What a wonderful gift
A day at el Canyon was a great way to end the traveling portion of our trip, now on to a slower pace to finish out. We awake to another bright, wonderful day and a relatively 'slow' schedule. All that we have to achieve is to go to the market to get a pinata, a couple of gifts for Ellie and the host family and hang a little with Jahzell (pronounced Ha Sell). We roll out of bed and into the luke warm shower, change band-aids and get dressed in another super cute, brand new outfit and we're off.
Jahzell isn't quite ready so we go to the bank, car wash and then pick her up so we can go to the market. It turns out that waiting for Jahzell was well worth it as everyone in the market is more Nicaraguan-friendly than US friendly when it comes to quoting prices and bartering. We knockout getting the prized Tinkerbelle pinata, party hats and a few more toys in a few minutes. We return to buy soccer jerseys for all the kids at the house (9 total) as a thank you from Jon and I for being such great hosts to the both of us as well as making sure that Ellie isn't the only child getting gifts at her party on the 12th - the BIG FOUR! Eventually we find a handmade bowl for the family that I think would make a great gift and we move on to lunch and a nap for the little one. Below is a video of Ellie playing beautician on my hair that happened a few days back that I forgot to upload and thought it sorta fit here.
The rest proved to be invaluable and we met up with Jahzell again for dinner and a movie. All in all a perfectly paced day and yet we achieved all of the things on our list that needed to be done. We get back from the movie and put Ellie to bed. It was too hot and there was too much on my mind, so Jon and I stayed up until about midnight talking outside the casita on the patio. It is amazing how God uses every discussion, every day to work his plan and love into our lives. Thank you Jon for being so open, honest and for the time this week.
Sunday morning begins much like Saturday except church starts at 8:00 and I for some reason think it was to start at 9:00. So shifting into high gear to take showers and get into the Easter dress we head off to church 15 minutes late. Thankfully the Latin American culture is very 'forgiving' of deadlines and we arrive just in time for church to begin. A great and uplifting service was followed by a potluck lunch (which we of course again forgot to bring anything for so only Ellie ate). Walking around the school grounds for the last time, it was nice to see again what has been Jon's world for nearly three years. When we first arrived, we didn't really 'tour' the place and it hadn't sunk in just what I was looking at. Now, seven days later, I had a better perspective of what I was looking at, the people I was talking to and the lives Jonathan has been a part of. One thing though too was the first stage of the school expansion for a creative arts wing had been completed over the past two years and they were looking forwarding to moving ahead on the next stage. That creative arts wind was what many folks back here had given money towards in memory of Leslie shortly after her accident. I took a somewhat deliberate stroll around the building of the first stage and tried to picture what some of the classes were like since it had been built and maybe some of the classes that were to come. It was obvious which parts of the building were new, which windows were fully functional, which doors hadn't been worn a bit by the weather and use. Although I knew that the donations were only a part of what I was looking at, it felt really good to see those dollars put to use in a real world. For those of your readers that donated money for this school, I saw the outcome with my own eyes and I met the real people that get to use that building. It was a great feeling to be a part of something bigger than just one or two people. This school will affect hundreds and hopefully thousands of children that will go and make a bigger impact on this world than any of us could imagine. It was a good 'tour' to have taken on Easter Sunday, the day that the Lord gave it all to us, it was good to see how we sometimes give in small ways in return that the Lord tends to use in bigger ways than we could ever imagine. Truly a loves and fishes moment in my life.
Church greetings/Our Easter dress is sparkling!
In line for brunch/Very happy to eat
Jahzell helps out Ellie/MMMM lunch
Fresh fruit/These capture the 'ellie' cheeks and eyes
Jon looking coy/Then talking with friends
Another Ellie fan/The usual fun times
We get back to the casita and it's time to put Ellie down and get to work for the big party. One of the boys in the compound had spent a few hours trimming back the trees and bushes in the yard preparing for us a space large enough for the pinata so that we wouldn't run into things and even raked the dirt so there wasn't trash, limbs or leaves in the way of the expected fallen candy. We started blowing up balloons and hanging Tinkerbelle our candy-laden pinata. As was typical the entire week, it was super hot, but Sunday seemed to be the worst - hot AND muggy. Although hampered by profuse sweating, we managed to get everything in place in time and went to awake Ellie. It took no time at all for her to shake off the cobwebs and run outside with the pretty Easter/Birthday dress on looking for the festivities to begin. All of the children of the compound were anxiously awaiting her arrival as well.
