Holcombites being tourists...

Today we were just tourists not missionaries. We had the day off to just sight see and we had an amazing time. First of all, we changed any money that we wanted to spend into Nicaraguan and then headed off with our leader and our translators. First we went down the mountain to the coastal city of Grenada. There we went to the largest lake in Nicaragua. Can't remember the name. We rented small 12 passenger boats and traveled out to explore the islands created by the extinct volcanoe that was rising in the background. It was so beautiful. There were lots of natives swimming in the dirty water actually, they were fishing and collecting twigs for fire wood.We saw unusual birds and flowers and really beautiful houses on these islands of the riches of the Nicaraguans. The funnest part was the island of monkeys. One of the small islands had lots of monkeys. One of the monkeys jumped into one of the boats but not ours which was discouraging since I thought it would be fun to play with a monkey. After we left the lake, we went to another small village that had several restaruants that the kids could pick from to eat at. I went with Jamie, Karissa, Linc and Del to a very authentic Latino restaruant. We had no idea what we were ordering. We just ordered 5 different dishes and then shared. We are pretty sure Jamie got giant fried caterpillar. Just kidding actually it was fried banana. The dishes were very different but very yummy. We also had yummy interesting drinks that are really hard to describe but they are different juices and drinks that they have down here. Logan, Austin and Andrew aren't quite as adventureous and went with pizza for lunch which they said was good, tasted like the pizza we have back home. After lunch we went to another city and went to a very large market area. It had over 127 different booths and vendors selling all types of crafts, souveneirs and other local things. The kids had fun and bought lots of stuff at unbelievably good prices. Overall it was a great day. Just traveling around here is an experience. Some of the roads are decent, most are horrible. Often we have to slow down because there is a cow meandering across the road or some oncoming vehicle decided it would work better for them to drive in our lane instead. The topgraphy around here is so beautiful. We just love experiencing the culture and the people of this country. The way they live is so amazing. If any of our animals looked like theirs we would be turned into the humane society. They are so poor. Their living conditions are unbelievable. Tomorrow we are back to our work. Tonight we will package up the rice and beans we bought yesterday and then distribute it along with all the donations and little toys that we brought to an extremely poverty stricken village. After we do the distribution I think we have a VBS to do in the afternoon. Everyone is feeling good and healthy. Jamie's ankle is good. Austin is back to normal. And big fun news!!!! Del and Austin just got their luggage. Time to go eat. Thanks again for your prayers and the part you have had in making this trip possible. It is life changing. God is at work. We love you guys. P J K L D A L A