MissionNicaragua

Well, we made it home safely. It took a little longer than we anticipated because of thunderstorms in Miami but we pulled into St. John's at about 4am this morning. All our luggage made it to Montreal with us so we didn't have to try to track down missing luggage. That was a big relief. Some of you have asked where the school is located. Here is a Google Maps link to the school: url=http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=El+Sauce,+Leon,+Nicaragua&hl=en&ll=12.847656,-86.659934&spn=0.002301,0.003484&sll=49.891235,-97.15369&sspn=50.213105,114.169922&t=h&z=19La Cenicera School The road goes along the top of the page and the school is approximately in the middle. It has a tin roof. Beside the school is a very large tree and we spent a lot of time there recovering from the heat. Back on Friday, we had our reflection time with Lenin. He gave a brief synopsis of what ... read more

This morning we learned that we had already met our goals for construction on the school, which was great news! So all the work today was a bonus. Today was the hottest day we´ve experienced so far, and all our construction jobs were in the sun. We were carrying gravel to the cement-mixing area, mixing concrete, breaking up the dirt floor of the school with pick-axes and carrying concrete blocks to be set with cement on the school walls. We´ve all grown stronger and are learning construction skills. After lunch, we went on a short walking tour of the community. We stopped at three houses and chatted with the owners. The first house was the house of one of the little boys at the school named Alvarito, who looks like a mini Sylvester Stallone. His house ... read more

Today we went to the build site for the whole day. In the morning it was really hot and humid. It gives us a new appreciation for hot and humid days in Ottawa. I´m sure we will feel chilly when we get home. Jessica and Vance weren´t feeling well so they decided to stay back today. Fortunately, everyone else has been feeling fine. We have been vigiliant about making sure everything is cooked and telling the kids what is a good choice and what isn´t. We aren´t having any milk products since we can´t be sure if they are pasturized. Any fruits that are high in water like watermelon are off the list. This morning we had some small bananas. They were delicious. They are so much sweeter than the ones we get in the grocery ... read more

Hola! We are in El Sauce now and we´ve already had a lot of adventures. Our flights were good and on time. We arrived in Nicaragua early afternoon on Thursday but unfortunately, 7 of out bags did not. Forutunately, we had Marcia with us to speak Spanish to the people there and we learned that our bags were still in Miami. They would be sent over on the next flight and delivered to our hotel. We were met at the airport by Lenin who is our main contact here in for SchoolBOX. He drove us to our hotel the Los Pinos. It is a lovely hotel with comfortable rooms. those who had their suitcases changed into some comfortable clothes. Lenin ordered pizza from Pizza Hut for us for lunch. We rested a bit at the hotel ... read more