I knew I was back when...

I knew I was back in Nica when...
-I got my first, second, third, fourth (and so on) mosquito bite in 5 minutes time WITH bug repellant on.
-I heard the customs officer call me by "chelita".
-I stood by the shower head just praying that it would be warm water
-I took my first sip of the best coffee ever
-Had that familiar stomach ache that screamed "welcome back" :)...I wouldn't trade it for the world.
-We missed the last "rapi bus" and walked in the misty morning to church just enjoying the time together without worrying if we are going to get there on time
-Dona Fide, Rafa, Spenc and I danced around the room for 5 minutes trying to get a HUGE moth safely out the front door
-The boys on the street came begging for a game of soccer and Uno
-I sat outside for hours watching and talking to the boys playing soccer out in the street
-We walked in and out of the houses on San Jose chatting with the families
-We slipped numerous times in the mud getting from house to house
-My heart felt freer than ever to simply sit and worship in awe if Him and His creation in nature and in the hearts of the kids and our family here.

And finally I knew I was back in Nica when I had to wait to blog until this morning because we had no power last night to do it.

Yesterday was awesome. We went with Raf in the morning to San Jose and got to see the work different teams have done on the feeding center. We walked through the community as best we could because it had rained so much there was mud everywhere. We went into some of the houses and visted with people just chatting about life and whatnot. We're hoping to take some teams up there to built some of the families more reliable houses soon! Spenc reunited with some of his buddies up there and I know that meant so much to him. We came back here for lunch and Dona Fide cooked us our favorite meal! It was this amazing chicken with rice and a salad with all kinds of things in it and of course tortillas :).
Then, the siesta of course! I love how it's so common to just relax and take a nap after lunch here. They call it planchando la oreja, or "ironing your ear". In the afternoon we went to Nuestra Tierra and Raf explained the water chlorinator to us that they had put in not too long ago. It was intense but amazing. We also saw the finished feeding center there and it looked great! I know the college SUMC team as well as the team in November worked on it and it's awesome to see it now. I"ll have to put up a picture soon.
We came back here and played in the street with the kids for a long time. Spenc kept the game of soccer going and we all played Uno afterwards until it got so dark we couldn't see the color of the cards. It was so cute. There were like 8 boys with me and Spenc all crowded around a little pile of cards all laughing and grinning from ear to ear. I love it here. We came in finally and had some dinner. The power went out so we sat at the table listening to Spanish worship music with Don Omar and Dona Fide. So good. They went off to bed and Spenc and I sat out on the deck while it rained and I got my guitar and just strummed around and we sang and worshipped the God who has allowed us and has blessed us with the opportunity just to be here and in His presence. It was a great night.
Now we're at the house and Raf will probably be here soon to go visit another community but again, we're on Nica time and schedule so there's really no telling what this day is going to hold. And I like it that way.

Que Dios los bendiga, and know that we are praying for y'all everyday.

M.