July 2015

This month started out with an exciting opportunity for our Co-op.  There is a business here in León called Casa Albierta (Open House).  It is a little like a hostal, café, natural juice bar, swimming pool, organic garden, swap store, yoga class venue, and much more.  Through a friend, we were introduced to the owner, who is French (I believe) and we went to a meeting to discuss a ferria (fair) they were planning with some other organizations here in town. 

Veronica and I went to the meeting and only one other person was Nica, I was the only North American, everyone else seemed to be from either France, German or thereabouts.  Everyone spoke Spanish, albeit with some interesting accents!  The plans for the fair were coming along nicely.  There would be scheduled yoga classes to try, swimming classes to try, organic produce and herbs and honey to purchase, exhibitions (like circus acts that are taught by a guy who works with youth), etc.  Our ministry/Co-op will be given an area to sell our wares and to teach some simple techniques for handcrafts.  How fun!!!  The ferria will be the last Saturday in August.  The plans are for doing some good advertising at hostels, cafes, stores, etc., to get the word out about coming to experience all of these things.  Our ladies are hard at work making items to sell.  Whatever we have left will be a good inventory for our other sale venues.  We’ll see how well things go with this ferria.  The culture here is not as organized as other places and with all of the different cultural influences on the team, it will be fun to see it all come together.  Here’s hoping!

We cook by propane here.  Our tank usually lasts a few months, so we never really know when to expect it to go out.  Of course, it’s always in the middle of using it.  Then you just call the phone number on the tank and within about 15 minutes a guy shows up on a motorcycle (with a custom built box to haul the tank) and you are in business again.  It’s kind of funny sometimes, depending on what you are cooking at the time that the gas runs out.

I seem to always have multiple projects going on at the same time.  Usually, it’s not a problem.  But depending on scheduling, internet access, electricity service, and various other crazy things, it can get quite frustrating when trying to accomplish something.  My friend Kervin, who lives and works in California, is helping me with the ministry website.  It seems to be taking forever.  We have a timezone difference, as well as busy lives.  I’m not tech savvy at all and he tries to be very patient with me.  It has been months and we have still just a few more things to do to launch the site.  I’m ready to get it done and stop obsessing over it.  Lol

My friend Luis has offered to help tutor me with Spanish grammar.  Our schedules seem to be at odds every week, also.  There is always something coming up for each of us.  Of course, I’m not all that sad to miss grammar lessons….

Three teenagers from Rogers AR came for 3 weeks in July.  They spent about half of their time with us and the other half with the father of the 2 sisters.  It worked out well.  They were troopers about participating in the sewing and handcrafts classes, even though that is not their talent.  They also got the blessing (?) of cleaning all of our white plastic tables and chairs with bleach.  I’m sure that was not their favorite thing, but they worked all day long on it and I’m so thankful. They did put together a little drama and work on items needed for the children’s event that we did for a small church.  It was a lot of fun.  We got drenched in a thunderstorm at the end of the event.  We took taxis to the Chinese restaurant and got our bellies full of warm, yummy food before returning home to get dry and cozy for the night.

Some friends from the states donated some money to purchase a few sewing machines for eligible participants to receive the machine, use it in their home to make items to sell and then repay the loan (interest-free) on the machine.  The money will then be used to purchase a machine for another eligible person.  Anival, our instructor for making school uniforms, doesn’t have a machine at home.  He was the recipient of the first machine for this project.  He was smiling sooooo big when we went to the store and picked out his machine.  He kept saying thank you to me and thank you to God.  He is making and selling items from home to help support his family (in addition to his fulltime job).  He is paying off the machine by his hours of teaching twice a month.  It’s been a great opportunity for all of us.  I’m so happy to be a part of this.

Some old friends came by for visits one week:  Brian and Marcela, Alberto and Hubert, Hamilton, etc.  I love those drop in visits.

Since mosquitoes are so bad here and there are 4 major diseases from mosquitoes, the government sends fumigators around to do all the houses and businesses.  What this entails is a combination of diesel fuel and insecticide mixed and burned in what looks like a leaf blower or flame thrower.  It is nasty!  The smoke is horrendous and you can smell it for blocks.  I opt to not have it done here in the mission house.  We just use regular bug spray, which is bad enough, but at least it doesn’t leave the black residue of the diesel fuel. 

This month, when they came around we told them no.  That did not make them happy.  Even though the house was full of women for the classes, they stuck the nozzle towards the door and blew the smoke at the ladies.  Then they stuck the nozzle in the drainpipe at the street (this is where the rain drains from the house to outside) and blew smoke in.  There were 2 babies in the house at the time.  I was livid!  I chased the guy down the street yelling at him.  Sofi made me come back into the house.  The neighbors (who were all outside waiting for their houses to clear from the smoke) all thought I was crazy.  But I will not allow anyone to hurt the people in my house, especially baby Victoria!

