. I think once we’re done with the traveling, then we can get settled.
C- So you know a little Spanish?
J- Yes, I took Spanish in school this year, and I practiced with my parents.
C- How confident do you think you are to hold a conversation?
J- Well, if I direct the conversation, I could use the words I know, to [talk to] them. But if they talk really fast, and I have to know what they say, I say, “Mas dispacio, por favor.”
C- What does that mean?
J- More slow.
C- So are you enthused about the rest of this coming trip?
J- I am so enthused. And I’m really excited for the boat that we’re going on next.
C- Hopefully we’ll get good use out of our panchos.
J- Yeah, I brought my snorkel mask.
We loaded back onto the truck, and drove to the docks, where a ponga boat was waiting for us. It took us forever to finally load all of our stuff onto the boat. Then when we got on the boat, it took forever to leave! We got off to a slow start, and after about a minute we were going very fast, with the front of the boat raised up out of the water. The “El Rio de Muerte” (river of death) actually had very beautiful scenery, with jungle forests on both sides. We saw a few turtles, and a crane also. We passed by a few other boats as well, some were sunken from hurricanes. We shored at Kukra Hill, with a bunch of people there who greeted us. We were brought to a house and waited there for a truck to take us to the church. That truck ride was not so fun, because we kept slipping and sliding on the floor where we were standing. Everyone was on top of each other, and our bags. When we got to the church, we were very very tired.
We had lunch shortly after, and then we had to dress for the children’s service, and the evening service. The children’s service was brief, but went very well. Kris led the service as our team children’s minister. Our puppet curtain fell during one of the songs, exposing the puppeteers! Kris presented the gospel to the children, and eight kids raised their hands to accept Christ into their hearts. That was a blessing. We had dinner after that, and we hung out and got to know a lot of the kids. Caleb Bradbury spotted the first big spider of the trip during dinner. I spoke with him about it.
C1- Caleb, tell me about this spider.
C2- Well, it’s big.
C1- Ok, that’s good.
C2- It’s kinda hairy, and it’s black.
C1- Like a tarantula?
C2- Yeah, kinda.
C1- Do you know what kind of a spider it was?
C2- …A scary one.
C1- A scary spider. How many inches diameter do you think it is?
C2- Um, inch and a half.
C1- Oh, so it’s not really that big.
C2- But it’s like, two inches!
C1- You just said an inch and a half. You have to be precise with the information here. So did it creep up on you?
C2- No, it’s just sitting on the wall.
C1- Oh, so you creeped up on the spider.
C2- Yeah pretty much.
C1- Did you kill it?
C2- No, I’m not touching the spider.
C1- Why, what do you think will happen if you kill it? Will it haunt you?
C2- Yeah, it will haunt me in my sleep.
Then we had evening service with good attendance, maybe because Sean went onto the radio at the local station, and invited people to come. Robert and Brittany gave their testimonies, and the new pastor, Pastor Jairo, preached and everyone responded very well. Afterwards, we all went to bed right away. We were all sooo tired. But first we had to set up our cots and mosquito nets. It was the warmest night any of us had slept in, but despite that, most of us slept pretty soundly. Thus ended the day that seemed like two days. It was the longest day that I had ever experienced.
Saturday, July 9, 2005
Today, we woke up pretty slowly and got all ready for the day. A lot of us woke up to the bright sun in the window, and kids staring and laughing at us. We went to a small last-minute church service in a place called Capricho, and we presented the Champion for them. I spoke with Robert Rickett before we went.
C- So Robert, how are you doing?
R- I’m good.
C- How’s the trip been so far for you?
R- A lot of fun. I like it in Kukra Hill, it’s very nice, a lot of cool little kids, it’s nice and warm.
C- It’s nice and warm? So you’re one of the only people who likes the heat. Why do you like heat so much?
R- I like heat, just not humidity. Humidity gets to me, but I like the dry heat, because it’s more comfortable than being super cold. I enjoy Summer.
C- What do you think has been your favorite part of the trip so far?
R- The ponga ride was fun, but I enjoy more communicating with the kids. Trying to learn espanol.
C- So how confident do you think you are with your Spanish right now?
R- Not very. They always laugh at me when I say stuff wrong.
C- Do you think you’ll know a lot more by the end of the trip?
R- Oh yeah, a lot more. Kids are always calling me “Mucho Gordito,” or “Grande Gordito.” So I guess I’m, “Gordito Alto,” or “Gordito Alto Fuerte,” which means I’m fat and tall and strong.
