more bikes

So about that bike trip I mentioned last time. We organized another bike trip to raise support for a different organization. I say "another" and "different" in reference to the 8-day, cross-country, Sea-to-Sea trip that we planned last January. Remember--the one where I ripped the ligaments in my shoulder? Yeah, that one. This time it was a shorter trip. Fifty kilometers each way (that's about 35 miles for the Americans out there). Half pavement, half dirt. We raised just over $2000 for the Fundacion San Lucas, or the Luke Society. They are doing a land bank program very similar to the video I linked to in the last post. There were about 25 bikers and 25 other people (including support staff) who each paid to participate in the event. A portion went to pay for the trip costs and the rest went to the land bank program. The program gives landless farmers the opportunity to buy land at a reasonable price and pay it back over the course of several years. Then they learn about a biblical worldview and why sustainable farming is so important. They manage the land bank themselves through the board of directors that is formed. I made a short video about the trip, which I'm really happy with. I'm trying to decide if I will show it here or wait til I get home! I guess I'll post it here and you can watch it if you want. If you'd like to see it in full high-def we'll have to arrange with my brother to watch it in his basement...that would be great! Here it is:



Whoah! That came out big. Oh, well. That's okay for this time. I also wanted to tell you a story of a community along the Rio Coco. I think I'm gonna save that for the next post. Don't want to give you too much at a time.

Prayer items:

-pray that I can get a lot done before I head for Michigan on the 19th, specifically for another video that I'm working on and a project to reformat the server at the Nehemiah Center.

followup

I have received several emails asking how the march turned out. And I've seen movies where, in times of impending disaster, the president goes on air and asks the people for their prayers...only to completely forget about those prayers after the disaster has been averted praising the efforts and goodwill of people. We can offer a prayer of thanks for a very peaceful march in Managua that day. Here is one article from an English language paper in Nicaragua that talks from one perspective about the success of the march: http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2009_11/112120092.cfm.

Several weeks ago I accompanied a photographer, Martinus Geleynse, on a few local shoots he had here, one of which was with the CRWRC. We went to part of Nicaragua known as Matagalpa and spend a day and a half shooting still shots of three land banks in a program that is a collaborative effort of Acción Médica Cristiana (a Nicaraguan organization), Partners Worldwide, and CRWRC. It was a really neat time to learn about photography, but also super interesting to see first hand something that I've heard about for so long. This program is seriously changing lives. Development is about so much more than feeding people, giving them clothes, and giving them things. I invite you to watch this two part video we made at the Nehemiah Center about what has been done. It recounts the story of the program and specifically the story of Manuel Garcia and his wife Maritza. I've embedded it here, but you can also watch it in higher definition by right-clicking on the video>choosing "watch on youtube">and then clicking on the small HD button in the lower corner of the video. You will be encouraged and hopeful at having heard this story.



Perhaps you remember Miguel from the video above. Manuel gives him credit for being a large part of his success. Miguel mentors some 50 farmers that are part of these land banks and helps as a motivator, leader, and teacher. About two weeks ago I went back to the same area in the hills of Matagalpa, to do a training for Miguel and some of the AMC office staff. As I've mentioned in other posts, continued education isn't always commonplace here, so the staff was very excited to have the opportunity to learn formally some things that will be very useful as they move forward. I went prepared to train on some pretty introductory topics on spreadsheets and word processing. Since we were only able to cover the spreadsheet portion, I'll be returning again in the future to continue the training more in depth and build on what they've already learned. They had a lot of questions when I left and I could see that the gears were turning as to how they could use what they learned to help them keep better track of their projects and create better reports. Here is a slideshow of some of the pictures we took. Again, if you want to see it larger you can; click once on the slideshow and when it brings you to the next page simply click where it says "full screen" to the upper left of the photo.



Also, another year has finished for NCA Nejapa, where I taught English. Mauro finished his final block on the "cuadro de honor"...or the honor roll. He was quite proud to have completed the entire year missing the honor roll only in one marking period. He continues to excel despite difficulties at home. I haven't seen Breyling as much, although we did go for dinner last week. He seems to be doing alright. He is such a bright kid with so much potential. Now that he has lost his scholarship he will be facing more challenges if he is ever to leave poverty.

So many things have happened that I don't have enough time or space to write it all now. For that reason here's a snapshot right now of what's to come:

• the story of a fund-raising bike ride from Diriamba to Chacocentre (where ever that is!) to see sea turtles lay eggs and the babies make their way to the sea.
• a planecrash in the village of Wiwinak on the Rio Coco transforms the community that AMC has been working with overnight...but not how we would have hoped.
  

prayer items:

- praise God for the good work he is doing in Matagalpa through the land banks.
- praise God for Mauro's continued success, and pray that he and Bryeling will be kept from harm during the next two months while school is out.
- pray that God will continue using me to glorify himself and lift up his people.

protest nearing

I wrote an update about two days ago...only to lose about 75% of it after it was finished but before I posted it. I haven't had the time to retype it. I was going to do it today, but as usual, I have had a busy schedule and it's gotten squeezed out. However, I thought it would be worth spending a bit of time to ask for your prayers on behalf of Nicaragua.

