Glitter and Goats...Wednesday in Nicaragua

Today we woke up to the sounds of drums. Before we knew it a marching band was parading by our homes. Apparently today is Flag Day here in Nicaragua. Feliz dia de Bandera!

Now at the day's end our team shines with the bits of glitter that hang on to us so tightly that even our bucket showers can not wash it all away. For today's art, we made picture frames. Photographs are very expensive down here so many families have few pictures of their children. Early on in our planning, we decided to bring down a portable photo printer so we could take pictures of the kids. So while we have been busy taking pictures and printing them out in the evenings, we thought frames would be an approporiate craft for today. The older kids painted and decorated wooden frames, while the younger ones glued and decorated popsicle stick frames. One thing we have learned on this trip is that no matter how easy we think the craft will be, it is never simple, especially when it is 210 kids in three hours in a center that roughly measures about 700 square feet. Yet despite the craziness of it all, our team was blown away by some of the beautiful creations these children produced. So yes, we are tired and look like art projects ourselves, but we realize it was another worthwhile day.

Senor Marco

The lighter side of the day involved Julie and a billy goat. There he was tied along side the road and I suggested to Julie that we take a picture of it and her. Apparently, this goat was not like Julie's goats at home. We hope you will enjoy the photo below as much as we did seeing it in person.