Not Alone

Be honest… how many of you saw this picture of painted pregnant bellies that I posted on Facebook recently, and thought, “That’s weird!”?

Okay, so I’ll admit that it might be a little strange, but something amazing happened as a result:  within minutes of posting the picture, a fellow NCA mom, Marjorie, posted on the picture saying, “Please invite me someday to make bracelets with them!” The next day I got a similar message from another fellow NCA mom, Lissette, saying that she would like to come talk to this group of women about how to be empowered as women.  And so I did! 

Last Wednesday, Marjorie came and spent over an hour teaching the women how to make simple jewelry. 

Making jewelry may seem like an insignificant task, but I assure you this was very signigicant for these women.  At our next meeting one of the women, Carolina, explained how she went home and showed the key chain she had made to her husband, and he did not believe she had made it.  He questioned her several times before he was finally convinced that she actually had made it, at which point he ran out to show the neighbors the beautiful thing his wife had made.  He even took it to work to show it off to his coworkers. Carolina's smile was contagious as she told us how proud her husband had been of her.

Yesterday, Lissette came to do her presentation about empowerment.  And she was amazing.  It was incredible to hear her, as a Nicaraguan, speak to this group of women in ways that I would love to but can't--in perfect Nica Spanish, with a deep cultural understanding.  She talked to them about the value that they have in Christ, about setting goals and sticking to them, about taking time to celebrate and rest.  And they hung onto every word that she said. 

When she was done, one of the women thanked her profusely for her preaching, and I think that is a very accurate description of what went on that morning.  All of the women in this group face hardship, especially now with the current political and economic situation in Nicaragua, but Lissette empowered them to use their resilience, their quick thinking, and their strength as women to persevere.

At the other ministry that I am involved in, House of Hope, I have often struggled with feeling alone and knowing how to relate to the women there in meaningful ways.  I was sharing these struggles with a friend who offered to start coming with me to provide support.  After coming with me for the first time, she right away said, "I know who I should ask to come and help--Maribel!" Maribel is a godly, wise woman with experience working with a similar population, and best of all, she was ready to jump right in! She has been a huge blessing to me and to the women of House of Hope. 

She teaches these girls with so much love and a deep understanding of God's word.  She prays with them imitately and follows up with how things are going in their lives.  After a just a few weeks of coming, she is already building relationships with many of the girls. 

I am amazed at how God has brought these 3 wonderful, servant-hearted Nicaraguan women to serve alongside me in the ministries that I try too hard to make work on my own.  It is such a great reminder that this is not about me, and that if I just sit back and let God do his thing through his people, it turns out much better than I ever could have planned.

The Nursing Home, by Mae

Below is a post written by Mae about her recent involvement at Hogar Senil (literally, the home for seniles!), a nearby "retirement home" that houses about 15 women and men. These folks live very humbly and rarely get visitors. Mae was invited to tag along by a missionary friend of our family. Since the school year started, Mae hasn't continued to serve here but we hope to continue to be involved. . .that same friend is starting an "adopt-a-grandparent" program so that we might have a year round excuse to stay connected to this special place. We miss visiting our own grandparents, so this ministry is a great fit for our family!  Here are Mae's words below:

I love going to the nursing home. I've gone about 3 times. At first I was a little shy, but then I was okay and I had a fun time. Everyone there is sweet, kind, and loving.  Now I know Norma, Gloria, Coco and the only man who comes to our group named Don Horacio. Everyday, we hand out some kind of snack to everyone there, including the workers. We sit down in a circle, and we learn about a story from the Bible. Even I read a page or two sometimes, and it is in Spanish! We do a craft, and I have to help someone there. When I did my craft, I did my craft with Norma.We also sing some songs. Ms. Katie brings some kids with her. It happens every Wednesday. When I go there, it makes me feel happy and joyful.

When things don't go viral. . .

As I scroll through my Facebook feed, I am amazed to see what kind of things "go viral"--church welcome signs with unfortunate misspellings, strange products for sale, cute kittens (or really ugly ones), videos of kids feeding parrots in Australia, memes about. . .well, anything and everything. A video of an NCA graduate went viral last year; it was a recording of her riding home after getting her wisdom teeth removed. I probably watched it 10 times. What is it that draws us to share, re-watch, and get so excited about certain words, images, videos?

As missionaries who live far away from our home country and depend on both electronic communication AND financial support, we rely, in part, on our pleas, photos, and stories "going viral." This allows our friends and family (and THEIR friends and family) to pray for us, know our ministry, walk with us, and share financially with us.

