Tekno Teach's Blog: Day 5 - Morning and Evening

It is hard to believe that it is day 5 already. How can it be that we are 50% through the trip? We have so few days left; we always knew the need was great yet the time short. We have done many things - met many people and are building many friendships.

The day, relatively simple, yet packed with service. 8:15am the team began to pack and get ready. All the computers and accessories needed to be brought to the school. We packed 27 laptops into Pastor Ed's truck and loaded up with a suitcase of wires and mice, projector, document camera and whatever else we needed for the day. We were not returning until the mid afternoon.

Upon arrival we put all the equipment into Ligia's office and went to play with the kids. The room was done but we are waiting on the tables to come for Wednesday. One big problem in Nicaragua is that some of the workers, who demand to be paid up front, then waste much time and money getting drunk. The rum flows a little too easily here. The work will get done - just not when you think. He has promised for Wed. We even confirmed with him today that Wed is the day. Pastor Ed went back for the rest of the team.

School is different than here. You may have noticed that the classrooms are not fully closed off to the courtyard in the middle. The classes take snack and recess at different times. It seems to be one or two classes at a time for recess. Therefore there is a great deal of noise outside the classroom while you're trying to teach! Again the same great smiles from kids of all ages. You never know where the kids live. Being in uniform makes them all look the same. They take care of their clothes, washing and keeping them white!

The team arrived and they taught the grade 2's a VBS topic. They made the equivalent of a prayer mat. The kids were given a plate to keep - they wrote a bible verse (Psalm 30) and drew pictures. Then we had a surprise - to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Verbo, Vern organized a surprise cake and ice cream party for Ligia. As you can see from the pictures she was surprised. Cake, ice cream and drinks for all the staff at Verbo school.

Shortly after the rest of the team left to go back to the church - feeding program, same VBS story with those kids, crafts and games to finish off. This left Vern and Kevin to do the COMPUTER LAB!!!

Yes this is it. It is mostly done. The tables are not quite ready - we improvised and was able to get student desks for the computers. We did some final setup, installed the router (THANKS CLEDWYN!) and setup the projector, document camera and everything else.

We provided lunch for all the teachers at 12:30 and training began at about 1pm. There was quite a buzz of excitement as everyone came in. Unfortunately, we had connectivity problems :( Please pray for that. When Vern and I first turned the systems on we had connection issues with the Intel software to connect to the wireless. I disabled the Intel program and used the Windows program instead. Then everything seemed to be okay. We shut everything down before lunch. We returned to the lab and had everyone turn the computers on. We then went to show them how to log on, use the Internet and then... No connection. A few worked and the rest stopped... we did not know what was going on. So as we say on Mission teams, we need to just be flexible. So we went on to train about using Microsoft Word. A new teacher, Johnny, was helpful in speaking with the teachers and giving instructions on how to use the program. Our initial survey showed that out of about 27 people, 3 had a computer, about 6 had used a computer and the internet before. They picked up how to use the computers quickly! So Vern and I have a few hours tomorrow morning to figure out why we lost connectivity to some computers and not others. I have a few hypotheses to try tomorrow.

We left back to Pastor Ed's house and loaded up again - this time we went to Casa Materna. Pregnant women come from around Nicaragua - usually there are complications or other medical reasons that they are sent to the maternity house. They come from very far away. The house often is not a very happy place. Some teams come, drop off clothes, and leave. This was the first time a team had come in and did something for them. They were very happy and glad that we came and served them. Much happiness and many smiles from all the women who received hair washes and had their nails done. For some, probably the first time they'd ever had their nails done EVER!