Nica #1

                             Well, here we go.  Need to get all this down so we don't forget! 

We left on Saturday.  I was bawling like crazy and Cedric gave me this look like, "what is wrong with you."   After I composed myself we went inside and it was such a weird feeling to be in line getting our boarding passes.  We didn't have kids to keep away from other people or stop playing with the poles or anything!  It was so relaxing right from the start!  We flew Spirit and goodness, I would never do that again if it wasn't so cheap.  It was free (because we used reward points) so I guess I couldn't complain.  Your knees are literally hitting the seat in front of you.  Yucky. 

We got in at about midnight.  Our first task was to find the Best Western that was supposed to be right by the airport.  We didn't want to drive at night, so we planned on staying there and then going to church the next day and then heading to Popoyo.  I thought there would be a shuttle, but apparently they only ran during the day.  Bless Tyson and his Spanish; he was able to ask around.  Every taxi driver said they would take us there, but Tyson was smart enough to ask an airport employee.  He just pointed across the street.  Ha ha.   We had to walk across a little parking lot, but still a taxi driver tried to tell Tyson it was dangerous over there, so he thought we should get in.  It was funny.  The Best Western was nice.  They didn't have hot water, but it was a really pretty place. 
The next day we got our car and attempted to find the church.  Keep in mind all the addresses are like "1 block south of the Uno gas station."  Uh, ok.  We got out the maps the car rental place had given us and started on our way.  After driving a few minutes I started noticing nothing was matching up with the map.  We were quickly in some crazy areas and finally turned around and headed back to the airport.  We usually have a good sense of what way was north, but apparently it doesn't work internationally.  We had turned the wrong way right from the airport, ugh!  So, once we were on our way we found the right "Uno" gas station and still couldn't find the church.  We saw a guy in our rearview mirror on a motorcycle with a white shirt and tie!! Yipee. He pulled along side us on my side and I said, "Donde Esta Los Mormones?"  Where are the Mormons?  Kinda a funny question.  I was very proud of my sentence.  Anyway, he was LDS and lead the way. 

They had a pretty nice building!  There are tons of wards and branches in Managua.  The members were all very cool.  All the ladies gave me hugs and kisses on the cheek.  They asked me to say the closing prayer in "Sociedad de Socorro" and that was cool. 

It was the first Sunday so we got to listen to so many testimonies.  I loved being there for that.  Of course I could barely understand, but they were all so sweet.  Once thing that really touched me was that all of these people, and so many across the world, have been touched by the Spirit.  We have such different lives and experience such different things every day, but the Spirit speaks to our hearts the same way and testifies of Christ.  It was great to be there. 



Deacons dressed in their white shirts and ties. 

After church we started our Journey.  Even near the city there were people and animals everywhere by the street.

We made our way through a lot of little towns.  We had to ask for directions many times.  They have all these round-abouts, but no street signs to know if you went the right way.  Once we got closer to Popoyo our views were more like this:

It was out in the middle of nowhere.  There were lots of loose horses, cows and huge pigs.  Chickens were constantly crossing the road.  I really understand now why there is that joke.  I don't get it, but really they just kept crossing right in front of us.  We finally arrived to our hotel? motel? room?  I don't know what to call it, but here it is:

Made sure to X-large that picture for all to see the beauty.  This is what $15 a night gets you in Nica.  A bed, A/C, an awesome paint job and a sheet to go over you.  Now, I am going to blow your mind, here is the other side of the room:

Our closet.
But here was our view:

It was a really pretty place and they have done a great job landscaping it and making in beautiful.  We were surprised at how much we have heard of Popoyo and it was really nothing out there.  We were expecting a little town kinda like Jaco in Costa Rica, but it was just totally country out there.  More to come!

Popoyo, Nicaragua