A short update on the Bush familia

Life lately..

Seriously, I have been so terrible at keeping up with my blog this year. I know I am about to have a baby and that it is crazy for me to think I might have more time to write but here's to hoping.

Since coming back from Florida we have moved in to a new house that we LOVE. It is so fun. It is a fixer upper which has Ryan so excited that he always has something to work on at home. We are saving so much money here but still have 5 bedrooms. We were very blessed with this find. We also have a front AND a back yard. This is very rare in Nicaragua and we are thankful that we might have some calmer dogs thanks to this.

Some fun facts about our house..
We are also officially completely air condition-less and we are surviving just fine. We are going to appreciate a Tennessee Christmas even more this year.
We sleep with the windows open and have enjoyed falling asleep to the (slightly) cool breeze and the sound of the rain.
We have 3 coconut trees and I have already enjoyed some cold coconut milk.
The house came with hammock hooks. It has been fun living in a real Nica style home.
And best of all ... We live in harmony with the iguana, the gecko, and the fly.

(Back side of house) 

It has been fun :) We are almost settled. Got a few more things to bring from the old house this week and then we will be all in. This house is PERFECT for hosting small groups/families/friends so please feel free to come and stay with us!

Sadie's room is finished and looking sweet. She has an "elegant" little bug net over her bed for all you worry warts out there :)

A little update on Sadie..
I am 38 weeks pregnant tomorrow.
We had our full-term appointment last week and she is looking great! Approx. 7.3 lbs and getting ready to greet us.
I have been really blessed with a pretty easy breezy pregnancy. The last few weeks I have started to get anxious and have some pretty bad back pain and Braxton hicks but other than that its going really well. I really don't enjoy the Braxton Hicks probably for the same reason all other first time moms don't.... I.do.not.know.what I am waiting for so every time I have one I get excited. BUT I know she will be here no matter what in less than a month now so that is very very exciting!
Speaking of these false contractions.. I just had another.. Can't wait for the real deal :)

Funny addition: Ryan had a dream that I was pregnant which is why I took a pregnancy test... Posititve.
Ryan had a dream that we were having a girl (even though at the time he was hoping for a boy) and was just sure of it after that.. Doc said it was a girl a week later. About a month ago he had a dream about the birth.. In the dream he asked me the date (weird) and it was September 27. That is this Friday. We may have to start calling him prophet Ryan. :) Either way, no matter what day, I just want her to get here so we can give her lots and lots of love.

Ryan has been going around to all the churches and meeting with the preachers about their goals and ministry plans for the next year. He has also been letting them know that Sadie girl will be here any day now and that he will be at home for a few weeks with me at least.

We are blessed. It has been a good month. It also helps knowing we have a sweet little angel on the way, our parents will be here in 3 weeks, and we go home in two months for a visit.

God is good. Please keep us in your prayers.. The big day is approaching.

Pray that my contractions are strong early on so that we get on the road at a decent hour ( 2 hour drive)
 and please pray that our sweet girl is in good health and that all goes well on that special day!

Florida Baby Shower

This summer a dear friend told me that since I was not going to be able to be in her wedding (due to being extremely pregnant) she wanted to fly me in to Florida so that I could be with her for one of her bridal showers and also so that her and my friends could give me a little baby shower. 

Awesome right?!

It took me a while to finally accept her generous offer because I hated to leave Ryan at such a difficult time for us both down here. Felt as though it wouldn't be fair but being the kind wonderful husband that he is, he insisted. So promising that I wouldn't eat at all our favorite restaurants while I was down there, I agreed :) 

So she got me a ticket and I arrived at the Panama City airport on thursday afternoon August 1st where my mother and sister were jumping up and down as I rode down the escalator to get my luggage. Not only had we not seen each other in 7 months but it also provided the opportunity for them to actually see me pregnant! It was a blast. 

