Family of Five: Mission Trip

I already put many of these pictures on Facebook, but since it would only let me do some at a time and they're out of order, here's where I'll tell the stories behind all the pictures :)

We drove to Texas the last day of June to drop Alyssa off with the grandparents. The next morning we got up at 4am, but there was a delay because of weather. We missed our connection flight in Miami...we tried to make it by taking the airport train and RUNNING through the airport. The kids thought that was fun, but it wasn't fun missing our flight by minutes. We got moved to a 6pm flight, but we had to wait for pilots. Once we were on the runway, the pilots said they "timed out" and we had to go back to the gate. Pilots can only fly for a certain number of hours. But wait, there's more! We got off the plane and got back on around 11pm. We waited again for pilots who never showed up and were told to get a hotel and our flight would leave at 9am the next morning. The next morning we woke up at 6am, and I'm thankful for the 4.5 hours of sleep at a nice Hilton. We were delayed a little more, but we finally made it to Nicaragua! Somehow we arrived with all of our luggage, and we found the nearest Tip Top Chicken for lunch.

The kids did great entertaining themselves at the Miami airport.

We wore the same clothes for 2 days!

Here's our yummy lunch.

As soon as we got to Jinotega after a couple of hours in a van, Aaron and Zachary joined a group to climb to the cross. It's quite a climb up a mountain. Bethany and I decided to walk with another group from Webb Chapel Church of Christ. This group ended up taking us in as one of their own!

We ate ice cream and played at a park.

The boys took a quick break for a picture.

Zachary LOVED climbing up to the cross.

On Monday, Aaron and Zachary went with a construction group to help build a house in the mud. We got lots of rain! Bethany and I helped prepare Casa Materna bags. This is a place where women at the end of their pregnancies can come stay before their babies are born. These ladies learn about basic healthcare, they participate in devotionals, and they get to make things for their babies like blankets and hats.

Bethany was a big help putting fabric in the bags.

Here's one of the amazing people behind this ministry.

I had to take a picture of the crazy bus stop across from the Mision.

We got to sing with the ladies in Jinotega.

Here's Bethany passing out a bag of baby stuff.

I heard Zachary was a hard worker!

The kids joined right in playing games with the youth group.

Tuesday we decided to help with the construction of a church in Pantasma. We drove an hour and a half in the back of a pick up truck...in the rain. The kids loved not wearing seat belts all week! When we got there, they helped mix concrete and move blocks. After lunch there was a big rainstorm, so we took shelter in a nearby home. The mom and two daughters (Anna and Sofia) were so nice! When the rain started coming in their house, we helped sweep the water out.

This was before the rain.

The kids helped shovel the dirt to be sifted and made into concrete.

Zachary wanted to help too!

They got a few rows put up before the rain.

This is the 4 year old girl Bethany played with during the storm.

They must be used to sweeping out water.

We had hamburgers and hot dogs for the 4th of July! The kids got to go to the children's church that night, and it was fun to sing familiar songs and interact with them.

Zachary (in the yellow) was right up there with the other kids.

On Wednesday we went to Apanas, which is only about 20 minutes away. We got to play with the Kingdom Kids children...kind of like an after school program where they play games, do crafts, and eat. We decided to sponsor a boy name Jacinto who is the same age as Bethany and Zachary. We gave him some gifts and then he showed us his home. It was a muddy climb up a mountain!

Who doesn't like playtime?

This was when we met Jacinto.

What a sweet smile :)

"I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children."

We could hardly keep up with Jacinto on the way to his house.

Here's where he lives...just a couple of rooms for a family of six.

We finally met Freydel in the afternoon! We've been sponsoring her for two years, had written letters, and she had seen our picture. She knew me immediately and gave me a big hug!

We brought Freydel gifts, including a bed just for her.

She has an older sister who was just as sweet as her.

This is right outside her house, which isn't exactly in the safest area.

There are five people living here. We met her sister, mom, and baby brother, but her dad was working as a security guard.

Thursday was our last work day. Bethany and I went to Yali to the Casa Materna. We gave manicures and pedicures to all the pregnant ladies. We also gave out fabric to make blankets.

The girl with the pink shoes is only 14 years old :(

I got to meet a lady who was 5 years younger than me. She didn't even know she was pregnant!

They were starting to make a baby blanket with the fabric squares we gave them.

We went to the church that afternoon to be with the Kingdom Kids there, and we got to meet another girl sponsored by a lady in Grapevine.

Bethany helped dry the kids' hands.

We had a backpack of goodies for Rosa.

She's 10 years old.

Aaron and Zachary did construction on another house.

Zachary (and Bethany) enjoyed being with the kids and passing out toys/candy.

Friday morning was bittersweet because we had to say goodbye to some awesome people. This is the group from Webb Chapel, but there were nice folks from Alabama staying there too. We got to go shopping and zip lining before spending the night in Managua.

We loved hanging out together!

Zip lining was lots of fun.

I flew like wonder woman (Bethany was super girl).

Sometimes they rode with guides.

We got finished right before another rain storm.

Look closely and you'll see monkeys!

We got to spend some time with Benny and Donna, the hard workers behind Mision Para Cristo. Then we left on Saturday morning, picked up Alyssa in Texas, and drove back to Oklahoma. It was a wonderful trip, and I think we were all blessed. If you're interested in sponsoring a Kingdom Kid child, there are a few on the website, or you can contact me and I'll help you.