Prophecy at our Local Church

Church tonight was pretty amazing. Our Youth Pastors were over last night and begged us to come to Church tonight. A year ago a visiting pastor prophesied that people from a strange land would come and not only impact the Church, but also the local community. 

And so we went tonight and enjoyed the 4.5 hour long service and prayer time. Watch the video to see more...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Brien's of Capital on the Edge - Christmas Drive, Shopping at the Mercado Oriental

This Christmas we are asking people to give to our Christmas Drive. The link below will take you to our latest videos, thrown together, which shows us out-and-about in Nicaragua´s Mercado Oriental, buying gifts (toys and chooks). This market is extremely dangerous and we had a HOOT!!!

Political: The People´s Princess, er I mean, President

Nicaragua is ready to welcome many international delegations that will attend the inauguration, on January 10, of President Daniel Ortega, reelected on November 6.

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Health: Worse off with a Second Bout of Dengue Fever

With the second infection, the antibodies sort of recognize the new type of viruses, but not well enough to clear them from the system. Instead of neutralizing the viruses, the antibodies bind to them in a way that actually helps them invade the immune system’s other cells and spread.


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Political: Nicaraguan Government Moves in to Assist the Poor

People with severe disability, the elderly, mothers of Nicaraguan heroes and martyrs are now receiving special food packages as part of the social plans by the government to help the most vulnerable groups.


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Social: Tipitapa Prison

One of the youth leaders in our local Church is an ex-inmate, from infamous Nicaragua´s Tipitapa Prison. Please pray about our possible involvement with the prison, in the form of a prison ministry. These boys need the Lord, they need food and clothes, toilet paper, etc.

Political: Army to Assist with Rural Crime

Nicaragua has become the latest country in the region to send the army onto the streets to fight crime, with the deployment of 1,000 soldiers to rural areas of the country which the government says are troubled by criminal gangs.


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POST by JED: So THIS is Christmas?

As a small child, Christmas Day was the best day of my life! So many memories and so much joy... 

I loved to wake at the crack of dawn (9am). My brother was never impressed by this intentional provocation. He was up at 4am and not permitted to so much as sniff a present until I was sitting by his side.

From beneath the tree we would be whisked away to the am service. My father was the minister of our seaside suburban Sydney Church, hence I enjoyed adding to my bank of sleep an additional 45 minutes.  

Though I must admit, he used to get extremely emotional about stuff and scream at the top of his lungs, even at Christmas, which interrupted my naps. I didn´t become upset though. I loved these moments - the passion, the fury! I would stand on the pew, beside my mother, so as to get a better look at my red faced, flabbergasted father.

I don´t really remember the rest of the day, because I think it evolved over my childhood from boring European Christmas Lunch/Dinner styled celebrations, shared between relatives in different cities, to picnics at the beach, and Christmas movies in the evening on our black and white telly set.

Then in my late childhood my aunty and uncle won the lotto and got a pool. My life was never to be the same. (In a way I´d won the lotto too) Every year we´d alternate between my mother´s family, the Morgans, and our Newcastle family (the ones with the pool).

With the Morgans we would spend the day at the beach. These were awesome times. Gran and Pop would be there, my only living grandparents left – without them Christmas didn´t exist. There were always beautiful, functional gifts, nothing excessive, and everyone gave to everyone (taste and thought were truly evidenced in the gifts exchanged). I usually enjoyed a collection of cool pressies, but there was never anything that totally rocked my World, and that was okay with me.

Christmas with the Newcastle family was also terrific. I loved my cousins, who were my age, unlike my Morgan cousins (who were a few years younger). The mornings were fun, though for me, tainted with a wee bit of envy.

I remember on one occasion, in my early teens, borrowing a video camera from a friend in Canberra – I later wished I hadn´t. I videoed this-and-that, but focused on Christmas morning with the relos. I remembered videoing my cousins unwrapping surf boards, tapes, mountains of clothes, bikes, and everything else under the sun.

That same Christmas Day I eagerly thrust the camera into my cousin´s hands, and made her video me unwrapping my “goodies”. A Biblical concordance and a pair of socks. YAY!!! My voice broke. I held the socks up to the camera and tried to hide my contrived “smile”. It was one of those smiles that just wouldn´t stick. I ended up bawling my eyes out in the toilet. (Sniff) The rest of the day was always heaps of fun, this day no exception, endless games of Marco Polo in the pool.

I came to appreciate Christmas as a time of family and not as a massive commercial event. In my mid teens we started a tradition of buying just for one person, and this suited me fine. I enjoyed catching up with family, chit-chatting and enjoying the beach. The inter-city migration ended and Christmas became about the immediate family. My Uncle and Aunt from the Morgan family divorced and with massive bodies loping around in Newcastle, Christmas became too big (though the Brien family still loves and enjoys all of our extended family).