(Taken at the airport) Sadie and Aunt Mils first time together ;)

Also on this trip we were blessed by our friends the Harris/Lunn's for allowing us to stay at their condo for the weekend and we got to spend a lot of time with them as well! Eden Lunn has been one of my longest best friends since 3rd grade where we met at Camp Wiregrass but this was the first time we got to spend a weekend together with our mothers. Thankful that we now can ALL be life long friends :)

Thursday after mom and sister picked me up we went to the condo and just got to hang out together and soak up some time together. Morgan brought by some groceries and Chic-fil-a for dinner (YUM!) and we all just got to spend some quality time together and I got to stretch out my legs after a long day of travel. 

Friday mom, Amelia, and I got to do a little shopping and laying out. Very relaxing and fun to just be able to spend time with them. That night friends started arriving and it was such an exciting night! First of all we got to go to my favorite restaurant Boondocks with friends Eden and Mrs. Vonda (Alabama) where Whitney (South Carolina) met us. During our delicious dinner someone snuck up behind me and covered my eyes... To my complete surprise it was my sweet mother in law (North Carolina) and two of my SIL's. I was so excited and shocked because I didn't think they were going to be able to make such a long trip for such a short weekend. Lots of happy tears... After dinner we went back to the condo where we all were chatting and I was actually laying in the floor trying to get Sadie to kick for her aunts (she is stubborn or shy haha) when we got a knock on the door... Another AWESOME surprise, Anna and Seth (Oklahoma) were at the door. Anna tricked me and it was another great treat. It was a LOT of excitement for one day and I am so grateful for the way it turned out and that they were able to come! 

Saturday morning mom, Amelia, and I went to a beautiful bridal shower for Morgan. It was so great to be a part of such a special time for her. I am thrilled to see her so happy and know she is going to make her fiance very happy as well! 

Me, Morgan, mom, and Amelia at Morgan's shower

After the shower we went back to the condo and down at the beach were 4 more of my dearest friends (Ginny, Rachel, Marcy, and Bethany) from college who came all the way from Tennessee for ONE night to help give a beautiful baby shower. They seriously are the BEST EVER. 

Saturday night at 7 was the shower. IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL. I just couldn't believe how pretty it was. Sadie and I felt like royalty. It was so much fun. Very much pinterest quality ;) Here are some pictures that Whitney took of the shower. 

The beach in the background!

Amazing cake!

Mom, me, and Amelia

Me, Kelsie, Tammy (Ryan's mom), and Kellie!

SO happy to see them. 

Sadie is a lucky lady to have such sweet grandmas!

And me... I am one very very blessed lady to have such wonderful friends and family. I could never put in to words how special this day made me feel. Thank you all for making your long hikes to be there!

Ridiculously beautiful baby shower wasn't it? What a blessing. I am forever grateful for the love shown to Ryan, Sadie, and I. 

Sunday... OH Sunday. EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER. It had been 7 months since I had sat through a worship service in English. Exactly 30 Sundays of church in Spanish. I was very blessed to spend my first sunday back at my families old church in Panama City, Palo Alto. I was already really missing Ryan and wishing he could have been there (even more so after his family surprised us and Seth being there too..so being blessed by a Sunday worship in English just didn't even feel right without him). So anyways, Sunday, I cried. THE WHOLE time. I could not stop. I mean like ugly face, shoulder shaking, sweat and tears from start to finish. I knew I missed it but had no idea the affect it was going to have on me. I loved soaking in every minute of the beautiful angelical voices and the prayers. All of it. At the end the elders came and prayed over me and for our work in Nicaragua and for the birth of Sadie girl. So naturally I triple lost it. The ability to worship with my brothers and sisters in my native tongue will never be taken advantage of again. It was a blessing beyond measure. 

I love learning Spanish but it is going to be a long time before Ryan and I don't feel like sitting through church in Nicaragua isn't a "job" because it is just so difficult to follow or to even know everything you are singing.. Anyways, needless to say this was definitely one of the greatest parts of my trip. I will always be so thankful for the family from Palo Alto. They have been a wonderful continuous support for both Ryan and I while we have been down here and I hope one day soon Ryan can come and visit there with me. 

