Another fun filled day is coming to a close, as I sit here in kitchen by myself, as Morgan trots off to bed. Whoo, it has been a long but ENJOYABLE day. We started off this morning a little different, with a devotion including everyone working in the house. The past couple of days, Morgan, Fide, and I have been having legit conversations about certain passages in the Bible. Today, everyone gathered around the kitchen table, and we all examined a chapter in Proverbs together. All 6 of us gave input! It was incredible just to see how the Father is teaching us. After breakfast, we headed off to La Perla to give away the uniforms, in hopes that the teacher wouldn't cancel classes. We went inside the schoolhouse of about 45 kids and divided up the white polo shirts to give each of them. They were grinning ear to ear! We brought them all outside after they put on their shirts and got them situated for a picture. Organizing them from shortest to tallest reminded me of the good ole yearbook days. While they were outside, we also handed out bookbags (mochillas), crayons, pencils, and candy to them. Big Rafe told us the intention of them getting uniforms was to reward the children who were coming to school, but it was kind of hard to surprise them since they knew we were coming. After we handed out all of the "goodies" they took us inside the schoolhouse for a dance. A couple of the girls had on their native dresses and they performed a dance for us. Fide joined in, and Big Rafe threw me into the group as well. I just watched one of the little boys dancing and tried to emulate him. Naturally Morgan eventually made her way into the circle as well. Once the dancing was done, and everyone got to see themselves on the camera, we headed back to the truck to go down the dirt road to La Escalera. Big Rafe had to give a little boy the soccer ball he had promised him. The little boy had surgery on the back of his leg a few weeks ago by a medical team that came to La Escalera. The surgery was performed right in the cafeteria we laid the foundation for. You guessed it! I am soo pumped for the medical mission team to get here in a couple of weeks. I hope I get to "scrub in" on a surgery! We headed back to Matagalpa and enjoyed a lunch of chicken, rice, a vegetable that looked like a squash mixed with a potatoe, and cucumber/tomatoe salad. After stuffing our faces, we sat around in the kitchen and talked with Roberto and Tanya as they enjoyed their daily "lunch" coffee. We had a mini English lesson with both of them, and struggled through learning how to say refridgerator in Spanish. It was hilarious. All four of us were basically on the floor laughing as Morgan and I tried to pronounce it correctly. We then followed el hefe/the boss, Roberto, to the guys room (the room we stayed in last year) to finish painting. Morgan and I started painting the base an ugly green color, begging Rober(my nickname for him) to find a better green, but nothing could be found. We were over half way done when Fide came up to check on us and gagged when she noticed the green. She insisted that we wait until tomorrow to paint with another green color. Ha, it was quite funny. Roberto then headed off to his night classes as Morgan and I prepared for the big board meeting at 6. Isabelle and Henry, the two board members we didn't know, were really sweet. Isabelle is a hardware store owner, and Henry is in charge of a bunch of the buses in Matagalpa. Omar Jr. and Big Rafe both brought their wives and children to the dinner as well. They stuck to us like glue. By the end of the night we were laughing and playing "Simone dice..." with all five of the kids. I swear it seemed like I was chasing around my own little cousins. I could understand the kids better than the adults because they used easy words, haha. Once we said our goodbyes, with hugs thrown in as well, we helped Fide clean up. I tried to get you guys some pictures up on the blog, but they wouldn't upload from my camera. Nothing is ever easy for me when it comes to technology, but hopefully pictures will be coming soon! Keep praying that a community will continue to be built here at the mission house, and for the hearts of the children and the teachers to be softened. I am excited to be working in the schools soon, but I just want to make sure that they see the light of Christ in our lives, and instead of learning English, that they will long to know the Lord on an intimate level. Speaking of intimacy, I am trying to grow in intimacy with the Father so be praying for me. I have been learning a lot for myself about intimacy with him, but now is the time to really apply it to my life. Well I love you all, and I am sorry for rambling for so long. Maybe you got something from it :)
Spence
Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. Psalms 73:25-26