gotta see this

Okay, this isn't a normal post, but it does make me laugh. I was on my way to lunch yesterday and saw an accident at an intersection not far from my work... How in the world does it happen exactly like that? (click play, click the image again to take you to my album on Picasa's site, then click on the full-screen button to watch the slideshow bigger...trust me, it's worth all that).

rest and toil

This will be a quick post! I've only got about 25 minutes, and then I need to go home and pack and get some sleep before I get up early tomorrow morning to catch a flight to Michigan! I am super excited to be returning to celebrate my brother's getting married! I can't believe it's already happening!

I feel like I've been running around like crazy the past month or more! I've been busy mostly with the Media Studio stuff. I've been overseeing three documentary style projects of the Trinity semester program (including a week+ on the atlantic coast of Nicaragua), and this week I've been working on two videos for the Nehemiah Center) At times it's been pretty stressful, but I trust the Lord is working things out...I was reminded of that when I came across these verses from Psalms 127 (NIV).

¹ Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.

² In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Found them interesting paraphrased in The Message, too:

^1-2 If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn't guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.
It's useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don't you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?

Maybe it can be a good reminder for you, too. Leave things to the Lord. Do all that you can, but do not lose sight of the fact that it is He who works through you... it is He who accomplishes His will in you. And don't forget to rest. Don't forget the rest. He wants us to have it.

I just finished a video. A couple videos really. Quick reminder that they can always be found on the Nehemiah Center Media Studio Channel. (Become a follower, it's fun!) The videos both dealt with the work of the CRC in Nicaragua through local people and organizations. The first tells of the work of CRWRC and the Christian Center for Human Rights. The other talks about the Program FE, or the Healthy Churches Initiative that CRWM is in the middle of. Both videos will be making their way to partnering churches in the near future. You can watch them directly if you want a sneak preview.

Remember the post about Wiwinak? Where I included a newsletter from a colleague who wrote about a plane crash? Apparently his article made it into the hands of a pastor and became the key illustration in a sermon. Very good, challenging sermon. When you get a chance, I recommend it. You can find it here.

I need to post some more of what I've been doing lately. Maybe I'll see you in church. I should be sharing very briefly in Brookside on the 9th, and First Hamilton CRC on the 16th, if all goes as planned.

Actually, that sermon I mentioned and linked to above was where I was presented with the verses from Psalms. Here are some more verses that came from that sermon, too. Look them up if you so desire, or don't. Have a great week!

1 John 2:15-16

Matthew 6:33

prayer items:

- pray for a great trip back to Michigan for Mike's wedding!
- pray for a couple of satisfying visits and presentations at churches
- pray that the videos that the Trinity students are doing will come out great!

oh i went down to the river to...

...to film-a-video-and-see-some-production-centers... Haven't you heard that version of the song?

After a little over a month back in Nicaragua, I think it's about time for an update. It has been good to slide back into a "normal" routine, which is actually different everyday. I expected to come back to a bit of a mess in terms of the computers here at the Nehemiah Center. Computers here have this nasty sense of humor. They'll give the users problems until I step into the room. Then I sit down, put my hands on the keyboard and somehow--I'm not sure how--they know it's me and it affects them. They suddenly start behaving normally. It's good for me, but it has the tendency to be very frustrating for the user. :) While still in GR, I had been working with the accounting department to resolve some problems with the recently installed and configured servers. I was also notified of a handful of situations with computers that had become unusable. Thankfully these wrinkles were easier to iron out and people were more patient than I expected, and we were able to take care of all concerns within the first few days.

But the IT stuff hasn't been limited to fixing things that have broken. Just this week we rolled out an Information Technology Policy for the Nehemiah Center. A document that has been in formation for a year or more (things move slowly when there is a lot of other things to do), this document lays out the role and responsibilities of the Systems Team (which I've helped formalize), norms and etiquette for computer users on the network, and standards we want to comply with as an organization trying to be faithful to a faithful God. It will hopefully work to unify us by bringing people all to the same page in terms of how we think about the resources we have at our disposal. We have now some 40-50 computer users in the Nehemiah Center who will be reading the policy, and signing an agreement. So far, we haven't gotten a lot of feedback.

