I can barely begin to tell you what a wonderful day we had. Our destination was San Juan del Sur is a lovely town about 2 hours from our Jardin Shalom. It was a pretty drive out and we picked up a tour guide (Pablos) who told us the history of the area and also of Nicaragua. The fullness of my heart goes out to these people who have such giving hearts themselves.
We stopped in La VIRGEN (name of town) in Las Jicaritos on Lake Nicaragua. First we went up to a plateau to get a better look at the huge statue of Jesus and see the small museum there. It was a pretty steep walk up, so some of us stayed on the lower plateau with the vehicles. We found a vantage point from there. Afterward, we went to a restaurant on a beach where we were allowed to eat our packed lunches and just bought a drink. It was lovely. There was an area to the right of the beach that had many turbine wind mills lining the landscape. In the photo below, the volcano on the left is Concepciones and the one on the right is Maderas (meaning woods).
The original plan was to go see the turtles migrate. But they had already gone so we headed for a beautiful beach and spent the afternoon there. A great camaraderie was enjoyed jumping into the waves off the ocean. We stayed to watch the sunset before heading off to El Tinon, a restaurant in San Juan right on the Main Street. The evening was alive with street vendors selling hats, sunglasses, vases, souvenirs and a fabulous street artist. His work was alive with colour and detail and marvellous depictions of his experiences. The detail in the faces and the turtles was amazing. There was live music at the restaurant but our tables were further back nearer the entrance so it was very enjoyable. Dinner was fabulous, the fish (Mahi Mahi) melted in my mouth. As we finished dinner we were surprised by the entrance of 10-12 lovely women with banners on them. They are contestants in Miss Nicaragua. Miss Nicaragua will be named on February 15th and will represent the country at Miss World.
A lovely breeze was blowing through the restaurant, excellent service, and really good music. I highly recommend this restaurant if you are able to come to San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua. As we left the restaurant, some of us slipped over to make our purchases from the artist we met and pick up a few last souvenirs. The ride home, although 2 hours, was rife with laughter followed by some drifting off to nap and others tucked into quiet conversation.. This is the latest I have ever been out in Nicaragua. We arrived home a little after 11pm and once the van was emptied, we went off to rinse the salt water off of us and go to bed.
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Sunday, February 2nd
I was a little bleary eyed this morning as I had trouble getting to sleep last night. Anyway, breakfast was pancakes and porridge. I had devotions this morning. For scripture, I chose Proverbs 3:5 and talked about how we need to give our cares to God and let Him take care of things. Too often, we carry the full burden. Then we were off to pack the vans for the day’s events.
It is an hour drive to Roca del Salvacion church for the service. This is Pastor Ernan’s (PAN Mission Administrator) church. It was a lovely service and Yessie (Pastor Ernan’s wife) sang several songs and a couple in English too. The sermon topic was on not waiting for tomorrow but accomplishing things today. We do not know what the Lord has in store for tomorrow. After the service was over, we greeted people and socialized and then tables were set up so that we could have our packed lunch here.
Afterwards, we visited Pastora Dora’s church, Llama de Fuego in Ticuantepe and blessed them with the gift of a dress form from the Apoyo Team and several boxes of milk bags for weaving the plastic mats. Joannella and the other ladies were very pleased. They gave us a tour of the newer areas like the building in the back used for women’s retreats and Sunday School. They have done a lot of work there.
The next visit was to Light Unto My Path church, also in Ticuantepe, which was my very first co-op in 2016 where I taught crocheting. Their new pastor and the ladies were thrilled with the blessing of a dress form from the Apoyo Team and a new serger to replace the one that was stolen. As well, some bolts of material and milk bags were left here as well.
Our final visit for the day was the Barrio Walk to Buenos Aires in Ticuantepe. Historically, a barrio walk would include a walk throughout the village delivering bags to different households. But today, everyone was gathered at their church and the bags were brought to the front. The pastor called out the family names for the bags of food blessings. Also, we had toothbrushes, dolls and Izzie Dolls to hand out to the children. These Izzie Dolls were made and donated by the Knox Presbyterian Church in Listowel. I am including a link so that you can learn of the initiative behind The Izzie dolls from Master Corporal Mark Isfield and his mother Carol, through 1 Combat Engineer Unit, and now led by Shirley O’Connell, who lives in my hometown of Perth, Ontario. In The Mood For Peace
After this visit, we headed home to Jardin Shalom to clean up, and rest before supper.
Thank you for listening and letting me share my stories with you.
Blessings to all,
Susan (aka Suzie)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
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