Would You Do It?

Several years ago, our local Managua newspaper (La Prensa) published an interesting survey. One of the questions really caught my eye. They asked youth across Nicaragua the following question: "If you had the chance to leave Nicaragua to another country but could never return, would you do it?" For me (and probably most of you), the answer is easy. I would never want to leave my home country if it meant not being able to return. However, the surprising answer for 84% of Nicaraguan youth was "yes!"

The sad reality is that there are many Nicaraguans who believe they would be better off anywhere else than in their own country. They have given up on the possibility that their country will ever rid itself of the poverty and corruption that have plagued this nation throughout their lifetimes. Unfortunately, the escape mentality (which has led many to leave the country) only furthers Nicaragua's inability to grow.

One factor that has brought our family to such a strong commitment to God's ministry through Nicaragua Christian Academy is that we see something very different among our students. Each year, before our senior class graduates from high school, the soon-to-be graduates share their hopes and dreams for the future. Although the responses of our missionary kids and other international students are always extremely interesting and encouraging, most intriguing to me is what our Nicaraguan students (more than 50%) have to share. While their peers dream of abandoning their country, our NCA students consistently share of their plans to continue their studies (most of them in the United States or Costa Rica, where university education is much better than in Nicaragua) and of their commitment to return to Nicaragua. Their words reflect a mentality of, "This is my country, and I know that with God's help, I can make a difference here in the future." It is this hope that we see in the eyes of our students that gives us a sense of renewed passion each day and year for what God is doing at Nicaragua Christian Academy!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

A few more weeks of this and Nicaragua may be under water! Or so it seems. We have received record levels of rain during the past few months, due to a heavy rainy season and a series of tropical depressions that have dumped heavy rainfall across the country.

For us, this means scrambling to take clothes off the line (or more likely hanging them around inside the house), a few leaky spots in the roof, and a muddy dog. For many people in Nicaragua, though, it has been more than just an inconvenience. On August 19th, a tenth grader at NCA Nejapa, the daughter of one of our cooks at NCA, drowned when walking home from school. Nicaragua has inadequate storm sewer systems, and instead relies on drainage ditches which fill with raging rivers during heavy rains. These are ineffective and dangerous, and she drowned while trying to cross one during her walk home. That same week, Nicaraguan friends of ours called us early in the morning to say that their house, which was made of concrete blocks, had been almost washed away during the night. The runoff from the road had diverted and broken through the wall of their house, leaving a large hole in the side of the house and knocking down the whole back wall. Their house was full of mud and most things were ruined, but they were thankful that their young children had not been sleeping there when the water started pouring into the house.

Many people have lost their homes as the waters of Lake Managua have risen. The newspapers tell us that water level of the lake is higher than it was during Hurricane Mitch, back in 1998. Just last week five Red Cross workers and a journalist drowned while trying to bring relief to a remote village. For people who have so very little, a rainy season like this is devastating. The price of beans, a daily staple, has gone up from nine córdobas ($0.43) a pound last year at this time, to 25 córdobas ($1.20) a pound, because an entire crop of beans was ruined due to rain.

Our family is confronted daily with the reality of the difficult lives that those around us lead. We struggle with knowing how to help people. Giving financially or materially is often not the best solution, but promises to pray for people can often sound empty when the needs are so great. We are thankful that God is the provider, both for us and for our friends in need. He is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. The past two weeks have been much sunnier than the months of August or September. We ask for you to pray with us for wisdom, safety, and an end to the heavy rains. We are thankful, too, that within a month or so, the rainy season will end and the dry season will begin.

Photo shows perimeter wall blown out by water and flooding at NCA Nejapa.