Of course, I ended up getting one of the mosquito-born viruses.  I think it was retribution from the guys with the smokers.  But I really believe that I got the bites from being out in the brush where we held the kids event.  No one else at my house has gotten the virus.  Anyway, I think the smoker guys are a little wary of me now.

The rest of July was filled with me being very, very sick with the Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever virus from the mosquitoes.  Sofi and Veronica literally kept me alive and out of the nasty hospitals here.  The sickness went on for weeks and I have never been so sick.  One trip to a clinic that a fellow missionary uses, ended up with blood tests, an IV and meds for pain.  I had to quit taking my meds for high blood pressure because the virus was making my bp tank so drastically.  It was very scary for a while. 

Our used fridge went out for the 3^rd time in the last year, so my home church was very generous and provided us with a new one.  We are so thankful.  In the states we tend to take so many things for granted.  Here, we carry our thanks on every time we remember the blessing.  I like living in a condition of being more thankful.  And every time we open the fridge door, we are very thankful.  What a blessing!

I want to praise God that He is in control of all things.  He put me in the good hands of Sofi and Veronica during my illness.  He kept the ministry running smoothly with the teachers in charge.  I was able to hold a few meetings from my bed, but here that’s not as awkward as it sounds.  God is good, all the time.  Through every circumstance.  He is worthy to be praised and worshiped and honored!

June 2015

The ladies of the Creative Cooperative started having meetings.  Officers have been elected and work has begun on making items to sell in our first event at the end of August.  We are all very excited to see how this will go as a larger group.

Even though rainy season started in May, we have only had a couple days of rain so far.  Very unusual.  We need the rain so much.

We celebrated a few Saturdays by buying delicious nacatamales from Zenelia’s family.  They are sooooo scrumptious!  But so fattening!  This will have to be a special occasion thing from now on.

Sofi and I worked some on receipts for the ministry.  This is one of the least favorite jobs, but one of the most necessary ones.  We are hoping to get our system figured out so that we can keep up with this weekly.  We’ll see…

We had some meetings with potential new students.  It’s always exciting to meet new people and talk to current friends.  We have a husband and wife team who want to learn everything and start a little store of their own.  And how wonderful that they are good friends and we will get to spend time together every week!

Sofi saved up some of the money from her sales and we got the process completed for she and Victoria to receive their passports.  I wanted them to have possession of them for the future.  The process is much less complicated here in Nica and cheaper, too!  Now they can travel with me to Costa Rica for a visa run, and hopefully, travel to the states with me one day.  At any rate, they will have them in hand for their future.

While walking through the central market, I was carrying Victoria’s diaper bag on my shoulder.  Someone thought he would score stealing from a Gringo and unzipped the bag while I was walking and took the wallet out.  Unfortunately for him, it was Sofi’s wallet and didn’t have any money in it.  But it was sad for us that she had to go through the hassle of getting her cedula (like a ss card) renewed and she lost her receipts for school.  I was so mad at that guy.  I couldn’t go after him because Sofi and the baby were around the corner and I needed to find them.  Oh well.  I doubt he ever robs me again. 

Our Co-op of craftspeople has had many opportunities pop up at random times to make a little money.  We are awaiting the details to make the commissioned 40 school uniforms and 40 backpacks later this year.  Enia has had the chance to do some personal sewing for a friend of mine.  We can take on just about any job and someone from our group will be capable of accomplishing the task.  It’s fun for me to be able to assign paying jobs to the ladies!

Veronica and I spent some of the ministry money to buy supplies in bulk for the co-op.  We got lots of ribbon by the roll, zipper by the yard, yarn by the dozen, thread by the box, etc.  This way the ladies of the co-op can buy what they need from our stash and only have to pay the discounted price that we negotiated from the store.  It is cheaper for the ladies.  Once the money is paid back to the ministry, the co-op will purchase the future items with the percentage of sales that they are saving from each sale.  At some point in the future, the co-op will not be dependent on the ministry at all.  Yay!  A stand-alone Nica enterprise!

I love my early morning walks.  It’s hard sometimes to get everything done in the mornings before the classes start at 9am.  There are days when my stress-releiving walks cause more stress by trying to get back and get showered and dressed in time.  But I love being out when it’s not quite so hot and getting some exercise.  I also love getting to run into people on the street.  There is never enough time to visit with friends.

Sofi has been working hard on studying for her exams.  It’s really been difficult.  These review classes are intense, since they cover 2 years of high school at once.  And since she has not had the classes to begin with, the review doesn’t always help.  But she is determined to finish school (not at all expected here, especially since she has a baby) and keeps on moving forward.

Our friend Jasmina spent the week with us while working as a translator for a ministry here in León.  It’s always nice to see her.

We purchased a few more voltage regulators (surge protectors and backup for for when the voltage drops) for the house.  I got one especially for the computer and our cell phones and kindles.  Electronics don’t last long here and you can actually tell when the voltage is dipping by listening/watching the fans.  But I am very thankful for technology and want to protect it!

