Nicaragua 2013 - Saturday Leaving

The kids had lots of gifts from friends of ours to help them with the parting.  Liz made them goody bags and a poster with a verse for each day, Amy gave Abby and I matching "Mommy and Me" bracelets. So many of my friends offered to help my mom with the kids for the week.  Greta took them home from co-op and was there for Abby.  She also taught them all day on Tuesday.  We are so blessed with our community of Believers.  God is so good to give us His church!

Saturday we left Greenville around noon. Leaving the kids was much harder for me as it was for them. I was not just fighting back the tears, I was pouring them.

When we arrived at GSP I was stretched immediately, forced to check my carry-on.  But I chose to trust and still board.  :)

I told Sydney I'd take pictures of the inside of an airplane for her.  This is her stuffed duck:

 

What an amazing sight God gave us on the way out:

Before we knew it, we were in the Atlanta airport eating lunch, watching the Gamecocks play. My lunch at the sports bar was amazing!  Grass fed burger with caramelized onions, pepper jack cheese and sweet potato fries?  What?

Our Gamecocks blew the game, 23-21 Tennessee.  But the game did help pass the time on our long 5-hour layover.

The flight to Nica was long, and made a bit longer because we were not seated together. Stephen was 3 behind me on an aisle seat and I got the window seat. But I was given a gift with that seat, because I was able to enjoy a sunset from the sky that was breathtaking. God has communicated to my heart in sunsets often, and this was no exception. He reminded me He's got this. Oh, how glorious He is!

Another pic for Sydney. See Stephen?

Managua at night from the sky:

Once we arrived at the airport, Kyle, Matt, Stephen, and I picked the customs line with the smiling guy. Wrong pick. We were there forever, and then Kyle was questioned regarding all the needles and "body parts" he had in his bag.

Precious Fabricio spoke with the authorities, God granted us favor with them, and Kyle was let through. And I was greeted with my even more beautiful polka dot carry on! And to top it all off we were reunited with the Cavins.

So we piled up in cars and went to the infamous Tip Top Restaurant at 9:30 Managua time for dinner. Stephen and I shared the grilled chicken with refried red beans and this salsa that was really saucy and limey. It was delicious. We also caught the end of an American baseball game on TV. So fun.

So we arrived at the CFCI hospitality house really late, barely unpacked and hit the sack.

Stephen and Fabricio at Tip Top:

My cheat sheet, gifted by Sarah, filled with encouraging notes for each day from our community group: