Worship and Exploring

This morning was just another beautiful morning. Breakfast was eggs on toast with salsa.
This morning we were starting with a worship service at Pastor Hernand’s church that has just been built in August by a PAN missions team.
WE drove up into the moutains again with the changing road conditions. Our driver Alan felt that the tires might not be quite right and it took 3 stops to find a functioning air pump to get them inflated.
Arriving at the church, we needed to use the bathroom facilities before heading in. The only option was the kindness of the neighbours as the church has not built theirs yet.
As we walked up to to the building, the sound of singing greeted us. We were higher up in the mountains so there was a cool breeze to keep us comfortable during the service. After, we were greeted by many of the local people including Victor, the Pastor’s grandfather who is 106. There was also a little boy there with his mother. We realized that he had the effects of the Zika virus. It’s sad to know that the many challenges he and his family will face with very little resources.
After church, it was a drive back home to change and grab lunch before an afternoon exploring. Our first stop was the Canopy Ziplining. I was very excited to see the forest from the top and we had a great group of young men looking after us. Our main guide offered to take photos for us throughout the adventure then thanked us for the gifts as we handed over phones and cameras!
Mary was most nervous as she really doesn’t like heights so one of the guides rode with her each time. His name was Jesus....a little ironic and every time they exited the line he clipped her in and she clung to the tree. It was HILARIOUS. I did the first line on my own but then the guides insisted I have a partner guide for the other runs(apparently I was going too fast and they thought I wasn’t going to stop!) Anyhow, I was introduced to my "new best friend" Grumpy and was told I had to be with him all the time. I TRIED to explain that I didn’t usually do the harness thing on the first date and we should REALLY have a safe word and he seriously didn’t have to clip me to the tree like a dog outside a grocery store.... It was an amazing adventure and everyone had an incredible time. The best run was the last one where they finally let me gon on my own again and they bounced the rope so it was like a roller coaster. AWESOME!
After we headed to the tourist village of Catalina for some shopping in the market and a view of the volcanic lagoon.
With the help of my interpreter, Samuel, I negotiated great deals for hammocks, chairs, blankets and hats. It was great.
The lagoon was incredibly beautiful.
After it was back home for dinner of roast pork, vegetables and rice. Many have retired early as we have a very early and busy day of clinics tomorrow


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The First Clinic Day

Image
It was a good night’s rest that led me into the bright humid morning. Today was the first clinic day and I think we were ready. It wasn’t just an optical day but all medical disiplines would be working together in the same area Ticuentepe. There was a nervous energy and excitement as we prepared to work. Sadly, it was pancakes for breakfast which is my most detested food but I was able to scrounge up peanut butter toast and fresh papaya and a cold coke so all was not lost. We loaded up the vans with all the supplies and I noticed that the tool bag wasn’t around. I started hunting everywhere for it. Some were convinced that if we couldn’t find it, it must be in the van. I held strong that if you didn’t see it, it wasn’t there. Finally just minutes before we had to leave, I located it slipped in behind a night stand and a wall, barely visible. It had fallen and was just out of view. So glad we discovered it before it was left behind. Our drive into Ticuentepe was 45mins of various ro
Read more

A Roller Coaster Finish In Nicaragua

It was an earlier start for our last full day in Nicaragua. Katrina and I were headed to the hospital to do some training and set up the eye assessment clinic. We would join the rest of the team at the community clinic close to lunch. On the way in the van, our interpreter Samuel and driver Cecilio serenaded us with Spanish hymns. It was awesome. Arriving at the hospital, the building looked like it had been a school that was converted to a medical centre. It really wasn’t that busy despite having free care. That is because there are limited staff and often no supplies for treatment. They were thrilled with the boxes of medical supplies we had brought with us and quickly set about doing an inventory. They had to ask us what some of the supplies were- clamps and such, as they hadn’t had them before. I was working with Dr Marceil Terres Garcia. He was a family physician that had been at one of the community clinics with us. He was going to train on the optical equipment and on doing e
Read more

The Surprise Clinic Day

It is American Thanksgiving today. Instead of turkey and waiting for shopping deals I am serving people who are truly grateful to have their eyes checked, often for the first time. We are fully prepared for a large crowd and excited about the task at hand. Loaded into the van, we cruise through the streets of Santa Ana. It is not very busy yet but we are slowed down by a few cows on the road. We pull into a community centre compound that has several buildings in bright Miami colours and sports fields. It is funded by the government as a youth retreat and outreach to keep them from joining gangs. We are greeted by some very excited young people in bright orange shirts. They are volunteers from Melvin’s church who want to help us. They are energetic and friendly and I am glad to have their energy. It takes us some time to get organized and figure out what the best set up should be. We finally find 2 adjacent rooms and will use the hallway for waiting areas. When the families arrive,
Read more