For the rest of the trip I was able to visit and catch up with family, old friends, and relax with some people that I love so dearly and have missed. I am thankful that this opportunity was provided for me. God is so very very good.

Summer 2013

Well...

It has been too long. I should be ashamed of myself for writing such a post as my last one and then waiting nearly two months to write another-- But good news.. things are getting better.

We had a very busy summer between our 4 interns and then having guests and/or groups here the entire months of June and July. I think all together Ryan and I had about 4 days alone this summer. It was a crazy, eventful, and blessed summer indeed. There was good and there was bad of course, but having friends, family, and group visits to look forward to helped a lot.

We have had quite a few faith shaking things happen this summer that have really taught us to turn to God and each other more. We are so very thankful for the special people in our lives who always encourage us and support us in so many ways.

I am going to post a few pictures from our summer with groups, guests, and interns. Thanks always for keeping up with us.

Ryan getting some baby practice in with Fernando

Two awesome people down here that we are blessed to work with, Sergio and Daysi!

Me and some special ladies at the ladies conference at Primero de Mayo.

One of our interns, Nathan C, getting down with a sweet lady at the Nursing home.

Jen Sav speaking at the ladies conference they put on during their week down here. 

David, a guy with the Georgia team in El Ojoche.

Our friends, Craig and Abbi came to visit! 

Our interns for the summer. 

Nathan C, Erin, Nathan F, and Kristi!

two of my dearest friends came in July, Rachel and Ginny!

and the last team of the summer, fhu girls basketball came and did a camp in Xiloa! 

This was a surprise I was blessed with the first week of August. I will post another blog giving all the details about this wonderful short trip to Florida! 

And last but not least, my wonderful friend Kenzie came to visit us this month. Poor thing got a little gypped on all the fun stuff because Ryan had just gotten over bronchitis and I am starting to be a little more uncomfortable in the heat.. but she was a trooper and I loved getting to spend the week with her! 

I hope to post two more blogs this weekend about my trip to Florida and about Sadie Ellen but I first wanted to do this short little update on our summer. 

I will be using this next week to try and make up for my lack of blogging this summer. 

Dios te bendiga

-Summer 

Psalm 139: 9-10

For the past few months I have been absolutely the worst at blogging. I created this blog so that I could share my personal experiences being a missionary in Nicaragua. The ups and the downs. The truth.. And sometimes the truth is ugly. It isn't this beautiful picture of perfection. Of thousands of souls being saved, lives being changed, people grasping the true meaning of the gospel, or troops joining forces with us.. Sometimes, all I can come up with to write about is what I feel is too negative to share.
Stuff that is not the bright vision of greatness that I feel our supporters want to hear from us... But that isn't life. I am not perfect. Ryan is not perfect. And all our experiences down here are not going to go according to plan.. We are going to be stressed, we are going to be worried, and we are going to have to get to a place where we can settle back in to the loving arms of Jesus.. And this, this is where we are at.

So with that being said.. I am just going to be honest. I know that my past few blogs I have not been my happy self but I still feel the need to share.. and this is it.  I am going to share the good and the bad today. I am going to let you come a little further in to the lives of the Bush family in Nicaragua and share some things I have been struggling with, some things WE have been struggling with.

Loneliness.. Though Ryan and I are both big in to adventures and love just being together more than anything.. This one is hard. Ya know, there are always going to be those days when our family or our best friends are all together and you just want nothing more than to teleport back to the states for a day. For me it is wedding showers, baby showers, and all these big life events that I and my friends are going through and we can not do together. For Ryan it is missing big memphis games with his best friends, playing basketball after work, coaching, owning his own house/car that he can work on. etc. And of course for both of us there are family birthdays, cook outs and camping, death and sickness, new life, changes, and so much more that we wish that we could be there for. This may seem silly to you but I personally will never take it for granted again. I sincerely think I would sell a finger on the black market to get to hug my family's neck right now. As grateful as I am for skype and all the technology that we are now blessed with, I just want to throw my computer after one of our skype/facetime chats. Why can't I just hug my mama and daddy? Another big way we have been feeling loneliness lately is friendship.. It is just so hard to be "the gringos (white people)" down here. No matter what, every day, someone is going to ask us for some sort of support through money. I know you are thinking, "Come on Summer, you are a missionary, you signed up for this".. But just once I would love to be able to go sit at someone's house and not be expected to go buy tip top chicken for everyone there, or to not pay for their third cousins stitches, or to let them borrow our car because they don't want to use their own gas for a church activity. Sometimes it just feels like Ryan and I against Nicaragua, we don't want it to but it does. But God is bigger.

