Stretching exercises...

God decided Jim and I needed some stretching (truthfully, I probably needed the stretching far more so than Jim), so He asked us, along with Susanna, to help some friends (Roger and Rhonda with whom we help with the medical clinic), take a group of school children to the zoo. For those of you who don’t know us well, this is not one of the things we would have jumped at doing…at least, not that long ago, anyway. But God has been working on both of us for some time and although we both had a heart “transplant” at the moment of our salvation, it seems the changing of our attitudes and preferences is definitely more of a process. We were both guilty of serving in areas where we were comfortable. God has definitely rocked that boat…I guess that could explain one reason why we're here in Nicaragua ‘cause nothing feels “comfortable” here!

I do have to say that in the past, we have helped with VBS and have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. And in June 2007, we did accompany Chuck and Jeanna Jones and Joe and JaDonna Hoover in taking a group of sixth graders for a mission trip down to Arlington, Texas. I thought that if VBS didn’t do the trick, then surely that trip would have been enough to qualify as my stint for “Working With Children” and to get that checked off my Christian service box. (I do hope you know that is being said tongue in cheek!) Point being, working with children has just not been my forte. Regardless, God obviously thought differently. I also have to add that God must have also been doing some stretching with the Jones and the Hoovers in letting us go with them! Another example of the innocent having to suffer along with the guilty!

I adore my grandchildren which is not difficult to do as they are the cream of the crop! But, I have to be pretty honest when I say that working with children has never been one of my favorite areas of service. I don’t know what God has been doing, but I have noticed that my heart has become so tender to the children here. I don’t know if it’s the conditions in which they live, if it’s their sweet spirits or if it’s that God knows that has been an area of selfishness in my life and it needed to be changed. All I do know is that when the subject of the zoo trip came up, Jim and I both were excited about it.

So, yesterday, we arose at 4:30 a.m. to get ready for our Big Day. Susanna arrived about 5:45 and we were on our way south to Jinotepe. It was a perfect morning with mild temps and overcast skies. On our way, we go through a town called El Crucero (The Cross). This town sits on the top of a mountain and has some of the most amazing views. It is also one of the windiest places I think I have ever been. It seems as though the wind blows constantly and even the trees all grow at an angle there. It also is high enough that the temperate climate is conducive to growing some of the most magnificent hydrangeas I’ve ever seen. The blooms are the size of basketballs and even the poorest houses covered with plastic and tin scraps have these beautiful shrubs around them…I think they might help to block that tenacious wind. It is a beautiful place and you can even see the Pacific ocean when the sky is clear…but at 6:00 a.m., the skies are not clear in El Crucero. It is often foggy when we go through there in the mornings and return in the evenings…yesterday was no exception.

We met Roger and Rhonda (and their kids) along with the 3 buses we would be using at a pre-designated spot on the edge of town – right before the cemetery and the dump. Good landmarks. Jim and Roger took our cars back to Roger’s house and then they took a taxi to return to where we were waiting. Of course we were drawing some attention with gringos in charge of 3 school buses!

Three school buses meant a lot of kids. We were actually taking students from 5 schools in the rural area where we hold the monthly medical clinic. In the states, that would mean, a fair amount with 2 children to a seat but here, that’s a ton of kids since they sit a minimum of three to a seat. Susanna went on one bus and they headed on out to the furthest school while Roger went in another bus to pick up children at another designated spot. Jim, Rhonda, the children and I took the third bus to the first and largest school and the same place we hold the clinics.

Thankfully, the roads were not muddy and we were able to make the 3 mile drive in about 20 minutes – there wasn’t the terrible mud we dealt with on clinic day, but there were horrendous ruts which makes any kind of speed impossible. But traveling between a creep and a crawl enables us to get a good look at the countryside and the people who live there. It’s always a sobering trip. You know, I pray that God never lets me become immune to the poverty…I don’t ever want to get “used” to seeing it. Jim had the camera with him and he doesn’t take as many pictures as I do, so maybe you won’t have to suffer through so many of them on this particular blog…(although he did go a bit crazy at the zoo but I don’t think you need to see pictures of monkeys and deer…you’ve seen one before I’m sure…they look the same).

When we came around the last bend in the road which brings us to the school, we were met with the sight of waiting children in their school uniforms of crisp, white shirts and blouses and navy blue pants and skirts. It was encouraging to see the turnout. The signups indicated there would be a lot of children but you never know how things are going to actually go until they happen. With the exception of some of the children in this particular school, none of the others had ever been to the zoo before and most had never been out of Jinotepe. There were those who had never been to Jinotepe, those who had never been on a bus and those who had never traveled without a parent. It was going to be a day of firsts for a lot of us!

We had planned (I have to laugh whenever I use that word…things here rarely happen according to plan, or at least, according to man’s plans!) to leave by 8:00 so Rhonda told the parents to have their children there by 7:00, hoping that they might make it by 7:30 and we could actually get them on board the bus by 8:00. It was such a good plan…after waiting on the other two buses to come back to our location, we finally left around 8:30 to head back through Jinotepe and on to Masaya and the zoo.

Jim and Roger rode one bus, Susanna and one of the head school teachers rode another and Rhonda and I took the third. Between the three buses, we had 171 children, 20 parents, 15 teachers and the five of us. We had our own zoo on wheels!!! But, I have to say that the minute the buses pulled out, the children settled right down and sat quietly in their seats. It was almost eerie to be on a bus loaded with children aged 3 to 17 and have it be that quiet…I wasn’t sure it was wise to be sitting at the front with my back to all of them!

