Happy Endings. . .

Three things have "ended" or changed this weekend here in Nicaland.

1) On Friday, Mr. Ippel said goodbye to his trusty sidekick and assistant Sandra Telleria. Mrs. Sandra has worked in the PreK2 classroom at NCA for almost five years; both of her children are NCA graduates and now attend university in California. Since her son, Orlando, moved to the US last year, Sandra has been living alone. While she LOVED her job at NCA (and did a great job guiding me during those first crazy months!), she had a pretty big hole in her heart being far from her own children, and decided to fill that hole by moving up to Riverside this month to be with her kids. We will miss her. . .Sandra is a very loving person and has given a lot of that love to Henry, Mae, and Charlotte in addition to the nineteen students we care for together. I will miss working side-by-side with this wonderful woman of God. I am thankful to have "Mrs. Ana" ready to take over on Monday. . .Ana has been helping out all year in all three preschool classrooms so she knows the students and our routine; she'll do a great job helping us finish up the school year smoothly. I pray for peace during this transition for Sandra--many tears were shed (by both of us) on Friday. . .this was not an easy decision for her. I ask God to guide her path in the US, both as a mom of adult kids and as someone who will be looking for work and settling into a new home again.



2) Last night, NCA high school students completed their last performance of "The Desires of Your Heart," a musical about the book of Esther. This was a big deal for the school--they've never done a musical before. They've never used our new Eagle Center stage for a play before. Lights and microphones were new. Building a set was new. Students, many of whom speak Spanish as a first language, did an incredible job memorizing a completely English script. A fellow teacher pulled together a small orchestra of 8, also a first for NCA. It was a big deal for me as well--I played piano for the production, which involved 2-5 afternoons each week after school since January, culminating this weekend with three performances, all requiring me to get through 35 songs (or 154 pages of difficult piano music) each night without making too many errors! My brain was absolutely DEAD after each show--a true musical challenge for me. It was so fun to be a part of the production, and to get to know a few "big kids" at NCA--I'm hoping that the Fine Arts program can continue to grow at NCA, to give a nurturing place for students to use their God-given gifts in the public arena. That said, both my wife and I are looking forward to a bit more time at home. . .thanks to Ruth for allowing me to play for the show. It was a big sacrifice on her part as well!

3) Friday night was Dexter's last night of sleeping indoors. He's been in a very small empty room, containing  a few branches and a laundry basket to sleep in. This room, off of our laundry area, was a bit. . .gross. Every two days, the floor was covered in monkey pee, poop, and old food. . .yes, our monkey lacks proper etiquette when it comes to eating and voiding. We are SO thankful for the help of our neighbor Travis, who spent ALL day Saturday with me sawing, nailing, cutting fence, making a door frame and a door . . .basically doing things I would have no clue how to do on his own. Dexter enjoyed his outdoor cage (situated conveniently under our water tower) last night, and now has much more room to soak up the sun, play, and explore (and poop and pee, too), and watch the world go by.

So yup, Monday begins a new chapter of life for me. Mrs. Sandra won't be at school to greet me. . .I can go home directly after school to hang out with the family. . .and I don't need to spend 30 minutes scrubbing the floor in Dexter's room when I get home from school!

8 Things We've Learned in 8 Months

Today marks 8 months since we left our home in Grand Rapids and arrived at out new home here in Nicaragua.  To celebrate and reflect, I’d like to share with you 8 things we have learned in the past 8 months:

1)      Just because we live in a Spanish-speaking country, our kids becoming bilingual is not a given.  We are realizing that for this to happen it means that we will have to be intentional about the situations we place them in, and it will take effort on our part and theirs. 

2)      When you have to go to multiple stores searching for an item you think you need to buy, with no guarantee that you’ll ever find it, it’s better to just go without the item in the first place. We have learned that very few things are absolute necessities.

3)      When you live in a country with frequent earthquakes, it is a good idea to sleep fully clothed.

4)      As a missionary, it is very possible to move to a different country and still live in your comfort zone.  If we wanted to, we could only invest in relationships with English-speaking North Americans.  While this is a temptation and will no doubt remain one, we are committed to challenging ourselves and daily stepping into our “uncomfort” zones--something difficult yet rewarding.

