It was back to work beginning Thursday morning. After breakfast and our time with God, we broke up into our 3 teams once again. Painting team, cliff crew, and the newly titled baseball field crew (AKA – road crew). There are 2 baseball fields at the center. Our field crew had to work on the pitcher’s mound to add more dirt and then take care of the overgrown grass around home plate and each of the bases.
Once again the complaint department was closed…mainly because students are keeping their focus on the Lord and not circumstances or surroundings. The morning flew by. We broke for showers and lunch and then off to a new site for VBS. It was Iglesia Bautista – Cana de Galalia. (Canaan of Galilee Baptist Church). This is the mother church of the church plant we served at on Monday and Tuesday. It’s also the church that we worshipped at on Sunday.
Although it was bigger than the home we were in on Monday and Tuesday, it was much more difficult to do all of our groups at the same time. It was loud and hot. Very thin walls and ones that didn’t go to the ceiling created chaos at times. The teaching team struggled because they were right next to the craft team and the rec team, and the music team was just over the wall, so they couldn’t be too loud. It was a great day with about 50 kids, but flexibility became incredibly necessary!
As we were packing up, the rain began to fall. This time it was a monsoon. Combine the traffic nightmare that Managua has with the monsoon, our travel home was crazy. Water was flooding the streets. Large puddles seemed to become small ponds in a matter of minutes. People were walking everywhere. They were darting in and out of traffic like the game “Frogger.” Many of the motorcycles and some cars drive without tail lights. I’m not sure driving would be fun. I am so thankful for great bus drivers and for Bruce, who gets around without seeming stressed.
Everyone was pretty worn out at the end of the evening. After dinner we jumped right into our share time. It never fails…tonight we went for well over an hour just sharing about what happened at VBS. Incredible stories of God moving!
Tomorrow is our last VBS day. Many of the students are dreading it.
Pressing On,
Dale
Monday, July 18, 2011
Wednesday
Today is our free day. That doesn’t mean we got to sleep in. We were up and at it again fairly early. We ventured out from the center to go zip-lining. I had never been before, as was the case for many of our team members. We arrived at the base of a volcano to get suited up. Many were extremely nervous, while others were ready to go!
The place we went had a total of about 8-10 lines. It was so fun! I was a little nervous to begin with. I could hear the voice of Chris Farley saying, “Fat guy on a little wire!” on several occasions. The guides in broken English assured me that no one has ever been hurt there. I had to trust that they knew what they were doing. It was a lot like our trust in God. He is control of everything. We have to trust that He is going to be there every time we need Him. It may not always happen in our time, but His time is always perfect.
The zip-line was a blast. There were students and adults doing tricks (with the guides), like doing Super-Man and then there was a line that everyone could go upside down. Many did…although this guy did not. (Chris Farley was screaming at me).
We finished the last line on a high (or should I say low note). It was a looser line that the guides bounced us on. I’m sure that there will be some video floating around soon thanks to Bryon Black, so make sure you check it out.
We left the zip-line place and went to lunch. Where? Papa John’s of course! We got to sit in a private air conditioned room and enjoy some pizza.
After lunch we got to enjoy some shopping at one of the large open air markets. We were able to get some pretty neat things. There was a lot of negotiating going on to get better prices. The most popular items purchased. For the ladies it was probably jewelry. For the guys it had to be machetes.
As our shopping was coming to a close, the rain came again. We were able to get everyone loaded on the bus after some good ice cream treats and then back to center we go.
It may sound like a broken record, but we enjoyed dinner and our debrief time. Following our debrief time we let the students hang out and play cards and games for a while. Then it was off to bed with another full day ahead.
Pressing On,
Dale
The place we went had a total of about 8-10 lines. It was so fun! I was a little nervous to begin with. I could hear the voice of Chris Farley saying, “Fat guy on a little wire!” on several occasions. The guides in broken English assured me that no one has ever been hurt there. I had to trust that they knew what they were doing. It was a lot like our trust in God. He is control of everything. We have to trust that He is going to be there every time we need Him. It may not always happen in our time, but His time is always perfect.
The zip-line was a blast. There were students and adults doing tricks (with the guides), like doing Super-Man and then there was a line that everyone could go upside down. Many did…although this guy did not. (Chris Farley was screaming at me).
We finished the last line on a high (or should I say low note). It was a looser line that the guides bounced us on. I’m sure that there will be some video floating around soon thanks to Bryon Black, so make sure you check it out.
