Summer is here

Well its hard to believe that it is the end of March all ready. We had three different groups come down, so that really sped things up. The first group was just a two day tour of our projects, it was fun but a lot of traveling. The group was down to install a solar panel on a school in a different part of Boaco, so AsoFenix helped them by doing a training for the local technicians. The village was located up some of the worst roads I have seen in Nicaragua, and the four wheel drive on our SUV wasn't working...so needless to say it was an adventure, but we made it back safely.

We just finished up with two other groups. One group was installing biodigesters (which turn cow manure into cooking gas). We didn't have a chance to spend much time with that group because we were leading another group. They installed several biodigesters and also helped raise funds to install 10 in Bramadero and another community nearby.

The group we were with was a group from Lewis and Clark University in Oregon. They came down down to help us begin to understand the social impacts of our projects. The physical impacts are easy to see and measure, but the social are more elusive. For example, we know that having water in each house means that women and children don't have to walk in more to carry it. But what does that mean to their lives and the community in whole? What do they do with the extra time they have and how has this impacted other parts of their lives? We had a great time getting to know people in other communities. We both found that we really enjoy the social aspects of the projects more than the technical side.

This coming week we will have a chance to go on vacation with Sarah's parents. We are going to a beach for a chance to relax. We are very excited about it and looking forward to the rest.

Life Works in Circles

So once again things are changing for us only this time they are circling back to the beginning. We will be looking for a house in Teustepe, where we thought we would live before we arrived. We lived in a village called Bramadero for 5 months during our first year and decided it is better for the community and us if we don't return to living there. The last 8 months we have been living in Managua and working in communities in the Boaco area. MCC prefers to have their workers living in the area they are working in, so we will be looking in Teustepe, which is a town in the Boaco area. We were a little disappointed mainly because we have become accustomed to life in Managua, but in the end it does make more sense. Of course, we are excited about the possibility of having our own house, but not too exicted about the looking process.

And the greatest of these is love

I just finished reading the book of Romans, I think for the first time ever. My goal is to really know the Bible, so I have been trying to really get into the word daily. It seems like every time I read, a chapter a day, I would find a verse that I heard before, but never knew where to find it or a new one stuck out. I enjoyed the book of Romans and learned a lot. However, there is one verse that really has stuck with me because I think it is what being a follower of Christ is all about.

Romans 12:9 says, "Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is evil. Hold tightly to what is good." When I think about Christ's time on earth I think about how he really loved people even when they were sinning. He hated the sin, but He still loved the people. How often, as Christians, do we say we love our brothers and sisters, but really we don't? We judge them for how they dress or look or raise their kids or for a sin they have committed. Romans 15:2 states, "Help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord". This verse is specifically taking about other believers. How can we show love to others or help others if we first can't do it with other believers? It should be easier to love believers and want to help them, but often this is not the case. From my experience, I often prefer to be with non-Christians rather than Christians. I think this goes back to not really feeling loved by other Christians or that they will judge me. One thing God has really been challenging me with is to really love people for who they are. If a person is sinning it is okay to hate the sin, but not the sinner. This can be hard to do, but I know this is what Christ did. If we are dead to our old selves when we accept Christ and now have the opportunity to be as Christ was on this earth, isn't possible to love others while hating the sin as Jesus did?

Also, I wonder where churches (the people not the building) could be if they followed Romans 12:9 and really loved others. I am sure there are some churches who may be following this verse, but I would say the majority are not. Perhaps if churches really loved other people then more non-believers would be interested, especially in the younger generations. They are turned off by how the church is, so what would happen if the church changed to people who really love everyone even when people are sinning and built each other up in the Lord? I imagine more people in the younger generations would see this change and want to take part.

Glitter, Teeth Brushing and Fruits & Vegetables

Part of Aso Fenixs work is to provide capacitations/workshops in the communties where we have done or are completing projects. The capacitations touched on the following areas: environment, reforestation, health, agriculture, taking care of your water source, renewable energy, social development (gender equity, self esteem and conflict, and family violence) and community development (how to organize and support projects). We are almost finished with a potable water project in a village called Son Zapote, where I had the opportunity to give my first capacitations in Spanish this past week. We spent a week in the community giving the different capacitations.

I did four health related capacitations during the week, three with adults and one with children. The themes were germs (what are germs, how they spread and how to prevent getting sick from them), family hygiene (using a latrine and why, hand washing, teeth brushing, etc.) and nutrition (what the body needs to be healthy and plate proportions). I planned several activities with each capacitation in order to help people better understand the topics. I used glitter to give them a visual on how germs spread, which they seemed to really enjoy. They had to identify from drawings all the ways germs can spread and how to prevent germs from propagating. The capacitation for the kids I used a tooth model to show how to brush your teeth and they got to practice. We also practiced washing our hands while counting to 20. For the nutrition capacitation I used pictures of foods and then we talked about what nutrients the body needs every time we eat. Then they had “plates” they had to put the food in the correct area of the plate in order to know how much of each nutrient they should eat every time they eat. Through this exercise they were able to identify what they were lacking in their diets, which were fruits and vegetables. The idea is that now that they have a reliable source of water they will be able to grow family gardens near their houses in order to increase their vegetable and fruit intake.

The people were very receptive to the material, but I was a little disappointed more people from the community did not show up (only 25%). We changed the schedule twice trying to accommodate to when the people could come, but in the end it did not seem to help out that much. However, it was a good reminder to be flexible and open for change. Overall it was a great experience; I enjoyed being able to share some of my knowledge and also building more relationships in the community.

What Are We Up To?

Life here continues to keep us busy. Since the learning groups left in the beginning of January we have been busy working on renewable energy projects. We are finishing up a potable water project using solar panels to pump water from a well to two large tanks to store water for the community. Each house will have a faucet, which has access to the tanks. Previously, the people had to go to the well and carry 5 gallon buckets (on their heads) to have water in their houses. We will be finishing up the project by the end of this month including capacitations on: renewable energy, family hygiene, the environment, reforestation, agriculture, nutrition, and gender equity.

We are also working on another project installing solar panels for electricity in individual homes. The community we are working in does not have a road and is an hour hike (up hill), so all the panels and equipment are carried by horse or on peoples shoulders. This is a micro credit project. The families have up to 3 years to pay back the systems and choose how much energy they want (30, 50, 80, 100, 120 watts), which each costing differently. We trained 6 technicians in the community to be able to provide maintenance and help us with installations. We will be finishing this next week.

We installed two different drip irrigation systems using solar panels to pump the water. Teustepe, the area where we work, has a 6-7 month long dry season where there is no work (planting), so these drip irrigation systems are a way for farmers to have a harvest year round for consumption and profit. The drip irrigation system is a relatively new idea for Aso Fenix and Seth has been a able to help develop the system.


We will be starting two micro hydroelectric projects in two different communities the end of this month that we will be working on until through the end of May.