In other news, it looks more and more certain that we'll be receiving a sizable shipment of refurbished computers through one of the Nehemiah Center's collaborating partners (Food for the Hungry). The computers are part of a refurbishing program from the Korean government, who have one of the best refurbishing programs in the world. We're going to be trying to pull some heads together to come up with a good plan for distributing them--most likely to Christian schools. Of course this is not as simple as you might think at first. Schools will need to be able to recieve a lab full of computers. Electrical infrastructure is only the beginning. Adequate security, a qualified teacher, and a sustainability plan are also critical components. We'll be considering all of this and more as we try to be good stewards of this opportunity.

There has been some activity in the Media Studio, as well. I've finally been able to sit down with some other people to really develop a clear concept of what we're doing in the studio, of it's purpose and direction. As a young program a lot of things are still coming together. We'll be meeting further in the next couple of weeks in attempt to draw a road map for the future of the studio.

But lest you think life is getting soft, next week I'll be out of the office with a group of guys from Canada and a few people from around here. A CRC group will be heading to Nicaragua's east coast and the Rio Coco to visit several of the production centers mentioned in posts past. I'll be accompanying to film the trip and document the visits to the production centers and the change occurring there. Due to violence on the river, our trip has significantly changed. We were originally going to be driving a full day north of Managua where we would board a boat in the Bosawas Biosphere, heading down the Bocay River until we connected to the Rio Coco and then continuing to Waspam where we catch a flight back to Managua. We were going to be four days on the river, returning by plane from Waspam. Plans change, however, and we're now going to fly to Puerto Cabeza, drive to Waspam by way of two production centers, enter the river there, ride up river one day and back again the next to catch that same plane back to Managua. Slightly disappointed about the change, it is the only responsible thing to do in this case. It will still be an exciting trip, and a fun challenge to produce the film.

Because of the change, we will also have time to visit a community known as Wiwinak. We produced a video about this community a while back. I don't think anyone reading this will have seen it--maybe I'll have to show it sometime at Brookside. In it, community members tell its story of being removed by the government during the revolution and counter revolution of the 80s, and of its return when things had settled down. This community has recently experienced a very strange series of events starting with a plane crash on the property of the production center there. The plane was carrying a lot of cash and drugs, and transformed the community overnight. Mark Vanderwees, CRWRC missionary, wrote an article with some photos on the situation (the picture here is the article...click on it to see it full size). I recommend you read this fascinating story. Initially it would have been too dangerous to enter the community, and Acción Médica Cristiana, the national organization we're working with, pulled out due to security, disputes, and false accusations. Recently things have calmed down and I'm excited be able to go visit the community. Perhaps that could be a separate video.

One more thing...I recently did a short promotional video for a Regional Business Conference that Partners Worldwide and the Nehemiah Center have been involved in planning. Called "CRE 2010" It's only 1 minute long, so feel free to watch it below or catch it on the Nehemiah Center Youtube Channel--you could become a subscriber and recieve notifications every time we post a new video.



Thanks for following! Please pray for me as I strive to live faithfully to God's calling in my life here in Nicaragua!

Prayer items

-Pray that the trip this coming week is fruitful and fun!
-Pray for the plans that are being made for the Media Studio and future, for wisdom and clarity and unity as we move forward. Pray also for the people who have been involved in the classes and those who are potential collaborators that their hearts would be prepared for this project.
-Pray for us as we sift through the possibilities and considerations with distributing the refurbished computers. Pray that God will be at work in the schools that will benefit and those individuals that will be involved. Pray that collaborations will be made to be able to make this work so that the name of God will be glorified in Nicaragua through technology!

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.