Some of you probably know pretty well that there has been quite a bit of political tension in Nicaragua since Daniel Ortega entered office. Since that time there has been a general movement away from transparency in the government and an innumerable number of questionable events, including the last municipal elections, in which about 95 percent of the mayors elected were Sandinistas (Daniel's political party). The government has been accused of hiring gangs to stir up trouble, violence, and fear. They have been accused of rigging elections. They have been accused of preventing police protection for protesters. They've been accused of destroying or sabotaging media critical of the government (burning a radio station, scrambling the signal, sabotaging the newspaper presses). They've replaced entire departments of the government with yes men, and they've been accused of knocking off people that have gotten in their way. And most recently they have done what Costa Rica did (and in general what other left-leaning countries have done) which is to remove the limit on the number of consecutive terms a president can serve. Something interesting is that every time the opposition organizes an event, or a march, it just so happens that the ruling party also plans a "celebration" for the same day and the same place. This is exactly what is set to happen tomorrow (Saturday). A large scale march has been organized by the opposition for tomorrow, and a celebration of the victory won in the municipal mayoral elections is also scheduled for the same route. The threat for violence is large. The police have urged the opposition to change their route, which they agreed to do if they get police protection (something they have not gotten in the past).

I realize that the media is always biased. Lies are flying on both sides. It seems that the divisions between the left and the right are so great that neither can recognize any good in the other. I know that some good things have happened during the years since Daniel took office, but I also know a lot of questionable things have happened.

I ask that you take the time to pray for the march tomorrow. A close friend of mine is planning on marching. The potential for violence is pretty great. Please pray for peace in the march, and that everyone will see the value of peace, honesty, and love. It sounds cliche, but when anger, hatred, and selfishness grip peoples hearts, those things are thrown aside or trampled on, and brokenness rules. I encourage you to take a few minutes to breeze through some articles about the situation. Click here to automatically search google news for nicaragua. There you should find a bunch of articles (biased, don't forget) about our situation.

from tenors to campesinos and back

Just got back from 3 days in the campo (which is spanglish for "the country") visiting the three land banks that CRWRC and Partners worldwide support through Acción Médica, a local Nicaraguan organization. Acción Médica has been around for many years and has been a CRWRC partner organization for around nine years if I'm not mistaken. It was an amazing time hearing testimonies first hand from participating campesinos (farmers from the country). A few had previously owned no more than the land on which their house was built, and others had been living with family or working in exchange for a place to live. None of them owned their own land, which left them in the difficult position of renting land to farm, bringing many challenges. Through the land bank they have been able to purchase 3 manzanas (a little over 6 acres, I think) and begin to cultivate it. They're learning about all kinds of things including soil conservation, organic fertilizing, and many other techniques. But at the core of all of this learning is a focus on biblical worldview (cosmovisión bíbilica). They're learning that God is the one who has created everything, and he wants us to care for the land and care for each other. They learn that that is the reason we must take all of these things so seriously...and the reason that we can do them so joyfully! Not only do the practices that they're learning mean better production of the land, a richer wildlife, and more opportunities for bringing in money to support their families and better their lives, but all of this glorifies the Creator! I went to the campo with Martinus Geleynse of MG International, who was contracted by CRWRC to take professional photos for promotional purposes, so I've been his guide, assistand, and student in many ways as we went about this time of gathering stories and pictures. I'll be spending the coming week with him filming for Worldwide Christian schools.

I've also been working with another missionary in the area, Danny Sharpe of Young Life, in preparing for the arrival of another techie person. Jim Bode, a certified Microsoft trainer will be visiting to do some training and give assistance to a variety of people and organizations during the first week of November on a variety of topics including the MS Office quite, networking, and backing up. It should be a great time of learning.

About a week ago I took Breyling and Mauro to a different sort of experience, which turned out to be fantastic. A little unsure how they'd like it, I invited the to go with me to a concert at the Rubén Darío National Theater. It's Nicaragua's biggest theater and center for finer arts. It was the first time I entered the main hall, which has three balconies. It is beautiful with rich red carpet, seats, and walls. It was also the first time either of the boys had entered as well. The event we went for was an ensemble of 5 German tenors. They sang some serious songs, some funny songs, and even managed to work in several nicaraguan jokes into their between-song talks (which they struggled through, even though I doubt they understood what they were saying). Breyling was on the edge of his seat most of the time, stunning me with his analysis of the music, recognition of the words in the songs (of which they sang in German, French, English and Spanish). Mauro must have been exhuasted from a busy week...or he was just thoroughly enjoying the music because he was unresponsponsive even to pokes and prods as his eyes closed and his head fell to the side after about the third song. All in all a great opportunity to enjoy great music and culture, and share with the guys a new experience.

prayer items:

- pray that filming goes well this week
- pray for wisdom on my part as I walk with a struggling friend
- give praise to God for a successful last week

late afternoon joy ride

A couple of days ago I went for a ride after work. Just headed out of town and rode for a while before turning around and coming back. Really enjoyed it. Thought you might like to see a few pictures--they're posted below.

I'm working on getting some pictures of the tech team that we had last week, which was a very busy week with some long days while the team was around. When i get the picutres I'll fill you in on some more of the details of the time.

This week we're having our annual "congreso" or gathering of those involved with the Nehemiah Center. Actually, we're having two congresos because they are regional. One was in Chinandega, about 2.5-3 hours outside of Managua to the north-east. Today we'll have the other one in León, about 1.5-2 hours in the same direction. I was an am responsible for filming certain aspects of the event and interviews during. I'll try to get some of that footage posted as well.

Thanks for reading! And now for the photos!

One of the views on the New Highway to León of the volcanos Momotombo and Momotombito (Little Momotombo).


Returning through Mateare. If you saw Daniel Lanninga's video about the youth involved with gangs, their desire to change and the challenges involved with that, this is the area. I have a prayer request for that group and that city. One of guys from the film was recently stabbed to death in his home. I'm not sure about the details, but this community is so tired of violence and is groaning for change. Pray that this murder does not bring out more resentment and hatred among the youth, but that they respond in love!

