Another visit from Mario...

Professor Mario just stopped by with some news for us. The superintendent of the schools was visiting out in El Melonar yesterday and this morning and will return again tomorrow morning. After he heard from Prof. Mario that the students were going to have their school supplies provided for them this year, he wanted to come out and visit the community and talk to the families himself. Evidently, there is now a sense of excitement and hope that wasn't there before and two families who had not enrolled their children have now agreed to send them to school!

Prof. Mario said that God is touching El Melonar in so many ways and I assured him that the Lord sees everything that is happening in his community and that He cares about every single person there. We have had that conversation before.

He told me that God is giving them "other blessings" now through others...and his excitement level went up incrementally. Five of the students who will be going to the high school here in Somoto this year have received new school shoes from someone else here locally. And there was a young lady who started working with the older children and teaching them the basics of how to use a computer. She was doing that the last few months before school was out and would carry her laptop out to the community and here's the best part...she was not getting paid but volunteering her time. Now, she has a friend who is going to join her in doing the same thing in the coming school year and again, volunteering their time! So the children will have an opportunity to learn computer skills and that is going to be such a benefit to them.  

He was so excited as he talked about how we made the circle and prayed the last time he was here and how he can now see God working through us and through others. I didn't think he could get any more hyper than we've seen him in the past, but he can! :) 

I asked him again if he didn't want the school supplies ahead of time and he told me no, that he wanted us to come on the first day of school to hand them out. He then said that the community had a meeting and that they are planning a time of celebration and thanksgiving on that day. He said that in talking with the parents, that they have decided they also want to have refreshments - "something simple and small". :) He asked if we would speak and share with the families our story...why we are here and why we chose the community of El Melonar. He said that the superintendent told him that he is planning on coming and that the regional director of the Dept. of Education has even said he would like to come for this. 

Now, I'm getting nervous...we just wanted to make sure these kids have an opportunity to go to school...and this seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Not sure what the Lord has planned but it seems to be a lot bigger than what we had!

Cruisin' to Cusmapa

We took a road trip today (with 3 friends) up to San Jose de Cusmapa which is a very small village located higher up in the mountains and nestled right in a beautiful pine forest.  There is a local cooperative of women who make and sell pine needle baskets. 

 

A picture of the women's cooperative in Cusmapa

They are raked all day long/takes 2 weeks to dry w/ this method

On the way to the little village, which is only 21 miles from here, we saw a coffee roasting place and lots of beans spread out to dry...so we stopped.  We met the supervisor of the place, Javier, who spent the next hour explaining to us the entire process from planting and caring for the coffee bushes all the way to exporting the roasted coffee to the States...extremely interesting!   

One of the things I found so remarkable is that they still hand rake the beans and dry them out in the sun but they use a computerized machine to determine the moisture content, color, weight and ultimately, the quality of the harvested beans.

Javier - expert in coffee production and brother in Christ

When Javier found out we were all missionaries (except for a Nicaraguan friend who joined us), he went from being very reserved and professional (although very kind) to being so excited, I thought he would burst.  His whole countenance changed and his eyes sparkled and his face was almost glowing.  He's been a Christian for 20 years and ministers in his church through music.  We loved visiting with this precious brother in the Lord and we left with his name and phone number in our pockets. 

Bringing coffee beans in to sell / our friend Niki

 

The next stop was in Los Sabanas to buy already roasted and freshly ground shade-grown coffee.  We paid $2.88 for a one-pound bag!  I'm really anxious to try it tomorrow morning and hope it tastes as wonderful as it smells!

When we were leaving, a man was bringing in coffee to sell to the Co-op and Niki had to have her picture taken with the horses.  The man thought we were all a little crazy to take pictures of something like this!

We loaded back up in our car and kept climbing up higher in the mountains.  Oh...I forgot to mention that the road up is a really rough and bumpy rock road.  The road is impassable in places during the rainy season but thankfully, they've not had enough rain lately to prohibit travel.  We did cross several places where the water had covered the road but nothing of any significance.  We finally arrived at Cusmapa 3+ hours after we had left our house!