In my late teens our family began attending a non-Church. We were a group, “a concept, a destination, a philosophy…” (AbFab) I REALLY loved these people, though we were in a time warp and should´ve been busting-out in the 70s and not the 90s.

We didn´t “do” Christmas! It was very convenient when Lizzie came along, because up until that point we were so busy NOT doing Christmas, that we actually drew more attention to it than if we had have just opened a pressie or 2. But NO, we were not idolisers, pagans, SATAN worshippers! We were set apart, different, unworldly, special…

Lizzie´s birthday is the 25^th of December. So as a group (a concept, a destination, a philosophy), we threw all of our worth into showing our love for Liz, who hadn´t died on a cross, but was lovely just the same. She didn´t get fabulous pressies, as this was too close to a Christmas tradition. But people did dote on her, and she always lucked it with little nick-nacky tasteful items, like nutty key rings, and terrific sarongs in earthy browns and blues…

Enter the Townsends… My first Christmas in England, led by Liz, was revolutionary for me. I´d never celebrated “the Christ” with people from the Northern Hemisphere. I have to say that I didn´t react well and was totally blown away (but unfortunately, not positively). I regret my responses now, but at the time I couldn´t believe my eyes. 

It began with midnight mass on the 24^th of December, which I was excited about, until I realised that it wasn´t Catholic. Boo-hoo! There I was being all-accepting, open-minded, (a concept, a destination, a philosophy) when I realised we were sitting in a boring ol´ Church of England service. (Anglican – my Poppy was an Anglican Minister, I´d already had my fair share of boring services…) Oh Heavens, I thought to myself. I then wished I was at home in Australia, as the Lord intended, watching Julie Anthony sing at Carols by Candlelight. (What a great idea St. George!!!)

But no, it wasn´t to be… Did I mention that we had gone to the MIDNIGHT MASS? Well, we came home and went immediately to bed. Little Francesca, just 3 years old, and Renzy, 6 months, both slept soundly until my WIFE, let´s call her ELIZABETH, got up at 4am and woke the house with her. But I, wise ol´ Jeddy, refused to budge. (regrettably fought the wrong battle there…) I “wisely” waited until 6am before rising. And what a sight… A word of wisdom to men thinking that I was doing the right thing here… Never, EVER cross your new wife on Christmas Day. More than a decade has passed and I still remain unforgiven.

Well, I walked into the “lounge room” and strained my eyes. I tell you the truth, EVERYONE was sitting on the floor, and HAPPY!!! It was appalling to me. I couldn´t see my children. They were giggling and the wrapping paper above them rustled as they moved around the room from spot to spot. I tell you the truth (again), it truly was a sea of paper. I dared not enter for fear of being sucked in by all this joy. What was the meaning of all this, this, this Fun and Happiness. I retreated to my room where I placed a towel over my head and inhaled deeply. 

Now, years later, Christmas for the Briens has evolved even further. I guess that´s family for you. No biggy. Changes have to be made as we invite others into our lives.

We have celebrated a second Christmas in the northern hemisphere and this time in New York. Things were equally as crazy in this beautiful country, and this time I was a tad better prepared.

Elizabeth and I have realised that our family is made up of two very distinct cultures. Together, united, we have formed our very own culture. I have resisted as I have felt Liz pushing for a place (a concept, a destination, a philosophy), that I hadn´t ever dreamt of going. Liz has also struggled as I´ve pulled in the opposite direction. And so, as you can see… Christmas´s in our family have had quite a turbulent evolution.   

But this year, for me, there has been quite a breakthrough. We now live in Nicaragua, a land physically rich, with a people economically poor. We are extending ourselves, forging into the Nicaraguan culture. We have been to our guard´s niece´s wedding, the youth group pastor´s house for dinner, we´ve been to rural quinces and our lawyer´s wife even comes to learn English with Liz. We´re out there, in the community, and we love it!

This Christmas we decided to do something a little different. We decided to have our very own Carols by Candlelight Concert in our very own backyard. (VIVA MELBOURNE!) We had always planned on raising money for our local community (to buy toys and food for them) and saw this as an opportunity to involve the local Nicaraguan Church and our Gringo partners. 

Oh what a night! At 5:30pm we were still downloading songs onto our laptop. The Church arrived at 6pm. Our guests arrived at 7. We began. I had selected a Vanessa Amorosi song to sing, as I wanted to sing something that showed my full range of vocal abilities. At the last minute we pulled out the crazy bits, I wasn´t wanting to show anyone up and my throat was aching after weeks of hayfever related symptoms.

Naturally it was a hit! Some of my lower notes were so low and hot they were nearly in hades! We moved on to some of the classics, such as Ding Dong Merrily on High (notes too high, couldn´t reach them, showed that we were a bit ding dong) and Silent Night. (after this little number, the audience truly were wishing it was a silent night…)  

Then the rain came. Now for those of you who don´t know, Nicaragua is in the tropical region of the Western Hemisphere. We have rain from June to November. It was quite a rude shock for us to have rain on a night such as the one we were celebrating, the birth of the Christ! But still, we powered on. (rather, we powered off, and moved the entire operation onto the verandah… “90 people, please grab an instrument and move 15 steps to the south.” It was a shambles! Liz and I relished in the moment! I thought back to my father´s red faced screaming in the Church… I had become my father!!!)

