We've begun!!!

WHOO-HOO!!! WE’VE BEGUN!!!! We broke ground last Monday morning for the new addition to Danelia’s and I don’t know that I’ve ever been so excited and energized by a muddy hole than I have been by this one! The heavy rains have made digging a challenge but the work crew we’ve hired is certainly up to the task. Adrian, the job foreman, actually laughed at how excited I was when I saw the guys working. He has been so good about explaining each step of the process as we’ve made quick visits to Tipitapa this last week.

Danelia is storing the first load of cement bags in her living room in order to keep them dry and to keep them from being stolen. When we were there on Monday, they also came with a truck load of sand which they quickly shoveled in to a mound blocking Danelia’s front entrance…so much for the idea of them neatly shoveling it off to the side!

In spite of the rains, they have been able to get the trench dug and the water drainage pipe laid and began digging the septic. They have also gotten the large foundation rocks laid and are now working on laying the concrete blocks on top of them. The dirt that is coming out of the giant hole for the septic system is being used to level the ground inside the structure. They have already torn down Danelia and Arturo’s outside shower in order to be able to construct the back wall so they now have to go next door to their neighbor’s house and use her outdoor shower.

I think Danelia is a little shell-shocked at how quickly the workers destroyed her side yard and removed her little wire fence. Of course, with all the rain we’ve had, it’s a muddy mess both inside and outside her house but even so, she’s so excited that the dream is becoming a reality.

Even the neighborhood kids are excited about all the activity. Most are too young to really have a firm grasp on what this will mean for their cramped little classes, but they are definitely feeding off the energy of all the adults that are involved…and of course, they love climbing on the building materials stacked outside in Danelia’s tiny front yard.

It wasn’t even 10:00 yet and it was already getting really hot that Monday morning. Danelia and I sat in her rockers right under her ceiling mounted little oscillating fan. We looked around at the cement bags, the tracked in mud and the mound of sand right outside her front door and we began talking about what God was doing in her neighborhood. That led to a conversation about how so many who come to Nicaragua want to go to the highly publicized La Chureca, which is the city dump where several thousand people live (no one knows the exact number) and El Timal, both which have become almost tourist attractions in themselves.

I felt a pang of guilt when she said that. I remember all too well our visit to La Chureca our first year here. I was as curious as the next person about what it would be like there. I certainly wasn’t prepared for what I saw. I can remember thinking with such sorrow and sadness that women were raising their children in that environment. Since living here, I still feel that sadness and sorrow but it is somewhat tempered by the fact that I have heard and read about numerous highly-funded organizations, both mission organizations and NGOs, from all around the world that pour so much money in to those areas and yet nothing seems to change, not much anyway. Mothers still prostitute their children, drugs flow freely and violence continues.
I’ve also seen many other areas where the poverty is just as extreme but the people live differently. I know poverty makes for desperate situations and I also know poverty is often a good “hook” to bring money in…there are two sides to argue surrounding La Chureca and El Timal and I can see both sides…but I also definitely understood what Danelia meant.

We talked about how life in those places is not the “norm” for most of Nicaragua and Danelia said that it makes her sad that places like that get so much attention and receive so much help. In her words, she believes that they just “take and take” from the government and the gringos who come to visit and that most of the people who live there have no desire or intention of changing their circumstances. She said it makes her angry that they take the donations and so many of them turn around and sell them in order to buy drugs or alcohol. She said that she wished more Americans had a truer picture of what life is really like for the majority of Nicas because she feels that so much of it is distorted for wrong intentions. It was interesting to hear her point of view on things like that.

She told me that there were thousands and thousands of neighborhoods just like hers where they, too, struggle every day and that they have the same kind of destructive behaviors in many of their homes. She said the difference is that she sees that in her neighborhood, a few of the parents want something better for their children and that they are willing to take that step to try to make that happen.

We talked about how God has given them a wonderful opportunity to bring light to that darkness in that barrio and she thanks Him every day that this “dream” of a place of hope in their neighborhood is about to become a reality. She almost brought me to tears as I listened to her talk. I saw her face soften and her eyes glisten as she began talking about all the things she can see this building being for the families who live there.

