Vacation Days

In Nicaragua, they take the Holy Week seriously. It's the main vacation for most people. In other holidays, people visit family or stay at home, but during Holy Week, most of the country heads for the beach. So that's exactly what I did, too, with a bunch of other people connected to the Christian Reformed Church and working in Central America.

We spent four days at the beach near Managua. Believe it or not, the beach was empty. Nicaragua has been experiencing a series of earthquakes, so the country was on red alert. Most people stayed home last week, fearing for their houses or fearing a tsunami at the beach. Our group continued on as normal, but we paid attention to the news.

I took long walks on the beach with friends.

Some of us stayed up late to watch the lunar eclipse and see the Blood Moon. I've decided that I'm too old to stay up until 2 am, but it was fun to see the moon on fire.

We had several good reflections and exegesis on Romans from a Canadian theologian. She helped me reflect on the stories of Israel, Rome, and the lives of the Roman Christians. It was a good time of learning and fellowship with fellow Christians.

Then I went with the new family to visit friends in the cool climes south of Managua called Diriamba. We spent a few days eating leaves, taking walks, touring farms and gardens, and enjoying life together. 

Friday we returned to León to see the sawdust murals they make in the streets to celebrate Good Friday. Artists put frames outside of their houses, make a bed of sawdust and sand, and then put colored sawdust and other materials on the base to depict a scene from the Bible or Nicaragua. There were some really creative depictions. I enjoyed seeing all the different materials that people used, including flour, rice, sea salt, beans, corn husks, and more.It was nice to spend the afternoon with the new family in León and some other friends we had made at the spiritual retreat who were visiting from Managua.

Saturday was an early morning because my host family and I went to their church service at 4:30, and then we went on a church outing 2.5 hours northeast to a cloud forest called Selva Negra, near Matagalpa. When we got there, I wished I had worn more than my lightweight long-sleeved shirt! But soon I was warm again because we hiked around the mountain there. We heard monkeys, but we never got to see one.

Then we went down from the mountain to explore the central park of Matagalpa. My family and I had a picnic in the park, and then we walked around a little. We'd hardly gotten started exploring when we got a call that everyone else was bored and wanted to go home, so we got back on the bus to León. We were all pretty tired that night!

Easter Sunday started before the sun for us because I went with my host family to church at 4:30 again. Then I went for a run in the early morning sun, took a nap, and went to church at my church, Promesa at 10. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, hanging out with my family, and getting my batteries recharged. I was thankful for a restful day after a busy but fun week!

Daily Bread

Lately, I have been feeling a little overwhelmed by all the things on my plate. This past week, I went to Managua three days in a row for different reasons. They were good reasons, don't get me wrong. There was a baby shower on Tuesday, and I spent the night with a friend. Then I returned to León on Wednesday with a new family that has just moved to Nicaragua as partner missionaries. Thursday I returned to Managua for a meeting with Missionary Ventures International about IMPACT Clubs. I decided to write out all the stuff that's going on for me lately:

This coming week looks just as crazy. Monday in Managua for meetings at the Nehemiah Center. Tuesday to Managua for Cohort related stuff, helping Josiah, the husband of the new family, drop off Gordon and Peggy before they go on a trip for their anniversary. Wednesday I go to Chinandega for a church partnership meeting. Thursday I'm in charge of logistics for the biblical worldview trainings we have every week for a group of 13 churches who will be part of the second phase of ETU, our community development program. Friday, back to Chinandega because I'm in charge of the logistics for the domestic violence training that ETU is starting there this week. Saturday we're off to Managua for a Christian Reformed Church spiritual retreat for several days.

Considering my schedule over the past few weeks and the work that is ahead of me, I feel intimidated, like I put on a "shirt 11 yards wide" (as the saying is in Nicaragua). In church this morning, I brought this mental list before God and asked for Him to work through me. The sermon was about living as children of the king, with all the privileges of royalty because God is taking care of us. Then the pastor invited us to the front to be changed people. It was a struggle for me, but I finally joined the rest of the congregation (about 40 people) at the front of the room. And that's when I asked God to help me love in a ridiculous, outrageous fashion. I asked Jesus to help me give away my power and empty myself of any illusion of control. I asked the Holy Spirit to dwell in me richly. But they were just words, a prayer. I didn't feel a big change, I didn't cry or speak in tongues or anything.

Then we shared communion. The Lord's Supper has always been a powerful sign for me, and its power continues to grow for me the longer I get to partake in this sacrament. Today was the first time I got to celebrate communion with my Nicaraguan church. I think it was the first time I've had communion since coming to Nicaragua.

It brought me to tears.

Communion today was a beautiful sign and reminder that God fills me up. He is the one who gives me strength to continue, grace to extend, wisdom to act or refrain. By eating the bread and drinking the juice in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice for me, I was filled. In the midst of all my irons burning around me, the Lord calmed me and strengthened me through the simple act of eating a cracker and taking a drink of juice. I am in awe of how God answers my prayers in the best ways.

