On the Road Again

The Sea to Sea Nicaragua bike tour is HERE!
All the cycling participants from North America have arrived and now are enjoying some R&R time to prepare for the smooth effortless roads ahead of them...or maybe the roads won't be so effortless.

Thirty people - Nicaraguans, North Americans and North Americans living in Nicaragua are heading out to the East Coast to a town call Puerta Cabezas to begin this incredible bicycle tour across the country. We will be travelling from the North East corner down to the South West corner in 9 days. The first day begins on Monday, December 29 and end on Tuesday, January 6 at Gran Pacifica.

The purpose of this trip is to raise money to support the many families and farms that suffered the effects of Huricane Felix. Three organizations have worked to together to make this happen: Accion Medica Christiana, Canadian Food Grains Bank and Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. We do have a website for the tour www.bikenica.wordpress.com where you can find out more info on the purpose and goal, see who is riding and hopefully we will be able to post some updates along the way...so check it out!

Kevin already left this morning to drive out in an ambulance and a box truck with 3 Nicaraguans, so he gets extra opportunity to practice his Spanish! I am leaving tomorrow morning in a pick up truck along with a couple other people who will be a part of the support crew. Yes, that is right, neither Kevin or I are biking. We take the role of support very seriously.

Until next time...

A Forever Green Christmas

Before and After - The Hair Crisis

We were so distraught at what to do with his hair that we came to you - our supporters - because we figured you should have a say in the matter and because we trust you to look out for our well-being.

Here's the situation: Kevin didn't have his hair cut since before we left for Nicaragua and we were staying at his parent's place. With three months of growing it was looking pretty long. I didn't mind if it stayed long, as longer hair looks good on him, but I did want to cut it nice and trim for everyone who looks at him. But Kevin less so wanted me to trim it and would rather that I use the electric clippers to clean it right off...to which I was very much opposed. Hence, the reason we needed to come to you our trusted supporters.

Some of you were pretty adamant with your opinions about Kevin's hair, which we like to see. We had such a good turn out on the poll that we could say, yes, polls serve a good purpose. HOWEVER, there was a tie between long and short...so, we went back to his junior high days and gave him a mushroom cut...figured it would keep everyone happy.

and with a little styling, the new, more mature look is great!

...although, Kevin doesn't seem to think so.

So the battle was on once again between Kevin wanting it cut all of it off OR me making him look nice, trim and acceptable for those who look at him...

Needless to say, I'm the one with the clippers.
And Kevin's not looking too unhappy.

Thanks! I'm fun!

I had one of those dreaded experiences. The one where you quickly walk away and not look anyone in the eye. Yet deep down inside I was laughing at myself - because it was pretty funny.

Last week I was hanging out with the Bethel Edmonton CRC team that has had an unofficial church partnership with the communities of Chinandega for 6 years now. They are a very active church that is just plain excited about worshipping God through serving others and being with the people they have grown to love in Chinandega. I went with the famous Alma and the experienced Andrea. Both of them have led many, many teams to experience Nicaragua in it's beauty and pains as well encourage growth in the lives of many Christians. It was so good to learn from them this past week.

The team spent the week on the construction site, hanging out with kids and teaching women how to take care of themselves and their children. Along with that the team went into many homes to pray with families and share Christ's love. I had a few favourite times, one which included going to the community of El Limonel to hang out with the beautiful kids while the nurses spoke with the moms about health stuff. Maria Saeli (a missionary here) had a children's picture Bible with her that she let me use. So I held the book open and the kids excitedly chorused out the stories to me. They sure taught me a few things about sounding out words properly! Next we handed out colouring books and crayons while calling out "patience!" and "sit down!" I have never seen 65 kids so quite and content as those kids were colouring away on concrete picnic tables.

For me, this was a good time of reflection on my values, thoughts and beliefs and a time for me to step into my role of healthy church partnership facilitator. What does this all mean?? I enjoyed picking peoples brains and hearing what they all thought about the whole church partnership thing. I am excited to learn more and hopefully contribute in a meaningful way to this program. There are a couple more churches sending teams down in the new year that are leaning towards partnerships...including our home church!...so I am looking forward to working with them and the Nicaraguan communities they will be spending time with.

