May 9th, 6:00pm... I skipped yesterday because we were so busy. Basically it was a day for sightseeing. We got out around 9am and went to visit an active Volcano that we drive past everyday on the way to El Timal. Pretty cool. You could peer over the edge and the smoke was just thick and sulfuric.
From there we went into a cave that had been cut out by the volcanic eruptions ??? years ago. There were a few bats as you can see in the day five pictures. At the end of the tunnel there was a huge pile of rocks that Indians used to use to sacrifice people to appease the "god" of the volcano when it was erupting. Then they would throw the person in the volcano, so that was pretty wierd.
We ate lunch at PAPA JOHN'S! Kind of. There was another restaraunt associated with it, so most people ordered off the other menu. Then we went shopping in the tourist market and bought souvenirs for all of you!
One of the highlights of my trip so far was after the team got back to the hotel, Sid, myself, Bob and Helmer had scheduled a meeting with the pastor and her husband in El Timal. We went out and spent two hours with them discussing the well project, the land issues they're facing, and casting vision for the future of the work there. It was pretty inspiring. The well project had been in limbo a bit because of the land difficulties...the church is supposed to receive title to their land in the next two to three weeks. At that point, we'll be able to fence in the property and dig the well. It's all ready to go. We're also going to have enough to probably put a roof over it, pour a concrete patio and buy local washbins made of concrete. It will be a great place for the community.
While that was all set, I really wanted to come home to tell you that people in the community were drinking clean water, so we decided to have them work out an agreement with a local store owner who has a well and water for sale where the people in the community can get about 25 gallons of water each day for the next three months (or however long it takes to finish the well). All of the doctors said that dehydration and water-related problems were the greatest cause of health problems in the community, so we can check that off the list as taken care of. Starting tomorrow, the people of El Timal will be drinking clean water...and in the next few months, the church will have its own well and "washeteria" as Sid likes to call it.
This morning was pretty special. We got to go to church in El Timal and share in worship with them. The church was packed. They were sitting in the 50 chairs we bought them for the building...kids up front in their 25 children chairs. Two acoustic guitarists led worship. I loved the capo one of them had...a nail across the neck and a twist clamp across the back. Sweet. Just about everyone in the church sang a special. :) One man gave a testimony of how for 53 years he was a drunk, a marijuana and cocaine user. At one point, he said in Spanish, "You all used to know me...how I was back then. But two years ago Jesus saved me." Pretty awesome. Now he's the N.M.I. (Missions) president of the El Timal church.
I thought to myself...sounds about like Real Life Community. I'm smiling right now.
Worship lasted for an hour and fifteen minutes! hahaha. Then I had an impromptu baby dedication! They surprised me with that one. I didn't know what to use for oil to dedicate Soyoia Naomi ?, so I ended up using some Germ X antibacterial hand sanitizer - wow. It was special.
Each member of the team brought greetings from wherever they're from. Then I preached. 10 minutes...you didn't think I could do that did you? Actually it was 20 with the interpreter. The key phrase from the message was "Amigo, tus percados tes son pardonados," or "Friend, your sins are forgiven." The paralytic had come to Jesus looking for physical healing (which he ended up receiving) but he also received the more important spiritual healing. Jesus, on the scene connecting people with God, removing the barriers of sin from our lives. That's what it's all about.
That's what that trip has been about as well. We came to bring some much needed physical healing, but today it was evident that God wanted to do something more as well. When I gave the invitation for people to raise their hands if they'd like to receive this forgiveness, about 15 or 20 did. And then it was on to lunch and the children.
We fed just about the whole community today. A sandwich, a 5 meat palliela (sp?) and a coke. Then we set up shop in the school to put on the puppet show and make puppets with the kids. Oh My Goodness! Carrie Fiedler rocks the house! She put it all together and she and her church provided the materials for the puppet making. You have got to check out the pictures. She made a gospel presentation to the kids that was crystal clear and I'm sure will plant the seed of the gospel in their lives. Who knows where that will end up. Lives were impacted by the grace of God today. I'm sure of it.
