2000 Miles Away

The last few weeks have been wonderful. I have spent some time with my amazing family, and gotten to catch up with numerous friends. Christmas was a blessing and I am looking forward to an always fun New Years with our closest friends and family.

Here's a picture of me and my great fam from earlier this summer :) We are really good at laughing when we are together!

Even though I am 2000 miles away, life in Nicaragua is of course, constantly on my mind. I love checking up on Charity's facebook updates, and fortunately I've been able to stay more or less up to date on everything going on down there with phone calls and emails. I have gotten to talk to all the kids, including the babies, (talking with them would not necessarily be considered real conversations, but fun nonetheless) and see the newest Christmas pictures!

I have realized though while being here, how easy it is to forget about the difficulties that come up in a children's home in Nicaragua. Which brings me to the purpose of this particular post. Among others, I want to bring a couple pray requests to your attention:

1. There is a constant struggle to find honest, loving employees to care for the children. We have been through a number of Nicaraguan women who don't quite make the cut in providing the care and love the children need and deserve. Please continue to pray that we can find someone who is called by God to truly love these children and don't just treat them as a job.

2. The doctor came up with some disappointing news about Luviana's eyes. The first doctor said we could put an artificial eye in her left eye, and with a cornea transplant she should be able to regain good vision in her right eye, but the last doctor said a cornea transplant wouldn't make any difference to her nearly blind eye. While we still plan on trying to get another opinion, above all else, trust is put in God and His ability to work miracles.

3. When one person gets sick, everyone gets sick. . . While most of the kids have gotten over being sick, Charity's immune system has decided to go on vacation and leave her body prey to the germ bugs. Pray for a speedy healing, as she has plenty on her plate!

4. A few months ago numerous things were donated to the organization, and sent down on a large semi truck to be delivered. Due to various complications, it has still not arrived and facing more issues. Please pray for God's favor in the whole situation, it is greatly needed!

5. Please keep one of the girls in the home in your prayers. There have been some issues that have recently come up that simply need the Lord's intervention.

On the otherside, there are always reasons for rejoicing and praising the Lord.

1. Yelka walks!!!! While the tiniest (in size not age; at 2 years old she is the second youngest) member of the home was taking her first steps before I left, she hadn't yet taken the plunge. But since I have left, (although this picture does not give real proof) I was informed she has found her legs and is walking like a pro!

2. Olfelia is learning how to use the potty! Ideally all the babies would be potty trained by my return, but I know that is not quite a logical desire :) So I have been studying up on my potty training skills, and thanking the Lord that we will have one less baby to buy diapers for!

3. The organization has a new website that is looking fabulous, check it out here.

4. Since I have been home I have been blessed with some free time. I have been using some of this time in attempt to improve my Miskito and learn more about the culture and language of these people. So I have a praise and a request. A request that I can be successful in my attempts to learn this other language, and a praise that I am actually progressing!

5. The Lord is constantly providing, and always present regardless of whether we know and acknowledge it or not. Just the thought of this is reason enough to direct all our praise to Him.

Love and prayers to all of you and your families during this great time of year!

Life back in the states

Tuesday night, my body which had happily adjusted to the 80 degree weather in Nicaragua was shocked into reality after stepping off the plane and into a 19 degree winter wonderland! Fortunately along with this bitter cold I found my parents who i was thrilled to see, and them equally excited to greet me, plus knowing i had nothing more than a long sleeve shirt, they came carrying my winter coat and a scarf! Once in the car I found a snack of grapes (a fruit so ridiculously expensive in Nicaragua we hardly ever were able to indulge in them) and crackers and cheese (real american colby jack cheese, the first I'd had in over 3 months :) On the drive home I was able to have a brief but great reunion with Joslynn and Ryan Heath (who have just come back from Nicaragua about a month ago after finalizing the adoption of their three boys!)

I of course am missing all my kiddos and friends in Nicaragua but the little girls were reassured when I explained to them that I would only be gone a month and I would be back before school had even started for the next year. Luckily I am able to talk about them all the time and it makes them feel not so far away! And it always help to have pictures of them with their gorgeous smiles :)

I'm so excited to be back and have the opportunity to spend the holidays with my family and remember how fortunate that God placed me in such a loving home with an amazing family and friends.

