Hello! Today was the most exciting
uneventful day of the trip. We got to be tourists! For some of the group, being
a tourist was not that exhilarating. We had a great breakfast, the first best
part of the day. After that we jumped on the bus and headed off to Granada on Lake
Nicaragua.
We were planning on going to a volcano, but after we found out the road was under construction, we had to change our plans. The bus ride was like normal; laughing,
singing and sleeping.
When we got to the lake we were entertained by swinging
on vines like Tarzan until our boat was ready to leave. It was the most fun
thing ever!
We split up into two groups and jumped on two different boats for a
little cruise.
We weaved our way through many little islands with extremely
nice houses on them.
We arrived at a little island called Monkey Island. We
were told that a rich man did not want his monkeys any more, so he dropped them
off at the island. As we looked up we saw four little monkeys swinging from
tree to tree. We then turned around and headed back to shore.
On the way Pablo
picked a very cool flower that “makes” people fall in love within five minutes.
I don’t think it worked. J
Once back on shore we jumped back on the bus and headed to a fine lunch on the
lake.
Something the Lord has been teaching me this week is that I cannot let anything hold me back from giving everything to Christ, especially possessions. These people do not have anything and yet serve the Lord with all their heart and with amazing joy. I cannot let anything hold me back from giving my whole heart to Christ.
For the team, Antonio Gossack
Que onda salvaje? We ended our scenic cruise
with lunch.
The team then headed to the market
in Masaya to do some touristy shopping. I am not exactly what you would call a
big fan of tourism, as I would much rather spend my time with the Nicaraguan
people. However, this was a big chance
for me to value the interests of others and be understanding.
Everyone split up into about four or five
groups, each having a translator, and we entered the market. I got to translate and barter, so it wasn’t as
bad as I had thought it would have been.
The tiendas were full of brightly coloured
knick knacks of all sorts, plenty of jewelry, hammocks, odd mask things,
and…raspadas! Raspadas are little frozen delicacies that I haven’t had in about
three years. They scrape ice off of a
huge block of ice and put the fine shards into a cup. The cup of ice is then
doused with a sweet, caramelly sauce and served to you. I think it was the
highlight of my time there. It was fun
to see the others enjoy the many wonders of the world of los turistas.
We got home and had soft tacos!! I
accidentally dropped my fork in the trash and frantically tried to fish it out,
but after five minutes of dismal failure, I was told that it was okay to leave
it in there. I was very relieved.
A final team meeting ended our
day. We got to spend time in God’s presence through worship and were able to
encourage each other. This mission trip
has allowed me to build better relationships with my fellow classmates, and it
has been a blessing to work alongside them every day. I can see their hearts
for God and it encourages me to see how willing they are to serve and share
Jesus with los Nicaraguenses! The Lord
has been gracious with me this week and helped me to be humble. Being able to
speak Spanish is a blessing from Him, but it does not give me any reason to be
prideful. Having other translators around has taught me so much, and it has
been a privilege to get to know them. God is so good to me.
Well, I think I’m going to go and
join in on some blonde jokes with my team now.
We fly out at 6:40 tomorrow morning, so please be praying for a safe
flight!
Michelle Simpson...out. (as always, for the Team)
Michelle Simpson...out. (as always, for the Team)
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