Looking out over the hazy mountain range...beautiful!

We pulled up in front of the Cooperative Store and no one was there!  Seriously!  But, Marlo, our Nicaraguan friend, hunted down the lady that works there so she opened it up for us.  Our American friends loved shopping and bought enough that the lady called the owner so that she could come and help her with the pricing.   

One hour later, three happy women, one soft-hearted husband and a bemused Nicaraguan gentleman left the shop in hunt of a place to eat lunch.  Not an easy thing to find in a small little village on a Saturday afternoon at 3:15 in the afternoon!  But there was a tiny little place on the way out of town that was still open and offered tacos and enchiladas (Nicaraguan style, not Tex-Mex!) and so we stopped.

The restaurant had 2 plastic tables, 6 chairs and 3 dogs!  The area where the tables were had a concrete floor...the kitchen and the enclosed adjoining area which led to his house had dirt floors.  I checked out the kitchen when we first arrived and made the decision not to look back there again!   The owner took a broom to chase out the two visible dogs and shortly after, the one who was hiding behind a chair.   

We each got one chicken taco (which resembles a taquito) and an enchilada (a folded 1/2 moon shaped fried tortilla that had rice, onion and chicken inside.  And we each got a bottle of pop...the Orange Fanta had to have the lids removed with a bottle opener...and the man who owns the place (also the cook and the waiter) asked Jim and I if we wanted the orange drink or the black...the "black" drink was Coca Cola!  

The food really wasn’t too bad…even the typical Nicaraguan cabbage salad, that was piled on top of the taco and enchilada, hit the spot.   This is nothing more than shredded cabbage with some lemon juice, salt, sweet ketchup and crema acida (a kind of runny sour cream but still a little different in flavor…hard to explain) and doesn’t sound particularly appetizing but is surprisingly good.  I have to admit that I would tell each one of you not to eat that salad but both Jim and I opted to eat it.  So far, no ill effects.  

Our bill for all five of us came to a grand total of 160 cord which equates to about $1.37 per person.   The man was so gracious and treated us as though we were VIPs who were gracing his establishment, expressing his gratitude for us stopping to eat at his place.  Actually, we were the ones who should have been extremely grateful to have found a place to eat so far away from anywhere!  Jim gave him a nice tip and to say the man was thrilled would be an understatement.   

I don’t know that we’ll be going back up that way again anytime soon but I wouldn’t hesitate to stop in again for lunch…I can overlook dogs in the dining area, dirt floors and no silverware (oh yeah…I forgot to share that part) in exchange for a smile and send-off like the one we got today as we were leaving.  Remarkable times…

Coffee bushes and Spanish moss

Well, it was almost 4:00 p.m. as we started back home from Cusmapa.  I was a little concerned that we were going to have to navigate those windy mountainous roads in the dark but coming down the mountain was a lot quicker than going up.  We managed to get back to Somoto in about an hour and a half!  Not bad for a 21 mile trip.  :)

We stopped and gave gum to these children

        

A simple thank-you is not enough...

Can it really be 2013 already?  How could the days of 2012 have passed by so quickly?  And I have a feeling this year is going to go by just as quickly if not more so...January is already 1/3 gone!

 

We want to take a minute to thank you for the blessing you have been to this ministry with your prayers of intercession and your financial donations...but a simple thank you just can't express what you have meant to us and the impact you have made here in Nicaragua.  

Through your generosity in giving this past year to Deep Water Ministries, you have ministered to the hurt, the sick, the poor, the lame, the hungry and the lost.  You have purchased food for the hungry, Bible study materials, personal hygiene supplies, clothing, shoes, school supplies, craft materials, medications, bandages, chemo drugs, paid for school tuitions, bus transportation for the needy and so much more.  You have touched people with the love of Christ in Managua, Tipitapa, Nindiri, Cristo Rey, El Crucero, León, El Cañon, San Antonio, Ocotal, Caucauli, Santa Isabel, El Melonar and Somoto.   

