We had a lot of fun this past week with the kids from San Marcos (Chepe, Edwin, Manuel, Chico and Juan). We went on a hike up to a beautiful lookout point over Matagalpa with the church.

Our neighbors invited us to their farm to see where they grow strawberries, broccoli and more.

I should note that the boys fell in love with our neighbors daughter and spent a lot of time visiting next door!

We went up to Jinotega for their Christmas party and also did a hike up to the cross there.

We also had the year end activity at Lucia Mantia. We had kids class like normal, then a pinata, refreshments, a clown, and gave away Christmas gifts to the kids. It was a lot of work, but fun!

I have to brag a bit on the kids. While so many of the young people from San Marcos just stand around when we go to Lucia Mantia, all of the boys were ready to help.

Chepe helping one of the little kids color

Chepe and Manuel practically taught class for me on Sunday. Chepe said the opening prayer (and loud enough so everyone could hear even!), and Chepe and Manuel switched off leading songs. Then Manuel lead a pray for the class, and then they did a skit that taught the class about not fighting or getting into other people’s arguments. They did such a great job!

On the way to San Marcos from Matagalpa, we stopped at Papa Johns to get some pizza and ate outside since we had a lot of stuff in the truck. Chepe thought the security guard looked sad, so he gave him his soda, and Manuel gave him one of his pieces of pizza.

I have to admit, I was a little worried about having five boys stay with us for a week, but it was great! So proud of them!

We had a fun day today! We came back from San Marcos where we saw Chepe, Juan Pablo, and Gabriel graduate from BICA yesterday. We brought five kiddos with us - little Chepe, Chico, Juan, Edwin and Manuel. They spent the night watching Resident Evil (which I did NOT watch).

Today we went to church and a big group came up from San Marcos to see us. Last night late David told me Israel (Chavo) and his family were coming in the jeep, so I was thinking maybe 10 people max. Guess how many came…16! I don’t know how they all fit, or made it through the three hour drive. Well, I thought I might could manage a meal for 17 people (10 + 5 boys + me + David) with nothing but a two quart sauce pan, a crock pot, and a skillet, but not for 23! Luckily we have a new little restaurant next door and we fed 23 for about $45 - not bad!

Our neighbors are working to keep us from getting bored now that our house is empty, so they invited us to see their farm. It was beautiful. They had fields of strawberries, broccoli, carrots, and beans. They had a little raspberry plant and we got to pick fresh raspberries that were delicious. They also had cattle, deer, geese, and beautiful fields of flowers (huge sun flowers). It was a lot of fun to get to walk around and explore, but it was cold!

Well, I know it’s been a long time since an update, so let’s see if I can remember everything. The first of November we were in the states for Edmond’s missions Sunday. It was great. David and Edmond’s missionary to Canada got to speak about the works and tell of fun experiences. They had a reception after evening services and we had a wonderful time talking to all the members (well, I don’t think all 800 made it through the greeting line, but close to it!). It was also great to get to spend time with friends and family and make a few preparations for our move back.

Since we’ve been home we are continuing with the kid’s class in Lucia Mantia. We had 130 kids last Saturday and attendance has made it up to 170 one week! I’ve been impressed with how many kids are remembering their memory verses. We’re planning special year end activities for December 19th with a clown, puppet show, and gifts, so it should be great. Pray we can maintain order!

130 kids in Lucia Mantia

Last Thursday David took the youth group (and some adults who wanted to tag along) on a hike to a mountain top overlooking Matagalpa.  It wasn’t too long, but they stopped along the way to do some swimming and enjoy the view.

View of Matagalpa