Un Día Largísimo

We were heading to Bramadero to provide a learning tour for a group from MCC. We left Managua at 8:30 a.m. The group was in a microbus and we were in the MCC truck. We were heading up the rocky steep dirt road toward Bramadero when the microbus was not able to make it up due to too much weight, so everyone in the bus got out and as it backed down the hill to try again, a tire popped. Since we had the truck we drove half the group up to Bramadero, about 20 minutes from where we were, then Seth returned to pick up the rest of the group. The time in Bramadero was flawless; the food was good, people were friendly and the group was interested in the projects done in the community.

It was time to head out (around 2 p.m.) as the sky began to darken and it was obvious rain was coming, it was only a matter of when. Since the microbus and driver were waiting where we left them (or so we thought) and people did not want to get wet in the back of the truck the MCC group paid the owner of the local bus (an old school bus) to take them to the entrance. As we were driving down it began to pour and along the single lane dirt road, now a muddy road, we came upon the microbus, we were all astonished it had made it that far. The bus continued down the road, while we waited for the microbus to turn around, with the rain we knew it was going to have problems. We came upon a steep mainly muddy hill where the microbus was unable to climb due to only rear wheel drive and no weight. So, two people who were in our truck got out to sit in the back of the microbus, it backed up enough down the road and got going fast in order to make it up the hill. We finally made it to end of the road where we caught up with the group in the regular bus. Due to the rain the local bus was not able to return to the top and unfortunately the people would not have a bus ride the next day unless they walked all the way out.

We got out to the gravel road, where we all thought it would be smooth sailing, but the fun was going to continue. As we were behind the microbus going up another hill it just stopped. The microbus was unable to shift out of third gear. The rain is still pouring as the driver is trying to fix whatever was wrong underneath the bus, so his entire backside was covered in mud. He was not able to fix anything, but he thought he could continue on only with third gear. The group had to get out and push the bus up the hill and hopefully they would make it into Teustepe, the nearest town about 10 minutes away. After we got the bus up the hill Seth noticed the tire on the truck was flat. So the 5 of us in the truck got out to change the tire as the rain did not let up at all. We got our tire changed, but we were all soaked when we get back in the truck. We made it to Teustepe, where the microbus looked for a mechanic and the group waited in a restaurant for the microbus to be ready. Those of us in the truck went to get the flat tire fixed, which is at the entrance of the town where the main highway is located. Upon our arrival there was a long line of cars on the highway, waiting to cross the river. There is a river that passes there and people have been working on a new bridge since February, so there is a dirt road detour that is lower than the bridge and often when it rains is overtaken by the river and no one can pass, but normally it only takes an hour for the river to return to normal.

As the tire is being fixed, Seth is talking with a guy who said the river had been that full for two hours, so it was going to take a good two hours to lower. At that time it was about 4:30 p.m. In the mean time the microbus found out a cable to the shifter broke and the mechanic would not be able to repair it there. The group decided to find a bus heading for Managua, but they had to cross the river. At this point people had been walking to the other side of the river using the bridge under construction. The group found a bus that was turning around to return to Managua, but there was so much traffic that it was not moving. In the meantime, we were waiting on the other side when the police arrived and opened the bridge for only cars to pass. There were parts of rebar sticking up out of the cement that the police covered with planks of wood. Upon arriving to the other side (around 6:00 p.m.) there was utter chaos, three lanes (normally a two lane highway), cars/trucks/semis going in different directions and everyone was at a complete standstill. We saw the group on the bus headed for Managua, still in the same place where they got on at. The police were trying to get the traffic moving by getting vehicles turned in the correct direction, but there was not much room for turning around. We would move 10 feet and then be at standstill for another 20 minutes or longer then we would move another 10 feet and so forth. We did not get out of the traffic until 8:00 p.m. and finally made it back to Managua at 9 p.m. This was a very long day, but we were all glad we had a normal campo lunch (very filling) since no one got to eat dinner.

Living the Wanderers Life

Well it looks like our work with our partner, Aso Fenix, will be starting and we will be pretty busy. We are in charge of the internship program for foreigners, helping to lead-interprete for the rural tourism groups and helping out with the renewable energy projects. We will be working in a village to put in a water pump powered by solar panels, installing solar panels in another village to provide electricity and installing micro hydroelectric plants in two villages to provide electricity. Also, our partner continues to work in the villages for up to 10 years where projects have been completed to help with community development. Therefore, we will be in charge of doing all workshops relating to health, nutrition, hygeine, reforestation, water cycle and agriculture. It will be a great experience because we will get to use our expertise, but also have the opportunity to learn new things.

Since we will be doing projects all over the department of Boaco we will not be in one place for very long. For this reason, we actually have three places we call home. We still have the MCC house in Bramadero (the village we stayed at for the first 6 months), a house in San Jose de los Remates (we will be based out of the town to do projects in the surrounding area) and we have a room at the MCC office in Managua (when we are working out of the Aso Fenix office). At first it was hard to be moving so much, but we both realized this is just the way our life will be here and we have adjusted to this life style. Besides it gives us the opportunity to see more of Nicaragua.

