Friday

Today was our last day in Nicaragua!! We are sad to leave, but had a great time. We woke up this morning and had breakfast and said our farewells to the El Ayudante staff. Then, we loaded up the bus and headed towards Managua. We had lunch at the mall in the food court. Everyone enjoyed having familiar foods, like McDonald's and Burger King.

After lunch we had planned on heading to Catarina, but decided to forgo that trip and head straight to Masaya for shopping. We spent about 2.5 hours shopping there. We walked around and visited and shopped together. Lots of people bought many things and we all had a good time there. We actually ran into Omar at the market, which was really neat for all who know him.

We came back to Managua mid-afternoon and checked into the hotel. We had a couple of hours of free-time and some of us swam, while others relaxed and took hot showers. We had a private dinner that was wonderful and shared some laughs and stories together. We also sang a few songs.

There is a big fiesta out by the pool tonight, and some of us went to the opposite side of the pool (behind the stage) and had our own fiesta. We danced and sang with one another. The band is playing everything from the Beatles, to Elvis, to Nicaraguan music.

The plan is to get up early tomorrow morning and head over to the airport. Our flight out is a little before 9:00. Keep us in your prayers!! Thanks again for your support! We will see all of you soon!

Leah and friend singing at Sacred Heart

Thursday

Thursday was another great day. It ended with an eventful night, so I am sorry I am not posting until this morning (Friday).

We started the day by going to Las Tias for VBS and a medical/dental clinic. Las Tias is a child rescue center that will likely be closing soon. The children do not spend the night there anymore, but return everyday for the day. El Ayudante is reaching out to these other child rescue centers in the district that will be potentially closing. The day was very busy and successful. The kids were very gracious and enjoyed receiving health kits and beanie babies. Cindy led them in songs and they heard Bible stories and made crafts.

In the dental clinic, we saw 57 patients and 13 needed extractions. We were very busy. It was apparent that most of these kids had never had dental treatment before. They all received toothpaste and a toothbrush in their health kits and we told them about the necessity of brushing their teeth regularly. The kids were excited to finally have a toothbrush and toothpaste so that they could finally brush their teeth!

The medical team saw 74 patients, including a young girl with bell's palsey. They stayed very busy, but were able to help many children and adults.

A few people from the team (Bill F, John B and Len) stayed behind and worked with construction for the morning. They mainly worked with concrete and really wore themselves out doing it! They have come a long way with the expansion of HCN this week!

The afternoon began with a carnival and clinic for the children of HCN and the employees/families of El Ayudante. The children all received new shoes and were able to get two beanie babies each. They were so excited to be able to pick out their beanie babies, and even more excited to learn that they could get two! Thanks everyone who donated beanie babies, as they have been a HUGE hit this week!! The medical/dental team also stayed very busy this afternoon and really enjoyed doing the work.

Some members of the team took the later part of the afternoon to tour the hospital in Leon. It was nothing like hospitals at home, and those that went were very touched by what was seen. There were beds along the hallways, and 6 or more people to an inpatient room. It was hot, and there were roaches climbing the walls. There was a surgical team from North Carolina and we discussed with them about the needs and possibilities of bringing a surgical team eventually.

Len and Tyler went back to the police station and visited with the National Police for a few hours. They have really enjoyed their time with the police, and the National Police are incredibly grateful for the time that Tyler and Len have spent with them.

We spent the early evening discussing how to distribute the rest of our funds, and then Mike pulled out a slip of paper he had been handed. It was an invitation for everyone to join together in the ranchero for the joining of Len and I (Katie) in the Nica Pseudo Bonds of Major Togetherness Forever and Ever (aqui aqui aqui). We had dresses and bridesmaids, and the guys had bowties and cumberbuns... and there was wonderful music and a fun fiesta afterwards. It was hilarious! Chuck got it all recorded, so we will post that to YouTube and add the link to the blog. Those of you that missed it, sorry... you will have to ask someone about it.

Thanks again for the comments and prayers. We love and miss you all! We are preparing now for a day of fun and shopping, and will stay in Managua tonight at the Best Western. We will see you soon!

Wednesday

Another day has come and gone and we cannot believe that tomorrow is our last day in Leon!  We will spend the morning at Las Tias, a child rescue center, and the afternoon will be split between  a carnival/medical clinic at HCN, time with the police, and a tour of the Leon hospital.  

Today was productive and restful for many.  We spent the morning at La Majada, and had a medical/dental clinic and a carnival.  However, there were so many medical and dental needs that they were very slow in the carnival.  Everyone had a good time, though.  

