Park... Birthday Celebration... Goats... Matigalpa... 1st Selfie

We were contacting an investigator in downtown Esteli when we came across this little park. Most parks in this part of Nicaragua are small and very colorful. There are murals, mosaics, and other colorful art on the walls with a specific theme. The planters are usually painted in multicolors as well. The parks are usually full of children playing and having fun. On this particular day there were a few small children with their mom, but most were in school.

I had a wonderful birthday celebrating with the sisters. They never leave our home hungry. Laurie found the ingredients to make a delicious chocolate cake. We had a wonderful day bearing testimony and eating cake. It couldn't have ended any better... a beautiful sky with a magnificent rainbow.

We were teaching two young men about the priesthood when we were interrupted by a herd of goats meandering past their house. It's not uncommon to have dogs, cats, rabbits, flies, mosquitos, and yes, even chicken run/fly through the house like they own the place. Since homes don't have air conditioning, doors and windows are always open. We are blessed to have "Off" in those situations and screens in our house. Many of our lessons are filled with noise. If it isn't the animals, it's the rain pounding on the metal roofs.

We recently took a trip to a town about 74 kilometros south of Esteli called Matigalpa. It's such a mountainous region that the city is built up the sides of the mountains. It's quite unique as that the homes look like they are built on top of each other. When you enter the city you first notice the huge cross that is on top of one of the mountains overlooking the city. At night it lights up and it looks like it's floating in the air. (These pictures are taken from the same location.)

Just east of Matigalpa is an old German immigrant coffee plantation turned into a resort called Selva Negro (Black Forest). This is one of the more beautiful places in Nicaragua. People from all over the world come to enjoy the serenity of the area. We started to hike to see if we could see some monkeys but it got dark and we didn't want to get caught in the jungle at night!

not bad for their 1st selfie ;)

There is an old church (1890s) up in the jungle that is used for weddings and church services. It's unique in the fact that it was build out of rock and hard-packed dirt. Plants were growing out of the sides and roof of the church. In fact, all the cabins had thatched roofs where beautiful plants and flowers were growing. Beautiful stained glass windows decorated the walls. The altar looked like an altar made for sacrifices. We had no volunteers.

We hiked around the lake but didn't find any monkeys. It's beautiful at sunset! The building with the green roof is the restaurant overlooking the lake where we ate dinner. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful evening. What a beautiful world Heavenly Father created for us to find joy in this journey of life.

We are grateful to have this wonderful opportunity to serve the Lord as missionaries. Thank you for your continued prayers.