The kids performed an ol´ YWAM dance, For Unto US a Child is Born. It was a hit. The audience loved it. Lorenzy, Sezni and Raf, performed this dance with kids from the local Church. Naturally I directed from the front, due to the success of this number, most people watching me and wondering how and why. As I often remind my sister inlaw, “DON´T JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON, LEEEEEEEEEAD THE PARADE!!!”

The worship band from the mother Church of our local Church then performed seven songs. They were extraordinary! I don´t think Nicas are usually known as great singers or performers, but tonight, these semi-rural Christians could have been on any stage in the World. They sang with stamina and style, but most importantly, they sang with conviction.

From there we moved on to Away in a Manger. Raffy led this number, Fran on guitar, Renz on keys and Sez on the drums. All of the wee tots came to the fore and worshipped Jesus, our Saviour. I don´t think there was a dry eye – the pollen in the air – truly, horrendous…

The kids stayed on the instruments as we sung At the Cross, cause it´s ALL about the Cross, and then our nationals came back to lead us in Feliz Navidad. Yihaa!

The night had it´s highs (Ding Dong) and it´s lows (Hello Vanessa!!!), but all in all I realised one thing. I´ve found my Christmas Niche (a concept, a destination, a philosophy).

Our family is here in Nicaragua to stay. We´ve been sent by our Church in Australia to seek out and to save the lost, to bring hope to those without it, to feed, clothe, educate... You´ve heard all of that before.

However, what you mightn´t know is, I´ve been wandering around the face of this Earth, wondering how to express my Christmasness. I have lacked a Christmas identity…

And now I know… Christmas is about being together - just as Christ desires togetherness with HIS Church, reconciling differences - as Christ reconciled with both Jew and Gentile, forgiving - as Christ forgave, and loving - as Christ loved. AND ALL IN FRONT OF A LIVE, CAPTIVE AUDIENCE, MICROPHONE IN-HAND!!! Don´t jump on the bandwagon, grab your concept, destination, or philosophy and by joves darn it, LEAD THE PARADE!!! (Be who Christ made you to be... Be RADICAL!!!)

POST by SEZ: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, Oi, Oi!!!

One day when I was six I was going to the zoo with my Dad, Mom, Fran, Renz, and Raf.

I was going to see animals because we can learn more about animals. When we got there we saw Lions, Tigers, Cats, Wolfs, Deer’s, and Reptiles. 

We had a lot of fun seeing animals we saw Polar Bears, and Hippos , Alligators , Fish , and Turtles swimming. 

We saw Hyenas laughing for hours we saw Apes, Spider Monkeys , Capuchins , and Gorillas swinging , and climbing.                        

I like to learn about animals. 

POST by RENZY: Tantalising Traditions

My story is about Christmas, my church, and family.

As you know it is Christmas! Everyone is merrily decorating their Christmas trees and their house with lights except for the people in my church. They are focused only on God. It is a good thing but they have so many rules like no Christmas trees and no lights. We respect them but we have a tradition and we always put up our tree and Christmas decorations on December 1^st.

So a few weeks ago when we had just put up our decorations our church came over a few days later to hang out. I was wondering what they would say about it but they didn’t say anything to me thankfully. As a matter of fact I don’t think they said anything to anybody in my family but I am not sure. Any way we were having fun we went swimming and it was a Saturday.

The next day when we went to church the pastor was talking. Here is the funniest part, she was talking the why they do not have Christmas trees or lights. We were shocked. At the end I even started to laugh. What a coincidence.

So we still have our Christmas tree and lights up because we still do our tradition although they say that it is bad. At our church in Australia they have Christmas trees and lights up. It is sort of like the different cultures at my home church in Australia and my church here in Nicaragua.   

POST by RAFFY: Are You Ready To Hang Up Your Smalls?

Are you ready to hang up your stockings? Well I say yes. That’s why I am going to tell you a story about a stocking. And at the end of the story I am going to tell you how the stocking looked like. So are you ready? Start reading.

One day my dad was going to teach a boy English. I didn’t know what the boy´s name was. I went for a walk because I was board. I got 1 coconut for my family. I went for a longer walk and it looked like I was going in a circle. Then I found a stocking on the grass. And I also saw Francesca my sister. She wasn’t really doing nothing she was gist wandering around. First I said to Francesca look Fran look what I found.

I held the stocking in the air looking at it. Francesca asked where did you get that? I said right here on the grass next to this tree. Francesca and I went were my dad was after that and I said dad I have a stocking. My dad said put that back where you found it. But I said it was on the grass next to a tree. My dad said Ask the people and houses in front of the stocking. So I asked the people and houses if the stocking was there’s. And they all said no in Spanish.