With the lack of rain for the most of 7 months, it’s been very dusty.  Sometimes, when they are plowing up the fields outside of town, the dust blows into town and we get it in our houses (since they are open).  At times the sky is brown/black with the dust and you can barely see down the street.  It’s horrible in the houses.  And people end up with sinus infections like crazy.  I’m very thankful that my doctor sends with me a Zpak to have on hand.  I usually only have to use it once a year, but it’s great to have it when I need it, like this month!

Sofi and Victoria have been able to visit her grandmother (mother’s mother) once or twice a month.  I’m thankful that they can reconnect.  Her family is very appreciative that I take care of Sofi and V.  They come by here to visit sometimes, too.

Since the floors are so dirty all of the time, we don’t put the babies down much, so they don’t learn to crawl like in the states.  We got a cheap, inflatable kiddie pool and blew it up and filled it with covers to make it soft on the bottom.  We put it on the big table in the dining/classroom and V gets to roll around and have fun while we are working at the table.  She has learned to roll over, sit up by herself and start crawling in that pool.  When she’s too big to hang out like that, it will be used as a regular pool for her to splash around in (outside).  And boy, does she love water!!!

Our friend Jalisa was back in Nica for a brief visit.  She came by to see Sofi and Victoria.  Sofi was at school, but V was happy to play.

We moved some stuff around in the different rooms to make things more efficient.  We need to make more classroom space.  Some times we have a small class and other times we are filling the 3 front rooms.  It’s fun to see women sitting in a circle of 8 rocking chairs crocheting and chatting.  I just love it!  We are thankful for our ladies and the fellowship we have together.

We are working on scheduling for more Bible Studies.  Finding a time that people can come consistently is very difficult here.  The studies need to be applicable to the attendance issues.  But there are so many nuggets of wonderful truth in God’s Word that each and every minute is valuable for sharing.

Life is hard here, compared to the US and a lot of the world.  It can wear you down fast.  But God is good and He is faithful and He is my strength and my Guide.  I love Him and want only to serve Him as best I can.  He is so worthy.  And I am blessed.

May 2015

May was another crazy busy month with many challenges and much joy. 

Since I was going to the states for a planned trip (Dr apts, med tests, personal business, taxes, etc.), we used the first part of the month being busy making items to sell in the states.  The ladies were making items to sell in their own names, which is the plan, but they surprised me by giving me some items they had made for me to sell to support the ministry.  I was so humbled and blessed by their gifts.  They make so little from the sales sometimes, but they wanted to give part of that back to the ministry.  How awesome is that to see them honoring God with their talents!

Our women missionary Bible study drew to a close for a few months.  The ladies wanted to keep meeting to pray for each other until the next study starts after ‘team season’.  We did that for a few weeks, but the responsibilities of being a missionary when people come down from the states overtook the ability to meet regularly for a few months.  But we keep in touch via facebook group and pray over each other and our families.

Sofi had some health issues and had some tests run.  She’s a little anemic and mostly overly tired and stressed.  Bless her heart, she is caring for the baby (with some part-time help for when she is in classes), helping take care of the house, helping with admin stuff for the ministry, going to class, etc.  She is feeling better after changing her routine to a more manageable pace.  We both have to pray for God’s guidance in not over committing.  And we watch over each other, too.  It’s funny to have her tell me to put the computer and my work away and rest.  But we are good for each other!

Jasmina came to stay for a week, while working as a translator for a medical team here in the area.  She is getting a good medical education!  We love having her here.  She calls me Mom.  I love having so many kids!

My 2 weeks in Rogers AR went by quickly and were jam-packed with appointments, meetings, meals, love and laughter and fun.  I was so blessed by so many people.  I got to go to both the English and Spanish church services at my home church’s old location.  I love that church group there.  I got the chance to buy on discount items for the ministry, go on a road trip with a friend to attend her grand-daughter’s college graduation, dog/house-sit, switch between 3 vehicles, juggle meetings, enjoy friends (and even fell asleep while sitting up talking) and just had a great time!!

Sofi and Victoria rode with our friend Eyner to pick me up at the airport.  I sure missed them both while in the states!  I called them every night.  It was so good to see them and hug them!  Victoria grew so much in 2 weeks! 

The day after I returned, the class had a small party for me and to celebrate mother’s day (which in Nica is on May 30).  It was fun.  Our fridge died and we borrowed a cooler from a friend for a few days.  Luckily, we had not had time to buy food, so we didn’t loose much from the fridge.  We got it fixed a few days later.  Appliances just don’t last long here for many reasons.

A friend gifted us with a carrier harness backpack kind of thing to haul Victoria around with us.  She loves it!  Sofi loves it!  We are so blessed with it!  We all can go on walks and run errands and go out to eat.  So much fun!

