¡Bienvenidos a Nicaragua!

 Welcome! I’ve been in Nicaragua for 5 days, Jinotega for 4. As soon as I stepped of the plane I had this huge smile on my face! After months of praying and planning, I am finally here. Immigration went smoothly, found my bags, found Lilly and the only thing not smooth was me trying to get 3 rolling suitcases, a backpack and a pillow through customs! Ha! I felt like such a girlie-girl because I’ve never had that much stuff through an airport or on any trip. But I’ve also never packed for 11 months so I guess that’s fair. We, Lilly and I, walked across the street to the hotel where we were staying for the night. Since my flight didn’t land until 8:45 pm, we wait until the next morning to get to Jinotega. The hotel has definitely upgraded since I was last there. There’s wireless internet in the rooms, a hair-dryer in each bathroom, new bed sets, and new televisions. It was a little overwhelming. I was already feeling spoiled. After letting family know I had arrived, we just talked and went to bed.

Lilly and I are both early risers so we were both awake by 7:00 am on Monday morning. We had plenty of time to enjoy one more warm shower, get breakfast, repack and checkout before Harvey (one of the translators for the mission) came to pick us up at 10. Well since we are in Nicaragua, it’s only right that we go by Nicaraguan time. Our 10 o’clock ride turned into noon. Completely normal. While waiting, I finished my last blog post, practiced my Spanish lesson and enjoyed texting family back home. The ride to Jinotega was beautiful. The land is still mostly green with rolling hills and mountains in the distance. I love it. We stopped in Matagalpa to drop of a preacher and his family, we had picked them up in Managua. From there it was only about 30 more minutes to Jinotega. I was so giddy! The temperature was dropping and so was my stomach with the hills :) The road comes up, over and around and brings you in on the East side of the valley with a clear view of the whole city. Home. After being gone for two and a half years it was comforting to recognize so many things on the drive in and later in the afternoon as Lilly and I walked around town. We were welcomed by Sheila Holland; she and her husband, Jonathan, live in the mission. She showed us our rooms and gave us keys. Lilly and I stretched our legs after the ride and picked up some food for dinner- we tried to keep it simple, sandwiches. We are both very grateful to have wifi at the mission. It makes staying connected to people back in the States very simple.

The rest of the week was spent getting settled in our corner of the mission and helping out with some small projects. There’s been lots of sorting and counting for Casa Materna and the medical supplies that the mission has. (I will share more about Casa Materna in another update soon.) We successfully grocery shopped and made some very nice meals this week! Our chicken from Tuesday night was one of my favorites. We made it early enough to eat and clean up before church at 6:00 pm (which actually started on time)! The cleaning process is quickly becoming routine. The water here is not safe to drink so we wash with “dirty water” and soap then cleanse everything in scalding water. It takes a little longer than back in the States. Last night we had tacos! Lilly’s an excellent partner to have in the kitchen. One because she likes chicken as much as I do and also because she’s not nearly as scared of lighting our propane stovetop/oven as I am. You have to light a match then turn on the gas slowly and then if you’re me jump back 2 feet just incase! It’s not my favorite thing, but Lilly’s basically a pro. Our kitchen adventures continue daily. Lilly will be posting more pictures, so you should check out her link on the right.

 We’ve also had time to visit with the other North Americans living and serving here in Jinotega. The Hollands, Browns, Counts, and Hennigers. They’re all wonderful, and I am excited to learn from them while working with them.

The other daily occurrence is Spanish lessons. We’re still trying to find a Spanish tutor, but for now I’m using an app called duolingo. It’s coming slowly, but I’m learning. We’ve also watched a couple movies with Spanish subtitles. It’s entertaining.

Please continue to pray for our transition. We’ll begin focusing more on the areas we came to serve with this week and developing some sort of routine. Pray for my brain to stay strong as I think in another language all day. Pray for open eyes as I learn more about the Nicaraguan culture and search for ways I can help without hurting. Thank you for sharing this journey with me!

*P.S. I won’t be posting pictures for a while. I want to make sure I know what I’m seeing before sharing it. Thanks for using your imagination!