All Good Things...

We woke up early this morning (before 5:00 AM) so that we could be ready to have a little breakfast before leaving Pastor Ed and Ligia’s house before 6:30 AM.  We needed to be at the Bluefields Airport to ensure that we got on our flight.  There were a number of emotional goodbye’s as we have made so many friends and built so many relationships with the people here.  I think we were all surprised to see the tears streaming down Margaret’s face as she hugged each one of us.  Margaret – you have no idea how your actions have affected us as a team.  We hope and pray that your strength of character and faith in God stands firm for a very long time.  Pastor Ed & Ligia have been such gracious hosts – it was very hard to say goodbye to them.  We pray for God’s power to lift you up - each and every day.

The plane we boarded was one of the newer ones for Los Costanzas – it was a twin turbo prop – with about 50 seats.  We even got a beverage service (first time for me that this has happened).

Waiting room in Bluefields

Boarding the plane.

We arrived in Managua to be met by Laroux, who assists SP teams getting in and out of Nicaragua’s capital city.  He had a yellow school bus pick us up and then drop us of at a large market where the girls got to release some of their pent up shopping tension.  Most of the team got back on the bus and went for lunch at a nice place in Managua that served some of the best rice in Latin America (or so I was later told).

Curt, Laureen and their three boys had a special treat as they were able to meet up with their Compassion Canada sponsor child and his mother.  Very few sponsors have the opportunity to meet the children they sponsor.  What an amazing experience this was.

The Blais Family with Gerardo and his Mother

Back to the Hotel for a short swim or nap (or both) before getting ready for our last supper.  It was an amazing meal, out on the deck to enjoy the beautiful warmth of this place.  At the end of dinner, we made our way to a meeting room where we shared with each other some of the high’s and lows of the experience.  There were certainly many more high’s than lows.  We closed the evening in prayer.

Tomorrow is a very early start (need to be up at 3:30 AM), so you will forgive me if this posting is a little brief.

We expect to arrive in Edmonton tomorrow just before 10:00 PM – and are looking forward to being reunited with family and friends.

I’ll post another blog tomorrow from Houston.

Please pray for rest for the team and traveling mercies for all.

(You may want to bring warm clothes for those you are picking up at the airport)

Curt
(for the Nic Team)

Our Last Day in Bluefields

The day began almost as any other with our worship time and devotional.  Our designated worship leader had a difficult night sleep, so we sang our three songs acapella and Liz took on our devotional.  She relayed a number of stories from her past related to miracles.  It was inspirational to say the least.

We hopped on the bus and headed for the work site – minus a couple of bodies who were staying behind (Juanita to get some rest, Todd with a slightly upset stomach and Cathy with a sore ankle).  We arrived with things ready to go so we began mixing cement and after 3.5 batches we had completed all of the concrete support work for the roof.  In speaking with Umberto (who is the project manager), he says he never expected us to get as far as we did.  Some of the materials for the roof (tubing steel and zinc sheets) will be ordered from Managua and the workers will continue after setting up the gables on either end.

Just before we began mixing cement, one team member had a little fall.  Shirley was coming around the side of the building when her foot caught on some re-bar cages that were lying beside the building and at the same time her foot slipped off the curb.  I was just about to go up the stairs and heard that dull “thud” sound when someone hits the ground.  As I wheeled around I saw Shirley head first into the small 12” gully by the building.  She scraped her knee, elbow and shoulder - as well as getting a scrape and slight cut near her left ear – but she was completely alright.  That could have turned out much worse – but thanks be to God that she was relatively unhurt.  A few moments later, she was joking about the incident.

We had an amazing group of guys working with us: Noel (the lead), Namessio and Antonio.  These guys were such incredibly hard workers and patient to work with us who knew very little Spanish.  We also had many times of laughter as we attempted to joke with them in a mix of Spanish and English.  I think we all will remember them dearly.

