Day 10 - Home

Very short post to end this trip.  (hey team, feel free to add comments to the post!)

4am wake up call.  The guys all gather in the hotel lobby for 4:15am.  The girls are nowhere to be seen..  Emran goes to their room to see what's up... they're asleep.  They said no phone call was heard.  The hotel said they called and even sent someone.  Who knows... they were up. 

We left for the airport at about 5:15am.  Checked in and went through security.  MEMO TO SELF: When flying wear warmer than expected clothes.  I was freezing!  Being a bit sick and having air conditioning blasting while you are in weather made for 30 Celsius is NOT a good idea.  Flight was 7:45am.  There was more shopping and other happenings.  Kat and Izzy managed to bargain in the airport shops - buying some fantastic shot glasses for souvenirs.  On board an uneventful flight - just at the 2 hours mark - 20 minutes early.  I think we mostly slept (I did!).

4 hour layover in Miami.  The funny thing is that you must recheck baggage in Miami.  (Guess they don't trust the previous inspection).  So we collect our bags, and check them again.  (it's very confusing there... we almost got sent to the wrong location!)  we have to go through security again...

Then we wait... we get food, explore the terminal, wait... finally we get on the flight.  4:45pm.  2.5 hours to home.  I manage to sleep some more - still not feeling great.  Kat's still coughing... Emran is developing a fever (I found this out at the end of the flight).  Felt like a really long flight.  We're all tired and just ready to get home.  Arrive at about 7:30pm.  Clear customs and we're out.  Yay!  Izzy's mom meets her at the airport, and so does Emran's mother.  The rest of us - Kat and Vern and picked up by Vern's parents... Jeremy, Rebecca and I head to the airport parking lot to find my truck. 

Prayer items:
Kat still has her cough and an eye infection.
Emran has developed a fever - as of Monday, his mother took him to the hospital as it became worse
Rebecca - sore throat has returned
Vern - has some weird bite on his hand that may be infected (he got some cream.. wait and see...)
Kevin - was sick, but am feeling much better. Thanks for your prayers

And we're all tired I'm sure.  Continue in prayer for strength and for cultural reintegration for us all.

that's the trip!  Ask us for more details when you see us!

Nic7 team.

Day 9 - Back to Managua

Day 9 - up at 5am to get to the airport.  Here we go. It's time to go home.

Pastor Ed & Ligia have been extremely hospitable and gracious to us.  It is hard to say goodbye to people who are now friends and we have shared so much with. But it is time to return home to family in Canada. 

Flights are a bit strange here in Nicaragua.  Our ticket says the flight is at 7am.  We call and they say, it might be or it might be later.  The problem is that the plane goes from Managua to Bluefields and then on to Cane Island.  Here's the problem. If no one is on the plane to go to Cane Island, it returns to Managua.  That's our 7am flight.  If there are passengers then it goes to Cane Island and then returns to Bluefields - that's our 8am flight.  Of course if you show late and it does the first, you have to wait another couple of hours to the next flight.  So best to be safe and just wait in the airport.

The first flight comes and goes and then returns.  By now it is almost 9am.  Not too bad - we aren't in any real rush.  It was great to see Humberto waiting - we went out to the plane and he was still standing there waving goodbye.  He waited until the plane was well off in the distance before leaving.  Thanks Humberto!

We arrived in Managua and was met by LaRue.  Things were all set.  We went to the hotel, checked in and then went for a drive to Granada.  Had a few things to do there.  A bit of mild culture reintegration before heading back to Canada.  Managua is a big city and helps you feel back in the civilization mode.  Granada is like a small spanish town.  Cobble streets, colourful houses and store fronts.  Very friendly looking like a city in Spain, or some Caribbean ports.  We had lunch (where again?) and then headed out for a boat tour of the islands.

We arrived at what seemed to be a "national park" where you had to pay admission to get in ($2 for the van).  We headed to the tour operators for the boat tour.  Nice gentle ride (Panga boat again... but no explosions this time!)  We toured the various islands and saw many grand homes out there.  One small island had a few monkeys on it - the monkey hopped on board.  We tried to feed him a banana... he threw it overboard.  His paws are quite soft (he crawled over me a few time) but he really just wanted to pose for the other boats.  Sorry, I should have said SHE.  Her name was Lucy. 

