more bikes

So about that bike trip I mentioned last time. We organized another bike trip to raise support for a different organization. I say "another" and "different" in reference to the 8-day, cross-country, Sea-to-Sea trip that we planned last January. Remember--the one where I ripped the ligaments in my shoulder? Yeah, that one. This time it was a shorter trip. Fifty kilometers each way (that's about 35 miles for the Americans out there). Half pavement, half dirt. We raised just over $2000 for the Fundacion San Lucas, or the Luke Society. They are doing a land bank program very similar to the video I linked to in the last post. There were about 25 bikers and 25 other people (including support staff) who each paid to participate in the event. A portion went to pay for the trip costs and the rest went to the land bank program. The program gives landless farmers the opportunity to buy land at a reasonable price and pay it back over the course of several years. Then they learn about a biblical worldview and why sustainable farming is so important. They manage the land bank themselves through the board of directors that is formed. I made a short video about the trip, which I'm really happy with. I'm trying to decide if I will show it here or wait til I get home! I guess I'll post it here and you can watch it if you want. If you'd like to see it in full high-def we'll have to arrange with my brother to watch it in his basement...that would be great! Here it is:



Whoah! That came out big. Oh, well. That's okay for this time. I also wanted to tell you a story of a community along the Rio Coco. I think I'm gonna save that for the next post. Don't want to give you too much at a time.

Prayer items:

-pray that I can get a lot done before I head for Michigan on the 19th, specifically for another video that I'm working on and a project to reformat the server at the Nehemiah Center.

followup

I have received several emails asking how the march turned out. And I've seen movies where, in times of impending disaster, the president goes on air and asks the people for their prayers...only to completely forget about those prayers after the disaster has been averted praising the efforts and goodwill of people. We can offer a prayer of thanks for a very peaceful march in Managua that day. Here is one article from an English language paper in Nicaragua that talks from one perspective about the success of the march: http://www.ticotimes.net/dailyarchive/2009_11/112120092.cfm.

Several weeks ago I accompanied a photographer, Martinus Geleynse, on a few local shoots he had here, one of which was with the CRWRC. We went to part of Nicaragua known as Matagalpa and spend a day and a half shooting still shots of three land banks in a program that is a collaborative effort of Acción Médica Cristiana (a Nicaraguan organization), Partners Worldwide, and CRWRC. It was a really neat time to learn about photography, but also super interesting to see first hand something that I've heard about for so long. This program is seriously changing lives. Development is about so much more than feeding people, giving them clothes, and giving them things. I invite you to watch this two part video we made at the Nehemiah Center about what has been done. It recounts the story of the program and specifically the story of Manuel Garcia and his wife Maritza. I've embedded it here, but you can also watch it in higher definition by right-clicking on the video>choosing "watch on youtube">and then clicking on the small HD button in the lower corner of the video. You will be encouraged and hopeful at having heard this story.



Perhaps you remember Miguel from the video above. Manuel gives him credit for being a large part of his success. Miguel mentors some 50 farmers that are part of these land banks and helps as a motivator, leader, and teacher. About two weeks ago I went back to the same area in the hills of Matagalpa, to do a training for Miguel and some of the AMC office staff. As I've mentioned in other posts, continued education isn't always commonplace here, so the staff was very excited to have the opportunity to learn formally some things that will be very useful as they move forward. I went prepared to train on some pretty introductory topics on spreadsheets and word processing. Since we were only able to cover the spreadsheet portion, I'll be returning again in the future to continue the training more in depth and build on what they've already learned. They had a lot of questions when I left and I could see that the gears were turning as to how they could use what they learned to help them keep better track of their projects and create better reports. Here is a slideshow of some of the pictures we took. Again, if you want to see it larger you can; click once on the slideshow and when it brings you to the next page simply click where it says "full screen" to the upper left of the photo.



Also, another year has finished for NCA Nejapa, where I taught English. Mauro finished his final block on the "cuadro de honor"...or the honor roll. He was quite proud to have completed the entire year missing the honor roll only in one marking period. He continues to excel despite difficulties at home. I haven't seen Breyling as much, although we did go for dinner last week. He seems to be doing alright. He is such a bright kid with so much potential. Now that he has lost his scholarship he will be facing more challenges if he is ever to leave poverty.

