Waspam -Part 1-

So much has happened since I have last updated.
 Currently I am at home with my family for Christmas and I plan to go back at the end of the January.

 My last week was spent in Waspam in the eastern part of Nicaragua on the Rio Coco (Coconut River.) My first two days I spent over seeing the the construction of the new children's home in Kisalaya. Defiantly not my most preferred job, overseeing 8 guys and going thru 2 translators to get my point across. Kinda awkward in a culture where women don't normally work outside the home, "especially on a construction site". They were all very respectful, they just thought it was funny to have a young Gringa in charge of them. After a while they realized that I knew what I was doing, so they got used to it. Was very interesting to say the least. 


My parents came to Waspam for a day along with Pastor Dave and Mike Elwood. Was really short but it was so good to see them after 3 month.  My Dad got to lay out the template for the rafters and we were able to get the first one in place before he left. Mom got to see where her new home would be. She really enjoyed her time there, getting to know the kids and getting endless hugs. They all called her Big Mama (a positive thing.) 
 All to soon the plane came in and they were gone again. 

                     Mom getting acquainted with the neighbor kids

Dad helping set the first rafter.

With all the kids that will be in the new home

                                         Dad and Mom ready to fly out again.

 That evening Leo and Charity drove in from the 2 day trip from El Crucero. They brought all the older kids along so the families could see them again. Was a lot of fun to see the kids from both Children's Homes mingle together. We ate dinner together every night which added up to 19 kids in all.

                                                                     Dinner time

Dinner time

Leo having fun with the kids.

Preparing dinner.

Feeding Center

 Leo and Charity took a few of us to a feeding center in a remote village called Los Arcos that the ministry provides food for. We also took some clothing along for them.
 It was over a 120 miles round trip and we had 7 on the back of the truck and 6 inside. On the way up we had bags of clothing  to sit on but on the way back our bottoms suffered a bit :)It was an enjoyable time though. We sang till we couldn't sing anymore and laughed till our stomachs hurt. We drove mostly through the country so we weren't to worried about how we sounded.

 Driving on the dirt roads wasn't quit as fun though, We were all covered with dust by the time we got to our desired destination, Not to mention that we got lost on all the twisty windy roads that would pass as cow paths at home.

 When we arrived they were all gathered in the church that consisted of a metal roof singing and praising God. It is a wonderful sight to see people praising God even if they aren't sure what they might eat tommorow.
 Soon after we arrived we served the food that had been prepared by some ladies from the church. We were able serve all the childern and pregnant ladies that were present.
 Everyone got to here the gospel and receive 5 peices of clothing, Remember these are people that might only have one or two peices. They were so excited yet they all stayed orderly, no pushing am]nd shoving to get there first. When it was announced that that they could each pick out 5 peices they immediately formed a neat line and chatted with their neighbor till it was there turn.
 It was a wonderful day. Would love to do it again.

Serving the food.



Getting food for her and her little one.



Preaching the gospel

Giving a soccer ball for the whole community

Playing soccer!!

Getting clothing for them and their familys.

My Ruby Girl

Ruby, she is getting so big. She is 13 years old and weighed 18 pounds this February when she was rescued. Now she has little chubby upper legs and she's got little fat rolls on her stomach. Not what most people think when they see her, but she is our living miracle. She weighs 28 lbs .

She loves to sit on the rocking chair for hours singing to herself.

 This past week we have put her in her foot braces all day long. She used to throw herself a little fit when we put them on her. On Monday we put them on her and decided she needed to start wearing them all day weather she likes it or not. On Tuesday we took all the kids out on the soccer field to play, I had Ruby by her hands and was leading her around.

 One time the ball rolled over to her and she kicked it. After that wherever the ball went she was chasing after it as fast as her little wobbly legs would let her. She would try to run but only managed little hopping steps.

 The happiness in her eyes told me that she was so happy to be like one of the other kids. She wasn't just sitting on  a chair watching the world go by, she was involved in it. What a blessing!!

 You know what, ever since then she wakes up and wants us to put her foot braces on. She leaves them on all day without ever asking us to take them off. She doesn't talk but her ways of communication are pretty distinct.

 This morning when I got her up she had her foot braces on, She had put herself to bed last night and never asked anyone to take them off. I am so happy that she realizes that they are helping her walk. 

 Before she seemed to think we were punishing her by putting them on her but now she chooses to use them. I am so proud of her. God certainly has blessed us with a beautiful little life.

