¿Qué Pasta? Pitahaya

Hi there!

Apologies that I haven't been blogging as regularly as I have in the past. I've been so involved with everything going on here, which is good, but I've been slacking on keeping in touch! It's hard to believe I've been back in Nica for almost three months already. The good thing is that I feel like I've established a good routine in this new congregation, which is something I haven't had for a very long time, and it feels really great. Now that things have settled down and we are in a new service year, I'm gonna try to get back to blogging regularly once again. I think I'll try to post every Monday from now on. It's a good day for me and it'll help me maintain the regularity of it all (yes, I'm talking to the 3% of you who wait on the edge of your seats for my next post). I may not always have thrilling things to share, but it's always good to check in!

This month has been a very good, albeit rocky start to the new service year. Zach got very sick for the first couple of weeks, and I got a really sore throat for a few days. However, we had a pretty fun guys weekend at the Laguna de Apoyo!

The house we stayed in.

We also had this pool right in front of the place! Not really necessary since we stayed in front of a perfect lake, but I'm not complaining!

I've written about this place before, but it never gets old. It really is a preview of the coming paradise. Plus, it was great to spend time with the guys. They've all been a huge support system these past few years.

Jefté and Henry off for a swim.

Moisés and I bragging about how we already went swimming.

Jef getting a serenade in a restaurant in Managua on our way home.

It was actually pretty cool!

Also, I had an idea to do some posts about food now and then, since I get many questions about that. I was gonna make it a periodic series called - and guys, come on, this is brilliant - ¿Qué pasta? Get it?? Because it's like ¿qué pasa? except it's about food, so it's ¿qué pasta? since pasta is a type of food??? Right???? Don't you roll your eyes at me. Yeah. That's right. I know you're rolling your eyes at me. However, I also know you're laughing on the inside.

Anyway, my point was to blog about different food, meals, and whatnot found here in Nicaragua. For example, one fruit that's a Nica favorite is pitahaya (also spelled "pitaya"), or dragon fruit.

Yes, I know you may be able to get them in the States, but did you know that pitahaya actually originated here in Central America? You did? Oh. Well, never mind then. For me, I had never heard of them until I came here. The first time I saw one, I thought it was a leftover prop from a Tim Burton movie, but when I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised! They've got a nice flavor!

First, you need to peel off the skin. Duh.

If you're like me, after you've cut it up, your hands will look like you've just murdered a Care Bear.

Scoop the fruit out of the peel and there you have it, folks! Pitahaya can be eaten straight up, made into smoothies, or added to fruit salads. I personally like to eat it straight up. Simplicity, guys. Simplicity.

 Wasn't that fun? That was just a preview of what is to come on ¿Qué pasta? Stay tuned, my friends!

In other news, service has been going very well as usual. Last week, we were preaching on a Friday morning and we walked past a man who was sitting outside his house reading his Bible. I don't have many moments like this, but I felt like I should approach him. I'm not always comfortable doing that, but come on, he was practically asking for it! I said a silent prayer for courage and walked up to him. He was very friendly and open to conversating (Google is telling me that conversating is not a word. Too bad, Google. Too bad.). I asked him if I could get his opinion on a Bible text, and had him turn to Matthew 6:9, 10. After reading it, I asked him what he thought God's Kingdom was. He knew his Bible well and replied that it is a heavenly government. We confirmed this by reading Daniel 2:44. He stated that he was a member of the local Evangelical church, but he was actually one of the first Evangelicals I've met who was normal, reasonable, and not, what's the word, obnoxious. We even watched the "Why Study the Bible?" video, which he really enjoyed. I left him with a tract and made an appointment to come back & answer the next question.

I thought that was the end, but a few minutes later, he followed us down the road and asked for this month's magazines! We only had August magazines to give him, but I told him I could pass by that afternoon to give him the latest issues. He said yes and was excited to see us again! I was glad that I approached him. It pays off to step out of your comfort zone! (Sidenote: I haven't found him home again...yeah, that was anticlimactic, but I know I'll find him soon!)

During one of my most productive mornings to date, Elias and I played ten games of tic tac toe.

One of my studies, Max, is currently in the second lesson of the Good News brochure, and he's doing very well. Last week, after considering the paragraph about God's name, we watched the video on the website that discusses that topic, and it complimented the study very nicely. He enjoyed it a lot. He captures points very clearly.

Our congregation did another rural preaching day out in Rancherias this past Sunday, and it was a lot of fun as usual. We had about 60 brothers and sisters in our group! The congregation really looks forward to these special days, and it's nice to see how excited they get for them.

Just a small part of our group!

We had some good discussions throughout the morning, but to be honest, it mainly consisted of looking at the pretty views and me teaching everybody some English words, particularly some Samisms. ;)

My friends Miguel and Crystal having a productive English lesson, if you could call it that.

Everything is so green right now. Thank you, rainy season!

That's all for now. It's 11:22 PM and I have to be up at 5:00 AM to teach an online class guys, yet here I am writing another blog. That's how much I miss you guys. That's how much I care!! I promise I will try to be more regular with the updates, now matter how mundane they may be! Be sure to check in on Monday. Please let me know how you're doing and remember to stay in touch!

Take care,


Sam

P.S. HOW did I not mention this before?! I got a new coffee maker, guys!!!! No wonder I've been in such a good mood these days!