The last day's work group

Nathanial and Timothy worked hard on the rocks for the “round about” project that they added to our task list.  It turned out pretty good.  Umberto indicated that they would pack it down and then place some rebar and more forms and eventually fill it with concrete.  This will make turning around down at the bottom easier when things are wet.

The "round about"

Overall, we made tremendous headway on the school building and our reputation of being a very hard working team stays intact.  God gave us great weather and great strength as a group to push forward.

As we reflect on our time here I think that if we were to describe it all in one word it would be “community”.  We connected with many different people and groups during our time here – building friendships and planting seeds.  Pastor Ed has continually said that us being here was a great blessing for him.  I know that each of us has special memories already of this project and many lives within the community have been touched.  From food hampers to the very poor to curtains at Casa Materna and gifts and prayer at the girl’s orphanage – God has truly been moving here amongst us.

Tomorrow is an EARLY day to the airport so that we make sure to catch the first plane to Managua.  Pastor Ed is actually going to Managua for an appointment as well, so we will say our goodbye’s there instead.
Please pray for travelling mercies and continued protection for the team.

Curt

(for the Nic Team)

Nearing the Finish Line

Hope of the Nations and Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing were our worship songs this morning, with Juanita playing the guitar we borrowed from Verbo Church.  She has been a true blessing sharing her artistic talents and leading us in songs each morning.

Morning worship.

Monica used the verses from Romans 12:2 and Phil 4:8 to help us focus on how we can renew our minds and fix our thoughts on God.  If we focus on truth, His word and in His hope we can overcome dificult circumstances. Zachary gave the second part of the message, that the Lord will never leave us or forsake us and it was heartfelt as he recalled the motorcycle accident with his dad and how the Lord protected them both.  There was barely a dry eye among our team.  Reading from Psalm 32:7 and leading us in prayer he gave thanks to our Father for safety and continued protection at the construction site. It was an incredible morning and we haven’t even left Pastor Ed’s house yet.

Curtains were completed this morning, thanks to the finishing touches by Cathy.  Juanita painted flowers on two pieces of scrap wood for wall decorations.  Casa Materna will be beautified as a result of their labour and love in this vital service to the community of Bluefields and surrounding area.

Kathy the seamstress

Edith, Juanita and Lorraine went to the Verbo Church feeding station, where over 80 children received a nutritious lunch.  They made a special “school bus” craft and coloured pictures with the children.

80 kids at the feeding station

Chefs at the feeding station

Our double daily dose of rice was enhanced by Curtis with Ketchup!  This caught on as it somehow transformed it into what seemed like more of spaghetti experience.  Todd made his special rice into a volcano erupting with Ketchup.  I guess it’s a good occurrence for us, as many people around the world eat rice like this every day.  It makes us more thankful for what we do have back in Canada.

There was much action at the “round about”.  Our fearless SP leader Bill managed to strike a PVC water line with a pick axe.  This created a little diversion from the task at hand and quite a bit of ribbing for Bill.  I think someone saved the broken piece and it may turn up later in the trip.

Bill holding the broken water main

The space created by Bill

The forms for the curb for this little project were completed and some re-bar was tied into the space.  We mixed almost all of the concrete required for this before lunch (completed one small mixing and pouring after the lunch break).  Even Pastor Ed jumped into the foray and was mixing concrete with the crew.  He described how is father had shown him how to do this, but encouraged him to find less laborious work.  We are so glad he did as Bluefields is not the same place as a result of his faith and efforts.

Pastor Ed joining in the cement fun...

Next we climbed back up to the second story of the school building and completed the tying of the wire and then framing in the beams on the center walls of the building.  This is slow and tedious work.  They also prepared the sand and gravel for two more pours of concrete. At the same time as this was going on, a few of the gals went to Casa Materna, hung the curtains and passed out gifts to the moms that were present.