Please be in prayer for her, Pray that she will walk soon and she won't get discouraged, Also her teeth are really bad, a couple days ago two of her teeth broke off. Every morning when she wakes up her night shirt is stained with blood from her teeth that bleed. We are trying to find a dentist that will fix her teeth, but they are so bad we really don't know where to start.
Thank you and God bless!!!!

Sweet moments of Blessings

 Well I haven't been as good at keeping this as updated as I had planned, but I guess that can be blamed on the fact the I 've been keeping busy.
 There is always a constant flow of of things to do with so many people even if it means just sitting down and holding a baby or giving a hug to someone that needs it.


 Our days start at 6:00am, usually me and Lauren get breakfast while the girls get ready for school. All the big ones are at school by 7:00.
 After they leave we have two smaller ones that need to get ready for preschool. They are usually out the door at 8:00.
 Me and Lauren spend the morning organizing some part or the other of the house that needs to be seen after. Recently we have also been working on sponsorship cards for the for the school and both orphanages, (If any one wants to sponsor a child let me know an I'll get you connected.) You can also go to the website at http://www.newhopechildrensfoundation.org/index.html
 We try to have lunch ready for the babies by 12:00 so they can be put down for their naps. We then focus on getting lunch ready for the older ones at 1:20pm when they get out of school.
Usually the afternoon is spent on doing random things that need to be done around the house.
 We have a very special lady that comes at 3:00 every afternoon to make dinner for us. She comes every except Saturday and Sunday. She is such a blessing to us. All we have to for dinner is tell her what to make and she makes it and washes all the dishes. We try to eat between 5 and 5:30.
 After dinner the older ones usually do homework and help get all the babies bathed. The babies go to bed at 8:00 and the older ones try to be in bed by 9:00.


My foot is also doing really good. This Sunday I'll be able to start putting weight on it and the Sunday after that I'll be able use only one crutch and the Sunday after that I'll be able to walk away free :)
 Everyone here has been really helpful thoughtful and prayerful, even the babies.
One day I went in the babies room for a while and one of them came up and told me that she wants to pray for my foot. All the others gathered around my foot laying their little hands on my leg. Each one took a turn praying for me, brought tears to my eyes. If only I had the faith that they had. Maybe I can learn from them.
 If they see me when I am sitting down usually one or the other will come up and pull my pant leg or skirt up a bit to see the ouch'chy and touch it ever so softly. Recently they started kissing it so it will feel better :)


I have been able to help in the kitchen quite a  bit. Always with my chair close by. (It is amazing how much I took two legs for granted. One leg just can't hold up for more then 10 minuets without going to sleep. It's not like I can just shift my weight to the other one.) I made breakfast once and lunch a couple times, most times I just help with chopping up vegetables, putting milk in cereal or putting syrup on pancakes or french toast. Usually when I'm in the kitchen I just hop around without my crutches so my hands are free. Kinda hard to cook when both my hands are already full.


The highlight of the baby's day usually is when they get to go outside for a few hours. That come in happy and content their faces smudged with dirt maybe a few dirty bottoms from falling in the mud. I wouldn't care if they were covered from head to toe in mud, the laughter and smiles that come with it are priceless to me. Mud and dirt will wash off.
 The other day I was walking past the babies door and Yelka the littlest one came running up to the door laughing so hard she almost couldn't talk. She was trying to tell me that Ofelia the oldest one was trying to reach something that was almost out of her reach and she tipped over forward. All this was said between fits of giggles and motions of how it happened. She was laughing so hard she was holding her little belly. All I could do was laugh with her. So much innocence.
 Here are a some pictures so you can get an idea see the beautiful life I am surrounded with.
Little Miss Emily

 Yelkita the baby.

Me with Ofelia. She is such a sweetheart. 

 Cecilia playing soccer with the babies.

 Looks like the ball is gonna get Leito :)

 Not sure what she is doing.

 Me and Debonney.

 Love their faces. Trying to get everyone to look at the camera is almost impossible.

 Yorbany doing homework.

 Making Sunday lunch.

 Up an around.

 My little companions.

 Crutches work great for a foot rest.

