The last few days have been busy. We were in San Juan de Limay Thursday, Saturday to Managua, and Sunday to El Crucero. I already shared a bit about San Juan de Limay. Now I want to share about the weekend.
We decided we needed to start meeting some of the pastors and local people in the area of El Crucero as that is where we believe God is leading us next. We spent the evening in Managua exploring and seeing what was available. They have an actual Walmart. It was like a mixture of Walmart and Sam's club in one. Then we went to the Pricesmart. It is like a Sam's club or Costco. We found peanut butter there at a really good price which is great...we got two jars. 
There are good prices for some things but not for all...this is good to know for when we host mission teams in El Crucero eventually.
We stayed with local friends of ours who live in Managua ( Andresca Menjivar and Diomedes). They spoil and love playing with the kids. Sarah is still getting used to them but shows them her love. Hannah, Josiah, Diomedes, and Ryan C. Mabe all played soccer after we had supper.
Sunday we headed to El Crucero which is only a short 30 minute drive from their house in Managua. And El Crucero is only about 45 minutes to an hour drive from the airport...which is also great for incoming family and mission teams.
We went to Mt. Olive Baptist Church in El Crucero and introduced ourselves to the church and pastor. We met a missionary there who has been working in Nicaragua for 13 years. She is ending her journey in April to spend time with her mom. She helped interpret for us while we shared at the church. We hope and pray that God will be able to use us in the community of El Crucero and not just inside the walls of the compound, where we plan to live.
After service, we went to the compound that OMMT owns. We were able to explore the building on the property that is currently being used as a local preschool but the school will soon be moving from the compound's location. We are going to pray and see what God thinks is right but we believe that the 3 room school building may become our home when we move.
Then we headed to another city, Diriamba. We stopped at a beautiful old Baptist Church and met with another pastor. The pastor there has many connections already and this will help us as we begin making plans to minister to local communities in the area.
We plan to visit other churches in the coming months in hopes to continue to build relationships for our future ministry. God is in control and we pray daily for us to know and understand His purpose for us here.
We plan to visit San Juan de Limay on Sunday so be on the lookout for another post soon after. Sending our love to all.
PS...the last two photos are from today. Cows crossed the river and ended up right outside of our door and the fire was up on the mountain side. The fire is a controlled burn which we have learned is a frequent event here but it looked pretty.