So all of us went home and I gave the stocking to mom as a gift because she didn´t have a stocking.

I am going to tell you what the stocking had on it now. It had a snow man with clothes on it, on the top of the stocking said snow, the snow man wore a hat that was lite green, red, white, it had a scarf, Last the background was red.

CAROLS by CANDLELIGHT - Tonight is the NIGHT!!!

In Australia, we love to join in the Christmas spirit by taking a picnic blanket, and our singing voices, and join other families by singing good old fashion and modern Christmas Carols by candlelight. 

Tonight, we Brien's will be hosting a Carols by Candlelight concert upon our lawn, and we'd love it if you could come! 

Entry is free, and a coin donation will get you a program (all proceeds will benefit the local community) Candles and refreshments will also be available to purchase. 

We'll open the gates at 5:30pm, bring your rug so you can lounge out on the lawn, and bring your singing voices and join us in celebrating Christmas the Australian way.  

Make sure your kids are well versed in AWAY IN A MANAGER :) 

Location:  For those who know the MOSTS house, it's there (we are housesitting) and the road has just been leveled out thanks to pre-election campaigns !!!  

For those who don't know or have forgotten where we now live...

It's Km 12, Carretera Vieja a Leon, you will see a zebra crossing (hmmm not sure what you USA citizens say.. is it Cross walk??)

Turn left at km 12 and drive ALL the way up the hill.. (2.5 kms)

You will pass a school and Covanic.   Keep driving all the way up until you can turn left onto another street.  (it's really the first left you can take)

take this left turn and you'll find the house gate on the left.  

Questions, e-mail us: lizandjed@yahoo.com.au.

Our phone number is 2264 4484 

The spanish directions are: Km 12 Carretera Vieja a Leon, De la Entrada a Covanic, 2.5km al sur, mano izquierda, muro de ladrillo, 2nd porton verde de metal, a la vuelta de la esquina.   

Political: Understanding the Emerging Latin America

While much of the World is in crisis and protests are erupting throughout Europe and the United States, Latin American and Caribbean nations are building consensus, advancing social justice and increasing positive cooperation in the region. Social, political and economic transformations have been taking place through democratic processes in countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil throughout the past decade, leading to a massive reduction in poverty and income disparity in the region, and a substantial increase in social services, quality of life and direct participation in political process.


CLICK here to read article

Political: The West is Getting Fat, Whilst Nicaraguan Sugar Cane Workers Die

On June 10, 2011, Martinez was assigned to cut four rows of cane. His task was to strip off the leaves, chop them into pieces, and tie them into bundles. About forty pieces make up a bundle. For this labor, he earned one cordoba per bundle – less than a nickel. (5 cents)

By 8:30 in the morning, he had cut two rows. He was starting to feel sick, but continued to cut in the sweltering heat. “The sun was too strong, and I had sweated through my shirt like someone had thrown water on me,” Martinez recalled.

By the time he finished his rows, at about 11, Martinez was feverish and nauseous. He rested some 15 minutes, but still had to tie his pieces into bundles. Another worker came to help.

Martinez said they finished about 1 p.m., and the bus came to bring the workers home about half an hour later. When it arrived, Martinez felt desperately ill. “I got onto the bus and I couldn’t walk anymore,” he said.

Since Martinez was a contract worker, he could not go to the company hospital. He took the bus toward home and on board began to vomit. The bus did not stop. “The guys gave me a chance to stick my head out the bus window,” he said.

The road where the bus left him is separated from his home by a shallow river. His mother and brother carried him across the river to bring him to his bed.

Soon after his collapse, Martinez learned that his creatinine levels were up. He had gone for days with no appetite, wanting only cold drinks to soothe the sensation of fever.
“If death is coming, we have to resign ourselves to wait for it,” Martinez said. “Resigning yourself means waiting for what the disease is going to give you. Because you look at me and I look normal now, but inside I feel like I’m burning."

CLICK here to read article

POST by LIZ: A Fruity Jump Start

Today, we finally were able to pay for our car to be fixed – it had problems with the radiator and had been sitting in a dodgy car yard for the past 3 weeks looking all sorry for itself – but I digress.

I was so elated to be finally driving our own vehicle again, I decided to go out and celebrate: I put my foot on the accelerator and drove down the open roads to pay our rent, electricity bill and get enough money to pay Zeta gas (who promised they would arrive at the house in 50 minutes to fill up the empty gas tank). 

First stop: ATM to get the dinero.  With the engine purring, I pulled into the parking lot four spaces away from the ATM.  This is important, as I was about to get a wad load of cash out, and I´m always a little edgy when I – a single white gringa-looking female – go to the ATM in a country that wreaks poverty and has incredible high petty crime statistics.

As I pull in, I am confronted with a smell of rotten fruit combined with a strong odor of Flor de Cana belonging to a toothless, grinning man whose clothes were not even fit to be called rags. 

