Farm Day

On Sunday afternoon of our trip, we visited the farm of Gertrudis's family. It is worked by her 69-year old uncle who has no help and does everything there himself. He rides into town on his bicycle twice a day to eat breakfast and lunch with his wife (who resides in town, not on the farm). Then, he goes back in the afternoon to work the farm and stay there over night.

This is the room the uncle sleeps in. A few people on our team were able to install screens on the windows while we were there to make it more comfortable for sleeping. More breezes and fewer bugs.

 

 Here is where he showers. Notice, there was no shower head. I guess he takes more of a standing sponge bath from a bucket of water.

  

 This is his well. I'm not really sure how it operated, but until last year, he had to pull buckets of water for irrigating his crops. Then, he sold his horse and buggy for money to install an irrigation system. (Hence, the reason for the bicycle riding.)

  

Some roosters... bet he likes getting up early!

  

It wasn't all work and no rest though... Rick, Stephanie, and Rebecca did hang out in the hammock for a little bit.

  

Dyllyn found a cool place to hang out... okay, not really. The ladder was really rickety and he came down pretty quickly.

 

From a Teenager's Perspective

Freddie asked in the comments what the teenagers were thinking about this mission experience. So, instead of trying to translate their words... I thought I'd just hand over the laptop and let them share themselves.

Stephanie - It is hard to grasp that people actually have to live the way they do. Some of the houses we visited were shocking... they were made from scraps of metal, wood, and even towels. It's scary seeing that they can survive like that... I am so much more grateful for everything that I am so blessed to have. It's been really funny trying to communicate with people who speak a completely different language. :] I have learned tons of new Spanish vocabulary.

Todd - This trip has truly changed all aspects of my life, and we're not even through yet!  The people here are so nice and just show compassion even when they might have not eaten a meal in days or they live in a house made of cardboard and 50 gallon drums, literally.  My best friend down here, Karen, is deaf and about as poor as anyone here, but I didn't know she was poor until Raphael told me.  She is always upbeat and laughing and signing things to me.  Some of the people from the last trip left her clothes and shoes and other things, whenever I go anywhere I tell her to come with me and I normally buy her an ice cream or a coke so she has gotten used to being treated like a queen and I'm glad I could bring joy to her while I'm here. On a lighter side my favorite part of this mission trip is definitely playing with the praise team at Alfa y Omega, a local church that we have been having revival at.  We sat around for an hour tonight playing praise and worship songs singing English and Spanish at the same time.  I felt so empowered while playing guitar and singing. 

Okay, well I'm typing WAY too much and you are bored of reading already so, I love Nicaragua. Nicaragua needs love.  I'm so glad I had an opportunity to come here and experience their culture and see their need for God.

This has been an internet announcement from Todd Daniels.  Thank you for reading, tune in next time to watch Todd fall off of a unicycle and see how many rocks he has to pick out of his forehead.

God bless,  Todd Daniels [the locals call me Tost]

Justin - Nicaragua was an amazing experience, everything about was great the beauty of the country and the lack of technology.  I was proud to be apart of this trip and everyone who went was great and enjoyable to be around.  It was a break from life and the lifestyle I live in the states.  The trip not only benefited the people of Nicaragua but it really benefited us in a way that nothing else can.  I took a look at the life I lived in the states and the life I lived here and it taught me to be more thankful for the stuff I own and where I live and the way I live.  It taught me to be proud of the United States. 

My prediction of the people of Nicaragua was not to far off but I didn't think they were going to be that nice.  As with everything there is always an exception like this crazy drunk bum who started  walking toward me and pointing   saying loads of stuff who knows what,  but  Raphael told him "get out here" Raphael has my back.  The rest of the people were great and always smiling which surprised me because they understand the life they live and  the life of the people of the U.S. . How could they be so happy?

Rebecca - Hi, it's me. I haven't been able to type anything because we have all been busy.  All that I can tell you right now is that I am very thankful that God is an awesome God.  He has worked  miracles non-stop since we have gotten here. I have that feeling that i don't want to leave here because there is so much left that we can do. But someone said that right now the best thing we can do is come home and tell everyone of the need here and figure out what we can do in the future. I miss my familia and hope that they miss me too. I will have to tell you my stories when I get home   because it's hard to explain in words. Love y'all and Gloria Dios.

