This Quiet Life

So, I’ve been faced with my age… a lot … lately.  Not even in a blatant, in your face way, but still.  I’ve had a few people comment about how we’re aging.  I have high school students graduating this year who were born the year I graduated from high school. Just being faced with my age… and then, there’s my weight issues.

I’ve been pretty open about my struggles with weight.  Since I was a child actually. I’ve always been chunky but after sports ended for me with injury… well, it just plain got out of control.  Enter yo yo dieting for the next 15 years and you have me here.  About 80 lbs heavier than I should be and in a true love / hate relationship with food. I’m really a food addict.  Everything I read about food addiction, addiction in general, tells me that I’m a food addict.  And addiction is a addiction… food, alcohol, drugs, exercise… it is all one in the same … and my addiction has effected my health… my self esteem … my life. From what I understand, the key to addiction is that it’s a true chemical issue in the brain… it’s an imbalance that my head has… yes, and total lack of self control… but over time, my brain has gotten sick and my brain feels the need to gorge and overeat to give me comfort… something about that full feeling… the taste of chocolate that makes me feel like it’s all going to be ok.  I can’t explain it.  This may sound totally crazy to you… but there it is.

SO, with that said – it was time to try and reset the receptors in my brain which craved the sugar, the chocolate, the full feeling and make my mind shift from food for comfort to food for fuel.

In comes Whole30.  Not only do I feel this is a great way to reset my brain receptors… but it also is a really healthy way of eating.  Not only could it reset my brain / addicted receptors… but it can heal my body in so many ways.

For more info on what Whole30 is – go here (www.whole9life.com).  The basics are 1. paleo on steroids.  2. no grains, no legumes, no processed food, no dairy, no sugar. Limited fruit, lots of veggies.  Tree nuts galore and lean meats.

I’m on Day 8 here in the House of Stone. 9 lbs lost and a bunch more energy.  Several people have asked what we’re eating these days (and btw, John is also doing it… though he’s a bit over it right now).

Here’s the quick breakdown:

Breakfast – eggs, bacon, protein shake

Lunch -leftovers from dinner, salads

Dinner - this is where i’m a bit obsessed… see below

Snacks – homemade granola, oranges, protein balls, boiled eggs, homemade trailmix

Now for the specifics…

I’m a foodie.  I really am obsessed with all things food – so in that I’ve taken this step to not feed the addiction by eating the food … I’ve kindof fed the “foodie” part of me by searching for recipes.  And I’ve found them!  I love the websites http://www.paleomg.com and http://www.fastpaleo.com (which has an ipad app) and http://www.realfoodfreaks.com. And many of the recipes I’ve been making are from those.

After having many ask for what we’re eating – I’ll start blogging it for those interested.

Tonight we had this deliciousness… Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken. The full recipe is found here at Fast Paleo.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken with steamed veggies

The stuffing is a handful of baby carrots, handful of pecans and about 1/2 a chopped onion, thrown in the food processor (my new best friend).  I got a lot of aggression out pounding the chicken breasts into submission.  Ellabee loved this!  The veggies are just sugar snap peas and broccoli crowns, steamed in the microwave.  Now, here’s the key – no water was used in the steaming of these veggies.  Put the veggies in a microwave safe dish, drizzle with about 1/8 c coconut oil, melted, cover with a paper towel and run on high in the microwave for 6 minutes.  YUM!  Like I said, Ellabee loved it.  Pryor ate some.  Anne Bailey flat out protested … but I’m not running a short order cook station, so “you protest, you don’t eat”… and she’ll be ready for breakfast in the morning.

One other snack I’ve found that I’ll share tonight (and then I have to go to bed) are Power Balls.  I think they are actually called “protein balls” but I just love saying Power Balls… like I’m announcing the lottery winners.

power balls

They don’t look very appetizing, but three of these will fill you up for a snack and are quite tasty and sweet. The recipe is found here at Have a Delicious Life.

Enter my trusty food processor again.  This is one of those – “throw it all in and let the machine do the work”… I will say from experience though – on dates. Even if the package says they are pitted – it’s best to check each date.  There is really nothing harder than a date pit … I’ve almost broken a tooth on one.  A date pit which sneaks into the food processor is so strong that it will stop the processing COLD.  Watch for the pits!

More to come as I find more stuff.  Just consider me your personal Whole30 recipe stalker!