When we left the church in Kukra, we took a covered truck, which was not the most comfortable ride, we were very close to each other, the ride was bumpy, and the breathing air was minimal because the whole back of the truck was enclosed. But at least we got to sit down. We drove for about thirty or forty minutes, and we were just away from most civilization, when we arrived in Capricho. There was a small church and nearby was a very tiny house in the middle of lots of grassland. This house was a one room house, with a separate structure as the bathroom. There was no running water, and no electricity. When we came, there was a big birthday celebration. Lot’s of people were there. We had good pineapple and good raisin bread. Some of us sipped the punch that was served, which had unpurified ice. So we were told not to drink it. Also, the family had a horse, and Jenaka, Becky, Brittany, and Sean all rode it, and it was Brittany and Sean’s first time riding a horse!
The people asked Sean to present his message in Spanish to them. He said he would need about 45 minutes to prepare for that, and unfortunately, they started the service sooner than that. We all dressed to perform the champion, and we ministered outside, directly in the sun. Very hot. Sean said presenting his sermon in Spanish was the scariest thing he’s ever done. But he did well. And one man at the end of the service accepted Christ into his life! Amen! Afterwards, we wandered around the fields, and saw the swimming hole, which was the muckiest water any of us had seen. We looked for “Jesus Lizards,” which run so fast that they walk on water. We saw some pigs at a nearby farm, and we saw lots of cows. When we came back to the house, they were busting the piñata, and we watched it crack open with candy.
Then we drove back, had dinner, and planned on the service starting at 7:30. But, with miscommunication, they started the service at 7:00. That threw us all off, because we didn’t have pre-service prayer of any sort, and Sean got a little huffed during his message, speaking out to the men of the town. He was telling them how they shouldn’t try to be so macho and just give their lives to Christ for peace in their families. I also gave my testimony that night. We all debriefed that day with the conclusion that Satan was just trying to discourage us, but we just needed to get used to the fact that the people of Nicaragua just don’t follow times very closely, and we really need to be flexible with whatever comes our way. We all went to bed after our meeting, this time sleeping with the windows closed.
Sunday, July 10, 2005
This morning, we had peanut butter and jelly for breakfast. A lot of people felt sick this morning. I was sitting with Ray and Brittany, who were purifying the water this morning.
C- Hey guys, how is it pumping water? How great is that?
R- It is fabulistic.
C- Is that a word?
R- Yes it is.
C- Ok. So Brittany, how does it feel starting to pump water?
B- Great right now.
R- It keeps you cool.
C- Really. Are you paranoid that you might touch the water and get the whole thing contaminated?
R- No.
B- Um, no.
C- Well, you should be, because I’m gonna be drinking it. Is it hard work?
R- Yes. It actually gives your shoulders a workout.
C- Is it easy at first, then it gets harder?
B- Yeah.
R- It just looks easy.
For the morning service, we split into two groups to do two services. Those of us in the Champion did the drama for the children, which had a very good turnout. We had that service in the town’s community center. Jane led a game called Four Corners, and she spoke in Spanish to the kids. Then Kris spoke to the kids with Anjel interpreting. After the service, we were able to show the movie Ice Age to the kids. A couple of the others stayed in the adult service, and the attendance was very low. Apparently, some people were telling others not to go, and Satan tried to discourage the pastor, but it was still a good service. We had lunch after, and hung out, played games with the kids, relaxed.
Then in the evening service, those of us in the youth choir sang “Slow Me Down,” and “You Said.” Sean and Pastor Jairo did the message “Blockades on the Road to Hell.” Sean was role playing a man who would not accept Christ in his heart until the end, and he broke bricks while the Pastor spoke. That service had a very good attendance, and it was actually the highest attendance in the history of that church. Praise God! No one came up to receive Christ during the service, but afterwards, Sean ripped a couple more phone books, and asked if anyone wanted to receive Christ again. Two young men said that they did, and so Sean prayed with them. That was great. After the service, we debriefed, and went to bed for our last night in Kukra Hill. No more mosquito nets after tonight!
Monday, July 11, 2005
This morning, we woke up to Sean telling us that we woke up late. Apparently, there was a time change, and the trucks came an hour earlier than we expected. But we still ate breakfast and took our time. Some people were still sick. The truck was all ready to go when we were ready, and then when we got to the ponga, it was ready as well! So we realized that the longer we take, the more ready they will be. The ponga ride was a lot more fun this time around, it was a lot faster and more exciting.
We were met at the Bluefields docks by another flatbed truck, and the men there loaded our bags onto the truck, and most of us walked the little distance it was to the hotel we were staying at in Bluefields. We passed by the market, where many people set up shop and sell clothing, groceries, fish from the river, and many other necessities. We walked a few blocks, and arrived at the “Caribbean Dream Hotel,” and settled into our rooms. Thankfully, there was beautiful air conditioning in the rooms, and the showers were great. Today we were planning on doing two or three school assemblies, and then it started raining in the town. So since it was raining, the assemblies were cancelled, because we hold the assemblies outside. We waited for the rain to stop, but it never did. I spoke to Amy Smedley while we were waiting for the rain to clear up.
C- Hello Amy, how are you doing?
A- I’m doing fine.