Before we left we had prayer with the pastor, her family and a few members of the El Timal community. Hugs and tears abounded. Then we visited the well that we contracted with for the community's interim water and headed out.
Tonight we're grabbing dinner with the D.S. and it just so happened that Daniel Ketchum, the global N.M.I. director for the Church of the Nazarene, was staying in our hotel tonight, so he and his wife are joining us as well.
It's been a fantastic trip. There are a hundred more stories I could write down. Hopefully you'll hear some of them next Sunday in the service. We missed you all today and prayed for you. Thanks for your prayers for us. We start travel tomorrow about 1pm. See you soon.
May 7th, 10:00pm - Same deal today with a little El Timal sightseeing to go along with the work. It's been really moving to be here among the people who have so little and live in such severe poverty. Many of our team members have been struck by the extreme living conditions and challenges this community faces in everyday life. The medical treatment and especially the medicine has helped, but so much more needs to be done.
We heard one man say that this community has been there in some capacity for eleven years and they have never, not once, had a doctor come out to visit them. Never. We are the first team to come and tend to their medical needs and bring along medicine. That's pretty amazing.
Yesterday a woman handed a handwritten note to Betty. It was in Spanish, so Betty translated it for us all. Basically, she was thanking us for coming...telling us that God had sent us here and how grateful she was for us. She was a single mother of three small children. She had no work, no official papers (police record statement and health records) to be able to get work, and no money for even a trip into town to get the papers to begin applying for work. She wondered if we could do anything.
Today we brought the need to Marlene (the pastor) and she told us that if we had five dollars, Alejandro (her husband) would give the woman a ride into town and take her to the necessary places to get the documents she needed to work. We handed over the five dollars...they set up a time to drive her into town. Simple stuff like that has been making a huge difference in the town.
Sid was giving away candy today, which was a big hit. Crystal was giving away bananas. We bought so many today we had to ride to the community with luggage in our laps because the bananas wouldn't fit! I wrote the message for Sunday - from Luke 5 (Jesus Heals A Paralytic), Doug took pictures and the medical team knocked another one out of the park. Turns out my numbers have been wrong as to how many people we have been seeing. I was going by adult numbers because the intake crew was making one sheet of paper for the adults...but then was included any children that adult brought with them on that same sheet. So, we think we saw upwards of 600 people (a few of them multiple times :)) over the three days. Pretty cool.
This afternoon a few of us went swimming and then we ate dinner. After dinner Carrie shared with us a video of her trip to another country (can't put it on the internet...creative access country) to visit a Nazarene orphanage and church. She traveled four days each way to get there and share with them.
Puppet practice in the rooms tonight in preparation for Sunday's activities.
Tomorrow we'll be headed out for some sightseeing and shopping...then a few of us are back to El Timal to help strategize ways to get the well completed and brainstorm future projects with Marlene, Bob and Helmer. Thanks for your prayers, we sense God's presence with us as we minister.
May 6th, 4pm - Sorry, this is going to be a long one...
Last night was pretty special. After dinner we sat outside and shared some stories from the day. The people and the work has touched each team member in a special way. I shared a short devotional about how our work is a part of God's grand, eternal picture. Who knows what God will do with the seeds that are being planted on this trip, but we're expecting good things to come.
As for today, day 3 has looked almost identical to day 2 so far. Woke up around 5:30, got ready, breakfast, packing, etc... About 7am we were headed out for another day of medical mission. There were a couple of modifications we made to today after seeing how things went yesterday.
One modification was that we decided to take some of our contingency and food money to buy bananas for the people at the clinic. A work and witness coordinator for the area bought an enormous basket of bananas early in the morning and Crystal passed them out to each person. Later in the day we went and bought 120 extra and they were gone in fifteen minutes or so. To see the children so excited to have something good to eat, taking little tiny bites to make it last as long as possible, then licking the peel was moving. The smiles on the little ones' faces was priceless.
We also brought a suitcase full of women's clothing, school supplies so that children who want to go to school can actually go, balloons to make balloon animals (thanks Carrie!), about 50 matchbox cars for the kids, a few more soccer balls and more.