It’s never rare to get a call from our Pettey that starts something like, “are the girls home?”  “Well, one of them is and the other two will be soon.”  “Great. I have some baby chickens and I’m coming over.” And in comes Elizabeth Pettey lugging around a large rubbermaid container holding two baby chickens, perhaps a week old.

The girls named these for the two hours we had them – I think this is Sweetie (but I could be wrong)

We had the pleasure of two hours with these little munchins the girls named Sweetie and Honey. They swore they had the ability to tell them apart… I never could. But what I learned is that I still really want chickens.

loving on the chicks

EB was quite the chicken catcher. Gracious we want some.

Every family needs a Pettey.

We finally got our courage up to hold a baby chickadee

After our afternoon visiting with the little ladies, we finished out a crazy week and packed our bags for a night at Bucks and Ducks in Macon.  Maw Maw and Paw Paw had invited us over and off we went, car loaded with bikes and a dog and three little girls ready and willing to get filthy.

Bucks & Ducks is just about 2 hours away from Birmingham.  Daddy surprised my mother with it a couple of years ago and it has quickly become a respite for our family.  It combines the best of both worlds – hunting opportunities for the men in the family and a comfortable landing zone for the ladies with plenty of places for little girls to run and play and ride bikes. It also makes for a lot of photo ops… an amateur photographer’s dream.

riding the trike

One of the best things about Macon is the ability to be able to ride all over the property – especially on the mile long drive way!

swinging high high high

Riding on the lawn mower with Paw Paw

checking out the garden with Maw Maw

the Macon house is a great, open place for a dance party.

Hanging with maw maw while Mommy scouts the wildlife.

Pryor’s place of honor sticking her head out the back of the Ranger.

It’s so peaceful in the deer woods. Notice the wild flowers (and the massive amount of deer prints)

Our two hour adventure into the deer woods to fill feeders and look for antlers.

S’mores around the fire pit on the lake.

Sitting around the campfire with our family and our sweet neighbors in macon

Adventure abounds.

Peace.

The Nicaragua trip the week before Easter week really shook up my preparing for Easter timeline.  I had planned to do a Resurrection garden with the girls, something we’ve done with them for the past three or four years.  It didn’t happen.  I also intended to dye eggs with the girls, something we’ve done every year with them.  It didn’t happen.  Instead, I came  back from the trip and had to rest up a full day before I felt somewhat normal.  It didn’t help (or maybe it did) that Pryor threw up within 5 minutes of me being home.  Literally guys – 5 minutes.  But she only vomited once and so after a night of sleeping with her foot in my face, we decided to go to Palm Sunday service at Covenant.  The older girls were scheduled to sing in the service and of course, there’s the ceremonial waving of the palm branches at the beginning of the service.

Well, I kept Pryor with me… she just wasn’t acting “normal”… ha.  10 minutes into the service, the poor child started gagging and I ,in true mother fashion threw my hand over her mouth, ran from the sanctuary and even drop kicked the door into the parlor in desperate search for a sing to deposit the treat she left in my hand.  What a nightmare.  The blessing in that one is that she was wiped the rest of the day… and wanted to just lay on mommy on the sofa.  Oh darn.  I had to lay on the sofa and sleep for 4 hours Sunday afternoon.

With that nightmare experience behind us (I promise y’all I couldn’t make this stuff up) we were in full swing of Easter week and mommy’s back and daddy’s exhausted.  Yep, last week was less than stellar… oh and did I mention that the venue for a 300 person luncheon I’m planning for next week fell through and we had to scramble to find a place in Birmingham to seat that many people… and who would let us bring in our own food.  Yep… less than stellar.

SO, I welcomed the weekend and the festivity of Easter weekend.

I’m so thankful for our Sunday school class at Cornerstone.  I’m even more thankful that they plan things and I just have to show up and enjoy… bringing along a little something to share along the way.  And so on Saturday morning, before the rain came, we headed off to the park to hunt some eggs with our friends from church.  Thank you Jesus for expanding our world to include this community of people.

my dear friend Casey. What a blessing she is to me. Her laughter is infectious.

because every celebration warrants a hip pop

the first year that Pryor “got it” and “got in it”. I think I witnessed the child throw some elbows.

Anne Bailey loved the egg hunting component

please notice the pink “egg” isn’t an egg at all but a pink iced donut… because an Easter basket is the best place to put those.

Easter morning dawned wet and rainy.  I called it that we wouldn’t be celebrating the risen Savior atop Vulcan Park at 6:15 am… but alongside our bedsides at that time.  Ellabee was not impressed with this decision but she chose to go along with it (frankly, she was told to hush up and get over it).

