Ziplining Through The Jungle

6 days down and 2 to go! The time is going by very fast. I think most of
us will be ready to come home on Saturday but we will surely experience a bag
of mixed emotions. We travelled about 2 hours outside of Managua on very bumpy
roads to get to the forest. It was beautiful. We saw coffee bean plantations (and even ate a few) as well as monkeys hanging from the trees. For many of us, the idea of "ziplining" was easier to swallow than the reality of getting strapped in and climbing up to the platform. Then we had to take the first step off the platform before flying above the jungle to the next platform. I reflected on how this process was a lot like our walk of faith.....we know we are "strapped in" by the Lord and His love for us, but we so often hesitate and/or fear taking that first step. Our feet stick to the ground as fear and lack of trust prevent us from moving forward. If we would simply take that first step of faith, we would enjoy the ride (although it can tend to cause butterflies in our tummies!). I long to live my life "between the platforms" of the zipline. I know it is scary and I don't have much control-but I'm also learning that there is a lot of freedom (it can be a lot of fun, too).

We completed our day shopping in a market, buying local coffee that beats anything Starbucks can brew up, and finally shared a meal out at a local restaurant. The highlight was watching Chris and Diana dance to the local music played by our own guitarest/vocalist.

Hasta Manana!

Vicky

PS The people down here are some of the friendliest people I have ever met!

The whole team... on one very small platform...

Go Scotty Go!

Bruce has a new entourage he met at lunch. At one point their were 7 dogs. He could start a pretty good following down here!

The newly weds!

Tina shopped so hard she needed to rest a while in the market.

We had a pretty sweet game going at the market while everyone shopped!