Journey to Bluefields

Monday -- Continued

2007-02-22T09:42:00.000-06:00

where was I? Ah yes. strange-tasting cheeseburger and just about to board the flight to Miami.

We finally got on the plane and took our seats. This flight was closer to full than the flight into Managua, so there didn't appear to be any chance of switching to a window seat this time around, which wasn't really all that big of a deal. Of more concern was that we seemed to experience a lot more motion on this flight than any other. Not sure if it was turbulence or the location of our seats, but for the first time, Gabrielle got a really bad case of vertigo and motion sickness during the flight, that lasted pretty much the rest of the day. I didn't suffer the vertigo as much, but between having been sick again the night before and having just eaten something that didn't quite settle right, I wasn't having a lot of fun either. But, we all made the best of it, something helped by a huge bar of chocolate that Gene bought at the duty-free shop at the airport and passed around to everyone.

We made it to Miami about a half hour late, which had us fairly concerned -- since we now had to clear customs, get through security and get to our gate for the flight to Chicago in about forty minutes. Amazingly, we got through customs without any crazy lines, and were doing well (aside from a somewhat humourous incident where Gabrielle had to explain what had happenned to her finger, and why she had a pencil for a splint. They swabbed down the bandage and checked it out pretty thoroughly before letting her through).

All of this relatively smooth sailing came to an end when we had to clear the security line to get to the gates for our next flight. It took us about 20-25 minutes to get through, and in the meantime we were told that our gate had been changed from one that was relatively close, to one on the far end of the airport. With minutes to go before our plane was supposed to leave, we ran to the gate. Gabrielle's vertigo had returned, and so we ran with her holding on to my arm, eyes closed, and following instructions to 'go right', 'step up' and so on. Not fun.

We made it to the gate about a minute before the flight was supposed to leave -- only to find that the departure had been delayed so that they could clean the airplane. Our team found a block of chairs at the gate and rested for a bit. Gabrielle stretched out on the floor and waited for the world to stop spinning. A few people got some food, but I wasn't feeling quite up to it at the moment, and so I passed, figuring I'd eat something in Chicago when we landed later that evening. Just a few moments after that, Angela and Michelle returned with some humungous ice-cream cones, and *that* sounded good. Emily and I ran off to the ice-cream stand, and waited in line to order. Just before we could, Max came and warned us that they were about to board. That definitely came first, so we (albeit somewhat sorrowfully) quickly got back to the gate and got in line to board.

Typically, the plane took a long time to load, and by the time we took off, we were once more about an hour behind schedule, with an ever shorter layover in Chicago before our flight to Milwaukee. The pilot promised to try to make up time in the air.

Not that it made much of a difference; we landed in Chicago about 40 minutes later than our intended arrival time, but that wasn't the real problem. The real problem was that because of weather issues, there was another plane at our gate that couldn't leave until the plane ahead of *it* was de-iced. Time slipped on and on, until well past the time when our flight for Milwaukee had left, and we were stuck on the plane. We finally got off the plane about an hour and a half later.

The one redeeming part of that experience was that Emily and I had a great conversation about processing the trip, faith and living it out in community. Gabrielle was doing a little better, but still not well. The team discussed options, from getting hotel rooms, to camping out at the gate, to renting a car and driving back. Our Fond du Lac team went with the latter option, helped by Emily's parents who made some of the arrangements for us by phone. (fortunately, since we were on the ground, we could use cell-phones to let people know we wouldn't be getting in on time).

We went to the AA service counter where we were informed that there were no other flights to Milwaukee, since the delays were weather related, there was nothing they could do for us (other than get us some cots that we could set up in an unused gate). We declined. I made a dash for a McDonalds open late, and anihilated a Big Mac in what was probably an unseemly amount of time. :) In my defense, it was about 11:00, and I hadn't eaten much in about eleven hours.

The MBC team said our farewells to the others, who were also renting a vehicle for the drive back to Milwaukee, and midnight found us on the road in a rented car, headed up to Fond du Lac. I drove, and the team took turns doing their best to keep me awake; which was in their best interests, really -- but we were all physically and emotionally exhausted. Gabrielle and I pulled into the driveway at around 2:30am, completely drained. But we were home.

The rest of our luggage (still who knew where) could wait for later that day -- after some sleep.

Monday -- Almost Home

2007-02-20T10:04:00.000-06:00

Monday was our travel day home, and proved once more that (on this trip at least), getting there was more than half the battle.

Our flight didn't leave until noon(ish), so we had no hurries, and could take our time at the hotel, which served a nice breakfast. Gabrielle and I sat with Max and Gene and talked over the front page news in Managua; a recent visit from the president of Iran, just days before we got back to the capital.

At least it was fairly easy getting to the airport in Managua. Our hotel was literally across the street from the airport, which sounds pretty sedate until we point out that it was a pretty busy four lane highway that we had to roll or carry our luggage across and out of harm's way. No problem.

We actually made the trip a couple of times that morning, because we wanted to visit the gift shops just inside the airport (before we passed through security). Gabrielle and I got a hammock (wishful thinking for January, but we were trying to plan ahead), and some small paintings for our house and for Connect Cafe. Several team members thought about buying a little memento from one of the gift shops: a tiny ceramic toilet etched with the words: "Memories of Nicaragua", but we all decided that some memories are best left in the background... We also decided to pass on the Che Guevera cigars, although it struck me as kind of odd how a cultural icon (of socialism, no less!) was transformed into a gimmick to sell t-shirts and cigars. I suppose that makes as much sense as all the "Jesus junk" to be found in most Christian book stores. (sigh)

We got back to the airport and cleared security with no problems. That left us with about an hour to spend in the terminal, browsing through the duty free shops and cafe's. Aside from the wood-carvings we got from local artisans in Bluefields, this was pretty much our only opportunity to get souveniers for the trip. Gabrielle picked up some good coffee, and I found a CD of Nicaraguan music -- although Max told me that the Bluefields area was more reggae than what was on the CD. Ah well. I could have picked up a Bob Marley CD too, but decided against it. Gabrielle visited the cafe and had a good discussion with the barrista there about the espresso machines and making coffee. About twenty minutes before we left, Angela and Michelle came walking up to the group (as we waited at the gate) with styrofoam containers of cheeseburgers! Did I mention that the flight was to leave at noon? I wasn't counting on any kind of meal on the plane, and we knew we weren't going to have much time in Miami to get anything to eat -- so I put one and one together and rushed over to the cafe/restaraunt to order a cheeseburger myself. They seemed to take forever to cook the thing (not that I'm complaining), and I kept an anxious eye on the clock, worried that the plane would start boarding before I got my food. I got my burger with about five minutes before we were to start boarding, and I gratefully grabbed it (I'd already paid for it) and ran back to the gate.

Before I go any further, you should know (in order to understand how excited I was about the cheeseburger) that my stomach had continued to feel queasy ever since I'd gotten sick midweek, and through no fault of our excellent cooks in Bluefields, I hadn't eaten a whole lot because of it. The idea of a cheeseburger was intensely comforting to me.