Of course we had to get the obligatory photos for Easter.  My best friend had the best idea… she suited everyone up the day before and took pictures on Saturday afternoon while the sun still shone.  I may be doing that next year… but for this year, these must do.

Anne Bailey – age 6

Johnson Stone – age 3

Ella Brimage – age 9

Yep… the only picture I got of them together. Yep.

Happy Easter from the Stone Family

Not sure I’m spelling that right… and in that it’s a pretty desolate location, I’m pretty sure a google search will turn out unfruitful.  We started the day on Friday on the road to a neighborhood just outside of Managua called Los Brassiles.

The school in Los Brassiles is more typical for children who live in poverty.  It is also the place where ESVO Ministries started.  The place of their first workshop for blacksmithing and a place that holds a lot of promise, but also a lot of frustration.We arrived at Los Brassiles and were asked to join their students in a chapel service.  The children presented a few dances for us and then we had a few vocalists from the group.

She is beautiful… and loves to be photographed. “un photo?” was my consistent question.

We then split up and took crafts into the classrooms… A precious time for our girls to spend time with the children.  A precious time for the children to see that someone loves them whom they’ve never met and probably will never see again.

I did notice a great difference here…

When we started preparing for this trip, we read When Helping Hurts which is a book that takes Christian’s through a new way of thinking through short-term missions. I have to admit, I had a hard time with the concept at first.  I’ve gone to Romania twice and Africa once.  the African trip, similar to (or what I perceived to be similar to) the Nicaragua trip was my first experience of dealing with children in extreme poverty. I have vivid recollections of taking a bag of candy from my backpack and being attacked by hundreds of hands begging for a piece.  I have memories of having the empty bag snatched out of my hand and children fighting over it in the field.  I remember having hands all over me, all the time, begging for something, anything from the Americans. And at the time, I felt it my / our duty to provide the candy… the knick knacks to the children.  And then I started grappling with When Helping Hurts. As I asked in our preparation about gifts and candy, I was rebuffed.  Told we wouldn’t bring anything for the children… for the women… for the people we’d be meeting.  “They’ve worked hard to make sure these people don’t expect things from the American groups who come. We don’t want to encourage the idea that when Americans show up, they get something.”  I was horrified at first.  Indignant even.  It’s our duty… our call.  Candy makes kids happy… don’t we want to make them happy? No… I wanted to make myself happy… and now, it makes so much sense.

I was followed by a group of kids to our bus as I went to get water… they were begging me for candy, food, water, crayons.  They couldn’t keep their hands off me… and yet, this time I didn’t feel bad, I was angry.  NOT at the kids.  NOT at them.  Please don’t think that… I was mad that instead of showing them love and compassion, Americans have spent more time caring about ourselves, our pain… our call than just loving these kids. These children we served are in extreme poverty which has been somewhat promoted by groups of Americans who come in giving gifts, handing out trinkets and walking away selfishly feeling they helped… and the truth is – only God can help.  Only God can provide a balm for their pain.

enjoying the opportunity to create art… a luxury here. a LUXURY.

so impressed with the girls and how they jumped in with the children.

I was intrigued with this blond haired child… not really sure what his story is, but blond hair is something you rarely see here.

After our time with the kids, we went into the community to enter the homes of members of the local church and pray for their needs.

the road through town… watch your step and look for pigs.

We went to three homes.  We met three families.  The final home was heartbreaking.  There we met this abuela.  This madre.  This mujer who imprinted on my heart.

precious Dona… this abuela broke my heart… and then broke it again and again.

In her feelings of loneliness and abandonment, Jesus joined us there.  We were able to pray with her, cry with her and hold her if only for just a moment.  This is the calling for Christians – American and otherwise… “visit widows and orphans in their affliction”… go to them, sit with them, pray with them, love them there…  it’s not our call to fix it.  It’s not our call to make it seem better… only Jesus can do that.  It’s our job to go into the dark places and bring light.  To speak truth and bring light.  To get dirty holding onto the frail body of a tiny woman who just wants her five sons to come and see her… visit them in their affliction… and leave the candy at home.

Day 1 – 3 were intermingled with the good and the bad.  The deep and the shallow.  Precious children who were kind and cuddly, but suffering malnutrition from lack of food… or neglect. The shallow with the deep. A school, a beautiful new school with 39 children eager to learn and laugh.  Children running into the library eager to see the new books… but across the valley a mountain littered with “homes” of children who might never see the inside of a school, much less a library.  The good and the bad.

