Lisa goes to Central America

The team

So i never introduced you to the team from Michigan.

First there is shawn. He is a third year college student. He is a baby Christian and is dating Ashley. HE talks a lot and is very observant. He takes in everything that is happening around him. He is eager to learn which is exciting to see.

Then there is Don. HE is a military guy. He shows that through and through but he has a lot of compassion on others. He is a great leader.

Then There is Ron. HE wants to be a national. His heart is the biggest I have seen. HE has eyes as large as saucers, and the joy of the lord sprouts about him. HE is very encouraging and loving.

Then there is Stan is quiet but very funny. He doesn´t say much but what he says is always worth something. HE is a corrections officer is very tough yet gentle. We eat breakfast often in silence together.

The well.

So we got a well yesterday. Then we had a big water fight. I can´t wait to show you pictures. God is mighty and powerful and it is amazing to see him work. I don´t have a ton of words right now to be honest.  Other than we have been blessed beyond comparison to serve God almighty.  I had so much fun. I think it was a defining moment with the kids. We finally began to connect with the community.  Which it took a while

I know we didnt connect with the community in the same way that we did on the first trip so that was frustrating.

It has been interesting to lead. I thought it would be scary but it is comfortable. IT is where God has me. I don´t know if i can say it any better. We are leaving tomorrow morning and I will dearly miss this place. The alvardos are a blessing. I have spent a lot of time with them. and have fallen in love with there family.

Today we had to say goodbye to the community. I had to say goodbye to fani. It hard knowing that you wont see them again. I still miss Fredi my little buddy from my first trip. It is amazing how quickly you can be connected to a group of people and how hard it is to say goodbye. It hurts my heart, I also know that out purpose needs to be for them to be self sufficient. Which makes it a little bit easier.

i want to tell you about devotions today but I left my notes at home. I will tomorrow. They were beautiful and i can´t wait to share.

I have a hard time writing sometimes. I am not that good at it nor is it my favorite. It is hard to talk about myself.

Thanks for reading this.

maybe I can write a better sum up when i am not tired.

Today, the first lesson were a bit rough but got better and better as we did more.  The adults were really getting into it which was pretty cool. I am excited about tomorrow. But it seems lot a lot of work for someone as tired as me. Keep praying about the aquifer. We might not have water. It will be hard on the guys and hard for us all, especially the community.

Another cool thing that happened was that, the guy doing the devotions showed us the wordless bracelet because I showed it to him earlier. He had never seen it before and was really excited about it. This trip he said reignited his passion for the Lord. It is cool to see Americans grow toward God.

We also bonded with the kids. I would like to meet the women of the community more and know their life and spend more time with them. I think as a whole we bonded with the community better.  it was a cool day for the hygiene but rough for the drillers. You learn to bond with people quickly because the trip is so short. I have already connected with a couple and know that they will find special places in my heart like Fredi and Eliel.

 Anyway I told you I´d introduce you to the Alvardos.

Jorge is about 28. He is a good mix between Nicaraguan and American so he makes it easy for us to adjust. He gives us a really good picture into Nicaragua. He loves to drill and he loves opening his home up to other people. He likes to tease especially about joe´s dancing ability (or lack there of). He a good leader for the trips.

Clara is his wife. She is learning English. I have short conversations with her but my spanish is not that great. She is a great cook and loves cooking for us. Her juices are amazing. She is into the hygiene and evens wants me to use her diarrea doll because it is easy to use. I am glad i have been to hispanos because I think that has allowed me to be able to talk to her. She always sits down next to me and we have some short conversations.

Jorgito or Jorge Isaac is the first born son. He is seven years old and doesn´t talk much.  we get to play some. He is a good kid. Really cute. he is a typically boy playing with swords and play fighting too. I often eat dinner with him.

Brian is 2. He kind of reminds me of my brother Mike. He looks a little like him. However that kid can scream. He is not whining or crying though. he is just loud. He is a good sport and likes to play.He is a good sport and likes to play. He is adorable and likes to play peekaboo. I got to play dinosaurs this morning with him.

We have all been blessed by knowing them. They have done a great job in opening their house.

I am too tired to write more and I still have trunk duty.

buenas noches!

So we went to church today it was a wierd service. They weren´t going to have church because they were having a special seminar so they had a small sermon for us, it was a little wierd. Nonetheless good.