Money.. I have really come to absolutely despise this word. For reasons just listed above. And for it putting such a big separation for us in our work here in Nicaragua. And because of bills. Ugh.. Bills.. Students loans (puke), soon to be hospital bills, and now our renters lease went up at end of April and we can't seem to get it rented back out.. So we are trying to pay our house payment. We have gotten to a point where their is no way that we can work with the budget we set for us last year because we are about to no longer be a family of two and this means more fundraising. Both Ryan and I's least favorite part about mission work is the fundraising. We do not like asking people for money or for help but at this point we have no other option. It is time to start searching for more supporters so that our little family of 3 can stay here. So yeah, money. You stink.

Language.. I hate language barriers.. if someone could just pray that we can all the sudden be fluent that would be awesome :)

The devil.. As you can see he has really found some ways to really distract us. As much as I hate to admit it I think that we can really be found guilty in allowing our "mission" to get in the way of "OUR MISSION" here in Nicaragua. The fundraising and money, the go go go, the finding solutions for all the problems brought to us, the being gone in the heat for all hours of the day has really kept me personally from my true purpose here. Strengthening my light and sharing that light with all of those that I come in contact with. It stinks to admit that mission work has gotten in the way of my personal relationship with God because that sure makes it seem pointless. But sometimes the routine just gets so intense that my personal routines get extremely neglected. I know that God has us here for a reason we just need to focus on following him and finding that purpose.


Some wonderful blessings..
Baby girl.. Sadie Ellen, if only she knew how much I loved her already. There is absolutely nothing in this world that excites me more than feeling her jump or kick inside of me. There is new life growing inside of me that is not only going to look like me but she is going to look like and love with all her heart my favorite person in the entire world. I can't wait to watch her be a daddy's girl. I can't wait to see her smile and to hold her for the first time. I can't wait for her to get to an age where she thinks it is SO cool that she has dual-citizenship and that she is a Ameri-nican :) How fun will that be for her to tell her children and her children's children. "Mom and dad had to drive two hours down bumpy roads, swerving to miss bicyclists and iguanas to get a hospital and for me to be delivered by a spanish speaking doctor". I can't wait to see true Joy on her face for the first time and for her to watch out the window for her daddy to come home. I can't wait to see Ody and Pancho fall in love with her and do everything in their power to protect her because they are such great protectors. I can't wait to hear her sweet little voice say her first prayer. I am just so thrilled to be her mama and even more so thrilled to watch Ryan be here daddy. We are going to go on so many adventures together.

Family.. Man, If Ryan and I were not able to get away for a second and talk to our parents I don't know what we would do. Just this morning my mama cancelled her lunch appointment to talk to me for 3, yes 3, full hours while I had a complete break down. Having an incredible family is certainly not something to complain about but it sure does make it so much harder to be here. We are truly truly blessed by them each and every day and Sadie is going to be so blessed to have them as well.

God.. Boy do I fail him.. Daily. But He sure is ready to pick me right back up. What a blessing it is to have a Father who forgives us, loves us, and uses us even when we feel useless. He cares for us, He provides for us, and He never leaves us. When I feel lonely it is because I choose not to look to him, when I feel stress it is because I choose not to trust in him, and when I feel Satan attacking me it is because I choose not to lean on Him.

Life is going to be fine and we are going to get through this. We desire to be strong christian parents who are full of the spirit and ready take on the world with our little girl so please keep us in your prayers. God can move mountains and we truly feel like we have a few mountains that need to be moved. We need to raise more money so that we feel secure in our stay here, we need to get to a good trusting relationship point with the people we work with, and we need to let God lead us day by day.