While in Rogers, I got to meet with a lawyer friend, who helped to file the papers to incorporate LGM as a legal non-profit.  Yay!  We are on our way to the 501©(3) status.  It will be a long, hard road, but it will be worth it and I’m thankful for the people God has brought along side the ministry to make it all happen.

It’s all for His Glory!  How wonderful that Jesus provides us with the gift of salvation and eternal life and that we also get to have an abundant life here serving Him!  He is awesome!

April 2015

Can you say HOT????   It’s the hottest month of the year in Nicaragua.   The end of ‘summer’, which is 6 months of no rain.  The air is soooo dry!  The breeze, when there is one, is like a fan blowing air from an oven over your body.  I like to freeze juice in a cup and eat it with a spoon on these afternoons.  Even the Nicaraguans are sweating!  LOL

We continued with classes, except for Holy Week, when everything closes down.  Sofi’s half sister from Managua came to visit for a week.  She’s 15 and thinks being with us will be exciting.  She soon (the first day) got incredibly bored.  Our life is centered around being a family with a new baby and our ministry.  She was expecting running the streets a lot.  I talked Sofi into letting me babysit one afternoon for them to go out to eat and to the movies.  Sofi and Scarleth inventoried the supplies in the sewing/craft classroom.  We cooked some special food.  They ran some errands.  Not too exciting for a teenager.  But it was nice to have her here.

Our missionary friends, the Heddings, hosted a bunch of us missionary families for a cook out at their house.  So fun.  There were kids running all over the place!  We got to see friends we don’t see often, and we made new friends.  Sofi noticed at one point that she was the only Nicaraguan there, but soon, our friends Jason and his Nica wife Issa came.  Sofi was the only one who noticed we were all Gringos.  We look at everyone being the same and love Nicas just the same as anyone else.  It was interesting to see this through her eyes.  We had lots of good food, played games and had fun.  Victoria was just a few months old, so it was fun to take her out.

Bismark, a friend I met years ago at one of the fabric stores, made a sign out of Styrofoam with the LGM logo on it.  It was a nice surprise.  I love how God brings friends along in different circumstances.  I’ve continued to buy fabric from Bismark for the last few years.  He gives me a good discount.  And I also stop in to say hi many morning with I’m on my daily walks.  He will do piece work for us by paining fabric for us to make into hats and bags and such. 

Well, I finally had a health issue here in Nica.  I have some bad molars that give me trouble.  They have very old fillings in them and the teeth are cracked.  I have babied them for many years.  One broke in two a few months back, and since it didn’t hurt, I ignored it, except for not eating on that side.  Well, it got infected down inside and I mentioned it to a friend.  She immediately called a dentist that goes to her church and before I knew it, I had an appointment for the next day to pull the tooth.  Ack!  I was nervous!  But I knew that I needed to get something done, so I prayed like crazy and went to the appointment.  The dentist was very sweet and spoke some English.  Her equipment was from the 1950’s, and she had to unplug one of the fans to plug in the xray machine, but she was sanitary and used clean gloves (not all dentists here do) and she went to work.  I HATE having dental work done, and having that done here is scary.  But God was faithful and got me through it.  I ended up having to go back in a few days to get more of the infection scraped out of the gum, and they about killed me with antibiotics, but the cost was only $7.50 (including the xray and meds in my jaw).  I made a new friend in Escarleth, my dentist.  I ended up having to go back a few weeks later when I broke another bad tooth and had another extraction.  That one cost me $8.00, since they had to numb it twice because it was taking so long.  I have to say, you can’t beat the price here!  And now I have less teeth, but the ones left seem to be in decent shape for now.  Thank you Lord!

April 20 is Sofi’s birthday.  Since we went all out on her babyshower in December, we were keeping Christmas and birthdays to a minimum this year.  We had some yummy treats during the morning class and then Sofi, Victoria and I went out to dinner on the following Saturday.  I gave Sofi a nice study Bible and she was so thankful.  She has a bi-lingual Bible for when she learns more English, but getting the study Bible was special for her.

We have said for a long time that we wish that the two tiny rooms in Sofi’s area of the house (towards the back and away from the hubbub of classes) were one bigger room.  All the other bedrooms in the house are bigger, but are not as private.  Then one day we just decided to knock out the adjoining wall.  We can do whatever we want to the house, and since there is no electricity in that wall, and it’s just cement block, we could tear it down for now and easily put it back in the future if the Landlord wants.  So, we hired Sofi’s half-brother, who does construction, to take on this project.  He gave us a good discount and got the work done in 2 days.  What a difference that made!  Now Sofi and Victoria have a nice sized room, where the air from the fans can actually circulate.  It feels three times bigger, not just doubled.  It has room for Sofi and Victoria to each have a bed and share the room for years to come (the custom here).  We were very thankful for this upgrade!

A fellow missionary, Sarah, has experience in starting opportunities in Uganda for women to learn to make things and sell them.  She has talked with me a lot about our ministry and our goals.  She is working with us on getting a co-op started with our ladies.  Sarah is very creative with design, and paints, but also, wants to learn to sew and do other things.  She fits right in with us!  We’re glad that God brought her along to share her talents.