Waspam

We got back yesterday from spending the week in Waspam. Who knew you could find a completely different world without even leaving the country. There are more differences to be found than simply the language. Most of the people in Waspam speak Miskito and Spanish, although the people in the villages really only speak Miskito. There was actually a man who came up to Charity and I while we were visiting one of the villages who, in spanish told us, 'Don't worry, I speak your language!' While waiting for him to begin speaking in English, we realized he meant spanish! I've never had anyone refer to my language as spanish before! haha.


In some ways, most of the houses look nicer than those you would find here on the other side of the country. For the most part they are all made of wood (a supply of which there is always plenty), so although most of the villages don't have any running water or electricity, they can still build a sturdy home. Most of them are up on stilts like this one too. 

When we were in the villages, we always had an entourage! The people (kids especially) would flock around the vehicle daring each other to get closer and closer. 

We came across Ruvi on Sunday. She is 12 years old and weighs barely nothing. She has never been seen by a doctor, and we are hoping to have her brought here to the home in El Crucero in the next week or so. She can't walk or crawl, and only says 'mama.' She can feed herself, and brings the water to her mouth to drink, but otherwise is dependent on the help of her siblings. We are still continuing  to keep her in our prayers, and hope God can work a miracle in her life. 

We brought two kids back with us, Samari and Billy. Samari is 5, and the older sister of Frankie who is already in El Crucero, while Billy is 2 and a half. There are five other children that are living in the home in Waspam ranging in age from 4 to 10. God blessed us with finding a new house mother, so hopefully all will go well with her and the kids there.  Here is a picture of Charity and I in the house in Waspam with Billy and Samari. 

Please continue to keep this region of the country in your prayers, they are often forgotten even by the people of their own country. Many of them farm, and the crop harvests have been really down. There are hardly any good beans to be found in the whole city, and other foods are very expensive. We know God is good and always provides, but for many people there miracles are especially needed. Also pray that Ruvi will be safely brought to Managua where she can get more medical attention. 

And I thought my blonde hair stuck out in Managua

Charity and I have officially arrived in Waspam!

After a thankfully uneventful plane ride, we are here! The flight in total was about an hour and a half. We flew about an hour, stopped in Bonanza dropped off a couple people, then flew another half an hour to get here to our final destination. I'm still not sure how much I love flying in an airplane that is only made to carry 12 people, but hey, it got us here safely, and in far less time than it would take to drive, or come by bus. There is also something very exotic about landing on a dirt runway and not needing to walk through any building; just landing, getting your bags as you get off, and going. There were luckily men with wheel barrel type things that were there to carry our bags as we walked to our hotel though.

So wait, why are we here??? All the kids in the home are miskito indians who were born in Waspam. New Hope Children's Foundation not only has the home that I have been serving in in El Crucero, but also a home here in Waspam. Among other things, goals of this trip are to take two kids that are already in the home here back with us to El Crucero, and to find any other kids in the area that need a home.

So far, this is what I have realized: if I thought I as a gringa with my blonde haired, and white skin stood out in Managua, and El Crucero, I was terribly mistaken. Walking down the streets of Waspam I now understand what it feels like to stand out. Here there is a completely different level of culture shock that goes on. In some ways it is not all that different from El Crucero, but in others, it is a whole other world. I figured out as we were walking through town, that its as if you have just gone back in time. I dont really have words to describe it other than, a third world country/city with an 1800s feel. Those of you who have been there, may have different ways to describe it, but at least with my initial scan, that is what I have decided. The language barrier is also a different obstacle. Here in Waspam, the main language spoken is Miskito. . . While I have learned few phrases in this language, neither Charity nor I have nearly enough knowledge to actually carry on full conversations. Fortunately, a fair number of people in the city speak spanish as well, so hopefully we will be able to get help translating whenever needed!

We have lots of work ahead of us, in order to get everything done we need to in the next week! Please keep us in your prayer as we work at hiring someone to take care of the kids in the home here, and as we try to carry out the work of the ministry, rescuing more of God's children.

My Beautiful Children

Today, to the delight of most of the kids, was the last day of school!!! Nicaragua school schedule goes from February through November, so other than graduation, they are done with school stuff for the next two months :) In El Crucero the weather has begun to turn "cold" at least according to their standards, meaning in the morning and evenings it gets down to mid to lower 70s, but is still in the 80s when the sun is out during the day. To someone from the midwest, its gorgeous early fall weather. 

