La Sequia...The Drought

In the area where we work (Teustepe) normally the rainy season is from May/June-October/November. However, we have had a drought since August in an area that is already located in a drier zone. During the summer, December-May, the majority of the leaves fall off the trees, everything turns brown and there are no streams. The communities we work in are all agricultural based, so they only have work in the winter (May/June-October/November). Due to the drought most farmers did not make any money this past year and to make it worse they were unable to store up food for the dry months (summer). So if you don't have enough food saved up and no money because you had no harvest to sell...what do you eat? We know several families that only eat once a day or twice a day but they only have corn tortillas and rice trying to stretch out the food they have until their next harvest. Hearing these stories makes my heart ache because all of my needs are met and how I never worry about if I will have enough food for my family. To add to this when we visit people they always give us food or a drink because that is their culture, but I think to myself save this food or your money for your family, but I can't say that because I would offend them. As you can imagine it is hard to figure out how I can help when there are so many people suffering. One thing the government has done is a work program for food. The may be working on roads or other city buildings and instead of being payed they are given bags of rice, beans, corn for their families.

Bramadero, the community we lived in part of our first year, is having issues with their well...it is drying up. The water project was completed November 2007, when we arrived. This community has struggled more then other communities when it comes to water. Before AsoFenix installed the water system the community had hand dug 18 wells that never filled with water or dried up after one season, so they had to walk 45 minutes to another community for water. Usually, it was women and children that carried the 5 gallon buckets on their heads. Now we are seeing that due to the drought the level of water in the well is dropping. We have had to lower the pump twice, but it takes the pump 4-5 days to fill the 5, 000 gallon tank that feeds the village, so the community only has access to water every 4-5 days. AsoFenix is concerned about whether there will be enough water for the rest of the dry season and looking for funding to dig another well. Since the water level is dropping we have encouraged the other communities we work in to conserve their water to prevent being caught in the same situation.

In fact, the drought has been so bad that it has caught national attention, on the front page of the national newspaper (La Prensa) there was an article of the severity of the situation in Boaco and how Teustepe has been hit the hardest. The drought has been so bad that people's cattle are dying because there is not enough food or water. People do not have enough food and in some cases there is not enough water for drinking. We are now entering the hottest time of the dry season with hopes that the well in Bramadero will not dry up, their will be enough food for families and that the winter begins on time and brings with it plenty of rain.

A Different World

We meet up with Seth's parents in Guatemala for a vacation in January. Seth and I had been to Guatemala 10 years ago, but it was with our study abroad program, so we did not get to do much exploring. Mike and Dee had never been there, so it was an adventure for all of us. We rented a car so that made traveling much easier....we ended up driving a total of 900 miles. Guatemala is the size of New Jersey, which is smaller than Nicaragua.


We started from Guatemala city and headed northeast towards Tikal. We stayed at a nice finca (farm) about two hours south of Tikal, called Finca Ixobel. We had time to hike up a very steep hill called the pyramid, enjoying the scenery and taking a refreshing dip in the lagoon. From there we headed further north to El Remate, located on lake Peten Itza, which was where we based out of to go to Tikal. We did enjoy a cool dip in the lake before we headed to see the Mayan ruins. We spent one late afternoon at Tikal and then got up to see sunrise from the highest temple in the park...however it was too foggy to ever see the sunrise or even a view at all. The temples were fascinating to see and climb, as well as to hear about the Mayan history.

We then headed south towards Flores, an island on lake Peten Itza, that looks like it should belong in Europe. The buildings were tall and close together, something I picture in Europe. We continued heading south towards Coban, which was the starting point for our next adventure. The road to Semuc Champey was a steep, winding dirt road that was a little scarry at times and longer then we anticipated, but it was well worth it. Swimming in the limestone pools was incredible, as well as seeing the forceful river go under ground into a cave, which is what the limestone pools were on top of. We had the opportunity to see our friend, Jenny, from ECHO while we were in Semuc Champey and Coban. it was great to see her and find out how she enjoys living in Guatemala. She is working with Food for the Hungry there and is planning on continuing her work there for as long as needed.


We stayed in a town called Panajachal located at Lake Atitlan. However, there were several towns scattered around the lake, each with their own cultural aspect. There are many Mayan people groups that live throughout Guatemala and there were several different groups living around the lake. The women in the different groups have their own dress that is distinctive to their people group, so one could look at their dress and know what people group they are from (of course we could not). We saw women through out Guatemala in their traditional clothing, but we did not see any men until we went to some of the towns around lake Atitlan. I was so intrigued by the traditional dress of both the men and the women and I think it was because it is so different than Nicaragua.


While at the Lake we hiked in a small natural reserve and Seth and Mike had a little adventure of their own...zip lining. Dee and I actually finished our hike before they reached the bottom. The hike was not very long, but they both also said it was the longest zip line course they had ever done...who would have thought Guatemala would have that. We also took a boat tour of the lake and visited three other towns on the lake where we saw more men dressed in traditional clothing. We of course enjoyed eating breakfast at lake side cafes, the gorgeous sunsets behind the volcanoes and a little shopping.

