Another day in the Life

Since most of you are not here with us..... We thought we would describe to you a typical day in Bramadero. As we happily dream in bed the bus starts to make its journey down from the town above us. At 5:30 am the horn sounds, letting all the people know the bus is coming. The bus is called the trumpet, and not because it is yellow. From this point on we know that it is possible for someone to come to our house at any time. So we sleep with our ears open, waiting for the pitter patter of little or big feet on the path outside. We have a rule with the kids, that they can't come to our house till after 7am, but there is always the chance that an adult will come. Usually to drop off a battery or cell phone to charge on our solar panel. Between 6 and 7 we have time to eat breakfast, have devotions, or take a nice bucket shower.

The rest of the day is spent between playing with kids at our house (shoots and ladders, memory, cars, coloring, reading, or running around outside) and visiting peoples houses in the community. We are working on building a base line so we can see the changes that have taken place in the community during our next 3 years. So we talk with people, eat with people, and basically just live life with them. Most days we are back to the house by 5, and it is time to cook dinner. We have about 5 or so "junior" chefs that prepare our meal, with Seth directing the symphony. We have many options to choose for dinner, spaghetti with vegetables or rice with vegetables, or you guessed it spaghetti and rice with vegetables. But the kids enjoy cooking, especially the boys. We then try to shoo the kids about by 7 so we have some time to ourselves again. Some nights we watch movies, some nights we read, or some nights we just crash. But we are usually in bed by 8 or 9 dreaming of the "trumpet".

Nica Rica

We are back in Nicaragua and had a great time with Sarah's parents and in Costa Rica with the Rimrock team (from South Dakota). It was a great time to see family and friends as well as to do a little relaxing. In Costa Rica we met some very exciting pastors and pastor trainers who really have a heart for the Lord. It was really good for us to see people who really love the Lord and continually strive to live in Him. We enjoy the church we attend in Nicaragua, but there is something really different about a church that really cares about the community around it and is trying to show Christ's love in every aspect of their lives.

We will be heading back to Bromadero and will be starting a survey of the community. We will be asking questions focused on health and nutrition (how often do you wash your hands, how often do you eat vegetables, etc.). This will not only give us a better idea on what projects we can start, but also give us another opportunity to go and talk with all the families again.

We also are in the process of fixing up a house in a town called San Jose de los Remates, which is about one hour from where we are in Bromadero. We will be working in several of the communities around San Jose with our partner Fenix. We will be hiring several men from one of the communities we have projects in to do the work not only to benefit us but to provide jobs for them. We are looking forward to getting the house ready, so we can use it as a place to relax and also to read and work.