Unbelievable! We're done! Another trip is now history and we're getting packed
and ready to fly home Sunday afternoon.
We
"slept in" 'till seven this morning and walked around with Larry to the
various job sites showing him all that was completed and noting the few
deficiencies yet to be taken care of. Our main stop on the tour was the
Medical Center where the dropped ceiling has made a world of difference. For
the first time it actually looks like a Medical facility actually exists
here. Whenever I've been in the "old warehouse" as it was once known, I
always had a hard time imagining a clinic in there. Now it's not a problem.
Above right Larry is looking at the Men's & Ladies washrooms which were
installed in what used to be a forty foot container. A job well done headed
up by the Jolin brothers Ronald & Gerard.
We
walked around the courtyard observing all the newly painted walls. It really
is a bright and beautiful change. Note also in this picture the pool. It has
a lot of dirt and refuse in it. It probably hasn't had water in it for over
20 years. Maybe someday...
Larry saw the computer room for the first time and the smile on his face
was priceless. He instantly pictured the kids sitting there using the
English teaching program.
While
waiting to go on our trip to the volcano, Phil Jolin was playing a bit of
soccer outside the main gate. Would you believe it? The ball gets bounced
out onto the roadway just as a small truck was coming along. We all watched
to see if it would contact the truck and how far it might be bounced down
the road. It contacted the truck alright - directly under the front left
wheel. The truck went right over it and the ball exploded like a bomb! What
a noise! We all stood there in disbelief - you couldn't have done that
purposely no matter how hard you tried. We all burst out laughing at the
absurdity of it all! The kids suddenly turned from laughter to
disappointment as they realized they had lost their precious ball. Not to
worry, I told them I would find another - and I did.
We
went for our annual visit to the volcano and even though I've been before
it's always different. This year there was more smoke coming out of it than
I had seen before, so it made for somewhat hazy pictures.
At
least the sun was out and the sky was clear to make the best of it. Pictured
here is Garrett Southworth at the edge of the volcano.
The other picture is a group of our people who climbed to the upper
lookout. Unseen in the photo is the giant cross erected many many years ago
to ward of the evil spirits coming up from the depths of the earth through
the volcano.
From
there we went to the market for some souvenirs and finally ended the day at
the Pacific Ocean for a swim, some more sun and dinner as the sun went down.
Once again it was a great day and all enjoyed some wonderful seafood and
good company.
Have you seen the show "While You Were Out"? Well, while we were out a
kitchen make-over was in progress by the Mission staff and it was to be a
big surprise for Donna when we returned.
From
all the generous donations from CIBC's Control Division we were able to
provide a new gas stove for the Mission house. This freed up the old stove
to go into the church kitchen which feeds the school children each day and
all the conferences. Previously they were using a six foot open fire
barbeque which wasn't too safe. Pictured here is Donna Wright and CIBC's
Marlene Warwick.
The pantry and all the kitchen cupboards were also painted and shelving
paper installed all around.
Epilogue
I
want to say thank you to all who were involved in this year's Mission Trip.
This likely includes hundreds of people and you know who you are. Aside from
those that gave their time to travel to Nicaragua there are many who
generously sponsored team members, came to the fund raising dinner, donated
to the kitchen renovation, donated to the sound system, sent emails of
encouragement, donated items to the Women's Prison, donated soccer balls and
of course prayed diligently for us while away. We couldn't do it without
you.
A special thanks to Blake Stewart and Fern Hill Private School for
organizing the donation of school uniforms and also to Norm Thornton at Long
& McQuade Burlington for donated sound equipment items.
On behalf of Larry & Donna and all the team members and In His service,
Bruce Pellowe
