Partner Day and Team Meeting

Last Friday (April 18), we as MCC hosted our Nicaraguan/Costa Rican partners to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year. MCC, rather than having it's own programs, partners with local organizations in their work. Here in Nicaragua this is a diverse group, including a cultural center, a renewable energy organization, the social commissions of the Anabaptist churches, a university, a school for the deaf, and many others. Above, Hollmer Garcia shares about the successes of the Global Family program (scholarships through MCC for university students). Below, we as MCC workers prepare to share our drama.

We also have been celebrating the expansion of the MCC team. Last August we were 4. Now we are 16. In the past month we welcomed two new Nicaraguan team members. One is working with the church social commissions, and the other is working in the office (especially with exchange programs). They are adding great depth to our team discussions, as well as new fun to daily MCC office life.

Proud

It appears that life continues in North America while we're here.

Last Monday, we were excited that, thanks to the cable at the MCC office, we saw the Jayhawks of KU win the NCAA championship for the first time since I (Beth) was six! We are very proud to be from Kansas.

Last night we again took advantage of the cable at the office to watch the Compassion Forum at Messiah College. Even Mario Chalmers' 3-pointer at the buzzer couldn't compete with the excitement we felt about that event. We are very, very proud to be from Messiah College.

It was interesting to hear the candidates trying to carefully hone their religious rhetoric to provide responses to the wide-ranging questions such as "Why would a loving God permit suffering?" "Do you think the US should participate in the Beijing Olympics?" "Will you cut poverty in half?" and "Do you think God wants you to be president?"

However, the source of most of our interest and pride wasn't necessarily the questions or the answers to the questions. It was the group of people who gathered to ask the questions. As one who believes in a faith that is all about self-sacrifice, not putting the interests of one people group/country over another, and refusal to rely on violence and military strength, I'm realistic that one can't tout my values and win the presidency. But it is exciting when the community of faith comes together to talk about how to live out our commitment to loving our neighbors.

Messiah, with its emphasis on hospitality, was able to provide a space for many different leaders, secular, Evangelical, Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, etc. to come together for this conversation. And not just abortion-condemning, prove-you're-a-true-Christian-now conversation. Religious leaders asking questions about what our role is in the world to help those who are suffering.

Here in Nicaragua, we want to reflect the values of our alma mater, providing spaces in which people can come together, learn, ask questions, break down boundaries, find common ground, and make commitments to serving each other.

A few other points of interest:

-There was no flag-waving. Messiah was consistent with it's convictions. We like that!

-Both candidates referred to God consistently in the masculine form.

-Good distinctions between helpful and harmful forms of "civil religion" (some of you know this is an area I love to think and talk about)

-I noticed anew, especially from my seat here in Nicaragua, how difficult it is to refer to "the poor" or "the least of these" without sounding patronizing or creating and us/them dichotomy.

-It must still be cold there--it was strange to see so many people in coats. In case you were wondering, we still live in pools of sweat.

-Despite having read his book and many of his speeches, I had never heard Barack Obama's voice before! It was different from in my head.

Nicadians (or Canaraguans?)

Two weeks ago, 10 Canadian high school students came to learn about Nicaraguan culture and economics. Their teachers and fellow-learners were 10 Nicaraguan young people. Together they explored the ups and downs of Nicaragua's past and also the present social realities, as well as the question of what to do when we see people in need. While wrestling with these things, they helped a local church to begin putting a 2nd floor on their feeding/education program for children in the community of Anexo Villa Libertad.

Anexo Villa Libertad is one of the areas on the outskirts of Managua in which people moving in from the countryside to work in the maquilas (sweatshops, tax-free zones--they have various names) set up temporary homes that became permanent, but with no basic services of water, roads, sewage, schools, etc. The Brethren in Christ church there has a vision for making the gospel more than just words for this community. One of the sisters there, Margarita, preached one of the best sermons I've ever heard about the way the Spirit moves when we are always looking for ways to meet needs of those around us instead of our own.