I´m trapped between my car door and this fella.  There´s only one way to get out of here, I thought. Nodding, and clutching at my bag, but trying to appear like I´m not clutching merely carrying it, I bung on my best, convincing, Spanish accent, pretend to take a sniff in the air and said to the chap, “MMMmmmm muy delicioso pero otra dia okay!...OOOOkay” and then I squeezed past him and his basket of naranjas.

I almost reach the solid concrete steps of the bank then realise that I forgot to lock the car – just a minor detail – grrrrr…

I quickly scurried back, eyes down, put the key into the lock turned once, turned twice, then felt the warmth of the alcoholic breath of the rotten fruit man on my neck. Swallowing back the fear and frustration, I side step him singing out, “si, si, muuuuuy deliciosooooo… okay… otra dia…”     

SAFE.  I made it inside the bank. The cue to the cashiers looked longer than the Great Wall of China, but I had to pay the electricity here or we´d be holding candles tonight, and it wouldn´t be for the sake of Christmas. 

Wishing I had brought a book to read, I funneled my way into the line. After 35 minutes I reached Carlos´ booth.  He kindly served me, and then asked me for directions to my house.  WEIRD – I´d never been asked for my home address before – actually, there really aren´t any street names in Nicaragua, as Bono publically pointed out when he wrote the song “Where the streets have no names”… so giving directions is a skill in itself.

…  okay.. my directions.. now wait… what was it… left at km 12, past the broken down horse cart, when you reach the dirt road follow it all the way up, slow down for the chickens crossing the road, then chuck a right when you hit the biggest pot hole and the house is on the left.. or was it the third biggest pot-hole.. no wait, Ortega, wanting to win votes, had it recently graded pre the elections, so that would be where the third biggest pot-hole used to be.

Carlos smiled, then I realised this was more than just a bank transaction. Rambling, I apologized, telling him to scrap all of what I had just said as I really didn´t know where I lived, and normally my HUSBAND comes to pay the bill.  Rejected, Carlos handed me the receipt and eyed the cue for the next customer. 

Remembering that I needed money for the rent and the gas - which was due to arrive in less than 10 minutes, I stopped at the ATM. I withdrew cash, separated it into smaller amounts and stuffed it here, there and everywhere, with the mindset that if I did get mugged I could pull out one section of money and hope that my mugger would be satisfied with what I gave. 

I made my way back to the car.  My “friend” was now sitting on the wall a few feet away, he started to get up, so I nodded quickly and yelled out “MAÑANA, MAÑANA!” and he regressed. 

I felt the car seat under me. I put the key in the ignition and…NOTHING! I tried again… nothing.. “Drat.. the battery is flat!” Pockets and purse stuffed with money that´s already spent, I clambered back out of the vehicle. 

My fruit friend came swaying towards me asking me if I need any help.  I needed to work fast!  “Esta bien” I confidently said, as I popped the hood, and made my way to the back of the car thanking the Lord for giving me jumper leads!

But my friend ignored my response and viewed this as his mission too.

Calmly, I waved my jumper-cables to a lady pulling up next to me and was about to ask her if she´d give me a jump start, when my comrade took it on himself to promote my plight to her.

Wide eyes, looking like the Easter bunny who´s just been told bunny soup is on the menu, she grabbed her purse like it was some child who was about to be kidnapped, locked her door making sure she didn´t turn her back on us, and ran into the bank. 

“Gracias” I yelled in vain and turned, almost Eskimo kissing my “helper”. 

“What shall we do” he muttered, scratching his head and butt at the same time.  “WE” oh good gracious, I started to realise that I was never going to get a jumpstart as I watched person after person dart in and out of the bank shaking their heads at me before I could utter one syllable.

But wait! Before you start playing a sad song, there´s always a silver lining! I spotted a car pull in. I asked my “butt scratching-faithful companion” if he´d be willing to put his fruit basket down and check to see if all the tires were pumped up. Posing this request as a “perhaps this is why my car won´t start” but secretly knowing this would hide him from view for a few seconds. Thankfully, he was willing and got down on his hands and knees.

I composed myself and approached the humming car with my Puss-in-Boots eyes. Success!  The man took pity on me.  I pointed to my no-life car and he started to pull up next to it.  Suddenly, my tire- checking buddy jumped up from under the car grinning and saying something about “US” needing assistance to my new helper. 

The guy in the perfectly-working-battery-functioning car started to jam it into reverse! I threw myself onto his car and pleaded with him to help me. He nodded, clicked his central locking button, wound up his windows, and popped the hood.          

My fruit-selling-now-turned-wannabe-mechanic incorrectly hooked up the leads for me – it was like November 5^th celebrations with sparks flying everywhere! I asked him to switch them over - which he did.  SUCCESS! 

