Our Journey into Missions (Pt. 7) The End... for Now.
In our ministry, Nica Impact, we are much more than just a program for assisting young adults in their careers. We have expanded our focus to include other educational avenues. One way we do this is through a partnership with the William Minor Foundation. In this partnership have built a local library that we manage where we have books and computer access available to local students to support their studies. All the funding for the library comes from the foundation while Nica Impact manages it. It has proven to be an amazing resource to local young people, especially those from the poorer segments of society.
We also have developed a relationship with the US Embassy where they provide daily English classes for teenagers sponsored by the Embassy program called Access English. This program provides scholarships to poorer students so that they can participate in a two year intensive English course. It is an amazing program and we are honored to host one of the classes in our library.
We also collaborate with a Colorado based non-profit called Bridges to Prosperity as they build suspended bridges in our part of Nicaragua. Nica Impact provides logistical and coordination support. We have assisted on numerous bridges that provide access for villagers to reach markets, schools, and health care when the weather is bad and the rivers rise.
One of my personal hobbies is to learn more about sustainable technologies. At our ministry site, which we call El Trillo (means Threshing Floor), we have an aquaponics greenhouse where we are raising tilapia fish and using the wastewater to feed plants in a closed loop system. We are growing many different kinds of vegetables while also harvesting an annual crop of fish for our students.
Another sustainable technology we are learning about is how to make briquets from organic waste. We take coconut husks (our guard sell coconuts during the day for refreshments) and we burn them down, converting to carbon which we then make our own briquets. This could be a simple technology to assist the poor in making their own cooking fuel without cutting down valuable trees. We will see what becomes of this interest in appropriate technologies. Stay tuned.
We have been in Nicaragua now for 13 years. We don’t have plans to pull up roots and move away. We like it here. Our town of Jinotepe is a cozy place where the people are friendly and we have become part of the community. We are not seen as tourist, rather we are by many considered part of the fabric of Jinotepe. We still have work to do and hope to continue the work for the foreseeable future.
Living out of country does have its drawbacks. We are far from our girls and our grandchildren. Being a regular part of their lives is not an option when living so far away. But we are also fortunate in that today we have internet. We can make phone calls via a Vonage phone or Skype. There is Facebook to send messages and stay in touch with family. We live in a time where living far away does not mean we have to be disconnected completely. When we first moved to Nicaragua in 2002, if we wanted to email a letter we had to drive into Managua (about a 14 mile drive back then) to get a internet café, then hope that the internet didn’t disconnect on us while we were typing our letters. Today we have internet in our home and at the office. The library has internet for the students who come. Its a small world after all.
In the future we hope to build a guest house on our ministry site, El Trillo. A guest house would allow us to host small groups who take an interest in our work. We have the land and are ready to build should the funds become available.
Our story isn’t over as missionaries. At least we hope not. We are just getting our stride as we run a long distance race to the finish line. We hope we have many years of service left in Nicaragua. So the story continues. Maybe there will be a new chapter to write before too long.
For those who have asked us about our mission experience, this completes the story to date. We hope it helps you to understand that we are just regular folks who chose this path to try to help others. There are a million and one ways to make a difference in this world. Not one is any better than the next, whether you ring a bell for the Salvation Army during the holidays, or work at a soup kitchen, mow your neighbors yard, or take in their mail while they are gone. Every kind deed has its reward. In fact, giving a glass of water to a child has its reward, according to Jesus. Whatever your calling is, do it with passion and enjoy yourself while doing it.
We also have developed a relationship with the US Embassy where they provide daily English classes for teenagers sponsored by the Embassy program called Access English. This program provides scholarships to poorer students so that they can participate in a two year intensive English course. It is an amazing program and we are honored to host one of the classes in our library.
We also collaborate with a Colorado based non-profit called Bridges to Prosperity as they build suspended bridges in our part of Nicaragua. Nica Impact provides logistical and coordination support. We have assisted on numerous bridges that provide access for villagers to reach markets, schools, and health care when the weather is bad and the rivers rise.
One of my personal hobbies is to learn more about sustainable technologies. At our ministry site, which we call El Trillo (means Threshing Floor), we have an aquaponics greenhouse where we are raising tilapia fish and using the wastewater to feed plants in a closed loop system. We are growing many different kinds of vegetables while also harvesting an annual crop of fish for our students.
Another sustainable technology we are learning about is how to make briquets from organic waste. We take coconut husks (our guard sell coconuts during the day for refreshments) and we burn them down, converting to carbon which we then make our own briquets. This could be a simple technology to assist the poor in making their own cooking fuel without cutting down valuable trees. We will see what becomes of this interest in appropriate technologies. Stay tuned.
We have been in Nicaragua now for 13 years. We don’t have plans to pull up roots and move away. We like it here. Our town of Jinotepe is a cozy place where the people are friendly and we have become part of the community. We are not seen as tourist, rather we are by many considered part of the fabric of Jinotepe. We still have work to do and hope to continue the work for the foreseeable future.
Living out of country does have its drawbacks. We are far from our girls and our grandchildren. Being a regular part of their lives is not an option when living so far away. But we are also fortunate in that today we have internet. We can make phone calls via a Vonage phone or Skype. There is Facebook to send messages and stay in touch with family. We live in a time where living far away does not mean we have to be disconnected completely. When we first moved to Nicaragua in 2002, if we wanted to email a letter we had to drive into Managua (about a 14 mile drive back then) to get a internet café, then hope that the internet didn’t disconnect on us while we were typing our letters. Today we have internet in our home and at the office. The library has internet for the students who come. Its a small world after all.
In the future we hope to build a guest house on our ministry site, El Trillo. A guest house would allow us to host small groups who take an interest in our work. We have the land and are ready to build should the funds become available.
Our story isn’t over as missionaries. At least we hope not. We are just getting our stride as we run a long distance race to the finish line. We hope we have many years of service left in Nicaragua. So the story continues. Maybe there will be a new chapter to write before too long.
For those who have asked us about our mission experience, this completes the story to date. We hope it helps you to understand that we are just regular folks who chose this path to try to help others. There are a million and one ways to make a difference in this world. Not one is any better than the next, whether you ring a bell for the Salvation Army during the holidays, or work at a soup kitchen, mow your neighbors yard, or take in their mail while they are gone. Every kind deed has its reward. In fact, giving a glass of water to a child has its reward, according to Jesus. Whatever your calling is, do it with passion and enjoy yourself while doing it.
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