In which we receive a lot of rain and tiny coffees.

 We started the day out at the spectacular hour of 6 am. Once again, some people handled the morning better than others... up until the car ride! Lester was privileged enough to drive a van full of first-class singers performing "Africa" by Toto while also dancing in the traditional Nicaraguan "King Elephant" style*. 

            The morning included the majority of us moving a lot of rocks and tied rebar structures. It was really heavy work and we were dirty within minutes! We were also working on the area that we planted the palm trees in yesterday. We used the dirt/mostly rock piles to fill in potholes in the driveway and then flattened the piles out on the orders of Mario the Maintenance Man. Alyson and Nikki used their teaching talents and worked in the classrooms with the teachers and students. And then it rained. And by that, I mean that there was a tropical rainstorm. Turns out Nicaraguans don't like working in the rain. So they stopped, shutting down the construction site. We enjoyed lunch while it was still raining, but after that, we had gotten restless and decided to work anyways. Their new soccer pitch had had a slight mudslide problem so we went over there to fix it, much to the amusement of the, very much dry, local workers!

            After a while of trying to wrestle the mud back into place, we came to the realization that we were making a bigger mess than what was already there, in addition to the fact that the job would be astoundingly simpler if we just did it when it was dry. So we packed it in and went home. After a much-needed shower, we headed over to a café that Lester suggested. Most of us got some fantastic drinks. Others, like Steve and Harold, ordered a Macchiato under the impression that it was like those in Canada. Not so much. They were slightly taken aback when they received espresso in cups of a size fitting for… well, for a single espresso shot (they even got a cute little heart in it!). I think Steve almost cried.

            We toured a catholic church that was across the street (Nicaragua is primarily Catholic) and walked back home. Now we are relaxing, bonding as a team, and, especially, praising God with our team devotions and praise and worship!

*"King Elephant style" does exist. But it is neither traditional nor Nicaraguan)