Time to come home...

Hi all-

Sorry I haven't updated recently, we've been very busy and without adequate internet connection.

We finished our work at the church in Chinendaga on Friday. We were supposed to play games with the kids and pray in the community on Friday, but because of the rain, we got an afternoon off to relax. Most of us took naps...

We returned to Managua on Saturday morning, and had a very busy day. We came back and got settled back in to the Hernandez house, ate lunch, and then left for the market. Everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoyed time to be able to shop...one of my favorite hobbies. Some of you may be the receipients of our many bargains ;-) We also went to a natural reserve where we were able to see birds in the rainforest and monkeys in the trees. It was really amazing to see God's intricate design in all creation! Then we were able to eat at a traditional Nica restaurant. It was GREAT!!!

Today we went to church at ICF which is held at the NCA campus, so we were also able to see NCA and look around at the school. It was good for the people that have never been there, puts a picture with a thought. Then, we went on a tour of the city of Managua and got a lot of historical information on the country...I'm not sure how much we retained but it was interesting! Then, we went for lunch at Tip Top, one of my personal favorites...very good chicken and french fries, a small taste of the North American food we've been missing!

We're all packing up our suitcases and trying to find room for all the stuff we bought and relaxing the rest of the day before out LONG day in airports tomorrow. It's a bittersweet feeling to be heading home, I would stay longer but it will be nice to get back to the norm of my life. I can't speak for everyone, but I would say the trip has been a success with a lot of growth in each one of us. It's always exciting to hear everyone's point of view when we get together in the next few weeks to realize what we took from the trip. It has been a great experience, one that will not be forgotten...

Some specific prayer requests:

~Safety in traveling tomorrow. Pray that flights stay as scheduled and that we don't have any trouble getting back to Iowa safely.

~Continue to pray for the people in Nicaragua. It's still difficult to see the poverty and sadness of this beautiful country...

~That God would reveal ways that we can each continue to support Nicaragua in the ways that He calls us to.

Thanks to you all for following the trip, we have been so blessed by your comments on the blog, e-mails and prayers!

Dios te bendiga!
(God bless you!)