Soooo...about that dreaded experience...it also happened to be a part of a favourite experience I had. On the last day in Chinandega I had to go pick up an important document from the bus terminal. The pastor of the community said he would drive me back on his motor bike! I was pumped! I happened to not be dressed for the occasion as it was the only time I had donned a skirt the whole trip, BUT, that wasn't about to stop me and I hopped on the bike behind him. We zipped through the streets as I held on for dear life to the bike and to the envelope. Almost back to our destination I am prepping myself as to what I was going to say to the pastor. This was going to be good. The pastor being only a spanish speaker this was my opportunity to get a conversation going. We came to a stop, I hop off and say with a big smile "Gracias! Estoy divertido!" My grand exit... However, it didn't come out at all like I had prepped for. English = "Thanks! I am fun!" The pastor started laughing and I immediately realized what I said. I quickly turned around and booked it for the small house that was awaiting my arrival.

I shake my head.

To the Coast and Back

It's Sunday night and I have just returned from Chinendage where I spent the day with April and the team she is co-leading. It has also now been two days since I have returned from my 4 x 4 adventure to Puerto Cabezes and back.

For those who don't already know, on December 30 there will be a Sea to Sea bick ride in Nicaragua raising funds to support those severly still affected by Hurricane Felix of last year. Not to repeat too much of it I encourage you all to check out that blog at bikenica.wordpress.com . It is gearing up to be a fun adventure. One of the rewarding parts of being an organizer for this event is that I was able to go along with Dave Stienstra in a trip mapping out our stops and places of interest. This turned into an adventure of a lifetime. We had a Toyota Hilux 4 x 4 quad cab pickup that we booted over some of the worst roads I have seen, through rivers, around major sink holes in the highways, and through many little villages.

This was good in so many different ways. It allowed me a chance to get to know Dave, whom I will be working with rather closely while I am here at the Nehemiah Centre, but it also gave me the opportunity to speak a fair amount of Spanish, see God's beautiful creation and how he diversifies even the littliest of countries. This trip was for me a time to renew my mind and spirit in preparation for the times ahead working here in Managua.



Oh ya and by the way we also pulled a guy out of the mud with our truck, saw a bus topple over on the highway, and pulled our way across a river on a cable barge becuase the motor was broken. And for those who are interested it is a 12.5 hour trip (one way) with an average speed of 45 km/h due to the poor road conditions.

Cerro Negro

One Saturday we went ashboarding down a volcano, Cerro Negro, with some of the Dordt students that are here in Leon. We were just getting geared up for the rough winter ahead...

If you have ever been tobogganing down a snowy hill (that is "sled-riding" for my sister-in-law, Charity) then you have an idea of what it might be like to go ashboarding down a volcano...with a few exceptions.

Well, first of all this volcano is HUGE - at 400 mteres you can hit speeds of up to 70 km/hr down this thing; secondly when you fall, it's not a soft landing. When you go sled-riding you wear a snowsuit because it's cold. When you go ashboarding you wear an orange prison-like jumpsuit to protect your body from the volcanic rock if you fall off the board. A bit different.

The view from the top is absolutely gorgeous and although it was quite the trip I am not sure I want to climb up that thing again, at least not lugging a big ash board with me.

Welcome to Managua

~~ some friends we made in Leon ~~

After two months of living in Leon studying Spanish and exploring the culture we now find ourselves in Managua. I remember thinking that spending two months on our own in an unfamiliar city would take forever, not thinking it would ever end. However, the time has moved fast; we have said goodbye to our adopted family in Leon and are back in the capital city.

I would be lying to say that we feel we have mastered enough of the Spanish language to leave the school in Leon, but our time has come to start working and learning together. We will just need more self discipline as we teach ourselves with the literature given to us by the school and seek out opportunities to use and grow our speaking and listening abilities. Kinda scary to think that we won't have our teachers anymore though. They were the ones that gave us time to talk slowly, listened to our broken Spanish with a big smile and told us we were doing really good. Now we see blank stares, hear incredibly fast Spanish out on the streets and in the stores. Still really hoping for a few Nica's to come along and help tutor us here, I think that would be an awesome way to learn - Coffee and Conversation. Now it isn't that we can't say anything in fact today we went with a guy, who is working at Nicaragua Christian Academy, and did some translating for him at a local hard ware store and while we were out for lunch! That is right WE did the translating!