Unfortunately, whatever mental image I have of a cheeseburger as comfort food, this wasn't it.
I don't know if it was the green tomatoes, or the taste of the beef, which seemed to have a different kind of seasoning, or the fact that I had to wolf it down quickly -- or if it was all in my head, so to speak; but although it fed the body, it wasn't quite the comfort food experience I was hoping for. All in all, I should have appreciated it more, because it was the last real food I'd eat until about 10:30 that night.

(... to be continued...)

Sunday

2007-02-14T18:09:00.000-06:00

Sunday was fascinating.

After breakfast, we gathered in the multi-purpose room, where many of the adult members of Bethel church had gathered. Their worship service is held in the evening, and during the morning, they have Sunday classes for children and new believers, but the active adult members are expected to use the morning to go out into the community and meet with people. Pastor Vital divided up our group and sent us out along with a few members from Bethel (making sure that at least one spoke English and so could serve as a translator). We then walked out into the surrounding neighborhood and went to meet with people and share our faith stories.

I think that most of the places we went were with people that they already had some connection to; but not exclusively.

I went with Christina (one of our team members), Jaime (a guy from Pennsylvania who was there on a medium-term mission teaching English classes at Bethel church), and one of the women leaders in the Bethel church. We didn't go far from the church compound, and ended up visiting two families.

The first visit we made was sort of unplanned, but we started a conversation with a couple as we were walking down the sidewalk and were invited into their home, where we started talking about faith. They turned out to be fairly devout and knowledgable Catholic Christians, which initially made me wonder how the Bethel folks would handle the situation. I felt very much like an observer, and wasn't going to interject much unless asked; but I was a little apprehensive about how this might go. I know that often in Central/South America, even moreso than in the USA, there is a tendency among protestants to assume that all Catholics are "cultural" and don't have a living relationship with Jesus as their Savior. I've known too many Catholics with a vibrant and deep faith (whatever disagreements we might have about some points of doctrine), and too many protestants who have prayed the 'Jesus prayer' without it making a lick of difference in their lives to buy into that -- I fervently hoped that this conversation wouldn't go adversarial.

Jaime translated for Christina and I, not word for word, so as not to interrupt, but by concept, so that we could follow what was going on. The conversation was pretty positive, although a little different in style and a little more direct about matters of faith than we'd often find here. I was glad to hear the person from Bethel talk about how it didn't matter what church we went to as long as we were focused on a life of following Christ as our Lord and Savior. Christina and I had a chance to share a word of greeting. I wanted to be encouraging, and said something along the lines of being privileged to be invited into their home, the difference Jesus has made in my life, and being glad to find brothers and sisters in faith here.

After about an hour we left, and we moved on to visit someone in the neighborhood that our Bethel contact knew about and wanted to check in on. Apparently she was pregnant and had some medical difficulties, but had left the hospital to be at home. She welcomed us onto her porch, and we talked while she reclined on the floor at the doorway, while her young children played in the house and the yard.

At this point, I should maybe digress to give you an image of what all of this was like, because when I say things like 'house' and 'porch' and 'yard', it looks a little different in that part of Bluefields than what we are used to. The first family we visited had a fairly largish house, made of wood planks, and a rough poured concrete floor (by which I mean that it wasn't a smooth or square slab, but not a dirt floor either). The home itself was one big room divided into three sections, one which was more of a storage area where wood for fires was kept, a largish open room, and a small section where the parent's bed was. The whole thing was about the size of a typical living room in one house. We were invited to sit on the main furniture; plastic lawn chairs, while the father of the family sat in a wooden chair behind a small desk, and the wife stood near him. A little child sat in a hammock and was watching cartoons on TV, and that was about it for furniture. The neighborhood in which we were walking was one of the poorer areas, with no streets, just (sometimes) sidewalks in between homes that we would call shacks or lean-to's. little bits of trash were everywhere, and although homes were often well kept, the overall image was of people making the best of conditions we would describe as poverty we don't see much of in the US.

The second home we visited was smaller than the first, and was shelter for two women and about four children. We talked with her about the gospel, and our leader shared the Gospel story and asked her if she wanted to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She said that she wanted to, but she was sick. I felt very much an observer, and didn't want to interfere, even though the style of conversation wasn't what I was used to. But I got the sense that this woman need to hear a word of hope and peace in the midst of her situation; to know that the Gospel isn't just about the future, but also the present. So I asked to share a passage from John where Jesus comforts the disciples by saying that he is leaving his peace with them, a peace different than that which the world gives. Styles of evangelism are different, and I'm not knocking their methods -- they're out there engaging with people while we all too often huddle in our churches with a powerless "gospel" wondering why people aren't streaming through our doors.... But I felt strongly that we need to be sensitive to *how* the good news of Jesus speaks into a person's life.

And yet in the midst of all of that, one more person took a step of faith and began to open their lives to Jesus. I know that the people from Bethel will follow up and care for her spiritually and physically, and I hope that all goes well for her, and one day that we'll meet together in God's kingdom.

After lunch, we headed out to the airport and soon were on a plane headed for Managua. The flight went fine, and Max was gracious (as he was in so many other ways) in letting me have a window seat on the way back too. I tried to soak in the scenery, mountains and forests and farms, Lake Nicaragua and the chain of volcanoes along the shore, the sight of Managua from the air -- a mix of beautiful palaces and large buildings, industrial parks and sprawling patches of tiny tin-roofed houses.

We arrived at the hotel and got checked in, with a little time before we gathered for supper in the hotel restaraunt. For the MBC team, this was their first experience in the hotel across from the airport; the rest had been there two nights before we left for Bluefields. The rooms were very nice, with dark wood furniture, tile bathrooms (that still couldn't flush TP, sadly), and clean water. Gabrielle and I had a room that smelled kind of funky, but we figured it was just the way every room smelled, so we didn't think much about it until we got back from dinner.

Dinner was great, dining out in an open patio, laughing, sharing and enjoying good food. Gene Smiley ended up treating the whole team to dinner, which was just one example of his generous nature. Our evening devotions following dinner were held around the pool (not in it, sadly), and we took the time to affirm each member of the team, ways that we had seen God work in and through them, encouraging them to continue to follow God's calling in their lives. It took a long time for thirteen people to each share an affirmation of thirteen people, but it was a powerful time for lifting up things we often don't see or recognize in ourselves.

The last thing Gabrielle and I had to deal with on Sunday was returning to a room that had somehow grown even funkier-smelling in the past four hours. One of our team-members had come by our room to pick up something, and commented about the smell; we replied that we had thought they were all like this. Upon hearing that this wasn't the case, I went to the front desk and asked them to do something about it (this was about 10:30pm and we were tired). About fifteen minutes later, one of the hotel staff persons arrived with a can of aerosol spray and literally fog-bombed the place in some kind of fragrance. Now it smelled like pine-funk, and we couldn't breathe if we wanted to.... We finally ended up convincing them that it would be great to be in a different room, and so at about 11:30, we had moved into a non-funky smelling room, and got some rest. At least Gabrielle did. Unfortunately, my stomach started giving me problems again, as I'd been on edge for the whole week, even after the worst parts of being sick had passed.... but we were almost home.

more about that tomorrow.

