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.

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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!

Tourism: Several Interesting Facts About Nicaragua

Learn a bit about Nicaragua in just 2 minutes...

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Political: Europe Leaving Nicaragua

As political pressure from the US intensifies, it is becoming evident that European countries will also be pulling programs out of Nicaragua. Germany is the latest to announce its withdrawal, though it must be noted that this had already been decided prior to the Nicaraguan 2011 elections.

CLICK here to read article

POST by JED: Filling His Church

It´s December and the weather is changing. We´ve come from wearing shorts and singlets, to wearing three-quarter-length-pants (capris) and t-shirts. The rain has changed. In June there are relentless torrential downpours, whilst in November it’s lighter, sporadic rainfall.

Our days are also changing. We´ve just celebrated Thanksgiving (a special time for those North Americans, a raw and PAINful time for the British (ha ha), and a non-event to the rest of us Commonwealthers – unless… of course… you’re married to a Brit, and then it’s doubly PAINful…) and Christmas is right around the corner.

My family is changing. We’ve gone from “going to Church” a couple of times a week, to regular attendance, front row, four times a week.  Our little Pentecostal Church has also been changing. Numbers have doubled since the Brien invasion of a few months ago. There has been a sudden, and noticeable change in the demographic profile – more teenage boys! (courtesy of our teenage girls I think…)

The funny thing is, in Australia I had all sorts of techniques for getting people to Church. They ranged from “friendship evangelism”, which took FOREVER but sort of worked for me. In the worst case scenario I´d always end up pouring my heart out to my newfound friend, telling them all about my financial problems, marriage hiccups and questions surrounding my faith – truly, a champion among champs! I´d expect you to start taking notes right about here…

Then there was the cold call. Walking up to the person in their moment of complete and utter destitution, slapping them across the face and telling them that they needed Jesus. Whilst this may have worked for an initial visit, I had little more to offer them, once they were through the front doors of our Church. I would hope and pray for an alter call, and then I could dust my hands and race around the corner to be first in line for a double mocha latte, on soy, with a few granules of sugar and a dusting of cinnamon – gosh God is gewd! Problem: I don’t think I had enough faith in myself to just open up and share my faith.

Then there was the old evolution versus creation debate. I hated, LOATHED ENTIRELY, this approach. It is one my brother would run in to meet. I would do the opposite. As soon as it would start, I would clamber away. At Qantas, in Canberra, my colleagues would start. I used to work for Qantas Airways – the Spirit of Australia (anyone got keys for work? Ha ha). I usually worked in ticketing or on the service desk.

On one particular morning it had been very, very busy. And then at 9am, with the jets come and gone, we sat around, drinking coffee and having a chat (as was customary), laughing hysterically at the people who´d raced through the door, with bag half packed, lipstick looking like that of Batman´s Joker, curlers still in hair, and coat hangers galore - stuck in the their suit jackets. Oh yes, they´d always give some lame excuse about rotten taxi drivers, flat tires, lousy Telstra wake-up calls, etc. But we knew….

Anyway, the POINT of my story. They (my colleagues) started on about evolution and creation this one cold Canberra morning. I literally got on my hands and knees, crawled over the baggage belt, across the front counter, and around the bend, into the tincey-wincey ticketing office. When they saw me crawling, there was more hysterics (especially when the little swinging gate whacked me on the bum), but they soon learnt that I didn´t like to “defend” my faith in God. I just didn´t feel compelled to argue. Some people just want to lock horns, I am not one of them. I believe that faith is believing without knowing…

Then there are those who live as good examples. I could never do this one. Because I am bad, VERY bad… If I don´t live my life honestly, talking about my issues, my struggles, my victories, my triumphs, then what kind of witness am I? Not a very good one. Again, back at Qantas, I´m in the ticketing office and the ticket printer has jammed. Well I´m on my hands and knees with my bot-bot in the air (again my bottom features!!!) – I´m cursing and cussing, ink is going everywhere, and then I hear “Jed, is that you?” My response, “Oh Lord, you´ve heard my cries and have come to rescue me!” Nope, it´s the airport manager. DING-DANG-DOOO!!! No extra holiday time this year…

And so, back at the Church in Nicaragua… The people are coming because I´m telling them to come. I know it´s a wee bit difficult to understand, but the benefits of being non-Nicaraguan and non-American here are amazing.

The youth pastor´s son wasn´t coming to Church and so I told him “Hi Juan Pablo, you don´t go to Church. GET YOURSELF TO CHURCH OR ELSE!!! Now would you like a second bicky with your coffee?”

