When I don't stand with the vulnerable, I get out of wack.

We like to share with you about our lives, our struggles, the joy, and the difficulty.  I always strive to be a bridge of understanding for those living in a developed country to understand how people in other places of the world live.  Thankfully we have made good friends here, some in Salinas Grande and throughout Nicaragua.  They follow our story on social media just like many of you.  I consistently struggle with how to share with both worlds. 

Here’s a trivial example:  The kids and I made macrame plant holders for our bathroom out of an old hammock.  I was thinking about sharing a picture of our tiny little bathroom that the 6 of us share.  It is never clean since it is constantly being used but I am so grateful to have a flushing toilet and a shower with water (usually).  If I share a picture (on social media), some of my friends from the states might feel shocked to see us all using one small bathroom and the comments will reflect that.  My friends from here will see our bathroom and feel shocked by the extravagance.  Running water, flushing toilets, and even plants?!  Not to mention, I’d have to wait in line for an hour just to get the picture. 

We walk this very interesting balance between two worlds.  My son, Nolan, has been so frustrated that we won’t let him ride the bus because of the virus.  It was his freedom and as he has shared with us before, “It was the only time I felt like a normal kid in our community.”  He actually mocks us for driving our “bourgeois” car.  I realize what seems like a necessity to me is not.  (But I really like having a car!)

I have been reading a biography of Dorothy Day called All is Grace.  She has been such a source of inspiration to me because she lived her life near the poor and vulnerable.  I can’t really explain a growing belief inside me completely yet, but I have been studying people who have been drawn to stand beside the most vulnerable people in the world and fight for justice.  I am learning that I as I walk beside those living in poverty I have a better perspective.  It’s not the perspective that, "I have so much and should use it to alleviate poverty."  It’s that if I don’t stand close to the vulnerable I get out of wack.  I start to live my life too much for my own gain and comfort and not with the mindset of Christ who lived and walked close to the poor.  It’s something broken in me, in us.  As I grow each day and understand other people and how my decisions have held others down, I am able to put on the mindset of His Kingdom and not my comfort.  It is still a struggle and I don’t even have the words to share all that I am learning.  But I have read about how Jesus lived and I want to be like those first disciples that threw it all in to follow him.

““What we would like to do is change the world, make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do.  And by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasing for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute — We can, to a certain extent, change the world; we can work for the oasis, the little cell of joy and peace in a harried world.  We can throw our pebble in the pond and be confident that its ever widening circle will reach around the world.”  

Dorothy Day”

Access to clean water 24/7 is still the goal.

We are overjoyed to report that the Turn On The Water project resumed about two weeks ago.  It was in 2018, during a political uprising, that many of you participated in funding this project that will bring access to clean, running water to about 2000 people living in 5 costal villages near our home.  

We broke ground about a year ago, in September 2019, and the locals were going strong hand digging the over 15 kilometers of trench necessary to put in a brand new pipe system.  The end was in sight and then the global pandemic hit and work ground to a halt in April.

With the leadership of SuNica, the community is now back to work with social distancing protocols in place.  The next time you want to complain about wearing a mask, imagine these folks digging through rocky terrain with a mask on in ninety degree heat with eighty percent humidity.  Last week the water team completed a brand new well capable of producing abundant water for the new system.  If all goes well, the project should be completed before the end of the year.

After a pump test, the first new well didn't produce enough water. Honestly it was a bit disheartening. It turned out that the same generous farmer had additional land closer to the river. The well that didn't produce enough water for our project produces plenty of water to irrigate his crops. He received the first well in exchange for the parcel of land shown here. The new well has been tested and will produce plenty of clean water for years to come.

Why Turtles?

This community has saved 46 nests so.  You are saving turtles, but it’s farther reaching than that.  You are participating in transformational development in our community.  Your involvement is allowing us to love our neighbors in a very tangible way.  

Five years ago I knew nothing about sea turtles except that I loved the vibe of that turtle on Finding Nemo.  When we moved to Nicaragua, it wasn’t to save the sea turtles.  The first time we encountered a mother turtle laying her eggs near our home, we all in awe.  As a family, we watched her make a nest and lay her eggs.  We followed her as she returned to the water and watched her swim away.  As we made our way back toward the nest, someone was already digging up the eggs.  I was outraged!  At the time I spoke little Spanish, but managed to understand the the person digging up the eggs was not going to sell them to the market, but was going to take them to sell to a Turtle Vivero where eggs would be “protected”.  I didn’t believe him, and I still had lots of questions.  Why would someone dig up turtle eggs?  Aren’t they endangered?  Isn’t there some kind of rule against this? 

