Some good news!

Well, we haven´t moved in yet, but its getting closer and closer each day! Last week the water was hooked up (check out the running water in our shower!) And David is working hard this week in the evenings getting the screens on the windows so that we can live in the house without being eaten alive by mosquitos!!


Also great news.... David´s older brother Juan Carlos and his wife Tania had a baby on Monday! Her name is Sol (which mean "sun" in spanish) and she is beautiful!!

Finally, something to post about!

It has been 26 days since my last post, and FINALLY I have something exciting to post about!

We have electricity!

On friday and saturday the guys (David, Joel, Jonathan and te electrcity guy) finished laying the wire, and hooked it up!

Which means....we are moving in at the end of the month!!!

Also good news: I finally (after two months of no work) am going to be translating for a medical team in November! Its only one job, but at least its something!!!

Rainy Update...

Well, September is over, but there is not much I can say about house progress... It has been so rainy that building has slowed down significantly. We learned our lesson though: Don´t start building in the rainy season!! We also had to slow down because we don´t have the funds to finish the last few projects we need to get done before we move in! Unfortunately, along with rain, September and October see very few groups or missions tems in Nicaragua. With-out the extra income, we are making just enough to get by. But, we have faith! We are very hopeful that things will pick up again once we get into November, and especially December!!

Anyway, I though I would post a few picture so you can see whats going on (when its not raining- which doesn´t happen very often!)

David- cutting grass Nica-style!

Our toilet and sink are finally installed, and once we have water, they will work too!!

This is David does his impression of a serial killer...

Actually he was just coming back from work, I think.

Here are the iron bars on the arched windows, they have a little more design then the rest.

They are also painted white now.

I don´t really have any other Estrada Family updates. But I´ll update the N.Americans on Nicaragua´s situation: The rain has been pretty distructive across the country. The level of Lake Managua (the second largest lake in Nicaragua) rose 19cm (yes, centimeter, not millimeters) in one day, and flooding is so bad that some houses are cover up to the roof, or destroyed completely. The water level in lake Managua is now higher then it was after hurricane Mitch, and the worst of the rainy season (October) hasn´t even hit yet. David and I are blessed to own land on high ground! We are praying that the hurricanes stay away from Nicaragua this year, because with all the distruction that has already happened, a hurricane at this point would be devistating.

And after scaring you with that paragraph....Don´t worry, David and I are keeping safe. We don´t go out on the motorcycle in the rain, and if we get caught in a rain storm, we wait until its over to keep going. Like I said before, we live on fairly hight ground, and the worst part of the rain for us is that I have to walk through puddles and mud to wash clothes or use the internet (like today!).

I, personally, hope October will go by quickly! I am looking forward to the dry season!!

Rain, rain, GO AWAY!

Ok, its been along time since I´ve posted, but I actually haven´t been online since Sept 1st!!

On the news stations in Nicaragua they were always saying that Sept and Oct are the worst months for rain, but I spent last year here and it wasn´t really that bad, so I though "how bad can it be". Its bad. And thats why I haven´t been online for almost 3 weeks! The first weeks and a half in september it rained all day every day. Luckily we bought a gas tank for the stove, and food to cook, so I didn´t have to walk for 10 minutes for every meal, I really didn´t leave the house much at all. Plus, I have to hang clothes to dry here, and there was no way clothes were going to dry that week....I literally was down to my last few pieces of clothes when the perpetual rain gave up for a bit!

After about a week and a half of all day, every day rain, a storm knocked out the power, and unfortunately here, when there is no electricity, there´s no water either(The house that we are living in is supplied by city water, but there is an electric pump that pumps it to us, and there is no back-up generator!). The rain storms came just in the afternoon, but we lost power for about 15 hours. Then the power came back, but the water didnt... I was very confused! After asking some neighbours they let us know that the pump at the water station needs to get started again, but there wasn´t enough current to get it going. Its wasn´t very long before the electricity went out again anyway, and we were back to where we started! At the end we had 3 full days without water, and most of that time with no electricity. David and the boys from the orphanage had to go with buckets to the water tank and bring water back so that we could bathe and bucket-flush the toilets.

