Journal Entry #3

June 16th, 2010

I LOVE my small group!

They are all just so super awesome and really supportive. I love knowing that we share struggles and so I don't have to struggle alone. (I don't know what I was struggling with, I didn't write it down...) Today was another busy-ish day. We went to Nueva Vida which is a refugee camp for Hurrican Mitch that ended up becoming permanent housing. It's hard to even describe it. The roads were littered with trash and stray dogs. The houses were basically shacks made with scrap metal.

We got to the feeding center and had a tour. They have an area where they teach kids to make jewelery and a room where a gentle woman named Ana teaches girls to sew and do embroidery (basically teaching these kids a trade). They have a bakery and a woodworking shop that has so little, yet always gives 10% of its profits back to the feeding center. We got to play and hang out with the kids. They are all so full of joy and acceptance. One little girl took me by the hand and started speaking to me in Spanish but I didn't understand her, so I brought her to Jenn and it turned out she wanted me to come to her house, but I had to say no. Later as I was pushing some kids on the swing that same little girl and her little sister (?) came up to me and sat down on the swing. I asked her if she wanted me to push them and she said "yes please". So I pushed them for awhile and then she stopped the swing, looked at me for a moment and quietly said "thank you". It was such a sweet moment. Then it came time to feed the kids. The kids came in and sat at tables. They bring their own bowls and cups. We went to each table with a tray to collect the bowls and cups, brought them to the kitchen where they were filled, and then brought them back to the kids. They had white rice with some vegetables and torta carne (meatball). After the kids ate we played with them for a little while. I was so awkward and didn't really know what to do. I just sort of clammed up for whatever reason and was really frustrated with myself.

In the afternoon we started our work projects. We painted the warehouse (which was actually just a room) with 2 coats of paint.

In the evening we had a really great small group time. Eddy joined us and Alissa and Karsen both shared some really awesome stuff (sorry, its confidential) Then we had a really awesome prayer time with Eddy.

What surprised me most about this culture? What are my feelings about this day?
 The kids at the feeding center just had so much joy. They had huge smiles and hugs for us. I love that they walk by you and just grab your hand. They also took care of one another. The older kids helped feed the younger kids. There were some that couldn't eat all of the food and so they scraped it onto someone else's plate. Just a really good picture of what community should look like.


*The two Nueva Vida pictures don't belong to me... They are courtesy of the Litchys.... and the picture of Jen and I painting is Don Graffam's...

Journal Entry #2 (continued)

June 15, 2010 Evening

We went to lunch at a buffet style place. Delicious food! I had chicken, plantain fries (which probably would have been good if they had been warm...), the Nica version of fried rice, some sort of potato salad ish dish and a ball of mashed potato that had been deep fried (sounded yummy, but the cheese here is kinda weird and I don't like it). I also had chicken broth with lime juice in it which was yummy and an orange Fanta with REAL sugar (lol) instead of corn syrup! So yummy.

We went and saw the only two buildings still standing after the big earthquake (1972?). One is the Cathedral (right), and one is the National Palace. They were both built by the same architect... These are also both in Revolution Square. (Sorry if the pictures are messed up, this thing has major picture issues!!!!!!)

We went back to Casa Bernabe and had some down time so we went and hung out in our room. Jennifer P. mentioned to Nubia (one of the translators, she roomed with us) that it would be
fun to pick a mango from one of the surrounding trees. Nubia simply said "ok" and left the room. She came back with a guy who used a big long stick to knock down some mangoes and caught them as they fell. They were so incredibly delicious! Beth taught us to bite off the tip and then peel it like a banana. I ate half of mine and then a little worm crawled out of it... So much for the rest of that mango!


<- Nubia and the Mango Man

                                                     Nubia made sure we each got a mango

                                          Laura, Jennifer P. and I enjoying our mangos

Later we finally got to meet the kids in the orphanage. I helped do nail polish with the teen girls. They were very shy at first and didn't want my help. Then Maria Teresa grabbed my hand and sat me down and painted my nails. She didn't really want to talk to me though... :)


During our training sessions we got a book called Before You Pack Your Bags, Prepare Your Heart. In it are some leading questions for journaling. Here is the question I answered for June 15th

In what ways was I stretched beyond my comfort zone today?