Day 4 started at the ESVO Ministries Workshop.  Paired with NCA Mejapa, the ESVO is a vocational program.  Students learn cooking (not just rice and beans but healthy items… with, wait for it, vegetables!), sewing, carpentry and black-smithing.  Our group helped paint some walls in the workshop along with the rest rooms.  This place, a workshop with sawdust littering the floor, is an example of what can work in a place like Nicaragua… or better yet, the United States. In Nicaragua there is no middle class, or the class that exists is small.  As the poor have no real chance at learning a trade and the rich have no reason to… so ESVO ministries seeks to work with apprentices… not for months but for years … to teach them a trade. And after the painting, we got to try our hand at it.

painting sisters. We were able to teach them a little about how to cut in, etc.

Mike teaching us about blacksmithing. It’s so intriguing…. seriously

the tools of a blacksmith

making a leaf

my attempt

the leaf… they made it in about 2 minutes… none of us made one in 15 minutes of trying.

So, after spending time hanging out in the workshop Thursday morning, we headed back to Quinta Arien (our hostel) to change and head to our afternoon assignment – Nueva Imagen.  Nueva Imagen was created about 10 years ago by a woman from New Zealand who had a heart for women, so desolate and desperate, that have fallen into prostitution. The women on staff and their volunteers pursue these women where they are.  It’s not about what they are doing as a prostitute… it’s about pursing their heart and introducing them to Jesus.

Let me stop right here.  I love kids.  I’ve always loved kids.  I enjoy their laughter and their smiles… but my heart is warmed by women. My calling is caring for women. Nueva Imagen touched me.

Prostitution… much like abortion it’s one of those “tion” words which make us shudder.  These women are unclean.  They are reviled.  Many have bore children while in prostitution… It’s a sin above sins in this world… but what does God think about these women. And the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” Hosea 3:1  These beautiful women.  They are pursued by two people… the enemy… who wants to steal kill and destroy… and the Lord … who wants to cover the women and protect them and see them in eternity.  What an amazing opportunity to care for these women.

art with the women at Nueva Imajen… what a privilege to spend some time with these women.

artwork is a source of pride in Nicaragua

many of these women are still active in prostitution and therefore their identity must be protected… they are “owned” by men who really don’t want them to get out of their business.

I met the least of these at Nueva Imagen.  I met them there and saw joy and peace and salvation in their eyes.  I learned of four women who have come out of prostitution and now seek to help other women in the “market” to get out.  Oh I wish we could show you the pictures.  As I’ve mentioned in the past, I love photography.  And at Nueva Imagen, the Lord used my love of photography … and women. the women were overjoyed to sit for a portrait… and I was overjoyed to take their photographs.

I remember walking through a Kasbah in Morocco when I was a teen.  We were told not to take pictures of the people because they believe when you take a photograph of them, you take a part of their soul.  I found it totally foolish at the time… but now I get it.  No, I don’t believe you can steal a person’s soul with the lens of a camera… but I wish you could see the love of Jesus in their eyes.  I wish you could see the hard look of life on their face but the love of Jesus in their eyes… and peace. If I could show you the pictures, I’d show you the women that day who know and profess love for Christ and those who are still getting to know his heart.  You can see the difference.

After loving and spending time with the women, it was time to leave.  There were tears and hugs and kisses of goodbye.  There were “remember me”s and “pray for me”s and promises to send to the photos through Lauren (who lives in Managua and works at Nueva Imagen. And I continue to pray for them and remember them and the photos have been sent.

It was a hard day… and I’m still processing.

That night we needed a break.  We headed to the VIP Movie Theater where we were treated to a showing of Les Miserables while we lounged in leather recliners in lovely air conditioning (but after 100 degree heat for four days, we got a bit chilled).  We ate dinner in the theater – a hearty hamburger (with what I think was bacon – in that it was dark, I assume that the chewy item on my hamburger was bacon… we’re going to continue thinking that). It was wonderful.  I sobbed again and sang again and enjoyed the movie… again.

at the VIP theater… Les Miserables with subtitles in air conditioning and recliners… oh and wait service to your seat.

subtitles

But even in that moment, we were reminded that this was a luxury to 8% of people in Nicaragua… the upper class.  As we were reminded, Tony, our bus driver, will never go and catch the latest movie there. The shallow and the deep.

Peace.