One day I was sitting in the classrooms in the front part of the house.  I heard my name being called from the street.  (you keep your front doors open here until you go to bed)  I looked out and there was a friend from long ago walking around calling my name.  (Addresses here are more like directions, and our address translates to 1 ½ blocks from San Juan Park.  Of course, there are many houses that fit that description, so you go to the general area of that block and call on people.)  Anyway, it was Christopher  and his wife Evenling looking for me.  He was one of the first translators I met went I came to work with voh in March of 2010.  He was one fo the first kids to call me Mom, too.  I had not seen him and Eveling since their son was born 4 years ago.  They have been living and working in Managua.  What a wonderful surprise!  They are both lawyers here now.  He is teaching some English on the side and asked if I would help him with some resources.  It was soooo good to see them and he has stopped by many times since to visit.  I’m glad that God brought them back into my life.

We actually had a little rain on a couple of days in April.  It was unexpected and quite a joy!  However, our electric went out for a bit, which is not unusual, and we muddled through.  The hardest part about not having electric is to not have the fans.  But it came back on soon and the rain didn’t last long, but was refreshing.

All in all, April was a good month.  I love the ladies (and some guys) who come to classes.  I love getting to talk about Jesus.  I love to get to work with my ‘half of my orange’ Veronica (like 2 peas in a pod Nica style).  God is awesome and we are so blessed to serve Him.

March 2015

Another month of busyness and blessings!  Every week the classes are more and more fun as more people come to learn new things and get to hear about Jesus.

Along with regular everyday life, we had a few extra items going on.  Sometimes, I don’t know how God fits everything in.  I feel like such a slug at times, and other times, I’m so overwhelmed by what all is going on.  I have to remember to depend on God, who is the Master planner (and created time, by the way) and to get out of His way and be obedient to Him!

Our friend Cristhian was in the hospital for a few days.  As I’ve mentioned before, the health care here is awful and the hospital is the last place anyone would want to be!  You can for your patient yourself; food, meds, etc.  His father was with him part of the time, but he was alone most of the time, because his parents both work.  Sofi took some food and meds to him from us.  We called as often as we could to keep him company.  Thankfully, he was released after a few days.

A friend of a friend contacted me to bring some donated clothes to us to distribute.  We were very thankful, although, the clothes were very much picked over.  We salvaged a few things and then passed the rest on to those in bigger need.  We did get to bless some people with the suitcases, though.  These are used for keeping clothes in, since many people don’t have furniture for that kind of thing.  We were thankful that we could do what we could.

My friend, Freddy, came to me with a project.  He is currently recording medical terminology from a huge book.  He asked if I would help with the English recordings.  We try to find time to go to a little recording studio and pronounce the words.  I’m getting an education!  This is a long process over much time, but it’s fun and I got to meet some new friends who have blessed me!  I’m looking forward to continuing this project with Freddy!

A Gringa friend has a little baby, who uses a pack n play like us.  She asked if I could make a mosquitero (mosquito net cover) for her, similar to the one I made for Victoria’s stroller.  I know have the appropriate pattern prepared to make these.  Fun!

I had a meeting with another missionary about us providing sewing classes for some ladies in 2 barrios that his ministry works in.  We agreed to have a six week class for the leaders, and then they can teach the others.  I love getting to network with other missionaries.

Through yet another ministry, we taught classes to women in a special barrio for six weeks.  It was fun, but our time was really stretched.  We’ve realized that we need to stick to teaching classes here at the ministry house and inviting the others to join our scheduled classes.

There are 2 seasons in Nicaragua, summer (no rain) and winter (rainy).  March and April are the end of the summer season and it is very HOT and dusty!  When the sugar cane fields and peanut fields are harvested, it creates huge clouds of dust.  This blows into the city and wreaks havoc!  Since the houses are all open to the outside, we get covered in dust that is in the air.  Some days you cannot even see 10 feet in front of you.  We had a couple of really bad days in March.  We pretty much stayed in my private rooms (the most closed up) and slept there, ate there, watched movies, worked, etc)  So crazy!

My birthday was very low key this year.  I didn’t even tell anyone about it.  Sofi say it on facebook, and a few of our friends surprised me with food and a cake.  It was fun.  But I don’t see turning 58 as any big deal.  Now, I might have to celebrate turning 60 in a fun way, though! 

Sofi started classes to finish her last 2 years of highschool.  Since she has the baby, she cannot go to regular school.  The classes she attends are for review to pass exams.  They are very difficult.  But she is determined to finish her education and I applaud her for that!  It’s no big deal to just quit here, so I am proud of her ambition.