Saturday and the last Brick in the Wall

2007-01-26T17:03:00.000-06:00

It's 3:00pm in California (PST), and I'm a little scrambled, having left Fond du Lac at about 6am (CST) -- and I finally have a chance to sit down and write a little more about Bluefields, Nicaragua.

I guess where I left off last time was Friday, so moving on to Saturday...

Saturday was the day we finished our part of the wall. On Friday, we'd finished digging, filling and pouring the foundation for the last retaining wall, and Saturday found us laying the brick, mixing more mortar, and in general finishing off the last masonry bit for the retaining wall. We were done around noon, and as it was another sunny day, everyone was glad to get in the shade, drink some water, and have some lunch before we would tackle the last remaining chore, backfilling part of the wall with dirt and clay. Unfortunately, there was one last mishap before we stopped -- Gabrielle was working to reinforce sections of the wall with rebar, when she hit her right index finger with a hammer. It started to swell up, and the fear was that she broke it. Michelle quickly put a splint on it using the only clean piece of wood available -- a pencil (!). Later on, when we got back to Fond du Lac, the doctor was quite impressed. Fortunately, it was a minor fracture -- although that is a lot easier for me to say, not having to experience it. Gabrielle is now seriously considering having a t-shirt made that reads: "I HIT IT WITH A HAMMER." (in response to the inevitable question). For the record, although she can't fully play the piano or the flute, and her typing is slowed a bit; she doesn't seem to be hampered a bit when it comes to pulling shots of espresso.

...back to Bluefields...

After lunch, I started making different plans -- not because I was trying to get out of the work, but because it was Saturday, and the internet connection at Bethel remained steadfastly down, as it had since Wednesday evening. This was an issue, because although the MBC team had written reflections to share with the church in Fond du Lac as the message for the worship service on Sunday, we'd had no way to send it, or in fact, to let the worship leaders know when it would be coming. I knew that there were internet cafe sites in downtown Bluefields, and so I went to let Ketley know that I'd be taking a taxi down so that I could email our reflections and get back. When I mentioned this, she looked puzzled -- to make a long story short, there had been some kind of mixed communication between Ketley, Vital and our group; we had expected to be working on the wall all afternoon, while Ketley was getting ready to take the group on a tour of Bluefields.

Needless to say, we were pretty open to the idea of leaving the shovels and getting a better sense of the city we'd spent a week in. Just over half of the team had been to Bluefields previously, and Michelle and Angela had been out to visit the hospital and a few other sites earlier in the week, but my only sense of the town had been on the bus ride to the church and the ride out and back (at night) to the Bible study.

Riding in the back of Ketley's pickup truck is a lot more fun than the bus; the view is better, and there's a nice breeze (although clouds of diesel exhaust tend to billow around the truck when it's about to go up a hill). The best part, though, is sitting (or standing) in the back with ten good friends. Luckily, Ketley is a great driver, and always got us to where we were going (and back) in one piece. We visited the university, got a hilltop view of the bay, and then drove down to the docks, where the marketplace was. It was an enclosed warehouse with all kinds of produce lining narrow walkways. One of the more unusual parts of our visit was necessitated by nature; we got introduced to pay toilets of a sort that would make a fairground port-a-potty look like a luxury. I counted myself fortunate that I didn't have to participate in that experience.

Downtown Bluefields was a different experience. Ketley dropped us off, and I spent about ten minutes in an internet cafe, and got the data sent out to our worship leader. That was a big relief. After that, we walked around for a while, stopping in some clothing stores (being bored in a clothing store is pretty much the same no matter where in the world I am, apparently), and a music store - to pick up a CD of Bluefields style music (reggae) for Gene, who wasn't feeling up to going with us. We also found a soccer ball for one of the young guys who worked with us named John -- it was his birthday, and we wanted to give a gift in his honor that all the kids in the church could use. [we tried to be conscious that gift-giving didn't create have's and have-not's among the young people we met.] In general, the stores were pretty run-down. I don't know what I was expecting; perhaps to find some unique items that would remind me of the trip. Not really here -- although Gabrielle found some of the special salsa the cooks used to make the excellent shrimp dinner they greeted us with when we arrived. Most of the goods for sale were the kind of stuff we would tend to pass by in a garage sale, I'm somewhat ashamed to say. It was another reminder of the contrast in lifestyle we enjoy here in the US.

Another reminder was when we drove past the only fire-station we'd seen in town. It had two engines, one ultra-modern looking, and one that looked like a relic from the 1940's. The modern one was painted with the logo of a nearby casino, and if I understood correctly, was only for the casino's use, while the other one was for the city. If so, that pretty much describes the gap between the very wealthy few and the rest of the people.

Ketley picked us up later that evening, and Gene rejoined us for dinner at a downtown pizzaria. We had heard that this restaraunt served great pizza, and we weren't dissapointed. Maybe it was a connection with some more familiar food, but it was a treat. It was a great time of visiting, telling stories, and enjoying the evening. We topped it off with a stop at an ice-cream shop that was literally inundated with the little gecko lizards we had seen at the mission compound. Maybe they like ice-cream. It was a good way to mark the end of our work on the project, and get a sense of the city we'd spent so much time in.

Friday

2007-01-19T18:48:00.000-06:00

Friday.

At the moment, I'm sitting in a corner of Connect Cafe, ostensibly working, but not actually doing much at the moment, because it's kind of slow, and the patrons who are hanging out have pretty much ordered their drinks for the time being.

It seems a world away from Bluefields a week ago; and I suppose that in some ways, it's not too far off.

Friday in Bluefields was the last full day we worked; though we didn't know it at the time. We dug away the last part of the hill, and focused on digging the trenches that would become the footing of the last wall. We then filled in the trenches with rocks, covered the rocks with cement, and then started building the walls, which meant that Pastor Vital kept us busy with calls for "Mescla", which roughly translates as 'mixture' or mortar for the bricks (I have no if I spelled that right, by the way).

At this point, those of us who had started to recover from feeling sick were very much looking forward to the idea of heading into town for pizza. But they had something even better in mind for us. Although it wasn't our last night in town, the church threw a sort of 'farewell' party for us that night, and a wonderful dinner of chicken and the Nicaraguan equivalent of "fixin's". The food was great, but the best part was sitting down to eat together with the people who we'd worked beside on the project, the church leaders, and the people who cooked our food. People had the opportunity to stand and share a sort of testimony of thanks to God for things during the week, as well as the opportunity to recognize people in the group. I stood and thanked the young guys from the Bethel church who worked us into the ground and kept us going out of shame -- one guy who wasn't more than 15 carried a sack of concrete that had to weigh almost as much as he did down a hill.

The change in relationhip with the younger guys from Bethel is one thing I'll cherish about the trip. They were polite from the first, at least to our faces, but there was a sense of distance, even as they joked around with each other. They threw bits of mud at each other, and at Michelle, who returned the favor -- but they threw little rocks at Max, who didn't appreciate it as much, but (being the good person he is) didn't return the favor. The same rock throwing kid stood up Friday night and thanked Maria (one of our team members) for putting a bandage on his leg earlier that day when he had suffered a bad scrape that he wasn't going to do anything about.

