The bus is driving up. We are ready for our ‘traditional’ trip to the beach. We load the food and drinks, the backpacks with bathing suits, extra clothes etc. The community core members are excited. Also on board are all the employees of the community house and our extra guest, a friend who supports us in everything: Ana Julia.
Earlier this year, in August, we organized a small lottery which earned us the money needed to pay for this trip. For this trip we also invited doña Anielka. She owns the van that takes us to the pool every Wednesday, for free. She also has never charged us for the day trips to the beach. Anielka was able, after some rearranging of her schedule, to join us on the trip with her father and a brother, who are also in the ‘bus business’! The more, the merrier! For us it is a nice way to express our gratitude to Anielka and her family.
At the beach
When we left we did not yet know which beach we were going to visit. We wanted to find a different and cleaner beach than the one we went to last year, but our research prior to departure into alternative options was not conclusive. We knew what we wanted: a beach as near to Juigalpa as possible because we felt a four-hour journey by bus one way was quite enough; we also wanted a quiet beach with access to tables and chairs to enjoy our home-made food in comfort. We inspected a few beaches before we found our ideal beach and one we would use again a next time! The photos give an impression of the beach and surroundings.
Presents
Our lunch was donated by another family friend, who owns a restaurant and provides our community with one meal every month on a day of our choice. After lunch I gave a ‘thank-you’ speech on behalf of everybody, focusing this time on Anielka’s father who had started the bus business without which Anielka would not have followed in his footsteps, and we would not have had access to a swimming pool every week. I presented him with a ‘Casa Ruach’, home-made from clay, which we give to special people who cross our path.
All is well that ends well
Time flew. It was about 4.30 pm and therefore the right time to pack up and travel back to Juigalpa. We arrived there around 9:30 pm, tired but satisfied. We quickly got our core members ready for bed. All of them had enjoyed this day!
As so many of our expenses were taken care of by friends, we still had some money left which we planned to use to close 2021 on a positive note: a social gathering with food and who knows what else.
Together we can make a difference. It is nice to see that this is continuously reflected in our work. We don’t know what the future holds, but there is no doubt that our work is very worthwhile.
