Day 1 of work

Good morning! Well, after a variety of mishaps with vehicle issues, changing out 2 of our 3 SUV's and a problem with Marcos' van, we did make it to Matagalpa by about 1:30pm. We all checked in, unloaded and then a group quickly gathered to go to Selva Negra. About half the group decided to stay at the hotel, unpack and relax a bit. Richard led the group to Selva Negra and I stayed at San Tomas and nested and organized. We heard that the hiking group saw monkeys so that was awesome. Our last team member, Corinne was waiting for us to pick her up at Selva Negra where she had stayed the weekend and came back with the group. It was great to see her and have us all together. She has had an amazing 2 weeks here and is still looking forward to this one!! We are also back together with our Nicaraguan friends and interpreters, it is always a joy to see them, they are like family to us. Last evening as soon as the group returned we put in about 3 1/2 hours of work unpacking all of the big suitcases with supplies, sorting, etc. The Helping Babies Breathe group, with the help of others, put all of their kits together. The education group had stuff spread out over two hallways, organized chaos for sure, to get all of their kits together. We all did sit and have a dinner together and then even got the vehicles loaded for today. What an amazing team we have, as always. We are 3 groups heading in 3 directions today and all looking forward to beginning our work. I personally cannot wait to see my good friends in Santa Celia. Thanks for checking in and please continue to send us good energy for our work this week.