We then returned to the van and headed back to Managua.  We figured we'd save the market until we got back.  Unfortunately the van broke down part way back - coolant leak :(  what was supposed to be 1 hr drive became about 4 hrs.  The van wouldn't start on it's own and had to either be pushed or rolled.  Water was continually being added.  I normally don't get car sick but this time I was!  Whether the various fumes or bumpy ride or just all of it, I felt sick (and didn't get better until Monday!)

we returned and made it to the market just in time for closing.  Emran bought lots of stuff... this one little boy kept following us around trying to sell us a ring.  In the end someone gave him 10 Cordovas (about 50cents) and he left (and this was while we were already back in the van leaving!)

Our ride back to the hotel was again plagued with ill travels - a friend of theirs came in a pickup truck.  We went as far as possible in the van and then at one point it was the end of the line - everyone in the truck.  oh well.  We finally made it back to the hotel.  The team gathered for dinner (while I crashed in the room still feeling ill). 

Time to sleep and another 4am wake up call for Sunday morning...

Day 8 - last day in Bluefields

1 John 3:18 (New International Version, ©2011)

"Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth."

If I was to choose one verse to represent the week, this is the one.  We did not come on a mission of conversion but a mission of assistance and aid.  A humanitarian mission - one filled with many relationships and love from our team to the people of Nicaragua - and we received as much and more back in return.  As I sit here and type this I am cognizant of the fact that it is our last day here.  It is now evening.  One team member is sitting on the couch hugging a new friend; the team is out on the sidewalk talking with a few people we have met and worked with this week.  It is amazing how you can build so many friendships in such a short time.  They have taught us much about their culture and way of life.  The little children have touched us in special ways - their innocence and smiles can always bring out a smile from all of us. We will miss the people and their culture, the scenery and culture.  It will be good to return home as well.  

Today we had a slightly different schedule because it was our last day.  Kevin & Vern were staying at the school, while the rest of the team would go straight to the feeding program at the church.  It was like we were two teams - so we spent the last few hours in the places we spent the most time throughout the week. 

Breakfast - a lovely breakfast from Frank.  It was our last served meal with Frank.  He has been a great chef for us.  He was emotional as was his assistant.  They enjoy serving the teams who come.  He asked for a picture of us so that he could put it in his scrapbook.  He made us a lunch as well - the last meal he made for us.  (But we also know that he made us some more bread pudding, pumpkin pie and we still had some chocolate chip cookies)

We packed the truck to return the computer and various pieces of equipment to the school.  Tools to make computer wire, the office computer and all the spare parts we brought so they can fix any problems that will arise.  We all crammed into the truck and headed out around 9am.  First stop: Verbo school.  We dropped off the computer equipment.  The team stopped briefly to say bye to kids and purchase T-shirts from the school.  The team loaded up and went off to the church. Many hugs with kids all around.  They knew we were leaving soon; they knew this was our last day.   I did some last minute training with Johnny who will be taking over the computer role when we leave.  

The kids were all leaving early.  We (Kevin & Vern) played with many kids for one last time.  The kids were being dismissed early because the teachers had planned a celebration in honour of the team.  Can you imagine at home if the teachers had a special program planned and dismissed kids early?  That wouldn't happen!  Here, everything seemed as if it had been planned long before.  The teachers had festivities planned for us.  Unfortunately it was only Vern and I - the rest of the team wanted to be with the kids at the feeding program, with whom they had spent the most time with.

It was a fun little party.  Great in spirit and enthusiasm.  They had made a pinata for us (when was the last time a bunch of adults did a pinata game?  That was great).  We did a balloon race - two lines, and you had to break as many balloons as possible.  Run from one end to the other; put the balloon on the chair and sit on it to break it.  Lots of noise and laughter :)  The teachers had a few special elements prepared for us.  One was a song dedicated to us.  Another wrote a poem and presented it with a white rose (made of paper).  We did the pinata game and then had some food.  The teachers presented us each with Verbo t-shirts.  We were so glad to have been able to support them as partners in the creation of their first (and possibly THE first computer lab) in Bluefields.  (many schools seem to have the "One Laptop Per Child" program, but I don't think there are any IBM compatible machines similar to what business would use).  The great thing is that Verbo will be able to grant credits towards graduation that will also apply to students going to College/University!  That is a great benefit!!

