Tuesday's Adventures

So yesterday morning, I woke up to this: the volcano in our "back yard" spewing ash. Niiiiiice. Still, it was cool to see and fun to take a picture of.

On the way to Las Parselas, we were almost stampeded by a real cow-boy and his herd.
But first, let me back-track. In the morning we traveled to a church (below) to have another small presentation to some rural teachers.
Allison, one of my fellow team members, and Nester, one of our favorite translators. Nester was born in Nicaragua, moved to NJ when he was four, and just recently returned to Nica in 2007. He cracks us up. As does his very identical twin, Luis.
This conejo must have been a family pet. He made himself quite at home among all the teachers and even hippity hopped right inside the house. He looked too nice to be someone's dinner...

but then again, you never know.

Nester, on the left, and my translator Luis, on the right. Luis is a lawyer, but doesn't get much work. So he works for the mission as a translator. He'd love to come to the States one day.

This is Nica's dry season, as evidenced by the huge cracks in the ground.

This tree produced a fruit that is only harvested for its seeds. They make granola out of the seeds and throw the rest of the fruit away.

We went to the location of a future church that Ringgold United Methodist is partnering with. It was forty-five minutes away, and it was the bumpiest ride I've ever been on. Think forty-five minutes of riding the Dahlonega Mine Train over and over and over. Once there, we trekked down to the stream where things were much more lush. This is where they will have their baptisms.

Plantains

We then visited the congregation. I have never seen such poverty.

...as evidenced by the malnourished puppies.

The pastor of the church is Marcial on the left. He is talking to Lamar through Pedro, the translator. Ringgold United will be coming back in July to break ground for the church.

The women and children stand around outside of the home.

As you can tell, with each day that passes, my posts become less and less comprehensible. Whew. Sorry!