Aaron -  I am gonna keep this really short and sweet. I have had the best time of my life and I want to stay here and help these people. Don't worry I will tell everyone all the experience I've had. Love you all. See you soon.

Dyllyn - So let me just say before I tell you my perspective, that this trip is definitely something that if you get the chance to do, do it.  
no second thoughts, just do it.

my perspective of the trip:
this trip has changed my entire view of life. It made me realize how stingy, greedy, mean, and out of line, not just me, but America in general. I am not saying everyone is that way, I am just giving you a general idea. I guess the saying "you don't know what you got until its gone" is absolutely true. I have seen many kids who have absolutely nothing, give so much more than we do. I'm not just talking materialistic things, I'm talking emotions and all. They Made me so much more happier than 80% of everyone I know. They took the time out of their life, to make us all feel special, give glory to god, make us things, laugh with us, etcetera. They have nothing and give everything, we have everything and give nothing. I am completely ecstatic that i got to experience this.

The kids here light up when they see you. It is so important that we are here, to them. I have made so many friends already, and we all know each other by name, even though we speak opposite languages. People say language is a barrier, I have proven that theory wrong. It is a small barrier, that if you put some effort forth, you can get around it.I communicate with a Hispanic girl who is deaf, on a daily basis. Now you tell me if language is a barrier.

People come back from mission trips changed, but they usually fall back into there old habits. That's because they don't keep up with there prayer, and bible life. They don't put forth enough effort to stay changed. When I come back I'm going to try to make an impact, and its going to be a constant impact, not just a one time deal. I hope if you go on a mission trip, you feel the same after. Stay strong. Another saying that is helpful, is "keep your eyes on the prize"

Well this is the conclusion on my perspective. Hopefully this helped, but this only scratches the surface of my view. Adios.

Photos from Right to Learn

Louisia's Dream was to start a school. And while she wasn't interested in doing so in the name of God, we were still able to visit her school today and share the gospel with ~90 students plus their teachers.

We conducted a similar Children's Carnival there this morning and it was quite different. Being a school, the children were expected to behave accordingly and were very polite, some even speaking a few words of English. (Not that they were rude the day before, but it was loosely organized chaos with 300 children and only 18 adults, including our 2 translators.)

About half of the students were waiting when we arrived, assembled in the common area.

Steve helped the first class decorate wooden crosses he bought for ~$0.10 US each on eBay. The most popular decorative effect were the glitter pens.

 

Eventually he got smart and remembered he was no longer a young 37 and pulled a table over to ease the burden on his old legs. :)

Justyn and Aaron were leading recreation. The young boys were so eager to play ball themselves, they told Justyn and Aaron to sit down and take a break. Think Justyn might have a future as a PE teacher? :)

 

A young girl showing off her new glittery, wooden cross.

The boys playing futbol.

 

One of the classrooms.

 

Stephanie and Angela painted the female students' nails. This was a big hit and even Gertrudis joined in!

  

At each of our Children's Carnivals, we are providing a small snack of a cracker with peanut butter on it and a cold drink. The kids were eager to be in these lines!

Dylllyn is leading the children in a bean bag toss. Notice the lines... this is one of the differences between being in a school environment and being at a church.

And of course, during music time, they sang a song called "Che-Che-Wa-Wa." The song is from Peru and title is a made up word. It is just a fun way to break the singing ice before Angela and Rebecca begin to teach their Spanish Christian songs.

 

I don't have any pictures of the face painting or salvation bracelet building, so you'll have to wait for someone else to post those. (hint, hint Angela!)

A Typical Breakfast

Yes, those are hotdogs in the eggs, with a side of rice and beans!

Universal Languages

Tammy recently posted about her excitement over seeing her teenagers use the universal love of sports to hurdle over language barriers. For me, it's been interesting to see how Charlotte has helped me and Jennifer birth conversation after conversation.

Just today, while at La Escuela Suenos de Luisa (a local school you'll read more about soon), I had a chat with a mother. She told me la niña es bonita (the little girl is beautiful). As we chatted, I heard enough words I have either learned or can recognize to piece together a conversation. She said something that included anos, which means years, so I told her that Charlotte is 1, but will be 2 in August. She said something that included cuánto, which I figured out meant "how many." So, I told her Charlotte was number 1 (uno), but I then gestured that mama was soon to have number 2. I also showed a picture in my camera because the woman wanted to know if Charlotte looks like mom. She told me that she has tres niñas y cuatro niños (three girls and four boys). Now, for those of you who know me, you can easily imagine how odd it is for me to be in Nicaragua discussing children with a mother of 7.