I always come back to this verse when I am writing about our experiences here. Such a pleasant reminder.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, If I settle on the far side of the sea;
even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Psalm 139: 9-10

Life lately

Wow.

The past month and a half has been such a blessing for Ryan and I. From having so many visitors and great groups to announcing our sweet little one's arrival in October we have just been overwhelmed by all the love shared. God is doing some great things. Ryan and I have now had a time of rest and are really starting to get a big picture of why we feel God has led us here. We are really looking forward to the next few years here in Nicaragua as a family!

So March.. in the shortest summary possible.

March 1-6: Prepare for the chaos that was going to continually role in for the next few weeks. Buy lunch food for groups, buy supplies for their projects, get everything ready at the hotel, with transportation, translators, churches, etc. Sheww.
March 7-14: 18 Jackson Christian School students joined us for a week to work with NCS and with the Vida en Familia church that meets on campus of the school.
March 13-19: David and Brenda McCrary were here in Nicaragua with us. They spent the last few days of their trip with their son who lives down south.
March 16: We had a few minutes to stay at the beach for our one year anniversary (March 17!)
March 18-19: Quickly finish getting everything together and in as best order as we could for FHU who would arrive the coming weekend.
March 20: We drove 5 hours to Honduras to pick up my cousin Lincoln who would be staying with us for the next few days. From the boarder of Honduras we drove 5.5 hours to Managua to purchase our new vehicle! Wahoo. (this is great news, we had been using the NCS truck and were sharing it a lot with the construction manager and the director of the school so it is a blessing to have our own vehicle now!)
March 21: We had our 11.5 week appointment to see Bushbaby who was looking fabulous and then got a tour of our hospital (both of which I talked about in my last blog post). Poor Lincoln had to tag along for all of this. And at around 7:30 we picked up my dear friend Brittany Mauney and her friend Kellye from the airport. (this makes 3 sweet visitors in our home!)
March 21-28: Brittany and Kellye were to be with us.
March 22: We tried to fit in as many fun things as we could with Lincoln, Britt, and Kellye before the next group would arrive on the 23rd.
March 23: We all rode the bus to Managua to pick up Freed-Hardeman's Xi Chi Delta (Ryan and I were both a part of this social club while in college) at the airport and we dropped Lincoln off.
March 23-29: FHU worked with the Primero de Mayo church in Leon, Nicaragua.

Yes you saw many days overlapping in there and it was a juggle but we were so thankful for March. We were really truly blessed by every person who we were able to spend time with this last month. They also helped me skip right over the terrible first trimester with hardly a glitch so that was a plus too!

In celebration of our busy awesome month, our anniversary, Ryan's Birthday (April 7), and the fact that we had to leave the country to renew our visas.. We were able to go to Costa Rica for two nights(April 5-7). We had a free nights stay at a Marriott so we got to stay in a fluffy bed with delightfully chilly air conditioner and a wonderfully strong hot water pressured shower. Along with the nice hotel, Costa Rica had a Moe's, Taco Bell, Wendy's, Outback, etc and a big air-conditioned mall. So we window shopped and we ate a lot. Though this seems lame to each of you, it was exactly what we needed. We feel so refreshed, rested, and happy to be in Nicaragua again.

This month we will be going back to our normal routine: visiting the churches, some work with the school, organizing and planning for El Camino Missions, and preparing for groups and interns that start coming next month.

On April 9, we were able to see our sweet one again. He/she is healthy, looking great, and getting big! We think those look like the feet of a ball player! :)

And a belly pic. I feel like I have been showing for a few weeks but I am amazed at how much I have grown this week specifically. 

*Sorry about all the pregnancy-ness that is about to invade my blog!* 

We go back on May 20th to find out the gender of sweet Bushbaby and on the same day we pick up our 4 awesome interns for the summer. What a year. So much to be thankful for!

We are so thankful for your prayers and your kind words. We are blessed beyond measure. Thank you thank you thank you!

