reaching milestones

I'm afraid I'm trying to fit too much into these reports.  They get to be so long that, ironically, I think even I would be tempted to skip over large sections.  This time, I want to share with you a decision I have to make very soon about the possibility of pursuing more education, news on the internship I'm coordinating starting at the end of June, two significant milestones we reached this week in both RedProCom and in the Studio, and of my probably trip to Guatemala in about three weeks.  Don't worry, I'll try to make it brief and add some nice photos, too!  By the way, Happy 50th Anniversary to CRWRC!  Here's a picture from the party at the Nehemiah Center. (read more link is below)

Celebrating the CRWRC's 50th Anniversary

More Education?  Am I crazy?

The short answer is--yes, yes I am crazy.  But that was determined long ago before this thought came along.  For the last few years, in the back of my mind, I've been considering furthering my education.  Part of me dreads it, and another part of me is excited about the new challenge it would bring.  Typically, the former sentiment has one out.  However, several months ago I started looking into an educational award I was given at the close of my volunteership with AmeriCorps in 2005 before coming to Nicaragua.  After many calls and emails and fixing lots of errors in their system, the kind people at AmeriCorps finally were able to inform me that I am eligable to recieve up to $4725 towards past debt or current education.  But that money expires on November 10 of this year.  Since I have no debt, and am not currently being educated, I need to act quickly if I want to take advantage of this opportunity.

I've been wondering about simply taking interesting online courses, or whether I should be working towards some kind of degree.  I'd like to try to combine a few areas of interest to me that are also related to my current work: technology, education, development, and media.  Do you have any thoughts on this?  I'm pretty disconnected from the world of higher academics.  If you have some thoughts, or would like to discuss this with me, please let me know in the comments!

Internship: Scott

The internship has been confirmed and is a GO.  At the end of June Scott will be arriving in Nicaragua and spending about 5 weeks with me as an IT intern.  I'm arranging some projects for him here at the Nehemiah Center that from physical infrastructure improvements to installing and configuring some new computers, to working on a major database that we can use to keep track of projects, programs, and participants.  I'll also try to get him involved with RedProCom and have him visit some Christian schools--with the possibility of spending a week with one to help with their needs and to get to know what education is like here.  This morning I made a trip to visit the Nicaraguan family that will host him and make the necessary arrangements with them.  He will also be helping at least one other organization, Tesoros de Dios, by doing some training with their staff.  If time permits, I'll try to connect him with some other organizations, but things could stay pretty busy with all the things I have on the list for him so far.

Milestones in RedProCom and the Studio

This week RedProCom elected their first ever national leaders.  Last month's meeting

Participants from the 18th (monthly) RedProCom.

(which happened at NCA Nejapa, where I used to teach) I invited a representative from ACECEN--basically the Nicaraguan association of Christian schools--and a a representative from EduDeo to come and encourage the group to ramp up their level of commitment and organization.  Both ACECEN and EduDeo see RedProCom as a future partner, but in order for that to happen, RedProCom needs to define itself and set up some leadership so there can be a clear way to communicate and make decisions.  On Wednesday the group responded by electing leaders for three positions; two coordinators and one secretary.  The coordinators will be responsible for coordinating meetings, representing

Farid holds his contract.

RPC before the two other organizations, and creating periodic reports.  This means we're a little more structured and we'll be held accountable for the way we spend our time and resources.  Great stuff!

This week also marks a milestone for the Media Studio, because we made the decision to contract Farid as a full-time employee.  He's been working with us full time on a project by project basis for over a year.  Because of the nature of media projects being so project-based, it has been unclear whether committing ourselves to him by making him a full-time employee was a good idea financially.  Looking ahead at the projects we will have, we decided to go ahead and plunge in.  This is a big step for us as we continue to strive for financial sustainability in the studio.

Trip to Guatemala

I'm about to book a ticket to Guatemala for two weeks in June.  I've been invited by CRWM missionary Joel VanDyke to come and a spend a week with the Athentikos team filming a new documentary about street kids called Becoming Fools.  The first film they made was called Reparando, and   I am looking forward to learning a lot about filming and helping out where I can.  The second week, I'll spend with a team that is visiting Joel.  I'll help out as a translator as the team goes about their teamy things--visiting maximum security prisons, visiting leaders who are impacting their communities for Christ, and seeing some of the awe-inspiring sights of Guatemala.

Prayer Items

• Pray for some quick wisdom on the education side of things.  I need to make decisions very soon if I'm going to take advantage of the educational award.
• Pray that plans for Scott's internship really come together so that God can use this trip to impact his life in a big way--and so that we can really take advantage of his presence to make some headway here on different projects.
• Pray that the trip to Guate comes together nicely so that it can be a time of refreshment and learning for me.