I am currently here sitting in the dentist office waiting on one of our girls who is getting work done on her teeth. Because her teeth were in such bad shape, they put her to sleep so that they could get everything done they need too. So I'm just praying she's not in too much pain when she gets up!

Here are some pictures of the babies playing outside!

Frankie and Leito relaxing on top of a pile of towels on the trampoline

 Yelka and Ofelia just enjoying outside

Emily yelling at me because I stopped following her to take a picture :)

And some others just for fun.

 Leito is learning to give some pretty great besos,

 especially when they are followed by "I wuv woo mama!"

 Yelka is still not so sure about cameras, Ofelia on the other hand would have you take her picture all day long!

And we can't leave out Luviana, who also LOVES having her picture taken, then holding the camera right up close against her eye so that she can see that the picture was actually taken, and that she is in it!

Here are Debonney and Joely, the oldest two girls in the home, Debonney on the left is 12, and Joely is 15. Both are amazing with their help in caring for all the little ones!

Candle making

Earlier this week I got to spend some good time with the little girls making candles! Their teacher did not come to school (a not so uncommon thing unfortunately) so they were sent home. Instead of going straight to playing we decided to do something somewhat educational first! Using one of those chemistry kits, we learned about solids, liquids and gases by taking solid wax, and crayons, melting it to make a liquid, dipping a string and making it solid again, then burning it to form a gas! Yay! Anyways, we had fun with it, and it was nice to spend some time with just them and no distractions from the babies, or big kids :)

The equipment:

The girls:

Costa Rica!

This last weekend, I was blessed with the opportunity to take a mini vacation! With 'babysitters' in place we took off for five days of rest and rejuvenation! Here are highlights of this extended weekend vacation!

1. Crossing the border! This was my first experience crossing a border in anything other than airplane. Needless to say the process is a little more tedious, but an adventure nonetheless. And to make it all the better I got six stamps in my passport between going from Nicaragua to Costa Rica and back!

2. I received my first marriage proposal since coming down (no need to worry, I said 'no'). I was from the first Costa Rican I interacted with once across the border haha! He didn't even know if I spoke spanish when he asked. 

3. Our condo was gorgeous! The first thing that stood out to us was that it was clean! It was a great little oasis in Playas del Coco, Costa Rica. And its most used feature. . . the infinity pool! Especially because the majority of the time we had it completely to ourselves!

4. One beautiful night we went out and floated in the pool looking up and the glorious sky full of stars. It was so peaceful and relaxing, a great way to go stargazing! 

5. Notre Dame Football! I watched my first ND football game of the season (at least the second half) while we were in Costa Rica :) Although it was a sad, yet close loss, it was still great to be able to be a part of Notre Dame again!

6. World Series! It just so happened that while I was in Costa Rica, the giants won the world series! Despite my american league allegiance, congrats!

7. The dryer. Our condo was also the home of a washing machine and dryer! Using a dryer for the first time in two months definitely feels awesome. 

8. Scrabble in the candlelight. In case you were wondering, the electricity can still go out, even if you are on vacation :) Fortunately it was only for a couple hours one evening, so we made the most of it, and played scrabble, seeing with the candles that our only neighbor let us borrow! Scrabble really is a great game. 

9. Sleeping. Sleeping was one of the best benefits of this trip :) I didn't set an alarm, and wasn't worried about babies waking up for the entire trip. 

10. Africa Mia. Who knew you could go to Africa while in Costa Rica?!?! Africa Mia is this zoo that you can ride through and feed the animals as if you are on an African Safari! We fed giraffe and deer among other animals :) 

Hannah's Prayer

I recently rediscovered this passage from the Bible and was reminded of the beauty of prayer. Hannah's prayer is so pure and exalting and I wanted to share it

1 Samuel 2: 1-10

Then Hannah prayed and said:
       "My heart rejoices in the LORD;
       in the LORD my horn is lifted high.
       My mouth boasts over my enemies,
       for I delight in your deliverance. "There is no one holy like the LORD;
       there is no one besides you;
       there is no Rock like our God.
 "Do not keep talking so proudly
       or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
       for the LORD is a God who knows,
       and by him deeds are weighed.
 "The bows of the warriors are broken,
       but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
       but those who were hungry hunger no more.
       She who was barren has borne seven children,
       but she who has had many sons pines away.
 "The LORD brings death and makes alive;
       he brings down to the grave and raises up.
 The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
       he humbles and he exalts.
 He raises the poor from the dust
       and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
       he seats them with princes
       and has them inherit a throne of honor.
       "For the foundations of the earth are the LORD's;
       upon them he has set the world.
 He will guard the feet of his saints,
       but the wicked will be silenced in darkness.
       "It is not by strength that one prevails;
 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered.
       He will thunder against them from heaven;
       the LORD will judge the ends of the earth.
       "He will give strength to his king
       and exalt the horn of his anointed."

