Mountain Time

The trip to Matagalpa was great. I went there two years ago with Prof. Bajema, and I was surprised by how much I remembered. This place must have left a huge impression on me.

We drove from the Nehemiah Center on Tuesday morning in two Toyota Hilux trucks. I was in a truck with Alma (a Nicaraguan who works with CRC ministries and teams that come to visit), Evan, and the Hannahs. Alex, Daniel, and John went with Lester (a guy who works as a tourist guide but also does stuff for the Nehemiah Center). We drove north, had lunch in the city of Matagalpa, and drove farther north. We went to visit Acción Médica Cristiana in the El Tuma/La Dalia/Santa Luz area. They are an organization that trains farmers on the landbanks of La Esperanza, El Progreso, and Nueva Jerusalen, which have been purchased through funds from the Farmer 2 Farmer program. We spent our time at Nueva Jerusalen, which is about 2 years old. Tuesday afternoon we saw their community area: gathering place, kitchen, mess hall, bio-digester for gas. When we went to AMC’s headquarters to stay there for the night, we ate supper and hiked around the coffee plantation there. It was interesting to see coffee growing right on the bushes. We could touch it and know that it could potentially be in our coffee cups eventually.

Wednesday after breakfast we drove out to Nueva Jerusalen again. Thank the Lord that it hadn’t (and didn’t) rain those few days we were there because the road was difficult enough without being slippery and wet! We worked in the garden in the morning, digging holes and constructing table things to put vegetable tires on. Well, some of us worked, and some of us went around with Chipito and ate fresh oranges off the tree and had him explain the idea of the coffee machine/process they have, and then we worked after that. J After lunch we walked up through the forest area to a waterfall, and we swam in our clothes. It was fun!

We also visited two families each (in two groups), talked to them about their lives, and saw their land. Our second visit with Don Digno, we walked around his land, saw his crops, and sucked on sugar cane. The farmers were very open and excited to share their hopes with us. They all said they are happy to be on the land bank, working to pay off their own land, and providing for their families. I think it must be a very hard life because they are subsistence farmers, and I don’t know how they earn money to pay for things, but the Lord provides. Their joy and contentment amidst their worries was evident, and I am convinced that Farmer 2 Farmer, Acción Médica Cristiana, and the Lord are doing good work among these Nicaraguans, bringing them together in community and teaching them new things.

Wonderfully, I thought I was going to be cold the first night, but then Alma came to the rescue and got us blankets so I could take off a few layers of clothes.

This is Don Digno, a farmer we talked to in the afternoon. He was happy to show us his parcel of land (nearly 6 acres), teach us the names of plants, and give us sugar cane to suck on.

We worked hard in the morning, digging holes, hauling dirt, and pounding nails. Even the girls got to do some of it!

This is the waterfall we hiked to, and we swam at the bottom of it, in a little pool.

And our final product at the end of the morning - elevated flower beds!