International Partnerships

A week ago, I was in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I was being overwhelmed by the mountains, the cool weather, the development-look of the place, the slum houses built into the hills, all of it. Still Central America, but very different from what I've been living in Nicaragua. Hot water was normal. Drinking water from the tap was not. For the first time in months, I wasn't sweating all the time, and I got to put on a sweatshirt and feel comfortably cold. It was lovely.

In our four days in Guatemala City visiting our fellow Cohort group hosted by Center for Transforming Mission, we accompanied our Guatemalan counterparts in their ministries and exploration of Guatemalan history and culture. They tried to show Mark, Guissel, Gordon, Peggy, and me what it meant to live in the capital city and experience it as classroom, parish, and playground. The Guatemalan arm of the network that is called the Cohort of Missioners seeks to listen to and learn from their cultural context with this in mind: the world is classroom, parish, and playground.

After Guissel's first flight ever (if you thought flying was fun, it's even better to sit next to someone who has never flown before and likes it!), we arrived at the airport, went to lunch at a place that seemed fancy to me and normal to the chapines (nickname of Guatemalans). In the afternoon we visited a ministry called Ciudad Esperanza (City Hope). They provide an after-school program and food to kids in Zone 18 of the city, where gangs are an active problem.

(The Guate Cohort members minus one, plus a kid from Sonrisas)

Saturday we went to a ministry in a park for kids and their mothers who work in the cemetery. It's called Sonrisas (smiles) because it was founded in a place of tears. We joined them for a snack and learning Bible verses.

(Walking around in the center plaza)

 In the afternoon we went on a historical, cultural tour of the center plaza. We visited the place where a bishop was murdered and talked about Guatemala's armed conflict (really a civil war, but terminology matters) and need for reconciliation. It was humbling to stand on the pavement, looking at a park, and realizing that a man's blood had been wiped up where my feet were.


(The site of the bishop's murder and the plaque commemorating his life and death)

Sunday was a day of church services. We visited a mega-church, the largest in Central America with a building that seemed more like an airport and capacity for 10,000 people at least. Then we went to a small church pastored by the family of the Cohort participants. We got to see Andrés leading the singing and meet his family. After lunch, we visited Ciudad de Refugio (City of Refuge), a community house and church with 30 people living as part of a big, extended family of God. Talk about city as parish!

(The megachurch Casa de Dios, during and after the service)

Monday we went to Limonada, a slum area with gang violence and poverty alongside hope and a school network. We visited houses as part of a group, praying for people and reading the Bible with them as well as hearing their stories. We spent the morning in La Limonada, trailing our Guate cohorts as they connected with the people around them. In the afternoon, we returned to the ministry offices to have a debrief meeting and talk about how we can work together in the future.

(We ordered a pizza that measured 1 meter!)

It was a good trip of getting to know each other over 4 days. Our fellow Cohort members gave us suggestions for where to spend our three free days, and we enjoyed a night and day with the Bacon-Avila family in Quetzaltenango/Xela, a night in Panajachel on Lago Atitlán, and an afternoon walking around Antigua before we flew back to Nicaragua early Friday morning.

(Enjoying fruit smoothies by Lago Atitlán)

León welcomed us back with suffocating heat, cold showers, and drinkable water. It was good to be back with my family, in my own room, knowing my own schedule after two weeks of being away (I'MPACT Club training in Managua and then the Cohort trip to Guatemala). I spent Sunday afternoon chatting with my parents on the phone, giving myself a pedicure, and slicing fresh mangos.

(Exploring ruins of an old convent in Antigua)

It feels good to be back, but it's also good to know we're not alone in this Cohort endeavor. Now we know people trying to carry out the same vision of community development, spiritual formation, and intentional living among North Americans and Central Americans. We are more aware of their situation, and they know more about ours. We can support each other as we walk alongside the least, the last, and the lost in Nicaragua and Guatemala.

Living the Hot Life

León is HOT. It's a heavy heat, reaching 38C/ 100F during the day and only cooling to 23C/ 73F at night. As we wait for the rains to come in a month, the air is starting to feel heavier. In Spanish, the word most often used is "suffocating." And they say it only gets worse until May when the rain comes.

In the midst of feeling hot, I've been wondering if sweating isn't such a cultural "gross" here as it is back home. I remember as a kid in junior high and high school there were always derogatory comments about "pitting out" when a person had sweat stains under their arms. Of course, a hard worker or a sports player will sweat, and it's not looked down upon unless they smell overly bad. On the other hand, people apologize for sweaty hugs in my circles.

Here, people walk around with soaking shirts, continue to kiss cheeks, and carry on as normal. Maybe I just don't hear the negative comments, but it seems like no one is grossed out by the sweatiness here. Maybe they're just used to it. One way or the other, it's something I need to adjust to yet.

Also, in the heat I tend to get crabby more easily (and I think others do too), so I'm praying for an extra measure of grace, peace, and patience in the next few months. Plus a few escapes to cooler climes. Guatemala last week was a wonderful reprieve, and I think a spiritual retreat on the lake during Holy Week will be also.

