Team Meeting and Volcano Fun Day

On Monday we had MCC Nicaragua team meetings in Managua. Thirteen of us plus Simon gathered at the MCC office for a toasty day of sharing about our work, as well as hearing updates on budgets and various MCC projects. Simon enjoyed the meetings, provided he was held by someone.

On Tuesday we had a team fun day. We traveled about 60 kilometers south of Managua to the Mombacho volcano where we enjoyed a day of hiking, spectacular views, and cooler temperatures. Simon tagged along in his sling and was most interested in napping.

Here are some pictures from our two days.

Simon's Dedication

Last Sunday (Palm Sunday) we dedicated Simon to God. From the moment of his birth we recognized that he was a gift from God for us to love and nurture. We wanted to make our commitment public, however, and we wanted to do it while some of our family (Mom and Dad Thrush) were present. Last week we had a chance to share the testimony of Simon's pregnancy/birth. Our pastor led us and the congregation in statements of affirmation, we prayed for Simon, and then we shared a verse and poem that we selected for Simon. The verse comes from 1 John 5.14 - "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."

The poem was a translation of the text "Like a mother who has borne us." Here are the words:

Like a mother who has borne us, held us close in her delight,
fed us freely from her body, God has called us into life.
Like a father who has taught us, grasped our hand and been our guide,
lifted us and healed our sorrows, God has walked with us in life.
Though as children we have wandered, placed our trust in power and might,
left behind our brothers, sisters, God still calls us into life.
When we offer food and comfort, grasp our neighbor’s hand in love,
tread the path of peace and justice, God still walks with us in life.

By Daniel Bechtel, 1986

Afterwards we shared cake with our friends from church and enjoyed taking pictures of Simon.

Water management, part 3

We've received some comments about our water situation, so we thought it time for an update. Fortunately, the situation was improved a little bit. About two weeks ago the water would turn off around 8 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. We still have no water for most of the day (until about 6 p.m.), but it makes a huge difference to have water during those two extra hours each morning.
Also, we should note that while we have the capacity to store 110 gallons of water, we only use about 40-50 gallons per day.
And in spite of the fact that our water situation is a little better, there are still many communities in Nicaragua that have water one day a week or less.

Simon's travels

Beth has been directing a work & learn team of high school students from Canada this past week. The students joined up with several young adults from Honduras and Nicaragua for a cross-cultural learning experience about life in Nicaragua. But this group has been different because it also included a newborn. Simon tagged along with the group, visiting the market and tourist sites and MCC projects. He has sweated in the Managua heat and enjoyed the shade of big trees. And he has enjoyed chilling in the arms of more people than we can count. Here are a some photos from Simon's travels: visiting a pottery project that receives support through MCC, on the bus at the Masaya volcano, and in the group photo in front of the Laguna de Apoyo (he's in Beth's arms but behind a girl's head).

Simon Photos

Simon is growing quickly...just passed the 7-week mark yesterday and is somewhere around 13 lbs. these days. Here are a few photos from the past few weeks.

One More Year

We're almost at the 2.5 year point of our 3-year term of service with MCC. So we've had to make some decisions...end our term in Dec. of this year (2009) or extend until Dec. of next year (2010). Right before Simon was born we decided that we'd like a little more time here in Nicaragua. We've learned a lot over the past 2.5 years and we feel that God will be able to use our gifts for continuing service in an extra year. Also, we like our jobs, we love our neighborhood, and we think Nicaragua is a good fit for us at this stage of our lives.
We'll have a 60-day home leave in the US sometime in Dec./Jan./Feb. of this coming year. After that, we'll return to Managua for our fourth year of service. We appreciate your continued prayers and support! - Alan & Beth & Simon

What's in a nombre?

We wanted to share some of our inter-cultural experience of trying to get all of Simon’s paperwork. A few days after he was born, Alan went to the city offices of Managua to register him and get his birth certificate. In Nicaragua (as well as most of Latin America), naming children generally works in the following way: Maria del Carmen Martinez Hernandez and Jose Guillermo Medrano Lopez have a child and want to name him Jose David. Little Jose gets the dad’s first last name and the mom’s first last name (no one changes names when they get married . . . if they get married). Jose David Medrano Martinez. Easy!

We strange North Americans show up in the office with passports showing the following names: Elizabeth Jill Claassen Thrush and Alan Geoffrey Claassen Thrush. Alan explains that we would like him to have only one last name (Thrush), with Claassen as a middle name. They write “First name: Simon” “Middle name: Claassen.” Then they come to the last names. According to the law, he has to have the first last name of the father followed by the first last name of the mother. Simon Claassen Claassen Claassen. Alan shows both our birth certificates and our marriage license to explain what our family names are, what we did, and what we would like to do. Unfortunately, the law cannot budge.

Alan continues to try to push. What if the mother doesn’t know who the father is? In that case, the child can have the 2 last names of the mother. Good! We could do that. But, you're the father, they say, perplexed by this gringo who can't decide what he wants--first he takes his wife's name (strange!) and then he wants his name recognized. They insist that, for the baby to have the last name Thrush, he cannot appear as the father.

So, little Simon has a birth certificate identifying him as Simon Claassen Claassen Thrush. He is the child of a single mother, with a married boyfriend.

(We got it worked out OK on all his official paperwork for the US government :)).