#3 Completion of Language School

This post was an email update that was sent out during my time spent in Nicaragua from 2009 to 2011. I started posting them here when some of my friends who had not received them, wanted to see and hear about the work there. You can access an entire list here.

Mary - “Buenos Días. Cómo está?” (Hello, Good Day. How are you?)
Maria - “Bien. Y usted?” (Good. And you?)
Mary - “Bien. Gracias!” (Good. Thank you!)
Above is how you greet most any person that comes to your house or at church. When I came to Nicaragua, I knew those words, but that was about my limit of making convesation in Spanish. I knew other words, but didn't know if they were nouns, verbs, adjectives, or what. I have now finished 6 weeks of language school in Estelí and have returned to my house.I feel like I learned a lot in those 6 weeks, but there is still a road to trod ahead of me. I will continue to learn new words and be corrected from day to day, but I am looking forward to being able to talk with the dear people here. There are times when it does get frustrating but God gives us the strength we need.

Well the 6 weeks of school are complete and I am now back in my house in La Palmerita. Wow!! does it ever feel wonderful to be home and to be living a normal life from day to day. Now that I am back in the house, there is a lot of work to. The house is always dirty from dust, insects; there is always food to make; and there are flowerbeds to clean, besides I now need to start studying for Wednesday evening children's class. I am kept very busy, and I love it.


The last 2 weeks of language school went very well; however I was ready to come back to the house. The first Saturday of the last 2 weeks, we had classes in the morning at La Casita. We spent the morning talking and learning new words. We saw different interesting things and got to eat some wonderful food.

My favorite at La Casita: Brie Cheese, Whole wheat bread, tomatoes and cucumbers...

After class ended at 2:00 PM, Dora Elena and her brother Felix (also known as Bayardo) picked us up and off we headed. We didn't know where; all we knew was that it was a great place and Felix wanted to take us there. We drove some pretty bumpy roads and there was dust everywhere. We went to a place known as “Rancho de Don Luis L” We parked the faithful old Jeep and went in and got drinks before heading on a walk. It was fairly easy walking and was very relaxing.

It was gorgeous and you could see for miles upon miles. In the distance, you could see Lake Nicaragua to the right. At night you are able to see the lights of Managua to the left. It was just wonderful to see so far and to view the wonderful creation that God has made. We then walked back to the the Rancho for supper. Wow!!! we had quite the wondeful supper. It was a large plate of grilled chicken, rice, beans, salad, cheese, and fried platinos.

The ride back to the house was much more comfortable as we took the main road back. Felix had taken the other way there just to let us see the scenery. I was tired till I got back. I had a great evening and enjoyed everything. The last week we were there, Felix took us to see his wood shop and construction business. He makes a lot of different things and his shop has a lot of modern tools. He makes wooden baseball bats. He glues different pieces together before turning the bat on the lathe. He also builds house in his business. He is in the process of building a small house beside his shop for a small family to live in. It was a nice little house for a man, lady, and one child.


We came home from Esteli on the bus Friday night and I was so glad to get off the bus and see some familar faces waiting for me at Malpisillo. It felt wonderful to be almost home. We dropped off several other people before heading home. When I got home, there were people here as Laura had invited some of the young people for supper. Rosibel had come up and helped Laura make a Nicaraguan dish for supper and it was really good. After supper, we played a round of soccer. Wow!! It had been a while since I had played but it was great fun. I also had to use my Spanish!! Great experience for me!! The weekend went very fast and before I knew it, I had a new week before me. Monday morning we went over to the church and cleaned it good. While we were there, Johanna's oldest 2 boys came to help. Also while we were there, a drunk man stumbled up and sat on one of the chairs. He proceeded to ramble on – telling the boys, they
weren't doing it right. He just rambled – most of the time making no sense at all. It just makes church cleaning very interesting. Tuesday we headed to La Palmerita – one on a bike and the other on a horse.
We stopped at different homes to visit for a little. Virginia tried her hand at making corn tortillas. She was good at making them. All in all, my day was quite interesting, because I got up close and personal with a huge mud puddle – covered from waist down in mud. What a wonderful feeling!!! a feeling of dread, but so is life. Jump up and put a smile on your face, because it is about 3 hours till you can actually go home and change. It is called a stretching experience, but looking back, I could just laugh. I can only imagine what I looked like flopped in the puddle!! It had to look
humorous. So there is a glimpse of life the last several weeks!! I hope you all got some good laughs.

Thank you for your interest, prayers, & support! God bless!!


First Post of Nicaraguan Updates