One of the things that really stuck out to me today was the first child who received school supplies. His name is Gavin (I think...pronunciation is ridiculously difficult for me to understand). The pastor of the church identified him as one of the children who would benefit from the supplies. He had spent the entire day yesterday at the church while the rest of the kids were in school because he didn't have the supplies. His face just lit up when he got the pen and paper and he immediately ran across the street to his "house" to show his family. I watched him out of an opening in the church as he skipped into his home all smiles, excited to show them what he had received. It was more than a pen and a pad of paper, it was a shot at a different life. At the school not only will he learn, but he will also receive a meal of beans and rice and a vitamin rich mixture of cereal and some kind of corn drink. Awesome. Great idea Betty!
Another time I saw the fourteen or fifteen year-old Sunday School Superintendent (Elmer - or something like that) of the El Timal church sharing the gospel using one of the special soccer balls we donated to the church. He was pointing out the colors and explaining how Jesus blood makes our sinful heart clean and prepares us for eternity with God. About ten or fifteen kids between ages 4 and 10 were standing around him mesmerized. Elmer only heard this presented with the ball one time yesterday, but it apparently stuck. :)
Sid, Doug and I went with a few of the local leaders to visit the place where the community washes clothing, takes baths and waters any livestock they have. About 50% of the community still gets their drinking water from the stagnant pond as well. It was very sad to see the water that many of them are still drinking. There are some pictures in the photo section of the missions tab on the website. It was literally green. I can't wait until the well gets completed. It will completely change the community.
Sid was able to donate a number of de-worming tablets to the school to cover the 50 or so children who attend the school who were missed by the government's de-worming program. I'm not sure how many other children and adults have been de-wormed, but there have been plenty.
One story from yesterday I just heard about...one elderly man had come into the clinic yesterday. The doctor who saw him noticed that he was extremely malnourished. He asked Bob Prescott (director of mission partnerships for Mexico and Central America who joined us for the trip), "What do you prescribe for Hungry?" Apparently this man's entire family and support structure was gone and he simply wasn't eating. Bob decided to use some money that had been given by another church for this trip to buy hot meals for this man for the next fifteen days. When he told him, the man was stunned and just said, "Hot meal?" (in Spanish of course). Today a couple of cooks showed up for the first day of hot meals for this man and made him lunch. It was awesome. Great pics of that in the photo gallery.
It's funny, the main purpose of the trip is the one I have the smallest amount of information on...but the medical part of the trip has been amazing. I just miss most of what happens because I've been out doing other things. The medical team saw about 140 more people today. They're expecting about 200 tomorrow, so we've got our work cut out for us. Please continue praying.
We're learning so much while we're here about life in Nicaragua and the unique challenges of this community. I can't wait to come back to share more, but in the meantime, please know that as a church you should be proud of those who are representing you here. They are doing an amazing job and are clearly people with a deep commitment to modeling a Christlike life in the world. I am honored to be here with them.
More tomorrow. Check out the pictures in the photo gallery section. There are some great shots. On the website, hover over Ministries, then Missions, then the option for the photo gallery will appear.
May 5th - 4pm... It's late in the afternoon in Managua at the hotel. Last night many of the medical crew was up late in Doug and Jamie's room sorting and packing medical supplies. Then this morning we woke up around 5:30 to get started.
The day began with an unbelievable breakfast at the hotel where we are staying. Breakfast is included in the price we've paid for the rooms and there was every conceivable thing to eat for breakfast available. At 7 am we loaded up the van and SUV and took the half hour trip out to the remote community of El Timal.
The section of El Timal where we ministered today is small. There were maybe 30 tiny "homes" in the immediate area made of sticks, corrugated metal and discarded milk carton wrappers. There is one main road that runs through the center of town. Trash everywhere. No crops or means for the people to make a living. No water (yet...).
There is a church structure made out of the same materials and a school that was constructed by the government that is a block building. There were probably 70 children in school. There were another 30 or so that we saw who were not in school either because they didn't have a pen and paper (the two requirements for being able to attend) or because they were being seen by the medical team.
