I don't like spiders or snakes and that ain't what it takes to love me...

I know, I know...there are other subjects that I need to blog about long before this one.  But this one is about something that just happened and I just had to share it!  For those of you who know the gentle-gecko-goo-removal side of my husband, here is another facet of the man.  The determined hunter and protector. 

It's been one of those if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie kind of mornings...and an old Jim Stafford song is playing in my head.   

We have a tall plastic cart with drawers that sits next to our stove.  I had formerly used this cart in the study to hold office supplies but this kitchen has no drawers at all, so I use it now to hold all my kitchen utensils, dish towels, pot holders, etc.
About 6:10 this morning, Jim went to pour himself a cup of coffee...the coffee pot sits on the counter right next to this cart...and he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye on top of the cart.  There was a small garter-type snake that had laid claim to that spot!  Jim grabbed the fly-swatter to try to hold it down and grab it but the fly-swatter was too flexible to do the job and the snake was too flexible to be held.  It jumped, leaped, fell...whatever...it hit the floor and promptly slithered right into the back of the stove.
Mind you, I was still fast asleep at that time and knew nothing of what was going on in the kitchen.  I usually get up shortly after Jim but I have not slept well the last few nights so I guess I was extra tired and just kept sleeping on...totally oblivious to the Wild Kingdom adventure taking place in the cocina.
When I finally woke up (a few minutes before 8:00 a.m. mind you!), I was startled to see how late it was.  I got up, went out towards the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, fully prepared to apologize to my husband for sleeping so late, only to see my kitchen stove in pieces all over the floor.  My eyes were open and I was walking but I don't think I was yet fully awake.  I looked at Jim, as he was graciously pouring me a cup of coffee, and could tell he was trying to think of a how to tell me what was going on just as I was trying to comprehend why my stove was in the middle of the floor with various parts of it laying all about. 
The last time the stove was pulled out, there was a mouse that had gotten inside of it and that's what I was beginning to assume had happened again.  Jim handed me my cup of coffee and said, very calmly, "There's a snake in the oven."  Obviously, he had thought that statement through.  
"What???" I gasped.
"There's a snake in the oven."
"A snake?  How did a snake get in the oven?  How did it get in the house?  How do you know it's in the oven?"
"I'm not really sure how he got in there but I'm pretty sure that's where he is."  Jim's a one question-at-a-time-kind of guy. 
"Pretty sure???"
"Yeah, I don't know how he got in the house..."
"Are you SURE he's in the oven and didn't get away somewhere else in the kitchen?" 
"Yeah...pretty sure."
I am not a "pretty sure" kind of gal.  I want a definite "yes" or "no" and a lot of explanation to accompany either one.  Jim is not much of an explainer, patient as he is...especially when he's been trying for the last few hours to catch, lure, coax or chase a snake out of the oven.
I then asked the next logical question, "If you can't find him, does this mean I get a new stove?"
Due to my astuteness (assisted by Jim's giving of "that look", I realized all of my questions were not an asset at the moment and so I stood and watched silently (more or less) as he continued to slowly remove pieces of the stove, one at a time. 
Finally, the fog of my sleeping late lifted after a few slurps of coffee, and I had to venture one more question..."Don't you think it would be a good idea to take the stove out back and do that?  What if he gets out and you can't catch him in time?  Or what if you try to hit him with something and you break a floor tile?"  The one more question obviously took on a life of its own and grew quickly into more. 
But, Jim saw the wisdom in that suggestion and moved the stove out to the patio area and continued his disassembling.  I decided to go take a shower and stay as far away from the process and the snake as possible.  I hollered out one more suggestion..."Hook the stove up again and light it...don't you think he'll come out then?"  I heard some mumbling and then, "I hope he would come out."  That ranks on the same level as "Pretty sure."
I got in the shower.  Within minutes, I heard something pounding against the concrete edge of the patio and then repeated whacks on the gravel.  I hollered at Jim if he got it and his tired but joyous reply was, "Yeah!!  Thank you, Lord!!"  I echoed those same thanks from the shower!
Of course, I rapidly got dressed so I could go see what I had envisioned to be a snake of pythonic proportions.  It was much smaller...even if it would have still had it's head attached.  But it was still every bit as unwelcome.
It seems as though Jim decided to disregard my suggestion of roasting the creature and opted to tip the stove up on its side to see if it was on the bottom side of the stove.  As he did, the snake dropped down and began slithering away.  He had one of my big wooden cooking spoons and used it to trap it and then finished it off with the machete. 
That would have been the lovely ending to the story...but there was still a stove to reassemble and a floor to clean (note to self: the stove should be moved out more frequently than when there's a resident rodent or reptile). This also led to sweeping all the floors and scrubbing down the plastic cart to remove any possible remains of snake cooties which then naturally led to cleaning and returning to its proper home, all the other paraphernalia that was somehow needed in this reptilian removal.
I am so grateful that I have a husband who will let his wife sleep-in, even when he's in the midst of trying to extricate a stealthy, sneaky, stove-seeking snake, who perseveres in the hunt (the thought of buying a new stove might have helped with that motivation somewhat), who is not going to rest until he has caught his prey and who did not argue when I said, "Throw the spoon away."  
Oh, how I love that man of mine!  He knows I don't like spiders or snakes!    