For the next three weeks we will be staying at Pastor Ricardo's house (the 2007 Faith CRC Nica. Team should remember this place). It is a beautiful home, family, property and we could not have asked for more. In addition to this awesome home we have been able to enjoy some great conversation with Darryl, a former Missionary with CRWRC who is here teaching a development course. He seems to be the guru on Community development and a founding father of the Nehemiah Centre - a great resource and a wealth of knowledge to which we are taking full advantage of.

Work will be kicking into full swing for both April and I come Monday morning. Early Monday morning I along with Dave S. (CRWM missionary) will be doing a dry run of the sea to sea bike race in a pick up truck in order to map out possible problems, accommodation spots, and other points of interest. It should be an adventurous time! April will be in the office for the first week of work, prepping for her trip with a service and learning team up to Chinendaga.

The weather here remains the same, hot and beginning to be quite dusty. I can't wait for the cool 30 degree weather that December is supposed to bring!!! It's a little odd to think that it is the middle of November. It has been quite different seeing Christmas trees and decorations being sold in 36 degree weather. Some people have been saying that Christmas is beautiful here in Nicaragua, and that I don't doubt, not at all. What I do doubt is that it will be able to replace my memories of the time of year. Last week for some reason I was listening to a Third Day Christmas song, within a few moments I was picturing myself at home wearing a sweater with a hot chocolate in hand staring at the snow fall in the street light...this year I guess it will be my Speedo I am wearing with an ice cold Fanta in hand, watching blue skies.

A Typical Trip to School

We must apologize for the delay in this long awaited video blog. Our intention for this video was so that everyone could experience along with us a typical walk to school in Leon. The thing is we are leaving Leon tomorrow to begin our work with the Nehemiah Center. However, we figured that you can still experience with us a little bit of what the past couple months has been like. It is a tad long but most enjoyable...

Nuestra Casa

Si, this is our house. We have been living here for the past 6.5 weeks and are happy to call it home. In less than two weeks we will have to say goodbye to our wonderfully loving family here. We have built such a great relationship with them, especially our "mom". We have many touching stories to remember and definitely many funny experiences.

We will miss saying goodbye to Don Domingo in the morning and saying hi to him when we return for lunch. And for some reason he always up and says good night to us when we go to bed. Ernesto always has a joke or two for us and Alan is very eager to share sports stats with Kevin. And then there is Camila, beautiful little girl who is energetic and happy and very willing to tell everyone exactly what she thinks. Mom always sits down with us at dinner to chat with us for at least half an hour about our day, what's going to happen, about her family, about Nicaragua or just the world in general. She is a very passionate woman and always ready to laugh, but also willing to share with us the truth of life in Nicaragua.

In the next little bit we hope to get a photo of the whole family up soon so you can see exactly who has been touching our lives here everyday.

Once, Twice, Three times a...

As of today we have two weeks left of our spanish classes and therefore must be able to speak perfect spanish...okay not really, but that is what sometimes goes through our heads.

Since our work with the Nehemiah Center will heavily involve the language, are we a bit loco to think that two months of lessons will be enough? In part, probably, but we are starting to notice that there are certain things that a teacher cannot teach you in the classroom (sorry to our teacher sisters) that life and 'real' conversations will. Most of it comes down to practice, practice, practice...and that includes making mistakes - a lot of them.

