I Better Write Again or I Won't Keep Up!

Someone pinch us...this can't really be happening.

It is hot and humid but not unbearable, although even the locals are saying that it is hotter than normal for this time of year. Perhaps we are still just too smitten to care, give us a month!

We spent the day at Bethel. We had been impressed with Patterson....but this is paradise. A Mountain sits behind the complex while the property itself is set on rolling hills of gardens that remind me of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton. The buildings are all seperate, connected by outdoor walkways. The apartment we have is at the end of one of the residence complex's which are one storey buildings with red tiled roof. The complex is surrounded by a high fence with wrought iron spikes on the top which has then had ivy & roses grown all through & around it, turning a necessary funstion into a piece of astounding beauty. Pedro, the gardener gave us a brief tour today, the advocodos are the biggest I have ever seen and the tree is heavily laden with them. We had one sliced with our lunch today, topped with a spicy homemade salsa, it melted in your mouth. It tasted NOTHING like what we pay $1.50 for in Nova Scotia!

The bethel family are incredibly friendly. They sent a lovely English Brother named Matthew to pick us up and he and his wife are "hosting" us. He stopped on the way and showed us a volcano which he explained was the fourth largest natural polluter in the world! We went down a number of roads that a lesser car would not have made it through! The homes that people live in are sad to see, but to them is apparently normal. We drove past one house where a woman was diligently sweeping the floor, despite the fact that it was a dirt one, and the roof of the house was corrugated steel roughly through over top of some wood that looked like scrap. Puts things in perspective as we worry about conserving funds!

We spent the afternoon with Raphael Martinez who is helping to settle us. He has asked us to consider two locations. One, Granada which hasa a newly formed English group in need. The other is in an area that we had not considered due to heat and distance from the capital, Chinandega. They are wanting to start an English group there but need an elder. The growth in that area is apparently outstanding, for example, at the last convention held for a publisher group of 1000 they had an actual attendance of 2900! We will visit both areas and go from there. I read in a book that the second area, you feel like a chicken being cooked over a hot rotisserie. Not too "hot" on that idea :)

So we are now settling down for the night. It is only 7 pm here but last nights adventure is catching up on us. Tomorrow we are having a tour of the bethel and then relaxing. Sounds awesome!