  Thanks again for hanging with me,

Surgery

My surgery went great. They didn't run into any problems at all. The plan had been to come home a couple hours after surgery but they decided it would be better if I stayed over night, so Lauren stayed with me.
 I want to thank Pastor Dave for putting it on the church insurance. A very unexpected and wonderful blessing since I don't have any kind of insurance and was gonna pay it out of my pocket. It isn't very expensive to have surgery here in Nicaragua, but it is still not how I had planned on doing with my money. My emergancy room bill was under $200.00 (that was with two X-Rays), and the surgery and and my overnight stay was right at $2000.00
 I also want to thank everyone for there prayers. God sure has answered them, because I have had very little pain. Mostly right after surgery. I am well on the road to recovery.
I saw my Dr. on Friday and he was please with the progress. I'm getting my stitches removed on Wednesday, and in about two weeks I'm gonna be able start putting some wieght on it :)


The morning after surgery

My wonderful Dr.

And sweet and helpful Lauren.

Thanks Ya'll

How did it Happen?

  That is the question everyone is asking me. So here ya go.


I was sitting in the hammock Sunday afternoon reading when I heard the girls out on the soccer feild playing ball. Deciding that sounded fun I went out and joined them.
 After playing for about 15 minuets I was running after the ball and stepped on a wet spot and slipped. I fell on my lower leg with my foot twisted at a funny angle. Imeddiately there was a loud pop and sharp pain went all thru my leg. I knew right away that it was broke so I sent Joely (the oldest girl) to go get Lauren and Charity.
 Leo & Charity took me to the hospital about 40 minuets away. The doctors took me in right away and put me on some strong medication and got some X-rays.  The big bone is seriously dislocated and the small bone is brocken right above the ankle. They tried to set I but it was already to swollen so they wrapped it up real good and told me to come back the following day.
When i got home that night the girls had taped cards all over my room.

This was on my bedroom door from Joely.

 From Joselin

From Luviana

From Solimar

From Cecilia

And from Debonney

This is me :)

 The following day I saw a foot specialist. As soon as he saw the X-rays he said they needed to put a plate in it since it was s close to the ankle and if something didn't stay quite right while it healed I would get a stiff ankle. I would have to stay in bed for 4 weeks without getting around at all. After a weeks I would be able to use my crutches some.
 Talk about a disapointment. I was just going in to get it set and put in a cast, not to be told I was going to have to have surgery.

After leaving the office we were waiting in the waiting room and I was crying from discouragement. Someone from the hospital that knew Leo and Charity came up and asked if everything was ok. Leo explained what had happened and that we were wanting a second opinion, but didn't know how to get hold of the other foot doctor. This guy went to his office and called the other doctor and set up and opointment for that afternoon. I am sure God sent him.

 Dr. Noel was very good at explaining every thing, all the ins and outs of the surgery. I would be able to be up and around from the start and after 4 weeks I would be able to start putting wait on it. His attitude was wonderful as well and very understanding. His price was also about 1/3 the price. We sceduled surgery for Friday afternoon at 1:30.
 I was expecting to experience a lot of first's here but that didn't include my first broken bone. But
God has a better plan then I could ever dream of coming up with. 

Please pray for me as I have surgery. Pray that God would guide the doctors hands. Also pray that I have a speedy recovery and that I would have patience. I am so used to just doing something when I see that it needs to be done and it has already been hard not to.

I got to see a good friend this week; Mike Jones. He has been working in Waspam for three weeks and before he flew out he spent a day and a half here in El Curcero. It is always good to see him.

Update #1 from Nicaragua
Hey everyone,
  I want to thank ya'll for your prayers. They mean a lot to me.
My flights all went great, everything was on scedule and I had no missed flights :)

 On my arrival I was situated in my room at the orphange. There are three little ones in my room, Ruby, Leito and Frankie. I only had to get up once during the night since I have been here and that was during a storm.

So far I have mostly kept busy taking care of all the babies, dressing, feeding, washing, and playing.
 I have also been helping organize the kitchen and making sure it stays that way.

  It is so much fun to watch the babies chase each other around my chair till one becomes so frantic that they give up and charge into my arms laughing hystercally clinging to me like there life depended on it.
 It has been great here so far and I'm looking forward to what God is going to do with the rest of my time here.
Below are a few photos:
  Ofelia

                         

Ruby

          

 Frankie

 Our Soccer players L-R Cecilia, Joely and Debonney

 The new girls home

Plumbing for the girls home

Dinner time at House of Hope

Samari and Gracie

Sorry this is so short but my time on the internet is limited. Just wanted to let ya'll how it's going here. Thanks again for keeping me in your prayers.  Sincerely