Again...

I have come to the conclusion that Facebook has not been conducive to blog writing…at least not for me, it hasn’t!  I love keeping up with everyone on Facebook…and I love being able to write a quick synopsis of our day…Facebook makes it easy.  Blogspot does not.  But, sadly, I’m not a good multi-tasker when it comes to my writing and so it seems that I’ve opted for Facebook in place of blogging.  Or I should say, I have for the past year…I’m going to attempt to change that somewhat and hopefully, become more balanced with both.

It has been brought to my attention (more than once…kindly, gently, not-so-kindly and not-so-gently) by more than one person that I need to get back to the blog since there are folks who don’t have Facebook and don’t want to have it.  I admire their stance.  I once had a similar one…I caved.  And so, when it comes to blogging…I begin again.  Yet again. 

Life has been more than fast-paced for us the last few weeks.  We flew back to Nicaragua on Wednesday, March 12^th and it feels like we hit the ground running.  Thanks to a friend, we had the a/c in our car fixed while we were State-side but had to have something concerning it tweaked and tightened before returning to Somoto.  We also had some business we had to which we had to attend, some shopping to do and a meeting to attend.  So, we actually didn’t make it up to Somoto until Friday, the 14^th. 

Since then, we have been crazy busy!  We have been trying to get things ready for the FBC Cassville team’s arrival which is this next Sunday, March 31^st.  We also are involved in the wedding of our very dear and special friends, Raquel (the director of CINAFE) and Miguel Angel, who are getting married the night before the team arrives!  We have several roles of responsibility in the wedding so it’s more than just our showing up…and, as great of an honor that is, that we’ve been asked to participate in their special day, it’s also added somewhat to the stress level on our end.  Plus, that time commitment has made things even more challenging with the timing and preparation for this team.  But, God has paved the way for us and helped us through each of the challenges, so far, and I have no reason to think He won’t continue to do so!  

The night we got home, it was so nice to be here and to be mosquito free…it didn’t take long for them to find us again!  The other things we noticed that night were all the new cracks in the walls.  I know that there were some tremors while we were gone but I wonder if a lot of it isn’t just the house settling.  Cracks are just part of a concrete block house…but some of ours are of a pretty healthy size.  It will be interesting to see what happens when the rains come again. 

A day after being home, our freezer quit working.  That’s a huge thing for us as we depend greatly on that freezer.  We managed to salvage most everything and had to wait a few days for the freezer repair guy to come as he was on the east coast working.  Thankfully, the problem turned out to be a very simple fix and we didn’t need to buy any parts.  That was such a huge blessing…freezers are considered a definite luxury here and the parts to repair them are priced accordingly! 

The saga of the water tank is about to come to an end…I hope!  Trying to get someone to install one has been somewhat of a Herculean task, it seems.  We were told it would be better to wait until the dry season so that the concrete pad could set up without a problem.  So, we waited.  Then when we got the estimate to have it installed, it was more than double what we had thought it would be.  So, we decided to revamp our plan for installation to bring the cost down considerably.  Unfortunately, that didn’t help with finding someone to actually show up to do the work!   

But, after numerous failed attempts, our friend Hermes finally brought a man named Tonio over who said he would do the concrete work…and for a very reasonable price.   Jim liked him and so he and Tonio agreed upon the day he would arrive.  Our responsibility was to get the materials delivered and to get the water tank delivered.  So, we did both of those things…which never is as simple as it should be. 

 The day came when Tonio was to be at our house at 7:00 a.m. to make the concrete pad.  He still hadn’t come by 7:30, but we weren’t terribly concerned as that’s about par for the course.  By 9:00 a.m. though, we figured out he wasn’t coming.   Jim called Hermes to see if he could find out what had happened with Tonio and a little bit later, Hermes came by to tell us that he had talked with Tonio’s wife and apparently, he had forgotten and had gone to work at another job that day.  

I am pretty sure my frustration was apparent because a few hours later, Tonio came by and apologized to Jim for forgetting and promised he would be there the next day.  And this time, he was good for his word.  He brought another worker with him so that they could get the job done before it got really hot.  And, it looks as though they did a good job.

The concrete should be cured to the point that we should be able to install the tank tomorrow.  In order to save some expense, Jim’s going to do the plumbing part himself.  I know he’ll show up!  So, if all goes well, we should have a working water tank in place within a couple of days.  I can hardly wait!!  We lose our water on a daily basis these days and it will be so nice to have a reserve from which we can draw.

