Friday was a full day. We met our interpreter for the day, Alvaro, and enjoyed our last meal from Antonia. Then it was off to a meeting with Jorge from Living Water. Living Water is an organization that organizes church groups to build wells in villages like Santa Matilde. The church property had been approved as a site for the well and drilling would start on Monday. (Update – today, Dec 10, the well will be completed) So it was great to meet Jorge and thank him for his ministry.

In the village the children about 100 children were gathering. We had bought piñatas, candy, drinks and a cupcake for the children. We played musical chairs and I shared a Bible story.
 
What I am about to describe to you next is the most terrified I have ever been in Nicaragua. Piñatas are a big deal. I mean really big. So we have 100 children, four adults, candy filled shapes and one kid blindfolded swinging a stick as hard as he or she could.
 
How someone didn’t end up with their head cracked opened is reason to praise the LORD. The children would slowly creep closer and closer towards the piñata as we tried to hold them back. And when the candy would drop, they would dive onto the dirt in hopes of candy glory.
 
After the two piñatas and my blood pressure when down, we handed out several pieces of candy to each child. That was fun. Then the children enjoyed their drink and cupcake. There is something beautiful about those children that words can’t express. Their bright eyes and smiles will grab hold of your heart.
 
Big news! The baseball equipment arrived today!!! Justin was thrilled. The leader of the local youth team just happened to show up at church. Justin was able to show him all of the equipment. They even found a couple of other guys and went and played for a while. You could really tell they were excited to be able to come to the church and have the equipment available for use.
 
That afternoon we prepared for a large outdoor rally on the basketball court. Chairs, sound and video were set up. A group from the New Song ministry in Candelaria showed up to help. Well over a hundred people from the village came out to sing, see a drama and watch a movie. Great night.
 
Under the cover of night, we said our goodbyes. You feel like you connect quickly in such a small time that it is hard to go. But after many hugs we were on our way.
 
Our last night was spent in the city of Leon. La Bloquera was hosting a group from a local church of about 70 people. So Justin and I thought we would rest better before our journey home if we weren’t stepping over mattresses on the floor and sharing the two showers with everyone.
 
Ate a wonderful dinner in Leon and then made our way back to the Hotel San Juan de Leon. This is where our groups stayed prior to La Bloquera. It is clean and comfortable. There is a beautiful rooftop patio where the stars explode out of the sky. We kept up our habit of talking, praying and just sitting in silence for one last time.
 
It was bittersweet knowing this was our last full day of the trip…

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!