Monica at Casa Materna

Liz & Shirley hanging curtains

Juan and Owenda prepared another amazing meal for us for dinner; breaded turtle cutlets.  Although these creatures are endangered, they are somewhat of a staple in Nicaragua given the difficult circumstances.  We consider this one of the unique experiences of our presence here.

A few more items that occurred during the day:

• Shirley went with Margaret to support her with the ladies knitting class
• Juanita, Lorraine and Margaret visited Louis in the hospital today after his operation on his arm.  Please pray for healing and relief of the pain
• a few of the gals (Laureen, Kathy, Edith & Ligia) made a quick trip to the market downtown to pick up a few things.

Tomorrow will be a reasonably busy day at the site and our last full day in Bluefields.  It’s hard to believe we are nearly at the end of our work here and will be home soon.  Thank-you for your continued thoughts and prayers, we are very grateful for your support.

Lorraine & Curt
(for the Nic Team)

Another Busy Day...

It’s 7:00 AM and all the children in the VERBO School are standing at attention ready for the SHBC Nic Team devotion presentation.  Unfortunately, our regular form of transportation (a small bus) did not show up at the designated time, so Pastor Ed began shuttling the group in priority order.  Students enjoyed a short skit about giving your heart to Jesus and you could hear the laughter and see the smiles of the entire audience.

Student Assembly

When the second group arrived in the “Pastor Ed Express”, they jumped up on the stage in preparation for a rousing bilingual rendition of “Open the Eyes of My Heart”.  Zachary and Timothy presented two sewing machines and some physical education equipment to the school purchased with funds that they had collected at Florence Hallock School.  A variety of other items were also presented at this time.  The team then broke into small groups and went into each classroom to give individual gifts to each student and teacher, compliments of funds raised at the McLeod School Penny Carnival.  A highlight of the gifts was the individual post cards the McLeod students had made.

The Sewing Machine

Appreciative recipients.

A few people walked back to Pastor Ed’s house for breakfast and others rode in his truck.  Cathy Cosgrove stepped in a low spot and twisted her ankle.  Nothing serious – but she stayed back at the house and worked on sewing drapes for Casa Materna accompanied by Liz.

Pastor Ed's Shuttle

Late start at the job site today.  Curtis, Kevin and Todd began tearing down forms and getting ready for the next stage (moving the forms to new locations).  The rest of the crew started a brand new project creating a “round-about” at the bottom of the hill at the school.  This required quite a bit of digging and swinging the pick-axe.  A few trees needed to be moved – however this proved to be too difficult to do so the trees were just removed.  After some of the palm leaves came down, some of the students showed us how to weave the palm leaves into a form of decoration.

The Palm Branch Decoration

Machete’s were flying, Pick-axes were swinging and shovels moved the earth.  Guess who the machete Queen is (post it in your comments)?  As the sun beat down upon us we saw the first signs of fatigue.  The hard work is taking its toll. Thankfully there was a slight breeze today.

THE POWER TEAM!

Clump of Coconut Tree Roots

Shirley, Margaret, Edith and Kathy went to the girls orphanage to hand out stuffed animals, tooth brushes and tooth paste.  They also visited two other schools to present gift packages to the children in attendance. Liz and Cathy made a trip to a school in the quarry area bringing soccer balls purchased with money from Liz’s grandson.

The girls at the orphanage

The ladies left the job site at 3:30 and Kevin and Bill caught their second wind and pushed the remaining crew to greater accomplishments. 

Work At The Top

Our usual team meeting was made even more special with a presentation from the team to Esther (Pastor Ed’s daughter) and her fiancé Davis of a small pre-wedding gift.  They were very surprised and thankful.

Team Meeting.

Lorraine thought we had turtle for dinner – but it was really KFC! I guess we’ve been working her too hard!

Tomorrow our target is to pour a little more concrete, either on the school building or the round-about.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.  We are so thankful for your amazing support.  We can feel you praying for this team.

Curt, Todd & Lorraine
(for the Nic Team)

Big Work Day!

