Maranatha Team part 1

We've been busy this week with a team from Maranatha High School in Pasadena, CA. The team consists of 4 of each: Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors, and adults. So far they've been a great team and Drew has really enjoyed having the teenagers around to hang out, work, and play with. They are mainly doing some painting projects around the compound; painting the library and new addition of the library. They are also painting a huge mural on the outside of the baseball stadium wall.

On their first full day here, we took them on a tour of Managua. Now, there's not much to see, tourist-wise in Managua, but we went down to the old cathedral, which survived an earthquake in 1931, but was severely damaged and condemned after a 1972 earthquake.

Halle being the tour guide outside the cathedral.
Near the cathedral is Kilometer 0. In Nicaragua, all the roads are measured by their distance from this point. So, we live at about km 12.25 on the old highway to Leon... 12.25 km away from this point in the city. Here's Drew standing on km 0.

We then went up to a park in the city with a great view of Lake Managua for a zip line tour. Drew was really brave and wanted to go as well.

He actually ended up going first! He had to go with a guide because he's small and wouldn't be able to control his speed. He said he was scared for the first 15 feet, but "then I relaxed." His guide was kind enough to pose for a photo afterwards.

The next day, the kids got to work painting and doing other work around the compound. I'll have more pictures next week of the finished products, but for now, enjoy the work in progress.
In the new library addition, putting on a coat of splatter paint... all the kids and Drew loved this step and came out of it very messy!


The mural on the outside of the baseball stadium has the new logo for El Salero which incorporates the Nicaraguan flag.

Some of the kids were also helping to dig a ditch to redirect the powerline to the house.