We set up shop in the church today. The pastor of the church, Marlene, had the church divided into smaller rooms with sheets hung over wire so that the patients could have some privacy. We had four medical doctors and Jamie (P.A.). It was a pretty amazing site. We had a kind of staging area for our supplies set up behind a curtain we hung on the stage area. Also on the "stage" (the dirt was higher for the pulpit) was the "pharmacy" we set up where the patients could have their prescriptions filled. We got started with everyone in the church singing a few songs and then we had prayer together. Then the patients started rolling in.
The patients came in and were called to the nursing station first. There, Ruth, Carrie Fiedler (our new friend from Washington who joined us on the trip) and Connie Messer (a nurse from Jamie's office in Shelbyville) took them in, got their vitals (BP, Weight, Height, Temp, etc...) and got them prepared to see the doctors.
We had four spanish-speaking doctors seeing patients today. Two of them were Nazarenes. One, Helmer Juarez, is a Nazarene Compassionate Ministries Coordinator for the MAC region. The other, Rene Revis, is a regional director for NCM. Our team hired two more local doctors to help for the day. We ended up seeing 109 patients.
From there, they went to the pharmacy to pick up meds and vitamins. Jamie ran the pharmacy. He was amazing! The amount of thought and planning it took for Jamie and his crew to be able to run that like they did was quite a lot and he just did a phenomenal job. Lisa Gholson and Betty Medina (our new friend from Puerto Rico who joined us for the trip) helped track and pass out medicines.
While the medical crew was tending to their things, Crystal was in the staging area setting up lunch and keeping things together, Doug, Sid and I were kind of free-floaters. Doug is our photographer for the trip and took some fantastic shots today. I'll try to get his memory card to get them loaded onto the website. For now, my pics are loaded and you can check them out by clicking on the "El Timal Photos" link on the menu bar to the left. Just hover your mouse over "Ministries" then "Missions" and you'll see the photo gallery option appear.
At one point today we were able to donate a soccer ball that is specially colored to be used as a tool to present the gospel to the school. I was able to share with them how God loves them and can cleanse them of their sin and give them a life full of the love of God and growth in Christlikeness. They were super excited.
Doug, Sid and I also took a trip today with some of the local leaders to visit the area where the people currently go to get water. It was a private well a couple of miles away and I can't talk about it on the blog, but the situation they're going through to get the water from it is fairly dangerous and can't be sustained. They only have access to the water between 6am-9am in the morning. The rest of the day they can't come. We also talked with two men who were in the process of hand digging another private well. However, the community won't have access to that either...so the money we've given to provide the well is much needed.
The community has been in limbo for a long time. I spoke with one man today who told me they have been there, living in this way for ten years. Thankfully, the presence of the Nazarene church is beginning to lend some stability to the residents and they are starting to have some hope for the future. It was a great experience today and we're looking forward to tomorrow.
May 4th, 7 A.M. - Well, we're sitting in the airport preparing to board a plane to Miami, then to Managua. I'll try to attach pictures later...I'm typing on a tiny computer that isn't letting me load the pics. Today when we arrive we'll be picking up food and medicine, meeting with local church leaders and getting settled into the hotel. Thanks for your prayers. We love you all.
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May 4th, 8:30 P.M. - It's towards the end of day one (still lots of prep work left to do for tomorrow). Today we traveled, met up with the rest of the team, met the district superintendent and the pastor of the El Timal community, picked up medicine, went grocery shopping, ate dinner and prepared for tomorrow. Everything has gone smoothly. Thanks to Sid and Crystal for their unbelievable preparation!
While we were visiting with the pastor of the El Timal church, she shared with us that just a half-hour before the government approved the plot of land that will be given to the church for the permanent structure and the well.
Tomorrow is our first day of ministry in El Timal. We're all preparing medicines and supplies in each other's rooms tonight as I type (I'm kind of slacking off...I'll get to work in a minute:)). Tomorrow morning we'll be up bright and early (breakfast at 6am, travel by 7) to set up camp for a few days of medical care in El Timal.
Thank you for your prayers and support. We love you all.
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