November 10, 2015

Last Monday was a very full day! The event was having 30 or so people over in the evening for dinner. This group was Stephen’s beloved Character Development Group of guys. He wanted to thank them for being a part of the group and share one last meal before everything changes. Stephen was considering continuing with this group after we moved away, but wants to invest completely in Masatepe.

At 11:00 AM I met Fatima at La Colonia to buy what was needed for dinner. She was going to be cooking for the group- yea! But someone needed to be there to pay for it all. We speed through the air-conditioned supermarket, knowing that there was much to do when we got back to the house.

Arroz Valenciana was the plan for the night- rice, chicken, vegetables and all glued together with ketchup. I had made it the Thursday night before for our neighbors, but I could already tell that Fatima would take it to an all new level.

She got cooking and chopping, the house heated up. I hated to turn on the oven, but I wanted to make a birthday cake for Oscar, our faithful friend over the years. What is another few degrees when the house is in the 90s?

The house smelled great, and right as Fatima was getting to clean up time, the water stopped. The men who were working at our house broke the water main. Visions of a desperately needed shower disappeared in an instant. Fatima was unable to clean up the cooking mess, but life must go on.

The men who were working understood my frustration- they had half-mixed cement in great need of water. The boss quickly ran off and was back to fix the water issue 20 minutes before our company arrived.

Some people came in “Christian Nica time” (something I heard referred to this morning in church), which is close to on time, and other came in “traditional Nica time”, which is closer to 30 minutes late. Our friend Jesse used his truck to pick up people living far from our house.

Once they all arrived we got the party started; color crayons and paper for the kids, conversation for the parents. Food was next, and while everyone was very polite, it did not take long for 3 large pans of food to disappear!

After we ate, Stephen encouraged/admonished the men to stay true to God and to each other. What worked in this group was that they confided in their struggles with each other, and sought God together to keep them strong.

Stephen finished the time together going one by one and sharing the strengths that he sees in each of them. It is great to see these young men beam when they were singled out for goodness in their lives.

Our time together closed with prayer and about a million pictures and hugs! As they rode off in the packed pick up truck, hoping to beat the rain, and with smiles on their faces, we too had smiles on our faces and content hearts. It is a powerful joy to care for others and to be cared for by them in return!