Thursday 3-24

Hola!  Bartolo aqui!  I think we all enjoyed today, though it was certainly not a day of comfort.  We departed after an early breakfast and had our devotions on the bus.  We needed to drive a couple hours to Leon, a much hotter, drier, and poorer city than Managua.  That’s where we ministered to a rural church plant under the leadership of Delores Cruz, the mother of Wilbert, Flor, and Larrys.  We took along Claudia, our translator; Julio, a Villa staff craftsman; and Juan Paulo, a local electrician. 
 

The fledgling Iglesia de Luz y Vida has concrete, partial walls and a metal roof, and not much more on site.  A 100-foot well had recently been hand-dug behind the building; we were putting in the electric pump and getting the facility ready for a wedding on Saturday.  The job involved yellow paint, new wiring, lots of digging, concrete and rebar work, brick-masonry, and lowering fourteen-year-old Lester down the well on a rope ...until Katie found out and freaked and made us pull the kid back up!  J  Unfortunately, the pipe purchased for the pump was the wrong type, so the final installation will be slightly delayed, but there are some very capable local men who will finish the job soon. 

At the end, we gathered the men and boys together for a sharing time inside the building, while the women gathered in the back yard.  There are a few dedicated older men in the congregation, some young men who are

struggling with the local availability of drugs, alcohol, and fighting/gambling.  One teenager there, Giovanni, just got out of prison this week, and isn’t certain he will return to the church; by the afternoon, he softened toward some gestures of friendship, but he desperately needs the Lord.  Please pray for him: for a softening of his heart, for men from the church to reach out to him, and ultimately, for his salvation.  Many younger boys were excited to meet and play with us gringos.  They will be challenged

with these struggles soon; pray for Esteven, Eleazar, Alex, Misayel, and especially Luis, whose parents live next door.

There is no place to clean up in Leon, but that didn't stop us from getting out halfway home (sunburned, sweaty, and filthy) to get some quesillos, kind of like cold cheese, vinegar and cream tacos, that are surprisingly tasty.  The water was back on at the villa, so we were able to shower when we got back.