We are sending out a monthly e-newsletter that is more specific to the work we are doing in Nicaragua. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, you can enroll on the ECM and NCS facebook pages or just send us your email and we can put you on there!

Thank you for your love, your mercy, and your grace that you pour on us daily. Thank you for blessing our lives here in Nicaragua and for our healthy precious child. Thank you for our support teams and for all the special people you have placed in our lives to learn from. I pray that you will teach us patience as we learn to become more like you and I pray for even more patience as we learn to become the mama and dad you have called us to be. Thank you for choosing us for this special child and for leading us on such a special journey together. Amen

Baby Bush

Yes. There will be an extra little one added to our family in early October. This has been the hardest secret to keep. We are shocked, but absolutely ecstatic about this special tiny surprise. We are so excited to be sharing this with our family and friends. God has truly blessed us and we are completely in love with this little fig sized baby in my belly already.

We have had a lot of different questions asked and know that more are coming so I am going to try and answer as many as I can!

Was this planned? No. We were not planning on having a baby Bush quite this early. But God's timing is perfect right? And we are both so looking forward to being mama and daddy to this sweet baby. We found out on January 26th. Ryan actually had a dream that I was pregnant and told me about it that morning and so for the next day or so I couldn't get it off my mind. I ended up taking a few pregnancy tests and they were all positive. About a week later I made Ryan take me to get blood work done because I just couldn't believe it and again it was positive. We then decided to call a Doctor in Managua to make an appointment for in a few weeks and he asked us to come in that week so he could get all the paper work done on me. We had our first appointment on February 14th. I was 6.5 weeks and the sweet babe was very cooperative we found that little grain of rice AND heard a heart beat. Not sure any Valentines day will ever top that one!

Our most recent appointment was yesterday, March 21st, and everything was looking great. Baby Bush was doing all kinds of back flips, Cartwheels, karate moves, etc for us. I think we have an athlete on our hands :) 

How have I been feeling? Wonderful actually. And by wonderful I mean I have not thrown up once! I have had quite a bit of nausea but that has let up a lot in the past week or so. I also have been extremely exhausted but we have had a really busy month so that may not be as bad after I have some time to sleep :) And don't worry I have had my time or two of going completely psycho on Ryan but thankful he has been pleasantly understanding! All in all though, baby has been pretty easy on me so far which is going to be such a blessing in the 100+ degree weather. 

Cravings? Thankfully the only thing that I have been craving is easily bought here in Nicaragua and that is anything cold, fruity, and tart. Smoothies, flavored popsicles, and sherbet. We can go to eskimo for a  I think I will go get some now :) 

Are we finding out the Gender? Yes. I think it so cool that people are able to wait that long to find out and I always thought I would try but under the circumstances I will definitely be finding out. Since we will be doing everything down here by ourselves to get ready for the baby we just think it will be easier. And besides, I don't want to fool anyone, I would have the HARDEST time ever not knowing. We can't wait to find out sometime in May!

Due date? October 8, 2013

Are we moving back to the states? No. We made a commitment and we will be here for as long as we feel God calling us to do so. I am actually pretty excited about sharing a few years of this experience with our little one and who knows, maybe we will come back with a bilingual child! 

Where will I have the baby? We have thought and prayed long and hard about this and came to the conclusion that God has placed us here for a reason, has blessed us with this beautiful child at this time for a reason, and that right now this is home. Thankfully I have been blessed with a wonderful friend down here that just recently had a baby about 3.5 weeks ago and she was able to share with me all of her research. Ryan and I had already done some of our own and the Doctor matched up so we went with him. His name is Dr. Juan Carlos. He is a great Doctor and we feel very comfortable with him. He knows pretty good English so between our spanish and his english we have been able to communicate just fine. We will have the baby at Hospital Metropolitano Vivan Pellas in Managua, Nicaragua. 

How does our family feel? I think for the most part our family is just so excited about baby Bush. We know that it will be hard on them for us to be over here in a third-world country so far from them but they know that we are where we are suppose to be for now. We are blessed to have such a special supportive family. 