This evening, Jennifer and I walked to the grocery store--while I carried Charlotte in our backpack carrier--to get some ice cream. On the way back, we stopped and chatted with a mother and grandmother of a 1-year old girl.

And just to show that even old people can speak the language of sports, I joined Justin in doing some BMX tricks on the bike of a kid while waiting for the church service last night. I showed him one he'd never seen (it was too old skool), and I even crashed while riding no-handed standing on the top bar of the frame.

I hope that these conversations plant a positive seed in the hearts of people we meet and that, when they hear there is a gringo preaching in town, they will want to go and hear the message of salvation that he has brought for them.

More Photos of the Town From Our 3-Hour Tour

Travel Day

God is amazing! He got all of us to Managua safely (after a 1 hour flight delay and some mild turbulence) and showed us his mercy and love, along with some beautiful scenery, along the way.

The weather has been cooler here today than I think any of us anticipated. It helped that it was overcast with the nicest breeze.

We received an extra blessing at customs. Rafael told them we were a very large group, with TONS of bags. They decided to just wave us all through. No one had to trouble with opening luggage and showing off a bunch of supplies and clothes.

At the airport, after assembling the collective luggage of 18 people, we loaded unto a bus that had no air conditioning, but did have a TV. Odd. And there was a lot of honking. It is just another form of communication, or greeting even, and doesn't necessarily mean "get out of my way!" the way it might in the US.

On our bus ride to Managua, we stopped for a photo opportunity at the cone volcanoes Momotombo and Momotonbito. It was the perfect opportunity for newlyweds Joe & Shelley to take a picture. It might not be the volcanoes of  Hawaii like some couples prefer, but the volcanoes of Nicaragua are romantic enough for this couple serving the Lord.  (I can't find my picture of them right now, but here is one of the volcanoes for you to enjoy the scenery.)

When we arrived at Hostal Jerusalen, they showed us directly to our rooms which have been newly updated with hot water! Praise God! After unloading our luggage, we came back to the dining room for a late lunch of ham and cheese. They weren't kidding when they said we'd have to eat with one hand to keep the flies from landing!

After lunch, some of the group decided to break out the soccer balls and bubbles to play with some neighborhood children and teens. That was a lot of fun and helped us introduce ourselves to some of them. I think Aaron and Todd passed out candy too. I guess that helped with the smiles some. :)

Now, we sit around enjoying one another's company and singing the praises of the Lord to the the guitar playing of Steve, Aaron, and Todd. The smell of something truly delicious comes to us from the kitchen.

 

Rafael, Gertrudis, and Rick are working on their third version of our schedule. I'll post any changes when I get a chance. If all goes well, this should upload by the time we are done eating.

For those of you reading this, we would love to read any comments or prayers you would like to share with us. Please click the comment link below to let us know you are there.

Photos from Heartland Nicaragua Challenge

Heartland Nicaragua Challenge is another short-term missions team that wanted to serve the people of Nicaragua. They also had a blog and sent out some email updates regarding their missions experience. Below are a few pictures I received from them of their time in Nicaragua. They weren't labeled, but I'll try to explain what I think they are. Someone please leave a comment and correct me if I am wrong.

A local Christian church. Notice the lack of chairs? Heartland Nicaragua Challenge raised an additional love offering before they left and were able to purchase 50 chairs for 3 separate churches in addition to many other items the churches and pastors needed.

Upon first seeing this photo of an outhouse, I freaked out for a minute and went back to my paperwork. Turns out, we won't have to use this. But it is common in Nagarote.

A street in town. You can see a man riding a bicycle while pulling a 2-person cart. This is a common form of transportation and costs 5 cordoba (which is like $0.25)

Another picture of local transportation, but not the kind we would purchase a fare on.

The Hostal Jerusalen is where we will be staying. It is owned by a Christian couple and will be our home for 10 days. We will also take our meals here as someone has been hired to cook for us. I believe our most common meal will be beans. I like beans. I am also packing some Luna bars! :)

Once we are on the ground in Nagarote, we will have a laptop and slow internet access, so we plan to add more photos of our experience at that time.

Do you have any questions about Nagarote or our trip?