5)      When a Spanish speaker asks you, “habla español?” and you answer “un poquito,” it is essentially the same as saying no. 

6)      When you don’t have family nearby, others become your family quickly (not that our families could ever be replaced).  We are beyond grateful for the deep, loving relationships that we have formed that have been an incredible support to us throughout this transition, and amid the normal stresses of life (parenting, busyness of live, etc.).

7)      We have learned how to drink beverages out of bags, a very common practice here. Charlotte is probably the best in our family at biting off the corner and sucking the whole bag down.

8)      God truly is faithful.  We hear this a lot, but over the past year since we made our decision to move to Nicaragua, we have lived this truth.  In March of 2013 we received an email offering Andrew a teaching position at Nicaragua Christian Academy. At that time making it a reality—selling our home and car, raising enough financial support to meet our needs, dealing with all of our belongings and making an international move—seemed very nearly impossible.  But here we are.  God has made possible everything we had labeled impossible, and brought us to where we are now. As I was reflecting on this today, a song that I sang in Gospel Choir at Calvin College was stuck on repeat in my head, and very appropriately so:

I’ve got so much to thank God for,

So many wonderful blessings, and so many open doors,

A brand new mercy along with each new day,

That’s why I praise him, and for this I give him praise.

For every mountain You brought me over,
For every trial you've seen me through,
For every blessing,
Hallelujah, for this I give You praise!

NCAI, NCAN, NCAM. . .

The acronyms are only slightly less confusing here than when you are trying to find your way around the campus of Calvin College (go from the CFAC past the SLC in the CA to BV by way of SE, for example). Nicaragua Christian Academy (NCA) is composed of three distinct campuses--NCA International, NCA Nejapa, and NCA Matagalpa--with hopes to continue to expand within many major cities throughout Nicaragua. I teach at the English-speaking International campus in Managua, Nicaragua. I had the privilege last week to spend a school day at each of the other two campuses, which was one of my goals for this school year. I love the mission of NCAI, but I also love that NCA is bigger than my campus, and that the work we do at NCAI is linked into the bigger picture of God's transformational work in education in Nicaragua.

NCA Nejapa:
Only 5 minutes from NCAI, and located on the same campus as the Nehemiah Center since being established in 2005, NCAN has enrollment that now surpasses the original campus. It provides a Christian education in the Spanish language for students at about $60 per month for tuition.  The preschool department at our school is currently participating in a "cooperative learning exchange" with the preschool teachers at Nejapa--a pilot program of sorts to see how these two distinct campuses can share resources and talent with one another. So far, I've enjoyed two days at their school, and they observed in our classrooms for two days. Following our visit, we've enjoyed food and conversation about our observations--offering suggestions bundled with affirmations. I am the only non-Spanish speaker in the group, which made the process a bit tough, but it was great practice for me! Throughout the process, Carla, the PreK2 teacher at Nejapa, has done an incredible job of transforming her classroom into a place of active learning, songs, centers, thematic units, and hands-on activities. The parents of her students now complain that the kids are coming home dirty, which I think is a huge compliment about the quality of education those preschoolers are getting. I was able to get ideas from Carla as well--she did a remarkable job of tying her academic goals into activities throughout the entire school day. Kids were bombarded with the stuff they were learning, and that is something I want to develop more within my classroom. I hope these teacher exchanges continue at other grade levels, for though we are only a few kilometers away, the gap that exists between our two schools is very, very wide. It has been a privilege to be a part of the beginning of narrowing that gap.

