Honey we are HOME!

Whew! After a lot of delays in Miami, we left for Dallas. Thankfully the delays in Miami were from Dallas and all flights we delayed. They held our flight into Tulsa and we got home!

What a blessing it was for all of us to be in Nicaragua! We learned to be very flexible as most of the plans we made here, needed to be changed.  The team cleaned and painted the church, held bible school and also had a women's group daily.  We had over 100 children everyday at bible school and about 40 women for bible study! We were not able to do the crafts we had taken, but God provided a shade tree and we continued on with spreading the love of Christ. 

Food was delicious... we actually all gain a few pounds. Breakfast consisted of beans, rice, eggs and bread. Coffee was generally instant, but did the trick most mornings.  The first day we went out for lunch and there is no meaning to the word "hurry". So it took about a couple of  hours to get food and eat. Too much time for us. We got BPJ and fixed our own lunch on site.  Dinner was always wonderful. I have eaten a lot of steak and the most wonderful plantains. Oh my, I cant wait to fry some of those here.

Our hotel in Masaya was first class according to Nic. standards.. The beds were nice and the water was on if you asked for it. Generally it was hot, but not always. They don't leave any A/C on while you are gone, but the rooms cool really fast. 

Our driver was fabulous. He, the VIM rep. and the translator were a blessing. They took us to dinner, inter the menu and told us when we could eat salads/cheese and when not to.  We had a wonderful tour of Masaya, even the volcano- up close and very personal! You could not stay longer than 20 minutes before your lungs began to hurt. I don't believe they have OSHA there.  We went on a lake cruise, not our type of boats, feed a monkey that came on our boat and saw the 'rich' island estates of the upper class in Nicaragua.

The people where we worked were the very poorest. They children seem to be feed, and began their morning clean, but afternoon most of them were very dirty as the dirt was their playground.  Some of the children went to school, but its not a requirement.  Three years ago, they had to have a uniform to go to school, now they can go without one,. A uniform is $10.00. Many of the children don't go because they don't have them, but a large majority of then do have the uniform.   The  girls are generally mommas by the time they are 14-16. The men however are not around. We saw a lot of teenage moms.  The area is very poor without running water. There were 2 people that made products for the area market. one a sandal maker and one a purse maker... we bought them out and ordered more! They were very busy. 

I have 500 ish pictures and will post a few this week after I get them on the computer. The country is beautiful, but poor. The people are very generous and loving. The village grandmother was 80, had 10 children, 50 grandchildren and over 50 great grandchildren. She was full of knowledge and just so funny! She danced daily for us.

I know we saw the hands and feet of God from the village people, I pray they saw they hands and feet of God from us.

Penny

Made Their Connection!

By text message from Erin and phone call from Rex, the team is on their last flight (AA 2274), which we think was delayed some just to wait for them. It is due to arrive at 10:39. It'll be great to see them back home!
-Barbara

Flight Delay

Team delayed in Miami.  Stay tuned with your internet tracking.

Flying Home

Tracking sites on the internet show that our team's first flight of the day has been delayed. It is reportedly delayed until 7:55MDT.  If their flight left at 7:55, then it appears that they should be landing in Miami at 12:35pm. They are flying American; you might like to have the flight numbers to track them as they make their way back today.

#986 Managua, Nicaragua to Miami, Florida
#1517 Miami, Florida to Dallas, Texas
#2274 Dallas, Texas to Tulsa, Oklahoma

If all goes well they will be arriving in Tulsa at 6:35 pm.

Thursday & Friday

Allene received emails from Rex with additional info. Here are excerpts. The first was written Thursday evening:

They had a crew doing brick work when we got to the church. We painted the church interior, did some work on all their doors and other things. 

We finished painting and hanging doors this morning and came back to the hotel to eat and clean up. We went back at 1pm for the dedication at 2pm. It lasted over an hour with singing,dancing and our thanks and their thanks. We went to a local market after that and then to dinner. We are leaving at 7am Friday to go to the beach to have lunch and possibly swim in the Pacific. 

We will spend the night across the street from the airport for our 5am checking on Saturday. 

From early today:

We are leaving at 8am Friday to tour and go to the beach.

And from about 10:00 today:

We left the hotel at 7am headed to Leon which is down by the Pacific. It rained on us on the way to Managua. Hopefully it will clear up as we get closer to the water. We stopped at a coffee shop and I saw they had wifi.

Rex sent all three emails when he found that wifi in Managua. Thanks for sharing, Allene!

Dedication Thursday

Erin called today just before 10am (11am locally), and told me more about what has been happening in Nicaragua. All on the team are still healthy and happy.

The team had stopped in Managua for coffee when she called. They are on their way from Masaya to León on the west coast of Nicaragua where they will be visiting the beach.

