Easter week happenings...

What a great Easter vacation we had here. I did fold and end up going to the swimming hole with the family, but I have to say that I rather enjoyed watching them splash around in the water for a few hours while I read in the shade.

The next day I finally had the pleasure of meeting Selah Grace for the first time. What a precious child of God! 

As I held her tiny body in my arms, I thought of the first time I met Jocelyin in Waspam. I didn't know what the outcome of her pregnancy would be or if I would even be here to see it for myself. But I am so very grateful that the Lord's hand was on this little one and I am believing that her life will be a testimony of God's love. 

Jocelyin by the way is doing great. She is healing up very well from her c-section and blending in with the other girls in the house nicely. (She is a character.)

On Good Friday our Pastor decided that we would do some street ministry. The plan was to pick a spot, bring a ton of plastic chairs and a movie screen and show the Passion of the Christ. What an awesome way to reach the average person walking down the street! Everyone got matching t-shirts and were very excited to get going. 

 I stayed behind to watch over five two year olds including Catiana, Ruby the 13 y/o and 7 y/o Louviana who is almost completely blind (she doesn't realize this of course and couldn't believe that she wasn't able to go).

From what I heard, it was a great success. The children as well as the adults were very touched by the movie and bible tracts and bibles were passed out. 

Easter morning was a bit different here for us as there were no sunrise services that I heard of. No New Easter dresses and suits for the kids. No Easter baskets or decorations to be found. But as I explained to my children begging for their ritualistic Easter candy, the day is all about Jesus. Not that there is anything wrong with the way we have celebrated it in the past, but if that is what they were looking forward to instead of the cross, then we have missed the mark. 

We did do one thing that we do every year. We had a wonderful dinner that Tony prepared for us all . (Lauren,the children at the orphanage and the Pastor and his family). I am always surprised that the food stretches to accommodate all 36 of us. Everyone said that his dinner was delicious!

 After dinner I braided hair for some of the girls as they wanted to get as cute as possible for school the following day. I think this week alone, I spent over 30 hours braiding, which I find ironic that I have voiced many times in the past that I do not like to do hair nor will I sit around doing it. I have not only had to do my girls hair, over and over again. But I have done many other young girls hair. Straight hair, curly hair, wavy hair, kinky hair, long hair and short hair. Even have braided boys hair! I just have one thing to say about that... Do not, I repeat, Do not tell  God what you will or will not be doing!

More to come...

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...

Rescue...

Tonight I was able to watch a dvd of our time in Waspam. My children all commented that it looked like a National Geographic channel special and I felt the same way. We boarded our small 12 seater plane on Wednesday afternoon. I had never been on a plane this size and was nervous about the flight. I had to remind myself that the Lord was in total control.

We were in the air for a little over an hour and it took me a little while to get over the uneasiness in my belly every time the plane tipped to the left or the right. The pilot and co-pilot were literally a few feet away from me and I kept an eye on them watching for any sign of a problem.

The landing strip was nothing more that a dirt road with livestock running across it. A cow was shooed off just before our little plane landed. I was relieved to be on the ground again but everything around me was so very foreign. Children stood around watching us as we unloaded. We had two barrels of food to give to the Casa de Esperanza orphanage there and looked around for anyone who was able to help us get them to the hotel. Fortunately the Town office officials showed up in their truck and gave us a lift. The Town of Waspam was like stepping back in time. There were only 2 taxi drivers available and most people either walked or rode a bike. We were there to move the orphanage from one location to another. The home that they were in did not have running water or electricity. The new landlord assured us that this new home would have both.

The hotel we were to stay in was small but very comfortable. Coffee was always available and so was the internet. Our room was air conditioned, though we never turned it on and the only draw back was the lack of hot water.

Our first stop after dropping off our bags was to pick up a rental van from our friendly neighborhood rental car lady.

Trust me when I tell you that this van was nothing to be desired. Before we could drive it we had to wait about an hour for her to bring the battery to start it. On the way to the gas station to fill up with some diesel it ran out of the little it still had inside of it. Fortunately the four men with us took care of the van that needed a little tlc the whole time we had it.

We headed to the orphanage and met the 4 children there. They were beautiful kids of which two had the misfortune of contracting chicken pox. We had to get a hold of the local pediatrician (who happen to ride by us on a bicycle) and asked if he would come by and take a look at them.  He came by a bit later and said that they were at the end stage of the chicken pox and just needed a little cream to help with the itching.

The day was a success and we were able to move all of the furniture over to the new home and the children settled in nicely that evening.

The next morning we headed out to the Rio Coco River and watched people load their belongings on canoos that would take them up river.

Some of these people lived a very long way away and going up river was the best means of transportation for them.

We spent a little more time in the orphanage that Thursday as we had to get the electricity on and find out about the water. We were told the water would be on about 2-3 times per week. Well, I guess that is better than never.

