POST by RENE: Fire & Grass

Rene

Hello my name is Rene. You know today I had a beautiful day because God is always with me and that makes me happy, but I miss my mother a lot because she isn’t with me.

You know, here in the United States of America it is very cold - I feel like I am in a refrigerator. I sleep at night with two blankets. I put one on the ground to lie on, and lie under the other one. The bad thing is that in the morning I poke my feet from out of my bed and the cold grabs them and makes me feel really cold. So, what I do is roll myself up like a snake, but it is still really cold!

These days that I have been in the United States have been really awesome. I have loved all the churches that we have visited. I love them a lot because they talk of God and have such happiness. I also like the mountains and the flowers and the grass – it feels very soft. So soft in fact, I have been able to practice tricking (street form of gymnastics) on it.

I am also happy because I have been able to meet some people that do tricking as well. We were able to vsit Loop Kicks in San Jose,  where some of the best trickers in the world have practiced and trained. It was a huge privilege to practice with the trickers that train there, and my dream is to practice with the best trickers in the world (Micheal Guthri, Anis Churfa and Vellu Saraela).

I am thankful to God that he gave me this privilege (of being able to travel to America), because without God  we can’t take a step forward, but if we are with him we can climb mountains, cross seas and walk through fire. Everything we need is in God and we give our lives to him because he gave his for us.  

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Hola mi nombre es rene   saben hoy hetenido un bonito  dia  por que dios  esta siempre conmigo  y eso  mease muy feliz    pero  estrano ami  madre porque  no eta con migo y  la estrano mucho.  sabe  a qui en los estados unidos   ase mucho mucho  frio  asta siento que estoy dentro de una refrigerdora.   sabe  yo duermo con dos sabanas   una la pongo en el suelo y la otra mecobijo  pero lo malo que en la madrugada  zaco mis pies y esdonde entra todo el frio y ms ppes se ponen eladitos   y en se momento  lo que ago es en rollarme como una serpiente   por el  gran frio que ase deveras   saben estos dias en los estados  unidos   la he pasado super bien   y me en cantantodas las glesiias  donde amos hidos megustan mucho por que   alaba adios con alegria y emocion   y saben  tanbiiem  megusta mucho las montanas  y sus flores  y  lagrama es muy suave y mepongo  apraticar  tricking y tanbien estoy feliz por que   conosi aunos  tricking  y  nos llebaron  a loopckis  donde anpraticado los mejores tricker del mundo  y es un granpribilegio aver praticado con tricker  y  mi sueno es es praticar con el  major tricking de mundo  que es  Michael guthri y conoser anis churfa y  a  vellu zaraela  y  doy  mil  gracias  adios  que  medio ese pribilegio  por que  sin dios   no  podemos dar un paso adelante  pero siestamos con el  podemos es calar montanas y  crusar  mares y fuego  pero todo es que qreamos en dios y en treguemos nuestra vida a el  por que el dio la sulla por nosotros.

 

POST by RENE: The Locomotion

Rene on the BART in San Francisco, with the "poor man" and Ericson, Yordy, Jonny, Eliezer, Raffy and Franny

Hello, my name is Rene.

Today is a happy day for me because I have God in my heart and I am happy about that. Every morning I wake up and say “thank you God for one more day of life.” I always like to be happy because I know I have God in my life.

I like to travel in trains, I don’t know why, but I like it. I don’t like to travel in airplanes.

One day something very funny happened to me. We were at a train station and I was bored, and so I said “I am going to make my friends want to dance for a while.” So my friends and I agreed to dance.  We started to dance and I passed a hat around so that the people in the train station would give us money. Do you know how much they gave us? $1!!!

We were starting to get very tired when Jed and Elizabeth arrived. We all got on the train to leave San Francisco. The doors closed and we started to leave when saw that a friend of mine, Beycker, was still on the train station platform. He had stayed in the bathroom when the train departed.

When Liz saw him, she started yelling to Beycker. But he just stood there looking at us and started to laugh. I said “how dumb. He should have started running!” But then when I sat down, I couldn’t stop laughing.

