Nicaragua Update #4

Sunday, July 19, 2026

Regan's birthday!  Dave was up at 7am and at Regan and Blanca's home by 8:30am where Blanca made breakfast.  In addition to the Lord's Day and Regan’s birthday, it is also a federal holiday.  The trio and the Downs' youngest son, David, went to their church, Verbo (that means "the Word" in Spanish), in Veracruz at 9:30am.  Dave mentioned to a friend at church that today was Regan's birthday.  They called both Regan and Blanca up during the service to pay tribute to him and to pray for them both.

Church ended at 11:50am.  They visited with people there until 12:30pm and then went to Don Juan’s restaurant in Veracruz to have lunch and watch the World Cup final.  Half the restaurant was for Spain and the other half was rooting for Argentina.  Dave said there were 5 TV's at the restaurant but none of them were synced.  A TV they couldn’t see was two or three seconds ahead of theirs.  So they heard the crowd screaming for joy or moaning in agony on the other side of the restaurant before they saw it.  He said it was not the optimal way to see the game, but the restaurant was packed and they couldn’t move.  

After the game, they hung out longer and visited and planned and reviewed the agenda for the week.  They were at the restaurant for over three hours.  Their waitress was very gracious and served them well.  Dave went on to say that they gave her a tip that would have made our daughter, Bethany, very proud.  When they left, they picked up the Downs' oldest son, Isaac, and headed into Managua to see The Odyssey at the Galerias movie theater to celebrate Regan's birthday.  He dropped the family back at their house at 11:30pm and was home around midnight.  He shared that he showered and was asleep moments after his head hit the pillow.  

Thank you Father, for Your extravagant love for us.  Help us extend that great love to others today and every day.  May people see less of us and more of You in all we do and say.  "and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you," I Thessalonians 3:12

Thank you again for reading and praying for the trip!

In Christ,

Katy, on behalf of Dave