I got to sit with Pastor Vital, as well as with two members of our team, Roni and Christina. Vital had invited me to join him for dinner so that we could talk about ministry and mission. The story of how he and Ketley came to Bluefields, and how God directed their ministry is an amazing one that I'll get into sometime later. He then shared a message for us that I also taped to share with the church at home. I had talked with him early in the week, hoping that there would be a time he and I could sit together and I could record our conversation about church and mission to share with MBC -- and his message was a wonderful gift.

One of the guys I'll remember is someone everyone from Bethel called John "Wayne", because his features and coloration were a little different. It was meant kindly, and people from our group used the nickname too. But gradually we realized that he really just wanted to be called John, and so that's what we did. Knowing and using each other's names was a big part of lessening the gulf of language and experience between us. By the time we left, John came up to me and said goodbye to me personally and called me a friend. That meant a lot.

One last thing I want to talk about is kind of an incidental thing; I'd brought my binoculars along on the assumption that there wasn't too much light polution where we'd be heading, and that the night sky would be beautiful. There were some bright lights on the compound, but otherwise, it was. One night I spent tracing around constellations that were much lower to the horizon at Wisconsin latitudes. There's a lot of cool sights to be seen in the night sky, even with binoculars. The Orion nebula was particularly bright with the binocs. I set my alarm on several mornings to get up early and see the southern cross and the greater magelleanic cloud -- unfortunately every time I got up, it was cloudy or raining. ah well.

Falling asleep

2007-01-18T18:03:00.000-06:00

I also can't forget what it's like to fall asleep. The guys stayed in rooms on the side of the building facing into the city, and once the sun went down, the noise of stray dogs was incredible -- this constant din of ferocious barking and growling interspersed with the competitive vocalizations of a dozen roosters determined to settle who was the absolute loudest. I like to think that after the chicken dinner we had on Wednesday, it got a little quieter. But that was probably my imagination. Ear-plugs helped a lot, since I'm a light sleeper. Unfortunately, ear plugs don't do much about the oppressive heat and humidity that often stuck around long after the sun went down. After a while, sheer exhaustion helped me get some sleep, but the first few days weren't easy. Wednesday night was particularly hard, mostly since I wasn't feeling well -- and there's nothing like feeling sick and not knowing why or how long it would last to make a person feel far from home. Wednesday was also the inaguration of President Ortega, and we weren't sure how that would go over here, or what impact that would have. There was a lot of noise from fireworks that night as well. Early in the morning on Thursday, I awoke to martial music and voices on loudspeakers that seemed to my early morning imagination to be moving up and down the street. Since I was groggy and still a bit under the weather, I'm sure that magnified my uncertainty about what it meant. I later asked Pastor Vital about it, and he said that lots of people were happy and hopeful because of Ortega's victory, hoping it would bring change to the country. This sentiment was echoed in a conversation we had a few days later with a gentleman in downtown Bluefields.

The last thing I'll say about that was on Thursday morning, a Soviet-era Hip troop helecopter (in camoflauge) made several passes over our area of Bluefields. It figures that during the first few passes (which were the closest), my videocamera was up in the building where we were staying. When it came back around, I ran to get the camera and managed to take a few wobbly zoom shots of it. Max and I speculated on what the point of the flyovers was; whether or not it was a show of force as a demonstration of the new government. Pastor Vital was of the opinion that it was President Ortega flying over to tour the area. If I'd had footage of the closer flyby, I'd be curious to know if the helecopter was carrying fuel tanks or rocket pods on the wings. Probably fuel tanks, given the distance from Managua to Bluefields. We saw a whole row of the Hips on the airfield as we taxied in and out of the airport. In the end, nothing to worry about, but just another reminder that we weren't in Kansas anymore.

thinking back

2007-01-18T17:33:00.000-06:00

It's thursday. Hard to believe that the days are already speeding by since we got back into the country. I'm still processing and remembering the events of the trip, and the memories come back as the pictures get developed and saved to computer, and as we watch bits and pieces of the video that was taken.

I'm still trying to come up with a decent (and succinct) answer to the question: "how was it?" if I do, I'll post it. :)

until then, maybe I'll go back and try to revisit each day - and in the process of putting together the pieces, maybe an answer will emerge.

Which brings me to thursday - last thursday, when we lost our internet connection at Bethel. by that time, most of us were feeling a little better, but not entirely. The cooks felt pretty bad, although we weren't at all sure exactly what had caused some but not all of us to get sick. It could have been change in diet (the ironic thing being that I at least was eating far more fruits and vegetables than normal), change in climate, a touch of the flu that manifested itself after we arrived, or any number of other things. I felt badly that they felt responsible, but with a touchy stomach, I wasn't up to eating much for most of the rest of the trip - despite how they prepared some wonderful meals to follow. They do fix great fried chicken and fish, though.

The work on Thursday was much the same as before, digging, trenching, hauling rock and concrete, mixing mortar and hauling that too... Still, we were making progress, and that was encouraging. Vital was energetic as always, and encouraged us with good humor and hard work. Yet with four of our team absent (I'll get to that in a moment), and many of the rest of us not quite back to 100% health-wise, it made for a long day.

Our three nurses got a break from the work on the terraces to go to the local hospital, something that was a particular goal for Michelle and Angela. Christina, one of our younger team members, also went along. Without going into too many details, it was a definite eye-opener for them, and even the reports they brought back made us aware of how much we take for granted within our own health care system. They were able to use the supplies we brought down, and one of our hopes is that through the contacts Michelle and Angela and RoseMary made, they will be able to follow up with more support in the future, including bringing more medical personnel for future trips.

That evening we went to a Bible Study held on the front porch of the home of a church leader. It's a good thing it was a fairly large front porch, because about fifty of us crammed in there to sing songs (in spanish, but they sang a verse in english on the familiar hymns), read scripture, and share on what it meant. It struck me when the seminarian leading the study asked us to read from Acts 2, and asked us to consider how this described the Kingdom of God. Since that's the topic our congregation has been engaging in the scripture for quite a while, it was refreshing to see how we share a common concern for engaging our community with the good news of God's Kingdom. Afterwards, I asked if I could videotape a greeting from them to our home congregations. They were a little puzzled at first with what I wanted, but then everyone jumped up and started singing a song of welcome, moving to their neighbor, giving them a hug and a blessing. It was wonderful. Afterwards, Pastor Vital and Pastor Hoel each shared a brief word of greeting for our congregations back in the US.

I shouldn't neglect a description of how we got to and from the Bible Study -- an extended cab pickup truck that sat five people in the front, and about ten in the back, some people sitting on the edge of the back, others standing, and others sitting in the middle. Somehow on reflection, I think that it was possibly more dangerous careening about Bluefields (where the streets are one and a half lanes wide) than on the plane flight over the mountains. But it's a heck of a lot of fun.

home... and some explanations

2007-01-16T11:59:00.000-06:00

howdy,

it's tuesday morning, and we're finally home. sorry that we sort of dropped off the radar on wednesday night, but the internet connection in Bluefields went down for the rest of our time there. I should have said more at the beginning about that possibility.

we pulled into Fond du Lac at about 2am today, and we still don't have our checked luggage, a situation we hope to correct this afternoon. It's a long story.