We were blessed to receive an old, industrial style, overlock sewing machine from the mother of a friend I met at the recording studio.  It used to be a treadle machine and someone stuck a motor on it.  It needs a complete overhaul, but Anibel, who teaches our advanced sewing classes (and is a tailor by trade) looked at it like it was a sports car!  We are very thankful and blessed to have it.  Once it is up and running (and we are trained on it), production is going to skyrocket!  Yay for the ladies!

I worked on 2014 taxes for hours and hours and hours.  Blah!  Not my favorite thing to do!  But a necessary evil in this world.

The most enjoyable thing to happen in March, was to have a visit from my ver special friend, Oliver Martinez!  He came down with a team to work with another ministry, and planned to spend his free day with me.  He is one of the board of directors for LGM and a very dear friend.  His visit was like a breath of fresh air!  I needed his prayers, encouragement and excitement so much!  He got to meet a lot of the people here at the ministry.  Even though it was not a regular class day, some of the people came over anyway to meet him.  He loved the ministry house and seeing how God planned for us to be here.  I took him around town and he had a few meals with us.  It was an amazing day!  He shared some of what God is doing in his life and we got to encourage each. 

God has been so good to us.  Ministry here is not easy, but it is such a blessing to get to be here and be used by God for His purposes.  Obeying and glorifying Him is all I want for my life.  I know I fall short in so many ways, but He is faithful to provide, equip, encourage and sustain.  He is awesome!

February 2015

February went by in a blur! 

Baby Victoria is growing and changing by the day.  Sofi is a great little mom.  Since I can’t hear her at night, Sofi texts me when she needs help.  She takes care of Victoria, and has only needed help with one feeding (before breastmilk came in), one trip to the bathroom and once to move the fan.  All of this was because of Sofi’s physical condition, which healed quickly over the first few weeks.

Aura, our temporary nanny, has been a blessing.  There are so many customs here and I just don’t have the time to try to change things to the ‘better way of the states’, so we follow many of the rituals for here.  This includes having to boil chamomile tea every morning to bathe the baby in.  Also, there are certain foods and drinks for Sofi to consume so that she will have sufficient milk and heal.  There is a list as long as my arm of weird stuff, and we have gotten past most of it.  I finally did put my foot down about Sofi’s diet.  It seems that she was only allowed to eat goat cheese and the middle of a tortilla and drink things made from seeds and weeds.  She was getting weak and I insisted on her eating veggies and fruits and some meat.  I was not popular with the older ladies, but they decided that the crazy gringa was in charge, so they followed through.  There is a belief that a new mother shouldn’t leave the house for 30-40 days after giving birth because she is so weak.  Also, she can’t read, write, cook, use a knife, pen, look at a computer screen (even though most people don’t have those), use her hands, etc., during that time.  Well, the reason that the mommas are so weak, is because they are not eating anything healthy!!!!  Sofi was strong and healthy within a few days of getting the balanced diet.  (the common belief around the house is that it wasn’t due to the changes insisted upon by the gringa, but because of all of the extra prayers of protection over Sofi and the baby because of me.  Lol)  Anyway, everyone is thriving!

The baby’s clothes are to be washed in the tea, also.  And NOTHING that touches the baby is to be dried in the sun!  Everything is hung out to dry here, but baby stuff cannot go in the sun.  It’s harmful for the baby.  Hum.  Also, if someone comes in from outside when the sun is strong, they are not to look at the baby, or the baby will become sick from the sun.  I have been made fun of for not believing this. 

There are many other things along these lines, but I won’t get into all of them.  I DO want to be respectful of customs, and I try to pick my battles (like NOT putting raw honey into the baby’s mouth), so we are learning to respect each other.  Sofi is getting good at looking things up on the internet for backup.  And she is learning that she can trust me and other North Americans.  I love learning more about taking care of this precious chicklet. 

Let’s see, what all has happened in Feburary…

We had some more fun guests drop by, both Nica and North American.  Jill and Robin brought me some stuff I had ordered on the internet and shipped to their house.  They loved getting to meet Victoria. 

Jeremy and Kelly dropped by to talk about us getting involved with a new English worship service at their church.  I’m praying about that.

We have been asked to teach some classes for some new mammas at a project for Compassion.  We held an introductory event for that and had a blast.  We’ll be going to that church and teaching for a few weeks.  I’m excited to see some new leaders come from that group.  And, of course, this is a sweet demographic for us, new mammas!

Sofi had the opportunity to cater 4 dinners for a group from the states.  She really enjoyed doing it.  Victoria was not quite 4 weeks old and I got to baby sit.  We timed the feedings (we don’t like to supplement with formula unless necessary) and we did fine.  The first night, Victoria didn’t wake up at all while momma was gone!  But we got to play the other nights. 

Our friends Maritza and Eddy (parents of our neighbor Jason) slept here one night and it was good to see them.  Maritza is here with her mother for a couple of months.  She had slept here for 2 months after we first moved in last year.  Sofi loves to have her around and she gave even more motherly advice to be assimilated.  Lol

Veronica and I went to Troilo for sewing classes for a couple of weeks, then the ladies decided to come into León (an all day endeavor) for the last few classes.  That saves me $30 transportation costs for each class.  Yay!  And it is so fun to have the women here in the house!

