León, Nicaragua - July 31, 2012

What have we been up to lately? Well, where do I start - Masaya market, shopping for Abuelitas, La Paz Centro for more census and a study, CO's visit, first Pioneer Meeting, and the beach..... not to mention the day to day boring stuff we all do.

Picture from Solentiname Archipelago in the Primitiva style

On the day that we went to Ticuantepe to clean the Assembly Hall we were asked if we wanted to head into Masaya to the market. We had been to the tourist market before but this time we were heading to the market that the locals shop at - we couldn't wait. The prices at this market are much better than at the one that the tourist all head to - it's also more like the market here - all jumbled together and exciting (for those that like that kind of thing - whohoo!) We didn't have a "plan" of anything in particular that we wanted to buy but when Nathan mentioned that he was looking for some paintings we knew what we wanted. We had sold our "Nicaraguan" picture before we moved here with the intent that we would replace it when we could - well!, today was the day. We plunged into the market and quickly found a stall that was selling artwork. The lady asked what we were looking for and we told her that we wanted artwork from the Solentiname Archipelago. Oh, "primitiva" - Si! We looked at many different paintings that she had but none were quite "it". She took us to another booth that also sold the type of artwork we were looking for and bingo! there it was and at rock bottom prices too! For less than $15.00 (much less than the original piece we had bought in Granada) we were very happy indeed! The rest of the afternoon we spent looking for a set of Abuelitas (rocking chairs) for one of our friends. This was an adventure in itself - who would have thought that there was such a difference in design and comfort. Also, there doesn't seem to be the "buy more pay less" attitude. Our friend was actually quoted a higher price to buy 4 chairs than if she purchased two sets of two! She finally settled on a set she liked, we strapped them into the back of the truck and we headed home - via Pricesmart (this place is a real budget breaker and somewhere we may have to avoid in the future if we are going to keep on budget).

Pat and I are slowly working through the census in La Paz Centro. We usually plan to leave León early in the morning so that we can do a couple of blocks of census before we head to Jose Luis for his study. We keep finding some great English speakers. It is going to be a challenge for our congregation to keep up with all the interest! It's a good thing we keep having visitors to help with our territory!

The visit from our Circuit Overseer was really encouraging. Brother Turner had so many great suggestions to help us with our ministry and we look forward to implementing them. We were so excited to attend the Pioneer meeting - even if it was only half of it. We are sorry that this is the only visit we will have with them - they head to Mexico to work with an English Circuit. In fact they are heading to the lovely Yucatan and Quintana Roo one of our favorite areas! We wish them all the best.

Pioneer Meeting in Leon, Nicaragua

This past Monday we decided we deserved a swim in the ocean. We were disappointed when we left León because the skies were overcast and there was a little drizzle of rain. No worries though once we got to the coast - lovely blue skies awaited. Also, this was the first time that we found the water to be relatively calm - you could actually swim just in front of Playa Roca - our favorite hangout in Las Penitas. We arrived just in time to enjoy lunch and then headed into the waves. Throughout the afternoon we were joined by more friends who decided that it was a good day for the beach.

Natalie and Debbie

Andrea, Jasmine, Natalie and Caroline

Pat enjoying a peaceful moment at Playa Roca

Odd pictures of the week:

an iguana on the window

How to get your bed home from the market