Liam's Interesting Ride Home

I (Liam) have a short drive home from school each day, but as I drove home on Sunday, I realized that even in that short drive there are typically many things that are very different from what I would see if I were driving in the states.  Here's what I saw...what does your drive home look like?

First, a police stop in the road just beyond school.  Traffic lined up both ways because of high traffic coming from beach (Sunday afternoons sometimes like that) and it was difficult to get past a car that had been pulled over.  One motorcyclist rudely blared on his horn since traffic wasn't moving and I was pleased to see that the police pulled him over as well.

Just past the police stop, I noticed groups of kids walking with small bags in their hands.  They are coming back home from the local Catholic church, which hands out candy and other small gifts to kids who attend the "Purisima" (Immaculate Conception) services in December.  My mind wanders to wondering whether this is a good practice or not, and what the historical roots of this tradition might be.

Turning onto our side road, I passed a taxi and noticed that a large man was leaning on the back of the taxi and vomiting onto the road.  He appeared intoxicated and I'm guessing he had too much to drink.  Alcoholism is a big problem in Nicaragua, and it is unfortunately all to common to see scenes like this on Sunday afternoons and evenings, especially on weekends after people have been paid (the 15th and 30th of the month for most people).  In the beginning of December, most people also receive an extra month of pay as a Christmas bonus, and unfortunately for some people with drinking problems, this money doesn't ever make it home.

A little further I reached the gate to our community and was reminded that today I needed to pay the $12 contribution we give twice a month for the salary of the guards that watch the 35 houses in our immediate community.  Since it is December, I gave the additional $8 suggested donation toward their "Christmas Chicken" (okay, Christmas turkey might be a better translation, but turkey is not common in Nicaragua).  The note they had given us thanked us in advance for our help with their "gallina navideña".

Finally, nearing our house, I stopped because in front of me on the dirt road was a 5-foot-long boa constrictor, probably enjoying the warm afternoon sun before it set.  It was fairly fat and did not seem like it had plans to move.  I stopped the car and ran past it to get the kids and family so we could see it and take a few pictures.  Although there are snakes around us, we do not often see such a big one or have a chance to stop and admire it (or fear it).  After a few pictures, it started slithering away toward our car, and to our horror, went under the car and started to attempt to climb into the engine.  I quickly jumped in the car and drove it to our house before it could find a nice warm home in the engine, which would undoubtedly cause plenty of problems the next time we wanted to use the car.

The 1.5-mile drive between school and home isn't always this eventful, and sometimes we are so used to many of these things that we forget to stop and write about them.  Hopefully you enjoyed "coming along for the ride."

Visiting Staff Families

A few years ago, Liam and the school board at NCA took a step of faith and increased the minimum commitment for teachers to three years of service, instead of only two.  Teacher turnover in international schools tends to be very high.  Many young people are looking for an overseas experience or an adventure, but are unwilling to make a long term commitment.

Having lived in Nicaragua for years now, Liam and I have seen many teachers come and go.  Every year we say some goodbyes and welcome new faces.  However, there are a number of individuals in the NCA community who have been at the school since before either of us arrived, and will likely be there for many years.  Who?  The Nicaraguan staff.  There are 28 Nicaraguan staff members who work at NCA in various capacities--security, janitorial, maintenance, cafeteria, etc.  These are individuals who have great gifts, who invest in relationships with North American teachers knowing that those teachers may leave; who let us practice our Spanish, who invite us into their simple homes, and who serve both students and faculty selflessly.  Today I smiled as I watched three of our maintenance staff helping some high school students hang up decorations for tomorrow night's talent show.  Even though they don't teach, our non-instructional staff members definitely see their job as a ministry in support of Christian education.

We are so thankful for these individuals, and recently have decided to start making occasional weekend visits in order to get to know them better and to show respect and thanks for all they do.  Caleb and Judah enjoyed going along with Liam last week to visit Jorge, one of our gardeners, and were excited to find that he had kittens, rabbits, and chickens in his home!  We look forward to continuing to visit with different staff members and their families.  These relationships provide opportunities for cross-cultural exchanges, but we can always celebrate our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Independence Day in Nicaragua

One advantage of living in Nicaragua is that Central America's Independence Day falls during the school year, which makes it a fun holiday to celebrate with our students.  At NCA, all of our students from preschool through high school are involved in learning activities that involve reenactments, mural displays, recitation of patriotic poems, and traditional food, music and dance from the diverse regions of Nicaragua.  This is easily our school's biggest student program, with over 400 school parents in attendance.

It's also the only day at school where it shouldn't surprise you to see high school students walking around with machetes and a wide variety of toy guns (including some BB guns... no ammo allowed, of course).  Obviously the students love reenacting battles and also using machetes to cut down palm branches for their presentations.

We were especially proud of both Caleb (2nd grade) and Judah (Kindergarten) in their class presentations.  In addition to Caleb's class dance and Judah's class poem, Caleb was chosen as the winner of the poem recitation for 2nd grade and had the honor of reciting a poem called "Bandera Mia" (My Flag, in Spanish) in front of the whole audience!  And as is our tradition, the program ended with the grand finale -- NCA's teachers (including Liam) performing a fairly well-rehearsed traditional dance in front of all of our students and parents.

New Teachers

Every spring, we ask for prayer as Liam seeks to fill the open teaching positions for the fall, and every year we are amazed to see God's provision as He brings so many unique and talented individuals - many times with their families in tow - to Nicaragua and NCA.

This year was no exception, and I (Jessica) have especially enjoyed getting to know some of the wives and children of new faculty at NCA.  Many have sold everything they had in the United States to come to a country that they have never even visited.  Suddenly they are speaking a new language, setting up house, buying a car, learning where to shop for groceries, and getting their kids settled in a new school, all the while missing home, family, and friends.   Please continue to pray for these new families, both the teachers, their spouses, and their children, in the coming months.  It can take weeks, months, and even years to really feel "home".