After cooling off and doing some research I gained some perspective.  There aren’t many options to earn money in our community.  When you are struggling to find enough money to buy the rice for today, rules about protecting endangered species don’t really compute.  As a father, I would do almost anything to put food on the table so I began to understand the why.  In this corner of the world gathering these eggs is a much need income source and a social norm for generations.  We believe it is our responsibility to take action against injustice when we are made aware of it.  In this case an endangered species was being disturbed, but the reason was because people don’t have enough to eat.  So the question became, how do we create sources of income so people can have space to care about the people, the beauty, and the God around them?

A starting place was opening our own turtle vivero (turtle nursery).  With the vivero, we are able to provide a full time job for Yader (our vivero manager), provide an income source for our neighbors who find and sell eggs, and also increase the survival rate of the eggs laid on our beach by placing them in protected nests.  In La Tribu Radiante, we are educating our students about the life cycle of the turtles and helping them experience the beauty that is happening around them.  Last year, working with the turtles did provide these social benefits, but I was surprised when I encountered a spiritual element as well.

“We cannot attain the presence of God because we are already totally IN the presence of God. What’s absent is awareness. Little do we realize that God is maintaining us in existence with every breath we take. As we take another is means God is choosing us now, and now, and now.
-Richard Rohr”

The unknown of healthcare

I have told many of you the story of how I came to trust that our health care needs would be provided for in Nicaragua.  It was a principle fear that I had before moving and the Lord gave me a concrete picture to walk out in faith because His resources are greater than any resources I can acquire.  I want to share with you a few stories that have recently happened with the health of our family. 

After our trip to Laguna, Nolan began to have a very severe ear infection.  In Nicaragua, you can go to any pharmacy without a prescription and buy most generic antibiotics very inexpensively if you know what you need (example Amoxicillin 7 days dose for about $8).  He has not had antibiotics for a least 12 years so I wasn’t sure how he would react.  We tried one round but the ear infection came back right away causing him not to be able to use his jaw much to eat or swallow.  Rachel, a wonderful friend we have made here in Salinas who runs a restaurant and lodge, lives just down the beach and is trained in massage and natural therapy techniques.  She volunteered to see him and adjust his neck to open up his system to respond and heal.  Rachel helped to heal my foot when I had damaged my heel running on the beach. After 8 months of pain, I had developed a limp.  Rachel noticed when she was volunteering in Tribu Radiante and insisted on taking a look.  She has also helped Dustin recover from neck injuries from surfing (man we sound like old people).  We feel so thankful to have such a talented and competent friend to help us recover our health when we have issues and she lives just 5 minutes walking down the beach.  Another way we have been deeply cared for is through two of the members of our Water & Light board who are nurses and extremely knowledgeable with good resources of people they can ask for sound information.  Chip Scott and Jess Hopson have answered so many questions over text and photos like:

Does it need stitches?
What is ____________ prescription that was left behind by a traveler?
How much is too much vomitting?
Can I get a video about how to put an IV in?
Can you sort all of these medicines into categories so I can use them in an emergency?
Does this expiration date really matter?

Rachel is fearless about volunteering to teach our students about body movement, exercise, and relaxation techniques.  The students call her Inhalar Exhalar (which means Inhale, Exhale).

We are so grateful to be supported in this way.  Health care here is very hands on.  They will let you give yourself shots, IV’s, and pretty much any prescription over the counter.  So you need a good resource to ask, "How do I do this?"  We are thankful for the people who have been placed in our lives that care for the physical needs of our family and allow us to feel confident in our work.  

Another thing to know about Nicaragua is that health care is relatively inexpensive.  I needed to have a chest x-ray a couple of years ago to confirm whether I had pneomonia or not and I was able to walk into an x-ray clinic in Leon and pay $20 to get my lungs x-rayed in less than 30 minutes.  We then texted a photo of the x-ray to Chip for a second opinion.  Month by month we put away a little money into a health care fund and we just pay when we need to use it, which is rarely.  

Sidenote:  Dustin is actually an expert now at dog IV’s and giving animals shots.  I just hope he doesn’t have to use his skills too often on humans.  

Health care is a huge need in our community and some of you have been apart of giving towards supplying our clinic here.  We have dreams of creating a health center some day and will wait until the moment we meet someone who can collaborate with us in the passion for creating equity for our community in their basic human rights.  Our friends Rachel, Chip, and Jess share our dreams and I can’t wait to see what the future holds as we work together to empower our community to pursue health.