Once the electricity was back I raced over to the orphanage property to do some laundry and use the internet, but of course the internet was down!! I was pretty sure the world was against me, and I gave up on internet for the rest of the week.

This week Nicaragua celebrated its independance, and David had Monday and Tuesday off! Instead of going anywhere, we had the whole family come here and help dig the dich where we are going to lay the electricity line. They were supposed to come Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but they only stayed the first two days. All the men we out working (and playing soccer), and all the wives hung out with me, and we cooked lunch for the boys. David and I were both exhausted after everyone left, and we were also once again without electricity or water because of a storm.

Building update: the stormy weather has delayed alot, we are still hoping to get the electricity lines in asap so that we can move in!!

Since monday (the 13th) the electricity and water has gone out every day in the afternoon because of the storms, and usually (hopefully) comes back before 10pm. We have laundry tubs full of water in the bathroom so that we can bathe and flush the toilets, and bags of ice in the freezer so that the food we have doesn´t thaw!!

Laundry has been very difficult as well. Some of David´s jeans that I washed on Monday are still hanging on the line (That is under a roof) because they are wet! I wish I had a dryer!!

A short one...

Hmmm...it´s really frustrating when you type out a whole blog post, and then an error make the whole thing disappear!! Anyway....to sum up what I already typed before...

1. Move in day has been postponed. We don´t have our electricity or water hooked up yet, and we need to wait until David´s brother, Joel, gets back from Costa Rica (hopefully on friday). Until then we are finishing up other last minute details, like installing the toilet and sink, and painting the iron bars that have been finally welded into place on the arched windows.

2. "Missions Season" has come to an end, which means alot less translating jobs between now and December. I have been sending out emails to any organisations I can find online to let them know that I am available to tranlate, and *fingers crossed* I will have a few jobs to keep me busy! While I´m not translating I will be keeping busy organizing and reorganizing the new house, and trying to make the yard look less grungy!

3. David and I said goodbye to Jellybean (the parakeet that was given to me at the beginning of august). It took me about 3 weeks to realize that I really don´t like birds at all, and I will never again have one as a pet. We gave her to a neighbour who just receintly lost her bird to a cat. We gave her the cage too.

Thats all my updates, thanks for reading!

Julia

Photo Update

No time for words, just pictures.
Our tile floor is finished!! They just have to finish the bathroom, and the iron bars for our three arched windows will be done on monday!
Plus: a few shots of our extra piece of land that we just bought, now that the grass is cut!

We are moving in at the end of this month!!

The BIG Update!

Wow, other then my other post today (which I actually wrote last week), I haven´t blogged in a long time!! At least I was keeping busy though! I translated for a team (that was here at the orphanage) for three days when they did their community outreach (which is when I was given the parakeet, Jellybean, as a gift...see previous post), the next day I started translating for a family as they did their own style missions trip. We were all over Nicaragua: 2 days in Leon, a day down in a small community close to the Costa Rica boarder, and even a night in San Juan del Sur. It was tons of fun, and I got to know a lot of ministries in Nicaragua that I hadn´t heard of before, and had some expierences that really impacted me (a post about that is coming soon).

When I finished my week of translated I was exhausted (translating is seriously mentally tiring), I went to use the internet, but there was no signal! I was told that the ministries internet tower has been struck my lightening, and someone had to come out and fix it. It is fixed now, but the router in the girls dorm (where I usually hang out when I´m online) was competely fried as well, so now I´m hanging out in the livingroom of the boys dorm!!

Anyway, Im back online, and after going through my 55 new emails (mostly junk...) I´m up to date! Now all I have to do is post some new pictures of whats been going on at our house!

I realized as I was uploading the pictures that I really don´t have that many pictures to update. Things have been going slower then we would like, and the guy who was tiling our bathroom quit last week (long story). To summerize the building experience: its frustrating! Just like everything in Nicaragua, things don´t happen as quickly as you´d like them to. I´m not saying I wouldn´t do it again if I could turn back time. I´m just saying like everything else in Nicaragua, you have to learn to relax- things will happen when they happen!

Anyway, here´s the updates!

The Bathroom

(it actually looks better then this now, there is tile on the floor in the shower now, but like I said, our tile guy quit...)