The good Samaritan in the other car stepped on his gas pedal helping us with a quick removal of the leads.  My fruit selling friend lowered the hood of my car and handed back the jump cables. “Gracias” I said, and slipped him some Córdobas.  “Hasta mañana” he grinned, picked up a rotten orange and walked backwards while he peeled the orange with his one good tooth.

As I made my way back home I realised, after all of that, I had forgotten to pay the rent!  “Mañana” I thought to myself smiling and thinking about how beautiful Nicaraguans are.                        

Political: Nicaraguan Government Invites Religious Organisations to Assist Children

The Nicaraguan Government has invited religious organisations to assist with the education and health of the country´s youngest citizens. This is exciting news for us as we forge ahead with our school and orphanage. There has been an enormous amount of speculation over whether or not the government will allow foreign entities to continue opening schools and running children´s homes, and so it really is an answer to prayer for us.

CLICK here to learn more

Economy: Coffee Growing in Nicaragua

One of Nicaragua´s main exports is coffee. Check out this video to watch the process, how it gets from the farm, to your cup.

POST by FRAN: Cody

It was December 2^nd in the morning, all my siblings and I were all in the Christmas spirit because we had put up our Christmas tree the day before. I was in a Sandinista t-shirt with Daniel Ortega’s, the president of Nicaragua, signature on it. I was also wearing pants covered with cute little pink hearts that my grandmother in England had sent them to me for my birthday a year ago.

“Today is going to be a great day!” I said to myself, I said this because the day before I was all achy and that morning I woke up feeling amazing! 

In morning devotions we had finished the story about Sampson and his great strength, and after devotions we have to get ready for the day so I went to my bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. Cody likes to sleep behind my toilet. 

Well first, Cody is our puppy that we received when lucky passed away. He is a husky with two different colored eyes. And he is adorable!

Well I walked into the bathroom and there he was just like always, but he wasn’t asleep… his eyes were half open. I thought he was asleep, but when I went over to him and I suddenly felt cold. “oh no!” I muttered to no one in particular. I didn’t want it to happen again, it had. He was as stiff as Lucky had been.

I slowly walked out of my bathroom to my bedroom door “dad, I think Cody’s dead” there I said it.

He was the perfect little puppy for our rather big family. He wasn’t as loud as us though!

Good bye Cody, you were amazing!

 Hold on to memories that can last forever!

POST by SEZ: Silliness at the Circus

One night me and my family were going to the circus and we were going to watch what they can do.

We saw people with animals like white tigers and a pony with a little kid. A man with a motorcycle in a big hamster ball he goes up and down in it and their came a man with the white tigers and one bite him and the man wiped that tiger.

In a few hours there was people up in the sky then they were coming down the sky and they were flying every were.

In a funny show that there was a clown dressed up as a baby and went to bed , but when the baby went to the baby saw a bee that came , but the baby threw a toy at the bee and fell down and the baby went back to bed. The bee came back up and got mad he was going to kill the baby , but the baby threw a bottle at it and threw it in the trash and went to bed , but the baby had something on its bottom they were baby bees they stung him and the baby ran away. 

At the end for the last show there was a guy who had knifes to do something awesome that he throws them at a women , but she doesn’t die and then came fire time and it was awesome . When the show was over we had glue stick and I was playing light savers with them.

POST by JED: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

It’s happening, they’re growing up! Well it was just yesterday that I was holding them in my arms, promising the World, goo-ing and gah-ing, welcoming the visitors, chatting with the midwives, and timidly shopping for women’s products. (and mistakenly selecting a male shop assistant from behind, whom I thought was a woman on account of the long hair, to assist me in selecting the correct women´s products. Anyone else would just let the poor chap go, but not me – nooooo! I fought through my embarrassment and rambled on about regularity, consistency and flow… All the while we’re both standing there, together – UNITED, looking like two grandiose idiots…) 

Those were the days… Exciting, fun, moments in time that I thought would never end.

Enter from stage right, two teenage daughters.

Our Church life now consists of visiting our local Chuch (a Pentecostal AOG) 4 times per week. Services are in the evenings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. There´s also a matinee on Sunday morning, but we don´t go to that one. The services are HOT and LOOOONG! (minimum 2 hours, maximum 4 hours) 

The building is concrete and the parishioners decorate the front of the building with gaudy maroon fabric and fake flowers. Moto-taxis (half motorbike, half rickshaw) burl past the Church building and we, trapped inside, become covered with layer upon layer of dust. 

The raucous, extroverted, bubbly pianist (think of the larger nun from Sister Act, then take her voice down a couple of octaves and make her Latina) always waits for the singers to start, before touching the piano. Whence they´re too far into the song to change keys, she starts pounding on her instrument and belting out her own melodies. (though it just occurred to me now that she might think they´re harmonies) 

However, it´s all for the glory of God, and so I wouldn´t change one single thing. (Except the fake flowers!)