This has been an amazing experience, and please keep checking back here in the next few days, because I will be writing more about what happenned from Thursday on, and hopefully some of the other team members will do so as well. But for the moment, I'm pretty wrung out and tired, and I still need to get to Milwaukee and back in hopes of getting our luggage.

so with more to follow,
best wishes,
-Brian

From Gene

2007-01-11T10:31:00.000-06:00

(the following is an email that our teammate Gene sent out to keep the Immanuel Church folks up to date on what and how we're doing. I thought I'd post it so that y'all could hear how we're doing from someone else. He's done an excellent job of sharing what we're doing.)

NOTES FROM NICARAGUA

Saturday, January 6 Through Tuesday, January 9

Greetings to everyone from Bluefields, Nicaragua--from
rainy and humid and hot Bluefields! The mission team
has had its usual series of adventures, surprises, and
celebrations of joy. On Saturday, January 6, the group
from Immanuel flew out and finally made it to Managua.
It was quite warm in Managua. When we arrived we were
Max Ramsey, Gene Smiley, Bob Kramer, Brian Fischer,
Maria Lewis, Rosemary Buelow, Roni Frost, and Kristina
Frost.
Roni and Kristina joined us at Chicago. Brian, I am
sure, all of you know. Bob Kramer is from Milwaukee
and this is his third January trip with
us. Maria Lewis is from Tabernacle (I hope I spelled
that correctly) and Rosemary is from Appleton and
attends church in Neenah.

We were to be joined in Managua on Sunday by a group
from Fond du Lac--Brian and Gabrielle Hastings, Emily
Gaynor, Angela Graham, and Michelle Doro, all from
Memorial Baptist Church. Well, as you can guess,
something always goes off the schedule on such trips.
The Fond du Lac group´s Saturday flight from Chicago
was delayed and they arrived in Miami too late to
catch the flight to Managua. They called and told us.
Max went to the airport to make certain the flight we
were taking from Managua to Bluefields wasn´t taking
off too early for the Fond du Lac group´s arrival.
(Please pardon the spelling and punctuation--this
keyboard is arranged for Spanish, not English and I´m
never quite sure where the keys are.) The local
airline´s terminal office was closed (at 3
pm--Atlantic Airlines) and Max had to call Ketly
Pierre in Bluefields--an adventure in itself. They had
us scheduled for a Monday flight at 6 am--the
Fond du Lac group´s plane was due at Eleven Thirty (I
can´t find the colon key). Ketly said she would change
the reservation and if she could not change the
reservation she would leave a message at the hotel
desk. When no message was received we assumed she had
changed the reservations to 2 pm.

The Fond du Lac group arrived and we all checked in at
Atlantic Airlines and waited and waited and waited.
You must understand that in Nicaragua time is
relative! The schedule may say 2 pm but the actual
time is quite flexible--and rarely the same as the
listed or schedule time. We took off at 3 pm. The
flight itself was relatively fine--as long as you
are not subject to airsickness from flying in a very
small, bouncing plane not far above the mountains over
which you fly.

We arrived in Bluefields and Vitale Pierre actually
had a bus waiting for us--instead of 2 pickups where
you rode in the open atop the luggage piled in the
rear. This was a big improvement. We were amazed when
we saw the two dormitories where we had last seen a
mere foundation footings for one dormitory when we
left two years ago.

On Tuesday we dug--and dug--and dug in the thick gooey
red clay so that a brick retaining wall (and wall for
bleacher type seats) could be erected. It rained
several times in the morning and we began to walk in
shoes that must have weighed 8 to 10 pounds each
considering all the red mud that stuck to them. In the
afternoon the clouds largely cleared out
and the sun came out and it got HOT! Kristina Frost
became ill and was very white until she had rested.
Emily Gaynor was wearing new shoes and developed
blisters on both ankles around the top of the
shoes.When the digging was done, several of us came up
to the dormitory where we are staying, assuming that
we were done for the day. This was around 4 pm.
BEHOLD! Vitale decided to mix the concrete to put in
the bottom of the foundation wall footings to begin
setting concrete blocks on Wednesday. Max and Brian
Hasting´s faces sagged at this and work continued
until after five thirty pm--for some it was a very
long day. The cooks down at the Comedor were not
particularly happy about how late we worked.

They had the evening meal ready shortly shortly after
4 pm! It rained hard last night and again this morning
and after sweeping water off the basketball court and
off of the concrete in the foundation, we are mixing
cement and beginning to set the blocks for the wall.

Each evening we have a reflection and discussion
period to reflect on what we experience during the day
and relate it to Christ´s mission for us on earth. Max
has led these on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday
evenings--Luke, ch. 16 on Lazarus and the rich man;
Exodus 3 on Moses at the burning busy. Last night
Emily Gaynor (from Fond du Lac) and Kristina
Frost (from Harrisonville, MO) determined the
scripture--1 Corinthians, ch. 3, verses 11-15--and led
the discussion. Tonight Bob Kramer and I
will choose a scripture and lead the discussion. (I am
going to try not to be a professor in front of a class
when I do this--that never goes over
well!!) We use I language so as to not attribute our
ideas and feelings to others and everyone on the team
has to contribute to the discussion and comment on
what they experienced during the day.

Several people sent school supplies down with
us--pencils, paper notebooks, crayons, etc. We have
found out that children here cannot go to school
unless they have their own supplies--these are not
supplied by the schools. Therefore, quite a few
children will be enabled to go to school, who may not
have otherwise, because of the supplies that the
generous people of our faith communities supplied.
Even if you can´t go on a mission trip, such as we are
on, your hand can still stretch all the way to
Bluefields and make a difference in the lives of some
people down here.

May Christ be With Everyone.
Peace from the 2007 Nicaragua Mission Trip Team
[Gene Smiley for the Team]

NOTES FROM NICARAGUA
Wednesday, January 10, 2007

RAIN...RAIN...RAIN...

...and...

MONTEZUMA'S REVENGE!

As you can tell from the above headings, it was an
interesting day yestday--and that is probably an
understatement.

It rained very early in the morning before we arose
and was cloudy most of the morning. After lunch we
returned to our various projects. But, about 2:10 we
could tell that it was raining to the East of us and
coming toward us. The rain hit us about 2:20 or so. It
came in a torrential downpour and continued for a
while and then let up to just a heavy rain. Then it
returned to a torrential downpour and after a while
returned to just a heavy rain. This continued to about
3:40 or 3:45 before the rain finally stopped. Needless
to say, there was water everywhere! Guesses were that
it rained somewhere between 2 and 4 inches and most
likely closer to the 4 inches.

But, some good or enjoyment comes out of everything.
The women saw the water pouring off the corrugated tin
roof of the main building and decided to take
advantage of it. They took their shampoos and went
down to the building and lathered up their hair. Then
they leaned out and rinsed their hair in the heavy
runoff from the roof! We were watching this from the
balcony of the dormintory above the main building.
They pulled two younger boys in and lathered up their
hair and rinsed it off under the runoff. Apparently
the boys expressed a preference for Head and Shoulders
shampoo over Prell shampoo!