Once again, we awoke to an amazing breakfast!  Juan made us eggs and cereal and bread.  The food is really as good as I've been writing!

Shirley did the devotional this morning and she related how we need to be more like warts.  Yes, that is correct, warts.  Warts are hard to get rid of, have deep roots and transfer rather easily.  We all will remember this one!

The bus arrived at the usual time - 8:15 AM.  Pastor Ed had indicated that the driver had been experiencing some hard times, so we gave him a food hamper and prayed with him.

When we arrived at the work site the locals were hard at work.  They ARE hard workers.  They were completing the forms so that we could mix and pour more concrete.  We had to haul water from the well further away from the site as the close well appears to be too low.  Kathy was specifically assigned to work over there (Just sayin')!

Woman at the well? (OK one cute kid too)

We also had to haul the 20 bags of cement up to the second floor of the building.  They weigh about 100 lbs.  I personally carried 1200 lbs of it up the ladder. I think we mixed 8.5 batches of concrete (a new SHBC record)!  We poured the headers for three rooms (on one side) and on two sides for two of the rooms.  Each batch of concrete consists of 5 wheel barrows of sand, 5 wheel barrows of rock and 5 bags of cement.  Add 8 buckets of water (5 gallon pails) and a tiny bit of labour (6 people and 15 min of mixing).  We are all quite tired after this one.  The sun has no mercy on us, although the occasional cloud helps lessen its strength.

Mixing the mixture!

Filling the header forms. The man in the green shirt on

the right side is Noel, our foreman.

Special note: for the first time on this project, Edith Hanna got dirty.  We were all amazed!  I personally have no idea how she stays so clean.  She works right along side us – but her force field keeps the splashes of concrete off of her clothes.  I’ll have to ask her how she does it.  Someone got pictures, but they did not give them to me yet.

Cathy went to bed early tonight as she spent the day with Margaret!  They went to many places picking up materials, visiting people in the hospital (went to pay for Louis’ operation) and other items.  She picked up the material for the curtains for Casa Materna and will sew them tomorrow.

Laureen, Kathy and Pastor Ed went on a short trip to pick up some items for the School from the money that was raised.  They brought home some speakers, two sewing machines and some miscellaneous items.

Our old friend George was here painting at Pastor Ed’s house so we sat and talked with him for a while.  He told us his story about giving up drinking because of a dream that he had about his uncle who had died from alcoholism.  He’s been clean for over a year now and is exuberant about how he has Christ.  What a great story.

Another incredible dinner of a beef stew, rice and coleslaw.  Juan and Owenda are amazing.

Tomorrow we will be a part of the devotional as the start of the school day.  We have a drama planned, we will be singing a song (Open the Eyes of My Heart), and I will be praying.  After that, we will be distributing the school supplies that were purchased from McLeod school to the various class rooms.  Then - back to the work site!  There is no time for rest now as we are only a few days away from heading home.

Thank-you yet again for your thoughts and prayers.  We can certainly feel them.

Curt
(for the Nic team)

Sunday #2 in Bluefields

The morning started a little later than other days since church does not start until 10:00 AM.  We were blessed with a nice rain that lasted about 15 minutes before breakfast (just long enough to make the humidity skyrocket). Juan made us an amazing meal that included pancakes.

The bus arrived at about 9:30 AM to take us to Verbo Church where we listened to the pastor from Puerto Cabasas who was in town visiting.  He spoke in both English and Spanish - and he spoke very well.  He challenged us to be more sacrificial with our lives.  I have to admit, it was a little tough staying awake with the heat and the humidity.

Some of us chatting before church service started

Laureen with Henry's three girls.