Our sons come to Church and humbly sit in the front row. Sezni plays the drums and although bewildered at first, he now has gained some confidence. (Hence the clashing of the symbols at the end of the pastor´s reverent prayer. It’s funny as I write, but in the moment it is not. The congregation looks on with wide eyed anticipation.  “What´s he going to do next?”, I imagine them to be thinking…) 

By the end of the service, without fail, Raf has fallen asleep, Billy is at his wits end, and Sez has entered yet another dimension of lunacy. (His eyes are usually set heavenwards and a half smile is sitting upon his face…)

The girls however, are on fire! Both have expressed a desire to be baptised and without coercion from us, their parents. In our Church services Francesca and Lorenzy sit and listen attentively. They understand the sermons and can explain them to us. (translating the messages from Spanish into English)  The girls push us to be on time for every meeting, and for those of you who know us well, you‘ll know what kind of a challenge that represents! 

The girls want to go to EVERY group, be at each event, and participate in all activities. It’s exhausting! But we love their hearts and so we soldier on!

However, a new dynamic in our lives is the sudden interest in our girls by members of the opposite sex. BOYS! Francesca and Lorenzy are quite comfortable relating to boys and so we’re grateful that they’re not all giddy and stupid like some girls can be. But the amount of attention that the girls are confronted with, especially due to the lack of teenage girls in our Church, and because of the girls’ lighter complexion and fairer hair, is daunting. 

There are now close to twenty boys in our Church, whereas a few months ago there were two.

So what does a Dad of daughters do? All kinds of moronic things that either make the girls blush or shame them. I remember a time when my father was the “loser” and now that title belongs to me! (Though it is enjoyable to say the least. A new era of carefree abandon, without pressure to be cool or  say clever things. Doing my hair is now optional and the warts on my feet no longer hold me back.) 

I say things that get me into trouble. I do things that don´t make sense. I know that I´m not acting the way I should, but I am compelled to make a fool of myself for one reason or another!

Some examples? I hear you ask…

Well, a boy was standing by the pool chatting with my darling dear, Lorenzy. I walked along, not wanting them to stand to close to each other, and without prior thought I said “woops” and hip-to-hipped the dude so that he went FLYING into the water. Only thing was, the kid couldn´t swim! (Very typical for rural Nicaraguans) 

So Lorenzy was left with no other option but to dive into the pool and save the kid´s life. Eeeeek… Thank Heavens she was able to get to him before resuscitation was required.

Then on another occasion… The lights went out during the middle of a service. I was looking around, eyeing the youth, trying to work out who was who amongst the shadows. And then I spot them. A boy has put his arm around Francesca! 

As father of the girl child, I must respond in a timely manner. I leave the safety of the front row, as Raffy sleeps on, and race to sit between Francesca and this boy, who might or might not make it home alive this evening. There is a time of intense waiting. What shall I say? What shall I do? Should I ask to have a chat with him, or talk to Francesca first? I still haven´t decided upon my game plan when the lights come on again. To my horror, neither of the people sitting beside me are Francesca! In fact they´re a young couple, who already have a baby of their own! Francesca is sitting behind me, laughing at yet another embarrassing moment with her Dad, the moment of mistaken identity.

And so we keep trusting the Lord. He has brought us this far, in spite of ourselves, and he will lead us on. We do what we can, we trust in him, we learn to laugh at ourselves and we love. We continue to love, unconditionally, come what may…

Political: Latin Americans Not Seeking Democracy

With the rate of crime and murder increasing in Latin America over the last decade, entire Latin populations are seeking strong governance, regardless of the cost, to ensure domestic safety and security. China is definitely seeking to create new and lasting friendships within the region (and though this article does not mention it, so is Iran and Russia), whilst the US has placed Latin America on the bottom of their international agenda, and will pay a high price.

CLICK here to read article

POST by RAFFY: Good Times WITH Aunty Rach...

This story is about Rachel, our friend came over. I am going to tell you a moment when she was with us. Ready? Ok. Were we go.

One good day we were going to the airport. But without Rachel but we were waiting for Rachel. Rachel came in 27 seconds. Yea we loved her. So when we got home we needed to go to school. I was sick so I needed to stay home.

I watched Rio on TV.  Rachel too she watched Rio to and she was on the computer on Facebook. In the end of the movie there was a song. You can stop reading and look at the video. The video is the song. So I will see you after the song. Bye.

Now you know that there are many birds, 1 bulldog, and 3 people. I remember I was in first grade and I watched Rio. Back to the story.

When we finished the movie we did nothing gist relaxed. 

Health: Vivax Malaria

Nicaragua is a hotspot for Vivax Malaria, having more reported cases than any other country in Latin America. There is little that can be done for the recipient of Vivax Malaria, and it can hide in the liver for months, or even years before the body displays symptoms.

CLICK here to read article

Political: The USA and Latin America

The USA needs to focus on building relationships with Latin American countries, as the USA´s traditional trading partners battle with recession and an uncertain future in the World´s ever evolving market. China and Iran are both concentrating on Latin America, and rather than dominating, the US needs to look at forging friendships within the region, not subservient states.

