I’m back in Granada, Nicaragua (less than an hour from Managua). We just got here last night in time to participate in (aka, lead) a worship service for the local church, singing with them and telling them about how God worked in Puerto Cabezas. Tomorrow morning we leave for…wherever… Some remote area in Nicaragua where we will debrief. I thought yal would enjoy my travel log to/from Puerto (told in 2 blogs):
TO PUERTO CABEZAS:
It was Tuesday. Everyone got up at 3 a.m. We had spent the night in the 
church in Granada on the floor. Some people went to bed after midnight, still packing for the journey. I woke up early, about 2 a.m. God called me to pray for our protection, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, during the trip and during our time in Puerto. We left at 4 a.m., expecting to arrive “somewhere between 8 and 17 hours later” was what were were told. Over the next two days, we spent 24 hours on an old, yellow school bus. Huge potholes, unpaved roads, dodging speeding buses and trucks, sitting in the back of the bus with minimal suspension shocks. Several times I was hurled out of my seat, bumping my head on the seat or window. The window next to me didn’t close. Actually there was no glass in half of my window. So when it rained (and wow, did it rain!), my seat would get drenched. I hung a rain jacket to shield some of the rain, and scooted into the aisle as much as possible.
About 7:45 p.m., we realized we would not make the “ferry” which closes at 8 p.m. and was still at least 2 1/2 hour 
drive away. And we had another couple hours to drive after the ferry. So we began to look for a place to sleep in the nearest/largest town. We prayed for God’s guidance. Hotels/guest houses were full. Except for one, which tried to rip us off since we were foreigners. Then Charles (our AIM contact) spotted a church or something and told the bus to stop. But the bus stopped short, pulling up in front of a clinic. They invited us to sleep on their floor. Free of charge. (We gave them a love offering.) 8 hours sleeping at a random medical clinic, a gift from God. The next day we left at 6 a.m., arriving in Puerto about 1 or 2 p.m. Oh, and the “ferry” was actually a pull bridge. A very short one at that. And I ate some type of meat and plantain chips on there. Some people say it was chicken. Others have told me it’s a scavenger bird. I’m going with chicken.
Needless to say, the trip to Puerto Cabezas was pretty rough. But we had good attitudes the whole time! Cheerful, joking, sleeping, talking, trying to escape the rain. God protected us. Thanks for your prayers! Oh, and good news: We get to fly back!
Click here to see Mark’s video. These are clips of our long journey from his perspective.