Our windows: finished and welded in place!

Plus: the walls have the final stucco finish which is nice and smooth!


One of our two doors. We are buying actual wood doors too, but the iron door is needed for protection.

Note: we will have glass windows too, but at the moment its not top priority, and its expensive!

People keep asking us why we have two doors really close to each other. It is because what we are bluiding right now is a small part of the bigger house! When we build more, this part will become two seperate rooms, and each room will need its own door!

David and I just went out there today to check out whats going on, and I got to see my floor for the first time! Doesn´t it look fantastic!?!

Plus, I think the walls look great with the finished stucco!

I´m still so happy we found this tile on sale!!

Some Great News!

So, its been a while!

I was translating for 10 days at the beginning of the month, and then when I got back, I found out the internet had been down for a few days, (lightening struck the tower) and it had to be repaired. Even now as I am typing this (Friday Aug 13th), I´m not actually online. Hopefully I´ll be able to post this soon.

I have a lot of things to write about, so there will be a lot of posts in the next few days (hopefully!). But I think I`m going to write about the most important thing that has happened this week.

When David picked me up after my last day of translating he filled me in on some things that have happened around the house etc. Along with the progress if the house, he was really excited to tell me that the sister of the man who sold us our land is in need of some money (for surgery I think) and is selling the land that is directly behind our property, for an amazingly cheap price. We discussed it, and figured out that we can afford to buy what is connected to our property. The most amazing part is that the lot is the same size as what we own right now, and we are paying LESS than half of what we paid for our original property. Unlike what we already own (which was hay field with no trees), this land already has a whole bunch of trees growing, and of course, waist high grass.

David and Joel went over today (Friday) to pay for the land and finalize everything. It is seriously such a blessing that we have been able to purchase this land! Now we will have a front and back yard (instead if just in front) and we will have all the room we need to plant all the avocado, mango, and orange trees that we want! Plus, we will have space to expand the house out, instead of up (which is much more expensive) so my dream house might actually become a reality faster!!

Tuesday Update: David and Joel went over and purchased the land on Friday, and Friday & Saturday, David and the teenage boys cut all the grass. The photos that I have are before the grass was cut. Next time it’s not raining I will head out and take some pictures!!

Picture Update!

So, I just went out to check out how things were going on the house, not expecting anything spectacular, and I was so excited to see that Chico, David´s younger brother (who has done all the welding work on the house), is installing our iron bar wondows!!

I took a few pictures with my cell phone so I could post them!

The first window I saw. It actually isn´t welded into place yet, but Chico will get to it soon.

We also have matching iron bar doors.

A close-up of the window. I think they look great!

Inside the bedroom. These haven´t been welded in place either.
David bought some stucco finishing stuff that they are going to do on the inside on all of the walls. It will make the walls look almost like drywall. Nice and smooth!!
Chico, welding in the first window. You can also see the two doors leaning against the wall behind him.

Another picture of the bathroom! They have almost finished the walls, and will be starting with the floor soon!!

And finally, a random story.

I was translating this weekend for a team that was doing outreach in a small community called Citalapa. Its a pretty poor community, but the kids are so happy, and it was tons of fun. On the last day, one of the youth, named Gina, told me she wanted to give me a gift. I´ve had people offer me gifts before, like food, or something they have made, but this one was alive! A little parakeet!!

I didn´t think I could say no without offending her, so I called David and made sure it was ok that I am adding once again to our little family. He said its fine, and if it really becomes a problem we can give her away.

So, I named her Jellybean (really, I don´t know if its a she...), and we are buying a cage today. She slept last night on the curtin rod in our living room, and has spent today on a portable laundry hanger that I have. Her wings are clipped, so at least she´s not flying around the room! Oreo is very interested in her, but is very gentle, which I am so thankful for!

I had to do a little bit of research on birds this morning to find out what I can feed her, bird food is not easy to find in Nicaragua. Good thing she can eat just about any veggie or fruit, including beans! Plus, I am so thankful that David has had birds before, so he knows what to do!

Bathroom pictures!!

We started putting the tile in the bathroom yesterday, so I went out today to take a few pictures before it starts raining again!!