To help other teams know what we have done and ideas for the future, we have created a WIKI for the school.  http://verboschoolbluefields.wikispaces.com.  The hope is that other teams will know what we started and how they can build on it.  They can add to the wiki and inform other teams where to grow next.  The school and church can let us know through the WIKI what projects are going on and what their needs are.  We remember that we are here to SERVE others, and not tell them what to do.  We want to always remember to do things in partnership with one another.  We hope this can be a central point to orient our efforts together.

We then returned to the church.  The feeding program was just starting. The kids have remembered to bring their plates.  The team collects the plates in rows and then the food is distributed.  The trays are brought up to the kids and they identify their plate. They have an amazing way of remembering their plate - they take only theirs.  They know to take only theirs and no one else's.  Today's activity was called "God's Little Helper" based on Ps 117:8.  They were each given a reusable shopping bag (came in many bright colours - blue, red, pink).  They would put their hands on the bag and we (or they) would trace their hands to show two hands on the bag.  We hope the bags are useful to them at home.  As with scarcity, many kids came to try and get 2 or more bags.  They said they didn't have one - but others recognized they did.  We wanted to ensure that everyone at least had one.  We did have some extras and we distributed them afterwards.

One little girl was very affectionate to everyone.  She must have been about 3 or 4 years of age.  She came right up to me and hugged me.  She just wanted to be held and loved.  We all walked out into the community and walked a few kids home.  It was eye opening to walk into their communities near the church.  Areas that cars cannot get to.  This one little girl lived up a hill and took us about 15 minutes to walk there.   No roads, but the city had built sidewalks.  Even these sidewalks were crumbling in areas.  We walked past the gravel pits where people would smash rocks into smaller rocks for construction.  Many small homes - just one simple room, elevated off the ground.  I asked Frank (the chef, remember?) about how can people make homes or have property.  There is no specific setup or regulation.  Basically you find a spot and build your house.  The government is trying to organize something but I am sure it will take a very long time, and in these areas it may never happen.  I hope you can get a sense of the level of need through the pictures here.

After a long walk, having walked several children home and seeing their simple homes, we returned to the church for lunch.  We rested and took it easy.  Shortly we got back into the truck and returned home.  At 3pm, we loaded up for a trip to the Bluffs.  This is an island that one side faces Bluefields and the other the Atlantic Ocean.  Normally a calm and nice beach but today very choppy and high waves.  Perhaps because the moon is the closest to the earth (on Saturday) therefore causing more waves to be generated.  It was a nice time swimming in the ocean, walking on the beach and just having some fun.  

There was some excitement this trip at the beach.  On the way from Bluefields to The Bluffs we took a panga boat (basically a large "regular" boat with seating in rows for about 15-20 people).  Very choppy ride out to the Bluffs.  En Route we smelt some gasoline.  Somehow some gasoline spilled at the back of the boat, splashing a few people back there.  This is an example of God protecting us.  When we smelled the gasoline, Kat said she actually prayed, asking God to keep us safe.  Well he did.  Everyone was safe.  We arrived at the island and walked 30 seconds to the beach.  We were in the water when we saw smoke.  The boat driver was calling and waving trying to get help.  Apparently the wires connecting the battery and engine were a bit frayed and sparked.  This sparked a fire on the boat which quickly engulfed the gasoline on the boat floor as well as the canopy, foam bench seats and the life jackets.  Pastor Ed quickly ran and brought a bucket for the driver.  The driver is the son of the owner of the boat operation. He was quite shaken.  We were all safe - including the driver.  God kept us safe from harm. This could have happened at any time in our trip.  Fortunately nothing happened.  The army quickly came to take the boat back to the dock.  The police walked over (you can walk to the island in about 15 minutes) to investigate and take statements from people.  The company quickly sent over another boat for us.  All was good.  God is good.

We returned home and the vendors were back  Some had asked for custom items to be made (keychains carved out as Bluefields, a necklace in the shape of a sheep made of the word Jesus).  We left at 6:30 for dinner - our chance to treat Pastor Ed & Ligia, Rose and Camillo (Rose was not able to come), Humberto and Lizette, and Frank (the chef) & his assistant (but he didn't show up?!  We don't know what happened to him).  We had dinner at Pelican Bay, another restaurant overlooking the bay.  Fresh lobster served with a spicy butter sauce.  It was nice to have Humberto and Lizette back.  The tests came back clear - no cancer.  Praise the Lord!  We also had news that another youth we met (Orlando), his mother's tests came back negative for diabetes.  Another great answer to prayer.  I had a good talk with Frank.  With all his skills, and having learned his culinary arts, he chose to come back to Bluefields to help the people here.  He took his gifts and talents and returned home to help people in his home country improve one step at a time.

