Chicken Soup for the Pinoleros

We are now legitimate Pinoleros!  Pinolero is a colloquial term for a Nicaraguan.  It describes someone that drinks pinolillo, a traditional beverage made of ground corn.  Nicaraguans are full of national pride and brag about being Pinoleros.  When we first arrived, the roaming salespeople selling their handicrafts were always attempting to sell us their wares.  As some of them got to know us and learned that we lived here, we would hear them telling their friends, "Don't bother trying to sell to them, they are Pinoleros!"  After countless trips to immigration offices, enormous piles of papers with pretty embossed seals, and meetings with various government officials, we now all have shiny new residency cards to prove it.   In January, we hosted our first medical mission.  Despite the long lines and need for language interpretation, the mercy and forbearance shown by the Christ the Healer team from New Orleans spoke for itself.  Above, Dr. Aarti Attreya is pictured examining one of the youngest patients. With the assistance of four-wheel drive vehicles, medical personnel were able to reach some of the most under-served areas.   Above is a pleasant 95 year old gentleman who lives in a community on the Mombacho Volcano trying out glasses with nurse Christine.  He so enjoyed his time with one of the doctors, that he promised he would bring her a chicken the next time she came to visit! The medical team also made several home visits to the ill and dying.  One such visit was to the home of a woman with an advanced terminal illness.  In her weakness and suffering, and though each word was spoken with great effort, she communicated her profound gratitude for the visit, comfort care, and thankfulness for praying with her at her bedside as she neared the end of her earthly journey. The team did a great job identifying those with severe or chronic conditions, such that Katy can provide follow up care on an ongoing basis.  The most rewarding part has been to see individuals that came to the clinics get access to needed resources. For example, seeing our friend Don Cruz back at Mass after a successful cataract surgery was a real blessing.   Recently, Pat was was scheduled to celebrate a prayer service for the sick in one of the smaller communities.  As he drove towards the chapel he saw two girls struggling to carry an enormous pot of soup up a hill.  He stopped and asked them if they needed a ride, and as it turned out, they were carrying the pot of chicken soup to share with the sick at the chapel.  One girl sat in the front seat of the truck, holding the soup on her lap.  As we went over each bump on the unpaved road, a little soup would splash out onto her lap and onto the floorboard.  Luckily the bulk of it stayed in the bowl!  It was delicious and very much appreciated by the sick who came to the prayer service. Note:  The soup pictured above was not taken by Pat, but it gives you an idea as to the size of the bowl they were carting... the soup above is actually iguana soup, a local delicacy, which we have not tried and hope to keep that way! When Pat arrived at the chapel for the prayer service for the sick at around 10:30am, he found a family that, due to some miscommunication, had been waiting at the chapel since early that morning to have their child baptized by the priest.  The family was delighted when Pat offered to officiate the baptism, and the best part was learning the child's name - Rachel Judy.  Rachel is our oldest daughter's name and Judy is the name of Pat's mom!   Here are the kids playing soccer out in the country after enjoying a lunch of freshly prepared "Patio Hen." We were invited by our friend, Fr. Jimmy Saquiera, to visit the mission churches he tends to on the islands of Lake Nicaragua, formed many years ago when the Mombacho volcano erupted.  It's not every day you get to travel by boat from chapel to chapel for Sunday Mass! Out of the Mouths of Babes Ben shares part of his missionary experience: "On Sundays we go out to a community called St. Rita.  The church is made out of bamboo sticks and has plastic for a roof.  A lot of times the roof blows off.  To get there you take a long road up towards the Mombacho Volcano. The road is very bumpy and sometimes we get car sick.  When the people come, there are always a few dogs that also attend Mass.  My sisters and I lead the music at the Mass.  I usually play the recorder and the girls sing.  The people like to bring flowers to decorate the altar, and sometimes they bring us bananas.  I like to do the music, but I don't like when my Dad says, "Pasa al frente la banda."  That means, "Would the band please come forward."  That is totally embarrassing." Please continue to pray for our health and safety and that we would grow in holiness as we seek to live out our missionary call.   Thank you for your continued love and support! The Morans - Pat, Katy, Ben, Rachel and Rebecca