Wonderful day! :)

What a beautiful day God gave us today! Out bus left at 8:00, and the ride to San Jose was about 20 minutes. As soon as we got outside of Managua, we noticed differences is the scenery and atmosphere. It started to smell a bit like smoke, and trash was piled on the side of the road. We saw tons of dogs (we figured it was because their owners weren't able to spay or neuter them) who all looked skinny; you could see their ribs and hip bones. The scenery, however, was absolutely breathtaking. It's so green! And there are so many types of trees all growing together. We were lucky to drive up there when we did, because the clouds hit the mountains just right, and I knew God did that for a reason. I felt so ready to get started with our mission work.
We got to San Jose and went up to the site of the house. Paige, Stephanie, Lyle and I went to rebar with Fedelina (our host), which was great! We were in the shade all day :) There was an irritated rooster by our workshop who cried at us all day; we figured him and our rooster here would be great friends. The rest of the group worked diligently on the house, and by lunch time, we were already way ahead of schedule. They say we might actually finish the house by Wednesday and could start another on Thursday, which would be awesome!
After lunch, all of the youth had a gathering with about 20 of the kids. Mary and I taught them a movement to "What a Friend we have in Jesus" (in Spanish), and Mizi had a table set up for puppets. The kids here are simply amazing. They are all so beautiful, and I think their innocence and simplicity is what makes them beautiful. They don't have mirrors, and so they don't particularly know how they look at all times, like we do. They are so willing to help, without every being asked. A boy about 5 years old worked rebarring with us without gloves, whereas we all had gloves on and sores by the end of the day. If they saw we were struggling to carry something, they would pitch in without us asking for help. They have such beautiful hearts, and it makes me want to do so much for them, for God's light to shine for them. I'm so blessed to be around them.
And the kids love cameras! We took lots of pictures with them, and then they would reach out and grab our cameras (scary for someone who always has the wrist strap on) and take pictures of us (sometimes our feet, half of our face, or sometimes, all of us!). We don't think about our technology, but they are truly intrigued by it. Again, their innocence is beautiful.
We are all showered and clean now and are getting ready to do a devotional. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for us, I know God will continue to do great things. Thank you for your prayers! :)