first week

Well, a full week has passed here in Nicaragua. Im feeling a bit overwhelmed. Im nervous about coming up with a schedule. Im worried about learning the bus system. Im feeling a little lonely. I know this will all go away with time but for now its stressful.

While Brad was here (Vice-president of VISEDAL), he was able to show me around the city, meet the kids, and get settled into my room. Im living with a family in the "rich" part of town. There are two boys, one 10 and the other about to turn 15. My room is a detached sort of apartment thing behind the house. I really like the family, and the house is very cute! Ill put up pictures soon.

The kids are amazing. There are 23 in the program and they live in several different neighborhoods in Managua. We were able to meet them and visit their homes. There is one neighborhood we went into which is very dangerous. They live such different lives.

We were also able to visit an Orphanage where Brad used to volunteer at and went to the dump as well. Ive been to the dump before, about 6 years ago. It has completely changed since then. The dump is Managua's waste disposal site, where hundreds of families live, sorting through trash as work. The site is being completely renovated for a better system and the families are now getting a new home to live. However for now they are still in their old homes, dirt floors, plastic pieces for walls.

Alot has happened this past week, meeting a ton of people, going to a ton of places, and just trying to figure it all out. Please keep praying as I'm learning to do this all on my own.

Love and miss you all so much.