The results of your outreach have been felt in feeding centers, in slums, in the city, in small neighborhoods, in rural areas, on porches, on street corners, under trees, in hospital rooms, in classrooms, in living rooms, in wheelchairs, in the arms of weary caretakers and in the hearts of grieving parents.  You have left your mark on doctors, beggars, teachers, pastors, single mothers, orphaned, abandoned and abused children, drunks, drug addicts, students, families, widows, prostitutes, the saved and the lost.   

Do not think for one moment that you are not making a difference…you are.  And as you read this, know that once again we are humbled and overwhelmed with gratitude for the support and confidence you have placed in us with your prayers and your finances.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and pray that if it is God’s will, that we will be able to continue in 2013 to be your hands and feet here in Nicaragua, sharing the Good News of the Gospel in word and deed. 

May our Father bless you in abundance for your prayers and your giving!

More on El Melonar and our meeting with Mario...

We just finished meeting with the principal at Cristóbal Colón, the little school out at El Melonar.  Mario came over this morning so we could discuss the coming school year and so we could share with him that we would be helping the children with their school supplies, and hopefully, their uniforms. 
What an exciting and eye-opening meeting that was!  
When Mario came in to the house, he was very discouraged.  He had received word from the Minister of Education that a pre-enrollment report indicated that there were less students enrolled in the primary grades.  Mario was told that the government would then pay for only one elementary teacher since the class size was going to be less than the required 32 students for a second teacher for multi-grade classes.  They only had 28 students pre-enrolled for 1st through 6th grades.  The director explained to Mario that meant two things for this next school year...either he or Bianca (the teacher who taught 1st-3rd grades last year) would have to go and whoever the remaining teacher would be, would have to teach all 6 grades by themselves!   
Mario was devastated!  The director explained that the district would like to keep him there because of his experience and move Bianca to another area since she only has a few years experience.  But that they hadn't yet made up their minds who would be moved. 
I need to clarify something here...this report did not include the 9 children who are hoping to go to kinder...which is a pre-school/kindergarten class that is typical in the government schools and that Cristóbal Colón was hoping to add this year.  Kinder has three levels - level 1 is for 3 year olds, level 2 is for 4 year olds and level 3 is for 5 year olds.  They have not had one in the past because of a lack of a teacher for such a small group.  This year, there are enough kinder students that the district is looking at adding a teacher.  But, that teacher would be for that class only and that class cannot be combined with the lower primary grade classes.
So, as it stands now, there will be only one teacher for the 28 students in 1st through 6th grade and a new teacher (Bianca doesn't have kinder experience) for the 9 students in the kinder class.  
We discussed at length some of the ramifications to this decision...two of those being the impossibility to teach all the students in the primary grades at an optimum level and that this kind of assignment will a take a toll on the health/stamina of that teacher...not to mention their voice and their nerves!
I decided to go for a more personal question and I asked Mario what the government paid their teachers.  He told me that 3000 cordobas per month (currently about $125) is the standard wage for a rural elementary teacher.  He said because of his experience, he also receives a bonus.  The bonus is based on each consecutive year that a teacher has taught in a government school and it consists of an additional 20 cord per month (that equates to 84 cents a month more than the base pay)...that's some incentive plan, huh?  So sad to see this!  Teachers are definitely under-appreciated and under-paid here!
Although El Melonar is logistically considered a part of the Somoto school district, according to Mario, the community is treated differently.  Because it is a poorer community, the children are often looked down upon.  Many drop out of school because they don't see how their circumstances can ever change with an education...there aren't too many success stories in their small community and so the benefits of a good education is simply a pipe dream to a lot of those families.  
Another example of non-spoken discrimination is that the small school doesn't receive many of the benefits and amenities that some of the other public schools receive.  When I asked him why, he explained that it is because it's such a small community...and their school has so few students...more of an  "escuelita".  There are only about 75 families and about 50 homes...many share their homes with extended family members.  He shrugged his shoulders as he explained that there aren't enough students to warrant more attention.  Broke my heart...every child matters!   
In the course of our conversation, Mario mentioned in passing that there are a handful of children who don't attend school.  When we asked about them and why they didn't attend, he said it was because their families cannot afford even the most basic of supplies...notebooks and pencils.  We asked him if the children were guaranteed to have school supplies, did he think they would come...he said he could talk to the families to encourage them to send the children and he thought that they could be persuaded to let them come if they knew that they would have school supplies like the other children.  Shame and embarrassment are certainly detrimental to a child's education...
We also asked Mario if those children came, would that boost the numbers up to where Ministry of Education would allow the school to two teachers again.  Within a split second, his eyes lit up and said he was going to call the director right then and ask.  Well, the director's phone went right to voice mail but we saw a definite change in Mario's countenance.  He was starting to put the pieces together...that if we could supply the necessary items for these other children in addition to the current students, then their attendance would bring them up to the minimum requirement of students in order to justify two teachers...and maybe Bianca could stay after all!  
It was so wonderful to see hope in Mario's eyes.  He's so committed to helping these children in his community.  He said that his dream when he was much younger was to be a pilot but he said God had different plans for him.  Now, he says his dream is to help these children realize that they could someday be a pilot.  He said several times that he wants them to believe that nothing is impossible for them.  I love that about Mario!  His enthusiasm is contagious!  
We let Mario know that we would definitely be helping the students at El Melonar and to plan on us being there on the first day of school (which has now been changed to February 11th) with a backpack for each child, filled with all their school supplies!  He was so excited!  
Through Mario, we saw some doors open up for us in not only being able to help meet some real needs with these children but even more so, an opportunity to meet some spiritual needs.  We were talking about helping the children with some English classes and maybe a craft class once a week.    Mario eagerly agreed and then told us that he would like it if we could also teach the children Bible stories!  You could have knocked us over with a feather!  The Lord opened the door for us and Mario has shoved us through it!  I love it!  
We are really looking forward to see how God is going to work in this.  We expect there to be some resistance along the way but I know that after this morning's meeting, that we are even more confident that this is definitely the place that God has called us to minister.  We are so excited for the future here!
If you would like to help support this project (or our ministry), you can do that by sending donations to the ministry address listed on our contact information or through our church...First Baptist Church, 602 West Street, Cassville, MO 65625.
We would love to have any of you come visit us here...individually or with a team.  I'm pretty sure that you would fall as much in love with the Nicaraguan people as we have!
      