We woke super early to make it to the school for our 7:30 chapel assignment.  The school is focusing on the names of God (ex: Dios de Elojim).  Our focus was on david and Goliath.  The students acted out a shot skit depicting the story (with the help of Mike and two NCA students) and then Laura Keel shared a short testimony of overcoming a Goliath in her life.  The girls then split into small groups where the students talked about a Goliath they were facing in their lives.

bald men have feelings

the philistines attacking the Israelites

“Goliath”

small groups after chapel

After chapel, we headed to the library where there was much crafting to be done.  The girls were able to catalog over 100 library books (they are in need of more Spanish language fiction books – HINT HINT) and we took a pretty good swing at decorating the library.  Pinterest to the rescue!  Thank goodness for the pins regarding making your own blackboard paint (1 cup paint to 3 Tbs mortar)… the library now has a black board where they can theme out a week or a month without having to put anything on the walls (not that they are opposed, they are just unable to find any thing other than hot glue which will stick).  We also took foam boards and cut out 3 foot letters to read “descubrir” or “to Discover”… these we hung from the ceiling.  The color coded paper label which were laminated gave an extra pop of color and the girls made a six foot wide rainbow (thanks Lavar Burton and Reading Rainbow) for the far wall.  I must say that once done the library looked bright and fun…. our goal from the beginning.  I’m really getting my craft fix here each day… which I know my sister will appreciate. HGTV strikes again.

HGTV part two – Descubrir project

the girls and their rainbow creation

new labels, color coded, for the library

we taught them how to make chalkboard paint and painted this one in the process

Throughout our morning the girls went into Elisabeth’s classroom to interact with her students.  They were able to participate in conversational English with the students and share some special time with them.  I met a young woman (7th grade) while we worked in the library who recently moved to Nica from Canada.  She told me her mother was moving back in 6 months but she might be able to stay.  When asked what she’d prefer, “Oh, I want to stay here at this school” was her reply.  Bien hecho NCA!  Good job.

one last good bye to Elisabeth

We left NCA and started a long and somewhat uncertain trip up the mountain to visit Selva Negra, a coffee plantation.  We ate in the restaurant on the lake at the foot of a large mountain… complete with cake and coffee.  Good coffee.

dinner at the plantation

Afterwards, we piled in a van for a two hour (supposed to be one – thanks driver and tour guide jose) tour.  Selva Negra is a fully self-sufficient plantation which is completely organic.  They do not use any chemical pesticides or fertilizers.  Jose was born on the plantation and after being educated at the school on the plantation for the worker’s children, he began his job of picking coffee beans.  He then moved to maintenance and now is the “spokesperson” if you will for the plantation.  We were able to see the hotel portion of the plantation and then went into the coffee fields.  The tour was complete with goats, cows, manure and a discussion of how they take “human poop” (Tony’s explanation not mine) to make bio fuel to cook with.  I’ll just go ahead and say “human poop” was not something I was expecting to hear.

everyone and Jose… he was born on this plantation and is now raising his daughter here alongside his wife.

the house where the owner lives and the lovely little village of workers’ housing

the ladies working on laundry and the school (80 kids -1st through 8th) with four teachers and 50 computes and internet…

tenement housing for the yearly workers

I did not know there was any such thing as a poinsettia tree…

the coffee plants grow under the shade of the banana tree. They work together to both flourish… the coffee plants enrich the soil and the banana tree provides shade from the hot equatorial sun.

the coffee cherries start like this. two shells must come off to get to the bean which is dried and roasted. Please note the green finger is left over from the HGTV makeover earlier.

shell one gone

shell two gone

the very stinky pulp… which we thought Jose was saying poop.

Celeste and Margaret skipping down a path.

the girls

Lauren and a giant lemon the size of her head

the obligatory geese picture

Now, as I type this it is 6:06 Nica time and we are about half way through a 3 hour trip to Managua.  My bum is numb, but my heart is full.  Falling in love with this land and its people… God is good and here…

Adios and Bueno noche from Nicaragua.

The night of sleep wasn’t as bad as the first night, but it wasn’t anything grand.  The sun comes up super early in morning and with that, well before that, comes the chorus of roosters throughout the barrio.  The birds here are also insane.  They chatter like nothing experienced before.  And the wild thing about that is that you really can’t see these loud birds.  They hide and bomb you with their noise beautiful music.