My favourite experience (which happens often) is when I am into a conversation that I started and everything is going well. Suddenly the other person says something that I have NO CLUE about. So I calmly ask them to repeat themselves. Hmmmm...no. And one more time. Hmmmm...no. OK, now I start throwing out other possible Spanish words that they would have possibly meant, afterall, I just was in Spanish class and I should know what they were trying to say. Hmmmmm...OK, that was a definite no. I start getting skittish, and I am not about to let this one go, I need to learn this language. I glance around me. Where on earth is Kevin?? He always knows everything. His brain just soaks it in and he memorizes everything. No Kevin. I feel the heat come over me and I try one more time to understand this smiling, sweet person who is trying their hardest to be understood by me. Nope. This time certainly didn't work. So I laugh, shrug my shoulders and go on my way. All the while repeating in my head what they said. I finally find Kevin and tell him what the person says and he laughs and says "you know that. Come on it means 'this'. And suddenly the whole world makes sense again to me. I did know what that meant. Now I feel like going back to that person and explaining everything to them, but with my lack of Spanish, that could only make the whole world even messier.

If only that experience could happen just once I would still have my pride intact. But that's not a part of this process. Pride has nothing to do with it. Maybe at some point the fourth time will be the charm...

La Guitarra Latino

Last week was a very rainy week - as Kevin said in the last blog we had 3 days straight of rain - so the cultural activites that we participated in had to be indoors. We have had a few salsa dance classes since we have been here...ahem. And now a couple guitar lessons.
This video is of our first guitar lesson with one of our profesors. The guy, our teacher, is amazing. As you will see I have never played a guitar in my life and enjoyed every second of it and Kevin is just learning the Nicaraguan way of strumming away.

Nicaraguan Thanksgiving

This past weekend (Canadian Thanksgiving weekend) April and I traveled back to Managua for some relaxation and a good ole Turkey dinner! On Friday we were given the address of the home we were going to stay at for the weekend (the same place we started our trip at). That was about it, we were on our own after that with only the advice of “Make sure you take a micro-bus and not a full size one!”. Weŕe actually impressed that with our limited Spanish and the written instructions we were able to – 1. take a taxi from our house to the bus terminal, 2. find a micro-bus headed for Managua, 3. make sure we got off the bus at the right place in Managua, 4. grab a taxi to bring us to our home, and 5. convince the guard at the house that the regular house sitter said we could spend the weekend there. After a trip to store where we bought some peanut butter and whole wheat bread we finished the day with a movie and some sandwiches.

We continued our impressive string of communication with taxi drivers and got ourselves to Esperanza Cafe for lunch and some internet time. That is where our string of ¨luck¨ ran out. First my credit card wasn't accepted so we had to part with the last of our cash. Then walking in the drizzling rain we couldn't find an ATM that would accept my debit card until we had walked a couple km's on one of the busiest roads. Then with money in hand we some how couldn't find a taxi that wasn't already full. Along the way it began to downpour and we took cover under someone's patio area. This was about the last straw with me and well me being me decided that we should just walk home. Now we were walking up a huge hill (think of the escarpment access roads in Hamilton, ON) and its getting dark. No sidewalks just shoulders. Luckily for me I married a smart woman who calmly said we should stop; no sooner did we stop and an empty cab came to take us back to where we were staying.

Finally Thanksgiving Sunday! Steve Holtrop and fam picked April and I up and off we went for the festivities. About 30 Canadian teachers and missionaries had come together at one of there homes. It was a true blessing from God to gather like that. Everyone brought an item for the feast – a Full Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings and desserts. All except buns, you see the day before when we were in the rain with no money trying to find a cab, we were supposed to have bought rolls and butter. We made a judgement call and decided that getting home safely was the first priority with rolls a close second. That afternoon we got to see first hand how amazing the support community was for missionaries like us and felt safe and welcomed.

To be honest it was a hard weekend. I think it took an event or Holiday such as Thanksgiving to drive home how real this is, how far away we are from friends and family. We feel like the rookies or newbies here in Nicaragua, just trying to see where we fit in. Its an akward feeling, like that first day at your new job, or school. All part of this on going “stretching” process.

Thought you might want to know some Fun Facts that we have gathered along the way:

• The rain has not stopped for almost 3 days.
• 1 – times we both have been sick
• 0 – days we haven't had rice and beans while in Leon.
• 100 – times we almost have been hit by a car, bike, autobus, etc.
• Driving your pick up truck around town with 5 foot speaker stacks blaring hip hop or salsa music is accepted and encouraged.