Opportunity to impact a life...

This is a difficult post for me to do...I'm just not a good fund-raiser, folks.  But, the truth is that school starts here in a month...February 4th and so our time is growing short to raise the funds necessary for the Sponsor-a-Student Fund.  We will need to begin purchasing supplies here very soon.  

Love the look of joy on these faces over such a few items for the school

Jim and I have basically "adopted" the small rural elementary school of Cristóbal Colón in the nearby community of El Melonar which is just a few kilometers from our house.  It is a school where almost all of the estimated 40 children who will attend this 2013 school year are in need.  It is not unusual for children to drop out of school due to the inability to buy school supplies.

Checking out their new things

For $100, you can sponsor a child for a year.  That sum includes two uniforms (school uniforms are mandatory here in Nicaragua and having two allows the children to be able to wear one while the other one is washed and dried), a pair of shoes, socks, a backpack and all necessary school supplies for the entire year.

Receiving their new pencils and pens...and happy to get them!

 

For $100, you can impact a child's future.  If you can find it in your heart (and your budget) to help support this project with any amount, we would be deeply grateful as will the child you will help.  If $100 is just beyond what you are able to give, whatever you might be able to contribute will go to support these children in their education.  No amount is too small when you serve the God of loaves and fishes and every little bit helps! 

 

You can direct your funds one of two ways...either to:

Deep Water Ministry

26126 Farm Road 1000

Washburn, MO 65772            

or

First Baptist Church 

602 West Street

Cassville, MO 65625

PLEASE INDICATE WHERE THESE FUNDS ARE TO GO... we want to make sure that your donation goes where you intend! 

Thank you in advance for your consideration and your generosity...in your giving and in your prayers!  May the Lord bless you in this coming year as you give to others and trust Him to give to you in return!