Alacrán

Alacrán: the spanish word meaning scorpion.

So in case you were wondering, scorpions do live in El Crucero, Nicaragua. Even though they are not normally seen, they do make it a habit to pop up every once and a while, such as this last Sunday night. Since the girl who was taking care of the babies quit, I have found myself in the fortunate position of sleeping with the babies! Sunday night, I jumped when I heard one the babies scream. I grabbed her out of the crib and walked into the family room, not knowing what had woken her up so suddenly. That was when I felt it, the surge of pain/shock/burning flowing though my hand. I jerked it back, seeing the black object on the little girls back. It flung to the floor and I killed it as I realized what it was; a nice little scorpion.

A short time later we arrived at the emergency room. Fortunately, it appears as though the little baby did not actually get stung, although she got a shot just to make sure. I had most certainly gotten stung, and in case my burning hand didn't remind me, then the numbess in my tongue and lips did. The doctor decided to give me a couple types of medicine through a temporary iv. So the nurse came in to put the iv tube in my elbow crease. After digging around in my vein for a while, she decided to try the back of my hand instead. After that try was also unsuccessful, she decided to call someone else to try it out. Luckily the second nurse hit the vein on the back of my other hand the first time! So the meds were injected and I was free to leave.

My hand continued to burn most of the next day, but today, any pain seems to have subsided and all I have left are a couple bruises where the iv was unsuccessful, and an eventful Sunday night :)
And just so you know, I have no intention on ever seeing another scorpion in my entire life.

Life's Blessings

First of all today is beautiful. The last couple days the sun has decided to come back and today it is in full force! There is a slight breeze and a crystal clear blue sky. Plus to make it even better, the internet was fixed. We have been without internet here at the house for nearly a month, but now its back!

You know how sometimes it feels like God puts little unexpected things/events in your life, just to spark some joy, I feel like I have had a lot lately and I just wanted to share.

1. Pasta salad. Who knew something so simple could make you feel like you were on the terrace of a Georgia mansion.
2. Realizing the magnitude of stars for the first time in a new place.
3. Playing Connect 4 with a nearly blind 6 year old. I couldn't stop laughing, especially when she almost beat me :)
4. Kisses from 2 and 3 year olds. I feel like God sends me his love through the hugs and kisses of these babies sometimes.
5. Expecting a messy diaper, and it only being wet. I never knew this could bring such unexpected joy!
6. The song with the line: "You make everything glorious, and I am Yours."
7. Cheaky leaky wans- meaning "tickle me!" in miskito :)

Rain Day

In Indiana we have snow days, in El Crucero, Nicaragua, we have rain days. Waking up Wednesday, the kids were all delighted to here that there would be no school due to the rain! School was also preemptively closed Thursday as well, and today was already scheduled to be off :) So you may ask, what does one do on a rain day? Let me tell you.
To start the day, the two oldest girls and I made breakfast for everyone. We made gallo pinto, eggs, tortillas and maduras. After breakfast we put together a 200 piece puzzle, did hair, and played cards. We played old maid, go fish, stone soup (a child appropriate name for BS) and spoons. Then we saw El ultimo maestro del aire (The Last Airbender) and went to Pizza Hut for dinner, where they have BINGO every Wednesday night and if you win your check is free!
So it was a pretty exciting day, as was yesterday and today, and we still have the weekend to look forward too! And in even more exciting news, the sun came out today!!! It was only out for a little while between showers, but still an event to be excited about :)

Rain

Even though we are far from where the hurricane hit, the rain has been coming. It has been raining essentailly nonstop for the past 5 five days. The rain finds its way in through the windows and below the doors keeping the floor consistently wet, but otherwise it has not caused us all that much trouble. But remember to keep all the people who may not have sturdy homes or shelters in your prayers.

The internet has been out, and still is, so I apologize that I have not been able to respond to some of your emails and messages!

Nap Time!