We left the zip-line place and went to lunch. Where? Papa John’s of course! We got to sit in a private air conditioned room and enjoy some pizza.
After lunch we got to enjoy some shopping at one of the large open air markets. We were able to get some pretty neat things. There was a lot of negotiating going on to get better prices. The most popular items purchased. For the ladies it was probably jewelry. For the guys it had to be machetes.
As our shopping was coming to a close, the rain came again. We were able to get everyone loaded on the bus after some good ice cream treats and then back to center we go.
It may sound like a broken record, but we enjoyed dinner and our debrief time. Following our debrief time we let the students hang out and play cards and games for a while. Then it was off to bed with another full day ahead.
Pressing On,
Dale
Tuesday
So let me apologize a bit. This has been an incredibly busy week. I’m not apologizing for that, but what I am apologizing for is the lack of “blogging” that’s to come. Today is actually Saturday, July 16th. What does that mean? Well, if you have been reading the blog, you know that I’ve not updated for several days. We’ve been getting up about 7AM and are constantly on the go until 9-10PM at night. That does not leave a lot of time to blog. So my plan today while the students do some cleaning up around the center is to catch you up a bit on what has been happening this week. The days tend to run together a bit, so forgive me if all of my thoughts aren’t clear.
So Tuesday we got up and spent time doing our devotions and then went to breakfast. After breakfast, we broke up into our work teams again. Paint…check. Cliff crew…check. Road crew…check. The paint team started painting the outside of one of the large dorm buildings here at the center. They encounter a wide range of bugs, but they pressed through it. The cliff crew continued to move dirt…and they do it well! The road crew continued to fill in potholes. It seems like a never-ending task. All of the teams worked hard. The weather was hot, but not unbearable.
One of the things that have happened here at times is power outages. Not because of storms, but just random (and sometimes planned) outages. Tuesday we were told that the power was going to go down. There were some workers taking some type of pump out at the center, so they needed to shut the entire power off. When there is no power, there is no water. When there is no water, there are no showers. So as the crews finished up working, they got to jump in the pool to cool down. It wasn’t a shower, but it was nice!
We all got cleaned up (as best we could) and headed to lunch. After lunch we jumped on the bus and headed out to Iglesia Bautista II – Cana de Galalia. (Canaan of Galilee 2nd Baptist Church). Many of the kids were waiting for us to arrive. The students started mingling with the kids and I began to set up the laptop, projector, and sound system. Once that was ready to go I popped in a Veggie Tales dvd (in Spanish of course) and sat back and watched all eyes focus in on Bob and Larry and the gang. At 3PM we shut off the video and began our opening assembly time. We got everyone moving and singing and then broke into our 4 groups.
The weather was beautiful. The rec teamed moved into a yard across the road from the pastor’s home. It was nice to have them so close so that we could watch the kids enjoy the games they were playing. Again the place was packed. I don’t think I mentioned a number for Monday, but we had about 50-60 then and about the same if not a few more on Tuesday. As we began to pack up, the pastor was thanking us for coming so far to minister to them and the children. We were able to present them with a gift for allowing us to use their home. It was great to connect with a sister church so far from home. It was hard for many of our students to leave. Children they had connected with came and hugged and kissed them and didn’t want to let go. Our students were amazing. Pouring out so much love to children they had just met. Not wanting to put them down or let them go. But the weather started to turn and once again the rain (and tears) began to fall.
We made the long journey back to the center (about an hour and 15 minutes). We had dinner and then spent time debriefing again. I love the fact that these students love to share about their day. It is so cool to hear how God is working in their lives and how they are listening. I am excited for you as parents to sit down with them and go through their devotional books with them so they can share with you how God moved.
Our “quotes” are starting to diminish. I think that all of us are trying to be more aware of what we are saying so that we don’t become the one that gets quoted. It is a riot to be with these students and adults. They have been a blessing to me all week! Thank you so much for praying!
Pressing On,
Dale
So Tuesday we got up and spent time doing our devotions and then went to breakfast. After breakfast, we broke up into our work teams again. Paint…check. Cliff crew…check. Road crew…check. The paint team started painting the outside of one of the large dorm buildings here at the center. They encounter a wide range of bugs, but they pressed through it. The cliff crew continued to move dirt…and they do it well! The road crew continued to fill in potholes. It seems like a never-ending task. All of the teams worked hard. The weather was hot, but not unbearable.