We did the typical Sunday sightseeing. I don´t think I want to go back to the fort again. Jorge told me some more history on it. It was a place that Samosa kept political prisoners. Samosa was an awful dictator of Nicaragua and did aweful things in these places. The more I learn about Nicaragua the more sadden I become of there history, they have been through a lot and seen a lot.

It has been interesting working with an in country rep from the country who loves his country. He seems more knowledgeable I am learning much. Also my spanish is better and I am not as wide eyed so I can learn more.

Tomorrow you will meet the alvarado family.

Today you will meet Ed. Ed is from New Jersey and reminds me a lot of my dad. I think he is the most wide eyed of them all. He is interesting to talk and careing and gentle and a bit conservative. He finally feeling comfortable but he is the only one who didn´t come with someone else so I am sure it is tough to break into the group for him.

I hope things are going well.

Email me if you want.

Also pray for an aquifer.

<pray for my brother he has boards on Wednesday.

miss people from home.

Day 1 (this is the same post from Venture´s page

First of all I am so glad that Ronald is the translator. He has been so helpful. Everyone is looking to me to ask questions because I have become the more knowlegdeable one. The team is pretty cool. There are a lot military guys on the team. So I will introduce you to a few people on the team and then tell you about our day and what I know of the drilling. First Ashley is the other hygiene member. She is not really religious so it is interesting that she signed up for the trip. Jenn has done a good job of getting to know her. She is pretty quiet unless you start asking her questions. She has been through a lot recently with family tragedy. I would ask you to keep her in your prayers this week as we get to know her better and share Christ love with her. The next guy I will introduce you to is Ron. Ron wants to be a Nicaraguan. He has spent a ton time here working with another organization and an organization that him and his wife have started. HE is a paramedic and is studying to be a physicians assistant. HE has a huge heart for missions and is fun to be around relaxed and encouraging. HE is easy going but has a lot of depth – the type you would want to look up to. The third guy is don. I always want to call him stan (there is another stan), Don is very military but he love his job and seems good at it. He seems like a very focused and genuine guy. Will joke around quite about. I have a fun time hanging out with him. tomorrow you will meet more people. However lets update you on today. Today we got there about 10 after stopping by ayudante. We as a hygiene team prayed and met the community. The community is fairly leary of us and is not sure what to think about the hygiene. Pray that people will show on monday. I am actually very comfortable doing what i am doing. It fits like a glove. There is times i question myself and then ronald encourages me. It is wierd to be back because there isn´t as much culture shock because I knew what to picture coming in. The community is very large. it has 140 in the school and 800 total. It seems spread out. It is not as poor as Abangasca norte because most people work with the sugar cane company. The school is smaller than the school in Hato Grande #2 but it has more students. There are a lot of trees they are pretty. WE got a lot of kid time today and I got to meet one kid Natalia who held my hand the whole morning. She is 11 and in fourth grade and has the biggest eyes. The kids are shy. I think it may be a tough job to get the community to warm up. The drilling is going well. They have drilled about 100 feet. They haven´t hit a great aquifer yet (only about four feet, they want something a little larger) so they are hoping for something better. Please pray for that over the next couple of days. The drill team is using the tippy tap and excited about the hygiene which is cool. WE go to church tomorrow and then see some sites and rest. Please pray: our conversations will be directed and focused on God The community is highly catholic as name only – they don´t know Jesus The well Hygiene Jenn´s luggage There is probably stuff I am forgetting but I need to go because I can´t think well anymore. buenas noches

We arrived here safely today I had a great nap on the plane and I don´t sleep uber well on planes. It is a nice day in Leon not super hot. WE are back at the house same house different hosts slightly different furniture but they look like they are better sleeping couches

I am very excited about the town we are in, we will go to Abangasca Sur, part of the same set of communities that IBC was in January. I am excited to meet the community tomorrow. We will again be working with translator Ronald. I am excited about spending time with him and glad I am working with someone I already know.

The team is mainly from michigan they seem pretty cool but clueless on the hygiene side.  It seems as though since i have been here before people look for me to be leader which good because that is my job. Jenn dunn is with me and another girl on the hygiene team will come as well. She hasn´t been through training at all so I will have to train her as we go. Pray that we will bond as a team and she won´t be left out. Her name is Ashley.

 It is nice to be here, nice to be away from the stress of getting here. I dont have too much to say but please pray for Jenn her luggage was lost. Pray that we will be able to find it. 

 I hope to update this as much as possible. I will introduce to the people we are with as we explore more.

There are some repeaters from trips past.

First Ronald: always smiling, he and I will work together with hygiene. knows what he is doing and am blessed to have him by my side. 