-Angie

Cops, robbers, and neighbors

A couple of weeks ago we woke in the night and realized someone was robbing us.  It all happened about 12:45 at night with all six of us sleeping in our beds.  I had left the kitchen window open because we have finally reached the time of year where a cool breeze blows at night and keeps us comfortable enough to sleep.  Honestly most people who live here leave their doors and windows (if they have them) open.  Dustin heard something and sleepily realized a dark figure was crouched next to my nightstand.  At first he thought it was a child stumbling in to get me so he didn’t want to scare them but then the dark shape bolted and he realized it was an intruder.  Dustin yelled and chased the person to the kitchen and saw him jump out he window, over a barbed wire fence and disappear into the vacant lot next door.  We quickly checked on the kids sleeping upstairs and realized the intruder had already been through their room and stolen the Playstation that all four kids had used their Christmas money to buy last year.   The person had taken Nolan’s backpack, dumped all contents out on the ground (like his bible and schoolwork) and used it to carry away the loot.  We realized they had grabbed my phone and my kindle reader of my nightstand.  But really that was it.  I think we woke up before they were able to take more.  We are truly thankful they didn’t grab our wallets mainly because we can’t get new debit/credit cards mailed here and banking would be extremely difficult without them.  

Dustin and Nolan quickly got flashlights and baseball bats and went to look around the house and nearby properties.  They found and heard nothing, but talked to anyone they could find and asked them to keep an eye out for some thieves.  Nolan has traveled on the local bus quite a bit with his backpack and so most of his friends know it's his because it looks different than any of the bags you can buy in Nicaragua. 

They came home and we sat on the front porch shaking and rattled trying to figure out what to do next.  We live a good 30 minutes from a police station and it’s hard to get police to come out to Salinas so we decided we would call in the morning.  We talked it over and decided that if the thieves somehow had a motorcycle or car they were probably gone, but most likely they were on foot.  We decided to go talk to the bus driver for the first bus out at 5AM and ask him to keep a look out for Nolan’s backpack.  Maybe we could even catch the thieves getting on the bus.  By this time, it was 3:45 in the morning so Dustin just decided to stay awake until 4:30 and head up to the bus stop in the middle of the village.  As the sun was rising, the bus arrived, but no sign of anyone carrying our backpack.  Dustin spoke to the bus driver and he agreed to keep his eyes open.  By then some of our friends were outside preparing for the day and helped put in a call to the Police after hearing the story. 

Dustin came back to the house for some coffee around 6:00 and a few seconds later a caretaker from down the road and his son came racing up on motorcycle honking like crazy.  The son, Leo, had seen four guys walking down the street and one of them had Nolan’s backpack!  The three of them quickly loaded into our Land Cruiser with broomsticks and a knife (I’m not joking) and drove off to confront the thieves.  They creeped up on the four walking teenagers and identified the backpack hanging low under one of their sweatshirts.  Dustin whipped the car to a stop at an angle in front of them knocking over the kid with the backpack.  Dustin, Pedro, and Leo flew out of the car and each caught one of the thieves in a foot race.  Some broomsticks were broken and a few punches were unleashed.  This caused quite a scene and several of the men in the community realized what was happening and jumped in to help run down the other thief.   Dustin told me how one elderly man with spurs for riding a horse and a machete held one thief down with his boot and another guy went for a rope to tie them up.  The police were called again, but only one person showed up on a moto so he had to go back to get a truck and more police.  We were able to get back all the stolen items and were shocked that Nolan’s friend had recognized his backpack and saved the day.  Dustin sat there waiting for the police and realized that these thieves were just super hungry kids about Nolan’s age.  He decided to buy them a tortilla, cheese, and bottle of water.  He knew they were headed to jail and Nicaraguan jail does not include food.  It was interesting to hear the people standing around watching until the police got there telling those guys that this town doesn’t want people around who steal.  The locals were defending our family.  It was beautiful and a bit overwhelming.  We always wonder what they think of us weird foreigners.  For the first time in three years the line between expats and locals was erased and we were neighbors.  We were unified and we felt a new sense of belonging. 

We spent the next four hours with masked police all over our house photographing the crime scene and asking questions.  Then we sterilized the house for the next hour because who knows who has COVID.  We had to go to the police station and give more testimonies and bring Pedro with us as a witness.  Wednesday morning we were called at 5am to drive immediately to the police station to bring receipts for all stolen items and to sign more documents.  We were exhausted, but laughing at how opposite crime is dealt with here.  They wanted us to do a line up and point out the guys.  To that we responded, “We caught them and gave them to you tied up.  Why would we have to identify them again?”  Finally, we wrapped up the police end, we hope.  They were actually very kind and several of them gave us their cell phone numbers in case we have another problem.

