The day to day

It has been a few weeks now and the kids have really adjusted to going to an all Spanish speaking school. I have  been very impressed by how much they understand in their classrooms. Kris  and Jazz my 12 and 10 year olds, can now pray during our nightly devotions in Spanish! It's just amazing what the Lord is doing in them. After school each day the younger ones spend time creating paper doll world... which has got to be the most inexpensive way to keep them occupied.

Last weekend we were introduced to a team of missionaries from the US and Costa Rica. They were truly a blessing to be around. 
We visited a feeding center with them where over 50 children were being fed. Afterwards we handed out clothing to them. 

On our way back home we stopped for lunch at a chicken stop and headed to the market. If you have ever been to an outdoor flea market, then you would have sort of an idea of what this market is like. They sell everything there! There was a little boy of about 10 years old who followed us around the whole time we were there. Here is the account of our encounter with him told from Antonio's point of view:
Today I had an incredible encounter while shopping with a team of missionaries after we were approached by a young boy who was begging in Managua here is a paraphrased and translated transcript of the encounter.

Beggar boy: (with excitement as Gringos with cash approach him) Sir, sir, can I make you a rose out of this blade of grass for your wife.

Me: (already being hip to his craft and realizing that the artwork only last a day or so and then decomposes) no thanks.

Beggar boy: well, can you give me a dollar to help me.

Me: (not willing to show weakness by acknowledging the request) "..."

Beggar boy: Sir, please one dollar.

Me: ...

Missionary friend: (with a smile as I looked on at first in fear because acknowledging this kid was to invite more persistent begging) Little boy, I don't have a dollar to give but will you accept the little that I do have to give.

Beggar boy: (wide-eyed with glee) Yes!

Missionary friend: Do you have a relationship with Jesus as your savior?

Beggar boy: (with curiosity) no.

Missionary friend: Would you like me to show you how to get one?

Beggar Boy: Yes.

The rest was textbook evangelism. The young boy openly professed his acceptance of Christ, he was given a Gideon Bible that happened to be in the Missionary's pocket, and was assured that he would begin to sense the change in his heart.

I was in shock at what I had just witnessed. I was ashamed that I was so numb that I missed the opportunity. I was overjoyed that this young boy was reached in spite of me.

Moments later, We were haggling with a vendor over the price of her goods, she wanted to charge us the gringo price after she had charged another fellow 33% less. We had given the lady 10 Cordoba (the price charged previously) she insisted that I owed her another 5 cordoba. At that moment the little beggar boy appears, reaches into his pocket, gives the lady the extra five Cordoba.

Wow, that is all I've got right now.

What a wonderful way to end that day we had together. The next day we had church at the chapel and the worship was amazing. They were leaving right after service so after many pictures and hugs they grabbed their backpacks and headed to the van destined for Costa Rica. 

The following week I was on a mission. I had decided that I would begin to potty train the children in the babies room at the orphanage. I would begin with the 4 year old and work my way down to the 1 year old. Ophelia was my first project. She is a bright and lovely child who I could tell was ready to get out of those size 5 diapers. 

I began by instructing the worker who watches over the babies with Lauren to keep her liquids to a minimum and take away the sippy cup. She would stay with me during the day and sleep at the orphanage at night. The first couple of days I have to admit, I wondered about my sanity as I washed poop out of her underwear for the third time. By day 3 she was going the whole day without any accidents. 

So proud of her!!! Once she has gone a full week or so without the constant worry of accidents, then we will move on to Leo. He is nicknamed Leo the lion and I'm sure he is going to make this a real chore for me. 

On the very bright side we have hired a helper. I don't know what to call her... maid, worker, helper, housekeeper... Her name is Gloria, maybe I'll just call her Gloria. We have hired a Gloria!

I'm sure she doesn't care but it just felt really weird to ask her..."Wanna be my maid?" (Color Purple) LOL

We asked her what she would like to get paid per hour and she told us just as calm as can be... "12.50 Cordoba per hour" which equates to be roughly .65 cents per hour.

She works from 1 to 6pm Monday through Friday as she also works at the school from 7am to noon. I pray that the Lord will use us to be a blessing to her not only financially as her 

employers but spiritually as well.

Back in the states my puppies have all been sold and we are now looking for a new dog handler to take care for future pups...anybody out there know how to handle dogs? (smile)

More to come...

How are you feeling today?

I'm not feeling very well today. It reminded me that I have blogged about a lot of the good and none of the things that make it a bit difficult to be on the mission field here in Nicaragua. For one, drinking the tap water will make you sick. Go the the bathroom 10 times a day kind of sick. That would also include drinking fresh juice made with said tap water (just ask Tony).
We have encountered things that I never even given a second thought to like Scabies, chicken pox, lice and dengue fever. The kids have had conjunctivitis, sore throats and coughs on and off for about 3 weeks until we finally took some antibiotics. Not to mention the possibilities of parasites that we will take pills for.
The amazing thing is that the work that God is doing here far outweighs the negatives. There are creams, pills and shampoos for those ailments but the seeds that are being planted in these children are for eternity.
As I type I am siting in the house that we have rented, fully furnished thank goodness.

