Vow...

Vow…what does it mean? Depending upon the context in which it’s used, the definition varies somewhat but there is the common defining thread of a solemn pledge or promise. The original intent did not seem to allow for an escape clause.
It’s been a long, tiring day. Today’s events actually began for us a few days ago and most of them center around the ease of making a vow and the difficulty in honoring it. I have received about a dozen calls from Elizabeth (Miguel’s wife) this past week. They have been having some marital issues again. She wanted us to come to Tipitapa and talk with her about the situation. Because of some of the information she shared, I opted not to do an “emergency” trip there and told her in that and every subsequent conversation that we would be there on Saturday (today) at our regular time. She called again last night and asked if we could come early before class and talk with both of them. It seemed as though their situation was worsening by the minute. Jim and I agreed to do that and told her that she needed to tell Miguel that we were coming early and why. She said she would.
I sat up until 1:00 a.m. making my counseling notes…looking up scriptures and making counseling observations based on those scriptures, translating them in to Spanish plus copying scriptures from another Spanish Bible version. It proved to be much more work than I had anticipated when I sat down at the computer seven hours earlier.
When I finally fell in to bed, I was exhausted but my mind just kept whirring. I just wasn’t sure how committed either of them were...to their marriage or at that point, even to the Lord. I have worked with them so many times before and it seems like we’re always covering old ground. I felt short on patience and long on lecture…thank goodness there was going to be a night of “rest” before we had our conversation. Morning came much too early…somebody needs to make a huge pot of chicken soup using those raucous roosters out back! I swear there are nights that they “howl” at the moon in rooster-ese.
We left the house about 10:00 this morning. We had to take Pixie back to her house for the day…she and Xander are also working on their relationship! But progress is slow there…we’re not yet comfortable leaving them together all day long with only Felix trying to monitor their behavior…we don’t want either one of them hurt…or Felix for that matter!
While at Susanna’s, I ran in to the house to talk to Margarita. I asked her if she could switch her work schedule next week so that I could have her here Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday…we have Sadie and her boyfriend, Marc, coming for a visit next week. I want our floors to have Margarita’s magic touch before they get here. By switching her days, she would lose out on Christmas holiday pay from us as she would be scheduled to work for Susanna that day. I told her we would go ahead and pay her Christmas pay as we had planned. Knowing that, she was fine with switching days.
Our other reason for wanting Margarita to switch days is that Susanna’s electrical wire to her property has been cut or snapped…not sure which. ..and she has been without power since Monday or Tuesday. Susanna’s in the States so that she can spend Christmas with her family and won’t be back for a bit. This means there’s a refrigerator and freezer which desperately need to be cleaned out as they are filled with now-spoiled food…just another reason why I would like to get a freezer someday. I would much rather have had to transfer frozen food from one house to another than to have to do the dirty deed that is ahead of us. Jim and I are going to go over there on Monday morning to pitch the melted, smelly, brown stuff…and since I changed Margarita’s schedule, she will be there to help us with the clean-up, if we should need her. Not looking forward to this!
Okay…back on track. After dropping Pixie off, we stopped at McDonald’s and bought our lunch. I don’t know why but I find it funny that our McD’s here has its own version of a dollar menu! Actually, it’s the equivalent of an 87 cent menu! Even with us sizing up our drink to what would be a small in the U.S., we can eat a lunch for a little over $6.30 – with our hefty 15% tax included! I love bargains like that…which is good ‘cause it’s still a McD’s lunch no matter how much of a bargain it is!
We ate our lunch on the road. Traffic was horrible today! Guess everyone was out doing their Christmas shopping. The weather is warm, no snow in sight, no fireplace to hang stockings on but we came close to a U.S. Christmas experience yesterday at the mall. All the parking places were filled in the parking garage…where we prefer to park due to the semi-alert security guard there. Thankfully, a car was backing out just as we came upon them so we managed to snag a place right up front which is close to that particular entrance to the mall…the proximity to the mall isn’t for convenience…but again, for security.
The mall was packed! Lots of people hustling and bustling around…I could almost imagine the song “Silver Bells” playing…”city sidewalks, busy sidewalks, dressed in holiday style, in the air there’s a feeling of Christmas”…only in the air at the mall, there was a low key level of frenzy…if there is such a thing. The stores were all decorated, the little plaza area in the mall had a giant decorated Christmas tree, store employees wore elf hats and there was a very skinny, very bored Nica Santa Claus occasionally waving at the children. I guess the kids didn’t notice the discrepancy of the appearance of this Santa and the “real” Santa…joke.
We had decided to brave the mall because we needed to get gifts for the children of our employees plus a couple of more things for Kenneth and Lindsay. We headed to El Mundo…I love that store! They have a little bit of everything…children’s toys from China, faded scentless potpourri, paper thin shower curtains, gift bags with pieces of tissue glued to the inside, strange brand toaster ovens, cheaply made calculators, “leather-ette”purses…all packed in to a very small retail space. It’s one of those kinds of stores that you keep your elbows close to your side and your purse in front of you so that you don’t knock anything off the shelves. It’s crowded regardless the time of year but at Christmas, it’s packed. Their customer capacity somehow seems to increase in direct proportion to their Christmas inventory. I still haven’t figured out how you can put more people in less floor space…must be one of those principles of physics I slept through in college.
