74 Days

Okay, so I usually don't start my countdown until my tickets are actually purchased, but I hope to be doing that within the next couple of weeks, and Ivonne has asked me a few times how many days there are until I go back to Nicaragua. So I will be there in roughly 74 1/2 days, give or take a few hours. For a week of this visit, I am actually going to be staying with my Nicaraguan family in Managua and not at the orphanage. That's because the Executive Director of one of the orphan care ministries I volunteer for told me if I am going to be going on my own to Nica, then he doesn't think I should be at the orphanage when the team from my church is there. His reasoning is that he doesn't want people to start thinking that this organization sends people to the orphanage just whenever they want. Which is absurd for a few reasons:
1. When I go to the orphanage by myself, I am doing just that, going by myself. I am not going as part of any organization, just as Meg.
2. Because I go by myself, it's not like he even has to do any extra work. I book my own tickets, I make the arrangements with the orphanage as to where I will sleep, I do everything.
3. Everyone who is going on the trip in May knows me and knows I go all the time by myself to the orphanage. None of them care and none of them are going to start to insist on going by themselves just because I do. They know I have a special relationship with the orphanage and the people there.
4. These are people from my church who are my friends. I couldn understand if it was a group from another church and then it might be a little awkward to be there, as an outsider, but these are my people.
But whatever, it's actually probably better that I just go to Ivonne's when the team is there. For one thing, it will be awesome to get to spend that much time with my second family because they are really incredible people and they are so special to me. Also, we were planning to go out to Ometepe Island anyway that weekend, and it probably would look odd if I was with the team but then took off their last two days at the orphanage. And it will also be cheaper, because all I will need to pay for is my airfare and then maybe $50 or $75 for my room and board at the orphanage, which will free up more spending money. I defnitely want to chip in for food and stuff for Ivonne's family while I am there, but all in all I will still probably be spending less than $1000 all together whereas it would be closer to $1500 if I stayed with the team. So it's all for the best, it's just annoying to be told I can't be at the orphanage because people know I volunteer so much for this organization and therefore they might think that the organization sponsors my trips. It just makes me feel like I am being penalized for all the work I do for them. If I was justvolunteering only for my friend Vinny's orphan care ministry, it wouldn't even be an issue because he doesn't care when I go. Anyway, sorry to rant. It's working out better anyway.