(He better keep his eye on the youngest one, as Laureen was 

wondering if she could fit in her carry-on)

Kathy, Liz, Monica & Juanita before service

A team photo just after the service ended

We also ran into another old friend - Sarah who was the worship leader today.  Sarah was the one who helped me find a jeweler to cut off my wedding ring in 2007 where there was an issue of swelling in my hands and the doctor who was travelling with us was concerned that I might loose circulation in the finger.  Anyway, it was great to see her again.  We also saw a couple of the workers from the job site.  Antonio brought his son, Sixto is a regular at VERBO and Noel cmae by and shook our hands.  They are a great bunch of men (especially for putting up with us crazy Canadians).

After church we swung back to pastor Ed's house for lunch and a short rest and Tim and Zach prepared and presented the sports equipment that they purchased from funds raised by donations at their school in Edmonton to Ligia (the school principal).  Over $500 was raised at Florence Hollack.

Kids presenting the equipment to Lighia

At about 3:00, we took 12 food hampers and headed out to the area close to the dump for a distribution.  It was the couples on the trip (Todd & Kathy, Kevin & Edith and Myself, Laureen and the kids) who went.  Bill (our SP leader) came with us as well.  The kids enjoyed riding in the back of the truck.

Pastor Ed posing with his new tires before our drive to the dump area

This was a combined effort from a Markham team and SHBC funds.  Thanks Vern!

The area is heart wrenching.  People living in wooden shacks that you or I would not even park our lawn mowers in.  I personally did one distribution as shown in the picture below.  The people invited me into their home and the small group of us (I think there were 4 of them and 3 of us) stood inside the dirt floor structure. there were two beds along the walls and a hammock that hung corner to corner.  We joined hands and I prayed for the family.  The 7 of us completely filled the space ad I would guess that it was no more than 10 ft x 10 ft.  They were so gracious.

The small home Curt and others visited

Zach, Tim and Nathanial presenting a hamper to a family in the dump area

Kevin and Edith with a family and Pastor Ed.

Tim presenting a food hamper to a lady and her family

I ended up standing guard at the truck where about 8 or so kids gathered around.  They were dirty - but hey were happy - or at least that's how they appeared to me.  A number of them had these toy top's that they would wind with a string and spin on the dirt.  They would then pick it up in their hand while it was still spinning.  One little guy transferred the spinning top to my open hand.  It lasted only a few moments and then it stopped and fell of of my palm.  They all laughed.  I speak very little Spanish, and they spoke not English so our conversations were kept to things like me asking their names and how old they were - or where their house was.

A view of the general area around the dump

We drove to another area close by and delivered the last of the hampers.  The view from the top of the hill of all the shanty shacks was moving.  Had I not been holding on with two hands in the back of the truck, I would have taken a picture from there.

After this, Pastor Ed took us to the Orphanage that had started construction.  Apparently, they partnered with an organization who was going to supply the money to make this a reality.  It has been a dream of Pastor Ed's for more than 20 years to build this place.  Construction costs grew given the foundation issues they had with the site - and although I don't know all of the circumstances, it appears as though the group that was helping has decided to pull out (mid-construction).  They have spent about $19,000 so far of what is expected to be a $56,000 project.  The walls stand partially finished and some of the materials lay beside the building.  Pastor Ed says that they have to use up the materials or they will go missing.  You could tell that this was a burden for Pastor Ed, and he asked if we could just pray for wisdom for them regarding this situation.  I can't help wonder if there is some way to help this project out.

The start of an orphanage.  A project in need of financial help.

Pastor Ed drove us around Bluefields before coming back to his house to get ready for dinner.  We drove by the house we stayed in in 2007 in an area called Old Bank.   They had pained it blue now (it was yellow when we stayed in it).  Once again, the kids had a blast riding in the back with a few of us adults.

When we returned we found out that we were going out for dinner to a local pizza place.  We took Juan and his wife and daughter as well as Owenda (Juan's assistant) with her four kids with us.  Margaret also joined us.  It was an amazing evening.

We topped off today watching the movie "Courageous", by hooking up Ed's computer to a projector and some portable speakers.  About 1/2 the crew watched this incredible movie.  If you have not yet had the opportunity to watch it, I would highly recommend it.