Ruth and I get a certain amount of pride (which we know is bad!) when one of our blog posts gets a high number of views. We really aren't in a competition, but it is nice to know people are "out there"--reading about you and caring about you because they choose to click on your link (or even more rare and impressive--share your link!) Some random posts get very high views. Others that we expect to make an impact--stories we are excited to share--are more or less ignored. We can't figure that one out (except for the fact that you all love catchy titles! Highly viewed posts on this blog have involved the word "pee" or sound really depressing.) That said, when a shared post, plea, or story gets a only a handful of random likes, we tend to twist the situation in our mind and feel the opposite--that no one really cares. We are alone. We are isolated and invisible (Not true! We know! But the feeling is hard to shake).

I am extremely thankful that we have not had to "fund raise" in the traditional sense of the word in order to serve in Nicaragua. We have not needed to rely on electronic pleas for money going viral! We've been able to avoid Go Fund Me, gimmicky sales and competitions, direct asks--and God has faithfully provided for us through you in such a way that we have always made our budget. That is a huge blessing. It reminds each month that we are loved and cared for and that our work here is valued.

We are, however, invested as well in the financial survival of the ministries in which we work. The ministry of Tesoros de Dios is growing, and we are attempting to figure out new connections and avenues to allow us to expand, serve more kids, and build--which all mean that we need to grow our budget. As a board member, I'm finding that I'm spending more and more of my time in communication with people with this in mind, always ending correspondence with "Oh--and if you are interested in sponsoring a child, please don't hesitate to email me back and ask for more information!" I probably have emailed a similar line to around 100 email addresses this month. Honestly, I haven't heard back from a single person wanting further information of how to support Tesoros de Dios. Sometimes I just pretend that there is a worldwide Internet error--a giant virtual black hole that is sucking up all of my emails, and it isn't that people aren't interested or responding--they just aren't getting my message. It makes me feel a bit better.

In an effort to raise funds creatively this past month, Tesoros de Dios partnered with Good Ink, a company in the US that helps groups raise money through t-shirt sales. After many emails amongst board members deciding about the details of the shirt design, the prices, and preparing the website, the campaign was launched! Wow! Amazing! It really looks sleek! It was shared on the wall of the Tesoros Facebook page with a goal to sell 200 products in April, and there was. . .well. . .nothing. No interest. After 5 days, we had sold 6 shirts. Viral did not happen.

Not a problem, I thought! I'm a creative visionary--let's make it into a contest! I came up with the idea to give away a few free shirts to folks that shared the campaign via Facebook. Share the post, tag a friend, and write a comment to be entered into the drawing--a ten-second task that could earn you a $20 product for free! Seriously--who WOULDN'T participate!? The contest was to last 24 hours. I emailed the board, preparing them to help me relaunch the shirt campaign with a vengeance! And then. . .nothing. When I checked the post later that evening, I was literally the only participant (I thought that somehow I could get that Facebook algorithm to work in my favor and show up on your newsfeeds!) There were 2 likes. One was my own. REALLY???

I was honestly a little angry last night. Maybe not angry--lonely? Embarrassed? I can't quite explain my emotions. It really wasn't about the lack of money pouring in for Tesoros de Dios, although trust me--they need your donations. I think I just felt alone. Or just annoyed with the weird priorities of the world. Why is everyone liking that cat picture but can't take the time to write a comment about Teoros de Dios or share something for a good cause? Why does Charlie Bit My Finger have 860 million views (I'm sure I have contributed a dozen of those) and I can't get a few for something that does more than just entertain?

Fundraising for ministry is hard. It feels a bit as though you are "cheapening" the ministry to get people to care--reducing God's work in His world into a tangable, marketable product. And then if people don't like your product--well, it feels as though somehow the ministry isn't valuable to others either. A lie, I know.

At the end of the 24-hour window, two shirts were given away to the only two people (besides me) that ended up sharing the post. 2! No "drawing" was even needed. Ouch.

I'm reminded again and again that provision--whether it is for our family or for an organization in which we are involved--is truly in God's hands. We have very little control. We can try to make ministry giving funny, sexy, dramatic, competitive--whatever it takes to go viral. We can send out refrigerator magnets with cute pictures of our own kids or children in wheelchairs, glossy annual reports, sleek videos, monthly newsletters in multiple formats. But the bottom line is that God is the provider and in Him I need to trust--not in T-shirt campaigns, dramatic stories, or clever gimmicks.

So yes, it'll be interesting to see if this blog post gets read. I'll be a little ironic if this post about social media droughts is visited more than the Good Ink website. I'll likely check the stats a few times. But I'll do my best to keep first things first and place my trust in our Jehovah Jireh. I know that I am not alone in Nicaragua, even when the "like count" is at zero.