One of the things that have happened here at times is power outages. Not because of storms, but just random (and sometimes planned) outages. Tuesday we were told that the power was going to go down. There were some workers taking some type of pump out at the center, so they needed to shut the entire power off. When there is no power, there is no water. When there is no water, there are no showers. So as the crews finished up working, they got to jump in the pool to cool down. It wasn’t a shower, but it was nice!
We all got cleaned up (as best we could) and headed to lunch. After lunch we jumped on the bus and headed out to Iglesia Bautista II – Cana de Galalia. (Canaan of Galilee 2nd Baptist Church). Many of the kids were waiting for us to arrive. The students started mingling with the kids and I began to set up the laptop, projector, and sound system. Once that was ready to go I popped in a Veggie Tales dvd (in Spanish of course) and sat back and watched all eyes focus in on Bob and Larry and the gang. At 3PM we shut off the video and began our opening assembly time. We got everyone moving and singing and then broke into our 4 groups.
The weather was beautiful. The rec teamed moved into a yard across the road from the pastor’s home. It was nice to have them so close so that we could watch the kids enjoy the games they were playing. Again the place was packed. I don’t think I mentioned a number for Monday, but we had about 50-60 then and about the same if not a few more on Tuesday. As we began to pack up, the pastor was thanking us for coming so far to minister to them and the children. We were able to present them with a gift for allowing us to use their home. It was great to connect with a sister church so far from home. It was hard for many of our students to leave. Children they had connected with came and hugged and kissed them and didn’t want to let go. Our students were amazing. Pouring out so much love to children they had just met. Not wanting to put them down or let them go. But the weather started to turn and once again the rain (and tears) began to fall.
We made the long journey back to the center (about an hour and 15 minutes). We had dinner and then spent time debriefing again. I love the fact that these students love to share about their day. It is so cool to hear how God is working in their lives and how they are listening. I am excited for you as parents to sit down with them and go through their devotional books with them so they can share with you how God moved.
Our “quotes” are starting to diminish. I think that all of us are trying to be more aware of what we are saying so that we don’t become the one that gets quoted. It is a riot to be with these students and adults. They have been a blessing to me all week! Thank you so much for praying!
Pressing On,
Dale
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
“When Do Coconuts Start Growing Hair?”
Well here we are…four days into our trip and we are doing well. The sun came up early – as always, and we headed out to spend time with God. At 7:30AM, we came together for breakfast. The menu – Huevos Rancheros, rice, fruit and toast. Once again it was a feeding frenzy. Oscar is keeping our team well fed.
Right after breakfast we jumped right into our workday. We reassembled our teams and got to work. Our paint team headed to 2 more small cabanas to paint (which they finished). Our road repair team went and got some bottled water for us all and then proceeded to fill potholes. And our “cliff crew” went back to creating a cliff. Some of the cliff team planted about 40 hibiscus plants around the pool. The weather was hot and humid, but again…no major complaining.
Our quote today is from Amanda Blakley. She had noticed all of the coconuts hanging from the trees and there was no fuzz/hair on the coconuts, but the ones later that we saw on the ground had fuzz/hair. Once she noticed that she asked the question, “When do coconuts start growing hair?” (the outside of the coconut is smooth, but once you bust it open it’s furry, like what you normally coconuts look like.) The question itself got everyone laughing and thus became a “quoteworthy” title for the day.
We worked from about 8AM to 11:30AM, took showers had lunch (steak with chimicurri sauce, rice and beans, and tostones – fried plantains), and got ready to head out to VBS.
Our VBS time was at Iglesia Bautista II – Cana de Galalia. (Canaan of Galilee 2nd Baptist Church). It is the church plant of the church we attended on Sunday. We loaded the bus and spent about an hour on the road in route to our destination. The traffic was still crazy and we left the city limits and what was busy roads and business we traded for lots of trees and wide open spaces. We entered into a small rural community and pulled up in front of the church…which during the day is the pastor’s house. (Hey David, maybe we need to just your home for an offsite location.)
We then unloaded the bus and went into the backyard. They have an overhang that they use for worship time. Many of the kids were already waiting for us. We had a short opening assembly time and then broke up into our 4 teams. All of the teams, except the recreation team, stayed at the home. The rec team went to a local school yard to play.
Everything was moving smoothly and the kids were having fun. Then came the torrential downpour. Remember that word flexibility? It came into play today. Our teaching team had to move inside right next to the craft team. Which in a normal setting may not be too bad, however, we were in a room about 12x18. And there were about 40 in there…and the kids were making harmonics. So that was a fun time. The rec crew had to move into the school…and they still endured rain even inside the building. They weren’t able to play all of the games planned but they had fun anyway.
