Weekend with Ben

Friday Ben and I headed to Vera Cruz, the town where Casa Bernabe, the orphanage at which we stayed during spring break, is located. Ben was looking forward to reconnecting with some kids he grew close to in March and I am always glad to the kids again. When we arrived at the orphanage we were told that all except for 3 kids were on vacation until Wednesday. We were disappointed but still wanted to walk around the orphanage grounds and visit the few kids who remained.

Walking through Casa Bernabe brought back many wonderful memories. I realized how much time I’ve been able to spend there over the last two years. We had a great time just walking around the farm talking about our experiences there. We didn’t see any kids until we got to the houses where we stayed last spring.

It turns out that my friend Giovanni, who I’ve spent considerable time with during each of my trips, was one of the kids who didn’t go on vacation. I was so pleasantly surprised to see him, especially considering the long odds that he would be one of the three left. We hung out for awhile and he joined us as we walked around.

After visiting the orphanage we headed into the town of Vera Cruz. We were thrilled to run into our friend Irvin, who drives our bus during the spring break trips, on the street. We hung out in Vera Cruz for about an hour before catching a bus back to Managua.

Friday night we went to the movies. We sat in the ‘VIP Club Section,’ meaning we watched the movie in recliners while someone brought us popcorn and refreshments. It was great, especially for $5.50!

Saturday we spent the day in Granada. We braved the hot sun and walked around for a few hours, checking out the churches and street vendors. I’m glad that Ben has seen a few other places than Managua. I think he’s gotten a good taste of the variety of life here in Nicaragua.

Our church outing was highlighted by unexpectedly seeing Jonathan, a kid from Casa whom Ben befriended in March. Ben was disappointed he didn’t see him when we visited Casa on Friday, so seeing him at church was a nice treat.

We spent the afternoon napping and watching football; it was lovely. We’re about to head out for a nice seafood dinner.

Hope you all had a great weekend!