The medical team saw 58 patients today, and had to turn some patients away at the end of our time there because we could not see them all.  That was very difficult for everyone.  They were able to treat many, however, and give them the medicines that they needed.  They had the first "surgery" of the week when a patient had a cyst and it had to be cut open to drain.  

The dental team saw 44 patients.  The dental team was very pleasantly surprised today to see that the majority of the children had good teeth.  It is apparent that teams have been going there for several years and the children have frequently received new toothbrushes and toothpaste, along with dental education!  Only 7 of the 44 patients needed extractions!!  What a blessing to begin to see the long term differences that are being made through God's workers at El Ayudante!!

John and Heather headed up clay pot training this morning at La Majada, as well.  For those of you who do not know, clay pots are used for water filtration, which can greatly increase the health of the people of Nicaragua.  The team passed out 25 clay pots and trained the people on how to use them.  They also had about nine people who had been given clay pots in the past to return for more supplies.  It was a very successful morning!

We all returned to the team house for a late lunch, and then were given several options for the afternoon.  We could rest, we could work on the construction project, or we could go on a tour of Old Leon.  Old Leon is the site where Leon originally was, and had been destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Momotambo.  It had an absolutely beautiful view of the volcano.  The children at HCN that have sponsors on this team (9 children) joined us for the tour.  Everyone had a good time with the children and with one another.

Tonight, we had a later dinner and then the older girls from HCN came over to the team house to do two dances for us.  They did a wonderful job, and spent time relaxing with the team for a little while afterwards.

We have just finished our nightly team meeting.  Thanks everyone for the update on the weather at home.  Thanks, also, for the information on what happens when the toilet flushes on an airplane.  We are making sandwiches now for Las Tias, and will be preparing for bed soon.  Once again, we love and miss you all, and we greatly enjoy hearing from you.  

Tuesday

It is hard to believe that Tuesday has come and gone!  Only two more days left to work before we begin our journey home.  We are all doing well.  No real injuries or sicknesses.  We have grown more comfortable with one another and getting to know one another the way that can only be done on a trip such as this!  Everyone is happy and doing well!

Today was busy, but wonderful.  Len and Tyler spent time with the Nicaraguan National Police.  They really enjoyed the experience.  Both had interesting stories to tell, and both were disheartened at the needs and circumstances of the police here.  They were able to minister with them and to share about the differences between their police duties in the states and in Nicaragua.  Tyler said that 5 women adopted him and said he could stay with them anytime.  Apparently the police loved both Tyler and Len, and have asked that they go back on Thursday!

Sheila, Janice, Sandy, and Bill Ford stayed at El Ayudante today to assist with construction.  They had a good time and were able to accomplish a good amount.  They all appeared to be very tired tonight after a day of hard work, but they enjoyed what they did.

The rest of the group went to the Sacred Heart of Mary child rescue center for the day today.  There were medical and dental clinics, along with stories, songs, crafts and pictures.  All of the children received hygiene kits and beanie babies.  Some of the ladies also handed out shoes to everyone seen there.   

Leah bonded with a 3 year old child as soon as she got off the bus.  The sweet little girl sat in her lap, as Leah decided to sing a song to her (in English).  The child caught on to the idea of singing and began singing praise songs at the top of her lungs.  Everyone else was working to set up clinics and sort through supplies to prepare for the day, and we all stopped what we were doing to listen to this sweet little child praise God loud enough for all to hear.  She eventually began singing a song that we are familiar with and we all joined in a chorus of singing and clapping our hands.  We all saw Jesus through that child today!  After she finished singing, a lady that worked at the center pulled out a guitar and lead the children in a couple of songs.  She had such a beautiful voice and we were all touched by this gift!

The dental clinic had a particularly difficult day today.  They saw about 20 kids and extracted around 30 teeth.  There were several kids that were terribly frightened and it took a few people to hold the child down and attempt to calm them as Dr. Roy worked.  In the midst of all of this, Holly sprained her shoulder.  (Don't worry, she is feeling better.)  It was a hard, but productive day for the dental team.

The medical team saw 48 patients today.  Dr. Dave reported that the first child he saw probably had undiagnosed cerebral palsy.  The child was three years old and could not speak (except for two words), and he did not walk well.  It is particularly difficult to see children like this when we know there is only so much that we can do to help them.  

We had an ice cream party tonight, and are finishing up preparing for the day tomorrow.  We will be going to La Majada tomorrow and are expecting to see about 200 people in medical/dental clinics and VBS.  We will also be doing clay pot training and checking in with those who have received clay pots in the past.  We are all very happy that we are not in the cold, messy weather of Tennessee tonight!  The weather here is still beautiful, although very dusty!  The sunsets are beautiful, and the team is happy and healthy.  What more could we ask?  