We’ve started back to school in El Melonar.  Enrollment is up for this year which is very encouraging.  We have 28 students in the morning class and the pre-school class has 19.  Our afternoon class has stayed consistent with the same kids from last year.  The change that I’ve noticed most is that the children have been so unruly this year.  They aren’t really being “bad”, but neither are they nearly as well-behaved as they were last year.  It has made teaching much more of a challenge and exhausting.  I think we’re going to have to work on manners and behavior again this year because it seems that many have forgotten which has been disappointing.  I am praying that the Lord will give me wisdom and some great ideas as to how to address this in a manner that brings about the desired results.  I love these kids and want to see them succeed…in every aspect of their education. 

We have also been immersed in trying to get the baking project underway in El Melonar.  This opportunity is a result of the generosity of a group of women from FBC Cassville.  We have had enough money donated to build an oven in the community.  That alone fired me up and I am so excited about this opportunity for those ladies who will benefit from this wonderful gift. 

But, the difference in cultures has been very evident in working towards that goal of helping those ladies get a business started there.  Without going in to all the details, the bottom line is that we are soon going to find out who has the motivation, drive and determination to see this through and who is going to let their fear and sense of being comfortable in their present circumstances dominate.

Tired from a full morning of learning

There are five women who have shown an interest and we have obtained two days worth of training for them.  But, none of them have any business experience nor are any of them natural born leaders.  So, we have learned that this is going to be a teaching project in more ways than just learning how to make bread which translates in to taking much more time than we had originally planned and a ton more patience and encouragement. 

In the kitchen, learning to make rolls

Marta

We were out at El Melonar at 6:30 yesterday morning to pick these 5 ladies up to take them to Cacauli (another community about 20 minutes away) to spend the morning learning the intricacies of baking in one of these outside beehive ovens.   

The lady who is teaching them grew up learning and practicing this skill as her mother also was a baker.  Marta is a sweet person and was very kind when we spoke with her about hiring her to teach these gals.  She is not only full of knowledge, she is such a great encourager and I’m so grateful the Lord led us to her for this task.

Headed home!

We will pick the ladies up again in the morning (Wed.) and they will have another morning of lessons with Marta.  After that, we will see if they are ready for the next step and that’s to begin the building the process.  There are several men in the community who are also interested in this project…and very excited about the prospect of another similar opportunity in the community.  The thought of keeping El Melonar alive as a viable and self-sustaining community has energized so many there…others, of course, have a wait-and-see attitude.  We will just keep moving forward as long as that’s the direction the Lord leads!     

We also met last week with five young ladies from El Melonar whose college tuitions are now being funded by some ladies at FBC Cassville.  What an amazing gift this is to these girls!  They were so excited that the worry of paying tuition for this year has now been lifted from their shoulders. 

We also have supplied each one of the girls with the necessary school supplies they need and they were so grateful.  One of the girls is especially good about expressing her thanks and she’s probably the one who needs the help the most.  it’s always a joy to do something for her and she makes it so easy to do so. 

The girls have agreed to volunteer two hours a week with helping at the school which will benefit Prof. Mario, the students, the community at large and themselves.  These are new concepts for them and three of the five have embraced the idea whole-heartedly…the other two will come around although I know it will take some time for their attitude and their gratitude to match their words!  Volunteering in that way is just not something that is normal in this culture, but, I have no doubt they will see the benefit of giving back.

L-R: Claudia who is studying to be a nurse, Tania and Franlie are studying to be teachers, Lourdes and Nohelia are studying to be English teachers

So, for the most part, those are the highlights of what we’ve been doing the last two weeks.  Some of the smaller projects have included cutting out and organizing our new Betty Luken's Bible Felt Board Set…another greatly appreciated gift which we received while Stateside.  It is a beautiful set with wonderfully vivid colors and we are so excited to begin our new story time with the kids using this set…that’s scheduled to begin after our time with the FBC Cassville team.     

We also have had to spend some time in the garden, trying to clean up, dead-head, nurse some neglected plants back to health. 

Jim installed a small ceiling fan in the kitchen!  That has been a lifesaver the last few days as the temps have been so hot…95 degrees actual…who knows what the heat index has been?  I just know it has been ridiculously hot!  Even with the ceiling fan on the highest speed and our oscillating floor fan going full blast, it’s been difficult to sleep at night. 

We had to go pay the tuition at a private school for a little girl that a friend who lives in Managua is sponsoring.  That is always an ordeal…it is not an organized or a rapid process. 

We had a week of daily visitors…almost all were unexpected, including a couple from Germany who has expressed an interest in working in El Melonar.  They were a lovely young couple and it was a pleasure to meet them.  The word seemed to spread quickly that we were back home. 

So, that’s a pretty concise summary of our last two weeks…at least it’s somewhat concise for the lover-of-words me!  I will not promise that I will return to the same prolific posts that I had in the early days of my blogging…time is always an issue for me…I wish I was a brief writer but I’m not.  Twitter and I would never get along!  J

Thank you for coming to visit us here at the blog!  Until next time!