¡Viva la Vida!

Quinceaños!

We were invited to our first quinceaños party this past weekend. So cute!  The parents of daughters tell us that the little girls dream of this day!  This is Fernanda, the only daughter of our friends Fernando and Thelma.  First they had a little service of dedication and celebration in the church, and then we went on to a house for a meal/party. It was really fun and we enjoyed the experience immensely. It made us glad, though, that we have only boys!

Fast Food Nica Style

Josh snapped this pic of a lady in a cyclotaxi with a frying pan full of something cooking (notice the smoke!).   

"Wetbacks"

The other night we watched a really interesting documentary about Central Americans migrating to the US without documents (titled "Wetbacks"). It was fascinating to see all that they go through, how they travel, and the dangers they face.  I was especially interested because a husband of one of the women in my cell group left two months ago for the US. He paid a coyote, however, and was able to get there safely.  She told me that he had to pay $5000 US, but the coyote guaranteed him that if he was caught or sent back the money would be returned. The journey took him one month, and she was so relieved when he called her and told her he had arrived in Philadelphia.

I know that there are many pros and cons to the immigration thing, but it is hard when you live in a country like Nicaragua with so few opportunities for the people here. Most cannot even afford the $100 application fee for a US visa, let alone the fees involved in border crossings and travelling legally. I can't help but remember that the majority of my ancestors came to the US looking for a better life...

What is this???

Today the apple salesman was also selling kiwi fruits. We haven't any in two years, so I bought a few. I didn't expect them to be such a novelty! The kids at school were fascinated by the color, the texture, and the flavor. I ended up giving them almost all away to be tasted by the curious students and teachers.

Random things I miss

Not to throw a blanket over the spiritual tone of the blog lately, but there are some things in the States that I have been missing lately.  I haven't posted on this for at least a year, so things have changed...

-I miss fast internet connection AT HOME.  Not that I ever had it really fast at home, but I know everyone does now, and I still have to trek across the street to check email. I can't sit at home in my pajamas with my morning coffee and do an early morning email sweep or catch up on the news.

- I miss Krispy Kreme donuts when the HOT NOW sign is on.  Granted, we didn't have this nearby my house in NC either, but whenever I passed a franchise with this sign I was there!

- I miss Frappucinos!! Silly, I know! I mean, I live in the land of smooth tasty coffee, but there is just something about that venti coffee frap with whipped.



- Cheap phone calls. Even calls from our land line are ridiculously expensive. There are some serious problems here with the whole telecommunications industry.  A cell phone call is .29 per minute, and I can call the US for that from my cell phone as well as Managua! Something just ain't right with that.

- Silly morning radio shows. I will admit it, I was a regular listener to Bob & Sheri , and I miss their humor and daily musings.

- Clothes dryer, not having to wait three days for clothes to be clean and dry is a nice thing!

- Solitude. There is no where in the whole country where you can be alone. The other day we were looking beside the road for a place for one of the male members in the family to relieve themselves. It was out in the country... there were still people walking everywhere!!!

- Still missing the Mandarin Chicken Salads from Wendy's. Mmmm...

- Access to new music.  We know that there is new music coming out all the time, but we don't know what is new and out there. Yes, we could listen to it on the internet at the internet cafe, but there is already tons of noise from all the other computers!  (Right now I am hearing two different versions of Da mi mas gasolina)

-Books and magazines!!! The other day in the airport I found a Good Housekeeping. It was so nice to flip through it and browse. We ended up buying a reader's digest, which has been thoroughly devoured already.

- Above all, I miss my family and my friends. Sure would be great to see them more. That one is too painful at times to dwell on, though.  It is for sure the biggest sacrifice!

Responding to the Call Update

The "Responding to the Call" event on Saturday was attended by over 500 women from all across Nicaragua.   Many women were challenged in their God-given callings to go further into all God has for them.  It was a high-energy and exciting day and one which, we trust, will bear lasting fruit for this country.  Thank you for your prayers for this event!  Now the ladies ministry team is ministering in Guatemala and will be in Costa Rica at the end of the week.

Responding to the Call

Tomorrow begins a whirlwind weekend of women's ministry. Our friends Liz Doyle, Nori Chesney, Rachel Martinez, and Nancy Honeytree are coming to do a conference for the Nicaraguan women called "Responding to the Call". We will then do a pastor's wives retreat on Saturday and Sunday.  From there they are travelling to Guatemala and Costa Rica to minister.

I have mentioned Nancy before on this blog. She has an international music ministry.  She translates a lot of her songs into other languages such as Urdu, Spanish, & Hindi.  This is her newest CD, and it is great! I would encourage anyone to buy it, as you will be a help to her ministry and would really like it as well!

Cool Picture

I thought this was a neat picture taken from space of our neck of the woods.  We live about twenty-five miles from that plume of smoke (as far as driving goes, but much closer as the crow flies).  We are always amazed to see the smoking crater and to think that we live near an active volcano!

New Generation's library is now open!

Over the past year we have been collecting and procuring books in Spanish for our school library.  Immediately upon starting at the school back in 2003 we noticed that building up the school's library would be an important and much needed task.  Our school library only had about 100 books - most of them being reference volumes.  Now, thanks to the tireless hard work of Connie of Boone and Jan we have a well-stocked collection of over 500 books and magazines. 

One of the saddest things about being an educator in Nicaragua is the lack of resources in the schools.  Books are an expensive luxury and are beyond the reach of most Nicaraguans.  However, the people here, like anywhere, have the same love of books and curiosity of learning which makes it hard to sit idly by and not do anything.  So the vision was birthed by Jan last year and then Connie carried it and made it into a reality.  Her church, Grace Lutheran Church in Boone, North Carolina, helped her to raise money for books and materials.  So  while Connie was here in July, her and the girls (and Shea!) got the library all set up and ready.  Now it's open for business and, as you can see in the photos, getting LOTS of use!

Coyotepe Visit

Here we are atop Coyotepe, an old fort built on a hill overlooking the city of Masaya.  The fort was built in 1893 and used until the 1970s.  Historical highlights of Coyotepe:  It was attacked and taken in 1923 by a unit of U.S. Marines and was later used as a political prison by the Somoza dynasty.  We visited the torture chamber underground deep within its walls.  Scary.

In one of the old cell blocks someone painted a huge "Nicaragua Peace, Please" (Nicaragua paz por favor) to illustrate the need for continued peace and to keep the hope alive that this country will never again be ruled by dictators who imprison and torture their opponents.