We all feel a bit rattled, but not so much from the stealing.  It’s more the fact that we were all sleeping inside and someone was desperate enough to enter our home.  We are thankful that the community stepped in to help.  From calling the police repeatedly (one lady finally told the police, you better get here or we are going to kill these thieves, we don’t want crime here), to chasing people down, to stepping up to say something.  I know you can get robbed anywhere in the world and this does not make Nicaragua more unsafe for us.  But it renews our vision of working to create a world where kids don’t need to steal.  Dustin told me that when he threw the kid down, who had Nolan’s backpack, it was like wrestling Parker.  He was malnourished and did not weigh enough to even put up a fight.  It breaks my heart.  I have been thinking and meditating a lot on the idol we can hold of safety.  We have laid down this idol before and will continue to lay it down.  Over and over again we make decisions about whether we value the vulnerable like Jesus did.  We stand alongside kids who need more opportunities so they don’t feel as hopeless as these thieves did.  We make the choice to lay down a bit of our safety to say it needs to be a safe world for everyone.  We lay down some of our possessions to mend a world where a few have a lot and many have very little.  I’m awake to the inequity and I’m not going to allow my own comfort or safety to keep me from spending my life fighting for justice.

A few funny facts:

• Nolan’s organic deodorant was also stolen but we didn’t realize it.

• Dustin said he learned everything from watching television and can’t believe it worked.

• I sat up with a steak knife and a kitten while Dustin and Nolan were out looking.  

• Our three dogs somehow slept through the robbery.  

• I can’t imagine the disappointment a Paper White Kindle would be when someone thinks they stole a tablet.  I mean, I bought it on purpose without the ability to add any games so the kids wouldn’t want to use it.  

• Dustin was frustrated with me because my phone was dead and he wanted so badly to use the tracking software to hunt it down.  

• The police were frustrated because we didn’t give them exact values of each item (most of which were over four years old).  I just couldn’t remember and I was going more off value and that was not what they wanted.  It's also embarrassing to say how much you paid for an iPhone (even four years ago).  

• This is the second time Dustin has ever punched someone in his life.

When 60% on a quiz is something to celebrate

My director shared a story with me the other day when we were talking about how the small group tutoring is going in the community while we can’t meet together in our big group.  She shared that one little boy, whom we identified this year as needing a lot of extra help, has been working with her one on one. Since he lives close, he as been visiting Claudia each day for tutoring.  He is a fourth grader who did not know his numbers at the beginning of the year.  Claudia explained that he has leukemia and is in remission right now, but became so far behind in school that his teacher tells him he is slow and has learning problems.  Thankfully we are working individually with each child right now and Claudia has been able to start at the beginning in reading with him.  She reported that last week that he accomplished writing his numbers to 100 and is finally mastering some of the letters and blends with vowels.  She gave him a little quiz to see what he had learned.  He scored 60% on the quiz and was so excited he was breathless.  He asked to take the test home to his mom because he wants to teach her to read what he can read.  Claudia shared that he said he usually doesn’t even put anything on his exam papers because he doesn’t understand the letters or what he is supposed to do.  So this passing grade was extremely exciting.  We may not be reaching all 180 students that are registered due to this virus, but we are taking the opportunity to go a little deeper with a few.  Tutoring and mentorship is continuing in ways I never dreamed possible.

-Angie

“Unfortunately brothers and sisters we are the product of a spiritualized individualistic education.
We were taught:
Try to save your soul and don’t worry about the rest.
We told the suffering:
Be patient, heaven will follow, hang on
NO, that’s not right, that’s not salvation!
That’s not the salvation Christ brought.
The salvation Christ brings is a salvation from every bondage that oppresses human beings.

-Archbishop Romero”

Turtle Tribe update

We are over 7,000 turtle eggs and 79 nests. Our first clutches should hatch at the end of October. We will send along all the pictures of the turtles that hatch from the nests you have helped to sponsor.

The MOTHER TUBO has arrived....

We are very excited to announce that the research phase of the water project is complete and we are moving forward on bringing water 24/7 to our community. It has taken a long time to complete all the pump tests and the topographical survey, but we are finally ready to start digging. Volunteer work crews from the community will begin the last week of October.
Last week, the tubes were purchased and unloaded on our property, and the well company came and cleaned the current well. Soon, we'll be breaking ground on a brand new well to add additional water into the system. MANY meetings were held to try to communicate clearly to the community what their part will be and to organize the work crews to dig the trench. Each house is responsible to dig the trench in front of their own property, but there is a large amount of unpopulated property that must be connected to the well too. For this reason teams from all the communities will work together to dig the trench for the main line.

