First full day

It was a great day. We all went to bed on Friday night early and woke early. Most of the team was up again at 3:00am or 4:00. But we didn't gather until about 7:00am. We had breakfast at 8:00am. After breakfast we had a time for devotions and team building conversation.

In our devotional time we talked about both our observations and what worries we have as we look to the next week. In terms of observations they were many:

• There seems to be a relative level of happiness in the midst of unbelievable poverty.


• There is a large age gap. We see lots of younger adults and families and some middle age people(45 -55) but very few in their 30's. Many of the men in that age bracket died in the Contra war and because of Hurricane Mitch in the 1990's.


• There is an ability to adapt and get the job done with less than "adequate" equipment or supplies. They do a lot with very little.


• God has blessed us in our the US very much. Why is a question that we have talked much about.

After devotions we began our day. This first day was spent getting use to where we are and visiting a number of local sites. We began with a tour of a Cigar factory. It was fascinating. They manufacture 1000's of these cigars everyday. We learned that the factory we were in is the only place that makes organic cigars. Seems a bit ironic to us. No pesticides just nicotene.

After that we travelled to a beautiful look out. We were able to see for miles. We had lunch there and then drove for about 45 minutes(6 miles) to a waterfall. After arriving there we walked down an incredible steep hill and swam in the pond or pool at the bottom of the falls.

We arrived back at the hotel and spent the rest of the evening there. A number of us went for a walk. We noticed all kinds of car dealerships on the main highway along with farmacies and all kinds of other shops.

We were amazed today at the homes we saw in the country. Much different then what we see in town. By the standards in the city of Estili much "richer" and more cared for. We couldn't figure out what they do to pay for it. The difference was remarkable. But still poor by any of our standards at home.

We left the day appreciating God's goodness to us and the wealth that we have.

We look forward to tomorrow. We begin by going to a market and then we have an evening service with the church. We will be sharing testimonies, doing a kids programming, giving some of the kids stuff we brought away and having a fellowship time with the church(will be interesting in that we speak very little spanish). Then on Monday we begin our work at 8:00am sharp.

Also this morning we bought all of our brick and building supplies. They were to arrive at some point today. We will see tomorrow.