If you could see the slide show in my brain...

If you could see the slide show in my brain, you would see dozens of shades of green covering mountaintops and hillsides. You would see homes made of tarps, tin and wood and children playing in the dirt. If you could see this slide show, you would see brilliant hues of purple, blue and pink that adorn homes, buildings and clothing. If you watched this show, you would notice kindness embracing poverty, homes of scraps surrounded by tropical fauna, and illiteracy masked by skilled labor. You would watch high heels sink into mud with grace and determination, and witness people with so little giving with abundance.

If you could see all of this, I wouldn't be so frustrated that my words cannot relay what I want them to. I wouldn't feel like my pictures aren't enough and my videos a mere insight into what the eye and mind actually behold. If you could be in my brain, you would know that I simply don't know how to communicate my great fortune and you would know that I constantly wonder how I happened upon this life of privilege.

More firsts.

I picked coffee for the first time during our visit to the campo (to the town of Santa Marta). I loved being in Nicaragua during coffee season. There is a sense of hope and prosperity among the people. The women of Santa Marta stopped picking coffee the afternoon we were there so they could join us for a meeting about the follow-up program with the Casa Materna. Over 40 women gather once a month to communicate with one another. What power and strength they are building! They showed us the five projects they did in the past year in their community, including filters for the water, new latrines, a community center, church and daycare facility. ¡Me encanta el campo!

In Selva Negra, a coffee plantation 25 minutes outside of Matagalpa, I went on my first trail run through the cloud forest. I heard monkeys, saw butterflies, birds, flowers and incredibly intricate and old trees. The other day I was in the cloud forest. Today I sat in the blustery, cold Invesco stadium to watch the Broncos play. Ironic or just plain fortunate?

Humble

As always, I am immensely humbled by our time spent in Matagalpa. It´s hard to believe we leave tomorrow already. We will go will full hearts. When the heart is full, the mouth speaks. Our goal is to keep spreading the joy that has been given to us by those at the Casa Materna.

Stay tuned for: Cultural irony, more firsts, and the slide show I keep in my brain.

Firsts

Hola desde Matagalpa! Hoy es martes y parece que hemos estado aqui por mucho tiempo ya. A la vez, parece que acabamos de llegar. For the first time in Casa Materna history, we had our annual board meeting here in Matagalpa! It all transpired yesterday. Some met for the first time while others reunited with friends they hadn´t seen in years.

We laughed, danced, ate and talked about everything from the economic situation in Nicaragua to committee reports regarding budget, finances, fundraising, etc. There were two difficult parts for me. The first was translating for an extended period of time. I love the challenge of translating. It is a completely different skill than simply being bilingual. When I translate, my brain is forced to work in a much different/faster way than it´s used to. There is no time to think about what a word means in one language then try to say it in the other. Everyone listens for instantaneous delivery of information in their dominant language. My brain hurt last night!

The second challenge was the thoughts that came up regarding what my role will be in the upcoming years. I am unbelievably honored and privileged to assume part of the liaison role of the Casa Materna/Friends of the Casa Materna. I have a hard time believing that it is I who GETS to be here twice a year and spend time with the women and staff of the Casa Materna. I hope I can achieve all that is expected of me and then some.

My morning runs have been beautiful. It´s amazing that here I ENJOY waking up at 5:30 to exercise. For the first time in my trail running history, I ran past a man on his horse yesterday travelling down the dirt road from the mountains to bring milk to the city. I also saw a mother and daughter washing clothes in the river and chickens crossing my path. I heard a man chopping trees with his machete, birds singing and the wind blowing by.

¨Lucky¨ is an understatement.