How did we tell family? Well, I told my Aunt Carrie immediately when I found out because she is a OB nurse or baby nurse as I like to call her. She got an earfull for weeks on silly questions/indecisiveness on when I wanted to spill the beans. But after the valentines appointment we found out that my whole family was going to be together for my brothers birthday that weekend and we were just ready for our parents to know so... Ryan edited the sonogram picture a little for me and wrote "be mine October 2013" on it. I sent it to my aunt for my parents and to my wonderful friend Kenzie to mail off to Ryan's parents. So while my whole family was over at my Aunt Kristy's for a birthday celebration we called on skype and while they were all standing there talking to us we had my aunt give them their valentines day cards. Each of my families reactions were perfect haha I love watching this video over and over again.

Though Ryan's family was equally as excited we did not have someone to video their reactions in North Caroline so this video is not as good quality but we love watching these reactions! Ryan and I had a hard time waiting for their letters to make it to them but they finally did and it was so exciting and such a relief for our families to all know and be able to be excited with us! 

When will we be back in the states? We will be bringing that sweet little bitty baby home with us for Christmas. So he/she will hopefully have the opportunity to meet as many members of our family and special friends as possible. 

Will it be a U.S. Citizen? Many of you know that Ryan bleeds red, white, and blue so that was a big question in our house for a while. As soon as baby Bush is born we will have a Nicaraguan birth certificate for baby.. Then Ryan will have to wait in a long Nicaraguan line to get baby a Nicaraguan passport.. After we have both of these in hand we can make an appointment with the embassy to get baby a U.S. birth certificate and passport. Our sweet one will be a dual-citizen, and as far as Ryan can tell, since baby is naturally born to two U.S. citizens he/she will still have an opportunity to run for President one day! sheww.. 

I have tried to keep it a secret over here in Nicaragua but it has been difficult. Since most of the population is 20-30's .. Most women have a baby bump.. Which means most Nicaraguans are "experts" in this field. Since the day Ryan and I moved back to Nicaragua in August I have had all the Nicaraguan women asking me weekly when we would be pregnant. Ever since the beginning of March all the women, men, and children from the different areas we work in have been asking me when I am due and I have been denying it. Seriously, after denying it they would just tell me "well you are".  100's of them. After telling our close friends Sergio and Daysi, I asked why everyone "thought they knew" I was pregnant, their response "Everyone is talking about it, you might as well stop lying, your face and body have thinned out, your collar bone is standing out more, and your hips have grown, besides look at that bump!" Experts. Thanks guys.. So though I have not made it "public" here yet, no one will be surprised.

God is good. I am so thrilled that we are going to be blessed with a child, that I get to finally be a mommy, and that I get to watch Ryan be an incredible daddy. I have been telling my family since I was 10 that I wanted 12 children. Don't think Ryan is going to go for that but I sure am looking forward to this first sweet bundle. I am so thankful God chose us to be this baby's parents.

A week in the life..

From January 30 to February 3 Ryan and I went missing from civilization. We left any sort of phone service, grocery store, and toilet seat behind and headed North to El Ojoche,Somotillo, Nicaragua.

During these four days we were humbled by the hospitality of others, love, contentment, and faith.

Ojoche:

Thursday after Ryan got done with the preacher's meeting, We (us and Mariano, the preacher at Ojoche) started on our road trip. It was a 2 and a half hour ride. A ride that I tend to always watch the back of my eye lids during (bad wife alert). Ryan and I have been excited about this trip for a while. We were really looking forward to spending quality time in a place we love to visit, we wanted to push our spanish by being somewhere without any language help, and we wanted to experience life as most of our Nicaraguan friends live. I will be honest and say that this trip came with a lot of fears for me.. The biggest one being the idea of us being stranded in the middle of nowhere (literally) and having flat tires and not having anyway to get them fixed. We almost always get a flat tire when we go to El Ojoche and the last time we went we had two. Thankfully, the Lord always has us and I am always reminded of how silly my fears are.