Impact Clubs

I just attended a really great week of sessions on a model for working with youth called Impact Clubs. It was born in Romania and focuses on experiential learning and community service-learning projects. Therefore, I got to meet two people from Romania! It was my job to "be their best friend" in the words of my supervisor, Steve. They arrived the weekend before the training, and indeed, I got to know Octavia and Kelly as friends. We went out to eat, prepared materials for the training, and talked about cultural differences among Nicaragua, Romania, and the US.

On Monday morning when the training began, I was both a participant as well as a resource person for logistics. We had a group of 31 participants including 2 Hondurans, 2 Mexicans, and Nicaraguans from ETU as well as partner organizations in the Nehemiah Center network. Throughout the week, we formed good relationships and got to know each other better. Because the Caminantes (Cohort of Missioners program) had already scheduled a visit to Guatemala to visit another group of the Cohort, we had to leave the training two days early. But I was comforted because I'll get to see the majority of the participants again within the next few months.

You see, we are going to start using this program in Nicaragua. And I have been chosen to be one of the local coaches, along with Roberto (my boss in ETU at the Nehemiah Center) and Guissel (my fellow member of the Cohort). So we will do follow-up visits with the leaders who were at this training week and encourage them in the process of starting a club.

These clubs are weekly meetings with a group of 10-20 youth in approximately the same age range. They meet weekly to play games, reflect on different themes, and plan community service-and-learning projects. The leaders' job is to FACILITATE discussion and learning. This will be a challenge in the Nicaraguan Christian community where preaching and teaching is more common than questioning and listening. However, it's a good thing for us to learn. I hope that God will give us as local coaches the skills, attitudes, and values we need to be good local coaches. And that we can be leaders of clubs in León, too!

Youth

The term "jóvenes" in Spanish literally means "youth." But the concept of youth in Nicaragua is different from the concept of youth in North America, at least in my experience.

For one thing, in my North American experience, once a person is out on their own (aka college), she is a "young adult" or some other useless term, but not a youth. When you're out of high school, you don't go to youth group anymore. You don't get youth prices at ball games or movie theatres. There are occasional youth nights at church, but those are geared toward teenagers. Once you hit twenty or move out of the house, you might even be taken seriously as a person rather than as a representative voice of the "youth." (Okay, that's a bit harsh... but sometimes it's true).

In my Nicaraguan experience, young people live with their families until they start their own families, and even afterwards there is usually a strong connection with their parents. "Jóvenes" can refer to anyone from 12 to 30, really, and the rules stretch for exceptions. Anyone who is unmarried without children counts as a youth, and they are invited to and expected to participate in youth activities. However, the youth are also more in charge of their own activities. They direct the weekly youth services at church. Young adults are in charge of organizing activities for other youth, but also for an entire congregation. Young people work in and out of the house to make money and to contribute to their families.

So in Nicaragua, the youth are a special segment of the population in some ways, but they are not isolated. They are given responsibilities in their communities from a youth age. When I visit with ETU teams who are directing a model of community development in their neighborhoods, I am with a range of people from age 16 to 60. The teenagers are not taken less seriously than the experienced pastors in the group.

With this outlook, I have begun to accept again that I am a "youth." Though I am not fully considered an adult here, I still have responsibilities in the greater community.

I have also been thinking about "youth" lately because this week I am involved in a training session for a model of working with youth called Impact Clubs. The trainers have come from Romania, and I am their guide and helper this weekend. Next week I will participate in the sessions with 35 other people to learn about how to lead these youth groups in my specific setting. I will write more about the IMPACT club training when I learn more. So far, I have been getting to know Octavia, telling her about my interpretation of Nicaragua, and learning about Romania as well. In other words, I'm accompanying her and walking alongside her in preparation for this intensive training week. It's a pretty appropriate role for me in this program of Missioners (Caminantes in Spanish) where our goal is to engage in many facets of life with people around us. And all the while, I'm a youth who can reach out to other young people as well as play a leadership role with other adults.

Generosity

In this time of Lent, a lot of people are giving things up. It's a good spiritual discipline to give up certain things for a time in order to grow closer to God. However, this year, I learned about an opportunity to give things away instead of giving them up.

It's called 40 acts, and it is a challenge that includes the 40 days of Lent. Every day, participants are challenged to give something to others in large and small acts of generosity. Journaling about these acts is also encouraged.

One day, I wrote a thank you note to our cleaning lady. Another time I wrote a list of my spheres of influence and considered what positive message I could share with one of those spheres. Some days I do better and some days I don't know how to complete the challenge, or I feel too uncomfortable to follow through.

Nonetheless, I have been becoming more aware of thankfulness in my life. And even when I fail to carry out the generosity challenge, it helps me reflect on how living with open hands and an open heart can change the world. So, for example, even though I don't think that starting up a car (even a small one) is worth it to go 10 blocks, I can accept the generous offer of my host family to bring me to the bus terminal. Instead of struggling by myself or walking for twenty minutes, I accept their offer to take me. And in some ways, accepting a gesture that goes against my basic principles (such as caring for the environment and minimizing use of automobiles) is an act of generosity too.

So, try it. Live extravagantly, thinking the best of others, offering smiles and thank yous freely, and going over the top for the sake of other people.