The mother of a teenage girl who attends Church was SO excited to have us to her house for lunch (with the pig, some dogs, lots of chooks, a turkey and a parrot), and I asked her why she didn´t go to Church. She prattled on in Spanish and I sat politely and listened. To be honest I did even kind of drift away… At the end of her long speech I simply said (in my very broken Spanish) “go to Church” and she said, “okay”. Then we laughed hysterically and I do not know why… But on Sunday morning, who was at Church? The woman with lots of animals and a big, beautiful smile.

Then the youth pastors dropped in to our house with a teenage boy. I was extremely surprised to find that this lad had a wife and baby. He looked so young. I asked him a thousand questions (it´s easier when learning a language to ask a question and then sit back and listen) and then told him that he needed to go to Church. 

On Sunday, he was there. Him, his wife and their cute little bub. I noticed them standing in the door of the Church, dazed and looking around, a bit stunned by the screams “Gloria A Dios!” And possibly bedazzled by our lead singer (she´s got quite the pipes on ´er). So I hustled to the door and then led them in, by the hand, to a couple of spare seats (front row, you can imagine the looks…).

So my point in all of this? Find your calling and get on with it. There´s too much jibber-jabber, says me jibber-jabbering, about coulda, shoulda, woulda. God has a plan for your life, and a part of that plan is sharing your life with your fellow human beings. Cause Christ is in You and You are in Him! 

POST by LIZ: Staples

Always wanting to ensure I have ample amount of school supplies ready, I went to buy a box of staples at a local stationary store. 

Staples are a basic necessity for a high school teacher, they have many uses: they hold important papers together, they are a great asset for displaying important notices on the notice board, and they can even save a high school teacher major embarrassment by holding a shirt together when a button decides it’s time for a vacation (it´s a long story!)

So, I brought a box of staples, a BIG box, as I always have flustered students coming towards me looking like a tree with wild paper branches, seeking to borrow the stapler to bring order to their out-of-control essays.

I popped the brand new box of staples into my bag and went on my way.  A few days later I needed to reload my stapler.  I took out a stick of staples and inserted them into the stapler, and left the box in my bag.

I was happy stapling away: completed rubrics to essays, stapling students´ creative poems to the “WOW” board for all to enjoy, and using them to hem my frayed skirt (I was never a whizz with the sewing machine).

A few days passed and I needed to reload my stapler.  I reached into my bag to retrieve the box of staples, and to my horror I found that the lid of the box had opened! The “once sticks” of staples were now in fragments. I pulled out a handful of staples and tried desperately to insert the individual staples successfully into the stapler - but my efforts were useless!  I couldn´t use any of them - what a waste of staples.   

As I lamented the loss of the staples it started me thinking about spiritual matters. God wants His people to live in unity, like the stick of staples.  Unified staples are easy to insert into the stapler ready to use:  a stick of staples may all be used up to hold the same important paper together, or a stick of staples may be used for a variety of projects.  Regardless of the project, each staple has its own purpose.   

The sad fact is disunity amongst believers is common.  It is an all-too-well-known fact here in Nicaragua that missionaries often leave the mission field because of disagreements that occur with other missionaries. 

It´s like one staple, whose purpose is to hold together a very important document, then believes that all staples are to hold the same important document together, when in fact there are many different tasks for staples. 

As Christians, we must realise that God is calling his people to work in unity yet remember that unity does not refer to uniformity! Where would God´s people be today if we just started to appreciate and respect the extremely diverse tasks God gives to individuals instead of judging, condemning and basically expecting standardization.   

I do not believe we can complete the task God places before us in our own strength.  An individual staple is almost useless to the stapler if it breaks from the stick.  The staple has to go into the stapler and be pushed on in order for the staple to be effective.  

As I threw out the mass of individual staples I pondered on this analogy and prayed that I would be content with the destiny I have in God. I prayed I would appreciate that the “staples” next to me have a different purpose to fulfill and I prayed against the enemy´s plans to seek to kill, steal and destroy unity between God´s people.

Here are some scriptures that I´m dwelling on to help me stay focused and encourage me not to  allow myself to come out of protection and be broken…

Psalm 133:1 – How good and pleasant it is when Christians live together in unity!

I Corinthians 12:12-26 – The body is a unit… if the whole body were an eye, where would the sense be?...

Ephesians 4:1-3 - …I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Colossians 3:14 - …and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

1 Corinthians 13:4 - “Love is patient; love is kind and envies no one.
Love is never boastful, nor conceited, nor rude;
never selfish, not quick to take offense.
There is nothing love cannot face;
there is no limit to its faith,
its hope, and endurance.
In a word, there are three things
that last forever: faith, hope, and love;
but the greatest of them all is love.”