A shot of the colorful sky behind some interesting trees.





Waiting for a bus on the outskirts of town as the sun descends and the streetlights flicker on.

The "Cuesta del Plomo" or the "Hill of Lead" where a monument marks the location of a famous site where the dictator Somoza killed a great many people. You can find a famous (although grusome) fotograph revealing the horror and beauty of the site here. The site is less than a mile from my house.

A few hundred feet from my neighborhood and just down the hill from the Cuesta del Plomo is this scene. Beautiful. Guess what businesses are located here? Oil refineries. I don't get it.

Prayer items:

- pray for the youth in Mateare where they just lost one of their own to a stabbing in his own home. pray that the commuity will continue moving towards peace and renewal.
- pray that the second day of filming for the Annual Congreso will go well, and that we'll be able to pull together a good video.
- pray for me as I continue to learn more about IT and video, and pray that i will have energy and vision for both as they require as they develop and grow.

first tech team

Goodmorning to all. It's the beginning of another week, and it feels good. My ride into work today was nice and cool and with a refreshing drizzle. Debated using the rainsuit, but figured I'd risk it. Worked out nice.

Today we are inviting to the Nehemiah Center our very first tech team. Food for the Hungry is one of the organizations partnering with us and sharing officies at the Nehemiah Center. Five people from their IT department just arrived here to see the FH field, get an idea of how they can be a better support to the missionaries here, and to use their skills and knowledge to help bolster our system. They even brough some hardware to donate, too. I am very excited to have this expertise here and hope that we can learn a lot. I hope to be able to recieve more teams of techie people in the future, so whatever happens while they're here will definitely be helpful.

That's it for now. Thanks for following!

Prayer Items:

-pray that we can learn a lot about how to make our information technology system better
-pray that we can learn about hosting a tech, what it requires, and how to best utilize them
-pray for the future of the Nehemiah Center's impact on Nicaragua and for opportunities to serve the Lord and others through this area!

whirlwind

After a quick trip to Michigan I'm back in Managua. As always, it was great to be with my family. Nothing like family. Even just so happened that Grandma was visiting from California with a couple of other extended family members, which made the trip even better.

I feel I should note here at the beginning that I finally got some pictures up on my post below entitled "centros de producción" so go ahead and glance through them.

While I was home, I was also able to have some important meetings. One of the more exciting ones involved a visit to Redeemer University to sit down with the Computer Science prof and talk through some possibilities of collaborating with them here in Nicaragua. Derek Schuurman (here is a recent article he wrote) is his name, and a while back he indicated to CR World Missions an interest to use his skills and connections to benefit others around the world. He and I have been exchanging emails for the past year or so as ideas have been developing on what our relationship might look like. He has been gathering people involved with technology in Christian schools for some time now in southern Ontario and beyond, and has been doing some of the things I'd like to be doing here with a similar group. So we talked about how to make that happen. We also talked about the possibility of getting both him and students down here for learning and serving experiences. Next summer we're hoping to get at least one student down to work with us and our systems here at the Nehemiah Center and also get the student involved actively in some of the Christian schools in the area training local teachers and helping them with their labs. Maybe even teaching classes. There is a lot of work to be done building the community of Christians involved in technology. And a lot of groundwork to be laid before the student intern arrives. The first step will be making initial contact with teachers and figuring out the best way to communicate with them.

I also had the chance, while I was home, to speak at First Hamilton CRC. While I studied at Redeemer this was my home church away from home, and so I really appreciated the opportunity to share with them what I've been doing in Nicaragua.

Since I've been back I've been working at translating the class materials for a video production class that I'll be teaching here soon. I have found that translating is a big job! It is consuming a lot more time than I would have thought. I've also been working on updating the mission statement and goals for the Media Studio, and so I'll have to share them here when I've got them done.

And things have certainly picked up their pace. My first week back was great. I actually left work and went straight home every day, and did so at a reasonable time. After getting home, I'd make some food and then sit down to read a book almost each night. I don't think I even took my computer home. It was great. Then all of a sudden things picked up and swept me through the next few weeks until now. I've hardly gotten home before 7:00, sometimes much later. Partly due to work, and partly due to just the business of life in other areas.

Shortly after returning here I found out that Breyling, one of the younger boys that I mentor, had lost his sponsorship to attend NCA Nejapa, where I taught. His poor behavior and lack of interest in completing work both in and out of class had finally caught up with him. He's been on the verge of losing his scholarship for quite a while and they finally said enough. It was a tough decision, but a necessary one for the sponsoring organization (Hand in Hand). They told me they were hoping he would get enrolled at a public school and that he, realizing the difference and the opportunity he was missing out on, would have a change of heart and ask to be let back in with a new attitude. Unfortunately his parents are very unsupportive. Last I heard it had been 3 weeks into the new semester and he was still not enrolled in another school. The two occasions that I've invited him out he has been unable to come for reasons that I question a little. Mauro is continuing strong, although he too must do it without a lot of parental support. I do plan to continue spending time with both of them, and Hand in Hand has told me they still want to mediate the relationship, and for that I am thankful.

