Immersion

What does typical life in Nicaragua look like?  We were about to find out.

Caleb, Judah and Liam recently spent 3 days and 2 nights with the family of a school staff member.

The cultural immersion began upon arrival.  We were received by our host, her son, her sister-in-law, and eventually by her husband, mother, brother, nephews and nieces, and extended family, all of whom live in the surrounding houses.  Our accommodations were simple -- a single room with a double bed for Caleb and Judah to share and a mattress for Liam to sleep on the floor.  We met the parakeets and dogs, watched the baseball game in the nearby dirt lot, and played soccer in the dirt street with the neighborhood kids.  We ate lots of delicious gallo pinto, eggs and Nica cheese with the family.  We prayed together as a family each night before bedtime.

Our quest for cultural immersion, Spanish language development, and a better understanding of typical life in Nicaragua had exceeded our expectations!  Our host family had gone out of their way to make space for us.  There were many challenging aspects, like bucket showers (their neighborhood only gets water every 2 days), different food, roosters and noises during the night, and simply living away from the comforts of our own home.

As we prepared to leave, we found it difficult to say goodbye.  But we now have new friends, a deepened relationship with a coworker, and even stronger roots in Nicaragua.  We found mutual encouragement in our common love for God, which bridges all other differences!

Ministry in Challenging Times

The current situation has generated a lot of needs in our school community, and we are surrounded by opportunities to help our students and families turn to God.  Our annual ANCA Conference brought together 270 educators from our three schools (NCA International, NCA Nejapa and NCA Matagalpa) and 3 visiting schools.  Appropriately, the keynote speaker was NCA founder Jim Palmer, who shared words of hope, personal healing and goals for our teachers and staff in 2019.  It was so reassuring to see so many men and women called by God to impact the lives of children in Nicaragua, united in worship, collaboration, encouragement and prayer.  I could not help but think of Colossians 3:15-17 as an accurate description of this amazing community!

During the same week in January, our secondary students participated in our annual Spiritual Emphasis Day, full of guest speakers from our community challenging our students in a variety of areas such as intimacy in dating relationships, dealing with family issues, addictions, social media, and the power and value of the Gospel message.  Sessions were taught in English, Spanish and Korean by missionaries, NCAI graduates, former teachers and staff, and local pastors.  Our keynote speakers, Greg and Sam Elam (NCAI teachers from 2009-2013), talked about trusting in God in the midst of trials and suffering.

Something New--Teaching Art!

Since last April when the civil unrest began here in Nicaragua, we have had numerous challenges.  One of these challenges was the number of teachers who decided not to continue at NCA for the 2018-2019 school year.  In June, we learned that the art teacher would not be continuing. I (Jessica) had thought for the past few years that if I were going to start teaching again at NCA, Elementary Art classes would be an interesting option.  And so, here I find myself!  I teach part time, fitting all 9 elementary classes into two days of teaching.  Those two days are busy, but I am LOVING the job!  It challenges me to be constantly finding new art ideas and to ensure that all of the grades have challenging and rewarding projects that teach them different forms of media, techniques, and art theory.  Another thing I have loved is getting to know ALL of the kids from preschool to 6th grade.  I think that at the end of October I had just about learned all 185 names!

I am amazed to see God’s perfect timing.  Although we were sad to see so many of our teachers go, and we have been so saddened by what is happening in Nicaragua, He is in control and has provided me with this opportunity to teach again, right at the time when our youngest entered first grade.  In times of such uncertainty it is reassuring to see the Lord working in our own stories to perfectly place us where we can give glory to Him.

Here are a few pictures of what we’ve been up to.  If you’re interested, you can follow me on Instagram (ncaiart) and get a taste of what we’re doing in the art room.

Different Start at NCA International

As most of you know, we are back in Nicaragua after a busy yet relaxing summer in Michigan, New York and New Jersey.  We have just finished the first week of school, which is an amazing testimony to God’s faithfulness!

Roll back the timeline 3 weeks to our first day back with all of our teachers and staff.  I led devotions for this week each year, and during the singing of Do It Again (Elevation Worship) in Spanish with all our staff present, I found myself overcome with emotion, crying uncontrollably with tears of mixed joy, relief and trust in God.  In the midst of a summer marked with incredible uncertainty, the words, “Tu promesa sigue en pié, tú eres fiel” (“Your promise still stands, great is Your faithfulness”), took on new life and meaning!  Sung by our staff from 7 different countries (Nicaragua, United States, Canada, Australia, France, South Korea and the Netherlands), united in our love for God and calling to serve Him at NCA International, the song was an anthem of hope that seemed to be written exactly for our group at this time and this place.  “I know the night won't last, Your Word will come to pass.”

