I’m back! I had high hopes of keeping this blog active, but nothing really exciting happens in Canada anyways – except for weddings and car crashes and RBC...  I went home in January and some unexpected events kept me there longer than I wanted, but it was so nice to be with my family. Every time I leave I realize how much more I miss them and love them and need them.

I didn’t know what I was going to do for work, but as it turned out, I didn’t have to go looking; the jobs came to me. It meant a lot of trade-hopping - concrete, drywall, stonework, tile, roofing – but it was worth every hot, grimy minute; New friends and new calluses and new blisters, and I may have even learned a thing or two.

Nandaime is cute and calm for the most part. The upcoming elections in November and the anniversary of Nicaragua’s independence (not sure which independence they are currently celebrating) have stirred up a fervour, complete with parades and political rallies, sound cars and propaganda spewing posters and  songs and midnight piñata parties in front of our house.

The city has sewers, but  lot of wash water runs into the street and during the rainy season the road in front of the Kingdom hall fills with water when it rains. Either you wade through a swift current up over your ankles (trying very hard not to think about where this water has been and what its carrying) or wait a long time to walk home after the meeting. In service we are often dodging puddles of questionable content and avoiding the taxis that splash through them with little regard for pedestrians but things will likely be better in the dry season.

The territory is vast, our first service day was spent out past the sugarcane fields and in the shadow of Volcán Mombacho, but it’s difficult to make return visits because of the lack of transportation, and they say I shouldn’t go out there alone on my little pink bike… But other areas are closer and are showing really exciting interest (A post to come on our sign language group soon!)