Rene on the BART with Rafael in San Francisco

On another day, we rode the train through San Francisco, and a very poor man, whose breath smelled of alcohol and who smelled bad in general, said “hello.” I responded to the man with “hello.” He asked, “Do you have Marijuana?” I told him I didn’t have any. He said, “okay.”

Then he took a cheap cell phone from his pocket and asked “Do you want it?” I said “ok.” Then he pulled an i-phone 4 out and I said, “wow, how is possible that he has something like that?” He also had a LOT of money in his pockets. I said “the USA is strange. In Nicaragua if you have a cell phone you have money.” That is something like about the US.

One day I was very angry with Mrs. Elizabeth. A pastor saw my attitude and said “son, come here and let’s talk a little.” He said “You know in life the people that love you a lot, they worry about you, because they love you. The people that don’t love you, don’t say anything to you.” And that’s true. “If you try to block that love, you are going to suffer in life.” And in that moment I went to say sorry to Liz. I started to think, “she only wants good stuff for us and she looks at us like we are her sons. She loves us and sometimes we don’t see that. She wants a good path for us, even though sometimes she gets furious with us. It’s good that all mothers are like that.”

Thanks to God that I have a second mother, and she is very precious and nice, and she is like an angel sent from the sky. I love her family as well, even though they’re a little crazy. I like that.

Thanks to God for putting us in their path, it’s a blessing from God.

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Rene, Stivey, 2nd Mum (Elizabeth) and Beycker

Hola  mi nombre es rene hoy es un dia muy feliz para mi  por que tengo a dios en mi Corazon y estoy  feliz por eso  y cada maña me  levanto y suspiro y  doy gracias adios  que medio un dia   mas  de vida y  sienpre megusta estar feliz por que  cee que tengo  adios en  mi vida   saven  ami me gusta mucho  biajar en tren   nose  por que  pero megusta  no megusta  viajar en avion  mucho  sabe  un dia mepaso algo  muy gracioso   estabos en una parade de trenes  cuando yo estaba aburido  y dije  voy animar amis amigos  para bailar un rato y  todos no pusimos de acuerdo  que si vamos abailar  y comesamos  mientra  yo pasaba  una gorra  para  que medieran  dinero  y saben cuanto mediero un dolar  solo eso y estamos muy cansados  y en eso llego jed y Elisabeth brien  y todos  nos alistamos para irnos   cuando estamos todos en el tren  un amigo mio se quedo en el baño cuando el tren aranco mi amigo se quedo y derepente la liz lomiro y  grito becker  y  becker  solo  nos quedo biendo y  sepuso areir  y  yodije  que tonto ques fueracorrido y des pues en el tren no meparaba de reir jajaajjaja    y otro dia nos montamos en tren y  en tro un señor  muy pobre y con mal aliento su olor era a alcol  y medijo  hola y ledije hola  y el medijo  tienes mariguana  y le no  ha ok dijo y despue saco un cellular muy barato y medijo  loquieres y  yo ok  y des pues saco un aipo 4  idije  wwwua  como es possible  que tega algo asi y andaba  mucho Dinero  y  yo dije  como es etados unidos  wuua  por que en  Nicaragua el que  tiene un celur es por que  tiene mucho dinero en serio de veras   bueno esto es algo que megusto mucho un  dia  yo estaba enojado con doña Elizabeth  pero muy enojado  y un pastor miro mi actitu  y medijo  hijo ven ablemos un poco  sabes en la vid alas personas  que tea man mucho seprecupan  por ti  por que tea man las que no tea man no tedisen nada y es la verda  y si tratas de bloquer ese amor  bas asufrir en la vida y en ese momento fui apedir perdon a Elizabeth  y mepuse apensar que  ella solo quiere un bien para todos nosotros y nos mira como su hijos  y nos ama y nosotros  no nosdamos cuenta de eso  ella quiere un  camino bueno para todos nosotros  aun que algunas vese  ella es muy  furiosa con nosotros  pero es para bien todas  las  madres son asi y  gracias  adios que tengo un segunda madre y es muy presiosa y linda es como un angel en viado desde el cielo y  su familia tanbien megusta la familia brien son un poco locos pero megustan gracias adios que nos puso en su camino es una bendicion de dios

POST by LIZ: Oooh, I could Crush a Grape!