We began with an idea I had to bring a bit of U.S. traditions to Nicaragua by coloring some eggs and then hiding them and having an Easter Egg hunt in the yard. THe children didn't really know what to think of it, but as they usually do, they rolled with the punches and fully embraced the fun of turning their fingers blue, pink and green of the food coloring dye. We had an excellent support team consisting of the family's housekeeper, Margarita, (that gave up a day off to come and help) and Jahzell (who by the way is completely afraid of blowing up balloons because the potential of them popping freaks her out). Once again us men were saved by the women as Margarita was a pro at running these kid get-togethers and I bet could corral a thousand cats if ever challenged to do so.
The family helps prepare/We start coloring eggs
Ellie is party-ready/Everyone gets into the coloring
Ellie chats up the girls/While we hide eggs
A successful hunt/The anticipation grows
Next was the main event of the pinata. What great fun it is to give a kid a bat and watch him/her beat the crap out of one of their cartoon friends only to have loads of candy come spilling out of its belly. A bit weird when you think about it and put it into those terms, but a lot of fun when you partake in the gamesmanship of raising/lowering the pinata and the cat-and-mouse aspect of tricking the blind-folded child to swing in mid-air at nothing. Everyone tries their hardest to get in a solid swing with contact, but usually it's a glancing blow that merely injures a limb. Getting to the big kids the swings becoming longer swooshes of power and eventually limbs come apart and it's amazing to see the frothing at the mouth that suddenly appears on every child's face. One hit finally loosens a piece of candy and all things come to a halt as the single piece of hard candy is fought over and retrieved. We go through the rest of the children and no one has been able to finish the job. In steps Uncle Jon and a real bat. Oh how the temptation was pulling at me to yank on the rope and have him swing at air without making contact, but the wolves were frothing for too long already. With two solid blows and explosion of Laffy Taffy, gum balls, butterscotch pieces and other hard candy filled the air. A flurry of small legs and hands scurried about trying to grab any and all pieces that they could shove into their rolled shirts while simultaneously unwrapping the first few catches and shoving them into the mouths. It was expected, but hard to believe as Ellie stood by most of the action and needed a gentle push to get into the mix, lest she come away from this bedlam without any candy for the birthday girl.
Ellie gets to take the first couple of whacks (see video)
Then everyone else/While Ellie watches closely
Then Gabriella (video)/Uncle Jon finishes the job
Total bedlam ensues without any injuries!
Cleanup for the birthday/What a cake!
The final scraps were picked up and counted, we brought out the cake next with orange pop to wash it down. I'm sure you're wondering if I was out of my mind to let that much sugar be ingested by 10 little people in a relatively confined space. To that I say, "Heck, you only turn four on vacation with friends you had just recently met once, so live it up!" A beautiful cake made by Joni and the perfect birthday was complete - oh wait, there were presents too - and LOTS of presents. For folks that don't have a lot for themselves, they went beyond the measure of being welcoming in their gifts to Ellie. There were sandals, shirts, books, crayons and all kinds of games that were wrapped beautifully for Ellie and it really showed how great these people are. We were only there for 7 days and they gave as though we were family. I can't say thank you enough. As mentioned before we also had a gift for all of the kids to show our appreciation. The soccer jerseys were a complete success and were covering their existing shirts in a manner of seconds after receiving them. The soccer ball was fetched and we finished off the afternoon playing in the yard and getting completely dirty chasing each other around. It was a great Easter celebration, one that I won't soon forget.
Singing of "Happy Birthday"(video)/Great gifts
A great hair salon kit/Gifts for everyone else
What a great way to end the party
We played into the dark and until we could see no more. Everyone's clothes filthy from having fun and becoming true friends. We said a few goodbyes as Ellie and I had to leave early the next morning and headed of to get some sleep before our very early wakeup call. This was an amazing trip and although it came together in a very short period of time, my memories and experiences there will be remembered for many years to come.
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