Tomorrow is back to the job site.  We have lots of work to do in the next 4 days.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers, that much work would be done and that this community would be changed forever.

Curt
(for the Nic team)

Day of Rest

Today was a designated rest day for the team.  During the week, we’ve received so many comments regarding how much work this team was able to accomplish.  We have developed a bit of a reputation as a hard working crew and I certainly don’t mind keeping that title.

We got up and had breakfast at regular time (7:30 AM).  Have I mentioned that Juan is an amazing cook?  After breakfast, we jumped into our swim gear and headed for the wharf.  Most of us walked as it’s only about 10 blocks away.  Upon arrival at the terminal on the wharf, we were escorted out on to the dock and all piled into a covered pango boat.  We pulled away from the dock and headed for a place called Rama Cay.

Covered pango boat

As far as I can tell, the description of the people at Rama Cay is much like the indigenous people in Canada.  By our rough estimate, the island is about 1 mile in diameter (give or take a little).  A gaggle of children met us as we approached the dock.  Most of the time, visitors bring items to give away; things like clothing or food hampers.  In 2009 we did bring food hampers here – this time, we just came to visit.  These people spend their days fishing in the nearby area.  Piles of oyster shells can be found all over the island.  Pigs and chickens wander around freely – just like the little kids.  We walked the length of the island to the Moravian Church where we ran into the pastor (who we prayed for in 2009).  Juanita sat down with the children and started singing children’s songs.  They really seemed to like that.  The rest of our time there was just visiting with the local people.  Back into the boat and off to the Bluff.

Kids meeting the boat at Rama Cay

Juanita singing songs with the kids

Typical house at Rama Cay

Moravian Church at Rama Cay

The Bluff is a little chunk of land that separates the mainland from the ocean.  The water in-between is referred to as “the lagoon”.  Once we docked at the Bluff, it’s a short walk to a line of thatched roof huts.  Here we spent some time just enjoying the Caribbean Sea.  The waves constantly rolled into the shore providing a few opportunities to push people over.  Liz nearly lost her shell collection – if it were not for the quick thinking of Edith (who actually got dirty for the first time on the trip – just kidding Edith).  We were ready for some down time. 

Lunch was on the beach and consisted of tuna fish sandwiches and bags of chips.  A group of us wandered up the beach to find a cold drink.  There is something about an ice cold Coca-Cola on the beach at the Caribbean Sea.  We sat on the beach, went for walks and swam in the Sea.  A few folks wandered down the beach and found some men working to collect sand.  They would shovel it into carts and wheel it to the Lagoon side where they dump it into a boat. They bring it back to the main land where they shovel it into bags and sell it for various projects (like the cement work we are doing at the school). 

Some of the group on the beach

Beautiful beach on the Bluff

Sand being "harvested"

Thatched roof huts along the beach

The ride back to Bluefields was short and once back on shore we walked back to Pastor Ed’s home.  A few rode in his truck (the kids really like to ride in the back).  Some of the ladies went over to Casa Materna to take some measurements and identify some things that we might be able to do help spruce the place up a little.  I overheard the group say they wanted to put up some new curtains.

A fantastic dinner of fresh tortilla’s and taco fixings was topped off by birthday cake.  Yes, it was Pastor Ed’s 54^th birthday today.  Juan sang something in Spanish and then we all joined in with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.

A quiet evening, a little skin moisturizer (because a few of us got a little too much sun today) and it will be time for bed.  Tomorrow is church – and we are looking forward to the experience.

FLASH UPDATE:  For the first time in Bluefields history I could not hear a dog barking, a rooster crowing or loud music playing.  A large group of our ladies are on the second floor balcony and the laughter is so loud - that I think that all of Bluefields is wondering what is going on here.  Pastor Ed says that laughter is contagious.   I guess Pastor Monica did pray that Bluefields would never be the same....

Thank-you for your thoughts and prayers.

Curt

(for the Nic Team)