Well, yesterday, I experienced my “Wal-Mart moment”…only it occurred in El Mundo. That moment comes when I’ve had my fill and am ready to check out and go home NOW! It’s like being on sensory overload and just needing some peace and quiet…and nobody’s elbow in the middle of my back or their foot on top of mine. It typically happens more at the most wonderful time of the year than any other.
Jim and I had to laugh at the whole shopping experience there. It was crazy with customers literally pushing you out of their way as they muttered, “Perdon” or “Con permiso”…that is if you were lucky enough to have a polite rude person physically moving you from their path. But the store personnel were amazingly kind and helpful. Our arms were filled with toys and they came and took them up to the register for us so that we could continue shopping in some comfort. Or at least, that’s what I told myself. I think maybe they were just trying to make sure we didn’t steal anything or poke somebody’s eye out with the wooden hobby horse we got for Gabriel.
When we were ready to check out, we got in line. Who am I kidding? There was no line. There is one checkout counter with two registers behind it, again, in a very small space and people cloistered around it, jockeying for a better check-out position. The young girl who had so kindly taken our purchases to the counter for us, wanted to make sure that the set of walkie talkies that we had purchased for Felix’s boys would work. Of course, just the fact that she wanted to do that didn’t put my mind at ease about the quality of the toys. And, since there was absolutely no other place for her to do this than on top of the check-out counter, it only added to the confusion already happening there with the cashier ringing up the wrong items for the wrong people. I was uncomfortable with our stuff being in the way but honestly, I think I was the only one it bothered…everyone else at the counter seemed oblivious to the mess spread out in front of them.
The walkie talkies didn’t come with batteries so she had to find a display toy that had batteries in it…naturally that took some time. She then had to take the batteries out of the toy and after carefully cutting open the clam shell packaging (yikes!...hope I can skillfully tape that package back to where it looks unopened) and putting the batteries in the walkie talkie, she realized she needed to repeat the process for the other walkie talkie to make sure they could talk to each other. Beautiful. As if that wasn’t entertaining (and time-consuming) enough, she and Jim were a hoot to watch repeatedly “Hola-ing” each other as they stood less than 2 feet apart. I began to laugh. Jim must have figured that I was on the verge of becoming “Wal-Mart moment” hysterical as he quickly nodded that they were fine.
We paid for our purchases, grabbed our bags and worked our way out of the store. It wasn’t quite like shopping at Pinnacle Hills or at Battlefield Mall but it was as close as we are going to get this year.
Okay...back to Tipitapa and the traffic…horrible! We arrived at Miguel’s house about 20 minutes late. Elizabeth came out to greet us and we found out he wasn’t there. When I questioned Elizabeth as to where Miguel had gone, she told me that he was at a church function. I asked why he wasn’t there and I found out that she had failed to tell him that she had asked us to come early to talk with them. She said I could just talk to her. Frustration. I reminded her that we had come early to talk with both of them and that we needed to go get Miguel.
I know it must sound like I was heartless about this. I wasn’t. Part of the problem these kids are having is in their communication with one another. Both are willing to talk to someone else about their problems but not to each other. That has to change. We needed to have Miguel be a part of this. So, I told Elizabeth to get in the car and to direct us to the church. She agreed and we drove a mile or so to get to the church. The closer we got, the more nervous she became. She wasn’t sure how Miguel was going to react. Neither was I but I was even more convinced that we needed to see this through.
Miguel was definitely surprised and seemed to be pleased to see us. When he found out why we were there, to his credit, he maintained his composure and agreed to sit down and discuss working through some of their issues. He wasn’t exactly happy that we were summoned there by his wife without his knowledge, but truthfully, neither were we. We returned to Miguel’s house so that we could talk.
The church where we hold classes is just two doors down from Miguel’s house. It was locked up tight and evidently our classes had been cancelled again…sure wish they would pass that info on to us ahead of time. We had one student come to class who also had not received word but he didn’t want to have individual tutoring so we are going to try again for next week. The lack of class enabled us to spend some intensive time with Miguel and Elizabeth. Our original plan of spending an hour with them turned in to a four hour discussion.
Out of respect to Miguel and Elizabeth, I won’t detail their problems. They have work ahead of them and they need your prayers. Don’t we all, regardless of our marital status? I will say that it’s not anything that can’t be solved with both of them being obedient to the Lord. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Well, you know as well as I do, that if you have anyone in your life whom you have to interact with on a regular basis, that obedience can be challenging. Self cries out to be exalted. God’s Word says we must deny ourselves and pick up our crosses daily. Sometimes, that “cross” turns out to be a person. Sometimes it’s the person we had at one certain point in time professed to have and to hold, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from that day forward until death should part. Wedding vows should not be taken lightly. Neither should God’s Word. What better counsel could there be for any of us than that which comes from our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace?
“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4) For “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16) “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Getting caught up...