We returned home and had a few more fun adventures.  Take a look at the pictures to get a sense of these last minute surprises.

Now it is time to sleep.  We have to go to the airport to check in at 6am.  Flight back to Managua at 7am.  The work is done.  Time for us to hand off to the people of Nicaragua and for them to carry on.  We came to bless others, and have also been blessed in return. 

See you all in a few days.  

The Nic7 Team.

Day 7

Today was an early day.  We had quite a bit of rain last night. In fact it has rained every day at some point during this trip.  Seems to have been a rough night of sleep for several people.  Stomach ailments seem to have plagued a few and we suspect a little pastry item called a pico to be the root.  Unfortunately it was not made by our chefs, but something they bought on the street.  My stomach was also a bit off - let's just say it's a good thing my room has an ensuite bathroom.

Very noisy outside this morning.  The church next door had a morning service/prayer service that started at 5:45am.  That was okay because we had to get up and leave by about 6:45am.  We were going to Verbo school for their morning devotions.  They all line up at 7am and stand to sing their school anthem and have a short devotional.  Today we were there to share our story with them.  Emran, Izy and Kevin all shared a short word with the students.   Verbo has about 300 students.  They all stood very patiently waiting.  We sang (in English & Spanish) Open the Eyes of My Heart.  Some joined in with us as they knew the words.  After we finished they all went to class to start the day (Remember, they start school at 7am... )

We then left back to Pastor Ed's house for breakfast.  That felt like a long time - When you're up from 5am, 9am is a long time away.  Unfortunately Jeremy did not make it with us.  He went back to bed, not feeling well - he did not wake again until 3pm.  We all returned to the school.  This time we did a cultural exchange with grade 10 students.  We asked them questions and they asked us several in exchange.  Things such as what is your favourite colour, favourite singers, do you go to church, how old are you, what did you or are you studying, and how old are you.  Much closer this time around for the younger ones.  Of course the oldies in the group were always misjudged, for the better!  We finished just after 10am.  The group of 5 went to the church & feeding program.  Kevin & Vern stayed back at the school to setup the computer lab for our final day of training.

I had a number of toys donated by my kids at home - hey kids, do you recognize these toys?  The children in the kindergarten class really, really, really liked them all!  They were very happy to get the cars, balls and other things.

Today was a special day - the students were let out of school at 10:15am.  It was because it was meet-the-teacher day.  There would have been some final class reorganization and these are the final teachers the students will have for the year.  The parents gathered in the courtyard and then went to meet each teacher in their classrooms.  In the meantime, Vern & Kevin setup the computer lab (along with the help of our translator, Gizzy) and were ready to go.  About 20 students came in and we let them play on a few machines - they took to it just like kids back home do.  They knew what to do.  Even though the Internet only came to Bluefields about 5 years ago, these children have already adopted the technology and are very comfortable using it.  The same learning curve we saw in North America about 15-20 years ago.  The revolution is starting here too.  On the network, we are using OpenDNS to help protect the children from adware and adult/unwanted sites.  This also helps to prevent P2P and File sharing - a common problem here, as they don't understand the issues around file sharing and legal/illegal use of software.  This concept is something we shared with the teachers in the hope that they will be able to influence a generation growing up to glorify God in all areas of their lives, including the digital age.

THIS is what we came to do - get the computers into the hands of these kids!

You would never have know some of these kids had never touched a computer before!

Photo of the teachers who were at the last day of training with us

Here are some thoughts from some team members:

Izayana - We started off the day at the Verbo school. Our team was placed in the grade 10 class. They had quite a few questions and by this time I wasn't as shy to ask some of my own. One of them was "What do you consider beautiful?". A few of the girls replied that the eyes are the most important but afterwards, most agreed that regardless of how beautiful someone is on the outside, what's on the inside is what really matters. It was nice to hear that lessons like those still matter to our generation worldwide.
After the feeding program, Emran, Deborah and I walked about 7 kids home. With the help of Deborah, we were able to tell the parents of these kids who we were and that we came with the Church to drop off the kids, & to see where they live since Friday is our last full day. Every time we dropped off a kid, he or she would follow us again. It was heart warming knowing that regardless of the barrier, they still consider us friends. A few little boys even picked fruit and shared it with me.