Trip to the Beach

A couple days after we arrived in Nicaragua we ventured out on a bus to the beach with the instructions "just get on the bus and it will bring you to the beach"...in Spanish. Enjoy our first attempt at posting a video.

Leon On a Bike

It’s been over week since we last posted and we have received some threatening emails from a certain friend that thinks we need to post more often. So here you go...
After a long Spanish exam, a filling rice and beans lunch and a reviving nap, Kevin and I headed out on mountain bikes with David, the school director, and another Spanish teacher. At first we were kind of nervous about what it would be like navigating through busy Leon streets, but we’re still alive so I don’t think it was too bad. On top of that it has been about a year since we have been on bikes and we weren’t sure if we would be able to keep up to David, a former 3 time Nicaraguan mountain bike national champion...(his brother is currently the reigning champion and Kevin got to use his bike designed for clip in bike shoes, needless to say Kevin didn’t have those nifty shoes).
Anywho, David took us to the outskirts of the current Leon to see where the original colonial city of Leon existed until the revolutionary war against the Somoza dictatorship. During the war Somoza destroyed the city with canons and guns forcing the city to rebuild at its current location. There are many legendary tails of the old colonial city even that of buried treasure and a loaded Spanish man that protected his wealth riding through the city on his white horse, killing all those who stood in his way.
There is a stark contrast between the rich and poor of Leon. Until yesterday we were in a bubble living among the lower to lower middle class Nicaraguans, then to cycle through the streets on the outskirts of Leon where the rich have built their sanctuaries, it was a jolt into reality. Some of these homes could rival the beautiful homes on the lakeshore in Burlington/Oakville. Then on the other side of a wall is a community of people who do not live in concrete homes, who do not have tile floors, who do not have iron fences.
The other Spanish teacher cycling with us is involved in a community program that works to sustain the social/educational aspect of children to give them support, supplies and hope as they grow up. We were welcomed into one of the homes to meet a family who designs and creates children’s toys among other items and travels to surrounding towns to sell them in the marketplace. I was riveted by the experiences of this family and the lives that so many Nicaraguans live.
We ended our excursion with a jaunt on the Pan-American Highway and entering back into the busy, central core of Leon cycling down streets we had not yet walked, but now plan to in the next few days. Every day we find out something new. Every day we explore a new place and try to talk to new people...although our Spanish is still excruciatingly limited. Hmmmm...today sounds like a good day to find someone else to suffer at the other end of our conversation.

First Impressions

Tuesday, September 23

Spanish is tough slugging. It's only been two days, I know, but it feels like two weeks, or two months at times.

Our time here has been amazing though.

To say that I love the culture wouldn’t be correct, because really when it comes down to it I don’t even know the culture yet. This is what I know so far of the culture: 1) on buses if we think they are full – they are not, there is still enough room for more people and you just might end up holding someone elses baby. 2) there is no personal space. 3) if you want to be first in line, then you are the one that has to make the move, because no one else is going to step aside to let you in for your ”turn”. 4) People make eye contact on the street – and it’s okay! 5) Our host mom already wants me to become “la gorda” – ummm, fat. I guess that’s good thing because that means I’m not right now! However, according to her, Kevin will not...lucky guy. And she just laughs as she says it because she would love me for it! 6) Sports transcends all languages – talking about it that is. Last night I witnessed Kevin have the longest conversation ever in Spanish, with our house brother...one would name off a sport and the other a team and there would be grunts or “yaaas” or “siiiis”. And then there would be a list of athletes’ names and more grunts and siiis. Then one of them would bring up another team and they would go all over again. Then another sport would be brought up and they would go through the same sequence of groans and shouts and siiiis...and here I would always tease Kevin for being thoroughly knowledgeable in the sports department, I guess I just ate my words.
“God save the queen” is blasting right now, “We are the champions” was just on...oh, now it’s the Village People and they are shouting along with it! I love these vibrant people!

Kevin has his own blog post that is up so I won’t steal away any of his juicy tidbits. Adios!

Hace Mucho Calor!