Talking with Danelia that day was a good reminder of why we are doing what we’re doing in spite of the challenges we face. I kept thinking on the way home that this was such a work of God and that no matter how many problems might crop up such as prices already increasing in some of the materials due to the demand as a result of the destructive flooding we’ve had or volunteers failing to show up, that God will complete this good work in His time and in His way. I can’t tell you how inspiring all of this is and how exciting it is to see mud-caked men being used by God to build His house of hope there.

We are paying Adrian as the foreman and he has hired several workers to help him. These guys seem to vary from day to day. We also have some volunteer labor who has actually shown up which is the most exciting thing for us…that there are people in the neighborhood who are willing to help however they can. Very few men have come forward although we had five who said they would but the ones that have, are so much appreciated. Even Miguel was there yesterday morning, moving dirt! That was such a great surprise! The women have been more faithful with their part, bringing food or donating a little money to help with the drinks and food for the workers. I was really touched the other day to see one of the moms bring a small plastic bucket of beans and rice and some cuajada (a type of cheese) on a piece of paper and give it to Danelia. She told her to give it to the workers and that she was sorry that there wasn’t more.

I thought of the little boy who gave his five small loaves of bread and his two fish to Jesus. It was enough. It’s always enough when Jesus is in control of it. We have seen Him multiply and stretch in ways that we never could and He knows that if this project is to be completed as we would hope, then He is going to have to that again.

We did find a toilet and sink on sale at Sinsa even cheaper than we could buy it at the market. Sinsa is always so expensive so I questioned the salesman to make sure the price was right and he assured me it was. So, we purchased them and then drove to the warehouse to pick it up. Of course, we had to wait outside in a waiting area for over an hour to get it put in our car, but for what we saved, it was worth it.

We also got another donation of lots of bits and pieces of school supplies from Susanna that different groups had left with her that were leftovers from projects. For the most part, there’s not a whole lot of any one thing but lots of a few things and everything will most definitely be used… a couple of bottles of glue, a package of pencils, a few sharpeners, etc. which will all come in handy. I’m always excited to get those kinds of things, but the thing that got me the most excited was there was a globe that had been left! That’s something that would have been pretty costly for us to buy here and it will be so good for the kids to be able to learn how to use one. Such an unexpected blessing!

Earlier this week, I found a set of 5 children’s Spanish books that have all kinds of children’s stories in them. Books are truly special and this purchase made me dream even more about making a small reading area in one corner of the room with a bookshelf and maybe a rug of some sort for the kids to sit on. I want to create a love of reading in these kids. Danelia actually shared the same idea with me yesterday and we laughed at how often we both have the same vision for this little concrete box.

Today, I found the website of a company in Canada where I can buy some children’s Spanish books at a greatly reduced price and I am really excited about that. Typically, those books are higher than when they’re in English which is so frustrating. Several of these are even Christian books which is even more exciting. I methodically went through all the categories and have managed to find about 23 books for less than $100! I love bargains! So, I am going to try to get them ordered in the next day or two so that hopefully, they will come while we’re in the States and we can bring the first load of them back down with us when we return. Books are heavy and they eat up our airline weight allotment for our luggage pretty quickly.

Our other big dream? Danelia and I both want to someday be able to paint the school – this would be really special as their homes are all gray concrete blocks so a painted room would be a bright, cheery treat. Danelia told me she would love to have some kind of mural on one of the walls like she has seen done in the hospital and I have begun searching the internet for mural stencils that we might be able to use to paint a scene on. A few years ago, we did something similar to that at one of the hospitals here but it was on a much smaller scale. I wasn’t sure if I could find anything or not and sure enough, I have. So, now it has been added to our ever-lengthening Wish List.

So many Wish Lists remain just that…wishes. But God has started bringing some of those wishes to fruition. We are deeply grateful for those of you who have already donated to help us with this project. Everyone, including those who had a part in giving of the very generous donation from an adult Sunday school class at FBC in Cassville, the Willard Lone Star Baptist Church’s kids who gave their VBS money and the young woman who was here last month and left her change for us…everyone who donates to this, regardless the amount, is an integral part of what God is doing here. You have enabled us to get a good start on this and I just want you to know that there are not enough words of thanks for that. You are making a difference…our blessed Hope is here and change is coming!