I believe I've shared a little bit about open source software in the past--software developed by the people and for the people. It's developed with the explicit intent of sharing it and modifying it and allowing others to build on the idea. That's different from proprietary software like Microsoft's, where you can only buy it and use it on one computer. Open source software such as OpenOffice, Firefox, and many, many others, can be downloaded for free, and shared with anyone for any purpose. Well, there is a growing movement of this perspective in other areas as well, including music. Although it isn't completely restriction free, sites like Jamendo's are offering free and unlimited downloads of music that you can also in turn share with your neighbor, coworker or friends for free...and do it legally. Musicians on Jamendo have their music licensed using Creative Commons licenses which instead of being "all rights reserved" is "some rights reserved", opening up their music for free for most any non-commercial use. They also give you the oppotunity to contribute to the artist--who will get 50% of any contribution you make. I've found some pretty good music. I'd recommend checking it out. Let me know if you want me to suggest a few of the albums I enjoy.

Prayer items:

-Please continue praying for myself and my mentorship with the two boys.
-Media studio: pray that the media studio ideas will all come together soon and that we can get going with the class and in general use the studio more to its capacity.
-Technology: pray for the formation of the group of teachers and for a sense of excitement and participation among them.

slums

I just came across this website: www.slumdoc.com. It's a Dordt College project. Looks highly interesting. It quotes the United Nations statistic that 1 in 6 of the world's population live in slums. That's a shockingly high number. That's 1 billion. By 2030, it is estimated that that number will be close to 3 billion. The fotos from the homepage all come from Managua, from a day that I spent with the prof leading the documentary project. I took him down to the city dump, near the homes of my two little friends Breyling and Mauro. In fact, one of the photos shows another boy sponsored by the same program that they are. I also just finished a video project for this minitry, called Hand in Hand Ministries. I encourage you to check out the website I mentioned. Read the blog entries. Watch some of the films. Allow God to work in your heart and change the way you look at poverty--if your heart needs to be changed, as mine often does.

The site makes me wonder what I can do, what I should be doing, living so close to poverty. Here in Managua, we're faced with begging every day. Even if we can avoid public transportation and the poorer areas of town, it's not uncommmon to come face to face with adults, children, disabled, mothers who look at us with outstretched hands. Not a half a mile from my house I often see a young boy or an older woman on my way home from work. I've wondered what I can do. Probably not much. I've made a small effort to get to know them. I did learn the boy's name, Jimmy, and whenever I see him, I ask him how things are, how school is doing. But is that really enough? Does he recognize me yet? Where are his parents? Is he begging because his parents haven't given him anything to eat? Have they sent him? How can one respond to such a situation?

Breyling and his sister came within inches of losing their scholarship with Hand in Hand this week. The ministry pays for a large part of the school tuition, but does not pay it all in order to encourage the parents to take ownership of the opportunity. In Breyling's case, his parental figures are very unsupportive. They tell him he is poor and cannot afford to do certain projects rather than come up with ways of doing them that are within their means. This time, his parents did not pay their portion of the tuition on time, so the two were set to be suspended for a day. His grandmother was quite upset threatened that if they were suspended, she'd pull them out of the program. And they would pay if the pair were not suspended. I'm not exactly sure how it worked out, but they are still in the program, thanks to God. Please pray for Breyling's situation. Pray for his mother and grandmother, that they would start taking Breyling and his sister's lives seriously and support them in their education. This is one opportunity they have to break the cycle of poverty in their family. If they lose their scholarship and connection with this ministry, their future is much more uncertain. His behavior at school have also been a growing problem.

So much hurt in the world. So much pain. On a small scale as much as a global scale. Something is not right. Something is terribly wrong. Do you ever get the sense that this is not how things are supposed to be? I do. I hope you do, too. I also hope that you can live with the certainty that things will be better one day, when the Creator reclaims his creation, judging evil and restoring good. That tension is healthy. Live and love, and long deeply for the day of eternity.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Breyling and Mauro from during the time when my parents came for a visit. Breyling is on the left, and Mauro on the right in the first photo.





prayer items:

-Breyling and his family: a change in his the attitude of his parents could change his life incredibly!
-Media studio: pray that the next couple of weeks and months we will be able to make some solid plans for the future of the media studio.
-Rain: the rains have begun again, and everything is turning green again! Praise the Lord for his faithfulness.

the candle burns on

It's been almost a month now that I've been burning the candle at both ends. The first two weeks of this month were some of the most productive I've had in a long time--several deadlines converging at once, lots of pressure to get things done, lots of hours at the Nehemiah Center, and a lot of energy and focus. However, the candle is getting shorter, and I'm getting tired. I think I need to force myself to rest.

Among other things in the last month, I finished the Spanish version of a promotional video I was working on in the Media Studio for Hand in Hand Ministries. I might be able to shrink it down to email size if anyone is interested in seeing it--I still don't know about posting it on YouTube since we don't have licensing to publish the music in it, though I might try it anyway. I'm in process right now of adapting it for English viewers.

This past Saturday I took my two little Nicaraguan friends to a super cross event, of which there are very few in Nicaragua. It was a lot of fun. There were quad and motorcycle races, and even several heats of kids on small dirt bikes, impressively fast and fearless. Of course there was also the stunt riders that did wheelies and stoppies, and all kinds of other tricks 30 feet in the air off the giant ramp. They make it look so easy...I can't wait to try it when I get my bike fixed! ...right. The guys had a great time taking pictures with my phone (I had lent out my camera, unfortunately!), watching the stunts, checking the raffled ticket numbers with ours--we didn't end up winning the free motorcycle, sadly. One of the boys is in risk of losing his sponsorship. Unfortunately the parents of these boys aren't very supportive at all of their kids' education. While one of them seems to have a lot of internal drive and motivation, the other gets discouraged easily and has been bahaving poorly in class and not doing his homework. I hope that my interest in them will be an encouragement to them in many ways.