So many things have happened that I don't have enough time or space to write it all now. For that reason here's a snapshot right now of what's to come:

• the story of a fund-raising bike ride from Diriamba to Chacocentre (where ever that is!) to see sea turtles lay eggs and the babies make their way to the sea.
• a planecrash in the village of Wiwinak on the Rio Coco transforms the community that AMC has been working with overnight...but not how we would have hoped.
  

prayer items:

- praise God for the good work he is doing in Matagalpa through the land banks.
- praise God for Mauro's continued success, and pray that he and Bryeling will be kept from harm during the next two months while school is out.
- pray that God will continue using me to glorify himself and lift up his people.

protest nearing

I wrote an update about two days ago...only to lose about 75% of it after it was finished but before I posted it. I haven't had the time to retype it. I was going to do it today, but as usual, I have had a busy schedule and it's gotten squeezed out. However, I thought it would be worth spending a bit of time to ask for your prayers on behalf of Nicaragua.

Some of you probably know pretty well that there has been quite a bit of political tension in Nicaragua since Daniel Ortega entered office. Since that time there has been a general movement away from transparency in the government and an innumerable number of questionable events, including the last municipal elections, in which about 95 percent of the mayors elected were Sandinistas (Daniel's political party). The government has been accused of hiring gangs to stir up trouble, violence, and fear. They have been accused of rigging elections. They have been accused of preventing police protection for protesters. They've been accused of destroying or sabotaging media critical of the government (burning a radio station, scrambling the signal, sabotaging the newspaper presses). They've replaced entire departments of the government with yes men, and they've been accused of knocking off people that have gotten in their way. And most recently they have done what Costa Rica did (and in general what other left-leaning countries have done) which is to remove the limit on the number of consecutive terms a president can serve. Something interesting is that every time the opposition organizes an event, or a march, it just so happens that the ruling party also plans a "celebration" for the same day and the same place. This is exactly what is set to happen tomorrow (Saturday). A large scale march has been organized by the opposition for tomorrow, and a celebration of the victory won in the municipal mayoral elections is also scheduled for the same route. The threat for violence is large. The police have urged the opposition to change their route, which they agreed to do if they get police protection (something they have not gotten in the past).

I realize that the media is always biased. Lies are flying on both sides. It seems that the divisions between the left and the right are so great that neither can recognize any good in the other. I know that some good things have happened during the years since Daniel took office, but I also know a lot of questionable things have happened.

I ask that you take the time to pray for the march tomorrow. A close friend of mine is planning on marching. The potential for violence is pretty great. Please pray for peace in the march, and that everyone will see the value of peace, honesty, and love. It sounds cliche, but when anger, hatred, and selfishness grip peoples hearts, those things are thrown aside or trampled on, and brokenness rules. I encourage you to take a few minutes to breeze through some articles about the situation. Click here to automatically search google news for nicaragua. There you should find a bunch of articles (biased, don't forget) about our situation.

from tenors to campesinos and back

Just got back from 3 days in the campo (which is spanglish for "the country") visiting the three land banks that CRWRC and Partners worldwide support through Acción Médica, a local Nicaraguan organization. Acción Médica has been around for many years and has been a CRWRC partner organization for around nine years if I'm not mistaken. It was an amazing time hearing testimonies first hand from participating campesinos (farmers from the country). A few had previously owned no more than the land on which their house was built, and others had been living with family or working in exchange for a place to live. None of them owned their own land, which left them in the difficult position of renting land to farm, bringing many challenges. Through the land bank they have been able to purchase 3 manzanas (a little over 6 acres, I think) and begin to cultivate it. They're learning about all kinds of things including soil conservation, organic fertilizing, and many other techniques. But at the core of all of this learning is a focus on biblical worldview (cosmovisión bíbilica). They're learning that God is the one who has created everything, and he wants us to care for the land and care for each other. They learn that that is the reason we must take all of these things so seriously...and the reason that we can do them so joyfully! Not only do the practices that they're learning mean better production of the land, a richer wildlife, and more opportunities for bringing in money to support their families and better their lives, but all of this glorifies the Creator! I went to the campo with Martinus Geleynse of MG International, who was contracted by CRWRC to take professional photos for promotional purposes, so I've been his guide, assistand, and student in many ways as we went about this time of gathering stories and pictures. I'll be spending the coming week with him filming for Worldwide Christian schools.