Enjoy the pics on our photo website of each of our places we call home.

Seeing, Hearing and Feeling

I have been reading a devotional book called Free to Pray, Free to Love by Max Oliva. I was reading the chapter on Putting on the Mind and Heart of Christ talking about as one grows closer to Christ ¨we should see the world through his eyes, hear through his ears and feel with his heart¨. Basically, if we are not seeing others in this way we are not growing in Christ because the more we grow in him, our world perception should change. I Corinthians 12:26&27 says, ¨if one part suffers, all parts suffer with it and if one part is honored, all parts rejoice. All of you together are Christ’s body and each of you is part of it¨. Christ’s Love is what binds us together.

I feel in my walk with Christ my perception of the world has changed, especially since being here in Nicaragua. My mind and heart have been more open to the sorrows and joys of others; unfortunately I have seen fewer joys in the people here. I think the poverty and livelihood here is why I have seen more sorrow. There are numerous times to count that I have seen a child washing windows or a mother wheeling around her handicap child begging or people dressed up as clowns doing tricks at stop lights or people selling newspapers, hand towels and water at stop lights all to make money and the list goes on. I feel overwhelmed with sadness at the injustice of how people have to live. The thing that is harder though is poverty and injustice are everywhere here, how can I feel with every person and not become overwhelmed and be unable to function? However, if we are one in the body of Christ and growing in him means seeing and feeling the world more as Christ does, how can I not feel or see the world differently? Romans 12:9, 10 &13 states; ¨Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other...When God’s people are in need be ready to help them¨. I guess the real question is how does one continue to see and feel the world through Christ’s eyes and not become overwhelmed with helplessness? I am moved to help the people I see, but does that mean I help every person or the better question is what does that help look like? I think this is the question of every MCC volunteer here and I am sure of Christians all over the world.

And its one more day in Managua....

Hello all,

Well we have started to become more helpful to our partner Aso Fenix. Over the past several weeks we have been putting in a lot of office time (it is not as bad as it sounds). We have be helping Aso Fenix get more organized and be able to present itself better. Until recently, Aso Fenix, has just been really one person, Jamie, managing and working on a bunch of projects. Well the number of projects has been increasing and so has funding to do more projects, so it is time to grow. Unfortunately, most donors only provide funding for projects and not for helping the organization grow to meet these new demands. However, Aso Fenix has received a sizable donation from a group in the Netherlands to help it grow. So we have been working on many things. We have designed a webpage, made brochures for different programs, and other types of media to promote Aso Fenix. It has been fun and also given us something to invest ourselves into. We also are working with engineering inters that come down from 2 months to a year to help with projects. We are trying to organize the program by contacting them before they come down to answer questions, giving them an orientation, and trying not to be their mom and dad... So, what all this means, is that we have not be out in Bramadero for more than a month. But we do plan to get back there soon and have started thinking about projects to do. We do miss the country life, but it is the kids we miss most. But we have learned long ago to be flexible and open for what God has for you in His time.

Well Rested and Ready to Work

We got back a couple days ago from El Salvador and Honduras. We were in Suchitoto, El Salvador for a conference about Food Security and Sovereignty. Food Security means access to food (it may be food given to you that you have never eaten), whereas Food Sovereignty means the ability to grow what you want and do whatever you want with the food (consume or sell). We spent time in lectures, workshops and visiting local farmers. Some of the things we learned about were making compost using worms (vermiculture), how to make candy's from fruits in order to sell them and how to extract vitamins and minerals from certain vegetable leaves in order to supplement peoples diets. Also, we were able to met up with and old friend, Jenny Mason, who is working in Guatemala with Food for the Hungry, at the conference. It was nice to see her and hear about her experience in Guatemala. We had a little time to explore and found the country to be beautiful and the people extremely friendly and helpful.

Once the conference was over we decided to take a vacation and explore some of Honduras. We spent time on one of the Bay Islands, Roatan, where we snorkeled and swam in the clear turqoise water. In our snorkeling adventures we saw 6 hawksbill sea turtles, lobsters, star fish, various colorful fish and coral. After being on the island we spent time in one of Honduras's most well known national parks, Pico Bonito (Pretty Peak). It was a beautiful mountainous tropical rain forest. We hiked to a waterfall in the park where we also were able to cool off in the crystal clear river Zacate. We stayed in a small town that was trying to build up its tourism, El Pino. They had developed a nice eco-tourist center with a pool, restaurant, huts (mud walls, thatch roof, no electricity, but running water) and was very well landscaped with a view of Pico Bonito. It was nice to be able to support the local people and we would recommend this place to anyway. After enjoying Pico Bonito we went to a Tela, a town a little further north on the coast. We visited the world's second largest botanical garden (Lancetilla). It was started as a research center for united fruit company, but is now run by a Honduran university, whom continues doing research, but has opened the grounds for others to enjoy. Now keep in mind this is not the typical botanical garden we would think of in the states (lots and lots of flowers). Lancetilla is more about different tropical tree species. It was a beautiful place and Seth especially enjoyed all the fruit trees (because he was able to try many of the fruits). We enjoyed ourselves extremely and found Honduras to be an extremely beautiful mountainous country.