Continuation of Catching Up

I want to continue sharing some of the last few weeks experiences with you. Two days after we arrived in Nicaragua, we went with Susanna on her annual outing where she takes her former group of English students to Lake Nicaragua for a picnic and a day of swimming. We also had two children with us who belong to a missionary couple - their mother, Rhonda, was hospitalized the night before with an emergency appendectomy, so we were keeping the children. All in all, we had 29 children, ages 4-19, packed in to a rental van and Susanna's 4-Runner to make the 3 hour trip to the lake. More proof God has a sense of humor...me with 29 kids!!!!

A few days later, we helped with a medical clinic outside of Jinotepe. This is in the same community as the clinic we did in February. Because the couple who sponsors this clinic were unable to be there in April, there weren't very many people who remembered the clinic would be open again in May. We only had about 16 people but it still took all morning long. Jim and I help with the "pharmacy" when we assist in these type of clinics and it is a very rewarding feeling knowing we are helping in some small way. Most of the people who attend the clinic would not be receiving any type of medical care without this monthly outreach and we enjoy supporting this endeavor with our donations and our time. I want you to know it is a very humbling feeling to see someone sit and wait on a hard wooden bench in a stifling hot room 4 hours to see a doctor and to never hear one word of complaining or grumbling. Instead, without fail, we see faces filled with gratitude for such an opportunity...I bet Gale Roberts would like to see that once in a while with some of her patients!

This past week, we visited a family who lives out in the country. They obviously didn't have much but I was struck by the attempt to make what they had as nice as possible. The wife had flowers planted and even the dirt yard was being swept "clean"...not sure I understand that but it seems to be a common thing to do. As little as this family had, they were pretty well off compared to many of those we saw later in the week. We took a day trip 4 1/2 hours north to Rio Blanco and in the rural area, many of the people live in little 1 room shacks made of cane poles, salvaged plastic and/or old pieces of wood. The people have a much more "worn" look to them and the evidence of malnutrition in the children seems more apparent. We've seen much to think about this week.

Our housekeeper, Margarita, asked Susanna to come out to her brother's house to check on him. He had been attacked by a group of drunks with machetes and one of them cut his forearm quite badly. Because he had no money, the ER had no room. Basically, they stitched him up (and not very neatly...he's going to have a nasty scar) and sent him home with some ibuprofen for pain. Susanna unwrapped his arm to check it to make sure it wasn't infected and I was shocked at how severe the cut was...it had gone to the bone but miraculously, he was able to still have some mobility in his hand. Of course, he can't do any work right now and so Margarita is helping that family out of her wages. The same day he was attacked, so was Margarita's husband. His machete cuts were on his shoulders, arms and back. He is doing better. We are praying that these men will reflect upon their lifestyles and turn their lives wholeheartedly over to God. Sadly, they are more the rule than the exception here in Nicaragua. We helped Margarita by providing some extra groceries for the families.

Sticker shock: I used to love to shop - moving to Nicaragua has changed that. I am starting to better understand why beans and rice are the staple here...no one can afford anything else! Food prices here are outrageous - as are most things. Gas is currently about $4.75 a gallon...high enough that there is currently a transportation strike throughout the entire country...semis, buses and taxis are blockading the major highways in protest of the fuel costs. This effects everyone as most people are dependent upon mass transportation and trucking is the only way of moving goods from one area to another. There are already reports of food shortages in many of the other cities. So far the strike has been relatively peaceful but if it continues much longer, it may soon get ugly. I will write about our own experience with the strike at a later time.

Back to the sticker shock. Here are a few examples of the prices we've had to pay: a can of green beans - $1.40, can of corn - .90, a gallon of Glass Plus (the most economical glass cleaner...glass cleaner isn't easy to find) - $11.18, coffee - $4.22 lb. (how crazy is that??? kind of like the price of chicken in Cassville!), speaking of chicken - $4.73 for a very, very small chicken, cream of mushroom soup - $1.50 per can. Things we didn't buy but looked at longingly - peanut butter was over $4.00 for the small jar, Doritos were $7.00 for the small bag, grapes were $2.00 for a very small bunch that was no bigger than the palm of my hand, strawberries were over $4.00 for a pint and meat is just high period. We've discovered a bean "dip" that is high in protein and relatively inexpensive and it actually tastes good when eaten with tortilla chips or fried plantain.

We're learning to drink lots of water...it doesn't take long to dehydrate in this heat. Although we had our first rain storm on Saturday...it poured! You would have thought it was a celebration the way everyone was so excited that the rain had finally come...we are finishing up about a 5-6 month dry season so the rains are a big deal. It was cooler WHILE it was raining but as soon as it stopped, it seemed the humidity jumped and it was miserably hot and sticky. These two gringos have a long ways to go to acclimate to the heat.

Have I told you about Orlando? He's the "caretaker" for lack of a better title and is the father of Paulita, who is the housekeeper for Don Carlos, who is the 90 year old man who lives in the house behind us and is our landlord... confused yet? You're not alone...so is Orlando. I would guess he's probably in his early 70s and he spends his day sitting on a concrete block in the shade, under the mango tree, and carrying on full blown conversations with an invisible companion. These discussions get quite animated and often are very loud...they've even escalated to the point where Orlando has had to take his invisible machete after his invisible antagonist. At first glance, this was a bit disturbing but Orlando and I have become friends...I gave him a donut for breakfast one morning and he was thrilled. He took his donut and a bottle of water (I hope that's what it was), and quickly retired to his concrete block under the mango tree, jealously guarding the donut from his invisible foe. I was fascinated watching Orlando first reason with the unseen begger and then finally, having to get firm with him. Now, I root for Orlando when he is engaged in his battles. I can't help but wonder how many real ones he's had to fight in his life - how many for food, for home, for family. Orlando and I have our own conversations - neither of us understanding the other but neither caring. That's really not important right now - we are friends and we are at peace. Every morning, Orlando tips his hat to me as we greet one another. Early in the morning, I often find him watering my plants on the patio and throughout the day, he can often be found sitting out under our mango tree, guarding us from dangers seen only to him. Believe it or not, there is a sense of comfort having him outside my kitchen door even though he really couldn't hurt anyone. When I watch him "fight", I am reminded of Balaam's donkey and have decided not to discount what I can't see. Who knows how God has gifted Orlando? I hope one day I will be able to speak to him about such things. One night when the power was off, we returned home after dark to find Orlando sitting on our front steps, guarding our house with his mere presence. Orlando may not function well outside of our little place (Don Carlos says he's "simple minded") but he takes his role of being our caretaker seriously and those beings, real or imaginary, who would dare to challenge any of us under the mango tree had better watch their step!

Enough for tonight...it's almost 10:00 p.m. and morning comes early in Nicaragua. We usually get up a little after 5:00 thanks to the crashing around of the iguanas who live above our bedroom in the space between our ceiling and our roof...another story for another time.

Buenos Noches mis amigos.