This week has full, overwhelming, joyful, exhausting, and right now I am glad to be enjoying a quiet Saturday afternoon to reflect on the week. You received two requests for prayer for us this week, and we were overwhelmed and thankful for your words of encouragement, prayers prayed, and just knowing that we have so many people behind us in this way of following God’s leading!
I want to share this week with you because hopefully the highs and lows will be an encouragement to your own walk with God.
In a sense this was a normal week for us in Nicaragua, as it included very few of the normal things we do. This seems to be normal, and it is one of the things that I find challenging.
MONDAY-LUNES
As most of you know, we have a car that has had some extended issues with overheating. Recently we have marked our trips to Managua with the places that the car has overheated. The past three weekends it has been with the mechanic, so last Monday when I was to drive to Managua to train teachers for the first time at Trinity Christian School, Stephen did his best to make sure that everything was in working order for my afternoon trip. We were counting on things working well, because we had a full afternoon/evening planned for the car. I was going to Managua from 12:30-4:30, then returning to teach two English classes at our house from 5-7 PM, while Stephen took the car to pick up guys for his group from 5-9 PM. Best laid plans…
About 45 minutes from the house the car suddenly spiked HOT! I pulled over immediately, trying to find a place with some shade, and off the road to avoid further damage to the car. Car trouble is the area that I feel most vulnerable, so my stress level that was hovering around 5, spiked with the cars thermometer.
Marcel to the rescue: within minutes of me stopping and raising the hood, a precious young man named Marcel stopped on his motorcycle. He helped me from start to finish; a hose had burst, he went and got what he needed, returned and cut out and reattached the hose, reassured me, I understood his Spanish and empathy, got me on the road to the mechanic, and would not take the little bit of money that I had to offer him. “In Nicaragua, it is tranquilo (calm)”, he said. His presents was calming, and he was a HUGE blessing to both Stephen and me!
No working at Trinity today, but maybe we could still savage some of our evening plans.
The mechanic checked out the car, saying it was okay for now but to have Stephen bring it in the next day.
On arriving home I got an email from Patricia who has helped us with our residency. The process that has had much prayer over the past eight months, seemed to be imminent. If we could be at Immigration by 7 AM, then we would get our residency that day. WOW! Change of plans. We needed a working car and money for the process.
It was 4:15, so we needed to get moving! We canceled English and Bible study walked the few minutes to the bus stop from our house (our car would not start), rode into town, Stephen went to rent a car, and I went to the bank to withdraw money. We drove home in the smallest, baby blue car I had ever seen, hoped for the best for the adventure the next day. We would have to leave early the next morning!