Thanks again for the comments and prayers.  We really do look forward to reading them together every night and hearing from all of you!  It is a fun time to catch up on the news and laugh with one another.  We love and miss you all and we thank you for your prayers and support!

Monday

It has been another wonderful and productive day.  The team split up again today between the National Police and Pablo Morales/El Jardencito.  The medical crew set up a clinic at the police station and saw 104 patients by doctors and about 15 dental patients.  Dr. Dave saw his first case of Nicaraguan chicken pox!  Dr. Roy was able to extract two wisdom teeth from a psychologist at the police station, while the patient's local dentist stood and held the patient's hand.  It was quite surreal!  The patients were also given a pair of sunglasses.  

The crew at Pablo Morales had VBS going on, along with a small medical/dental clinic.  There, about 50 dental patients were seen by Gail (who has now earned her dental license, according to the team).  Gail looked at their teeth and made notes about extractions and fillings for a dental team that will be there in about three weeks.  Daphne was her assistant and has decided that being a dental assistant is now her favorite job.  The small medical team was able to see probably 40 or 50 patients, as well.  Bill R was able to use his Green Beret Medic skills to be a practitioner, and Brian was  also there as a Nurse Practitioner.  It was a very productive clinic.  Meanwhile, the VBS crew had songs, crafts, and stories for the children.  All of the children were given a school kit that included a beanie baby in it, and they loved the kits dearly!

The team met up at El Ayudante for lunch before departing again.  The medical team returned to the National Police to continue the clinics there for the remainder of the afternoon.  Several team members went to the nursing home and delivered beanie babies, sang songs, danced, and made rosaries and salvation bracelets.  Some of the older girls from HCN joined the team and did a cultural dance at the nursing home, as well.  

Also this afternoon, a group worked on construction for the expansion of HCN for the older children.  Some women have carried on the nickname of "Rebarb Babes."  Some of the men wore themselves out with cement, but it seems as if everyone enjoyed the work!

Tonight, we are preparing for another busy day tomorrow.  School kits and sandwiches are being prepared.  Len and Tyler are making preparations for spending time with the Nicaraguan National Police.  Everyone is still healthy and we are really enjoying our time together.  The weather is beautiful (especially after hearing stories of ice storms in West Tennessee)!  Some of us are even a little bit sunburned! 

Thanks again for the prayers and comments.  We read the comments together every night at the end of our reflection time together.  We enjoy hearing from home and learning about what we are missing.  Please keep them coming!  We love and miss you all!  

P.S.  Don and Terri we are all SO happy to hear of the good news!!!

Sunday

DISCLAIMER: All comments will be read to the entire group.  The writer is not responsible for embarrassment or humiliation.

Today was a great day.  We woke up this morning and had a big, wonderful breakfast before loading up for church.  We first went to mass at the Leon Cathedral, which is the oldest Cathedral in Central America.  It was absolutely beautiful and we were able to join in the hymn, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."  It was in Spanish, but some of the words in the chorus are about the same in English.  We also took communion at the Cathedral, which was a really neat experience.

After the Cathedral, we went to Mision Evangelica Metodista (the Methodist church in Reuben Dario -- the neighborhood adjacent to El Ayudante).  We sang praise songs with the church in both Spanish and English.  It was awesome how the song leaders had learned praise songs in English and we were able to all sing along.  Several of the team members also lead the entire church in songs.  After all of the singing, the children were released for Sunday School while the adults stayed in church for a sermon.  Most of us went with the children, where we sang songs, learned about Noah's Ark, and had a pinata.  We also gave each of the children worm medicine, and gave them cookies and milk to wash down the pills.  

We had lunch at the team house and then the team split up.  Many of us went to the beach with the older kids from HCN, while the rest went to the movies and pizza parlor with the younger children.  The beach was sunny and warm, and everyone had a great time looking for shells.  The girls all got in the water, and John and Len joined in for a bit.  Dinner was at a restaurant at the beach, and they had some wonderful food.  The movie/pizza group went to see "Hotel for Dogs."  The kids loved it, and the team members enjoyed the pictures but it was in Spanish so they did not know what was being said.  The kids all had big sodas and by the time they arrived at the pizza parlor, the kids were wild and wound up.  