We were treated to another wonderful meal by Mary who, along with her husband Enrique, run the Quinta Arien (our abode for the week). Mary is puerto rican but lived in San Antonio, Texas before she moved with Enrique to his homeland of Nicaragua.  After our meal, we headed 3 hours up the road to Matagalpa.

Matagalpa is in northern Ecuador in the mountains.  It is the Nicaraguan capital for coffee (the number one export for the country).  We stopped along the way at the Tip Top, Nica’s answer to McDonalds and Chick fil A.  The meal was quite lovely for fast food … until a small worm was found in the lettuce adorning our sandwiches (which had been consumed before the said worm was discovered). Regardless, it provided a laugh for all of us (hey, better to laugh than gag – which I did a few times over the incident).

How we roll around Nicaragua… check out the lovely curtains.

lunch at the Tip Top… Nicaragua’s answer to Chick fil a / McDonalds

I can’t explain enough how amazing these girls are.

Once pleasantly full, we headed to the ReNutrition Center in Matagalpa.  The Center, which is what I would term a short term group home, is specifically for children who are significantly malnourished.  Think images from the Ethiopian famine here.  The Center allows parents three chances to bring their children (and leave them) to be renourished.  In many cases, really in MOST cases, these children come from such abject poverty that the children simply cannot get enough to eat. Unfortunately it’s a generational problem and the families hold the mentality that they made it (though three other siblings died of starvation), so why do anything different.

I will say that when I got to the ReNutrition Center, I was hopeful.  The mission is a great one.  Children starving are getting food.  Even as the children greeted us, they were desperate for the attention the girls would give them.  They immediately threw themselves into the girls’ arms and the playing began.

the girls at the Re-Nutrition Center in Matagalpa

As we spent more time there, we soon realized that these children were far more than malnourished and a greater problem… leading to a greater hopelessness formed.  One child who my friend Becky named David (his real name is Edwin), seemed to be about 3 months old.  His size was that of a three year old but his muscle mass and development also pointed towards that age… he is 18 months.  His twin sister, also at the center, is in the same shape.  Edwin also has a heart condition for which he takes medicine.

Becky and Wes with Edwin.

The center provides a place for parents to bring their children (and leave them for months) to get them back up to their goal weight.

Love the picture… the sharp contrast is the knowledge that this 3 month old sized little one is actually 18 months.

Edwin’s twin sister and Katherine.

Another girl looked like she was three… she was six.  Another child looked six… she was nine.  All had significant developmental delays.  They didn’t speak.  Some didn’t walk. It was heartbreaking.  And in the hopelessness, grew anger.  Where is the local church?  This center puts the bandaid on the problem but surely doesn’t fix it.  It’s social injustice at the core.  Precious children relegated to starvation because  of their birth place. And yet… our hope is not of this world.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

We spent about three hours at the ReNutrition Center.  We even were able to feed the children one of their six meals of the day. Now that was hilarious. And in that, some, I believe, found a calling… or perhaps more likely, a calling was revealed.

They only feed the children items that the families can access in their impoverished state.

We left the ReNutrition Center to go to Nicaragua Christian Academy (NCA) Matagalpa.  This school began 2 months ago and is the third campus for NCA.  With 39 students, grades 1st through 7th, they are teaching children through a “normal” school day (7:30 to 3:30) that is abnormal to the community (most children who attend school go from 8 – noon and 1 – 5 in two shifts.  They barely can read when the complete their studies.

NCA Matagalpa is focusing on educating the next generation of Nicaraguan leaders with evangelical Christian values.  It is bright and joyful.  We began working on our project of the library and put together another HGTV plan for bringing some color to the biblioteca.

It was great to see our friend Elisabeth Elliot again.  Elisabeth has been a friend of RA for a few years and recently moved to Nicaragua to serve as a teacher at NCA. She teaches Spanish.  Not only does Elisabeth have a connection to RA, she also has a very special connection to our girls from Advent.  She served as the youth director for Advent before moving to Central America so our girls were extremely excited to see their precious friend.  We all were.

The view from the front porch of NCA Matagalpa. One of the day’s “hopeful” images for me. This school can be a beacon of hope for those living in such poverty just across the valley.

Everyone was SO happy to see Elisabeth

As you can imagine, the trip from Managua was exhausting while the emotional tiredness caught up from the ReNutrition Center.  We went to a restaurant in the city with authentic Nica food  (rice and beans) and headed to the hotel for bedtime.

Just a look into what we eat here. Fried plaintains with a really salty cheese, fried plaintain chips, fried taco and a rice and beans mixture… which is fried.