This 2005 Suzuki Grand Vitara has A/C, a CD player, and lots more room. It is comfortable, and most importantly RELIABLE! It feels so good to drive around in the Suzuki. Thanks so much to everyone at Grace Church who contributed and made it possible for me to have this smooth ride!!!
We have had a great mango season! We have a huge mango tree in our frontyard. It began dropping mangoes before we moved in in mid-May, and hasn’t stopped since. At times I was bringing 10+ mangoes a day to the office to share…with 20 more waiting at home in the kitchen and more on the ground out front. The picture shows where our mangoes are currently hanging in the kitchen, with a few bags of frozen mangoes to the side. We also trade mangoes for avocados with the woman up the street from our home. She is a lovely lady that runs a little fruit and fresh tortilla stand.
Sharing mangoes, making mango cobbler and eating fresh mangoes for breakfast have been my favorite parts of the season. Tomorrow Lori and I are going to make mango-banana-orange smoothies. Mango season will soon be coming to an end. I will mourn the day. I love mangoes!
I am learning a lot about how Nicaraguans go about buying and selling cars. I am in the process of doing both. Last Saturday morning I found myself sitting on the porch of a pleasant stranger’s house, talking with a different stranger, waiting for the lawyer inside to finish typing up an agreement on a “new-to-me” car. I have about 2 weeks before I have to pay for the car. I am praying that my current car will sell before then. I’ve had 3 people show interest in my car this week…but none have made serious offers. I would love to have the new car before the Grace Medical team gets here on Saturday evening…but, that would be a long shot at this point. I was telling Alcides that I I have been reminded through this process that I need not put faith in an interested buyer, but in the One whom has ultimate power and whom orchestrates events according to His will. There is no better place for me to place my trust, than in His hands.
In my latest newsletter, The Gazelle July-2008, you’ll read about ministry updates from Nicaragua and my recent visit to Costa Rica. I had a great visit with Dick and Shiela Dudney, friends from my days in language school in San Jose, Costa Rica. They still work at the instutite, offering counseling, joy, and friendship to students there.
I just got back from a great Ultimate Frisbee Tournament in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. The trip to Costa Rica satisfied the need to renew my Nicaraguan visa as well as to satisfy my desire for competitve play. The majority of players were from Costa Rica, but Panama, Nicaragua, and the USA were also represented. Six teams competed over a two-day period. It was a hat tournament, so we didn’t know who was going to be on our team until we got there. I knew a few players from playing Ulimate in Greenville last Fall and it was fun to see them again. Our team came in second place. It was a tight championship game, but alas we dropped the…Frisbee. We all had such a fun time and the scenery was amazing, especially the Arenal Volcano, which was in sight from our playin
g fields.
At 11:30pm on Friday night, I began painting my room to the rhythm of the treefrogs singing outside my window. At 3:30am I ran out of “Light Camel” paint and had to leave one wall 4/5 finished. Bummer. I think if I would have painted for much longer the paint fumes would have had me seeing frogs and camels frolicking around my room! It was a satisfying night of painting, even if there’s work yet to be done.