Periodically, I find I’ve gotten so far behind in writing the blog that I have to resort to snippet-type updates just to get reasonably back on track. That’s where I am now….where to begin? I will try to answer some of the questions we’ve been getting which have expressed concern about my apparent silence…guess you figure the only way I could be quiet is if I’m sick!

Our health…Jim is finally getting past his ear infection situation that he’s been battling since last May. It had flared up again and so, after several weeks’ worth of visits to an otolaryngologist, an ear culture, a course of strong antibiotics, an antihistamine and several types of ear drops, I think he’s finally on the road to recovery. He will need to return for periodic check-ups but he is feeling better and he’s definitely hearing better.

Unfortunately, the actinic keratosis spot on my face was not completely eradicated with the three treatments of cryosurgery. The dermatologist has prescribed a cream for me to apply 3x a week for six weeks. It is a strong medication which is supposed to weaken the cells so that the body’s own defense system takes over. It also happens to be an extremely pricey little tube of magic…we’re just praying it works!

The dermatologist told me again that the sun here is too intense for my melanin-void skin. Obviously. He also said as I was leaving his office that I would need to be “brave” to continue this course of treatment which didn’t exactly inspire me to run right out and buy the cream. The last time he told me I needed to be brave, he burned my face! Well, this innocuous looking little cream (which I almost didn’t buy simply because of the ridiculous price) feels like it is doing the same thing. My face blisters each time it is applied and is very tender and itchy. I’ve gotten past how unsightly it is; now, it’s just a painful process! My words of advice to all… wear a good sun block, especially on your face!

Kenneth and family…Kenneth’s hair is once again growing back in but he still continues to have his “moon face” – several of the side effects from his last treatment…that’s an uncomfortable sensation for him. He doesn’t have much of an appetite but his sweet spirit has not faded one bit. The doctors had reiterated that anything they did from that point forward was simply to try to buy him a little more time. With each chemo treatment, his tachy cardia worsened. One of the doctors finally told Danelia that he didn’t think the treatments were benefitting Kenneth at all. She told him we were trying to locate another chemo option and he said that Kenneth would be better served if we could increase his intake of fresh fruits, vegetables and protein.

The doctor doesn’t think it’s a cure by any means, but he feels it can only help Kenneth’s compromised immune system. So, we’ve upped both the frequency and quantity of food and nutritional supplements we take. Kenneth had to go have tests done again last week and the results showed that the cancer has not spread and that his test numbers were better than they’ve been for months. The expected time frame of progression of deterioration is not happening as all have predicted.