NCA Matagalpa:
Matagalpa is a town in the foothills of Nicaragua, about 2 and 1/2 hours away from Managua. It's cool coffee country up there. . . it is impossible to miss all of the bright red berries laying out on large blankets in fields to dry before processing as you drive up to the hills to Matagalpa. (On a side note, Dexter the monkey was purchased along the road in this region). NCAM began two years ago; they saw their student population triple in size this year! I went on an overnight adventure to NCAM as part of a team of folks from Tesoros de Dios (the organization that works with kids with disabilities), with the purpose to assist teachers of students who are experiencing difficulties within the classroom. Our work consisted of a school tour (a BEAUTIFUL new building set along a river in the hills), a morning of brief 20-minute observations of 8 identified students, followed up by a time to write ideas/suggestions for the teachers to use as they attempt to include these children within their classroom. In the afternoon, we spent time talking as a group about the need for a more developed program for students with disabilities in the Matagalpa area. The dreams are big and seem distant, but the reality is that there are MANY kids with special needs that are not receiving the services that they need to be successful within the general education classroom in the Matagalpa community. Disability can be a taboo for Nicaraguan parents; many are in denial that their child is "different." In addition, Nicaraguan-trained teachers receive little to no training as to how to assist diverse learners. These two issues combined make this a complicated process! It was so fun for me to be back in the "special education world" again, even if only for a day, and I hope to continue to be able to assist all three NCA schools in this area in the future.

Each school is distinct--culturally, geographically, and even educationally. The challenge is to keep us united in the work we do. I'm thankful for Mission statement that unites all of the schools in common purpose: all 3 schools exist to "equip children of Christian parents with the spiritual discernment, the moral courage, and the academic excellence to impact society through Christian living motivated by a heartfelt love for God." The entire staff at NCAI, from the teachers and janitors to the administration and cleaning ladies, just memorized our mission statement. . .keeping us focused on why we do what we do. Thank you for supporting the mission of NCAI, N, and M!

Onion Rings & Ice Cream Cones

Over Christmas break this year, we celebrated by going out to Burger King (yes, there are Burger Kings here in Managua—one of two restaurants that give free refills!). We had promised our kids ice cream after their meal, so after we finished eating and the kids were playing on the play place, Andrew went up and ordered 5 ice cream cones.  The server offered to bring them out to us, so Andrew came back and sat down by me.  I can’t remember what we were chatting about when the server began walking toward us, but as soon as we saw what was on the tray she was holding, we stopped talking, looked at each other and shook our heads.  On her tray was 5 orders of onion rings!  She set them down and Andrew and I both said “Gracias” with big eyes, and then burst out laughing as soon as she made it back behind the counter.  Andrew had obviously messed up his Spanish somehow, although we can’t figure out how he messed up THAT badly—the words aren’t even that similar; ice cream is “helado” or “cono” and onion rings are “aros de cebolla.”

Obviously getting onion rings instead of ice cream cones is not the end of the world (especially since after Andrew explained his mistake, the workers at Burger King were kind enough to exchange our onion rings for ice cream cones), but this is just one example of the many miscommunications that we have had because of the language barrier we face.  Most of the time, it is funny--Andrew just last week was talking to a student about eating a dust sandwich (“polvo”) instead of a turkey sandwich (“pavo”)—sometimes it’s frustrating, and sometimes it’s downright discouraging making us feel inadequate. 

The hardest thing for me has been my decreased ability to build relationships.  I am such an extrovert and a people-person, and I sometimes feel like my limited understanding of Spanish has stripped my personality of those characteristics.  When I am at the clinic taking a patient’s temperature, which as we all know takes FOREVER with a regular ‘ole thermometer, I want so badly to engage in small talk to pass the awkward time and put the patient at ease.  When I am at church chatting with Jocelyn, a 21 year old who I have become friends with, I want so badly to ask her about all the details of her love life so that I can tease her later.  These conversations are a part of who I am, and a part of who I have lost in the Spanish speaking world we live in. 

The upside to frustration is that it can be motivating.  Andrew and I have a strong desire and commitment to learn Spanish well so that we can build and engage in friendships here in Nicaragua (and so that we can order what we intend to at Burger King!).  We recently started meeting with a Spanish tutor three times a week to expedite this process.  This is a big time commitment, and often when we start our lesson after we tuck our kids into bed (which we do twice a week) our brains are already fried from the day of working in the heat, struggling to communicate, and avoiding cows and potholes in the car.  BUT, we are hopeful, and really, there are so many days when we are encouraged.  We have learned so much and come so far.  Our tutor, David, is great, and we know that with his help, and with lots of practice, patience and prayer we will be well on our way to making small talk, teasing and ordering ice cream instead of onion rings.