Again...

I have come to the conclusion that Facebook has not been conducive to blog writing…at least not for me, it hasn’t!  I love keeping up with everyone on Facebook…and I love being able to write a quick synopsis of our day…Facebook makes it easy.  Blogspot does not.  But, sadly, I’m not a good multi-tasker when it comes to my writing and so it seems that I’ve opted for Facebook in place of blogging.  Or I should say, I have for the past year…I’m going to attempt to change that somewhat and hopefully, become more balanced with both.

It has been brought to my attention (more than once…kindly, gently, not-so-kindly and not-so-gently) by more than one person that I need to get back to the blog since there are folks who don’t have Facebook and don’t want to have it.  I admire their stance.  I once had a similar one…I caved.  And so, when it comes to blogging…I begin again.  Yet again. 

Life has been more than fast-paced for us the last few weeks.  We flew back to Nicaragua on Wednesday, March 12^th and it feels like we hit the ground running.  Thanks to a friend, we had the a/c in our car fixed while we were State-side but had to have something concerning it tweaked and tightened before returning to Somoto.  We also had some business we had to which we had to attend, some shopping to do and a meeting to attend.  So, we actually didn’t make it up to Somoto until Friday, the 14^th. 

Since then, we have been crazy busy!  We have been trying to get things ready for the FBC Cassville team’s arrival which is this next Sunday, March 31^st.  We also are involved in the wedding of our very dear and special friends, Raquel (the director of CINAFE) and Miguel Angel, who are getting married the night before the team arrives!  We have several roles of responsibility in the wedding so it’s more than just our showing up…and, as great of an honor that is, that we’ve been asked to participate in their special day, it’s also added somewhat to the stress level on our end.  Plus, that time commitment has made things even more challenging with the timing and preparation for this team.  But, God has paved the way for us and helped us through each of the challenges, so far, and I have no reason to think He won’t continue to do so!  

The night we got home, it was so nice to be here and to be mosquito free…it didn’t take long for them to find us again!  The other things we noticed that night were all the new cracks in the walls.  I know that there were some tremors while we were gone but I wonder if a lot of it isn’t just the house settling.  Cracks are just part of a concrete block house…but some of ours are of a pretty healthy size.  It will be interesting to see what happens when the rains come again. 

A day after being home, our freezer quit working.  That’s a huge thing for us as we depend greatly on that freezer.  We managed to salvage most everything and had to wait a few days for the freezer repair guy to come as he was on the east coast working.  Thankfully, the problem turned out to be a very simple fix and we didn’t need to buy any parts.  That was such a huge blessing…freezers are considered a definite luxury here and the parts to repair them are priced accordingly! 

The saga of the water tank is about to come to an end…I hope!  Trying to get someone to install one has been somewhat of a Herculean task, it seems.  We were told it would be better to wait until the dry season so that the concrete pad could set up without a problem.  So, we waited.  Then when we got the estimate to have it installed, it was more than double what we had thought it would be.  So, we decided to revamp our plan for installation to bring the cost down considerably.  Unfortunately, that didn’t help with finding someone to actually show up to do the work!   

But, after numerous failed attempts, our friend Hermes finally brought a man named Tonio over who said he would do the concrete work…and for a very reasonable price.   Jim liked him and so he and Tonio agreed upon the day he would arrive.  Our responsibility was to get the materials delivered and to get the water tank delivered.  So, we did both of those things…which never is as simple as it should be. 

 The day came when Tonio was to be at our house at 7:00 a.m. to make the concrete pad.  He still hadn’t come by 7:30, but we weren’t terribly concerned as that’s about par for the course.  By 9:00 a.m. though, we figured out he wasn’t coming.   Jim called Hermes to see if he could find out what had happened with Tonio and a little bit later, Hermes came by to tell us that he had talked with Tonio’s wife and apparently, he had forgotten and had gone to work at another job that day.  

I am pretty sure my frustration was apparent because a few hours later, Tonio came by and apologized to Jim for forgetting and promised he would be there the next day.  And this time, he was good for his word.  He brought another worker with him so that they could get the job done before it got really hot.  And, it looks as though they did a good job.

The concrete should be cured to the point that we should be able to install the tank tomorrow.  In order to save some expense, Jim’s going to do the plumbing part himself.  I know he’ll show up!  So, if all goes well, we should have a working water tank in place within a couple of days.  I can hardly wait!!  We lose our water on a daily basis these days and it will be so nice to have a reserve from which we can draw.

