DAY 3.

More rain today, but at least it didn’t rain in the house this time. The torrents of rain amaze me here, even with the rainy reputation Vancouver has, I still have never experienced any downpours quite like these ones!

Made a quick stop at the Masaya Volcano. This is a triple crater area with an active volcano that last erupted about twenty years ago. You had to plug your nose because of the sulphur gases, but if you listened closely, you could hear the hissing reverberating from the well of the crater. Apparently during the last Civil War, captured enemies were dropped from small planes into the centre of the crater. A rather inhumane way to rid yourself of rebels, I'd say. Very cool tourist attraction, all the same. And we are tourists, too, sort of. While there, though, the weather was very humid and hazy, so the view wasn’t that great. Then another major rainshower came through creating an unpleasantly overbearing smell of sulphur, and since inhalation of these gases is extremely toxic, we had to exit in a hurry.

Looking over the fence, into the depths of the smoking crater...

a long ways down and a nasty acidic stench.

Back at the house, a local lady and her sons came onto the property to weed and clean up the deck area. The littlest guy was named Brandon... I think he was around 2 years old, and he was running around barefoot and pantless, just a tee-shirt and some sort of makeshift diaper. But what a cute, cute face... dimples, sparkling eyes and curls. Undeniably adorable. Alana spied him almost immediately and scooted over to make friends with him. It's funny how with the language barrier, kids just seem to communicate somehow! She gave him a small gift, just some pencils and a notebook that we had brought from Canada, but the thrill and excitement on his precious little face almost reduced me to tears. Mwah.

Between rainshowers, Stew and I took a short walk down the road from Kyle and Ally's place to check out some of the neighbours. Boy it's sure hot here when the sun comes out. But with all the rain, we haven't had to worry too much about sunscreen yet! This type of weather suits me just fine!

Although the poverty here disturbs me, what is absolutely amazing is just how content these people are.
 

 

Above is the brick road along which Kyle and Ally reside.

Notice the runoff ditch for water overflow during the rainy season.

Below is a typical half-brick, half-plywood, doorless home that would house the average family,
complete with scrawny canine and maybe even a few chickens.

Above is a store, like your local 711, where you can purchase food, drinks and other provisions,

and even get internet access or watch the FIFA game. Priorities, eh?!

 
We met up with Andrew Z and a few others outside the El Valle hall, where they were picking up some of the young christians for Campamento. I only managed to take a few pictures before my camera decided not to cooperate. Argh... can't have that happening!
 

The hall in El Valle de la Laguna.

Meeting Jorlene (not sure of spelling, but it's pronounced JorLAYnay) was so special. We had prayed for her salvation for many months and she was Ally's first Spanish teacher. It was so encouraging for Ally when Jorlene and got saved in March of this year. Her brother Edwin and mother are also christians.

We packed up and have moved over to John and Joanne’s for a bit. Went to meeting in Masaya tonight. Man there's no shortage of meetings to go to here! Thoroughly enjoyed it... Stew spoke again with Ike interpreting. We met Katharine's relatives who care for her, and were introduced for the first time to some of the newer christians from Masaya for whom we have prayed. There are no words to describe the sheer joy of simply being with these Nicaraguan believers and observing their joy of salvation. You don't need to speak the same language to see that... their faces beam when they sing and they're happily sharing the scriptures with each other. And they, despite their earthly lack... and us, despite our earthly overabundance... we all share the same heavenly wealth... we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 6)