Ensayo

June 9, 2011 (apologies that this post is out of order….)

Today we went to the village of Ensayo; it’s a small and very poor town here in western Nicaragua. We engaged the people in some activities that we had done earlier this week in the town of Trujillo. We colored books with all the children, learning about their lives and their culture. It was great to see the eagerness of the children and even some of the adults. I mostly talked with one little 5 year old girl, Jacqueline, who was very shy (“timida”) at first. But with some time and her mom’s help, she opened up a little. We also gave out rice and beans to each family and each child received a stuffed animal. We also brought with us a pinata made by the children in the Special School that we visited yesterday. These Nicaraguans take their pinatas seriously! You could tell that the little boys [and girls!!–comment added by Giedra] all play baseball as they had perfect stances and strong swings. Once the candy was released, it was chaos! Even some adults dove in to grab the “dulces” off the packed dirt ground. As we were leaving, they brought us several bundles of a fruit treat called “mamones.” These were obviously prepared to be sold on the street, but they wanted to give us a gift to show their appreciation and, of course, we gladly accepted 

In the afternoon, we went to the beach in Corinto along with the entire staff of the compound where we’re living and their families. It was really great to get cooled off in the ocean, to play soccer and frisbee and to just relax and nap in a hammock. Some of us had some anxiety going into today’s activities as we knew bathroom facilities would be sparse and we’d be away from “home” all day. But, as usual, God provided us with plenty of water, shade and even an enclosed hole in the ground!

In our bible study times, we are studying Philippians and also taking things “to the cross” to hand over to the Lord. We’ve drawn a cross on an old bedsheet and have been putting the things we’re taking to the cross on it. This evening, we took our communion juice and literally poured in on the sheet to symbolize how Christ’s blood covers all our sins and washes us white as snow. Thank you, Lord! 

(Written by Claire Burgardt – Nicaragua, June 2011)

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