Two of the other boys--in the midst of the torrential
downpour--went out to the basketball/soccer court,
which was covered in an inch or so of water, with an
old shoe and began to play a vigorous game of soccer!

With all the rain, by the time it stopped we were done
for the day.

Well before dinner some of us were not feeling well
and after dinner several became ill with diarrhea and
vomiting. Five of our group were struck with this and
several became quite sick. This next morning we also
found that James (from Pennsylvania who is spending 6
months down here teaching English) was struck with the
same thing around midnight. Therefore, we are working
today with a reduced crew. We have not determined the
cause of this outbreak, but we are taking greater
precautions.

Our scripture on Wednesday was Deuteronomy 15:1-11 on
the Jublicc. Gene Smiley and Bob Kramer led it, though
Gene was frequently absent in the bathroom!

Our mission team can use all your prayers--especially
for our health. We are accomplishing things and
getting to know each other well.

All of us send our best from Nicaragua

Max Ramsey
Gene Smiley
Bob Kramer
Brian Fischer
Rosemary Buelow
Maria Lewis
Roni Frost
Kristina Frost
Brian Hastings
Gabrielle Hastings
Angela Graham
Michelle Doro
Emily Gaynor

Peace

The Nicaragua Mission Team
[Gene Smiley for the Team]

January 11

2007-01-11T10:15:00.000-06:00

Hello!

I'm taking a bit of a break this morning, and figured I might as well do something useful -- like giving an update on what we've been up to so far. Yesterday we worked on laying brick for the terrace, which involved all sorts of things from mixing the mortar (all done on the ground, with buckets and shovels, which is an interesting process), to hauling blocks around, to laying the bricks themselves. We were interrupted by rain several times, which actually was in some ways a blessing -- the overcast skies and rains kept the temperatures down. We're not quite that lucky today -- as one of our team members wryly put it "oh, what a beautiful day..."

The flip side of that is that today we're backfilling the walls and shoveling a lot of dirt; which is a lot easier when it's not wet. Let me take that back -- "dirt" only applies to the first couple of inches; the rest is a thick clay.

From a personal standpoint, I was able to work the whole time (when it wasn't pouring down rain), and felt a lot better about what I could do than on Tuesday. Our evening devotions have been thought-provoking, and the group is really coming together. We're also enjoying getting to know some of the people connected with Bethel church, who are incredibly hard workers, and who don't lose their sense of fun even in the midst of it. They are a great encouragement to us, and it helps us keep things in perspective.

There are a lot of things that we're pondering in the midst of all this work. Last night's devotion was on the Biblical concept of 'jubilee' and the forgiveness of debts; which was connected to a discussion of the International Monetary Fund, and how that relates to the loan practices of the IMF, and what countries are able to do when they have to spend a large percentage of their wealth to pay just the interest on these loans. There is a road planned that would connect Bluefields to Managua; in fact it almost comes up to Bethel church. Unfortunately in the past two years, only a quarter mile of it has been finished. We talked about what a road would mean in terms of an impact on the economy here, and it is sobering to think that something that seems so simple to us could make such a huge difference here.

We're doing well and are glad we are here. We're having some (relatively) minor health issues that have affected about half of us last night -- one reason I wasn't able to update the blog last night. After taking some medicine and fluids, there's some improvement, which is encouraging.

Best wishes from us all,
-Brian

Good Morning from Bluefields

2007-01-10T07:48:00.000-06:00

Hola, amigos y amigas --

(gee, I sure hope I wrote that right... :)

well, it's amazing what a good night's sleep can do. It was probably obvious from last night's post that I was pretty beat. Aside from some aches and pains earned from working more than the hour a week clergy usually get away with, I woke up feeling much better.

We'll be starting our work fairly soon, so this will have to be a short post. It rained *hard* at some point around 'dark-o-clock' last night. it was incredibly relaxing to listen to the rain. But I also thought about the people living in shacks built of tin, wood scraps and (in some cases) a roof made of garbage bags, that I am sure did not stand up to that rain as well as our shelter.

we haven't really been outside the compound since we took the bus trip through Bluefields, but although we're on the edge of town, a community of shacks has been established in the vicinity of Bethel church.

on a different subject, I had the chance to talk a bit with Vital as we worked yesterday. He has a great joy that is infectious, and a true passion for reaching out and seeing people come to walk with Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Vital, Max and I had some interesting discussions about ministry and discipleship. For the folks at home who have been talking about 'missional' ministry (i.e. living one's faith into the community), Vital is living it. In fact, I hope to talk him into allowing us to tape a conversation about church and ministry (and particularly what Bethel church is doing) so that we can share it with you all when we get back.

I'm sure we're going to be starting on building the brick wall in the hill today. Yesterday we dug out part of the hill, then a trench for the foundation of the wall, then mixed cement on the ground to pour the foundation. (it was this last step that pretty much did me in -- I didn't last as long as some of the rest of the team that were able to tough it out the whole way). Today we get to build on that foundation -- both to establish the retaining wall, and then to construct bleachers on top of the terraces, so that people can watch the soccer/basketball games, or have concerts here.

That last point is really worth reinforcing -- they have quite a building compound here, and it takes a lot of work to keep it up. But they have connected everything they do here to finding ways to create bridges into the community, soccer tournaments, an open swimming pool, english classes, computer classes, concerts, dormitories for the children of cruise-ship workers; and built into everything are opportunities to share the Gospel. Vital is also clear that the building is not the church itself -- in fact, instead of Sunday School, they send the people out into the community to meet in homes; he figures they are at the church enough during the week, and need to maintain those connections into the community.

Anyway -- some good stuff. Goodbye for now!
-Brian

Hola from G

2007-01-09T21:21:00.000-06:00

Hi, friends, rellies and everyone else. Here's a pic of some of us working today; Brian posted a picture of my boots caked with about twenty pounds of the landscape. We quickly gave up on trying to wipe our feet or taking off our boots when we needed to run into the house for something, and instead we just hollered for whoever was upstairs to just toss it off the upstairs veranda.

We worked really hard today, and I'm sure we'll all be sore tomorrow (some of us are sore tonight, which doesn't bode well). But we got a lot done, and tomorrow's work will be physically quite a bit easier. Digging trenches for wall footings is definitely not one of my spiritual gifts, but I'm having a lot of fun, and I'm actually really enjoying the heat and humidity. Those of us who arrived yesterday are coming together as a team; we're not "the Fond du Lac people", "the Brookfields people", "the Kansas City people", "the East Moline person" and "the Appleton person" anymore. Maybe as the week progresses we won't be the American/Canadian people and the Nicaraguan people anymore, but just the people who are working together on this project. Language is not as much of a barrier as I had expected; the people we are working with speak English or translate for each other and us, and we're picking up some Spanish. I learned how to say sand (arrena), gravel (pierra) and concrete (concreto) this afternoon. And that the word for the rock you hit with your shovel (roca) is differrent than the word for the rock you put in there on purpose. Two of us helped with dishes in the kitchen this morning, and I'm looking forward to learning how to make some of the stuff we're eating. We had a fabulous shrimp dish last night. The fresh fruit is awesome, too. My immune system is going to totally annihilate any flu germ that comes within 20 feet of me when we get home.

