Bus Strike and Water Outage

I am sure many of you are unaware there is a large bus, taxi and semi-truck strike going here in Nicaragua. The strike is going on it's 11 day and the government is not willing to meet their demands. The buses in Managua have gas subsidies, but the rest of the transportation industry has not, so they are striking to receive the same subsidies. The president basically told them to work it out themselves, so who knows how long the strike will last. Unlike in the states the country relies heavily on buses and taxis for transportation, so unless you have your own car (which is few and far between) you are stuck. Some people are stuck in other towns, while others are stuck in their own villages. You probably are thinking they are the lucky ones, but the thing is they use the bus daily to go to work or to go get food in a bigger nearby town, so in reality they are not lucky.

Seth and I are in Managua, stuck here for who knows how long. Seth's parents were here for two weeks. They had the opportunity to see the strike, but thanks be to God we were using the MCC truck and not public transportation. So our plans were not affected. We spent time relaxing with them on the island Ometepe on lake Nicaragua and in Granada and they also got a glimpse of what it is like to live in our village. They had the opportunity to play with the kids, make tortillas, wash clothes by hand on a rock, work in the fields and visit families. Although, there was one thing we all got to experience for the first time while in Bramadero, a water outage.

When we got up to Bramadero we found out the pump for the water had quit working and they were waiting on Jaime (our boss, who put the pump in) to come and fix it. Due to the strike he was not able to get to Bramadero as soon as would have liked. The village had been out of water for 4 days before he was able to come and try and fix the problem. In the meantime, people (mainly the women) were walking 30-45 min. to carry water back to their homes for drinking water. This was the way of life for the women until 7 months ago when a well was dug and a pump run by solar energy was put in. No longer did the women have to walk to a well, but each house had a spicket and the water came right to the house. This is the Bramadero we have always known, so we were not even sure where to walk to get water. Fortunately for us, we have a large cement tank that collects rain water and were able to filter the rain water to drink and take some showers. Jaime and the men in the community (Seth and his dad helped out) were able to fix a tube that broke and that is why the pump stopped working, but still for some reason unknown to us is they are only opening the water to the houses once a day for people to fill up tanks for drinking water. So, we are unsure when our water system will get back to normal in Bramadero or if this is the way it will be.

We enjoyed our time with Seth's parents and we are glad that got to experience more of Nicaragua than most tourists do.

Home coming

This week we got to experience the cross cultural event of young adults returning home after several months’ away learning. The reunion was typical, parents hugging their kids, kids trying to act cool in front of their hometown friends, and of course lots of talk about how things have changed around home. It was a blessing to take part in this activity, as it is one of the few times we have been able to see the intimate connection between parents and kids in the community. It is a connection that usually remains below the surface, but the extended absence made it all visible.

Many of you may be thinking of the first time you came home from college, or the even the first time your kids came back from a mind liberating semester of college (with the biggest pile of laundry you have ever seen). But here in Nicaragua, college is not even an idea dreamt about on lazy afternoons. The home coming we witnessed where several youth coming back after working several months in Costa Rica picking coffee. The average age of this group was probably sixteen, making the reunion that much more special. However, teenagers are not the only ones that go to Costa Rica during the dry season to earn a living. For the few lucky ones the whole family will go to Costa Rica, though this means that the kids that go miss several months of school. But still they are the lucky ones. Many times it is a father that goes to work, some just for two months, while others have been gone for almost five months. Families left behind have learned how to live life with out them. The oldest son that is left at home (usually not more the thirteen) will take some of the burden left by the father, sharing the rest of the load with the younger siblings. In some cases both the mother and father leave, causing their children to rely on their relatives for support. In one family the mother and father left (for 5 months) behind a one and half year old and a three year old to live with their grandma, who incidentally has five kids of her own under the age of 16 living at home.

However appalling this may seem it is a fact of life here, and it is a necessary fact of life. During the dry season there is no work in the community. In fact, the community would not survive if people did not bring in money from Costa Rica. People use this money to construct houses, buy clothes, shoes, and food. Though it has taken me a lot of time to see that even though the fathers, and sometimes mothers, leave their children behind it is a sacrifice of love. They know that by being gone they can provide things for their children that they would not have been able to otherwise. Although sometimes what they do buy does not make up for the time lost, however many children would not have a future with out this sacrifice.

Another day in the Life

Since most of you are not here with us..... We thought we would describe to you a typical day in Bramadero. As we happily dream in bed the bus starts to make its journey down from the town above us. At 5:30 am the horn sounds, letting all the people know the bus is coming. The bus is called the trumpet, and not because it is yellow. From this point on we know that it is possible for someone to come to our house at any time. So we sleep with our ears open, waiting for the pitter patter of little or big feet on the path outside. We have a rule with the kids, that they can't come to our house till after 7am, but there is always the chance that an adult will come. Usually to drop off a battery or cell phone to charge on our solar panel. Between 6 and 7 we have time to eat breakfast, have devotions, or take a nice bucket shower.

The rest of the day is spent between playing with kids at our house (shoots and ladders, memory, cars, coloring, reading, or running around outside) and visiting peoples houses in the community. We are working on building a base line so we can see the changes that have taken place in the community during our next 3 years. So we talk with people, eat with people, and basically just live life with them. Most days we are back to the house by 5, and it is time to cook dinner. We have about 5 or so "junior" chefs that prepare our meal, with Seth directing the symphony. We have many options to choose for dinner, spaghetti with vegetables or rice with vegetables, or you guessed it spaghetti and rice with vegetables. But the kids enjoy cooking, especially the boys. We then try to shoo the kids about by 7 so we have some time to ourselves again. Some nights we watch movies, some nights we read, or some nights we just crash. But we are usually in bed by 8 or 9 dreaming of the "trumpet".

Nica Rica

We are back in Nicaragua and had a great time with Sarah's parents and in Costa Rica with the Rimrock team (from South Dakota). It was a great time to see family and friends as well as to do a little relaxing. In Costa Rica we met some very exciting pastors and pastor trainers who really have a heart for the Lord. It was really good for us to see people who really love the Lord and continually strive to live in Him. We enjoy the church we attend in Nicaragua, but there is something really different about a church that really cares about the community around it and is trying to show Christ's love in every aspect of their lives.

We will be heading back to Bromadero and will be starting a survey of the community. We will be asking questions focused on health and nutrition (how often do you wash your hands, how often do you eat vegetables, etc.). This will not only give us a better idea on what projects we can start, but also give us another opportunity to go and talk with all the families again.

We also are in the process of fixing up a house in a town called San Jose de los Remates, which is about one hour from where we are in Bromadero. We will be working in several of the communities around San Jose with our partner Fenix. We will be hiring several men from one of the communities we have projects in to do the work not only to benefit us but to provide jobs for them. We are looking forward to getting the house ready, so we can use it as a place to relax and also to read and work.

Time sure flies

We have almost been here 5 months, hard to believe. We are doing well. Sarah's parents are here visiting for 13 days. We have already visited a lake, a volcano, and the oldest colonial city in Central America (Granada). We will be heading to Bromadero, the village we live in, tomorrow. We are excited to be able to share this with our family and we look forward sharing it with other family members in the future.

We will be heading to Costa Rica the second of April to visit Seth's dad, Mike. He will be there with a short term medical mission team. Unfortunately, we will not be able to be there the entire time they are in Costa Rica, but at least we will be able to go visit for 4 days. We will probably be helping out in the clinics and hanging out with Mike. Once we return to Nicaragua we will be starting some projects in our community.