We're at about 90% legal with our software in the Nehemiah Center now! This past week one person who has been quite resistant to this movement actually asked me to push her completely into the change rather than little by little weaning her off Microsoft, and I consider this a huge acheivement. Even more shocking, she told me that she's actually been liking Ubuntu and OpenOffice! I've spent a lot of time working with her to make the transition as smooth and painless as possible, and convincing her that it's a good idea. I figured that if I could get her onboard, others would naturally follow. A lot has been acheived in this area in the past year--and I'm speaking mostly of mindsets--which are hard to change. Everyone at the Nehemiah Center now understands the difference between legal and illegal software, as well as the benefits of using legal software. They're also learning about the world and benefits of Free or Open Source Software (appropriately called "Software Libre" or liberated software, in Spanish). Moreover, the perception of the open source alternatives has been improving and I've already had several people at the Nehemiah Center ask me about installing the same stuff on their home computers. We're creating ripples, I do believe, and can already see the way our efforts to have integrity in this area are impacting others.

So the candle is still burning. And I suspect it will be for a while. It's nice to be able to take a couple hours this morning and rest a little before going in! Have a great week, make sure you also get your rest!

Prayer items:

-Please continue to pray me in terms of balancing my workload, and for balancing that with my personal life outside of work.
-One of the most stressful things at work is when the computer equipment all crashes at once--a lot of people count on things working right in order to do their jobs effectively. We've had a lot of challenges in this area lately--pray that our equipment cooperates, and that I have wisdom in knowing how to respond when it doesn't!
-Praise God for the advancements we've been able to make with software, and pray that we continue to have an impact in Nicaragua in this area.

centros de producción

Unfortunately it seems that lots of time between posts has become commonplace! I'm deciding right now that I'm going to be posting more in the coming weeks and months even if the posts are short. I can't keep leaving my supporters hanging!

I do have some excuses, though. I've hardly been at home the last three weeks. First, I hosted some special visitors in Nicaragua; my parents arrived in mid-May for a planned visit. Three days later someone showed up behind me at the hotel, slapped his hands over my face and said in a familiar voice, "Guess who?" Problem was, I couldn't think of anyone who would show up at our hotel and do that to me. To my amazement, it was my brother Mike! What in the world? It was a great beginning to a week with our family all together in Nicaragua. We sat by the pool, enjoyed cold drinks, climbed volcanoes, visited coffee farms, rode horses, ate some excellent food, saw some monkeys, and generally had a fantastic time. When my parents left, Mike stayed around for a couple of days and we had some more fun. We rode motorcycles out to the beach on a smooth and windy road. Had a drink and enjoyed the beauty. We also made it over to a school called ESVO (just started a website) where a couple friends of mine teach blacksmithing and woodworking in an impoverished area just outside Managua. We each made a small leaf hook, which we were quite proud of. Of course mine turned out better. :) Here are a few pictures:

Together again. An afternoon at Selva Negra.


Sitting on a fallen tree looking up at monkeys.


Horse back riding at Selva Negra--super beautiful views.


The chapel. Many buildings have plants all over the roof.


Standing in front of Cerro Negro (the Black Hill).


Climbing Cerro Negro (the Black Hill) with my fam and roommate Lennin.


Then the parents left and Mike and I went for a ride out to the coast.


Mike working on his inferior leaf hook.


Mike's finished hook.


After a week and a half of out-of-office time with my family, it was time to get to work again and catch up on some projects that had been on the back burner. However, first day back I was surprised by a request to join a group of people heading to the Rio Coco, which is the river on the northern border of Nicaragua. I would meet up with some people from Acción Médica Cristiana (AMC, a local NGO) and fly with them to Waspam where we'd get in a boat and head up river for four days. The communities on the river are only accessible by boat. My task on the trip would be two-fold. First, I would be interviewing several people involved in a project that we're supporting (through AMC). Second, I'd be scouting out accomodations and doing some forward thinking for an adventure tour on the river planned for sometime in early 2010 (wow! hard to believe we're already approaching a new decade!). Two days after the river trip, the annual Central American CRC missionary retreat started, which lasted about four and a half days. So that is part of the reason it's taking so long to get another blog out!

Let me take a minute to explain the project on the river. Almost three years ago, we initiated a project with AMC that would see a "Centro Productivo" start to experiment with new crops, new types of animals, and new methods for raising them. The idea would be to create a model farm that uses less land, is more productive, and does it with much greater long term sustainability...both in financial terms and in sustainability of water and land. At the same time, the idea was to train locals in the new methods (transfer the new technologies) and supply them with seeds and animals to begin to diversify and better care for their own parcels. The first year, 20 "partners" would be trained. The second year, 20 more would be added, and the first 20 would help train them. Year three would see another 20 partners, bringing the total to 60. There would certainly be an overflow affect, as well, naturally, as others would begin to teach informally and learn by watching those involved. Below is a photo of Roberto and his family.


Roberto implemented a traditional system of planting only beans, rice, and corn. This system generally leaves the soil less and less fertile after each harvest, meaning a smaller harvest each time. It also begins with clearning the planting area by cutting every tree and then burning whatever remains, which also leaves the land without nutrients. To make things worse, if Roberto were to plant his crops close to his house, his animals would certainly eat them, since they are often left to run free and scavange for food. Roberto would therefore end up walking 2-4 hours away to plant his crops where his animals woudn't eat them, sometimes chasing his animals just as far in order to retrieve them. Being away from home for so much of the day also leaves his family and property at risk of theft or damage. During the past two years, Roberto has now learned the methods and the importance of keeping your animals fenced in, diversifying crops to replenish the nutrients in the soil and provide more rounded and consistant year round diets. He is able to stay close to home and care for and protect his family, his animals, and use the time he would have spent walking on productive work.