Below  Snapshots of a day at the beach with some new NCA families.

Done!

We have a LOT to celebrate right now!  Survival seems to be an apt word to describe the last week of my (Liam's) life, but it's really only because a number of big things all came to a climax at the same time.

On Friday, August 9, we celebrated our annual Open House to kick off the new school year (our first day of school is tomorrow).  But this year was a HUGE celebration at NCA because our Open House was held in our school's new Eagle Center, a multi-purpose "gymnatorium" (sports court with a stage along one side) that we have been dreaming of for over 10 years.  For most of this time we were trying to raise funds with little success.  But now in God's timing, we were amazed to see how quickly everything came together.  The construction crews were still working in the building on the morning of Open House and there are a few more details remaining next week, but most of the work is behind us.

My schedule over the past 6 months has included hours of communication, involvement and decision-making every week with sometimes entire days being spent on the project.  It was very well-received by our school families, and we had so many people contribute generously to help make it possible.  Clearly God, who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, was at work in making this happen!

In the middle of this, I was also working very long hours getting our new school year ready, leading major sections of our new teacher orientation program, and doing many of my regular school administrator responsibilities that are part of my responsibilities each summer.

To top it all off (in terms of busyness and also celebration), last week I completed my last two courses for my Master's degree!  For the past few years I have been taking online courses through Dordt College and working toward a Master's of Education degree in School Leadership.  I don't know whether I or Jessica and the kids are more excited about finally being done with spending my evenings and weekends working on graduate studies.

So you can see how the words "survival" and "climax" both described the last week (and months) of my life.  I now feel as though a great burden has been lifted from my shoulders and I am excited to start our new year of school.  There will be more challenges -- this year is an accreditation review year for NCA -- but now that some of these other huge tasks are drawing to a close, I have a renewed sense of energy and feel ready.  And I am happy to spend more quality time with my family!

Spiritual Emphasis Day

On Friday, January 25, NCA held its annual Spiritual Emphasis Day for middle and high school students.  SED is a day full of guest speakers, praise and worship, special interest seminars, prayer, games and activities designed to allow students to take time away from their regular academic routine and focus on their spiritual walk with the Lord.  We were blessed with 24 guest speakers, most of whom were missionaries, pastors and youth leaders, who presented a wide variety of different topics to the students, ranging from peer pressure, science and faith, leadership, prayer, dealing with temptations, and just the simple gospel message!

NCA is a school that strongly desires to see its students growing in their relationship with God and their ability to love those around them, while also maintaining excellence in academic preparation.  This goal is evidenced through activities like Spiritual Emphasis Day, our Youth Group program on Friday nights, community service opportunities (Saturday morning Ignite events), and a range of spiritual retreats for students of all ages.

This week, for example, our 4th-6th grade students will participate in an overnight retreat, with three areas of focus: spiritual, academic, and physical. Our theme is Mission Incredible and our main verse is Psalm 19:1 - "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."  The activities will revolve around science. Students will be making solar ovens, doing an egg drop, blasting off rockets, and looking for constellations.  The teachers are organizing all of the details of the retreat, and will have help from six high school student leaders and many parent volunteers.

A Day in the Life: Getting Things Done in Nicaragua

Meijer is an amazing place, isn't it?  If you don’t live in Michigan, you might not be familiar with Meijer, but it is one stop shopping at its best.  After living in Nicaragua for ten years (I can’t believe it’s been that long!), still one of the things that is most difficult to get out of my blood is the joy of one-stop-shopping.

Most of the world does not have it.  Nicaragua has a lot of great stores and conveniences now.  Most of the population is unable to enjoy them due to their cost, but there are grocery stores that are fairly well stocked, and there is even a big Costco-like store called PriceSmart.  However, there is no one stop shopping.  It is fairly typical for Liam or me to spend the better part of a day shopping for one item.  Recent examples would be a birthday present for a 5-year-old girl, or a part for a lawnmower.  In the United States, we would head to whichever store was nearest to us, and buy both, rather easily.  In Nicaragua, it may take up most of my day, and I may or may not come home successful.  I might run into a political rally that stops traffic, or a semi-truck parked perpendicular across three lanes of traffic, or the stores might be closed on a Saturday because all hardware stores close at noon on Saturdays.  If I get to the store that has the part, they may or may not be willing to sell it to me.  My selection will be limited, the prices will be high, and the service will likely be poor.  It may be that we go to the gas station on the way, and they have no gas.

But!  I have a car!  I don’t walk a half mile to the bus stop, wait for twenty minutes for a bus that only takes me part way to the store, transfer to another bus, hang off of the back of it because it’s so full, and then arrive to find the store doesn't have what I need.  And I usually leave my kids with my husband, or with a babysitter.  I wouldn't choose to drag my four kids around town with me all day because I have nowhere else to leave them and I am a single mom.  The cost of the birthday gift or the lawnmower part might be a little frustrating, but it doesn't keep me from putting food on the table.  In fact, if I were a typical Nicaraguan, a lawnmower part would be known as a machete, and I wouldn't be buying anyone a birthday gift, especially someone who’s outside my own family.

I miss convenience as much as the next North American living down here.  At times I complain about how long it takes to get something done or to run a few errands.  It’s easy to find things to complain about.  But if we stop a minute, it’s equally easy to find things to be thankful for.  I’m thankful for the finances to buy the things we need, an air conditioned car (with seat belts) to drive around in, pleasant (even if not always fully stocked) grocery stores, and so much more.  What about you?