I am very proud of my husband for picking this tile colour all by himself while I was in Canada! Good job, Babe!!

The floor of the shower.


The colour isn´t so great in this picture because I took it with my cell phone.


David, cutting tile the old-school way.

Update

So I´m back in Nicaragua, and the house is looking great. There haven´t been any BIG physical changes since I left, but a lot has been done! I don´t have pictures of it all, so I´ll tell you what´s been done!

• electricty (outlets, lights, light switches) has been finished inside the house, all we need to do now is hook it up to the source.
• plumbing is finished inside the house, it just needs to be hooked up to the well (which means we need to buy a pump) and to the septic tank.
• the stucco is finished inside and out.
• All of our iron bar windows are finished (see photo below), they just have to be painted and installed!
• Bathroom floor was finished with concrete yesterday, and today they are going to start putting on the tile!! (We can´t put in our toilet or sink until the bars are on the windows...)
• We found the floor tile we are going to put down in the rest of the house, and we can afford it!! Its on sale right now so we will be getting it for about %40 off!

I think thats about it! Once these things are finished we should be able to move in!

Our windows. The bars will stop potential thieves from getting in. Hopefully! We will have the same sort of thing on the doors as well.

Light fixtures!! They are attached to the roof right now becuase we don´t have a ceiling. Once we put the ceiling in the light fixtures will be dropped down to that level. The light switch that is hanging there will be in a wall that will seperate the two rooms.

Out fuse box. Clearly the part above needs to be filled in with cement.

The finished stucco. Once its painted it will look fantastic!

Another shot of the finished stucco.

An update from Canada...

Well I´ve been in Canada since the 5th, but David has still been working hard on the house while I´ve been gone! I have a few pictures below, but I think they are old by now!!

I thought I would post then now, because I wont be posting anything for a week after I get back! I arrive in Managua on monday night, and tuesday morning I will be travelling to Jinotega to translate for a medical team! So, enjoy! Once I am officially back in Managua I will be posting some better updates!!

This is the last picture I took before I left! The roof is half finished!

A shot of our land with the grass cut! You can also see that our roof is finished, but they haven´t finished the stucco on the outside yet!

(This and the follow photos were taken while I was in Canada, and posted on facebook by Stephanie)

Inside: stucco finished (except in the bathroom!) Plus...finished roof!

Nice arched windows with the stucco finished! Once the walls are painted it will look fantastic!

David told me that there have been a few delays this week, but the electricity is almost finished inside the house, and he has bought the tiles for the bathroom! I am so excited to go home and see whats been done!

More Pictures!

I leave for Canada on Monday, and I´ll be gone for 2 weeks. I thought I would post some new pictures before I leave, because I won´t be updating the house pictures until I get back.

This week they have made some great progress, and if all things go well, there is a small chance I could be coming home to a finished house on the 19th. That is, if electricty, water, windows, roof and tile floor all get done.

I´m optimistic!!

The top of the wall with the arched windows is finished, and they are started the stucco on the wall! It looks alot less prison-like eh?

Another shot of the half stucco-ed walls

The front of the house, which eventually will be inside the house in phase 2... I´ll post the plan eventually so you can see what I mean.


Another picture of the wall they just finished. I think the windows look fantastic!

Inside, our nice concrete floor, half stucco walls, and the beginnings of a roof!

The path of our sewage pipes towards the septic pit...

Another shot of the arched windows, plus the view outside!

Looking out the west window towards Joel and Stephanie´s Casita!

Looking out the East window towards....grass.

Literally the grass is as high as the window! I would complain to the neighbours, but we don´t have any!

Our sewage pipes coming out the backside of the bathroom.

The bathroom still looks like a jail cell.

I have high hopes that will change by the time I get back.

Sergio, David´s step-father, built these to make the arched windows.

We have to save them because phase 2 brings 5 more arched windows exactly like the ones we have now.

Sergio, David´s step-father, and Chico, David´s brother are heping us build the roof.

David also had help from two of the boys from the orphanage.

The septic pit. Future home of our sewage!

Stephanie and Joel´s Casita!

David is clearly very happy!