Kat - After the feeding program we went and walked kids back to their home.  I had to walk up a mountain, literally. It was a very steep clay hill. As I was walking I slipped and almost fell with a baby in my hand.  We got to a certain point and was very tired yet still had a ways to go. It took me 20 minutes to get there. The house was made out of rotten wood and was smaller than a 10x10 room.  It was made of one room, with a closed off part with two buckets for the toilet. The floor was very weak and flexed as if it was going to break when you walked on it. In the back was a big basin and a piece of sheet metal to catch rain water.  There was also a stone in the back where they would wash clothes.  Nothing more than 2 cups there, and 2 beds made out of wood.

Rebecca - I walked 2 girls home and they were very young (3 & 5). For some reason today, the bigger sister was not there so we walked the girls home.  When we went to their house we found it very small. Their entire family used to live in the rock quarry; since it was private land they were moved out and a house was built house for them. There were ten people in the house. Their mother would wash clothes for other people, and their father digs wells for people. The oldest girl takes care of the younger two and an 11 month old baby. There was one light bulb in the house and very bare bones. Two beds. The house has only one room with a cooking area and  a tv.

After they had walked the kids home, they came back to the church and played with a few girls who were still there.  Pastor Ed took them to a ship repair yard for lunch (where they saw the monkeys).  It started to rain and so they left and returned home.

In the afternoon, we went to check on the tables for the computer lab.  Unfortunately still not ready.  We were in a power blackout and so he couldn't keep working on them.  He was hoping to finish them by tomorrow.  I hope we can see the finished product.  Two tables are made with a 3rd almost finished.  the other 3 are still in pieces. 

From there we went to the Bluefields hospital.  This was a request from Emran to visit since we were just down the street.  It is down the street from Casa Materna.  We could have walked there but better to move and park the truck at the hospital.  Visiting hours are from 3:00pm - 4:00pm.  Not the same as hospitals back home.  They spent some $5,000,000 Cordovas to fix up the hospital - perhaps newer equipment and other enhancements, but the hospital still looks very run down. Paint peeling and the conditions are definitely not sanitary compared to our standards. Very bare minimum in the rooms.  No special equipment and I don't think the call buttons even worked.  I am sure things have been hard since the civil war and also from the Hurricane a few years ago. One little girl who was in because of anemia was in a room by herself.  It was smaller than our traditional single room units in a hospital BUT there were 3 beds in this room.  Literally just enough space for a couple chairs in between beds.  She had bedsheets but did not seem to have blankets.  The beds looked very old.  Salt water is hard on things in Bluefields - one would think that a hospital may have more upkeep, but it does not.  In one of the wards (men's ward) there were 5 or 6 beds in a larger room with one bathroom.  The bathroom was filthy.  You wouldn't want to go in there, yet they have no choice.  The lack of resources shows throughout the entire hospital.  Cockroaches were seen throughout the hospital - and not just small ones but large ones (about 4 cm?)  that can fly.   Pastor Ed said the other day when he was there, there were so many that they were dropping like rice from the ceiling!  He did manage to kill one on the way out.  It is so unfortunate the conditions there.

One big take away from everyone on the team (caveat: I did not survey them all - this is from our discussions and my assumptions) is that we need to appreciate everything we do each day and all that we do have.  I don't think any of us took for granted the many blessings and benefits we had back home; but seeing all we have seen this week makes us appreciate the simple things even more.  What do you have that you take for granted that you would really miss if you could not do it any more, or if it was gone (e.g., physical independence, sanitation, clean water, etc...)

Before dinner, Kat and Izy went out to a local convenience store and purchased these juice bags that Vern had been raving about since before the trip.  Kat found him the JUMBO size - seems to have come down in price from last time! (3 large juice bags, about 1L for $1USD)

Fantastic dinner from Frank- hot buffalo wings.  Wings were too hot for Rebecca, emran and izy.  Kat is a lobster (didn't sunscreen often enough) and Jeremy is still in his room. He slept most of the day. Pray for him. 

After dinner a number of people went down near the park to see people practising for Carnival which is in the next 2 months.  Music playing, drums banging.  There were about 10 people up front dancing to music and in about 3 rows of 3.  A little bit of Bluefields culture in the middle of the trip.

We are winding down now.  Tomorrow is our last full day here in Bluefields.  Much to see still and to say good bye to the kids we have made friends with this week. 

After several attempts we had to tell him to stop

Emran learning to make network wire

Buenas noches.