Elizabeth & Rene in downtown San Francisco

It is an incredible privilege to be touring California with my beautiful family,  which of course consists of Jed, my four precious ones and the eight wonderful lads whom God has put into our lives.  Our days are never monotonous; observing our engorged family soak in this surreal experience and growing more in God, brings a sense of contentment in my spirit.

Each and every one of my “children” have their own unique quirks. Political Correctness (PC) demands parents to say they treat all family members the same, but I personally find this to be highly unachievable.  Personality has a huge role to play and tends to eschew PC with great force. Honestly, while I strive to treat all the same, my daily interactions and methods of discipline with them all vary, due to ‘Personality’. 

While I love them all, Rene tends to have a special place in my heart.  He is young (15), passionate, impetuous, and majorly self-absorbed (like the majority of 15 year olds!)  Over the year I have known him, he and I have come a long way and we have had major collisions throughout the journey (some involving knives and others involving fists).

To let you in on a secret - he almost didn’t make the tour due to his inflated attitude that totally clashed with mine! But he made it on the California tour by a hanging thread, and certainly brings  vibrancy to the group.  

When we were in Nicaragua, waiting to submit passports, the line was long, the day was hot, and it seemed like days were being sucked out of our lives.  After three hours of moving at a snail’s pace towards the building which  would provide the precious document, lunch was overdue and we were fading away... 

“I’ll just run and grab us all something to eat,” I said trying to slip away quietly, but they all wanted to come with me for the adventure. So, Stivey and Eric held our queue positions, while the rest of us went to find food.  “How about McDonalds?” Rene quickly suggested, but at $6 per person, this was way out of our lunch budget, which was $12.50 for our entire group. Like a mother hen with chicks in tow, we made our way to the grocery store. 

“No Liz” Rene whined, wiggling a can of red bull in my face while I grabbed a pack of plastic cups and a couple of 3 litre water bottles.   

I expertly dodged the two-cm-from-my-face, visual requests for cans, pks of chips, and chocolate, as I swooped in and grabbed a cooked chook and some freshly baked rolls.      

“Pleeeeease...” Rene requested, with pitiful eyes that seemed bigger and more innocent than Puss-in-Boots’, a basket of fruit.  “Not today, fruit is expensive and right now we don’t have the money for this,”  but that wasn’t enough... Beycker, Jonny and Rene started to steal and eat the grapes and caused a riot – I stopped them, told them how utterly embarrassed I was of their rude behaviour and explained that they would get NOTHING if this behaviour continued...  This seemed to verbally slap Beycker and Jonny back into civility but Rene was persistent. 

As we left the fruit’n’veg section, and made our way towards the check-out, via aisle four, I noticed Rene munching on grapes while hosting a bunch in his hand.

“Rene, I said No more, grapes are really expensive and when you eat them like this without paying for them it’s called stealing!...” but he cut in my words stating he was going to buy them.

Knowing full well his personal budget, I stressed once again that I was not okay about him stealing, and that I would not be buying the grapes for him or anyone today.  But he stressed that he was paying and promised not to eat another grape until after paying.

Putting the cups, water, chicken and bread on the moving belt, Jonny’s eyes moved side ways towards the snickers. He then grinned as my eyes narrowed and my face indicated “not on your life!”

As the checker started scanning, I noticed the now hot and sweaty, ‘we’ve-been-in-Rene’s-hands’ grapes next to the bag of rolls.  All the boys had seen this and were silently watching for my reaction. 

Fearing the last minute requests for craved items from the other boys if I allowed the grapes to pass, I picked up a divider and placed it between the rolls and the grapes. Rene grinned whilst asking, “Please Liz?”  He looked at me, the check out chick looked at me, the other lads’ eyes were darting from the grapes to Rene, to me.  But I ignored Rene’s pleading and pulled out the cash from my pocket, handing it to the cashier, “Just these items thanks.” I cooed.

We picked up the bags and stood in a line entertained by the thought of Rene’s next reaction.  Jonny and Beycker chuckled while Rene fumbled in his pocket for loose cordabas. 

