DAY 16.

Wow. I can' t believe, as I'm typing this, that on Thursday which is tomorrow we fly back to North America, land of civilization, glorious and free.

Day 16 began with a visit to a local market, where we purchased some gifts to bring home. Quite the sights there, and the smells too. We weren't there too long, as after about an hour we started to feel nauseous and claustofobic. But this experience gave us a real sense of Nicaraguan culture.

There were literally thousands of shoes for sale at the market, and they were cheap, cheap, cheap. But on close examination, I noticed that most of them were plastic. The reason for this is the rainy season... plastic can withstand the water, leather can not.

Some nice Latino art for sale. Anyone??

The afternoon was spent with some very lovely christian friends in the little town of Dolores. It was special for me to visit this place, since this is where Kyle and Mark made their home when they came to Nicaragua some six or seven years ago. We drove by the little house where they first lived, went to meeting at the hall, and met some of the christians for whom we have prayed. Walter, Irene, Nereyda, Eveling and Rosa, who is now Walter's wife. How precious to see them going on for the Lord in their lives.

We, sort of self-invited, had supper at Flett's place... a delicious North American meal that I enjoyed, right down to the Snickerdoodle cookies. Thank you Tony, Danelle, Amy, Brenda and Craig. You are a truly beautiful family, and we will continue to pray for you all.