Arrival in Nicaragua

I had a brutal night last night with (literally) 30 minutes of sleep due to all the things that had to be completed before leaving for this leg of the trip.  Couple that with a 4am wake up to get to the airport for our early flight and, well, it was brutal (insert little violins playing here)

As we stepped off the plane before 2pm in Managua, Nicaragua all the kids said "well, that was a whole lot different than the all day flights to and from New Zealand / Australia!"....and it did feel like a quick flight by comparison.

The lady sitting in front of us grew up in Managua in the 1960s.  She said it was such a beautiful city when she was growing up but a massive earthquake leveled the city in the early 1970s and then as rebuilding started in earnest the Nicaraguan civil war started which crushed the city and the country.  She sadly said it has never been the same.  

We sensed that in the van ride to the hotel, though I hesitate to make too much of a single view of a city during a 20 minute car ride.  Here is what I noticed:

• Managua is a bustling city with motorcycles darting in and out of cars, many of which are older model.  They drive on the right side of the road and drive roundabouts aggressively (at least our driver did!)
• The 'nice' areas are gated and guarded
• Businesses....even car dealerships....have fences and barb wire all around them
• A lot of graffiti
• A lot of barb wire
• Corrugated steel homes next to nice, gated communities.  The poor and the rich living side by side.

Staying at the Holiday Inn and basically just resting up for tomorrow when we get to meet a child we have sponsored for many, many years through Compassion International.  She is the reason we started this leg of the trip in Nicaragua as we will be heading Saturday to El Salvador to help build a home in a community our church supports.  

Below is a pic of S, V, and AJ (learning to swim) at the pool late this afternoon.  

Prayers appreciated and welcome. 

God Bless....