All of the teams did such a great job with their groups. The language barrier is tough for most and it is probably a lot harder than they thought it’d be. Please pray that God does a great work and allows them to press through that difficulty.
We were supposed to leave the church at about 5:30PM, but because of the rain, we could not release the kids. We were told to “stall” until the rain stopped. It was really cool because we just assembled all of the kids back together and just used the time to sing songs. I love their enthusiasm! They sing with such passion and love to do the songs with motions.
The rain finally let up enough that we could send the kids home around 6:10PM. We loaded up the bus and spent the next hour on the road to the center. (It is about a 20 mile drive that takes about an hour). The students used that time to tell stories of the day and to sing. I used it to update the blog. :)
We arrived at the center about 7:15PM and promptly began to eat. Tonight Oscar and crew made us steak fajitas with homemade corn tortillas, grilled onions, muy caliente (VERY HOT for you gringos) pico, and crema (much like sour cream). The students filled themselves up and now we are about ready to have our share time, debrief, talk about tomorrow, shower and go to sleep.
Thank you so much for your prayers! We feel them. God is moving in our hearts and we are loving our time in Nicaragua!
Pressing On,
Dale
"That Bus Isn’t Even Full Yet! Nobody’s Hanging Out the Back!” (Sunday)
Today we woke up. Good thing, right? We got up, had our quiet times and headed to breakfast. Today’s menu…pancakes and bacon, and of course fruit! Oscar is hooking us up! Sometimes the food is so good it’s hard to believe this is a mission trip in a foreign country. Most of us will be unhappy when we come back to the States.
After breakfast we went to church. It’s actually the church that we will be doing VBS at on Thursday and Friday of this week. It was called Cana de Galilee. It was entirely Spanish speaking. They only have Sunday School on Sunday mornings. (Sunday evenings are when they have “worship and preaching.”) We arrived to smiling faces and friendly handshakes. There was much excitement from the people…especially the kids. They opened with few songs and then split up into SS “classes.” There was a class for adults, for teens, 3 for kids, and a preschool class. It was hot! Like 100 degrees inside the church. The roof was metal, so it felt even hotter. Once again…no complaints. Our team broke up and went to each class. They had a great time.
After church we said our “goodbye’s for now” and headed to lunch. Our plan was to go to a place called La Finca. Last year on the pre-trip we had the wonderful opportunity to go there. The steaks are the bests I’ve ever had.
On our way to eat, we were dealing with some crazy traffic. Cars were zooming in and out of lanes and honking as they go. The public transportation here is interesting too. Most all of the buses are transplant used buses from school districts in the States; some are still yellow and some are painted like they just came off the show, “Pimp My Ride.” One of the buses we passed was completely full. I said, “Wow look at that bus. It is so full that people are standing in the aisle.” Then that’s when the quote of the day came out. Bruce and Laura’s son Peter shouted, “That bus isn’t even full yet! Nobody’s hanging out the back!” Later on, we saw a bus that was full. One hanging out the back and a few on the roof.
As we were approaching the restaurant we encountered a little problem. One of the political parties in Nicaragua was having a “peaceful demonstration” in the rotunda right outside of the restaurant. There was no way we were getting to La Finca. So a great missionary word came into play…FLEXIBILITY!
We headed to a place called “Hippo’s” that just happened to be at the mall. We had a fairly good meal…not La Finca and not Oscar’s, but it was pretty good. Afterwards, we walked around the mall (Hope Shaffer almost got arrested from taking a picture of a BW3’s sign…I guess that’s illegal) and then took in some sites.
As the afternoon came to a close we headed back to the center. The VBS teams met briefly and then they took in some pool time. As they swam, I spent time writing and updating the blog (not a martyr), so that you all could get caught up with us. Now it’s time for dinner…tonight chicken kabobs, rice, pico and tejadas (fried plantain chips). The students look hungry. So we’ll update more tomorrow.
Pressing On,
Dale
"When This Gets Level…It’ll Be Easier!" (Friday and Saturday)
So it’s different waking up in another country the very first time. You tend to wake up thinking the day before was a dream. Your bed is different. The other surroundings are different. Everything is different. For many of our students and adults…this was the case on Saturday.