We’ve started back to school in El Melonar.  Enrollment is up for this year which is very encouraging.  We have 28 students in the morning class and the pre-school class has 19.  Our afternoon class has stayed consistent with the same kids from last year.  The change that I’ve noticed most is that the children have been so unruly this year.  They aren’t really being “bad”, but neither are they nearly as well-behaved as they were last year.  It has made teaching much more of a challenge and exhausting.  I think we’re going to have to work on manners and behavior again this year because it seems that many have forgotten which has been disappointing.  I am praying that the Lord will give me wisdom and some great ideas as to how to address this in a manner that brings about the desired results.  I love these kids and want to see them succeed…in every aspect of their education. 

We have also been immersed in trying to get the baking project underway in El Melonar.  This opportunity is a result of the generosity of a group of women from FBC Cassville.  We have had enough money donated to build an oven in the community.  That alone fired me up and I am so excited about this opportunity for those ladies who will benefit from this wonderful gift. 

But, the difference in cultures has been very evident in working towards that goal of helping those ladies get a business started there.  Without going in to all the details, the bottom line is that we are soon going to find out who has the motivation, drive and determination to see this through and who is going to let their fear and sense of being comfortable in their present circumstances dominate.

Tired from a full morning of learning

There are five women who have shown an interest and we have obtained two days worth of training for them.  But, none of them have any business experience nor are any of them natural born leaders.  So, we have learned that this is going to be a teaching project in more ways than just learning how to make bread which translates in to taking much more time than we had originally planned and a ton more patience and encouragement. 

In the kitchen, learning to make rolls

Marta

We were out at El Melonar at 6:30 yesterday morning to pick these 5 ladies up to take them to Cacauli (another community about 20 minutes away) to spend the morning learning the intricacies of baking in one of these outside beehive ovens.   

The lady who is teaching them grew up learning and practicing this skill as her mother also was a baker.  Marta is a sweet person and was very kind when we spoke with her about hiring her to teach these gals.  She is not only full of knowledge, she is such a great encourager and I’m so grateful the Lord led us to her for this task.

Headed home!

We will pick the ladies up again in the morning (Wed.) and they will have another morning of lessons with Marta.  After that, we will see if they are ready for the next step and that’s to begin the building the process.  There are several men in the community who are also interested in this project…and very excited about the prospect of another similar opportunity in the community.  The thought of keeping El Melonar alive as a viable and self-sustaining community has energized so many there…others, of course, have a wait-and-see attitude.  We will just keep moving forward as long as that’s the direction the Lord leads!     

We also met last week with five young ladies from El Melonar whose college tuitions are now being funded by some ladies at FBC Cassville.  What an amazing gift this is to these girls!  They were so excited that the worry of paying tuition for this year has now been lifted from their shoulders. 

We also have supplied each one of the girls with the necessary school supplies they need and they were so grateful.  One of the girls is especially good about expressing her thanks and she’s probably the one who needs the help the most.  it’s always a joy to do something for her and she makes it so easy to do so. 

The girls have agreed to volunteer two hours a week with helping at the school which will benefit Prof. Mario, the students, the community at large and themselves.  These are new concepts for them and three of the five have embraced the idea whole-heartedly…the other two will come around although I know it will take some time for their attitude and their gratitude to match their words!  Volunteering in that way is just not something that is normal in this culture, but, I have no doubt they will see the benefit of giving back.

L-R: Claudia who is studying to be a nurse, Tania and Franlie are studying to be teachers, Lourdes and Nohelia are studying to be English teachers

So, for the most part, those are the highlights of what we’ve been doing the last two weeks.  Some of the smaller projects have included cutting out and organizing our new Betty Luken's Bible Felt Board Set…another greatly appreciated gift which we received while Stateside.  It is a beautiful set with wonderfully vivid colors and we are so excited to begin our new story time with the kids using this set…that’s scheduled to begin after our time with the FBC Cassville team.     

We also have had to spend some time in the garden, trying to clean up, dead-head, nurse some neglected plants back to health. 

Jim installed a small ceiling fan in the kitchen!  That has been a lifesaver the last few days as the temps have been so hot…95 degrees actual…who knows what the heat index has been?  I just know it has been ridiculously hot!  Even with the ceiling fan on the highest speed and our oscillating floor fan going full blast, it’s been difficult to sleep at night. 

We had to go pay the tuition at a private school for a little girl that a friend who lives in Managua is sponsoring.  That is always an ordeal…it is not an organized or a rapid process. 

We had a week of daily visitors…almost all were unexpected, including a couple from Germany who has expressed an interest in working in El Melonar.  They were a lovely young couple and it was a pleasure to meet them.  The word seemed to spread quickly that we were back home. 

So, that’s a pretty concise summary of our last two weeks…at least it’s somewhat concise for the lover-of-words me!  I will not promise that I will return to the same prolific posts that I had in the early days of my blogging…time is always an issue for me…I wish I was a brief writer but I’m not.  Twitter and I would never get along!  J

Thank you for coming to visit us here at the blog!  Until next time!