They came bearing gifts...

We had one of our favorite families come visit us Saturday afternoon. Freddy had asked us the day before if it would be alright for him to bring his wife, Mary and their son, Gabriel by the next day after he got off work from Susanna’s house. We told him that would be fine and that we would enjoy having them come for a visit. He told us then that Mary had a gift for us in appreciation for all the help we have given them.

Late Saturday morning, I decided to make some cookies to have on hand when they came and Jim ran up to the little market to buy some orange Fanta, a very popular drink here, although I have to say I think it tasted better when I was a kid! Margarita watched me make the cookies and I told her Freddy was bringing his family by that afternoon. I was making a chocolate cookie with coconut and pecans. (It was due only to a generous gift from Tom and Nora, our friends who came to visit from the States, that I had pecans to bake with…I refuse to pay almost $16 for a bag of pecans).

Since Margarita was standing and watching me mix up the cookie dough, I offered a small bowl of pecans to her. She took them, thanked me and asked me what they were called. I told her and she wanted to know if I bought them at the new grocery store that opened up recently and she knows it’s a place we shop. I told her that our friends had brought them with them. I told her how much they cost at Price Smart and that I thought that was a ridiculous price and would never pay that much for them. She told me that they don’t have pecans here but she has seen them in Susanna’s house. In a little bit, I noticed she had not eaten any more pecans other than the first one she had taken…I don’t know if she didn’t like them or if she just couldn’t bring herself to eat any more once she found out how much they sold for here! Either way, I had a few more pecans to add to the cookie dough than what I had originally planned.

Freddy and his family arrived about 3:00 p.m. – dressed in their best clothes. They had taken the bus as far as they could to get to our house and then walked the rest of the way, well over a kilometer in distance. Mary had on heels and was carrying a heavy package, wrapped in the same birthday bag which we had used to give Gabriel his presents several weeks ago. Freddy was carrying a sleeping Gabriel, who evidently conked out on the bus ride here.

We got them inside and I asked Freddy if he wanted to lay Gabriel down on the bed. He looked at Mary for affirmation and she told him he would need to take his shoes off first. I told her not to bother. Freddy gently laid Gabriel down who was sleeping so soundly that he never even stirred. Mary handed me the heavy bag and I asked if I could go ahead and open it. She looked surprised…that’s not done here in this culture…but nodded her head yes. She and Freddy both stood close to the table to watch our faces. I hope they were as pleased with our reactions as we were with our gift!

They had taken a large terra cotta tray (which fits under flower pots to catch the excess water) and had it painted with our names on it, a pot of flowers and a phrase asking God to bless us. Jim and I were almost speechless and I was overcome by the beauty of not only the tray, but the hearts that were behind its gifting. This is one of the most special things that I think we’ve received since we’ve been here and I will treasure it always because I know it was a gift that took some sacrifice on their part. Jim and I felt so humbled that this precious couple would think that much of us to have brought us something like that.

We settled down in the living room with cookies and cold drinks…although I made Mary some hot tea as she has “grippe” (a cold). Many Nicaraguans think that if they have a cold and drink something with ice in it, then they can get pneumonia. I had heard that before and have experienced it several times since with other folks here. There’s no use arguing it…that’s just one of many health superstitions we have come across. I was just thankful I still had some tea bags after I had made the offer to fix some!

I like Mary. She knows me well enough now that she is no longer timid or shy with me. This makes it so much easier to actually try to converse with one another. They asked about the picture I have of my mom, commenting on how much like her I look. I told them she died two years ago and then they each proceeded to tell me when each of their various family members had died. I realized just how important family was to them.

I showed her pictures that our daughter, Mandy, had sent of their family. When we were looking at them, she would ask each person’s name and age. I told her I missed my family very much and that my grandchildren were growing up very quickly. She wanted to know when they were coming to visit. I shook my head “no” and told her it cost too much money. I told her we would be returning to the States in June to be there for the birth of our fifth grandchild and we would see them then.

As soon as I said that, Freddy wanted to know if we were staying in the States. I told him we would be there for a few weeks but then would be returning to Nicaragua, that this is where God has brought us to live and that it is our home now. He nodded in understanding. Mary just stared intently, watching my face. I could feel tears start to prick my eyes so I asked her if she would like to see the house and she quickly smiled and shook her head affirmatively.

We got up from our seats and I began to show Mary our house. It really is small so there’s not much touring to be done. When I asked her the Spanish word for “closet”, she just shook her head. I realized then they didn’t have any closets in their house which they share with her parents. I also realized that when she told me she thought our house was beautiful, she meant it…and I guess our house really isn’t that small after all…at least, not in comparison to theirs.

Later on, after the little ringmaster, Gabriel, woke up, we all went out on the front porch. Mary and I sat in the rockers and Freddy and Jim looked at the platano trees. Freddy thought some of the plants looked a little dry due to the sun and the strong winds. He picked up the hose to water. I told him it was his day off and that wasn’t necessary. He told me not to worry about it and that he wanted to do that. And so our gardener was watering our plants on his day off in his Sunday best clothes.

In the meantime, Gabriel was keeping us entertained. He is sharp as a tack and is such a cutie. He kept us laughing most of the time. All parents are proud of their children, but watching Mary and Freddy light up over their son, it is easy to see they absolutely adore him. They have obviously worked with him as he responds to animal questions, body parts questions, names, places, etc. When he feels like it, he is really pretty verbal for a 2 year old. I asked Mary if she would like to have another baby someday. She said that she would but not until much later. She said that it’s hard to feed one child right now the way he should be fed and it would be impossible to feed more. She said, almost wistfully, “Algun dia…” Someday.

Jim has just been playing with the video part of the camera and I wanted to show you a short video of Gabriel entertaining us but for whatever reason, the format our camera has the video in isn't compatible with the options available with Blogger...so until Jim can figure out how to convert one to the other, you will have to wait for that...consider it a "Coming Attractions" feature!

Our visited ended about 5:30 when the sun was starting to set. We took them home so they wouldn’t have to make that long walk back to the bus stop and then have to wait for a bus to come. As we let them out at their house, we each got a kiss good-bye from Gabriel. He’s just such a little doll!

On the way home, we talked about how God had brought this family in to our lives and how much we enjoy the time we get to spend with them. Jim talked about what a great dad Freddy is and how determined he and Mary are to give Gabriel every advantage they possibly can, from health to education to socialization. We are impressed by Freddy’s work ethics, his integrity and the sacrificial devotion this couple makes for the benefit of their child and we are blessed by their willingness to share him with us. Their time together as a family is precious to them and we were so grateful that they let us be a part of that for a little while. They showered us that day with gifts - the beautiful tray, their friendship and Gabriel.