Yesterday they went to the church early to finish up their work. They painted the benches (pews) and finished re-installing doors. The doors had been installed when they arrived, but didn’t work too well after installation of the new tile. Mike and Rex had sanded them and Jackie added some accent paint to highlight the carvings on the doors (one an angel, another a cross) before they were put back in place.

After going back to their hotel to clean up from the morning’s work, the team arrived back at the church at 1:45 for the dedication service, and found 20 children already there waiting. By 2:00 the church was full of children and mothers, but no men. No men had come to church during the entire visit. Our team was treated to presentations, the first by a teenage girl who danced in an elaborate dress. Our group presented audio Bibles to the pastor, and then his wife performed a dance next.

On the days that they held a Vacation Bible School, from 1:00 to 3:00, the women on our team had also met with the mothers and grandmothers each day from 3:00 to 4:00 for Bible study. So, during the dedication service the mothers gave gifts to the women on the team.

After the dedication, the team visited a local market where people sold things that they had made. Last night was their last night at the Masaya hotel and they had pouring rain.

During their trip they have had two translators, Osiris (female) and Rigo (male), as well as Fernando, who has driven them around, located places for dinner, spoken to waiters about making sure that their food is safe – sort of a tour guide but much more than a tour guide. Rigo’s last day was yesterday, but Fernando and Osiris are still with them today.

Tonight they will stay at a hotel across from the airport, and they plan to leave there at 5:00 am for their 6:30 flight (EDT). They will fly first to Miami, then to Dallas, then to Tulsa, arriving at 6:35pm.

More from Nicaragua

Allene received an email from Rex this afternoon (Thursday):

"I finally got an email out on Yahoo. Things are fine. Dedication at church on Thursday. Then shopping at market in PM."

And FYI -- Most of the team is due to arrive back in Tulsa at 6:35 pm on Saturday.

News for Wednesday

This by way of Shari Goodwin:

Rex also called Allene last night, and here's a little more info if you want to post it:

The temperature has been in the high '80's with high humidity. Rex said the guys painted yesterday - yellow and green - and were planning to lay some brick today while the women work with the children and local women. The team probably won't have Internet access until Saturday.

The food has been great. They had a Nicaraguan breakfast yesterday - black beans, rice, eggs and fruit - and were told they would have an American breakfast today. He was waiting to see what that would be. They've had PBJ sandwiches for lunch each day, then ate out at dinner.

Tuesday's Report from Masaya, Nicaragua

Erin called tonight, using Penny's phone, with a new report about what the team has been doing.  From what I am able to remember after our call ended:

The entire Nicaragua team is healthy and all are helping with improvements to the church in Masaya (the United Methodist Church).

Yesterday the team from Boston Avenue and another group worked on the outside and the roof of the church. With so many working on the roof, they made so much noise that it was difficult to hold Vacation Bible School. But 80 children participated, hearing a story and crafting crosses.

This morning Kali, Richard, and Erin did some shopping at Price Mart. Work continued on the church (and probably included new tile). Because of work on the floors inside, VBS was moved outside, even though rain was expected. But the rain didn't come, and they had 100 children. Tonight the team was having dinner at a town outside Masaya.

Tomorrow, the team will continue to work on the church, and they expect to have more than 100 children for their final VBS (On Thursday, because benches and railings will be covered with fresh paint, our team will not be able to hold a fourth day of VBS).

I'll let you know when we get another update. And I'll let them know about your well wishes and comments.


Barbara

More News from Monday

Paula Gradney (Adult Education Assistant at Boston Avenue) heard from Penny yesterday, too. Here is what she learned:

Just received a call from Penny Sheehan. The team arrived safely in Masaya and have toured a volcano and taken a boat ride around the Lago de Nicaragua. The scenery is beautiful! They are awaiting their supplies, then will travel to Managua.  As a birthday present, Mae had a monkey sitting on her shoulder, eating a banana - can't wait for pictures of that! =)

All is well and they are ready to get to work! Penny will call as time (and calling card) allow. They have no internet service yet, so the blog updates are unlikely.

A Monkey!

This comes by way of a very brief cell phone call a few minutes ago. There is no internet access for our team. Penny asked me to post a quick update to let everyone know that the team is fine except for some headaches. The air is heavy from the burning of trash and passing through a volcano was no help. Some have headaches from lack of caffeine.

They are off to a slower start than expected. This morning they were buying supplies and then eating lunch at Papa Johns (!). Next they will be beginning their school at the church.

Penny will have to tell you the story of a monkey that got on the boat -- later.

Barbara Meehan (back home in Tulsa)

Ready, set, go

We are ready, we are set and we are ready to go.... We meet at Tulsa Intl Airport, Saturday at 7:30am.... Remember to bring you passport, suitcase, and your love to share...

Ready to go

Wow its time to go.... We will meet for our final meeting on Wednesday Oct 6.
please leave us comment as that is probably the only way we will be in contact other than email.... stay tuned