CLICK here to read article

Christmas Drive and Carols By Candlelight

The Brien Family would like to involve you in one of two things:

1. Give to the Nicaraguan child this Christmas. Children in our local community are suffering due to a lack of adequate health care, education and sufficient healthy food. Whilst we are working on longer-term solutions to these problems, we are unable to do much this Christmas without your help. Just a $5 donation can buy a Nicaraguan kid a chicken, which gives them enough protein for their daily requirement. $10 can buy a Nicaraguan child a toy, making this Christmas stand-out as a special time in their life when somebody cared. $20 can buy a Nicaraguan child enough multi-vitamin tablets to last for months and months (1 in 5 Nicaraguan kids have stunted growth, due to deficiencies in their diet).

To donate, please visit our paypal link and in the description field, enter “Christmas Drive”. We will make a video of your child opening their gift, this Christmas, and place it on Youtube. CLICK here to donate today

2. On Friday, the 16^th of December, the Brien Family will be hosting the first ever, annual, Carols By Candlelight Concert. You are invited to attend. Entry is free but a coin donation will get you a program, with all proceeds benefiting the local community. Candles and refreshments will also be for sale. The program begins at 5:30pm, so bring your rug, and come sing carols with the Briens this Christmas in Cedro Galan (there will be several special guest performances… It´s rumoured that Andrea Bocelli  is in town). Please e-mail for further directions and details: lizandjed@yahoo.com.au

3. We are in need of monthly support. If you would like to support our work then please visit us at Capital on the Edge

POST by RENZY: A Dog´s Life

As you may know, we have two new puppies. One of them is a Labrador and the other one is a German shepherd crossed with a husky. The labs name is Chela (that is what the Nicaraguans call a white girl here) and the German shepherd/husky is called blue because of her eyes.

A few days ago, we went to a volcano here called volcan Masaya. After going there we went to the markets and then to a pool with our good friends Shamir and his family. They are our good friends and Shamir’s brother is the Latin American bodybuilding champion.

So we were getting ready to go and dad calls the two pups over so we can leave. First he called Blue over and she went right over to him. When he went to call Chela over to him he said “Chichi, come over here!”(Chichi means boob) and we all started laughing. Then he says “My Spanish is so bad”.

Whenever my parents speak Spanish I get embarrassed. We always have to translate and correct them. I know they are trying really hard but they always forget the words that they want to say. You can help by praying for them.

Political: The New Latin America is Born

Many leaders from Latin American nations met in Venezuela to formally birth the new coalition of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. Some interesting facts:

1. Canada and the US not invited to participate, as the objective is to solve regional problems without pressure from the north in a complimentary, rather than competitive market;
2. China is now the main trade ally of both Brazil and China;
3. The region produces more of the World's food than any other region.

CLICK here to read article

Political: Iran's Growing Presence in Latin America

The US is concerned about the ever-increasing influence Iran is having within Latin America. In the last few years they have opened eleven embassies throughout the Americas and have billions of dollars worth of joint ventures with Latino Governments. The primary concern that the US has is the potential for terrorist activities throughout the region.

CLICK here to read article

POST by FRAN: Billy vs. Lawnmower

“Mrrrrrrrrrr” is the sound of the lawn mower.

The gardener of this house, Angél, is a short, stubborn, lazy, Nicaraguan man. He likes the lawn mower, because it does most of the work for him! Today we came home to the annoying drone of the lawn mower.

My three brothers (Sezni, Rafael and Billy) were playing outside with my sister, Lorenzy, but I couldn’t see her.

Suddenly Billy starts screaming like a little girl! “Oh, it’s only Billy playing with Lorenzy” I thought to myself.

First let me tell you about Billy; he is probably the fattest three-year-old you have seen, he eats way too much, and he also is stubborn and lazy (I think it’s a Nicaraguan thing, most men are stocky and stubborn)

Anyway, back to the story…

I looked up from where I was sitting on the sofa (I was almost asleep), and I saw Lorenzy stride in through the front door. “Hold on a second, why is Billy screaming?” I thought to myself once more.

After pondering I decided to go and see for myself why Billy was screaming his head off.

I walked to the front door and looked out the window that was facing the grassy area to the front of the house. Billy was running away from something, but he tripped and Oso, our big black dog, almost trampled him!

Billy hopped to his feet and Oso moved out of Billy’s way. Just as Billy started screaming again, he began running and then I saw Angél and the lawn mower! Billy was running away from the lawn mower, he thought the lawn mower would eat him up! Haha!

The mind of a three-year-old has many twists and turns that we “elders” have no idea about! It is fun to have a little brother that I can watch grow up and remember, because I don’t remember much about Rafael when he was three… only from old home videos.

Cherish the young while you can remember them! I’m doing that with Billy and I already have so many stories to tell, so that when Billy grows up he will have some memories from my perspective!