There are many many other stories like that of Roberto, and the number grows every year. Through the project we started with AMC, we have been able to help them duplicate it and sell it to two other funding org's to start 4 more "Centros Productivos" along the river, each growing by 20 partners per year. I visited each of them and it is outstanding what they are accomplishing and what kind of vision the communities are gaining for what can be done. There is so much more interesting stuff I could share about the farms, the people, and culture on the river, but I'm afraid I'm already reaching attention limits. :) Perhaps more for the next blog.

Below are a few more photos. Below them you will find some prayer requests if you would like to support me through prayer. Please contact me if you'd like to come for a visit to learn more about what God is doing through me and in Nicaragua through the ministries of the Nehemiah Center. If you'd like to support me financially, there is a link on the right-side panel, or you can email me for more information. Thanks for following along!

There we are, just got on the boat. And me just as innocent as any gringo entering the river.


Here we (they) are pulling the boat through some of the narrower sections of the river.


Starting early the next morning.


Me in front of the first Centro we visited. See the CRWRC logo?


Using some new methods for planting and caring for crops.


An image of one of the training centers during one of our half-vigils (lights are powered by generator, which we brought).


During one of the half-vigils, an object from the message on the ground in front.


The means of transportation on the river, a boat carved from a tree, with a few sticks or paddles.


Can you imagine living there?


Out for a joy ride?


Prayer Items:

-pray for creativity, vision, and drive as I go about working with videos and the media studio (more info about this in the next blog).
-pray for energy and discernment to tackle wisely all the tasks on my plate for the coming weeks.
-pray that I continually have a heart of service and love for the country and people that I am serving.

no more loose screws

So things continue to get better with my shoulder. My range is about at 85-90% I think, and strength about the same. Two weeks ago Friday the removed the screw that was installed during operation screw-dave on December 31. Disappointingly, the screw is smaller than I expected, measuring in at just over a measly one inch. They gave it to me after the surgery in a little bag, along with a little washer. I immediately felt my range improve. The same time they removed the screw, they also removed a little bump that we found after the surgery. It seems to have been the bent-over end of some of the string they used to fix the ligaments in place. The two incisions they made were about 1/4 inch, and each recieved 2 stitches. Since then the stitches have come out and I am impressed at how good things look. With PT, I've started more strength building movements with weights and theraband.

Here's a picture of the screw before it came out. See the washer?

From Shoulder Surgery 2

Not too bad from this angle. Click on the "Shoulder Surgery 2" link for more photos.

From Shoulder Surgery 2

The Nehemiah Center continues to be a busy place. Always new challenges in the computer realm, and things are advancing in the Media Studio as well. I'll be making a presentation very soon to those who work in Nehemiah Center called "Introducing Open Source Software, OpenOffice, and Ubuntu." This presentation is very important as it's the first in a series and the foundation for a lot of changes I've been pushing for and working on throughout the last year. It's finally time to start making it more public. I'm working on more specific presentations and training sessions for OpenOffice and Ubuntu.

In case you're not sure what I'm talking about, "open source software" describes the type of process used to make programs which allows other people to study, modify, and improve the same software, while using it for any purpose and sharing it with anyone else for free. It's a very community-oriented approach to computing and programming. Users are developing it and making it available for anyone else who can use it. To me, it seems like a self-less model on which to base software development. Examples of famous open-source projects include the Firefox web browser, Wikipedia (the web program that it runs on is open source software, and the data within can be edited, modified, or added to by anyone in the world), OpenOffice (a full-range office suite modeled after Microsoft Office). At the Nehemiah Center, by moving to OpenOffice and Ubuntu, we've been able to replace 80% of our pirated software this past year with open-source software, increasing our resistance to viruses, allowing us to have more integrity as a Christian organization, and puttin us in a better position to encourage others in Nicaragua to do the same. A far-off goal would be for us (Nicaraguans exposed to these concepts through the Nehemiah Center) to begin to participate in the development of open-source software...but as I said, that's a far off goal. During this next year, we plan to finish what we started and erradicate pirated software completely from the Center.

Yesterday I took Breyling and Mauro (my "little brothers") for the second time to the monthly men's prayer breakfast in Managua. It's organized by a missionary here with the intention of giving men a time to come together to pray, hold each other accountable, and refocus their lives on God's will. Pretty low-key, we have breakfast, hear a brief message from someone in the group, share reactions to the message anything else important in our lives, and then we pray together. I'm the only one that has brought children to the event (and have wondered why!) and have found it to be an excellent opportunity to expose these two boys to Christian men who are dedicated to serving the Lord. It also sets the tone for and creates a great time for me to pray with the guys. After the prayer breakfast we hang out for a while and do whatever. Spending time with them is quite meaningful, from the little things to the big. One great memory I have of growing up is sitting on my dad's lap steering the car (once we were safely in a residential area, of course) and so yesterday I gave these guys that same experience, which they loved. Last month as we sat at a Tip-Top restaurant (for lunch), they began singing the words to the song being played. To put it softly, it was a song about having a relations with a girl. Although these guys are young, they're exposed to graphic lyrics and television all the time, and that aside from what they're exposed to in the streets. It began an excellent discussion about sex and when and why it is appropriate. Yesterday Breyling reminded me that we had that discussion last time, which really made me happy. He also told me he talked to one of the men from the prayer breakfast when he saw him at his school. The Lord has really opened up an opportunity for me to be a part of their lives and is clearly working in them.

