CRC Missionary Spiritual Retreat

Each year during Semana Santa (Holy Week) the CRWM and World Renew missionaries from all over Central America gather in Nicaragua for a Spiritual Retreat.  This 4-day retreat is full of encouragement, sharing, sessions led by an invited guest speaker, and some needed rest and relaxation.  We are enjoying the fact that our kids are getting a little bigger and can be more independent.  Caleb (7.5) and Judah (almost 6) can both swim on their own and Belen (3) swims well with a floatie.  Asher (22 months) enjoyed lots of time jumping into the water and lots of splashing.  We were thankful for the time to connect with new friends and old, and to take time out of our normal routines for some relaxing at the beach!

New Library Project

We are very excited to announce that NCA International is getting ready to build a new library!  Although our school is now in its 23rd year of existence and has grown from 7 students to over 340 students, our library is currently in a room that is smaller than the classrooms.  Despite our many attempts to help the library grow and improve, we have reached an impassable wall: without a larger space, we will not be able to make the library into what it needs to be.

It is noteworthy that even the concept of a lending library is still little-known in Nicaragua.  Most schools do not have a library, and the closest they may come is having a set of reference materials that are kept locked away in the office (for fear that they might be lost or stolen) and available to teachers upon request.  Nicaragua's central library in Managua does not allow anyone to borrow books.  Its primary purpose is for research, and all materials must stay inside the library (for fear that they would never be returned).  Most children in Nicaragua have never checked out a book, and many have never even sat down to read a children's fiction book.

As you probably know, instilling in children a love for reading is extremely important to their language development and life skills.  If students are successful in language arts, this opens up the door to success in other academic subjects, and it gives them a strong advantage in life.  We are hopeful that as we build a new library facility, we will be able to continue to strengthen this important area in the lives of our students.

For more information about the library project, please watch the following 4-minute video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uhr6yePz_4

Family Photo Update

We thought you would enjoy a few pictures from the last two months.

Ready for some warmer weather?  If you're sick of the snow, you're always welcome to come visit us!

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.