I stood in the courtyard at our motel and looked up at the tree. And up, and up and up. The thing had a twelve foot trunk and a 100 foot canopy. It reminded me of the giant redwoods of California.
If you have a Nicaragua coloring book, color everything green. Mid-day I commented to Keith, "You can't see the poverty for the trees." And it's true. Glorious foliage, lush and green, prospers everywhere. However, due to government and other outside forces (hurricane, earthquake), Nicaragua suffers.
The daytime shows us a bit more typical third world conditions. Buses belch black fumes, cars honk (not nearly as much as Haiti, however), and colorful shops line the streets.
Amazing that an American (or anyone) can walk into a store, buy a nineteen dollar phone, and get twenty-five dollars of airtime in a third world country. Cell phones aplenty.
People sells coffee every ten feet as well, reminding me of Seattle. The coffee hounds tell me it is most excellent.
Time for business stuff. We met Jose' Louis this morning. He worked at a bank all his life, and felt God wanted him to be a baker. So he retired from the bank and bought some machinery, got space from the church and set up a bakery. He bakes bread, 6-900 bags a day. He started by himself and now has fourteen employees, including four motorcycles that deliver the delicious treat. What an amazing man.
The church, Canyon Ridge Christian Church (www.canyonridge.org. Yes, that is product placement)is looking at microloans for businesses such as Jose's to help him and his employees succeed. He's doing quite well so far, and says its because his bread is so much better than others in the area. Very cool.
He's baking with wood, which is poor quality and environmentally sketchy. We're looking at ways to help.
Tonight we stay in a dormitory of sorts. Eight guys in a room. Chances are one of them snores. All part of the adventure.
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