I was fortunate to meet a lovely 14 year old young lady that Mi Familia (Waspam’s version of child protection services) sent to the home a few short days before we arrived. She was 7 ½ months pregnant and my heart went out to her as she looked very young. Charity (New Hopes director) did her best in speaking to her through a translator as her only language was Miskito. It was later discussed that she would be better off in the Hope house in Managua, at least until she had the baby.

The rest of the day was spent running around town getting things done.

Friday was by far my best day. We were up bright and early with an appointment with the vice Mayor and two police officers that would escort us to the remote areas of Waspam to look for children that may be in need. We picked up a few drinks and snacks and headed out to pick up our escorts. The police officers were armed with a shot gun and a hand gun, not sure if that is the proper names for them but never the less one was small and in a holster and one was long and hung on the younger officers back.

The rode to the remote village was not an easy one. The van literally jumped up and down with the dips in the road as we swerved left to right trying to avoid bigger ones. Twice we had to cross a bridge that you couldn’t pay me to walk across let alone drive a van full of people across. I just closed my eyes and reminded myself…God is in control!

After about 2 hours we pulled to the side of the road and walked the rest of the way.

We arrived at the home of an extraordinary child named Ruby. She is 12 years old and has weighed in at an astonishing 18 pounds.

When I first met her she was sitting at the doorway of her house staring out at us. I had never seen a child so small for her age. Charity had seen her before and had worked very hard trying to persuade the Father to give permission for us to offer her some help. This time he agreed. After we held her for a bit and gave her and her sisters lollipops and kisses, we told her we would be back to get her in about an hour.

We walked a few more kilometers and met up with an elderly woman who was separating the husk from rice. She was hitting the rice with a very heavy wooden mallet in what looked like a very large wooden cup. We were so fascinated by her that we had to stop and just talk to her. Of coarse she spoke to English or Spanish, so the Vice Mayor did all of the translating. When we asked how old she was, she told us that she did not know.

I wish I could explain how it felt to be among the Miskito people. As we walked to the next home I watched the children run around us. The live stock roamed freely together, none were caged in. The chickens ran with their chicks behind them likewise the pigs wallowed in the mud with their young. Horses and cows walked by close enough to graze my back pack. I had to remind myself to keep an eye on the ground because as you can imagine there were lots of piles that my sneakers were trying their best to avoid.

We stopped by one home of a grandmother who was caring for 3 year old granddaughter. She had a disability that made her unable to stand, walk, talk or eat solid food. She was the size of an 18 month old child. She was not malnourished or uncared for, but the grandmother said that she was unable to continue to care for her. She said that she would get her ready and agreed to let us take her to get her some medical attention at New Hopes expense then reunite them in the future. We waited outside as she got her ready and she agreed to come back with us to town to fill out the necessary legal paperwork.

After a few more stops to talk with the villagers and pray with a mom who had reently lost her daughter, we headed back for Ruby.

She was dressed in a small dress probably for a one year old. As soon as she saw Charity she smiled and held out her arms. Tony held her all the way to the van and her mother followed behind us.

The ride back to town was uneventful except that Ruby was terribly afraid of the van. She cried a bit in the car before she calmed down and put her blanket over her head.

Having the officers with us was a good idea, especially when we would get to a road blocked by workers who would look up at us and go right back to their work in the middle of the road. The officers would then jump out of the van brandishing their weapons to which the workers would promptly move out of the way with apologies.

I was exhausted that night and slept very well. The next day was Saturday and we were scheduled to fly out at noon.

We spent the morning running around trying to tie up loose ends and get things done. I was to fly back with the 3 year old and hand her over to the missionary doctor. Ruby was being seen by a pediatrician who let us know that she was severely dehydrated and sick. He suggested that she stay at clinic for a bit with an IV and take some medication. After purchasing items to take care of the home and sitting with Ruby at the hospital for a while, we headed out to catch our flight. The plane was scheduled to land and take off in within 15 minutes and Charity and her husband Leo had not arrived with the 3 year old. I was beginning to think that they were not going to make it, but as we stood in line outside of the plane I could see their van racing down the road.

They made it! The grandmother handed me her grandchild with tears in her eyes and my heart was very heavy for her. She kissed me on the cheek and I kissed her back, I wanted to cry with her. I told her that her granddaughter would be ok, and that she would see her soon and a woman in line translated to her.

We boarded the plane and it was off in a matter of minutes.

Thank goodness she slept the whole flight and I took the cue to do the same. Tony took more pictures of the scenery.

When we landed we were greeted at the entrance to Managua airport by our drivers and the doctor who would care for the baby. She was very happy to receiver her. I was happy to be back in Managua, but was very sad to leave the children needing help behind. Tony is very interested by the prospect of flying back and forth every month to help out over there, so please keep us in prayer. 

more to come...