Thank the Lord for Paint Thinner and AfterBite

Wow today was eventful. We were lucky enough to get to sleep in till 7 today which was a blessing. We got fried eggs, fruit, rice, and beans which strangely enough tasted like hash browns for breakfast. After that we left for Centro de Fe to paint the school's desks with the grade 11's. It was a little awkward at first coming up with things to talk about, but once we got the tunes going, the ice was broken. We were belting out songs together and may or may not have had a small paint war. Seeing as the paint we used was oil-based, this may have not been the best idea. Paint thinner was many of our friends that afternoon, getting off the many handprints and brush marks over almost every part of skin that was exposed. We all had so much fun teaching each other new things and learning more about everyone. After we finished painting the desks at Centro de Fe we left for a restaurant for lunch. It was so cool eating at an authentic and local Nicaraguan restaurant. We also found out later that on Sunday's the restaurant is turned into a church. I was sitting near Lester and Nilda and it was so interesting to hear them talking about the history of Nicaragua and how things have changed over the last 20 years. It was such a different experience for me learning about a country's history while being in the country; it made the history so much more real for me. After lunch, Lester drove us to our mystery event for the afternoon. It felt like we drove for forever before getting there, but when we arrived the drive was worth it. Lester drove us to an active volcano and that was one of the most humbling things I have ever done. I felt so small standing there looking into a giant crater of smoke, and then turning around to look over the jungles and small districts of Managua. God is so creative, and He is constantly amazing me. The amount of fumes released by the volcano also amazed me. Apparently people are supposed to be near the volcano for no longer than 10 minutes, but because Srta. H was talking with the guy working at the top, we got almost 20 minutes which was super awesome for us. The store was our next stop after the volcano. There we got some amazing snacks and the Dutch in us really enjoyed how cheap everything was compared to back home. Most of us stocked up on candy, pop, ice cream, and chips, but Srta. H stocked up on Raisin Bran and apples (classic H). We came back to the Nehemiah Center earlier than usual, and we played Psychiatrist which was a lot of fun. It was super intense and often the answers to questions induced a lot of laughter. We ate dinner soon after that which consisted of fish, beans, rice, and plantain chips. The food here is amazing; I honestly didn't think that I would enjoy beans and rice so much! After dinner we had some free time and then we played a rousing game of the animal hitting game (Srta. H named it), which basically involves wailing on other people with a plastic water bottle. Many welts were given tonight! Unfortunately, along with plastic bottle welts came many bug bites. For some reason everyone packed a lot of bug spray, but only Kate-Lynn remembered to bring AfterBite. Thankfully Kate-Lynn is nice and shared her abundance with us who are now covered in bites. Other than the incessant itching, we had an awesome second day here in Nicaragua and we are so stoked to see what awesome things God has planned for our team tomorrow! If you want to see more photos of the fun we're having in Nicaragua, head over to our Instagram @weareallacs :)