We went to paint the fingernails of the older girls and it was really hard to make conversation because they were very guarded and also because of the language barrier. I still feel so inadequate when dealing with kids which is dumb since that's what my job is....

Reflections:
I really got a kick out of seeing the school at Casa Bernabe and seeing the similarities and differences between their pre k room and my pre k room. They had the bulletin boards with birthdays and with the days of the week and all of that. The big difference was the size and also it looked like they didn't have any play areas. I wish I had been able to observe a class in session just to see what it was like (maybe on a future trip after I learn some more spanish?) I also really want to learn more about Nicaragua's political history. We got such a brief whirlwind explanation and I'd like to read deeper about it... Guess I'll have to find some books!

Journal Entry #3

Tuesday June 15, 2010 Evening

Today was BUSY! We had a delicious breakfast of scrambeled eggs with ham and jalapenos, homemade yummy tortillas, watermelon and delivious sweet juicy white pineapple.

Then we listened to Jamileth speak briefly about Casa Bernabe and then she took us on a tour. We saw the housing for the teen boys (left) and girls (right)

And also the younger boys and girls (shown here is the boys, the girls looked basically the same)

We also saw the plantain fields and the chickens they keep.

There is also a school on the grounds as well (not pictured due to frustrations with getting the pictures arranged on here... sorry). We a huge line of fire ants carrying small bits of leaves down a tree, across our path and to who knows where (picture courtesy of someone else)... Jamileth is so sweet and just such a calming presence and you can tell that the kids really respect her. Its so neat. It was neat to see how their preschool classrooms were set up similarily to Room X (minus the areas and with desks).

Next we went on a tour of Managua. We went to a place where you can see a lot of the city. So beautiful. We were given a brief oral history of the country which was so interesting (given by Tony the Translator sitting near Gem Lake)

This is about half the entry... I will add in the other half and my reflections another day :)

Journal Entry #2

Tuesday June 15, 2010 6:15 am

We made it last night! Everyone got through customs (note: There was a member from the team that went through Houston who had a visa issue and was turned away, however, she will be going with either Lino or Spring Lake Park in August) and no one lost any bags. It is so different here. Even the air at the airport smelled different. We were greeted by our first Nicaraguan while waiting to go through customs.

 Outside the airport we were greeted by Eddy Morales (the ORPHANetwork field director) and a bus.

We drove through Managua to Casa Bernabe and I just sat back and took it all in. The buildings were very small and the houses were dirty. Nothing like the tall shiny skyscrapers that litter downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. There were lots of people and kids just hanging out along the dark street.

We got to the Team Center and settled into our rooms and waited for the other group to arrive. Right away one of the translators introduced himself to us. His name is Alvaro (Al) and he shared his story with my small group. He came to the orphanage at Casa Bernabe when he was 5 and stayed here for about 6 years. He said that people would talk to him about Jesus but he was so angry, too angry to accept it. At 7 years old he said "God, I will not believe in you until I meet my mother." When he was 18 years old, he got a letter and a picture from his mom and walked to Mexico to meet her where he wept and finally accepted Christ. He now works with kids in gangs and he walks the streets of Managua and just talks to kids and then brings them to some sort of church camp (I didn't really get that part of the story)

Its warm and muggy here. This morning I woke up to the sounds of birds, but their calls are so different from the ones at home. I am as ready to meet this day as I can be. We're taking a tour of the Casa Bernabe grounds and Managua. I'm excited to see everything.




Reflections:
We talked to one of the translators later in the week and talked about how people are all over the street at night and how it's not like that here at home. They pointed out that at night its a lot cooler, no one is working, and no one has money to go anywhere so they just congregate outside and hang out... Good point....

Also, Jenn dubbed one of the bird calls as the "Iron Man Bird" because its call sounds like Iron Man's arm gun warming up.