Anyway, I'm going to close for tonight and go to bed. Breakfast comes early tomorrow, and now that we've had a taste of the rest of the week, I know I'll need to go to bed at a reasonable hour for a change. More tomorrow.

By the way, Mom H., thanks for the hat! (Brian says ditto.) They really, really help!

A long day's night....

2007-01-09T21:02:00.000-06:00

This picture pretty much says it all.

We worked hard today. Some of the digging had already been done by the time we'd gotten there, but there was a lot left to do, in some heavy-duty clay.

We got an early start, and worked until the mid-morning rain caused a break in the action. The showers were a bit of a nuisance, but by mid-afternoon, I was definitely wishing they (or the clouds) were around again. The heat was a real problem for me, later on in the afternoon I had to stop and take a break, as did most of us at various times. The local helpers (including kids) were amazing workers, and certainly worked me into the ground.

All in all, a good day -- we're all doing well, and hope that tomorrow we'll be better acclimated to the heat and humidity.

I'll close soon and let Gabrielle write something, but just one thought to share. Earlier in the day, a question arose about giving some of the local kids candy as a gift. We asked Pastor Vital first, and he cautioned us about how we do those sorts of things; his concern being that the local kids come to see the visiting groups not as potential friends, but as potential sources of money or candy. There is, of course, a great deal of wisdom in that -- but it also got me to thinking; how often do people wonder why God won't do this or that for them; could it be that God doesn't want us to think of God just as a sort of cosmic dispenser of blessings, but desires a relationship based on something else.

That's about as deep as I get today; and it's no coincidence that it happenned shortly after lunchtime. :) I'm far too tired to do much more thinking at the moment. So goodnight, and be well. Remember that you can communicate with the Memorial church team through our email address: ministry [at] mbcfdl.org (substitute the [at] for the @ symbol)

-Brian

Arrival!

2007-01-08T19:46:00.000-06:00

Lots of praises to report tonight...

I'll start with the most important: the whole team is in Bluefields, at the Bethel church, and we're doing well.

It was a little crazy at the airport this morning; our shuttle bus left the hotel a half hour later than we were led to believe it would, the "tickets" we were given last night were not boarding passes, but simply the tickets that would allow us to *get* boarding passes.

It is no small blessing that we didn't have to check any baggage, or we would never have made it. I was probably not the only one doing some fervent praying that we wouldn't miss another flight to Managua. We (along with the other passengers stranded by the late flight out of O'Hare), were guided to the 'admiral's club' check in, and it only took us about a half hour to get through and get our boarding passes, instead of what looked like a several hour wait in the regular line. We also made it quickly through security (second praise) -- and arrived with enough time to spare to use our complementary breakfast/lunch vouchers before we gratefully boarded the plane to Managua.

The flight was fine. We didn't start out with window seats, but halfway through the flight, Gabrielle and I decided to move, since the plane was nowhere near full, and there were empty seats near the back. That meant we were treated to a beautiful view of Honduras and Nicaragua, which were especially interesting as we flew over the mountains.

We got through the airport in Managua with no problems, and experienced two wonderful joys in a row: seeing Pastor Max waving to us from the visitor's section of the airport, and seeing our checked luggage appear in the baggage claim. :)

As we stepped outside the airport (for our only glimpse of Managua to date), we soaked in the sunshine, palm trees and the *green* that I tend to really miss around this time of year. If it sounds a bit too much like a vacation, the armed guards were a somewhat sobering sight. We immediately headed to the terminal for the flight to Bluefields, where we joined up with the rest of the team which had preceded us here on Saturday. It was a bit of a wait to get on the plane, but as I commented to Michelle, it was kind of nice not to have to worry about hurrying here and there for a while.

The flight to Bluefields went splendidly. The plane was fairly small, but not too bad, and it gave us a wonderful view of the countryside and mountains as we flew among the clouds.

We landed, and were warmly greeted by Pastor Vital, who also had waited a while on our plane... I can't yet put into words the short drive through town on the way to the church compound, but some of the sights were fairly sobering. The church compound itself is beautiful and well-kept; everyone has been so hospitable and welcoming.

I'm sure I'll be able to write more later about the compound, (they have an excellent internet connection here that is used for teaching adults and youth, and which we also may use) but I'd like to close for tonight with a thought from our team's evening devotions together, where Max read the story of God speaking to Moses through the burning bush. God told Moses to take off his shoes, for he was standing on holy ground. It was truly just an ordinary piece of desert; yet what made it holy was the presence of God. So too, wherever God is present with us, does the ground become holy. (for those who have the eyes to see it). Whether in Nicaragua, Fond du Lac, Moline, Milwaukee, Quincy or wherever -- may we notice God's presence around us, and recognize that we too, stand on holy ground.

Blessings and love from Gabrielle, myself and the team,
-Brian

01-07-07 -- Miami

2007-01-07T20:57:00.000-06:00

well, this is the second time i'm going to try and update the blog
...and since i'm trying to tap it out on the palm pilot, i'm going to keep this rewrite brief.

long story short-- it's sunday night and we're in miami, not managua. a plane problem in chicago meant a missed connection, which means that we'll be flying out tomorrow morning, God willing.

we're a little tired and wish wewere in nicaragua already, but that can't be helped, and we're doing well. we'll update when we can.

blessings,
-b

...4...3...2...1...

2007-01-03T15:51:00.000-06:00

G again; it's been a while since I posted. Only four more days until we leave, and a long list of things to accomplish in the meantime. Whether all the stuff gets done or not, though, I'm getting on the plane. The stuff can take care of itself or wait until we get home.
Aside from all the things that need to get done before we leave, I feel ready to go. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter if the house isn't clean, if the Sunday bulletin hasn't been proof-read, if I don't pack enough clean socks, if I forget my flashlight. Being prepared has its merits, but whatever God has in mind for this trip is not terribly dependent on my organizational skills. So I'm not too fussed aout the details.
So far I have no real worries about the trip, and part of that is faith, but mostly it's not because it's not really in my nature to worry. (Although the more I hear about the plane we're taking from Managua to Bluefields, the less I plan on telling my mom about that part of the trip.)
I'm amazed and delighted at the way people have given not just money but medical supplies, their time in helping with fundraisers, things to give away to people in Bluefields, and some of the odds and ends that we need. Only five of us from Memorial are actually getting on the plane, but I've long since lost count of how many people have become part of the mission. Thank you, everyone!
So those are my reflections for now. Reading back over this post, it seems a bit scattered; I'm at the cafe where I work, and I'm writing in the midst of serving customers and putting together year end financial reports for a board of directors meeting on Friday. I'll post something more coherent (hopefully) once we're in country.

Countdown

2006-12-29T11:15:00.000-06:00

It's getting close.

To tell the truth, although the trip to Nicaragua has been on my mind a good deal over the past month, it's been more in the sense of taking care of details; one more compartment in a fairly busy season of ministry. I'm very excited about going, and yet I haven't had much time to really reflect and dwell on the reality of the trip.