They went to another church after the movie and pizza, where Chuck gave his testimony.  Everyone said he did a fabulous job, and it was a wonderful service.  It was a church that was started through a recovery program, so we gave them some Celebrate Recovery materials that were in Spanish.  In the service, an 86 year old lady gave her life to Christ for the first time.  It was an amazing experience for all that were present.

We have just prepared about 175 sandwiches, health kits, and school kits for our day tomorrow.  We are enjoying our time together and laughing lots.  We enjoy our time at the end of the day when we discuss the events of the day and reflect with one another.  Everyone is still happy and healthy.  Thanks for the prayers and the comments.  We have enjoyed reading them.  Keep 'em coming!  We love y'all! 

Saturday

Today was a wonderful day! We have just sat and reflected on the activities of the day, and everyone enjoyed sharing the fun stories with one another. It started off very busy, as we prepared for the Carnival. We had a big breakfast and then went to sorting luggage and setting up tents and activities. The medical team organized their medications and prepared for a clinic for the children and teachers that attended the carnival. 500+ kids showed up between 9 and 10 o'clock. There were blow up games, basketball games, soccer and baseball games, along with fingernail painting, face painting, music, balloon animals, and stories. It was chaos, but organized (of course). The kids and the mission team all had a great time. The clinic was not super busy, but Dr. Roy did extract 9 teeth, and a few people saw Dr. Dave and the nurse practitioners. We were able to serve lunch to all of the children, and grab a quick hot dog lunch ourselves before the children entertained us with a mini cultural festival. The children from HCN and from the other child rescue centers had prepared dances, songs and jokes for entertainment. It was so much fun to watch the older girls from HCN to dress in cultural attire and perform dances for the crowd. They did a fantastic job, and we all enjoyed watching them.

After the conclusion of the carnival, several team members began unpacking and sorting supplies. While that was going on, several other team members traveled to the supermarket to purchase groceries for the week (for all of the feedings throughout the week). We were able to buy enough sandwich supplies for 700 sandwiches, along with drinks and cookies. (Of course, we also loaded up on Coca Lite for the team house!) We bought a pinata, as well, to take with us to play with the kids during Sunday School at the Reuben Dario Methodist Church tomorrow morning.

Everyone is healthy, and having a wonderful time together. Many of the team members are sitting around singing praise songs in Espanol right now, with Cindy leading on the guitar. The weather has been in the 90s and beautifully sunny today, and now the bugs and birds are singing along with the team in the background. It truly is beautiful here. We miss everyone at home and thank you again for your prayers.

We're Here!

Friday was a LONG day of travel, but everyone made it down safely and as far as we know we have ALL of our luggage!! There were many bags that did not make it on to the first plane (from Memphis to Atlanta), so we had some concern there. It also looked rather iffy on our flight from Atlanta to Managua. However, the initial count last night showed everything present!

We all gathered together for the first time as an entire team at the Memphis airport at about 8:45. There were some team members from Michigan that no one had met yet, so we all had a chance to introduce ourselves amongst the craziness of airline check-in and checking the 50 lb bags that surrounded us. Most of us had some sort of breakfast (Popeyes or Corky's) in the airport before our timely departure. It was one of those flights where the flight attendant said that the rest of the passengers could blame the mission team for not all of the bags making the flight. I believe they withheld our bags instead of other passengers, though. We arrived in Atlanta in early afternoon and split up for lunch. We had over 3 hours there to visit and relax before boarding the next plane. Our next flight did leave late, and of course they decided to take their time after we were already boarded. We were VERY restless and ready to get off of that plane by the time we reached Managua!

We were pleasantly surprised to see some of the kids from HCN (the child rescue center at El Ayudante) had come to greet us at the airport. They rode with us on the bus ride to Leon, where many of us fell asleep, but everyone greatly enjoyed their first time to see the kids on this trip. We arrived at El Ayudante around midnight and unloaded our luggage so we could get some rest. We were all very tired after all of the travel.

Today we will be having a carnival for all of the children in child rescue centers in Leon -- about 500 children. We all woke up early to begin unpacking and preparing for the carnival!

Thanks for all of the prayers! Everyone is happy and healthy and excited about the trip!!

But we were wondering... what happens when you flush the toilet on the airplane?

January 23-31, 2009

A group of 38 people will be leaving January 23-31, 2009 for a week of missions with El Ayudante in Leon, Nicaragua. The group comes from a variety of churches, and a variety of cities. On the trip, we will be doing medical clinics, carnivals, VBS, construction, water purification training, and also working with the Nicaragua National Police. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel. This site will be updated regularly while we are on our journey, so check back to see how we are doing and leave us notes of prayer encouragement. Thanks in advance!