across the land...

As always, life has been busy.  I can't believe it's already March.  Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye, as did January and February.  It was wonderful to be back in Michigan and connect with many of my supporters again.  I was able to give a brief update at Brookside during the morning service on the 1st of the new year, and a more extended update during a different service.

I want to share with you just a few highlights from the last couple of months:


...in RedProCom land...

The group of computer teachers I've been working with (we call ourselves RedProCom) met in late January for the first time in 2012.  We talked and learned many things, but the most significant outcome of the meeting for me was the discussion we had looking together at what 2012 might bring.  We covered topics ranging from what we have been doing wrong and what we need to improve on, to what kinds of things they were interested in learning throughout this year, to members of our group stepping up to take leadership roles.  I was quite excited by the group's interest in really trying to make the group better, reach out to other schools, and organize ourselves.  One member made a commitment to organizing our future monthly meetings logistically (invitations, location, food, devotions, etc.).  I was really encouraged by the interest levels and ideas that the group shared.  February's meeting was in Matagalpa, according to the group's decision.  We focused on refreshing our knowledge of networking and helping the school where we met install a small network, including a large switch donated by Redeemer University.  The network will hopefully help the teacher to make use of some new tools for teaching as well as control in the classroom.



...in land banks...

Several large advances this year.  We (finally!) completed a participatory video project that we did on the Río Coco river with the indigenous people group known as the Mískito people.  It was by far the most challenging project to date, largely because of the language and cultural differences.  We spent hours upon hours in the editing room with translators trying to get things right.  Well, we finally finished, and we liked the outcome so much we decided to spend another several days translating it from Spanish to English--just for you!  It's about 15 minutes long, so if you can't watch it now, bookmark it and come back when you have time.




We always return to the community once the video is done so we can present it to them, praise their work, and celebrate what God is doing in and through them.  The presentation is set for next week Tuesday.  Farid and I are really disappointed that we will not be able to return to the river for the presentation because we are going to be in the middle of another video training in another land bank called El Progreso.  If you remember our New Jerusalem video, it's the same idea.  But this land bank is much more mature, in it's 7th year of existence, and many of the farmers are well on their way to paying off their land.  Three days ago, Farid and I made the initial visit to the community to meet them and make arrangements for our week with them, which starts on Monday.  We were both very encouraged to see their excitement and ideas already during the first meeting.  I can't wait to see what comes of our week there.  Here are a few pictures from our initial visit.



...in big brother land...

If you'll remember, I have been a big brother to two Nicaraguan kids for the past 4 years or so now.  The younger one, Breyling, had his third actual birthday about a week and a half ago on February 29...so that technically makes him 12 years old.  Pretty exciting to have a birthday on your birthday,



...from the mother land...

I was treated this past month by the visit of four good friends from GR.  Two of them were my parents, and they were accompanied by Gwen and Craig.  The five of us, many times also with friends of mine from around here, tromped around the country and had a wide variety of experiences.  We traversed 3 volcanoes, braved bat caves, feared to enter forts employed for torture, heard histories of trial and transformation first hand, witnessed miraculous wonders of water, earth, and sky, savored the tastes of great food, felt the wind of the open road from the seat of motorcycles, saw the sights of fog-filled fantastical forest, enjoyed the good company of one another, and sat amazed at the goodness of God's vast and rich creation.  I probably missed some things in there.  I've uploaded a bunch of pictures to a facebook album because my picasa album is almost full.

Please befriend me at www.facebook.com/dave.stienstra, and check out the pictures!

If I had more time I could go on...but I think I'm running out.  Thanks for stopping by!

...Prayer Items...

- Please pray for a great week in El Progreso teaching the farmers to tell their story through video!  Pray that we don't have a lot of rain.  Clouds are nice, though!
- Pray for the leadership in RedProCom to really take root.
- Praise God for a wonderful time with my family and friends.