Friday, November 15, 2013

Kingdom News #38... and the pacific ocean

Northernmost point of Pearl Lagoon
It is now the middle of November, and being from Canada I find that hard to wrap my head around. I’m not accustomed to seeing 30+ temperatures and heavy rain this time of year. In any case we have begun the campaign to distribute Kingdom news #38 here in Pearl Lagoon. The first day we started with the northernmost point of Pearl Lagoon and worked our way south. We received very good reception, although people were curious why we were keeping our visits so short. It is not the custom here to simply stop by and leave a tract without visiting for a little while.




After working about one block however it started to rain. Not that that is unusual here, but since we were close to a bakery we decided to stop for coffee and wait for the rain to pass. Its a small wooden house across from the wharf which has a few tables inside. They prepare all sorts of baked goods as well as the best coffee in town. If you’re one of those people doesn't approve of coffee breaks I hope this stumbles you.



Our territory is almost exclusively English speaking, however I still had the opportunity to practice my Spanish this month. I spent the past week visiting some friends in Carazo (Thats the department south of Managua, in the mountains on the pacific side of the country).

Getting there was interesting to say the least. I left Pearl Lagoon at around 5:30AM on Monday, and arrived in Rama 5 hours later. About half way there a large truck was stuck in the middle of the road, thankfully a bulldozer came by and pushed it out of the way... 









Each time I go to Rama I like it a little bit more. This time I came across some nice little restaurants that were also very affordable. After spending the night I left at 3:00AM the next morning on the express bus to Managua. To my delight there was a small stand set up by the bus selling coffee and bread. Once In Managua I took a taxi from the “Gran Mayoreo” terminal to “La Uca” which is the terminal for the buses going to Jinotepe. It took one hour to get from Managua to Jinotepe, and then one more short taxi ride to Dolores where I was staying. By the time I was at my final destination it was 10:30AM Tuesday.

El Rama, RAAS
I made sure to get out in service while there, and the simplicity of the tract made it easy to string together a presentation in Spanish. Our brothers on the Pacific have plenty of territory to work as well, so I got to see some of their more distant territories out in the country.
Cruz Verde, near Sta. Teresa, Carazo

Mountains near Sta. Teresa, Carazo

And of course, there’s always time for recreation. Not far from Jinotepe is a well known beach called La Boquita. The bus ride only costs 19 cordobas(less than $1) per person. The water was warm, with plenty of big waves, Too bad I don’t surf. I still can’t believe that this is November. Here I am sitting on a hot sunny beach enjoying the ocean breeze... when back home its -20. I had to make a lot of sacrifices to come here, but there are plenty of blessings that more than make up for it.
La Boquita


Quesillo - on the bus to Rama
The trip back took 3 buses, 1 taxi, and 2 trucks. It turns out the bus from Rama to Pearl Lagoon only goes in the evening, and since I was going in the morning, I went in the back of a truck from Rama to Kukra Hill, and then another truck to Pearl Lagoon. Don’t worry, I wasn’t hitchhiking. These are actually official public transportation vehicles.
Passenger Trucks in Kukra Hill

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