Friday was a great day to travel. The weather was good and we had no trouble getting through the ticketing process, security and even customs in Nicaragua; although that was an interesting experience for most. We were picked up by our missionaries Bruce and Laura and then took off for lunch at the famous Melba’s. Well maybe not famous, but for former FBCV teams that have gone before…definitely a crowd favorite, and it didn’t disappoint for our students on this team either. A true Nicaraguan fare was had and our time of fellowship was great as well.
We then took off for Centro ABEM, the place where we stay while here in Nica. We had a time of orientation and got to know Bruce and Laura a bit, then a highlight after a long travel day…swimming and relaxing in hammocks! It was incredibly refreshing and enjoyable.
After all the fun we enjoyed a great dinner by the fabulous Chef Oscar. A beef dish with rice and beans. It was delicious…as are all of his meals thus far. We debriefed as a team and then made way for our dorms. The time – 8PM. Lights out at 8:30PM. No noise by 8:45PM. A long day was over. And a week of serving was about to begin.
Saturday we were awakened by a 5:30AM sunrise and the temperature and humidity on the rise. We had our quiet times and journeyed to breakfast. The menu – gallo pinto (beans and rice) and scrambled eggs…and the most blessed fruit on the planet. We had some of the best pineapple ever to be eaten. We met with Laura regarding our VBS plans (in the only air conditioned room at the center) and then had a little free time (more swimming and hammock(ing), of course). Lunch consisted of fried chicken (the absolute best – “sorry Colonial Sanders...you wrong, mama’s right!) and some rice and pico de gallo. Following lunch, our team of 25 broke into 3 work teams. There are some things at the center that needs attention and fixed up. So our team had the great privilege to serve and meet some of those needs.
One of the teams began to paint some of the small cabanas. They did a great job and were able to knock out 2 of them. A second team went out and worked on the dirt road leading up to the center. There were some areas that had been washed out and had some major potholes. They worked out in the punishing Nicaraguan sun filling each hole. The third team (which I was able to serve with) had to remove a hill. I know that sounds odd and may not even make sense. Let me explain a little. There is a hill that leads down to the pool and shelter house. Bruce wants to remove most of the hill to create a cliff that allows space for teatherball and a horseshoe pit. It will also create a concrete block wall with bougainvillea plants. (Note to all you parents of students on this trip – let me tell you how incredibly proud I am of your kids. They worked their tails off! They worked hard…and without complaining. It was hot and humid, but they pressed on and did everything we asked of them. You should be proud of them too).
I know that the title of the blog may be a little weird. Well here is the reasoning behind the title. Christian Carlson was working with us on the “cliff crew.” After using shovels and pick axes for a long while, we began to see some progress being made. And Christian being the wise philosopher that he is kept telling the team, “When this gets level, it’ll be easier.” He said it with such enthusiasm and passion. It became one of our teams “quotes of the day.”
Dinner consisted of beef stew and rice and beans. Oscar is definitely one of the best cooks around. He could start a restaurant in Vandalia and I would be there every day. Then again, maybe he shouldn’t…I’d be putting weight back on like crazy. Fortunately for me, we are burning a ton of calories a day, so for now I should be good. :)
Each night we have a time of debrief. I have given each student and adult a list of questions for them to answer. It helps with remembering the good (and bad…uh…character building) events from the trip. We went through them and it was neat to hear their stories. They have taken this trip seriously and are investing themselves greatly into the lives of each team member.
Bedtime was fairly early again…like 9:30PM. Interestingly enough, no one has complained about the time to cash out. After long hot days, everyone is looking forward to the rest.
Oh by the way…there was something else that was deemed “quote-worthy” on Saturday. I won’t go into much detail, but it went like this…"Ashley (Starry) ripped one!" I’ll let you ask for details when we return.
I’ll be telling about our days every day. However, due to the lack of internet access and relying on Bruce to upload, it may not be updated every day.
Please continue to pray for us! God is moving!
Pressing On,
Dale
Thursday, July 7, 2011
The Time Has Come
Well...the last few months have seemed to go by incredibly fast. In the next few hours, we will be getting up and heading to the Dayton Airport for our HS mission trip. Please be in prayer for us a we travel, get everyone through customs and head to the Centro ABEM.
I am planning to go into some more detail tomorrow while waiting in ATL. We won't have internet all week in Nicaragua, but I'm going to try to do some updating via our missionary Bruce.
Pressing On,
Dale
I am planning to go into some more detail tomorrow while waiting in ATL. We won't have internet all week in Nicaragua, but I'm going to try to do some updating via our missionary Bruce.
Pressing On,
Dale
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