That's starting to change.

With the Christmas celebrations past, and the preparations to be absent getting into place; it's starting to feel a lot more real -- and should allow me more time to be intentional about being spiritually ready for this trip.

I just listened to a CD loaned to me by a friend at church, "rethinking how to get in on what God is doing" -- by Glen Wagner and Dan Southerland. Much of what this particular CD is about is how God is moving in powerful ways throughout the world (and largely outside of the United States), about cell churches flourishing in China and Central America, about the need to abandon our tendencies towards colonialism ('church' has to look like what I grew up with), paternalism (the mistaken thought that because we might have certain advantages: education, wealth, whatever -- we're the ones who ought to be teaching these other folks instead of the other way around), and self-centeredness.

It was a good CD to listen to in preparation for this trip. I hope it's been clear so far that we go to learn and build relationship as much as we hope to serve and help the ministry of Bethel Church in Bluefields.

One last thing before I sign off right now -- we have a *lot* of thank-you's to write; the support that has continued to come through for us has been humbling and encourages us to make the most of this opportunity we have been given. If you haven't heard back from us personally; you will. Sorry it's taken us a while.

Blessings on the Journey,
-Brian

Mission Im-PIE-sabble :)

2006-11-24T11:26:00.000-06:00

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and the team from MBC has much to be thankful for.

On November 18, we shared information about the trip and about the country of Nicaragua during our regular Saturday Evening worship service; which was in this case, centered around a shared meal. The team prepared a Central American chicken dish along with rice, fried plantains, and dessert. It was a great time of shared worship, community as well as an opportunity to answer questions about the what's and the why's of the MBC team. We were blessed to have three people from the Holy Family Catholic Community take part in the evening; Holy Family has a sister parish in Rosita, Nicaragua, and often sends groups to visit. I especially appreciated their perspective on going to listen as well as share.

Our major fundraiser was to make fresh homemade pies for people the day before Thanksgiving -- we had orders for 33 pies, 25 of which we made on November 22nd. It was a crazy day, but also a lot of fun. Shirley R, an excellent cook and baker, contributed her knowledge and experience, making crusts from scratch faster than we could fill them. We had a lot of other help as well, from Harriet, Kathy, Bernice, and Louann. Four pies were purchased and donated to local shelters, Beacon House and Blandine House.

Ultimately, we are humbled by the tremendous outpouring of support that has come through for us as a team and sponsoring individual team members. Our financial needs are being met in a way that I can only explain as God's provision through people who have opened their hearts to this mission. I remember telling one of our team members early on that if they believed God was indeed calling us to this, then God would provide. I believed it when I said it, and yet I am still in awe of how true it has been.

To those who have contributed: I regard your gifts as a trust, to learn all that I can, to share God's love in every way I can, and to bring back to Fond du Lac whatever God teaches me about mission and service locally and globally. The mission fee we paid (above our expenses) will go for the materials AND local labor; providing employment in building the retaining wall.

Please continue to support us in prayer as we get ready for the trip.

Blessings,
-Brian

Current Status

2006-11-02T15:59:00.000-06:00

Just an update on the whole process of getting ready -- Gabrielle and I went through the first round of immunizations, which wasn't too bad. Apparently the needles they use today are sharper than when I used to get allergy shots every other week as a kid. (yeah, back in my day, they just used those bendy straws and a funnel to give shots...) ok, maybe not that bad -- but at least that's mostly over with. Gabrielle assures me that they had a lot rougher time of it when she and her family were getting ready to go to Africa when she was in Jr. High school.

I also got my passport application submitted; and hope that goes smoothly. As far as the photo is concerned -- let's just say that not too many people are going to get to see that one. :)

Right now we're focusing on raising support and getting the message out about what we're doing and why. We'll be hosting a meal on Nov 18 at our church (5:30pm at Memorial Baptist Church if anyone reading this happens to want to drop by), where we'll serve some Central American foods and talk about the trip, our work, and the mission center at Bethel Church in Bluefields.

More to follow...

This is a test...this is only a test...Please do not be alarmed...

2006-10-27T13:25:00.000-05:00

'Allo, this is G (Gabrielle), just checking to see if this works.

A Test Blog, if you will...

2006-10-25T15:06:00.000-05:00

Hello All--
This is no serious blog, I have a Latin midterm to study for, but I wanted to try this out...I don't think I've blogged before, at least not like a journal. So okay, it works! Until later...

My own Why.

2006-10-25T14:17:00.000-05:00

When Max asked if I'd like to be part of the team going to Bluefields, I was pretty excited. You see, it had been tugging on my heart from the moment he shared in another setting that he was pulling together a group of people to go. It didn't take long for my wife Gabrielle to get excited either; though we both were concerned about the financial end of things. From there, other connections were made within our church, Angela, Michelle, Emily -- but I'll let them tell their own stories and their own 'why'.

Why go so far away? Why spend that kind of money -- around $1500 / person for supplies, airfare, food, immunizations, etc., when there are so many other needs close to home? It's a very fair question - and one that I've asked myself as well.

My 'why' is multi-faceted; a number of things tugging on my heart that together tell me that this is the right thing for me to do.

Part of it is a desire that's been in my heart for years to have a chance to go outside of this country to experience mission; not just by myself, but with a group from my church. I feel a need to connect with Christians way out of my own culture and see what and how they're reaching into their own communities with God's love and message. I have a strong feeling that this experience will change me. I believe that it will stretch each of us on the team in some powerful ways, and that God will work in our lives. In a way, it sounds pretty selfish, doesn't it? Aren't we going to help the folks down there? Absolutely. We're going to be working hard, getting dirty, building a retaining wall on a hillside that will provide some protection from erosion by severe storms. We'll be sharing our stories of God's work in our lives. Some of our team members may end up using their nursing skills (hopefully not on team members!). But I have a strong sense that however much we go down to help, we also go so that we are placing ourselves in a situation where God can work on us as well as through us. I'm longing to get to know Vital and Marie Ketley-Pierre, who are the leaders of Bethel Church in Bluefields, and who have done some amazing things to make an impact in their community in creative ways. In short; I'm going not only because of the need for my work, but because of how I expect to grow and learn -- and what that will mean to my ministry when I come back to church in Fond du Lac.

In some ways, it's already been a lesson in faith and God's provision; making the commitment to go has been a leap of faith (financially as well as experientially) for many of us -- but the support we are experiencing encourages us that we're on the right track, and that the rest of what is needed will be supplied. I want to thank the people who cannot go with us in person, but who uphold us in prayer and support. This too, is a gift of love that reaches across the boundaries of culture to proclaim our living God.

Blessings,
-Brian

An introductory word....

2006-10-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

...or several, actually.

A bunch of folks from Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kansas are getting together to travel to the city of Bluefields, Nicaragua, in January of 2007. Why?

Well, that's part of what this blog is about -- a space for the team members to share why we're going, what's going on in our minds and lives as we prepare, but even more importantly -- to share what we see God doing in, around, and through us as we get ready to go, and when we're there. Please feel free to respond to team members as they post, ask questions, share your own experiences, offer a word of advice or encouragement.

Thanks for checking this out.
-Brian