Thursday we arrived around 4:00 P.M. We were able to spend lots of time with the children in the village there. There are not vehicles in this community so when we arrive everyone knows it. The children love to use our vehicle as a playground of sorts. It is the gathering point for all of them when we are in town. After playing for a few hours we ate dinner with Mariano and his family. This meal was a start to 3 meals a day of beans, rice, and tortilla.

Some of the children in the back of the truck

For the next three nights we slept here..

 

Like this...

Using the restroom here (there is no toilet, just a hole)

and woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of these.. They think sunrise is @ 1:00 A.M.

We "bathed" here..

We brushed our teeth with a cup of water that was pumped from the water well (thanks to Living Water International they no longer have to walk miles to get water from the river). 

We went to bed every night about 8:00 P.M. Because 1) life there just shuts down at dark and 2) because we were always so completely worn out. 

Friday we got up.. Ate breakfast (you guessed it.. rice and beans) and then headed out to visit for the morning. We started at Trafilia's. She was a beautiful 82 year old blind woman who loved to sing. It was so beautiful to watch Mariano and her sing church songs together. She kept asking for another and another. What a wonderful way to spend your time. 

We continued visiting friends of the church until after lunch. We were able to see them in their day to day activities. One family made pottery, another sifted for gold, others were farmers on the top of the mountain etc. 

After our last visit we were able to climb to the top of the mountain in El Ojoche. It was only about an hour hike and it was well worth it. What an incredible view. In the very back you can see San Cristobal 

volcano!

Friday afternoon consisted of swimming in the river and then church (they have church on wednesday and friday night). It is always such a special thing for us to see what God is doing in these different communities. 

Saturday morning we got up super early to head to Somotillo. El Ojoche is one of 30 communities on the outskirts of Somotillo. Somotillo is where any one from Ojoche would go to get anything that they do not grow in the ground. This is about a 45 minute drive. We got there at 8:00 A.M. where we got to join Mariano on his weekly trip to preach at the prison. This was definitely an experience for us. This building was very small and run down. In the back there were 3 concrete rooms next to each other with metal gates (the cells). The first one held about 4 women and the other two held close to 15 men each. These cells were no bigger than someone's guest bedroom in the states. To my amazement, most of the people in the prison were very accepting of the word and were following along in the bibles they were given. It was a very special experience. After we were done at the prison we went to a place where Mariano and a preacher from El Ranchio preach on the radio every week. This was also very neat and I think the ministries that Mariano is a part of are very special. 

After wrapping up at the radio station we were able to visit a community outside of Somotillo where a church had been started. Right now there are about 5 adult members and 10 children. We were able to meet some of them and look forward to helping this church some in the future. 

Aren't they beautiful?

Around 12:00 P.M. we grabbed some icecream to take back with us and headed to El Ojoche. When we got there we took some of the children from the community swimming in the river. We had a blast playing with them.

Saturday night was great. We ate dinner with Mariano's family and then we were able to just spend time together laughing and getting to know each other better. They were so hospitable and we really enjoyed our time together with them. 

Sunday morning we packed up, ate breakfast and helped Mariano prepare the building for church. I loved being able to watch the children sing their church songs in class and really enjoying being there. It is such an important time for them and I can really see that their teacher takes the time to make it special each week. 

After church Ryan and I served ice-cream to almost 100 children. This is always one of my favorite parts about visiting Ojoche. It has almost been two years since the first time I was able to do this. In March of 2011 we took a group to El Ojoche and brought Ice-cream and it was their first time ever to have it. So now every time they see us they say "chocolate? Chocolate?" 

We learned a lot in four days and our love for the people of El Ojoche grew. Every day that passes I am more thankful for the opportunities that God has provided for us here. It is such a blessing to share life with such wonderful people and again I will say that this was such a humbling experience. There were times when I had to remind myself that I was not on a camping trip. This is how my friends live every day and they are so content. I am thankful for what God taught us and look forward to our next visit to Ojoche! 

We would love for you to share in some of these experiences with us. Feel free to contact us about visiting at any time :) 

  

As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. Proverbs 27:17