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.