SuNica has a water team (of all Nicaraguans) that is managing this project and we are aiding them in any way that we can. It is important that Nicaraguans are running the meetings and explaining how we are working together with those who have fundraised to bring water to the community. With your help, SuNica and Water & Light together were able to raise $170,000 for this project. We are asking the households in our community to each give $30 over the next year as their part to hook up to the new system. It doesn't sound like much, but that is a huge figure for them. For many, it is half their income for the month. We are working to educate the community on the value of running water and the impact it will have to their health, their time, and future generations. Research shows that projects that partner with the community are more successful in empowering the individuals to care for that project after it is completed. Why? Because they have ownership, it was not a hand out. We are so excited to see the beauty that comes from people using the time they used to used to spend waiting for and gathering water for something new. Maybe this open up the time they need to start a tortilla making business, fix motorcycles, make art, play with a child, dream, or just relax.

World Changers

When Mrs. Marquardt returned to Mariner High School in Everett, WA after visiting us in Nicaragua she was passionate about connecting students from Salinas Grande with her own students. Her stories about the learning conditions in our small fishing village inspired a group of passionate young ladies to present a project at Washington Global Issues Network Conference. Their dream is to open the world to the students of La Tribu Radiante by helping them learn to read and giving them access to literature. It takes about 15 days of work to afford a book in the local economy. This is where the dream for a community library was born.

Artist rendering of the eco-library at La Tribu Radiante

Our goal is to build a library with as much recycled material as possible. This will create a fun space for learning while reducing the amount of trash in the community. We’ll encourage our students to take ownership of the project by showing them how to make an eco-brick. Using funds raised by the students at Mariner, we’ll then purchase those eco-bricks and hire local tradesmen to construct the library. Trash will be kept out of the ocean and surrounding area while the people of the community will receive an opportunity to earn a little extra cash. To make it fun we’ve decided on a ship theme for the library. Part of the library (the cabin of the ship) will be constructed to be water tight so the books will stay clean and dry for years to come. The bow of the boat will provide multiple spaces to sit in the shade and sail away with a good story. We can use all the help we can get to make the Library Ship a reality. If you are feeling adventurous, we’d love to have you come experience life in Salinas for yourself. You could haul down books or help with construction. Even a project using recycled material takes money. Of course we are excited to fill the library with books, so donations to the project are much appreciated. 100% of all funds donated will go toward the construction of the Library and filling it with books.

Things I love about Nicaragua

Sometimes it's good to stop pushing forward and take a moment to dwell on the simple goodness of where you are.

Things I love about Nicaragua:

1. Rainy season when it really arrives. The air is finally cool enough when it is raining and all the plants have water. Our kids dancing as it pours.

2. Vehicles. No one even bats an eye when you have to try to start your vehicle 5 times. Everyone's vehicles are about to fall apart and there is no judgement. If you can get yours to head down the road at any speed it sure beats walking.

3. Driving. Getting passed on both sides by motorcycles at the same time.

4. Swimming pools at restaurants. This is always a good idea in Nicaragua. The food is going to take anywhere between 1-3 hours to bring out so we look for someplace with a pool. We have our favorite places and the owners might have to wait for their "fruit guy" to show up before they can serve you. Just be patient and take a dip.

5. Less is more. While everyone else is trying to figure out their capsule wardrobe, in Nicaragua you can rock the same four shirts and 2 pairs of pants over and over. Hand washed, line dried, thrift store clothes never looked better.

6. No one expects things to go their way. It's suprising when you plan something and you still have power and water to pull of the activity. I have washed dishes and clothes with pool water and ocean water and read lessons with flashlights. No one is surprised or feels the need to leave.

7. Tomatoes year round

8. Fruit in season year round

9. Repairing things instead of buying new. Our weed wacker was fixed this week for $10. He took the whole thing apart and repaired it in about 6 hours.

10. Noticing how much garbage I make. I really liked my recycling bins in Oregon and I never felt like I wasn't doing my part. But every package I buy here I realize will either need to be reused, burned, or possibly picked up if the blessed garbage truck comes. It is an in-your-face approach to realize how much you are consuming.

11. Forced non-consumerism. There is nothing I want to buy. I can rarely locate something I would like for the house or books for school. Without Taraget or the ability to ship anything you find, you can make do without it. And if you are willing to pay $50 extra dollars to bring it down in a suitcase weighing under 50 pounds then you probably do need it.

12. Time for contemplation. There is a good portion of our life when the power is out, wifi is down, water is off, or its too hot to move. This makes time to think and listen. I think it is this reason alone that we feel we can move in direction of the Spirit with what we have. Not because we are more spiritual. Because the obstacles have been removed for us and we have time to dream and listen.