Nicca Wedding

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a Nicaraguan wedding. Very different in style, and exhibition it was interesting to sit in the back and see how this tradition plays out in this country. The décor is very festive.  During the procession the bride and the groom sit in a chair. Why? Well their ceremony is a bit longer than a typical American wedding. This ceremony lasted about 1.5 hours and included many family members going on stage to sing, loud chanting of prayers by the congregates, speeches by multiple pastors and a processional walking. The church comfortably hosts 100 people, however was crowded today with 250 invitees. It was alarming to see how “open” this wedding was. In other words many people would come in and out during the ceremony and walk up and down the isle, go up to the front and take pictures as they pleased—very different. At the end of the wedding the wedding party which included at least 20 kids, walked out of the church and through the village roads to Carazo Christian Academy where the reception would take place.  All in all this was a neat and unexpected experience.

This was taken inside the church during the ceremony.

After the wedding ceremony all of the wedding party and their guests walked down through the streets of Dolores (the village the school is in and where I am staying) to Carazo academy where the reception would take place. Here a girl is leading in front while carrying scripture.

The newly weds! Elka, the bride is the daughter of the maid that cooks and does our laundry at the house. Our maids name is Dona Corina.

Coming out of the church.

Ha I made the mistake of asking these kids to say "Cheese!" Embarrassingly enough I caught myself and was reminded that that is an American thing!

I said, "Sonrisa" (smile) to these two instead. It worked!

Many guests walking down the street.

These girls loved having their pictures taken. This is one of 10 :)

Oh this is my dearest friend Auntie Joyce from England. Her accent is lovely! She is the Ol....WISEST of the volunteers and I am the youngest. We both enjoy examining how the mix of cultures respond to different situations. If you are familiar with personality tests, Auntie Joyce and I have already articulated that she is a beaver and I am a lion :D She is so great. 

Teacher Training

Yesterday I was able to hang out with and meet most of the teachers of Carazo Christian Academy. We all left for Lagoon de Apollo, approximately  45 min away from the school. The place we went to was the home of a retired missionary family who has come to live in Nicaragua to train and equip Nicaraguan pastors. The pastor had been a pastor in New York for 30 years with his family and wife before coming to serve here in Nicaragua. They opened their home to us the other day in order for us all to have a teacher training day in a nice location.

During our time we played some team building games. This was also a great time for me to get to know the teachers of whom I will be working with. We also had a DELICIOUS Korean lunch cooked by Susana. I couldn't stop eating the marinated meat! The lake was beautiful and warm. Time didn't allow for us to swim this time, however the family has invited those of us who live in the mission house to come back again for a weekend.

This is Jundi, the missionaries Korean dog. We became friends real quick.

A quick pic in front of Lagoon de Apollo. Behind me I spotted kayak rentals. Something I will definitely be coming back to. The water here is also very warm, another reason to come back!

 Here I took a photo with some of the teachers. I am terrible with names so the ones I can remember here include Oscar, Raquel, and Daniel. Hopefully I can get those names down here soon :/

 I initiated una pictura divertida....some caught on!

This is my new friend Rebecca. She is Korean and has been serving at the school for one year now, and has committed to another. We have connected quickly already considering our love for the outdoors and adventure! We have already talked about taking weekend trips to go zip lining, kayaking and scuba diving. I am excited to get to know her more and to live life in service together. While taking photos we both began laughing at our cultures norms for taking pictures. We have overstated them here: American = arm on the hip ; Asian = peace signs for dayzzz :D

After a long day I went to bed early back at the In2 Mission house on the school grounds.

Nicaragua: Day 1

What a wild day it has been today! First off, I made it to Nicaragua safely. So praise the Lord! I had no glitches in my flight and I thankfully had not trouble with my bags :)

Just as I got settled onto the plane I started to think about the possibilities of me all by myself in the Managua airport. About 30 seconds of diving into dangerous possibilities a man named Charlie Brown waved his hand in between the seats to grab my attention. He very enthusiastically asked, " What are you headed to Managua for?" Him and his two friends Ray and Nick, are missionaries in Leon. They work for a mission organization named Voice of Hope based out of Leon in Nicaragua. These men and their families have been in the ministry for several years. I got to share with them that I would be teaching at a Christian School. Charlie Brown's follow up question was, so tell us your testimony. In all my years of frequent flying miles, never have I ever been openly asked to share my testimony on a plane. In summary it was great to share ministry ideas, passions and our common heart to share the gospel. Furthermore, I know that the Lord provided these brothers in Christ to make me feel for secure and safe until I met with Barry at the airport for pick up.

After getting off of the plane Barry took me to get some grub at Rosti Pollos. Barry said any time he is in the city he takes advantage of buying the good food. He said he would rather pay good money for good food than have to pay a doctor bill. Ha!

Next, [this is my favorite part of today] Barry took me to the Living Water International office near Managua. We walked in not knowing anyone there. I have told Barry my passion for water related ministry and he thought he remembered where the office was located, so I walked right in. In so doing I met Guierrmo Zepeda a site coordinator for the missions teams that come to Nicaragua to help build wells and run hygiene programs primarily in rural more poor regions in Nicaragua. After he briefly shared about their newest project I got to briefly share, again today, about my passion for water, my educational background and how I would love for an opportunity to work and see how they do their mission on the grounds. We exchanged contact info and him and his team agreed they were sure they could work something out. It was so neat because he knew the people from Living Water International from their headquarters in Houston, TX that I have been in contact with over the past week. We seemed to just be connecting the dots. I didn't expect to make a connection with this organization here in Nicaragua so early in the game! I told Barry of how excited I was to make that connection early in the game; how that if I was a dog, my tail would be wagging so hard that all of my grandmother's dishes on her coffee table would be wiped off completely! :D

We arrived to the school in Dolores, a town about 45 min outside of Managua around 4pm today. I was welcomed by Susana (Barry's wife) two Korean volunteers and the Nicaraguan house maid. In due time I will share their names, as I unfortunately have already forgotten :/ I am now working at winding down and putting my things away in my bedroom. This room will be for Kristi Beavert (my great friend from Oregon who will be coming in two more weeks) and myself to share during our time here until mid May.

As for now, it is time for me to wind down, unpack, learn some names and get settled in. Check in tomorrow to see some pics!