Fun in the sun!

Wow! The trip is almost over. The time has flown by way too fast. :( We said goodbye to Micheal and Lisa Perkins, our incredible hosts at Quinta, Beth-El. They're hospitality and kindness were enegizing to our tired bodies and souls everyday. We will miss them very much. But Tuesday we were in celebration mode. It was time to enjoy this beautiful country and the company of our new friends.

We spent most of the day at a dormant volcano that was filled with mineral water. Wow! It was like having our own little mountain resort all to ourselves. We took most of the staff of the Managua church with us as a way of saying thank you for all that they do here in serving the lord. The bus was packed. Most of the journey to the volcano was spent playing "Peter, Peter, Pow, Pow". It's a very loud game that the teens from Managua taught us last year and  the team loves playing it!

We were treated to an incredible, authentic Nicaraguan meal prepared by a really nice lady. She bent over backwards to make us feel at home. We were a family of 54 people that day! In between eating and talking we took turns jumping off the 15 foot tall platform into the lake. Some of the team got very creative. Did you know that eight people can stay connected in a 15 foot freefall into the water? It was a pretty big splash when they hit! Some of us (Bill) became experts at face plants! While others threw themselves into the water with wild abandon (one guess who that may have been).

After the lake we stopped by La Caterina, a market overlooking the lake from the rim of the crater. What an incredible view! It was worth the stop just for the view. The team had a blast haggling with the merchants to purchase just the right gifts for their loved ones back home. And most of us had the chance to sample some of the homemade sweets from the vendors. Coconut roasted in sugar...uummmmmm, uumm!

But ultimately, it was time to say goodbye to our friends. It's amazing how close we grew to our Nica friends in such a short time. They truly are family! A part of us stays with them.

Finally, we checked into the hotel, had a wonderful meal and spent the rest of the evening in a breakout session with Brian. Every one of the team members shared their hearts with each other on how God worked in their lives this past week. Most agreed that we are to be content with what God provides and to never look down on anyone because of circumstances or cultural differences. Jesus said that "as we have done to the least of these, we have done to Him." He changed lives this week and he used the weak and the poor to do it...just like His word says.

Our challenge to the team for the future? How will you apply this change in your life? Will it truly change you or will you ride the spiritual high for a while just to fall into our old ways of doing things? It doesn't take a missions trip to let Christ work through us. It takes a simple choice to let Him rule our lives...always.

On a personal note: Parents, you have incredible kids! I have only praise for this future generation. We were in close quarters all week, sweating everywhere, working hard and praising God through it all. Please engage your son or daughter in a meaningful conversation when they return as to how this trip changed them or what it meant to them. I think you'll agree that it will be time well spent.

Wednesday we head back home. I'm sure the plane ride will be somewhat more subdued than our flight out as all of us are very tired...but in a good way. Thanks for following along with our adventure!

In Him,
Clif