This is My Life

The Weather: We enjoy the 80's each day and living in Jinotepe also means you get a very nice breeze most of the time. The rainy season is over I am told and it was an easy one for us since the conditions were near drought. It's hard on the local farmers though who depend on that rain. 

The Surprises: Our water is shut off at random times and if we have water today it'll be the first Saturday with water in 3 weeks. We have a storage tank for water but with 8 people living here it doesn't last long. We buy our water for drinking but need city water for showers and laundry and washing dishes. When the weather is warm and breezy and good for drying clothes and I have plenty of water I am over the moon with thankfulness to be able to be caught up on laundry! 

The Reality: Our trash man comes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Because on a couple of occasions my husband has had to run an errand when he puts out the trash we found out that there are those who eat from our trash. This is a HARSH, HEART BREAKING reality. So, this week I put our leftovers in gladlock bags and kept them in the frig until Robin was ready to put out the trash. We put them in one bag that would go on the top when he put it out. Then, HORRORS, our neighbor said the trash man had come and gone and it was only 7 a.m.!!! He actually came later and knocked on our gate for our trash and took it right away. I'll try again on Monday. I do pray that those who search the dumps for food found my bag early while it was still fresh. ...sigh... I am seriously undone for the poor here and I am not sure what to do. So for now I am going to make sure that if someone is eating from my trash I can provide some fresh food... I've pondered making meals but I am a bit overwhelmed by day to day living right now...a true dilemma. 

The Family. There are moments when we are all loving on each other and I am amazed that this is my family and there are other times when I realize we have a long way to go to make two families into one. The language barrier is a true barrier. We're all learning and able to communicate MORE but way LESS than we need to. Sometimes you just need to EXPLAIN and you can't. Or...you'd like to have a movie night...in Spanish or English? Then there is the heavy task of planning meals with taste buds from two different countries and not a lot of choices. (Said Eva in Spanish, "Papa buys chicken day after day!!")

The Fun. We're teaching 4 kids what it means to live in a family, and not only that, but to live in OUR family. We're learning to live in THEIR family. We're raising them as our own with our boundaries and I have to admit, our culture/preferences. We helping them get along with one another because, let's face it, there are four kids who are each one year apart. It's intense. We try to take things one at a time and work on one issue at a time. But sometimes Robin and I still feel like we're correcting constantly. It's overwhelming for us and we sometimes border on exasperating them which is not a good thing. So, when we can, we take a break and hire our driver (who is a dear friend as well) and we go out for the day and have FUN! Yesterday we went to a beautiful beach, a PRIVATE beach even, all thanks to our dear friend/driver and his generous cousin who let us set up camp for the day at his beach house. I'm so sad I forgot my camera! But picture sand and beach stretching out to forever, mountains to our left, clear skies, bright sun, and ocean water too warm for this Mainer to accept as OCEAN! 

Homesick. The four Mainers are so homesick we can't see straight sometimes. It's a pain we share and take turns crying over. Then we wipe our tears and look for the joy. Four beautiful Nicaraguan faces remind us WHY. The best thing I did before I left Maine was to highlight in orange all the Bible verses about the poor, the orphaned, the widow, the oppressed. I did this when I was sensing God's call to adopt. I wanted to make sure I was in line with God's heart. Now I flip through and read when I need a reminder that I am truly on the right path when the days are hard. This blog is called "Peaceful Gatherings" because I search for peace and it is only found in being in agreement with God and following his path for my life. So I am here in Nicaragua and if Jesus were to return today I would be happy he found me HERE. 
These days I am searching out verses on JOY. I need to truly understand what the Joy of the Lord IS. I WANT that joy in my life. When I am done I'll share my findings!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." ~James 1:2-4