We are literally across the street from the school and a 1 minute walk to the orphanage. Daily I watch as Tony walks out of his classroom and is greeted by many of the children with smiles and hugs.
We have shifted into a routine since the beginning of the school year. Kids and I are up at 5:45am. (There really should be a law against having to wake up that early...good grief!)
School starts at 6:50am and they walk out the door at about 6:52am (sigh)
I get the two youngest of my children up and we head out to daily prayer at 8:30am at the orphanage. I usually stick around after prayer to help out with the babies and whatever else needs to be done. Tony teaches classes throughout the day but comes to the house during his breaks. The children get out of school at 1:20pm and we all have lunch back at home around that time.
I head back to the orphanage around 2pm and help out until about 4pm if needed. My children are cleaning up and working on homework at this time. I decided that I wanted them to continue with their Teaching Textbooks math and Apologia science so they work on that after school related homework and chores.

We have dinner at about 6:30 and head out to nightly devotions at 7pm. (I have included a link to the video of Ruby dancing during devotions.)

http://laurenedinborough.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html

The day is pretty much done after that so they are in bed about 9:30-10pm while I sit around with Tony and we talk or read.
There have been a lot of things going on here in El Crucero and I am so happy to be here at this time in our lives. I don't know how long we will be here for but I am certain that God has it all under control.
Pray for our health, pray for our safety and most of all pray that the Lord has his way! Amen.
More to come...

Still here...

I've been contemplating these past few days if I needed to change the title of my blog. After coming back from Waspam, Tony and I had a decision to make. Do we leave Costa Rica that has been so kind to us and come to Nicaragua, or do we go back home as if we weren't greatly moved by being here.

Well, after a few heated and many calm discussions, we decided to move to Nicaragua.
Tony took on a volunteer position at the New Hope Christian school and I took on the job of helping to care for the children at the orphanage and our very special pregnant teen due April 27th.

We decided that it would be a great learning experience for the children to attend the school. This would not only speed up their Spanish speaking and comprehending skills, but it would give them a chance to be amongst the local children in town. As far as the US is concerned they are still considered homeschooled and I will continue the file their reports at the end of the year.

After the first day of school during lunch Chantell recounted how Tony had asked her classmates what they had for dinner the night before during his music class. She was shocked when most students shook their heads to say that they had not eaten anything for dinner. These children get a lunch after school everyday and for most, it is all they have to eat... all day. God is so good to have provided this place for so many of these children.
After the first two weeks of school it was imperative that we head back to Costa Rica to tie up some loose ends. We headed for Tica Bus and slept most of the way there. The ride took longer than usual but I was excited to see Costa Rica again. When we finally arrived, we walked to the nearest bus stop and hopped on. We got off near Central Park in San Jose and got something to eat. I wanted to do a bit shopping but it was late and frankly I wanted to get to the house.
After another 30 minute ride on our third bus for the day, we arrived in Guatuso down the hill from our house. We waived at a few people going up the hill and I forgot how horrible that walk up the mountain was until I was half way up.
The house was quiet and dark, kind of sad really. We decided that we would all take a long hot shower one after another as we have no hot water in our room in Nicaragua. But wouldn't you know it, not only did we have very little water coming out of the faucets, but the hot water was also not working....figures.

The next morning we packed and cleaned, then we cleaned and packed. Our mover/driver was to show up at 6pm Saturday night so we made sure that we were ready by then. As 6pm rolled around, he didn't show up. We called and he assurred us that he was on his way. We waited... 7pm, 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 11pm then midnight. By this time, Tony and we beginning to worry. What if he doesn't show up, what will we do? It was too late to call someone else and our flawless plan of bringing the things we wanted back with us to Nicaragua and packing the rest in the storage room of the internet cafe would be ruined. We would miss our bus and have to pay for new tickets. Just when we were about to give up hope, we heard his horn outside. Tony worked for the next 5 hours driving back and forth, loading and unloading. The last load was to drop us off at the bus stop.
Well, now that we are back and here to stay, we are getting settled in. The kids are used to the school routine now and I enjoy the time with the two youngest during the day.
Yesterday was frightening as Jocylin went into premature labor. We weren't sure if it was really labor or not but from the look on her face and the tears in her eyes, we didn't need a Miskito translator to tell us that something was wrong.
When we arrived at the hospital after first visiting the clinic, the doctor informed us that there were 20 other patience in front of her and she would just have to wait. Well, thank goodness Charity made the call to move her to a private hospital instead. They were able to stop the labor progression and put her on bedrest.
Pray for her as we are believing that she will be able to deliver naturally.
More to come...