As, I promised, here's a video that I helped put together. CCDH is a partner of the Nememiah Center and CRWRC as well as Partners Worldwide. They are doing excellent things here in Nicaragua. Click once to watch the video in this windos. Twice will open the video in YouTube. Once there, if you want to watch a higher res version, follow the link under the lower right corner of the video.



Prayer Items

-Please pray for healing to continue without complications and that strength and range will return quickly.
-Pray that the current video project will come together and that we'll be able to finish up with it soon.
-Pray for the political situation in Nicaragua and for its leaders, that they would lead justly and fairly.

new heights

Hey! I hope you're all doing well. It's about time I post again and include some more pictures, eh? Well, as I mentioned last time, I've moved into a new house. Still living with Lennin, a friend from Nicaragua. Click on the album below to get a tour with captions. The house, while perhaps equivalent square footage, offers a larger common room, but also brings some new spacial challenges forward. Overall, I'm hopeful that we'll enjoy this place more.



Thoughts of Sea to Sea have still not died. We've updated our website with some new things. We posted the final amount for fund raising. Our original goal (including the 4:1 matching and trip costs) was $110k. We are excited to announce that we've raised a total of almost $280k!

I encourage you to go the the website here (http://bikenica.wordpress.com) to see the following:

• a few more details of the funds raised (on the blog section)
  
• "fun facts and quick stats"--interesting and crazy statistics on anything from flat tires to fatal collisions with animals to most nutrition bars consumed in one day. this post also has some of the most interesting stories about the travails of the trip! (blog section)
• relections--many of the riders have posted some reflections on what they remember about the trip and how it impacted them. I am one of those that posted.

Unfortunately I don't have a lot of my own pictures of the event. I've posted a few below, but you may have seen them on other sites already. If not, perfect! :) I encourage you too to go to Rachel's blog (a good friend and fellow support team member) for some more C2C pictures and another perspective on the accident. :) She's got some good pictures, including one of me at the hospital in Siuna. Of course, you can always go to my own photo gallery here.

The entire group of cyclists as they began in Puerto Cabezas, Carribean Ocean. Sadly, I wasn't there!

My very sympathetic support crew!

My next post I'm going to include a video that I helped film and edit. Releases have now been signed by those appearing in the film, so we can release it publicly. Stay tuned!

Prayer Items:

-I've been having discussions about my focus for this year. Pray that we have wisdom in what I should concentrate my energies this year.
-Still very busy--please pray for extra energy to accomplish what needs to be done.
-Healing continues in the shoulder. Strength is coming back faster than mobility, but I think that's okay. I still have a screw in there, and that limits mobility. Pray for the PTs and the doc, that they'll know exactly what needs to be done to get me back to normal fastest!

chains and tires

Chains may break
and tires may blow,
but the Lord will not leave you
by the side of the road.

That's what Jim Sikkema told me over breakfast one morning while I was home for Christmas. While a lot of what we said had stuck with me, I had sort of forgotten this phrase until he reminded me about a week ago by email. Looking back, it couldn't have come at a more relevant time! One of the things that impressed me most throughout the Sea-to-Sea trip (and it also impressed others a great deal, too) was the constant provision and protection of the Lord. In fact, chains did break; tires did blow. But the Lord never left one of us by the side of the road. I had a tire blow. Many others had chains and tires blow. Some fell off bridges while others went tumbling after a high speed collisions with dogs. But through it all, we saw the mighty hand of God upholding us, providing and protecting in a vast array of different ways.

Not only did He not leave us by the side of the road, He blessed the us richly throughout the event. Here is one slideshow and another is here of some photos from the trip as taken by April. By the way, if you're interested in hearing some more stories of the trip, take some time to browse the Sea-to-Sea website. We've set up a new page called "Reflections" where riders and participants are sending in their answers to some reflection questions. You'll also find some post-trip updates on the blog page. The rider's page also has some links to personal blogs of participants with extended reflections and photos. Some of them have fun photos of me on them!

Since the ride has ended, I've been cought in a whirlwind. I got thrown back into a video project for Hand in Hand Ministries. Some filming and a lot of editing have to be done during the next week. The video will be aimed at drumming up local support for the ministry, hopefully encouraging Nicaraguans to take responsibility for the challenges facing the poor in their own country. I'm working on the project with two Nicaraguans who recieved training in videography through the Nehemiah Center. I've also been thrown back into the computer/networking world at the Nehemiah Center...and it's been keeping me busy. Our main printer/copier died this week, and while trying to sort out a temporary printing situation, two more desktop computers mysteriously died. Frustrating! It's a good thing I know about chains and tires. :)

In the midst of my busy schedule I also pulled the Systems Team together for another much needed meeting this week. We made some important decisions. I'll be presenting and introduction to open source software, OpenOffice, and Ubuntu to the Nehemiah Center staff a week from Monday, talking about its benefits and why it's a good idea of us to make use of these things instead of Microsoft software. Then next month I'll do a similar presentation to the steering committee. Also very soon I'll be starting some more in-depth trainings on specific software including OpenOffice and Scribus. Pretty exciting for me to see these things coming together. Also makes me a little nervous.

Answer to prayer! Lennin and I found another place to live. If you'll recall, we were told that we have to move out of the "apartment" that we're in now. After looking at a dozen places, we finally found one we're comfortable with. It will cost a little more, and will be slightly more out of the way, but nonetheless it was a blessing to find such a nice place so quickly. We're moving in on Monday. I'll post some pictures of the new place.