We also really enjoyed the climate, it was cooler than what we are used to in Nicaragua, so it was a welcomed changed. Guatemala is a beautiful country with so much diversity. It was a wonderful time to spend with Mike and Dee and share a new experience in another country.

The Last of Something

Generally the last of something is enjoyable. Usually when you know it is the last of something you savor the flavor or experience even more. Now that we are in our last year here in Nicaragua we are enjoying the last of many things. For instance, we celebrated our last Christmas and New Year´s here.

We spent our last Christmas in Granada just the two of us. We stayed at a small hotel that had a pool for 3 days. We relaxed, ate amazing food, sang Christmas carols and tried something new this year. Each day we spent time listening to a bible study and then discussed the theme...this was a great way to focus on the birth of Christ. The last three Christmases we have not bought each other gifts and instead used the money to spend time away together. This is a tradition we will carry with us from Nicaragua.

After Christmas we had a group from the United States arrive and were here until January 3. So, we spent New Year´s with the group and we were in the community of Bramadero (where we lived part of the first year). In the countryside there is a peculiar tradition for New Year´s. They make a man out of old clothes and fill him with fire crackers. They call him the man of the old year and at midnight exactly they burn him. It is a symbol of passing from the old year to the new one and a great excuse to use fire crackers. The group stayed up to watch the burning, but unfortunately both Seth and I were unable (too tired) to make it to midnight...we lasted until 10:30 pm, I guess we are old. I did see the video, so it was like I was there. (That is why I don´t have photos to share).

For us this last year is bitter sweet. On one hand it is exciting to think next year we will be home with our families for the Holidays, but on the other hand it means our lives here in Nicaragua will have ended. It is weird to think that all the time and energy we have put into our time here will be over and we will be moving on. It is exciting to think that we will be moving on to a new adventure, but at the same time we don´t want to miss any thing here.

Glasses and Thanksgiving

My parents were here for the week of Thanksgiving, so this was really the first year we celebrated turkey day. We spent time at our house in Teustepe, visited our friends Ricardo and Santo and spent 4 days at the beach.

My parents really enjoyed the time we spent with Ricardo and his family. I had asked my parents to bring some reading glasses because I knew many of the women from the sewing group had trouble threading the needle of their machines. The glasses were intended for the older women, so I did not expect them to help Ester, Santo's and Ricardo's daughter. Ester has had eye problems, but I never thought cheap reading glasses would help her out. She was so excited to try them on and realize she could read better with them. Another lady, Mercedes, in the sewing coop had had glasses, but they had recently broken. She was talking with Ricardo that morning about needing some new glasses and Ricardo told her to pray. She was thrilled to see God answered her prayer immediately. Mercedes is a widow that has 10 children...she is the bread winner, so she needs to be able to see well in order to make clothes she can sell.

The day before Thanksgiving we went to San Juan del Sur beach and stayed there 3 nights. Turkey day night we went to a nice restaurant/resort called Pelican Eyes. They had everything we could have hoped for...except the dessert was not as good as home made. The rest of the week we relaxed, enjoyed the beach and ate good food. It was a great time with my parents and we look forward to their next visit...who knows when that will be.

Time in Asiento Viejo

In November, we had a group here from Rimrock church in Rapid City, South Dakota. We spent our time in Asiento Viejo helping out pastor Ricardo. Ricardo had proposed a vet tech training for 4-5 people in the community because no one has this training and there are a lot of animals. The other thing proposed was to help the sewing coop learn how to make mens' pants and long sleeve shirts, and womens' blouses in order to increase their business. We then proposed the idea to Rimrock church and they decided to send a team down to help Ricardo and Asiento Viejo in the areas they needed.

I spent my time with the 13 women and teenage girls. I knew nothing really about sewing. I had taken a sewing class in 7th grade, so at least I was familiar with some things. There were two women (Michelle and Carla) from Rimrock that were teaching the women, but only one knew Spanish, so I translated for Michelle. This time was amazing for me because I have not had the experience to spend time with a group of Nicaraguan women. I have found that women do not gather together for fellowship in the countryside. The women mainly stay in their houses and occasionally will visit a neighbor, but never plan an activity so all the women can get together. I really enjoyed the time joking with the women, sharing stories and getting to know the women of Pastor Ricardo's church better. The thing that I enjoyed the most about the sewing group was that it was made up of all age groups (teenagers-70 year old women). The teens were the daughters of the 6 women in the coop, who wanted to learn how to sew. The interaction between the young and old was interesting to watch...they both helped each other. The older were teaching the younger to sew and younger were helping the older ones thread the machines because their eye sight was not the best or teaching them how to use the electric sewing machine.

While I was spending my time with the women there was also a vet training going on. Five local technicians were trained how to give vaccinations, castrate and general first aid on the livestock. Ricardo and his son Able were amoung the vet techs as well as two young women. It sounded like the trainings went well and it was a good time of fellowship between the Nicaraguans and the North Americans. In addition to this, Jori and Megan, two teenage youth from Rimrock, were playing with the kids. They played games like soccer volleyball, jumped rope, made balloon animals and did face painting with the kids. Neither of them spoke Spanish very well, but they formed some amazing relationship with the kids.