This weekend I had the amazing opportunity to go to a Women's Retreat at the nicest resort in Nicaragua (or so I have been told). It was just what I needed, spiritually, mentally and physically.
Early Friday morning my dear friend Sister Meg showed up at my house for coffee and to escort me on the bus to the Guyacan (the intersection of the roads to Matagalpa and Jinotega and the road to Managua) to meet my friend Beverly and her friend Joy to drive to the retreat. I haven't ridden on a bus in Nicaragua by myself and when I expressed some nervousness Meg just insisted on escorting me with her super awesome Spanish and bus riding skillz....
Beverly told me that they were aiming to arrive at the Guyacan at 8:15 but that it could be later than that. I still operate on an American Type A time schedule so I wanted to arrive at 8:00 (just to be safe). Meg got me there by 8:00 and waited with me until Beverly and Joy arrived around 9:00. Once I was connected with my ride I started to relax....
We picked up Beverly's daughter (and my room mate for the weekend) Cheree in Sebaco (just a little ways down the road). Joy wasn't going to the conference but heading to the airport in Managua. We were going to drop her off at the airport and Beverly would drive her car to the conference and then we would drive it home after the retreat. About 5 minutes before we got to the airport, Joy mentioned a few of the cars quirks including the inability to remove the key from the ignition sometimes. She told us that when that happens she just has to leave the key in. Hmm.... OK.
So we drove from Managua to the beach resort. When we arrived and parked we couldn't get the key out. Beverly drove it around, prayed over it, parked and reparked it and that key wasn't going anywhere. We locked all but one door and prayed and went inside to check in.
The resort is amazing. We got our rooms dropped off our stuff and checked out the conference room and "blessing table" where you could bring books and magazines to give away and take what you liked. I was in heaven and was able to get 5 books and 2 magazines. Then we headed over to the restaurant for lunch. It was so nice to be able to eat from a salad bar and NOT HAVE TO WASH ANY DISHES! The food wasn't the best I've ever had (kind of like a cruise buffet) but I was able to find one or two things I really liked at each meal. I had good French onion soup, ratatouille, vegetarian tacos, and a really tasty coconut "cake" which was like chocolate mousse, but coconut. All the food is labeled in Spanish, English and French. I was entertained by the English translations of things like "Chicken Hunter" and "Strawberry Card Game". OK, enough about the food, I ate well!
I loved the way the retreat was scheduled with wonderful speakers and ample free time to enjoy the resort. I have never felt more relaxed, rested and refreshed at a women's retreat. The teaching was amazing and I my spirit was filled. The beds were comfortable and I slept well. The resort was beautiful and relaxing. This was the best women's retreat I have ever been to, but I can't imagine anything like this in Washington! I may have to schedule my next trip to Nicaragua to coincide with the women's retreat again....
I had a chance to talk with other women there and hear their stories, how God is working in their lives and what brought them to Nicaragua. It was such an interesting group of women and I feel blessed to have had the chance to hear their stories. The team that came for the weekend did an excellent job of ministering to the women. When I first heard that the speaker was coming from the US and she had never been to Nicaragua I wasn't sure what it would be like. Would she be speaking about things that would be applicable to life in Nicaragua? The things we struggle with here are different than in the US, could she really "get it"? Wow, after the first session, that thought never crossed my mind again. The theme of grace was perfect. The team that came with included a professional photographer who offered to take professional portraits of anyone there (especially cool for the handful of nursing mothers who brought their babies). There was a hairdresser who would cut hair or do manicures for everyone. There was a woman whose specific gifting was prayer and anyone could go to her for prayer. There were door prizes for everyone an a goody bag. The goody bag included taco seasoning and spice packet mixes, as well as hand sanitizer, m&ms, and other American treats.
After the last session we had some time to enjoy the resort before we left. Beverly went out to check the key (the car was still there) and was able to get it out of the ignition but it wasn't beeping when she opened the door so she was pretty sure the battery was dead. We found jumper cables in the back and tried to have another woman from the conference give us a jump start but her battery was dead too. Weird. So we got someone from the resort to give both cars a jump. Hers worked ours didn't. After several attempts the Montelimar staff member said he could put the battery on a charger for 30 minutes and see if that worked. He did that and 45 minutes later we were trying it again. By now we have someone from maintenance helping us and after about 30 more minutes he determined that a fuse needed to be soldered but that he could push it together enough to get it started. We did that and were followed by the other car to make sure we didn't break down. Beverly decided she didn't want to drive the car all the way to Matagalpa (through Managua) in the dark so we drove it to an orphanage about 1 hour from the resort (they knew the owner and allowed us to leave the car there) and waited for Beverly's husband to drive from Managua and pick us up. He picked us up and we headed off in safety. We stopped in Managua for Subway (it smells and looks exactly like in the US) so I think I can now officially say I have been to Managua. Previously I had only been to the bus terminal or driven through. I ate a meal there so I can now count it as one of the cities I have officially visited.
Things went smoothly, we stopped in Tipitapa for gas and headed off. A few yards down the road, we stopped. Flat tire! Crazy! Beverly's husband was a pro and we were up and on the road again in no time. By the time we landed in Matagalpa it was after 11 PM (Joe was originally expecting us a little after 6) and so we kicked Bridget out of her room so that our friends could sleep here and not drive another hour on dark mountain roads.
So there is my women's retreat and adventure. Surprisingly I was more relaxed with all the car issues on the way home than I was just trying to catch my ride at the start of the weekend. I guess all that relaxing and recharging really worked!!
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