And of course, my shoulder. I'm seeing clear progress in the regaining my range of motion and strength on my right shoulder. The would is healing nicely with no signs of infection. The doctor was really pleased with how well I was doing when I saw him early this week. He called another doctor in to show him all that I could do just three weeks after surgery. Then he sent me down to set up my first PT appointment, which is set for Tuesday.

This afternoon I'll be going to get the keys to the new place and then I'll have lunch with Breyling and Mauro, the two Nicaraguan boys that I've commited to spending time with. Should be a fun afternoon!

Sorry, no time for photos today! They're coming soon!

Prayer Items

-Praise God for continued recuperation in my shoulder, and please continue to pray that there are no complications, and that healing continues!
-Pray for Breyling and Mauro as they're at the beginning edge of another school year. They face many challenges. Pray that I can be a meaningful part of their lives.
-Praise God for providing a place to live.
-Pray for focus in my work, and the wisdom to balance so many things.

continued progress

Good Sunday afternoon. It's been a beautiful day. Not too hot. Nice breeze. Good lunch with good friends.

It's not hard to feel blessed when things seem to be going your way. Despite the tiny little accident a 14 days ago and the subsequent little surgery I'm doing awesome.

I believe the last post I wrote before I even reconnected with the C2C group. On the third day after my surgery I did end up making my way the four hours by car to see the cyclists for the firs time since they had set out from the Carribean coast 5 days earlier. We arrived in Matiguas just in time to greet the first group after their most physically grueling day of the event. They were exhausted. Even though I had been absent the first half of the trip, they encouraged me saying that it was almost as if I had been there. They thought of me and mentioned me often and were glad I could finally be joining them. That was neat to hear. Being with them also brought before me all the fun and joy and challenges that I missed out on...and now also facing my limitations (rather than sitting around at home) I did feel some frustration in being an invilid. But more than anything, it was good to be with them and helping out however I could. I was able to be an interpreter and helped with some logistical things. Check out the website that we have been updating to see some pictures of the trip and also read some of the moving stories from the ride (see the older blog entries). I'll let you know when there are more pictures there, too. They're coming soon. Also some video.

Actually, I should mention that I made national TV in Nicaragua for the first time... actually, probably the fist time since little league that I've been on TV. I had about 10 seconds, talking about my injury. I tried to convince them they didn't want to interview me, but after seeing my sling they went as far as sending somone to find me where I was hiding around the corner. :) I'm going to try to post the video as soon as I get it. Don't worry, I'll put some captions on it. We were covered by another channel the next day, and it was a great report aside from some humorous clip selections...which made it fun. I'll try to post both!

I visited the doctor this past week for the second time since the surgery. Gave me some more excercises to do, including moving my elbow out and up to almost 90 degrees and forward and back 45 degrees. I'll start physical therapy in the next two weeks I think, but doctor said the movements are basic enough at this point that I'll just do them at home for now. Below are a few pictures of the wound. It is incredible to me how fast it has healed. Thankfully there was no sign of infection when they took off the yellow sticker from the last post. And there has been relatively no pain--just some discomfort here and there--aside from one day when I felt a sharp and piercing pain in my ribs. For a few days I thought I was dealing with some broken ribs, hurting for the first time because my first round of pain meds had ended. But, I haven't had that pain now for many days. I've also been without the sling now for several days, too. So there is much to be thankful for.

From Surgery

From Surgery

From Surgery

And here's my favorite new background picture taken just before I left Michigan again. I miss that guy on the right.



Thank you to those of you who have been praying for my health and healing. The Lord has really made this easy for me. If you would like to help me get back on track financially or help me lay some tracks for the future so I can continue to serve the Lord in Nicaragua, send me an email or see the right side of this page where it says "online giving". Below are some more things you can bring before the Lord on my behalf.

Prayer Items:

-Praise God for the way he has responded to your prayers for my health and healing! And ask him to continue to put his hand on my shoulder and to encourage me through those around me.
-Pray that I will find some good options for new places to live. I need to be out of my current apartment before the end of the month. I've spent some more time trying to find leads and talk to people about possibilities, but nothing looks like it's for sure. Pray that we can find a place in a good neighborhood in the right price range.
-Praise God for how he has worked through the Sea-to-Sea event. It was a fantastic experience for all of those involved. And pray that Nicaragua will also be impacted through both team members and funds they raised. Pray that the Lord will be glorified as the affects of the event ripple through time and space.

recovery begins

Went to the doctor today. Second day after the operation. He took off the original bandage and put another one on. Moved my arm back and forth and out to the side at a 45 degree angle. Told me to do the same later. No problem, right? :) The pain also began last night as the numbness wore off, and there been at least a low level ache all day, with more focused pain at certain times. I know it's normal. I just need to tough it out and get through this stage. I had plans to go with a few others by car to meet up with the team which is about 3 hours (and 2 days on bike) outside Managua. At this point I'm really questioning that decision due to the level of discomfort.

I've been reading the book "Free of Charge" which speaks of God's character as a giver. It has reminded me to give thanks to God in all circumstances. Join with me in praising him for all that he has done and all that he continues to do. His gifts aren't always what we want, because the God of creation doesn't give just to satisfy our desires. He gives to create in us a character more like his. Join me in thanking him for what he has given us! May we learn to live as he would have us and give as he has given to us.

Here's a picture of the wound with a yellow sticky bandage covering it. Yellow because it's medicated.

From Surgery

From Surgery

From Surgery