fundraising at NCA

I just received a letter today from NCA outlining their plans and needs for building a group of houses for teachers and others to live in. I encourage you to briefly scan it and see if you might feel inclined to give. They are also looking for low- or no-interest loans. Let me know what you think. Could possibly be a very beneficial option for the school. Click here to see the letter.

Also, it might be interesting--at least it was for me--to see the different needs at NCA and NCA Nejapa (both prayer, and monetary). They're listed on the web here. Please take a look.

Thanks!

florida for a spot

First, a little update on the car. Last week I finally got the windows replaced. A friend was able find replacements for 4000 córdobas...approximtely $250. Another estimate put the windows at 9000 córdobas, more than double, so I feel like I got a good price. It's good to have windows again.

I am writing this blog from Florida. I made an unexpected trip here on Tuesday. The husband of my cousin in southern Florida suddenly took his own life the week before--which came as a complete surprise to everyone who knew him. So I have been here for the past four days to be with my cousin and honor her husband. It has also been nice to be able to be together with other family who came for the same reason.

I also was able to see a Michigan friend last night for a couple hours. I met Adam Koetje and we did some catching up. I haven't seen the guy in about a year and a half since I left for Nicaragua. It was very good.

Not sure if you noticed, but there is another album on my photo page. It's from the trip to Santa Lucia. I mentioned it in the last blog but have been able to upload some photos since then. Check it out here.

Prayer Items:
- Please continue to pray for strength in my teaching and understanding with the students. The previous four weeks have been difficult. I know we have made good progress in some classes, but in others I am less confident. That's all for now.

después

I must say that last week was a good week. As usual, the break was too short. I could have used a little more work time during the break. That's not to say I didn't have some free time that could have been used for working, but I also really needed that down time. As the week approached, I was really feeling uncertain about my level 2 high school class. They had been behaving poorly, slacking on homework, and generally making me feel a little bit lost. Over the break, I had a some time to think and talk with others about things I could do. I came to the conclusion that a change of attitude was something I needed to make. That's going to be challenging, but I need to stop taking their lack of respect personally. Instead, I need to be patient as they learn correct behavior, and as I teach them in a calm and organized way. This isn't exactly a breakthrough, I realize. But I guess it was good for me to realize that again because I was becoming quite frustrated in the classroom. I realized again the need to set boundaries and then enforce them. I pray that I can do this effectively.

I spent the first several days of vacation in Honduras at a hotel called "Hotel Candien". It's a nice place. For sale for $3 million. If you're interested, I can give you more info. I was there with about 40 other CRC North America people living and working in Central America. We met and learned about the history of the church in Latin America. Quite interesting. A little disturbing at points, but nevertheless very interesting. See here for a few pictures:

Honduras

The last two days of the break I spent in Santa Lucia, about an hour and a half northeast from Managua. It's a small town, very nice. Mark Vanderwees, a CRC missionary, parters with and supports a community organization there which tries to train community leaders (both church leaders and general community leaders) and farmers. It was absolutely amazing there. The scenery was spectacular. Mom and dad--we're going to spend at least a day there, maybe a night, too. We climbed to the top of the ridge overlooking the city, some 200 meters up. Then we had breakfast at a farm on the top and climbed back to town for lunch at another farm. I believe they are both involved with the organization. There will be more pictures on this later. I haven't had time to prepare them for the blog.

This morning I woke up to a strange sight. My car was missing three windows. They were stolen last night from my car, which was parked on the street outside my house. there is supposed to be a guard on the street 24 hours. He may be responsible for two streets, I have to figure that out yet. Nothing was taken from inside the car. I had some tools in the back and a nice flashlight in the front. Didn't touch it. Just took the windows. See the pictures.




Okay. I have to run. I've already spent more time than I have writing this blog. More for another time.