Tuesday, September 23

I am sitting here in our room after a much needed nap. Naps seem to be a regular part of our days here. Between the sun, the walking around town (as we have no vehicle), and learning a new language our bodies just shut down at certain hours of the day. Right now as I type away April is taken a longer sleep, a smart thing to do during the hottest part of the day. Another reason for the rest is to prepare us for the festival tonight! Actually if you ask me here in Leon they have a party or fiesta everyday! There is always something to celebrate, independence from just about anyone is reason to celebrate in addition to all the Catholic celebrations they obersve. Most evenings and morning you can here fireworks of some sort firing off in the distance or what seems like in your own room. The Nica's (NEE-ca-s) here in Leon love to party, which for the most part means eating, and driving or walking around town shouting something or waving flags around.
This week marks the first week of actual Spanish classes. We are figuring out quite quickly how little Spanish we in fact do know in a short time. We are being tutored one on one for these four hour long classes, quite daunting as you yourself much answer every question thrown out there. However, it is a great feeling and sense of accomplishment to just begin diving into this task of learning Spanish. A huge thank you goes out to Lena our profesora back in Canada! Your lessons formed a good foundation and familiarity to go into these sessions with.
We really feel God again paving the way for us with these classes. April and I have been paired up with profesora's that teach with the exact style that suits us best. Lucky for me that means I have the hard nosed abosolutely no english profesora! Yes, go me!
Oh and just for eveyones information la Playa is muy bonita y la mar es muy fresca!!!
Muchos Gracias por las oraciónes!
k&a

Settled in Leon

We have finally made it to the long talked about city of Leon. It is a colonial city with much character and a hometown feel. Our homestay family is so warm and welcoming, already trying to teach us Spanish! We had a wonderful rice, beef and plantain dinner just before venturing out to visit the city. And now we happened upon this internet cafe right around the corner.

Once we can get our previous blogs posted, which are saved on our computer, you can read up on our travels and first few days here.

Even though the days have been long and overwhelming we are very excited to see what God has in store for us. Thank you to all for your prayers, emails and telling us about what we have already missed from home this past week.

Our First Glance

We are here! Its been a little bit of a whirl wind since we have arrived, so I write this a little scatter brained. Our flights here on Tuesday were went really well. There was a little bit of an issue with checking into our flight at Toronto however, due to some computer system crash, but otherwise it was smooth flying. We flew into Houston early, still not enough time to go scope out President Bush who was in town that day, so we settled to fly from Houston to Managua with the newly crowned nicarguan world champion boxer.

Steve Holtrop picked us up at the airport and drove us to the home we were staying at for a few nights. Its a beautiful condo rented out by missionairies who are currently home for three months. We went to the Nehemiah Centre Wednesday morning for a 7:30 am meeting! Not just any meeting but a round table discussion with all Nicaragua NGO representatives about the current political / cultural context issues and historical patterns found in government parties. Right up my alley but a little heavy of a topic for two sleep deprived missionaires. The rest of the day hot humid day consisted of staff orientation, and discussion about our future place of residence after our time in Leon.

So here we are Thursday morning, having been allowed to sleep in and take it easy for the day. It has been a good time to reflect and look back at this the beginning of our time here in Nicaragua and to once again see the safety and strength that God has provided for us this far.

Kevin (and April)

Ready to Go

There have been a lot of good byes the past week or so...we are ready to go now. Not completely packed yet, but ready to go.
Our commissioning was last Sunday which was an overwhelming event of support and sending from our church family - we are so blessed - and we know that in God's power we are ready to go.
We spent a relaxing week at my (april's) parent's place, getting a lot of little and some big things done. What I would do without mom sewing up the bottom of a pair of pants, I have no idea; she is a whiz at those things. I never know whether or not spending time with family is a good or bad thing...it just makes us miss them more when we're away. We are so blessed with such wonderful, loving, supportive family.
Now this weekend we are doing more little things that we are realizing that we should have done while were away this past week. But we also we are able to spend time with Kevin's family for Halie's first birthday...we'd post the video of Halie stuffing her face with cake, but it's way too long!
So, provided that Ike is all cleaned up and things are clear, we are ready to go for Tuesday afternoon from Toronto with a layover in Houston.