C- Good. So you are the team nurse of the group, is that correct?
A- That’s right, I’m the team nurse.
C- Has it been hard work so far?
A- We’ve had about four people be sick, lots of cuts and scrapes, and fevers, but everybody’s better not, except for one, but other than that it’s been ok, no major injuries.
C- So you enjoy doing this?
A- Yeah, it’s good it’s nice to help people.
C- So has anything sickened you?
A- I’m fine, praise God, hopefully I don’t get worse or get sick, but I’m good.
C- Have you enjoyed the trip so far?
A- Oh yeah, it’s been incredible, it’s been wonderful.
C- Would you come here again?
A- I’m not sure yet, ask me after we get home.
We drove over to the New Jerusalem church to see Pastor Anjel, and we were served a good lunch. We drove back to the hotel when we realized that the rain wasn’t going to stop. So we decided to just do all the assemblies tomorrow. We had dinner out, we went to a pizza place, and because of the stormy weather, the power went out a few times. It was kind of scary, but exciting at the same time. We wanted to take cabs home, but since they were so small, it would be too expensive to take everyone back that way, so most of us walked back to the hotel. We decided that today was just a day of traveling, and then relaxing. It was nice to be in the cool air conditioning while we slept.
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
This morning we went to the New Jerusalem church to have a good breakfast. We went directly to a school to do an assembly. We performed the champion for the kids, and Sean broke some bricks and ripped a phone book. We did the assembly three times, and we were all pretty exhausted. We went back to the church to have lunch, and there was a leadership training seminar there. So we waited quite a while to eat lunch. Then it started to rain again, so we decided to go back to the hotel to rest up, and see if the rain would stop. We were hoping to do a couple more assemblies, so we prayed for the rain to let up for a while so we could do the drama for some more kids.
Sure enough, the rain stopped for just long enough to so two more assemblies. The only bad part was that the ground was still very wet, and the demons, Satan, and Jesus in the drama all have to fall down on the wet ground. But we did it anyway, and in every school, every child who was there at the assembly raised their hand to accept Jesus. That was wonderful. After the fifth assembly, we decided to go back to the hotel and rest before dinner.
A couple of hours later, at the hotel, Caleb was experiencing some symptoms of an illness. He started feeling very cold outside in the heat, and he started twitching. Sean asked him if he was alright, and Caleb barely remember Sean’s name. He said he didn’t remember the name of the town we were in, and he had a really bad headache. So Sean and Valerie took Caleb to a nearby doctor’s office, and the Doctor said that he would need to go to the Managua hospital to get a cat scan. They determined that Caleb had a concussion. It happened when he was knocked down in one of the dramas we did for the assemblies. He hit his head too hard while falling on the ground. We didn’t have the funds or the time to fly Caleb to Managua, so we tried to take care of him in the hotel. Pastor Anjel was asked to come and pray for Caleb, and he came. He prayed to God that Caleb would be healed, and Caleb said that as soon as he finished praying, his head felt better. That was truly a miracle. Our cook, Carmen, came to the hotel and brought us dinner there. We just relaxed the rest of the evening, and got ready to leave for Corn Island the next day.
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
We left Bluefields around 6am, and rode the truck to the airport. We checked in, and waited for the airplane to come. This must have been one of the longest waits we ever had. We were very early, so we already had to wait almost two hours. But when the plane came, it missed the runway, because it was too cloudy in the sky. They don’t have enough lighting on the runway, so the plane just kept going to Corn Island without us. So we were forced to wait until the next flight there, which was in another four hours or so! Everyone was so exhausted of waiting. We managed to get a plane a little sooner, and since it was last minute, we got two very small planes to take us all. These planes only sat twelve people at one time, so we had to take two planes. Everyone thought we were going to die. But I didn’t. I thought it was fun.
We arrived at a similar airport, at Corn Island. We didn’t wait long to load up onto another truck, a much bigger and more spacious truck. We took a tour of the island, and ended up at a beach, where we swam for a while. Sean told us it was his favorite beach he’s ever been to. Then conveniently, our ponga boat came and picked us up right on the beach. We loaded up, and set sail for Little Corn Island. This was the bumpiest and fastest ponga ride we ever rode so far. The ride was about an hour long, and some people had sore butts after we got off, because it was so bumpy!
We arrived at another beach on Little Corn Island, and we walked only about 100 feet to our hotel, the Sunshine Hotel. We checked into the hotel, and we had dinner there. We met the pastor of the church there, and then we had evening service at the church. This island is very small, and we found that everything was very close together. The church was only about a five minute walk from the hotel. The service was very good. We sang “Slow Me Down.” We had an altar call at the end of the service, and about eight children accepted Christ. After the service, we went back to the hotel, and went to bed in very nice rooms with good air conditioning.
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Today we were planning on doing the champion for more schools on Little Corn Island. But, because of bad timing, the schools were closed during this week that we were here.