Political: March in Managua, Demanding New Elections

The opposition had promised 80,000 protesters, demanding that the government host fresh elections, amidst claims of electoral fraud. There were 5,000. Either Nicaraguans really do want Daniel Ortega as President of Nicaragua, or they are too scared of violence or losing their jobs.

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Social: Latinos Converting to Islam

Social: First Islamic Channel on Youtube

With the West focussing on economic issues, Islam is making headway in Latin America. Nicaragua is one of the first countries in Latin America to have a mosque, and there is a general acceptance of Islam in Nicaragua. There is now a channel on youtube dedicated to Islam in Nicaragua. Concerned? We should be. Nicaragua is extremely poor and open to all things political, social and religious, that will get them ahead.  

Political: Chavez of Venezuela, Buying Out Latin America

A regional summit, in Caracas, Venezuela, is excluding the US from talks and is being led by Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez. The goal of this summit is regional cooperation, and Venezuela has announced an array of intiatives, such as cheap oil, to draw in some of the region´s poorest nations.

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Political: Nicaraguans to March Tomorrow Against President Daniel Ortega

The opposition is to mobilise 80,000 Nicaraguans tomorrow, to protest the re-election of Daniel Ortega. The opposition has promised that the march will be peaceful but if the Sandanistas want violence, then there will be violence.

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POST by RAFFY: Love and Loss

Are you ready for the last story what I am going to tell you? Well I am going to tell you a story on the 29th of December. Here we go.

One sad day Lorenzy ,Sezni, Jed my dad, Billy, and me were going to pops. Lorenzy bought ice cream for us because she had the money. After the ice cream we were going home and we were also going close to Fran, and Liz our mom that’s when we had to stop. Lorenzy asked what happened?

Liz my mom said Lucky died she also said it with a sad face. Fran was about to cry because Lucky was her dog. We went to pops again. Fran had a BIG cup because she was sad.

Then our dad Jed had a great idea and he said it out laud so he said we can get a new dog for Fran. We liked idea. And we did it. We got a new dog for Fran.

So now we were a little bit sad and a little bit happy we were happy because we got a new dog we were sad because Lucky died.

First Fran named him river because Lorenzy had a bunny named river. After 2 minutes Fran looked in the internet Fran tipped names for dogs on Google the dog was a husky so she looked in husky names and she loved the name what was first and the name that was first was Cody. She loved the name so much that she called her dog Cody. 

POST by SEZ: Missing Mexico

I used to live in Mexico. In Mexico I played soccer with Carlos , Deray , and Jose.

I did a lot of stuff with my best friends in the whole wide world.

I played Mario Bros with Joel at his house.

I went to the movies with Joel s family at 8:30.

I played Star Wars with Hyun Sung and karate. I used to be so crazy in my mind with my crazy friend called Alex. I‘ve been crazy with my friends.

When we watched a scary movie called the secret weapon that’s when I fell off the chair and Alex said are you dead and I said ha no.

I remembered in Mexico I had the best team and we beated all the other teams. I remembered in Mexico from tasting Icecream with my friends. I remembered in a sound of a boy said wakadaka my teacher said what was that sound. I remembered seeing a color soccer team of Purple, Red, and Green.

Social: The Children of the Mercado Oriental

Nicaragua has the largest market in Central America, the Mercado Oriental. This market is host to a range of items for sale, though some of its sales force are school aged children. These kids should be in educational institutions, but are instead, from birth, working for the family business.

The following video has a "homemade" quality about it, but does showcase the range of kids ages and the areas the children work. The Mercado Oriental also has many brothels, some offering children´s services.

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Political: A Detailed Look at Nicaragua´s President´s Track Record

There is no doubt that the World is very much divided over Daniel Ortega´s 2011 electoral victory. However, the progress Daniel´s government has made over his past term, despite horrendous economic data in most other countries, reflects progress for Central America´s biggest country.

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Political: Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism in Latin America

The following video is not representative of how the Brien family feels about the USA. However, important issues to leftist Latin Americans (specifically many people from ALBA countries) are raised and these sentiments are representative of how many Latin Americans currently feel. 

To our family, the issues raised in this video are quite interesting. In Mexico few of the problems mentioned in this movie were discussed with us by nationals. However in Nicaragua and El Salvador we have had many discussions with locals who do not feel that capitalist systems of government are functioning effectively in Latin America, and subsequently many Latin Americans governments are moving away from systems, which in Latin America, tend to prefer the wealthier classes.  

Our Local Rural Nicaraguan Church

In our latest video we´ve featured our local Church, here near Cedro Galan. The needs of this poor community are chronic. The people are unemployed, uneducated, and unmotivated. It´s the cycle of rural poverty in Nicaragua.