Because we´re leaving on a jet plane...

We will be heading to the states on Friday for three weeks to visit family. We are very excited to see our families since we have not seen some of them for a year and half and two that we have never seen (nephew and niece). We are grateful and thank God for the opportunity to travel back to see our families. Family is a an important part of the culture here and everyone we know in the villages are excited for us to be able to see our families.

We probably won´t be updating our blog while we are gone because we will be too busy hanging out with family and playing with the nephews and niece, but we leave you with something to keep your mind off of not having our wonderful blog entries :)

MCC´s magazine, The Common Place, did a feature on Nicaragua, but specifically on our partner and the projects we are doing. Check out this website to see an interview of our Partner, Jaime Muñoz, and subscirbe to recieve The Common Place for free to read the entire feature.

http://mcc.org/acp/2009/05_06/

Check out this website to see photos.

http://mcc.org/gallery/09_05/

Ecology Capacitation

Seth gave a capacitation to the 3-6 grade kids in Son Zapote, a community we finished a water project in recently and have been doing capacitations. The area is highly deforested and the kids think every animal (birds, rabbits, lizards, geckos, spiders, insects, etc.) will hurt them, so they need to kill them. Knowing this we thought it would be a good idea to help them see how everything in nature is interrelated and if we kill off or get rid of one species it effects the entire ecosystem. Seth had them think about how their community looked 400 years ago and then draw it and then draw what it looks like now. The differences where there were more trees, animals and water before and now more livestock animals, homes, wells, and less trees. Then Seth had the kids get into groups to make webs as a way to show how everything is interrelated. For the most part the kids where able to see how things related and understand that ecology is the relationship between living and non-living things.

MCC Girls' Night

I organized another MCC girl's night two weekends ago. We did pedicures and manicures, while enjoying the chit chat with other MCC gals. We also beaded, making necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Rachel and Issela were in charge of dinner, so we had pizza, fruit and carrot cake...yummy. Normally no boys are allowed, but we made the exception for Simon, Beth's 3 month old son. We all took turns holding him. It was a great time of pampering and fellowship with other women.

A Mountain of Faith

Ricardo, a pastor we know, lives in a community called Asiento Viejo (old seat) in the Teustepe area. He is one of the most amazing men we have met in Nicaragua and admire him a lot. He truly lives what he believes...

Ricardo had a vision from God that he would find water on the corner section of his land, and so he and his two sons began the search for water. There are no machines for digging wells, it is all done by hand. These men are not just digging through dirt, but rock as you can see in the pictures. They use a chisel to break through the rock and then use a bucket to haul the rock out of the hole. They have dug 50 feet deep and are now removing soft rocks meaning they are closer to water. Ricardo and his sons have been digging for 3 months believing God will provide. Seth and I have heard people say, "I don´t believe he will find water, it is not possible", but this has not discouraged him. Hebrews 10:23 states, "Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promises". Ricardo is holding tight to the hope God gave him of finding water on his land and knows God does keep his promises. So, although to many it seems like a useless endeavour, Ricardo pursues to dig because of his faith. What if you were Ricardo, would you still have hope and believe God will keep his promise?

A Year and Half, Already?

The last couple weeks we have had the opportunity to spend more time in the campo (countryside). We have been to Bramadero, Corozo, Son Zapote and el Roblar. These communities are spread out over the Teustepe and San Jose de los Remates areas. We have been visiting families, attending town meetings, helping to give trainings and doing community surveys. We have been in the other communities several times, but we went to a new community this past weekend (El Roblar). It is a beautiful place located in the mountainous area of San Jose de los Remates and is often in the clouds. It is a community that does not have access to a road, so it is an hour walk.
In our year and half here we have made many good relationships, many of them being with kids. In almost every community we go to the kids are excited to see us...mainly becuase we play with them. In each community there are several very special kids, but we really do love them all. In Son Zapote Concepcion (Concha) is a girl who has a special place in both of our hearts and Wendy is just as cute as a button. Jerris and Nerling are two Bramadero boys whom we treasure. There are several women in different communities that I have really bonded with (Rosa-Bramadero, Marbelyz-Corozo and Isabel and Carla-Son Zapote). These women are always eager to see me and I them. They don't treat me as a guest but more as a family member. I cook with them, chat with them and learn from them. I am grateful God has allowed these amazing women to cross my path.