I had accidentally let my visa expire and went a week later to get an extension for another 3 months.  My lawyer friend Bernie and I took the microbus (15 passenger vans) to Managua because they are so cheap ($2.00 each way vs renting a vehicle for $60-100 per day).  However, I get very carsick and Bernie does too, a little, so we suffered a bit on the trip.  The immigration office in Managua (capital city) refused my extension request and gave me 5 days to leave the country.  I could come back of course, but it made it very inconvenient and costly!  I decided to go to Indiana to visit my family, since I had not seen them in over a year.  I had not met my latest great-niece, who had just turned 6 months old.  It was a very cold, but fun trip.

While in Indiana, I got to be snowed in, catch a stomach bug, spend one whole day prom dress shopping (which was so fun!), shop for ministry items and baby stuff, play with my great nephews and niece, and to remember what it is like to live in the snow.  I was cold the whole time I was there.  I am definitely acclimated to the warm weather now! 

Even though the trip was costly (thank you for friends who stepped up to cover the flight) and unexpected, it was just what I needed.  Our women’s Bible study is on Sabbath and margin.  God allowed me to live in His margin for my life.  If I would have known about the trip beforehand, I would have planned the heck out of it and not enjoyed it at all.  I felt like God was giving me the chance to just ‘breathe’ and enjoy the time of not ‘producing’.  He is in control and I praise His name!

Coming back, my flight was cancelled when Atlanta airport cancelled 450 flights due to a storm that wasn’t even there yet.  I got an extra day of relaxing with family and then flew home without too much craziness.  I did enjoy my time with family, though!

It was so great to get home.  I had missed my girls so much.  I couldn’t believe how much Victoria had changed in just a week.  She is even more beautiful!

There are lots of challenges and opportunities for the coming months and things just keep changing, but God is in control of all and I’m in it for the long haul.  I can’t wait to see what is next.  I pray that I live my life in surrender to Him in all things.  Little by little, I am learning how to do that. 

There is a lot of work to be done.  Continuing current classes, starting new classes, merchandising the ladies wares, preparing for visitors from the states to work with us, finding whom God has chosen for new partners, going through the 501©(3) process in the states, income taxes for me (all donations are taxable to me as income right now, thus, the reason to hurry up with the non-profit status), residency process (so I don’t have to fly out every three months), finish the website, get organized on communication (newsletters, thank yous, etc) and lots more.  BUT the most important thing is letting God lead me each and every moment in His way.  He’s got this.  I just need to let go and let Him show me what to do each day. 

He is so faithful.  I have enjoyed this journey of Living Grace Ministry, even during the really hard times.  I have grown so much and I am so thankful for each degree of getting closer to the Father and Provider.  He is amazing. 

Now… to get ready for March…

Presenting Princess Victoria Antonela

Presenting Princess Victoria Antonela Roque Altimirano

January 2015 also brought a very huge change to our lives.  An indescribable blessing!  We have a new ‘boss’ and she came to us weighing in at 6 pounds 3 ounces and making a huge presence in our lives!

God brought Sofia to us in February of 2014.  I had met her the year before, but didn’t really have much interaction with her.  She came to work for the ministry as a part-time housekeeper.  After just a day, God made it possible for her to move in to Living Grace House, too.  She lost her mother when she was young, and her father has not been a big presence in her life.  She has many half siblings, but no family that could provide her with a place to live once she became an older teenager.  God brought her to me and the ministry, and step by step, He has made us into a family.  There have been many ups and downs and challenges and blessings, but like all families, that grew us closer.  We didn’t know at the time what He was up to, but we have prayed a lot over the past year and watched Him work in our lives to prepare us for this time in our lives.

Sofi helps to take care of the house and is an excellent cook.  She is finishing highschool and wants to take some college classes in the future.  She is talented in handcrafts, and has been making items to sell to support herself and baby Victoria.  She also has studied pedicures/manicures and is planning on studying to become a beautician.  She was surprised by an unexpected pregnancy, which taught her a lot about choices and relying on God.  Through the experience, she came to put her faith in Christ as her Savior and Redeemer, and she wants to minister to other young girls, using her relationship with God as a resource. 

It took a lot of prayer and seeking for God’s will, but I know in my heart that He wants us as a family.  He gave me the opportunity to come before Him with choices of my past and let Him redeem me from those secrets.  All of this prepared me open my heart and my home to Sofi and baby Victoria with pure love, and know that the emotions of regret, fear, unforgiveness and shame had nothing to do with our new family.  What a healing time for me.  What a blessing to be able to minister to Sofia in God’s timing.  What an example of His unconditional love.  So… we are a family.