This particular doctor lost his own son to Hodgkins has a very hard heart towards God and a very cold, matter of fact way of dealing with his patients and their families. Danelia continues to tell him that she believes that it is God who is preserving Kenneth’s health. He knows extra servings of pipian, carrots and tomatoes are not going to cure this little boy and he has no explanation for Kenneth’s “improvement”. Danelia said Saturday that he’s beginning to soften a bit and even told her that her faith certainly isn’t hurting Kenneth. We are rejoicing that God is using Kenneth to make this man’s head and heart to consider the possibility that God not only exists, but that He loves and cares for all His children. We continue to pray that God’s will be done and that Kenneth will continue to be used to bring glory to our Lord.

Danelia…I had written earlier about getting Danelia her sewing machine. She is continuing to learn how to use it and it helps that Arturo’s job is sewing in a sweatshop as he’s been able to teach her quite a bit. Having a manual machine has proved to be beneficial with the daily lack of electricity but that same lack of electricity also means that her light source is limited to the one front window in the house.

She had mentioned that it is sometimes difficult to see well enough to thread the needle and that she has to get close to the table to do so. Arturo agreed and I noticed that even he had to squint to thread the needle. I realized that at that point, the sunlight coming in through the window was actually pretty good. I remembered we still had some reading glasses at home and wondered if that wouldn’t help them.

We had some groceries for the family so after our classes last Saturday in Tipitapa, we took Danelia home. She knew we had the groceries but we also brought our cases of reading glasses with us. She was thrilled as she got to go “shopping” in the case. She chose one of the weakest pairs of reading glasses but they were strong enough to magnify the needle area. We had her pick several so that she would have a backup.

Arturo stood watching and when she told him how much better she could see the needle, he nodded in approval. I asked him if he would like to try some and that maybe they could help him at work. He shyly agreed. I opened the drawer to the men’s readers and after trying on various strengths, he finally decided upon some that were a little stronger than Danelia’s. We also had him take an extra pair for himself.

Both were so thankful…again, another luxury they would not be able to afford, especially, not with all their resources going to just surviving and trying to keep Kenneth as healthy as they possibly can. We had those glasses to give only because there were folks who donated them. Most of the glasses still have the tags on them…the most expensive pair in the cases cost $5. Five dollars. It’s amazing to me how God uses to such great good those things that most of us have even forgotten about, things that cost us so very little and yet are out of the reach of so many. Thank you!

Los Cedros… School is out for two months until February. I wrote some about our last day there in this month’s newsletter. It was a fun day for the most part with each child receiving a small gift from us. The star and heart shaped sunglasses for the 1st-3rd graders were the biggest hit. The kids were so affectionate and the hugs, kisses, drawings and notes from so many of the kids were overwhelming. Most asked if we would come back next year. I told them I didn’t know. We have been asked to return and have to give our answer soon. There are children that have made this year such fun and so rewarding, seeing them learn and watching them grow…it’s been exciting. There have also been children who have made this one of the most frustrating and defeating years I could have imagined. What to do, what to do?

The fifth grade boys (the girls aren’t nearly as tough to deal with) remained a challenge right up to the last day…hard and defiant, disrespectful and dismissive. I have vacillated from one end of the spectrum to the other…they need to learn - they will never learn; they are victims of their environment - they are little hellions bent on destruction; I don’t have to put up with that - I have to see this through. They are walking tanks of testosterone with huge chips seemingly permanently attached to their shoulders and they have little regard for anyone else. Their treatment of one another, the other teachers and even the director is really no better than their treatment of me. That doesn’t make me feel better and does nothing to encourage me to go back and deal with them. But God won’t let me off the hook just because I dread that one class. So, I’m guessing unless God suddenly decides to show me great compassion in this and says I don’t have to deal with them again, we will return.

All complaining aside, I know that God has put us there for a reason. I will be the first English teacher to return for a second year. I’m not sure what that means exactly…I don’t know that it’s necessarily anything to be prideful about, that’s for sure! But I do believe that God is teaching me copious amounts in this process and hopefully, He is bringing glory to Himself and somehow, miraculously touching the hearts and minds of these hardened young men.

This is about far more than trying to teach English. This is a spiritual battle. These boys, ages 12-16, think nothing of lying, stealing, cheating, threatening, hitting, getting in people’s faces and yelling. They ignore requests to be seated or to be silent. It’s like that phrase “the inmates are running the asylum”. There are core character values that these children are missing. These are all children who profess to be Christians and who come from families that profess to be the same.