Second Jim Mohney:  He is the team leader. A quiet spirit does a great job of leading and is very relaxed and respected. I am looking forward to learning from him.

I don´t have much to say now but I am sure I will soon have stories.

please pray for the community and pray my new leadership role and please pray for water.

So in two weeks from now (at this time) I will be rolling out of bed in Nicaragua heading for a devotion before breakfast. Many of you know that when I get out of bed I tend to stare a lot and am not quite able to speak coherent sentences. However, It was something that I looked forward to everyday. Yeah I know, to look forward to something that occurs in the morning for me is pretty impressive. They were incredibly special and a beautiful way to start the day in the quiet presence of the Almighty. 

I guess I am writing today because I wanted to write about my weekend. This weekend was pretty cool. I had a bbq at my house. We had approximately 70 people there. It was amazing. I was very blessed to have them all at my house. Also it was cool because I invited both Hispanos jovenes and Venture (the two groups at church I am involved with) and they slowly began to interact. It will be a slow process but it was a blessing.

Secondly I got to speak for 2 minutes at Venture. I just got to update Venture on what’s going on with my trip and the venture trip. I gave them my schedule and gave them some prayer requests. I would like to update you on those.

First in case you need it, my schedule is:

June 22, 2007: I leave for Nicaragua at 7:00 and get there at about 1:00 our time.

June 30, 2007: Jen Dunn heads home, I head to Guatemala.

July 1. 2007: I leave Guatemala City and take a bus to Xela where I will be studying Spanish in a one on one immersion program

July 13. 2007: I leave Xela and meet my team in Antigua, Guatemala.

July 15: 2007: Team leaves Antigua and heads to a small town in Guatemala (La Machina?)

July 19, 2007: Team leaves La Machina and heads back to Antigua.

July 21. 2007: Team leaves Antigua and flies home, I stay in Antigua, I stay a week in Antigua and study. I hope to maybe travel somewhere fun today.

July 27: 2007, Leave Antigua go to Guatemala City, spend the night at Lydia’s parents house.

July 28, 2007: Leave Guatemala City for El Salvador and meet IBC J

August 4, 2007: HOME

Prayer requests:

Ø      That I will get all I need to get done in the next two weeks

Ø      That the American teams will get along well

Ø      That there will be clean water

Ø      That the village will be prepared for us and ready to accept hygiene teaching and ready to apply the teaching.

Ø      That the American teams and the in country LWI reps will work well together

Ø      That the American teams and the villages we work well together and that the American teams will share God’s word and God’s love with the village.

Ø      Safety in traveling. You can see there is a lot of traveling.

Ø      That God will be Glorified, every good work comes from him

Praise: I have raised all my financial support. It was a large amount so I am very blessed to have such good friends to help out in support raising. It is amazing how many are needed to let a mission’s trip happen and then to see how many are willing to help. I am always just amazed at people’s support

Friday night we got together to pack the trunk and finished Saturday morning. I think we did a good job and were able to get everything I need for the second trip and first trip into the trunk.  Jenn is able to bring a second trunk for things like gifts etc. Right now it weighs enough that we will be able to bring toothbrushesJ. That’s exciting. We had a lot of fun bonding hanging out encouraging one another and talking about the trip’s future.

This weekend has been nice. I have been able to relax some which has been a blessing after last weekend which was a whirlwind. I have been able to reflect a little on the trip and when I think about it, it feels like I am going home. There are certain places where God comes down and meets you and they become like – standing stones – places in the Old Testament that are used to remember a particular act of God. Well
Nicaragua feels that way to me. I am looking forward to be able to take more in, observe more and understand more. I overwhelmingly feel a sense of peace today as I reflect on
Nicaragua. Today also reminds me of the Sunday we were in
Nicaragua. I was rainy like this. I remember going to an old fort/political prison. Very different than a prison here, it reminds me of the strife their country has been through and so little we in
America know and understand.

It is interesting that I talk so much about
Nicaragua. I guess it is because I have been there and can picture it. I can’t yet picture Guatemala or
El Salvador. I am looking forward to see similarities and differences. I will be excited to share as I visit the other countries.  

I still have a lot to do over the next 3 weeks but things seem to be coming together nicely. For instance I will be able to stay at friend’s family’s house for a night so I can get to the airport in
Guatemala City. I may be able to meet a friend’s family when I am in
Guatemala because I am staying in her home city. The trunk is ready. I have all my shots and prescriptions.