Night to Shine in Nicaragua

Tesoros de Dios recently partnered with a local church and ministry to bring Tim Tebow Foundation's "Night to Shine" to Nicaragua for the time ever! Night to Shine is an international event, with 540 churches across the globe hosting similar events all on the same evening. . .a prom of sorts with the purpose of giving young adults with disabilities an evening to remember and stand out. Teenagers dress up super fancy, receive a flower to pin on, walk a red carpet to thundering applause and cheering (complete with photographers and videographers), and enjoy a dinner and dance. Each individual was allowed to attend with one family member, but was also partnered with a "buddy/date" for the night. Ruth and I were able to volunteer at the event. Ruth was the official event nurse (though she didn't have to wear scrubs as she was originally told), and was partnered with a young lady named Estefani, someone she hadn't met before. I hung out with my friend Pablo, who has been a part of my Tesoros group for the last 3-4 years. Pablo was probably the most enthusiastic dancer of the night, and while my legs were throbbing and needed breaks, he continued to dominate the dance floor. All teens received a crown or tiara (all designated as the "kings" and "queens" of the prom), had the opportunity to be in the photobooth with "Ms. Teen Nicaragua," and got a lot of special attention in general. In true "you-never-know-what-will-happen-in-Nicaragua" fashion, the catering truck was involved in an accident on the way to the event, ruining all of the food. So Ruth and I didn't eat, and had to leave before a new batch of food arrived (after 9:00pm!). But honestly, while probably hungry, no one seemed to mind too much! Pablo's mom was ready to leave at 9:00, but Pablo wanted to keep dancing, of course:) Events like this are wonderful, but also reminders that we aren't quite there yet as a society in terms of fully including folks with disabilities into our churches, schools, and communities. Ideally, we wouldn't need a separate, segregated "Night to Shine" to give young adults this opportunity to be recognized and loved on so well. But we are NOT there yet. . .and without Night to Shine, I do fear that especially here in Nicaragua our teenagers with disabilities would not have the red carpet experiences they deserve. Pray for increased inclusion in Nicaragua and around the world, and that one day we'll think Night to Shine is no longer a necessary event. (On a side note, I do remember when one of my students with a moderate cognitive impairment was voted by his peers as king of prom at Creston High School, a large urban high school. He was outgoing and friendly, inclusive and kind, and had a smile for everyone. I don't think he won a sympathy vote. . .he truly was the king of Creston. It was a beautiful evening for this student, and it was a real, inclusive night to shine!)

Kendal came from Matagalpa, a 2.5 hour drive, for this event.

Ippel Family Goals 2018

This is the time of year when Andrew and I usually go on a date with a computer and our calendar and work together to make plans and goals for the upcoming year.  We are by no means perfect at completing these goals, but have come to value the practice of relection and intentionality. This year, we have tried to include our children in the goal-setting process as well. Just for fun (and possibly for some accountability as well), we'd like to share a few of our goals with you:

Andrew's goal this year is to "extend our table" more.  Initially, I thought this meant just having more people over for dinner, but after further clarification, I think his goal should actually be called "extending our home."  Whether this means fostering a child,  housing someone in need, or welcoming someone else into our house, Andrew is feeling called to welcome others into this place we call home. Ruth thinks this is an interesting goal as Andrew is never home:)

My (Ruth's) goal is to be more "tranquila," a Spanish word meaning chill, go-with-the-flow.  Our life balancing 3 active kids, 4 ministry partner organizations, homework, Bible studies, sporting events, school musicals, retreat planning, and much more can feel hectic at times, and if I'm honest, the hecticness can turn me into a monster sometimes.  Go-go-go becomes yell-yell-yell, and I would like to change that.  My hope is to remember to take deep breaths, let (unrealistic?) expectations go, and to chose to be a pleasant rather than a productive person.

At his teacher's encouragement, Henry's goal is to read the New Testament this year. Andrew, Mae and I have decided to join him (at first Mae thought she had to read the footnotes, too, so it's going a lot faster now). It is a joy to watch our kids read the Bible!

Mae's goal is to spend more time playing with our pet monkey, Dexter, who sometimes gets ignored.  We have started putting Dexter on a leash and that has made him easier for the kids to play with, although he still finds plenty of ways to be naughty.

Charlotte's goal is to learn how to read.  She has been working hard memorizing sight words and sounding out words she doesn't know.  She can already read most words in Spanish, which she says is much easier than reading in English.

During our visit to the US over Christmas, we were told over and over how big our kids are getting.  This was a good reminder that our time with them is short, and we need to be preparing them for real life. So, we decided this year they will each have a weekly life-skill goal that we would like them to learn to do independantly.  This week, Henry is learning to make balanced meals, Mae is learning to do laundry, and Charlotte is learning to bathe alone.

So, here's to 2018!  I'm sure our commitment will falter as the year goes on, but there's nothing like making our resolutions public on a blog post to keep us motivated, so thanks for reading and keeping us going!