“That will be 23 cords please,” the woman at the teller said after scanning the forbidden fruit.

”WHAT?” Rene retorted, “That’s a rip off- 23 cords for a just a handful of grapes!”  

Rene looked at his treasure, then requested for the guys to lend him C$13. None of them had a cord... “Liz, can you lend me C$13?”  But I just smiled and shook my head. 

The lads couldn’t control themselves and burst out laughing, as Rene had to put the grapes to the side and walk away from the till.  Rene looked at me, I looked at him and we both started laughing which made everyone laugh harder.   

POST by SEZ: Teaching the Tiny Tykes

Rene on the Tramp

On Monday I started to teach kids front flip on the trampoline. First we had to stretch, so we stretched our hands, arms, legs, feet and we did a few jumping jacks. When we started to finish our stretches we went to the trampoline. 

When we got on we had to jump first before they would do a flip. I have a partner, do you know what his name is? It’s Rene. He helped me with the kids. We teach kids for half an hour a day so they can have great tricking.

POST by FRAN: Nasty Nights & Nits

Rene, Jonny & Beycker celebrate being Nit-free

There are nine rooms in our whole house, with eighteen people sleeping in seventeen beds, some rooms are shared and some have only one person in them. All eighteen of us have ONE thing in common and hats, hugs and hair all shared that ONE thing...

‘CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP’ I can imagine them in Yader’s jungle-like hair! CHOMPING their way through, down to his scalp and swinging as they scream “ahhaaaaaaaaaaa” like Jorge of the Jungle (parental note: can you see the Latino flavour making it's way?). I think you know what I’m talking about, little critters... NITS! I didn’t ask for them, I don’t need them, I don’t want them!

Raf giving the nits their marching orders

Nits are probably the most non-wanted insects in the world, they make your head itch and they lay eggs in your hair! We all want to get rid of them and we say, “why do nits even exist?” And if you were Eliazer you’d probably say “I DUNNO!” You have to try dodging them when they get too close, and when they hit your house you need to get out the weapons! Yes, it is time to extinguish the itchy, little bugs!

But it didn’t start like this, we had no idea... We were all...Normal... Without an infestation! Our days were normal days; school work, pick up kids, tricking class, etc... We walked around without any annoyance at all, no itching - well I wasn’t itching, but Rene was. So that’s where it started, with Rene.

Rene always wears a blue and white hat that everyone uses whenever they want and absolutely EVERYONE uses it! Bit by bit the itching passed on from person to person but it didn’t leave, it stayed - those nits just wanted to move in!

First Rene, then Eliazer, then Yader, then Beycker... until they got all the way to Rafi! EVERYONE in the house had them. What was once normal became ‘scratch, scratch, SCRACH!!!!’ and that SCHRATCHING came from everybody's heads.

Yader shows his enthusiasm at the death of all Capital Edge nits

Now catching them is very, very easy. But getting rid of them is like playing Green Sleeves for the very first time on a keyboard, you can try but you won't really succeed. Mum posted on her facebook wall “I need ten creative and successful ways to get rid on nits and PRONTO!”

People came up with a lot of funny things but Mum picked Olive Oil, Vaseline and Off-Insect Repellant. We all then had to cover our hair with a stylish, supermarket plastic bag. So on Tuesday afternoon she started... with me, then Lorenzy... Around 6:30 she finished with herself. She did fourteen out of the eighteen people that live in our house!

We had planned to go out but not with our heads covered in voluminous plastic and with oil running down our backs - we decided to pass. So Dad, Eliazer and Yader went out to the store and got some fizzy drinks and ice cream so we could had a little party at our house.

Fran making the most out of Nit-Night

The boys started a game that you had to walk around in circles on your hands and who ever went further won; Beycker won because all he does is walk on his hands.

We all stunk like tropical insect repellant and we had to sleep in the lovely plastic bag, and that evolved into the worst night sleep ever! All I could hear was a crackling noise in my ear! Eventually my eyes slid shut and I drifted off to sleep. The plague of nits slowly left our rather large family and soon we will be nit free!!!

The Nit-Busters