Morning Walks in Somoto

Justin again... For me there´s nothing quite like taking a walk around a Latino town as people are getting going in the morning. I just love it. The sights, the smells and sounds, the colors of the buildings, the people driving by me on their bikes or riding their horses... or if I´m really lucky, a teacm of yoked cattle. It definitely pays to rise early here and to get outside.

Yesterday I was walking and heard the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" being sung in Spanish. When I got to where the music was coming from, I saw an old Catholic church. They were having 6:30AM mass and it was packed. So, I stood outside in the back for a while (it was standing room only) and listened.

Along the way I passed numerous men standing in their doorways, holding a small mirror and shaving with disposable rasors. Here very few houses have windows because of safety concerns, so in order to be able to have enough light to see they stand in their doorways. I wonder why they just don´t use their vanity lights above their sinks... Oh wait, that´s because they probably don´t have a bathroom. Those darned outhouses... their so cramped and lacking in amenities!

The streets here are made of stone pavers, so just about everything that drives over them makes a cool sound. Most of the houses in this town are made of some kind of stone or brick or stucco. About half of them are pretty drab, but the other half are painted really fun colors. Salmon, pink, sky blue, interesting greens and oranges. And many of the people sell things out of their homes. Door after door will have small handwritten signs on them letting people know what´s for sale: Cheese and eggs, milk or cream, juices or icecream. Here making money is all about doing lots of different small things. You may have a job, but it probably doesn´t pay enough to supply all your income needs. So, you sell stuff, or collect firewood, or fix cars or do some odd type of jobs on the side.

Yesterday I passed a lady who was cooking over her wood fired stove. I could see in her house and see the fire burning and the smoke rising out of the house. Cooking with fire is the common method here. Can you believe it? A few hours plane ride from the USA and these people are still cooking with fire.

Well, it´s 6:00AM now. While I´d love to write more, I´d rather get outside and take a walk while I can!! So, more later.

I love all of you and am so grateful to be able to share this trip and all that God is doing with you!

Justin