171 children! That was remarkable. But there’s always a fly that has to buzz right in to the ointment and that fly was the one that represented all the children who didn’t get to go…whose parents wouldn’t let them attend because they were fearful of a trip away from home, a trip on a bus, a trip with gringos. Or those children who didn’t get to go because of the politics of the area or those who didn’t get to go because they had to stay home to work. Whatever the reason, it was sad they were missing the trip. Even sadder than the knowledge they weren’t going, were the faces of those children watching our buses pass by their homes without them being on them. These weren’t children who were throwing a temper tantrum in Wal-Mart because Mom got the gumption to say “no” to another “I want”…these were children who were being held captive by others’ fears and prejudices. There was no screaming or whining or begging…only quiet resignation and an occasional wave.

Our bus driver was a typical Nicaraguan bus driver…intent on getting to his destination as fast as he could even if that meant driving up on a few sidewalks, down the wrong side of the road and honking his horn at every perceived possible interruption of forward motion. It was a great experience and one that makes me appreciate Jim’s driving even more so now.

Three little girls and I shared a seat…thank heavens they were very small children! One, named Rosalinda (age 7) sat on my lap while the other two (Rosamalla – age 8 and Maricella, her sister, age 5) took turns petting my strikingly white arms. Maricella, took great interest in my fingernails and must have thought they were false as she kept pulling on them to try to remove them. I had to show her they were my own and I wanted to keep them. The girls giggled as if that were the funniest thing…I think the giggles were prompted more by my attempt at speaking in Spanish than my desire to keep my nails attached to my fingers.

Rhonda came prepared with small plastic bags for those who might possibly experience motion sickness. Boy, did she sit on the right bus. We had about 6-8 little ones who took bags and about half as many used them at least once. The bus driver was of the opinion curves were to be taken as fast as inertia would allow, which made for a fun ride if you’re not one who suffers from motion sickness. These little ones were losing it fast and furious and the driver was impervious to it all. The madcap driving of the curves did serve to loosen the children’s tongues and they all began chattering. The chattering would burst in to excited screams and hollers at each curve as the bus would sway first from one side and then to another. I reminded God of our earlier petitions for safe travel and prayed He would grant that.

The drive to the zoo took about an hour and a half, traveling through some of the most beautiful areas – past a volcano with steam puffing out, through pineapple fields and picturesque little villages. We finally arrived, everyone intact, with a few who had some emptier tummies than when they began their bus ride.

Because of the size of the group, the zoo had us divide in to 3 smaller groups and they appointed a guide for each group. The older children had their notebooks and pencils in hand as they were expected to use this as a learning experience for school. The younger ones all lined up with their hands on the shoulders of the student in front of them. And in we went.

The children loved the zoo. It is a very small zoo in comparison to the ones we have in the States. And the animals here are in plain cages - not in environments which mimic their natural habitats. Many of the animals were lethargic or sickly looking. It is not a place Jim and I would choose to go back to visit as a form of relaxation on our own. It was a bit depressing to see the animals being kept in those kinds of conditions but I know that the zoo doesn’t have the same type of resources those in the States are privileged to have. I reminded myself they were doing the best they could with what they had. And, the children were having a great time.

Because the zoo is so small, it didn’t take long for each group to finish its tour and then we headed back to one of the little towns we had come through on our way there, Ticuantepe. We stopped at the city park, which had a playground area, a basketball court which doubled as a soccer field, a small refreshment stand and, most importantly, several large trees. We could eat our lunch in the shade.

Rhonda and Roger had brought the food – 240 bologna sandwiches they had made up the night before and kept in a cooler, bags of chips and juice bags – no juice boxes here. Many of the parents brought their own food in addition to the free lunch. Nicaraguans do not understand an American lunch of a sandwich and chips. For them, often the largest meal of the day is lunch. So, it was not unusual to see a plate of gallo pinto appear, tortillas unrolled and all kinds of fruits to be unwrapped from cloths or pulled out of much-used plastic bags. Truthfully, the gallo pinto looked much more appetizing than did the bologna sandwich!

After lunch and letting the children play for a while, Roger stood upon a concrete bench and took about 15 minutes and spoke to the children, telling them his testimony. The children listened as well as any child who would much rather go play on the swings or kick the ball. The teachers and some of the parents shifted from one foot to another, sometimes looking uneasily at one another…but regardless what they might have thought, none would have even dreamt to show any disrespect to this man who had just given them and those children an opportunity they would never have otherwise. So, the group listened while the rest of us prayed that God would open ears and tender hearts and that as a result, those who had come that day, would someday experience a higher Kingdom than just the animal kingdom which they had earlier observed.

The trip home was pretty much a repeat of the trip going only this time much quieter. The buses were filled with tired children and tired adults. Many of the little ones fell asleep, in spite of the pitching and horn honking of the bus. Fewer children were ill since many had conked out. Teachers, parents and children were much more relaxed on the way home as the day wound down. No one had been lost, the gringos didn’t hurt anyone and none of the children were eaten by any wild animals. It was a good day.

Jim, Susanna and I were let off at one end of Jinotepe as the buses continued on back to the schools. We took a taxi to Roger and Rhonda’s house to pick up Susanna’s car and headed back home. We were all tired on yet another return trip from Jinotepe, and, once again, pleased. As we rounded one of the mountains heading back in to Managua, my breath was taken away by the beauty which lay before me. Off in the distance, we could see the ocean and the sun shining down in one area reflecting a beautiful silvery light. Just to the right of that but much closer, we could look down on the gorgeous green, densely packed, tree canopy of the forest and further to the right, again in the distance, we could see Lake Xolotan (Lake Managua) with its volcanic mounds rising majestically to meet the sky. It was one of the most beautiful moments and I was brought to tears that God would have brought me to such an amazing country to live among such amazing people. For a moment, I thought, “my people, these are my people”. At that moment, I kept those thoughts to myself. I’m guessing He’s not through with the stretching.