I've also been working with another missionary in the area, Danny Sharpe of Young Life, in preparing for the arrival of another techie person. Jim Bode, a certified Microsoft trainer will be visiting to do some training and give assistance to a variety of people and organizations during the first week of November on a variety of topics including the MS Office quite, networking, and backing up. It should be a great time of learning.

About a week ago I took Breyling and Mauro to a different sort of experience, which turned out to be fantastic. A little unsure how they'd like it, I invited the to go with me to a concert at the Rubén Darío National Theater. It's Nicaragua's biggest theater and center for finer arts. It was the first time I entered the main hall, which has three balconies. It is beautiful with rich red carpet, seats, and walls. It was also the first time either of the boys had entered as well. The event we went for was an ensemble of 5 German tenors. They sang some serious songs, some funny songs, and even managed to work in several nicaraguan jokes into their between-song talks (which they struggled through, even though I doubt they understood what they were saying). Breyling was on the edge of his seat most of the time, stunning me with his analysis of the music, recognition of the words in the songs (of which they sang in German, French, English and Spanish). Mauro must have been exhuasted from a busy week...or he was just thoroughly enjoying the music because he was unresponsponsive even to pokes and prods as his eyes closed and his head fell to the side after about the third song. All in all a great opportunity to enjoy great music and culture, and share with the guys a new experience.

prayer items:

- pray that filming goes well this week
- pray for wisdom on my part as I walk with a struggling friend
- give praise to God for a successful last week

late afternoon joy ride

A couple of days ago I went for a ride after work. Just headed out of town and rode for a while before turning around and coming back. Really enjoyed it. Thought you might like to see a few pictures--they're posted below.

I'm working on getting some pictures of the tech team that we had last week, which was a very busy week with some long days while the team was around. When i get the picutres I'll fill you in on some more of the details of the time.

This week we're having our annual "congreso" or gathering of those involved with the Nehemiah Center. Actually, we're having two congresos because they are regional. One was in Chinandega, about 2.5-3 hours outside of Managua to the north-east. Today we'll have the other one in León, about 1.5-2 hours in the same direction. I was an am responsible for filming certain aspects of the event and interviews during. I'll try to get some of that footage posted as well.

Thanks for reading! And now for the photos!

One of the views on the New Highway to León of the volcanos Momotombo and Momotombito (Little Momotombo).


Returning through Mateare. If you saw Daniel Lanninga's video about the youth involved with gangs, their desire to change and the challenges involved with that, this is the area. I have a prayer request for that group and that city. One of guys from the film was recently stabbed to death in his home. I'm not sure about the details, but this community is so tired of violence and is groaning for change. Pray that this murder does not bring out more resentment and hatred among the youth, but that they respond in love!

A shot of the colorful sky behind some interesting trees.





Waiting for a bus on the outskirts of town as the sun descends and the streetlights flicker on.

The "Cuesta del Plomo" or the "Hill of Lead" where a monument marks the location of a famous site where the dictator Somoza killed a great many people. You can find a famous (although grusome) fotograph revealing the horror and beauty of the site here. The site is less than a mile from my house.

A few hundred feet from my neighborhood and just down the hill from the Cuesta del Plomo is this scene. Beautiful. Guess what businesses are located here? Oil refineries. I don't get it.

Prayer items:

- pray for the youth in Mateare where they just lost one of their own to a stabbing in his own home. pray that the commuity will continue moving towards peace and renewal.
- pray that the second day of filming for the Annual Congreso will go well, and that we'll be able to pull together a good video.
- pray for me as I continue to learn more about IT and video, and pray that i will have energy and vision for both as they require as they develop and grow.