A final hurrah!

As I write this, our journey has come to an end. Today was a wonderful end to a life-changing trip. We got up and had a wonderful breakfast. Gallo Pinto (rice and beans), empanadas with either beans or beef, a variety of fresh fruit, bread with jelly and coffee. We got all our stuff together and got in the van and were taken to the city of Masaya, which is a little over an hour away from our home in Managua. Once there, we were taken to a small artesenal community and went to visit a potter. We sat in his workshop and watched him make some pottery and he explained to us all the different steps that go into making his products. This particular potter is quite successful, his work has been featured around the world and he has traveled extensively and was named Master Potter in Nicaragua. It is an amazing story being the fourth generation potter in his family, but living in poverty much of his life. Today he still lives in a modest dwelling, still turns the potters wheel with his foot and by most first world standards would qualify as lower middle class, but he has been extremely successful and has a talent that is too amazing to put into words.

After leaving the potter we were taken to an outlook where there were also some artesenal markets. We did a little shopping and looking around and went to the edge of the town and were able to see an amazing view. Seeing for miles around, we could see Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America and home to, I believe, the only fresh water lake sharks in the world. Volcanos could be seen not far away and below us was a huge crater filled with water. It is called the Laguna de Apoyo. It is, itself, an extinct volcano that collapsed in on itself millions of years ago and filled with water. We went down to a hostel on the beach of the lagoon where we had lunch and spent a few hours swimming in the lagoon, the very deep lagoon.

Following the swim we went to the market in the city of Masaya. There we spent an hour doing some shopping. The market consists of countless artisans selling their wares. Everything from pottery to coffee, to clothing and jewelry as well as the one thing on the top of everyone's shopping list, hand-made Nicaraguan hammocks.

Following that we began our drive back to Managua, stopping at a restaurant on the way. Asados served us a traditional meal of either chicken, steak, or pork along with some Nicaraguan staples, rice and beans and fried plantains. After dinner it was time to come back to the dormitory here on the outskirts of Managua. We then had to pack, sorting through items that we planned to leave here as donations. We met with Kathy, the treasurer of the Jubilee House Community and we paid off our tab, if we had purchased any soft drinks during the week. Then we could give back our Cordobas (the Nicaraguan currency) and she would give us US Dollars.

One of the most touching personal moments of the whole trip happened during this event. My son, Ian, paid off his tab of a few dollars and took out a few bills that he wanted to keep to show people back home. He gave her the rest and she exchanged them and paid in the same amount in dollars. He then took out ten dollars that he had, a large part of his whole amount and he gave it back to her as a donation to the Jubilee House Community, our hosts. Then before he left, he went back to Kathy and asked if it would be possible that the ten dollar donation he had just made could be used for something in particular. She said yes. Then he said, “Great! Can you please put the money towards one of the educational needs in Nicaragua, in the community we helped in?” I was amazed and proud. Then he said, “Education is important, especially for the kids, so hopefully this will help them a bit to make their lives better.” I love my son and have been proud of him many times, but I have never been so proud of him as I was at that moment. God does bless us with opportunities to see the amazing and believe in the unbelievable.

In fact, that might be the best way to explain this whole trip; not just for me or for my son, but for all of us. God blesses us and helps us see the amazing and believe in the impossible and to know a truth even when it may seem impossible for our minds to grasp. God indeed is good. All the time.

This trip has been an eye-opener for all of us and since this will be the last blogpost of our trip, I want to thank the seven people who came along with me. It wasn't always easy, but you worked hard together, you looked out for each other, you became a family and I am so greatful that you shared this family with me.

For those of you who might not know this, I have been here to Nicaragua three different times before this trip. However, that last time I was here was 14 years ago. I never had the opportunity to share Nicaragua with any family or friends. Yet, it has been a crucial event that helped shape me, so the fact that this time I had family and friends with me and that has meant to world to me.

I pray that we are able to do this again in a year or so. So if you would be interested in coming on the next trip, let me know.

I thank those of you reading this blog and following us on our trip.

Signing off from Nicaragua,

Pastor Steve.