Updated library

I don't think we have written to you all in awhile about our little library. First of all, a huge thank you to those of you who have donated books! We now have a nice collection of both fiction and non-fiction for various ages. All-time favorites include Pokemon, Buenas Noches Dora, David se Mete en Lios (David gets in trouble), and El Ciclo de Vida de la Rana (the life cycle of a frog).

We have had such a steady stream of kids and teenagers coming to our house to read that we decided to try a lending-library system on a small scale. I was nervous, but have been impressed at how responsible people can be when they have ownership of the project and understand the expectations clearly. The kids developed the rules (keep the book in a clean, dry place, do not eat while reading, do not fight with the books, etc.) and are responsible for explaining them to the other kids. They all put their names and addresses down when they have shown that they understand the rules. So far, we've been trying to talk with all their parents as well to let them know about the system. They can check out one book at a time. Some of the kids have been talking excitedly about how they want to move the library to our garage to have more room for lots of people to sit and read and how they can all take shifts cleaning and monitoring to make sure people are taking care of the books.

As if I wasn't already convinced of the value of literacy, living here has driven this even deeper. Developing imagination and creativity through reading will give them tools that they need to overcome the many challenges that confront them.

Articles by Nicaraguan women

Click here to see the most recent issue of the Brethren in Christ journal Shalom! online, which has a few articles by and about women we work with here.

A Nicaraguan Wedding

This past Sunday we attended the wedding of our good friends Lydell Steiner & Rebeca Castillo. Lydell just finished his term of service with MCC Nicaragua in January. He met Rebeca three years ago when he was in language school; they dated, he proposed, and on Sunday they took another step in their journey together.

Here are two photos: one of the happy couple, and another of Lydell's sister (Maria, standing next to Alan) and her friend (Jen, standing next to Beth) who flew down from the Virginia for the wedding. They both teach kindergarten in VA, and we wanted to give a shout out to their classes, who have been following our adventures through this blog. We tried to find Amaranta, our MCC turtle, but it seems she's gone hibernating. But we had a great time, anyway!

Books, Books, and more Books

A little project of mine (Alan) over the past 2 months has been to buy books for the seminary library. I've purchased about 150 books from publishers in the US, Colombia, and Nicaragua, and about half of them have arrived thus far. The books cover topics such as conflict transformation, theology, Anabaptist history, peacemaking, mission, biblical studies, biographies of noted peacemakers, gender, and more. It's been exciting to receive the books and think about how I can use them in my classes. Here is a picture of several of the books before I took them to the Seminary last week.

Campamento

On January 11, we and 45 young Nicaraguans piled onto a cattle truck and headed up to the mountains in the North of Nicaragua. There we spent 3 days participating with them in their youth camp and leading one of the sessions. It was a good chance to get to know some new people, as well as deepening relationships with our neighbor Carlos and Lydell's new almost-in-laws. We hiked on cliffs with no trails or guard rails, went boating with people who didn't know how to swim, played soccer, did team-building activities, learned new songs, and experienced the universal compulsory prank-pulling. It was an adventure. We talked about wearing the "clothing" (patience, kindness, love, etc.) that identifies us as Christians and memorized Matthew 5:23-24 together. For more pictures, click here.

Watching the waves

Between Christmas and New Year's, we went down to the Southwest of Nicaragua to the beaches around San Juan del Sur. We enjoyed the chance to sit on beautiful beaches almost by ourselves, explore tide pools, and watch sunsets from cliff-tops. We read, walked, reflected on the year, attempted to avoid sunburns, made goals, and tried to be aware of how God's Spirit is moving in our lives. I thought that it's a little like the waves, coming and going unpredictably. Sometimes coming up unexpectedly high, sending the little crabs scrambling up the rocks. Sometimes filling each little cove where you didn't even know the water could reach. But it's addicting--you could watch it all day. It feels similar to see those in our church here experience the Spirit, even as we also think about our own cultural understandings and expressions of the Spirit. Sometimes we pull our toes back, startled. Sometimes we are inspired. Sometimes we get wet and laugh or cry. Mostly, we continue watching in curiosity and awe as the tide continues coming in. Click here for more pictures.

Good friends in 2007

We are thankful for our friendships here in Nicaragua. In addition to our team members and those we work with, in the past year God has blessed us with meaningful conversations, laughing, and a sense of mutual care with several people: Kevin and Hannah, who lived with us for a couple months and encouraged us in great ways; Rebeca and our friends in Estelí, who have included us in the family and shared openly with us; Andrea and Pamela, who are working here with Food for the Hungry and have helped us process our Nicaragua experience and life in general; Jacquelyn, another "family member" who has been a partner in language learning, dancing, and late-night conversations; Marlon, who has provided us with a house, beautiful artwork, and good conversation.