Day 1

Yesterday was Sunday and our first full day in Nicaragua. We were joined at breakfast by our awesome Nicaraguan friends and interpreters; Marcos, Frank and Orling. It is always such a delight to see them again! After getting our rental vehicles and having several conversations regarding the missing suitcase, we decided to trust that American Airlines would get it to us in Matagalpa as they promised they would. We knew it was on the plane. We split the group at that point and those who had not been to Selva Negra, or wanted to go again, went with Marcos to hike the rain forest and enjoy the beauty there. The rest of us went to a wonderful woman's home-Rosa-who has a community library and children's program which she runs out of her home. It is a beautiful example of how one person can make such a difference in the lives of the children in their community. Rosa has about 400 children signed up for her program! Every Friday the children can come to the library, select two books and exchange them for the two they checked out the week before. She also provides homework help for the kids as well as interactive games and activities. We have so many ideas about how to help another community we are working with, hopefully Santa Celia , replicate a similar model. We joined together again late afternoon to unload all of the medical supplies at the clinic and organize for the day today, which will be a huge help to us. There was a town festival and parade going on which presented a few interesting challenges to getting around the city. Our friends who went to Selva Negra have some quite interesting stories to share about their experiences. And, best of all, Mark's suitcase showed up!  We had a nice evening at the hotel, dinner and sharing time. Off we go to the clinic!! Irene