I happened to be taking attendance when the 3-5 yr old class was doing such a neat activity.  When I went to take the older classes attendance, I noticed both 3-5 teachers out of their room, and thought “What’s going on?  Who’s watching the kids?”  When they went back in the teacher began to explain that there was a stuffed animal there on the table when she left, and how happy she was it was still there when she returned.  They were studying the 10 commandments and were on “No stealing.”  After talking for a bit about not taking things from others, and how stealing most often leads to not telling the truth, she turned to the other teacher and said “Oh, I need some air,” and they both headed out again for another test.  What a creative way to apply the lesson!  Both these girls graduated from high school just last year, and we are so proud of them!

All drivers (public buses and vans, truck, etc), have been on strike for the past two weeks.  They are restricted as to how much they can charge, and gas prices have been increasing so much that they demanded action!  The government promised that friendship with Venezuela would bring lower gas prices (and general solutions to all problems), but up until now Nicaragua has been receiving the same prices as everyone else.  The drivers asked that the government freeze gas prices, and yesterday the goverment agreed.  We’ll see how long that lasts…

On a personal note, the buses and vans decided that the highway that covers the area in front of our house would be a great place to take their stand for the past two days.  They said there were 163 drivers lined up along the highway there with their vehicles.  Needless to say this was a little stressful as stories of past strikes include popping tires, burning cars, mustard gas, and even deaths.  Luckily it didn’t come to this in our area!  I told Tigger to attack first and ask questions later!!

You can see he’s really aggressive!  =)

Sunday, May 4th we were in church services and Giovanni was giving the annoucements.  He started listing birthdays and anniversaries of baptisms, and I started thinking, “Hey, isn’t our anniversary soon.”  So I lean over to my mom and ask, “Did we get married May 4th or 5th.”   We decided it was May 4th and it was our wedding anniversary!  David didn’t get me a thing!!  =)  But, our anniversary happens to coincide with the trip we have to take to renew our visa here in Nicaragua (every 6 months they kick you out of the country for 3 days).  We headed down to Costa Rica.  David planned the trip, and he decided we should go white water rafting.  I wasn’t paying much attention because while he was planning I was planning for my parents visit.  The day before we leave I look online and see these pictures of people with helmets on.  Why do they need helmets for family fun rafting I wonder.  

I first have to say the rafting company was the most organized, well managed company I have seen.  I can’t think of one complaint.  They picked us up from San Jose where we stayed.  On the way to the rafting base they guide keeps us entertained with stories and info about the area, natural reserves, good spots to take pictures, etc, and tells us how the day will work.  At the base they serve a delicious hot breakfast (to make sure no one gets hungry on the river).  We head to the river and the guide goes over safety rules.  This is where I start to wonder again.  What to do if your raft flips?  Safety rope?  Correct foot position?  Sign this that frees us of responsibility?  Hmmm…

Well, it turned out great!  The water was low, so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.  The river has 5 class 4 rapids but only 3 were rated 4 during this season, and they weren’t too hard at all.  The river we went on is rated 4th in the world!  About half way through the trip we stopped to have lunch.  Again I was surprised at how organized these guides were. 

All the guides spoke at least enough English to say, “forward, back right, high left, get down!!”  We didn’t flip or anything, but I think it was because we had an awesome guide, because we saw others flip, run up rocks, etc.  In several spots the water was slow and deep enough that we were able to get out and swim.

We had a great time and we are planning to go back when the water is just a little bit higher and test our luck on that.

For the continuation of our trip, I learned that I am never eating fast food again!!  We eat an occasional burger, but with the nearest fast food place being 40 min away, it’s not so fast anymore.  But Costa Rica has KFC and Taco Bell and temptation won.  I have never felt so awful!  It’s amazing how our bodies get used to, and un-used to, that kind of food.  We still managed to get some shopping done though.

The first of May our congregation was able to participate in a national ladies day in Managua.  I’ll have to get the final count of ladies, but I heard there were 1,600!  The guest speaker was addressing the issue of sexual abuse, and gave advice on how to help those who have suffered from it (what to say and what not to say).  We also did an exercise where we listed many things like people we love, a time we helped someone, things we think are beautiful, etc.  This was to help us get our self-esteem from and identify ourselves with the good things in life and not the problems.  The lessons were followed by lunch and several activities.  What a fun day!

We are so excited thhat the church is finally enjoying a location of its own!  Two weeks ago the congregation walked together from our old building to the new place and then enjoyed a small devotional of thanksgiving to God for blessing us with this great blessing!  Then the congregation got ready for a week of hard work as we moved our roof structure (our temporary building) from the old location to the new.

Everyone worked fast, because the very next Sunday we were ready for services!

I don’t know how my mom manages it, but each time we move locations she is always here and always teaches the first ladies class in the new spot!  She gave a great lesson on prayer, using examples from the Bible on what to pray about and trusting in God to answer our prayers.

We were so excited to have my parents visit us!  We took a few days off and had lots of fun.  We went to Volcano Masaya, and active volcano about 40 min. from home.  They had a volcano museum there, and we were able to read about the history of the volcano, what causes volcanos and more.  It was really neat and I have to say I was impressed by the museum.

After the volcano, we headed over to Granada, one of the oldest cities in Central America.  There we took a carriage ride around the city and we were able to see the lake, cathedrals and many other interesting sites.  We saw the oldest cathedral in Central America, and also went to a museum that had information about the natives from the area and the growth of Granada.

I thought that was a neat photo David took!

We also visited Catarinas, a beautiful spot that overlooks a crater lake, and the tourist market in Masaya. 

After that we relaxed!  We had such a great time!  I’m already planning a fishing trip for the next time they visit!

On Friday, April 25th the church here suffered a great loss of a wonderful Christian, Hilda Rosales.  After her surgery, she woke-up and was able to tell her sister, mom, and some members of the congregation that she loved them.  Hilda was a quiet, cheerful women who always had a smile on her face, and was always there to help at any and every church activity, despite how she might have been feeling.  She was a great example to her kids and an encouragment to everyone.  She will be missed, but we know that she is experiencing unmeasurable joy with our Father.