The babies are all sleeping at the same time! That is something that almost never ever happens, but today it did! The house is so quiet. The older girls are all playing in a fort they created with their bunk beds, and since it is Saturday, the school next door has the same eerie silence. The only noises are the fan next to me and some thunder off in the distance. Today has been unusually hot and humid, so an evening thunderstorm would be welcomed. Because it is the wet season, and we are here, up on a mountain, it rains most evenings. Nearly every morning is bright and sunny, but you can expect the clouds to come in late afternoon, and a evening thunderstorm to follow.

While I am happy my spanish is getting better (I still have a ways to go though) I am even more surprised by the few words I have picked up in a third language! All the kids here in the home come from a region of the country where Miskito is spoken. (I don't know if that is how you spell it, but that's a guess.) It actually has more resemblance to English than to Spanish, but due to the fact that a number of the kids here are babies, or have only been here a short time, it has been very helpful to learn certain words or phrases in this language. I will share a few, although I have no idea on spelling so I will simply write how they sound in english.

ah-pea-ah: no
oww: yes
vaal: come here
cow ah-pea-ah: no more
dinki: thank you
mair-pie: beautiful
dow-an: God

God is doing beautiful things down here with this place and these children. He is continually answering prayers and showing Himself in so many ways.
One common phrase we use is dinki pali dowan, it means muchas gracias a Dios, or much thanks to God. Despite obstacles and hard times, God is always so good, and always giving us something to thank him for. Yesterday the running water stopped for the day. Even though many people in this area do not have running water, you forget how easy it is to take things for granted. Today, to turn the faucet and have water come out was just another opportunity to thank HIM.

I don't like to paint

Whenever I hear that we are painting, I am excited, then we begin and I remember why it is that I do not like it. This weekend we took on painting the nursery, family room and hallway. I really like painting with the roller, you know what I mean, when you just can get the paint and go.
What I don't like:
The preparation- moving furniture, taping the door frames and light switches, and finding the brushes.
The details- not getting paint on the ceiling, not getting paint on the floor, painting around the light switches, painting the top up against the ceiling, painting the bottom by the floor, painting the bottom trim without tape to give you a straight line.
The clean up- you finally finish painting the rooms, and are relieved to be done, and then you remember there is a tarp, pans, multiple brushes and rollers still left to clean up.
Finally you are done and then you wake up the next day and start all over with a second coat!

Really it is not so bad, especially when you have great company, but I'm not sure I will eagerly volunteer to paint anytime in the near future :)

Luckily the rooms look great, and are dry for the most part, so we don't have to constantly be guarding the wet walls from running children!

Beautiful Children

As I sit here writing, I have beautiful Olfelia on my lap. Can you think of anything I would enjoy more! Olfelia is nearly four years old but because of extreme malnutrition is barely the size of a two year old. She has such a little personality. Although she doesn't say many words, she can understand most of the things you tell her and then either chooses to obey or disobey with a huge grin on her face. She also has a fabulous laugh and gives lots of kisses!

I am really enjoying everything about being here. I started this week teaching Bible class to the children at the primary school. So far it has been a lot of fun, and the schedule works out really well. I start at 7, teach all 6 grades with two little breaks throughout, and then am finished at noon! So most of the afternoons I have come back and helped take care of the babies, and play with the bigger kids.

The other day we went to Matagalpa, a city a ways from here, and visited a number of preschools and other sites, looking to start feeding centers there. It is an area with such extreme poverty, it breaks your heart, but everyone here is praying that the feeding centers will do well to serve the people.
New Hope Children's Foundation, the organization I am here with is made up of a number of parts. Originally came the school, Mas Que Vencedores (More than Conquerors). There is a primary school and a secondary school that educate a couple hundred children, all here on scholarship. The children's home has 12 children: five babies between a year and a half and Olfelia, six girls between 7 and 12 years old, and one older boy that is 15. The last part is the feeding centers that have been started all over the country in order to help feed the hungry people.

It is almost time for breakfast (we get to sleep in a little on Saturdays :) So I hope everyone is well! Love you all!

HERE

I arrived here in El Crucero two days ago, although it feels like I've been here much longer! Of course I have fallen in love with the children (that only took about 5 minutes)! I started teaching Bible class at the primary school yesterday, and so far so well, I'm on a break right now. Later I will write a with more details, but I just wanted to give a quick update!

Hopefully I am able to blog every so often and let you all know what is going on
Love and prayers!