Yes…this is a spiritual battle and it’s not one I’m looking forward to engaging in again but the stakes are so high, that I don’t see how I can’t. It’s not by my choice, believe me. These young men need to meet Jesus in a real way and right now, I’m praying that if the Lord makes me go back to face those kids, that not only will He go before me, but that He will fill me with His wisdom, that He will protect my heart and most of all that He will help me love these children as He does. Until I have to go back, I’m going to cherish each day of our 2 month’s vacation!

Other ministry opportunities…We have been inundated recently with so many people’s needs being brought before us. Besides what we do on a regular basis for Kenneth, his family, Miguel and Elizabeth, we have been able to help quite a few families in various ways…from a family who was literally without any food left in their house to a family who needed medicine for their little boy who was diagnosed with severe anemia…the second such child we’ve recently been able to help with that same diagnosis.

We have bought diapers and shoes, canned milk and medicine, Bibles and bags of rice. One of the things that we were able to do a few weeks ago was to buy two mattresses and some food for a family whose house burned down. They lost everything except for the clothes they had on their backs. The fire department, although called, never responded…it was just another poor house in another poor neighborhood and they felt it was too dangerous and would take too long to get there. Chances are good they knew it was just a small tin shack with a dirt floor and that there was probably nothing of any value to be saved. The problem is that was this family’s home and it was all they owned.

When Felix first told us about the situation, the day after the fire, we knew God was calling us to get involved. The immediate need was for food. We donated enough money that they could get a couple of weeks’ worth of staples. The family of six lives in the same barrio as does Freddy and Felix and attends their church. Felix and a few others from the church managed to make them a temporary shelter under a tree with tree branches and salvaged tin the night of the fire. The church has rallied around them with various members giving from their own meager possessions. After they found enough tin and scraps of wood to build a new house of sorts, they then collected enough money to buy the family a mattress but two more were just more than they could do. We were glad to help with that and so thankful we were able to do so…again, we could do that only because of your giving.

Xander, the Wonder Dog… Well, our “guard dog” is scared of the neighborhood dogs, the cats, the cows that walk down our street and a squirt bottle but he loves to do a run by and bite us! He barks, jumps and snaps his jaws when it suits his mood. True, he is still just a puppy, but his little 4 month old brain is quick to devise ways to annoy, pester and destroy. Look at him here...he was such a cute puppy - fat, fluffy and he just seemed so sweet. We found out shortly after buying him at two months of age (for $10…we overpaid!) that the man who sold him to us was mean to his animals. I don’t know if that can imprint a puppy that young or not, but he’s one of the most difficult animals Jim or I have ever had.

He’s supposed to be half German Shepherd…I think that’s an exaggeration..although, one of his ears does seem to have the Shepherd stand-up characteristic. His coat has changed from mainly black to mostly brown…which is such a Nica dog color. He has a dime-size spot on his side that is a tad bit darker which gives the appearance of a moth-eaten place. His tail is one of the ugliest dog tails I’ve ever seen. It has a stripe on it and the end of it looks like a cheap paint brush that a child has smooshed down one too many times.

He has knobby ankles (I guess that's what those big bumps are on his legs?) that turn in and huge paws that seem to be drawn to splashing in his water bowl and spilling it all over the kitchen…numerous times a day. Watching him walk away from me, he reminds me of a Nica bus, his rear end noticeably tracking to one side as he moves forward. He usually has something hanging out of his mouth that he’s not supposed to have. He is intent on doing whatever it is that he shouldn’t be doing and totally ignores the word “no”, racing around and barking wildly at any move towards discipline…he reminds me of one of the fifth grade boys! Sometimes I wonder if the pigs that Jesus cast the demons into acted like Xander when he’s wound up!

Nicaraguan dogs have a certain look to them…I don’t know how to describe them but somehow, they all look as they’ve come from the same litter. You just don’t see a pretty Nica dog. We have laughed and said that most people have pure-bred dogs…we have a poor-bred dog.

We have read numerous articles on-line, trying to find an effective training method for this possessed little pooch. About now, we’re wishing the Dog Whisperer guy would make a house call to Managua! I have taught Xander to sit, stay and lay down but that works only if I have a treat in my hand and he’s smart enough to know when I do and when I don’t. The dog’s not stupid but I’m certainly beginning to question the intelligence of his owners!