It is incredible to me that even in the midst of our present situation, God has fully provided for our school in terms of staffing.  On the first day of school, we had every essential staff position filled.  Our enrollment is down significantly, and although some students may return next semester, our school’s budget is still a big question mark this year.  On the other hand, our teachers are enjoying smaller class sizes.

We started the school year with a modified schedule but will soon be returning to a normal class schedule and adding some extracurricular activities.

Starkenburg Family Plans

We will be flying out tomorrow morning (June 11) ​si Dios quiere!  Since we don't want to risk missing our flight, we will be spending the night in a hotel next to the airport tonight.

We will be spending time with family in Michigan and then travel to New York and New Jersey to visit family, friends and supporting churches.  We'll return to Michigan for the rest of our time this summer.  We hope to see many of you during this time in the States, and we also hope to have time to rest and relax after some very intense situations in Nicaragua.  Liam will be traveling back to Nicaragua on July 23, and the rest of the family will follow on August 2.

Change to our Financial Support

Several months ago our sending organization, Resonate Global Mission (formerly Christian Reformed World Missions), announced that due to long-term trends in church giving, they are no longer able to cover their administrative operating expenses through ministry shares (expected church denominational cuotas).  In order to ensure a sustainable model, Resonate will now be retaining part of the money given to its missionaries, including us (see attached letter for details).  We have appreciated that for a long time, 100% of your donations toward our work in Nicaragua have gone directly to support our family and ministry.  Effective July 1, 2018, a flat percentage of 6.25% of all of our support raising income will be retained as a "support services fee".  This new policy directly impacts our family income.  Resonate has encouraged us to ask donors to increase their giving proportionally to this new fee so that our family's income will not be greatly reduced.  In reality, our family support needs are growing due to increased living expenses in Nicaragua, and so it is unfortunate that this change increases the gap between our needs and current income level.

If you are currently supporting our work in Nicaragua, please prayerfully consider whether or not you have the ability to add 6.25% to your current level of giving.  Please also pray that God will provide the additional supporters we need to meet our budget next year.

House of Hope

House of Hope is a vocational rehabilitation program for women and their children leaving the world of prostitution and human trafficking. Over a period of three to four years, the women are discipled, counseled, and taught skills that they can use to live independently upon their graduation from the program.  I (Jessica) have been involved at House of Hope very minimally over the past few years, visiting occasionally, helping a friend with children’s programs, etc.  This past September, however, I agreed to start meeting with a group of four women who have never been to school, to make an attempt at helping them learn to read.  I have quickly learned that teaching children to read is one thing, and teaching 40-year-old women to read is another thing entirely.  Despite our slow progress, I am so encouraged at their willingness to keep trying day after day, at our laughter as we make mistakes together, and at their quick acceptance of me as their friend and teacher. 

After about a month of working with these women, a few other women approached me and asked if I would work with their children who didn’t know how to read.  I asked around a bit to find out how many kids this would be, and realized that many of the kids who lived here had very basic school knowledge, and would benefit from some extra help.  So, for the past two months I’ve been also meeting with these kids.  I have been both encouraged and discouraged.  Encouraged by their desire to learn and the fact that they have come many times to study, even during their vacation time.  It is discouraging, however, to meet with a 12-year-old who is in first grade, who cannot read or write much more than his own name.  Or a 9-year-old who is going into third grade and doesn’t know his letters.  An hour twice a week with these kids is not enough to even begin to make a change.  I’ve seen that the change needs to happen much earlier.  The change needs to happen probably in their school, which has few resources.  But before that, it needs to happen with preschool aged kids who desperately need early literacy intervention. And before that it needs to happen with mothers who know how to teach their kids the basics of counting, colors, letters, etc.

Albalina with her daughter and two granddaughters, who all live at House of Hope

So where to begin? Many of you might remember that years ago I talked about starting a library, and throughout the past few months I have thought more and more about the possibility of making that a reality. I’m not exactly sure if it would look like a two-day preschool for this community, or if it would look like partnering with the school to provide more literacy opportunities, or if it would look like an actual room with books and learning games. 

At this point I do have a few others who are motivated to work on this with me, and I feel pretty sure that we are at the point where I can ask for people who might want to partner in this as we start buying books and supplies.  Please send me an email if you are interested in becoming involved!  I know that God loves these kids and their families. He loves these moms who are desperately trying to better their lives and follow the Lord, and He loves these kids who want to learn even though everything seems to stand in their way.  I’m excited to see how He will provide for them!