Galletas con Chocolate

After teaching an inactive sister, we walked out of her house to this magnificent view of a valley in Esteli. The small tin shack is typical of many of the homes we visit here. The farther removed they live from the city, the poorer the people are so they build their homes out of whatever they find: wood, metal, rocks, and sometimes mud. They use wood for their cooking fires, either the shrubs or an outhouse for their bathroom, and water from a nearby river, stream, or small lake. They are poor, but so humble and willing to give you whatever they have.

 The scent of flowers, trees, and different grasses was incredible. So far our allergies have been in check. 

Many of the schools yards or open soccer fields are surrounded by trees with their trunks painted in different colors. We haven't figured out why that is done, but it is strange and pretty cool to see.

Laurie had a Relief Society activity this week where she taught the sisters how to make her famous galletas con chocolate (chocolate chip cookies). In turn, they taught her how to make corn tortillas from scratch. Someone brought the Guajada (Nicaraguan white cheese) and we all ate guajadas. They cut about an inch thick piece and wrapped it up in a hot tortilla. They were so good that I had to eat 2! Their cheese is quite a bit different than we're accustomed to, but most of it is good. There is one kind of Nica cheese that tastes/smells like stinky feet... we'll try to stay away from that. One of the sisters made a butter cake that was really good, and a brother who attended the baptism afterwards brought "leche con chocolate" or "pinol" which is similar to hot chocolate but has corn pulp in it. The corn is roasted and zested then put into the milk. It was really good once we got used to the grainy texture. 

Part of experiencing the culture is to eat their food. So far we've been lucky and have eaten some good Nica food. So no worries, we're not wasting away!

After the RS activity, we were blessed to attend and participate in a baptism for little Ashly. This precious girl lives with her aunt, cousins, and grandma because her parents live outside the country. They have no male members in their family so I was asked to baptize her. It was a great privilege to be able to do so. The grandma is inactive so the missionaries felt it would be wise to teach the lessons to Ashly so she would have a basic understanding of the covenants she was making. Ashly is a petite little girl so it didn't take much to get her under the water, as it came up above her chest. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity to baptize someone in Spanish. It was a great honor and the wet hug and huge smile she gave me when she came out of the water is an experience I'll never forget. 

We love these people and are so grateful for the experiences the Lord is blessing us with as we teach and serve them.

We appreciate your love, support, and prayers. We feel them!