lights and poverty

The countdown has begun: 13 days of classes remaining, six of which are really half days. During the last several weeks, I've been struggling more with one particular class. The behavior and attitudes in this class seem to be getting worse. For about the last 4 weeks I've been trying harder to get them to listen and follow my directions, and it seems to be a losing battle. When I demand obedience, they get frustrated and are even more rebellious. It's a difficult position, and I'm sure that if you're a parent you have experienced some of this with your own children. It's disappointing to me since we're so close to the end. Even so, I'm still hopeful that we can end on a good note. Hopefully I can still make a connection with the instigators and encourage them to make the right choices in class. At any rate, I think we're all ready for a vacation. :)

The power situation in Nicaragua has been worse lately. Power outages in the area where the school is have been consistently 5-6 hours every day. The schedule usually alternates each week. One week it will be out from 2pm-7pm, and the next week from 5-10. However, during this last week, we've had power consistently every day, all day. While most people come here and are startled by the frequent power outages, asking, "Why is there no power?" those of us who have lived here for a while are startled when there is power and we're now asking "Why is there power?" Power outages continue everywhere else as normal. Actually, and unfortunately, power at my house has now gone out for two Saturdays in a row. You may recall me mentioning that power rarely goes out in our neighborhood because of a women's hospital located on the same power grid. To add to the difficulty, today there is no water at the house either (even more necessary than electricity). Water shortages seem to be just as frequent as power outages in Managua.

Sometimes the gap between rich and poor and the general poverty in Nicaragua hits me harder than other times. The gap here is perhaps larger than the gap in the US. Or maybe it's just more clear because the physical distance is so much closer. Or maybe it's just more evident because of how much poverty there is. There are always people begging on the streets at intersections, even children begging well into the dark hours of the night. There's always the blind man feeling his way through the neighborhood asking for money at everyone's front door. There are children asking for even just one córdoba (about 6 cents) in the parking lot at PriceMart (the local expression of Costco). There's the wrinkled old woman outside of the La Colonia grocery store. It's never easy to know what to do, or how to respond. Most of the time I can be polite and friendly, but still be firm in my decision to not give. I tell myself that I don't want to encourage begging. Or I tell myself that I know there are guards or other adults nearby who have sent these children begging on their behalf, which can definately be true.

But sometimes I'm forced to ponder the issue more deeply. It's tough when I allow myself to enter their lives for a moment's time. Speaking with a few other teachers at the school, I was gripped again by the poverty around me. I asked them how have things been from their perspective since Daniel Ortega took office. Worse. Their answer was clear. Food prices have gone way up. I'm not especially tuned to the price of food. I do shop every few weeks, but I can't remember prices from one time to the next. Recently the prices of beans and rice (the main course...or only course...for most Nicaraguans) has sky-rocketed from 7 córdobas per pound to 24 córdobas. One teacher told me that he has to spend sometimes up to $12/day on food (for the two adults and two children). Doesn't sound too bad until you figure a salary of not much more than $300/month. And he has a decent job. Public school teachers make half or less. Add to food the other costs of living and working: transportation, electricity, phone, gas, clothes, etc., and soon you start to feel the weight of poverty. How do you make it work? How do you eat?

In discussing these thoughts with a friend last night, she mentioned a verse she'd been thinking about. I don't remember the reference, but it was an exhortation to those who have to share with those who have not. Not first to do a background check, or make sure they're going to use the money stewardly, or to make sure they're going to use the way we want them to, or to place other requirements or demands on them. Give. The message was simple. Share. The Lord has blessed some with the ability to give. Others are in real need. It's not an easy thing to do--share. It's much easier to let others do it. Especially here, for me.

Gotta run. I have a soccer game this afternoon. Hopefully we finally win!

AUTHOR'S UPDATE: Yes, we won! Our first win of the year. 3-0.

Prayer Items:

-Pray for a good end to the academic year. I really want to finish having fun with my students.
-Pray for the poverty in Nicaragua. Pray for the leadership...pray for good leadership that is focussed on the real needs of the people.
-Pray for a sense of compassion for those in need and a generous and thoughtful spirit in knowing how to share...for me and for you too! :)
-Pray for Christians here, that they would live faithful and Spirit-filled lives, and that they would be a part of the solution to the large problems of Nicaragua.