Day 8 - If bats could swim

It was what we had all been dreading, having to leave our Nica friends. After breakfast we split into two groups. One for praying around the city, while the other group did door-to-door evangelism. The prayer was great, most of the time we couldn't understand what our Nica friends were saying, but we all knew we were praying to the same God. The evangelism was so awesome because a 76 year old woman gave her life to Christ while her husband was dying of cancer. You could see she felt a final hope and was excited to share Jesus with her husband.

Afterwards, both groups met back up in the barrio to hang out with all the kids as they waited in line to get food. Some of us actually served the food and you could see the excitement as they walked away with their small meal of rice and beans.

From there, we headed over to the Swans for our last lunch with them. After lunch the puppet team went over to the church to train the other youth group for the last time until they would be on their own spreading the gospel through their new puppets. We then had our last dinner with them at the pizza place. It was a great time joking around and laughing together. We tried not to think too much about having to leave them later.

After dinner we had a party with the other youth group so we could give gifts, pray and just be with each other before our final goodbye. Before we left we all danced together and learned the dances to a few more of their songs. Then it was time to exchange phone numbers and e-mails to try to keep in touch. There were tears of sadness, but also of joy as it was such a successful trip and we hope to see them next year.

Right as we got back to the hotel, Dana came running down the stairs screaming, "THERES A BAT IN THE TOILET!" We all rushed upstairs to see a little bat trying to get itself out of the toilet. Zac got a towel to get him out as we were all crowding around laughing and trying to take pictures. Zac took it outside trying to negotiate releasing a wet bat from a towel. He let go, then THUD. Apparently it then flew away. So it was a very busy, but great last day, and we'll be excited to hopefully see them next year. Adios, Keghan

Day 7 - Just add water

Today was really cool. We went to another barrio that was right on Lake Nicaragua. It was the biggest lake I've ever seen. It took Linda some convincing that we weren't looking at the ocean. We split off into groups, one doing door-to-door evangelism and the other going around to invite people out to the puppet show. I of course got lost somehow and ended up with another group. However people were just so open and welcoming to us. Quite a few people actually became saved or re-committed their lives to Christ. It was so cool during the puppet show to look out and see the huge lake in front of us. Better yet, the lake breeze actually made us cold for the first time down here. The barrio itself was just full of nice people and there was a safe feel to it. As we left the barrio we saw this pig that was literally the size of a bear. Some kid slapped it as it walked by. It made our day. Walking back to the church, Jesse told us about his proposed boy band called "Just Add Water". Dan picked the title for today. Whenwe returned to the church we practiced the cultural dance and the drama we had been learning. Once again, prancing leprechauns. Betty, Linda and the girls actually pulled it off quite well. Then practicing the other song we danced to, it was cool just seeing how we gelled with the other youth group and became one. I still looked like a leprechaun. Afterwards we walked back to the hotel to get ready to go back to the Swans house for some ice cream. On the way back, David, a kid we met at the youth group invited a few guys to his house. A few of us went over with a translator. Thank goodness we did. His family was so amazingly welcoming and cooked us a meal just to welcome us. We sat and talked for about an hour and a half just all about our contrasting cultures and how we share God in our own countries. He invited us back for some local fruit tasting for tomorrow, but we don't know if we'll be able to make it. We then returned to the hotel for our debrief and discussed our best parts of the day. Now its time for bed. See you all soon, Keghan

Day 6

Today was a long and hot day, but it was a good day. We spent the whole day ministering with the youth group from Torre Fuerte (strong tower). That's the church we've been working with all week. As the leader of these kids, it's really awesome to see them interacting so well and so aptly sharing the love of Christ. Our group did a bunch of different things today from, a drama workshop run by the Torre Fuerte group to a puppet workshop run by our group. Right in the middle of those two ministries we left the church and went down into the barrio.

Today was the day for the feeding program. That means that while the kids were waiting in line for the food, we were able to do the drama and the puppets for them. Afterwards, we made balloon animals and did crafts with the kids. It was really great.

One of the things that struck me down in the barrio, was the level of poverty. Seeing these people that are so poor with so much need and not being able to fix the problem. As we would hand out the balloons, kids would come and take one and then pop it and ask for another, pop that one and ask for another, it was never enough. We could have been there for years giving out balloons and it wouldn't have been enough.

It was from there that I began to think about the letter to the church of Laodicea in Revelation. Jesus' assessment ofthatchurchwasthattheywerewretched,blindandpoor. Althoughtheylookedliketheyhadalot,theywere missing the one thing that mattered and that is Jesus.

It's through that filter, that as I looked at this barrio and the poverty, that my eyes were opened. Without Christ, this is how poor I am. I have nothing. I am starving. From there I see the bigger picture, without Christ the world is this poor. The kids in the barrio, while the physical poverty is overwhelming, it's nothing compared to the spiritual poverty of life without Christ.

So that's where I am. Please continue to pray for us and the Torre Fuerte group and Davy and Mary Beth. God is doing some really awesome things here in Nicaragua. Your prayers are coveted. We love you all, Dan

Day 5 - The Fear of Drama

Today was nuts. We woke up much earlier today.(me with a Charlie horse in my leg)..not fun. But we headed over to the Swans for a quick breakfast. We then got on the bus to go to Masaya to perform at a pre-school. The kids were in love with the puppets, but the intensity of the drama was too much for young minds (hence the title). However, being that it's a public school, there was a lot of excitement among the kids and even the teachers. God's just working amazingly down here.

We then headed into town for lunch with the other youth group. Johnny then told the whale joke. He had a translator making whale noises to a crowd of standing foreigners. It was too great for words.

From there we went to the market in Masaya. It was interesting. There wasn't really any room to walk around, but we were able to practice our new found art of bartering. We then headed to another school to do more performances. Once again there was excitement and openness to the word.

In the evening is when the fun really began. We back to Grenada and went out for pizza with the other youthgroup. We later found out that our 40 minute ride out of Grenada was some of the youth group kid's first time out of the town ever. After our puppet training for the Nicas, it was their turn to teach us something new. They taught us one of their cultural dances used for worship. They were all so graceful and made it look so easy. However some of us Gringos just looked like prancing leprechauns.

It was nice to return to the Hotel afterward to debrief and discuss our highs of the day. It was awesome as we talked because it was thundering so loud that it was as if someone was banging trash can lids right outside the door. Afterwards guys and girls separated to our rooms to do our nightly talking and laughing. Dan came into our room to talk and he stood with the door open. The hotel cat then walked into our room and Dan just said no and grabbed the cat by the tail and dragged it out as it screeched at screamed.* It was almost better than Johnny and the whale joke. However, parents, this is an awesome team. God's using us in amazing was here in Nicaragua. Buenas Noches, Keghan

*Editor's Note: There were no cats harmed in the actual events of this writing.