Baby Victoria was due the end of January or first part of February.  (the docs here gave her a large window of due dates)  However, on January 16, Sofi went for a dr appointment.  They were concerned about her blood pressure.  It wasn’t very high, but they could get a better reading at the hospital, so they sent her there for a check up.  Everything was fine, just a little elevated blood pressure.  They are VERY QUICK to do Cesarean Sections here, and wanted to do one then.  But Sofi said no, she wanted to wait.  We all agreed.  They kept her in the hospital all weekend trying to induce labor (she wasn’t ready) and trying to talk her into a C-section.  Finally, on Monday morning, she started into labor.  They were still trying to get her to do a C-section through the whole time.  Since she wasn’t dilating much, they cut her a lot to deliver the baby.  Victoria was born at 11:57am on Monday, January 19^th.  I was so excited!  The ladies in the hospital thought it was funny that this Gringa was crying.  Then they were told I am like the grandmother and they started congratulating me.  No one could be in with Sofi when she delivered, especially a gringa, so I prayed over her so much not to be afraid.  Momma and baby were both fine.

Now, let me explain about the (government) hospital in León.  It is NOT a place I want to go to, even when well.  I had visited it before many times for ministry and when Sofi was hospitalized at 7months pregnant with chikungunya.  It is filthy, I mean fitlthy!  There are roaches crawling all over the floors, walls, everything.  It is not sterile, the windows are open to the outside (if there are window panes at all).  Birds are even inside walking around.  It is hot and dirty and miserable.  The rooms are crowded, usually 5 or more beds to a room.  When Sofi was in labor, one night there were 12 pregnant women sharing 6 beds.  Crazy!  You bring your own sheets, pillows, gowns, etc.  Your family takes care of you, including bathroom trips, bringing food, going to buy medicine, etc.  Someone from your family usually stays overnight to swat the roaches and take care of your needs.  It broke my heart that Sofi had to be there for 4 days.  I could only visit at certain hours, but our friends Yamilet, Veronica and Estefanie helped with taking care of Sofi.  (they especially don’t want North Americans in the hospital seeing all of this, but they learned that I was just concerned about Sofi like a daughter.)

The first night of Victoria’s life, I spent the night at the hospital with Estefanie and we took care of Sofi and Victoria.  Since family is there helping the new mammas and babies, there are lots of people in the rooms, including daddies, who sometimes slept on the floor on top of cardboard.  The lights stay on all night.  It’s hot and nasty and buggy.  What a miserable night!  I thought about the horrible conditions of Jesus’ birth.  His life was a miracle of the most High God, and the conditions of His coming was even worse than here.  My, how our God loves us to go through that!

Anyway, the next day, Sofi and baby Victoria got to come home.  I left the hospital before them (our friend Veronica was with Sofi) to run to the store and get things ready at the house.  We sent our special taxi driver friend, Edwin, to pick them up.  When they arrived at the house I was soooo excited!  Victoria was wearing the special dress that Veronica had made for her homecoming.  (it was pink and white crochet with a matching hat and crocheted sandals!)  I hugged Edwin and he was happy to be a part of the event. 

We brought Victoria into her room and unwrapped her.  Sofi, Veronica, Aura, and Yamilet all surrounded her for prayer.  Even though I had been looking at this precious babe and taking her picture for the last 24 hours, it was like I saw her for the very first time.  I broke out in uncontrolled tears and couldn’t even talk.  I couldn’t believe that God had brought this precious person into my life and our home.  Veronica worded the prayer and we were all in tears, with me still sobbing.  It was so good to have Victoria home!

We took many pictures of her firsts… first diaper change at home, first time in her crib, first bath, etc.  I’m known for always taking a picture of everything that happens.  How fun to have her here.  Sofi was very sore from the extensive cutting and stitching, but was doing pretty well.  Having Aura (the temporary nanny) here helped a lot.  We began our journey of our new lives by all taking a very much needed nap!

Baby Victoria is such a blessing.  Sofi is learning how to be a mom.  I’m learning about newborns (even though I have helped care for many).  (It is a common belief that all North Americans have servants for everything… cooking, cleaning, childcare, everything… because we come here and hire people to help.  The main reason for hiring people is to give them JOBS, but it does make it hard for some people to believe that we are capable of taking care of ourselves or others.)  Not only have I not given birth, but I am a North American, so I was supervised with my first diaper change (they couldn’t believe that I knew how to change a diaper!), feeding, burping, etc.  And with the multitude of myths and wife’s tales here, my advice fell on deaf ears.  It has been very interesting being respectful of their customs and traditions while trying to be sensible and healthy with childcare.  But we are all doing well.

I know that God is going to do awesome things in Victoria’s life.  Sofi and I take very seriously our roles as caregivers.  Sofi has had to grow up into a maturing woman and it has been interesting to see how the difference in culture affects common experiences. 

God has been prompting me to prepare for a new part of the ministry, that of young ladies and especially young mammas.  Now I know why He was moving me in this direction.  May He be glorified through each and every experience that He brings our way.  He is the ultimate Father of us all.