The ground has been broken. . .

Today, a large group of staff, students, parents, board members, and visitors gathered in an empty dirt field adjacent to Tesoros de Dios to glorify God and give thanks for His faithfulness as we "broke ground" on the new equine (horse) therapy arena. Under the intense sun (yup, I forgot the sunscreen), we sang of God's faithfulness, shared testimonies, and a few of us actually got to use shovels to move a little dirt:)

Moises helping warm up the piano

Wendy, the program director. . .

About half of the group was on the other side of the wall; wheelchairs weren't able to get over the wall safely (and there was shade!)

One of the groundbreakers, Stephanie!

Michelle, the director of Tesoros de Dios

The kids breaking ground. . .

God truly is good! All of the money has been raised for the purchase of this new land and the construction of the covered therapy building, a wall around the arena, and stables ($95,000!). We continue to look forward to phase two of Tesoros de Dios construction--new classroom space, therapy areas, and a vocational building for older students. . .but first things first! Please take a moment to pray that the city will quickly grant the necessary permits to begin the actual construction. We're ready. . .but the paperwork is not--and in Nicaragua, this process can be lengthy. 

This empty lot will soon be used for so much more! The current Tesoros de Dios buildings are to the left. 

The board will continue to work on raising funds for these additional projects, but I think it is very appropriate to sit back, look up, and say "thank you!" to God for His perfect provision through his people all over the world.

Fifty-five pounds

The lesson I did at House of Hope yesterday was based on Mathew 6:26-27: 
"Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them.  And aren't you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" 

Later, I realized how hypocritical this lesson was coming from me, especially at House of Hope. Most of the time I spend thinking about House of Hope is filled with worry:

 "What in the world am I going to talk about?"
and then after I finally figure out what to talk about:
"How in the world am I going to say that in Spanish?"

Or:

"How am I going to fill an hour and a half of time for 50-70 teens and kids?" 
And then I think,"We should do a craft--they love crafts,"
which leads to:
"Where am I going to find the time and money to prepare crafts for 70 people each week?"

I have been trying to plant and harvest and store (Matthew 6) in an effort to solve these problems on my own, but I have been failing.
But, I know in God's eyes,
this ministry is valuable,
that the women and kids who come each week are valuable,
that I am valuable.

And this past week, I was reminded that God will take care of me, and these women and children, in this ministry. This reminder arrived in the form of a 55 pound box on flight UA 1421 with my mom on Thursday evening.

I had emailed a friend from our home church just 2 weeks before to ask her to help with the "Where am I going to find the time and money to prep crafts for 70 people each week?" dilemma.  In those 2 short weeks, she and a group of women from my church bought and prepared 20 different crafts (each for 70 people!) for me to use at House of Hope.  And since then, they have made 20 more! This will provide crafts for the women and children at House of Hope for almost a year.  I am so thankful for this hands-on, touchable reminder of God's provision and love.

We were able to do one of the crafts yesterday, and here are some pictures:

Ode to a Christmas Vacation Well Spent

Two and a half weeks ago, we finished the first semester of school at Nicaragua Christian Academy, and the following day we boarded a plane to spend the Christmas holiday in New Mexico, where most of Andrew’s immediate family lives. While we had been planning this trip for months, our kids didn’t know until the morning of the flight at 4:30am! It was an incredible surprise, and I’m impressed we pulled it off.

This is not typical for us—this is our fourth year in Nicaragua, and our first time spending the December break stateside. 

Why this year? Why NM?

1) Last summer, when in the US, we were unable to make the trip to the great Southwest.  We weren’t able to connect with Rehoboth Christian Reformed Church, one of our supporting churches. This break was a great chance to do both!

2) Our kids have LONGED for a cold, snowy Christmas!  They got oneJ Christmas Eve was our only significant snow fall, so we did have a White Christmas, and we were able to play in snow in Colorado (like 6 feet of it!) and in the Sandia mountains near Albuquerque. Charlotte was only one year old when we moved from Michigan, so this is really her first memorable experience with the white stuff (she LOVED it, though the first time she saw it she ran into it barefoot!) And even when there wasn’t a lot of snow, it was certainly different weather than the warm temps of Nicaragua. BRRRRR!

3) We budget for one US trip a year, and we likely will not come back to the US for the summer months for our normal Michigan/New Mexico adventures (no sibling weddings for the first time since being in Nicaragua!). We’ve always wanted to stay in Nicaragua for the summer at some point: time to do more language learning, time for Andrew to complete a two-week special education course in Nicaragua in which he is enrolled, time for more traveling opportunities around Nicaragua (and maybe Costa Rica!), time to welcome more visitors into our homes that can’t typically travel during the school year.

We had a lovely time in New Mexico with the Ippel clan, and many of Ruth’s family members, too. Below is a poem I wrote to commemorate our time together that I shared with my family—some of this might not make sense to an “outsider”, but it gives you an idea of how we spent our last few weeks relaxing and fellowshipping before the second semester begins next Monday.

Ode to a Christmas Vacation Well Spent

Christmas 2016 by Andrew Ippel

Family gathered from near and far,

Using airplane, feet, and car,

To spend some much-needed time together

Despite the cold and dreary weather.

Rehoboth was the destination

For this special family vacation.

For our kids this was a surprise.

Made it to the Managua airport before the sunrise.

Mary had spent much time collecting

Warm clothing that would be protecting

The skin of the Ippels from the far south,

Not used to the cold and chapped skin by the mouth!

The Bob and Mary house was jammed—

But nobody minded begin crammed.

Fondue feasts and Ethiopian platter,

Happy Hour with noisy chatter,

Green chile dip, and charred hot dog,

Endless sweets and creamy egg nog.

The Kuerig machine making hot drinks a breeze,

Helping to thaw us out from the freeze.

Mary’s refrigerator always prepared,

With Bob hardly cooking none of us scared.

A family Christmas Murder Mystery—

Our costumes and accents full of hilarity.

Games like Werewolf, hearts, and checkers

Codenames, Guesstures (but not for the Becklers)

750-piece puzzle done just like that,

With so many games, still some time to chat.

Always guests, like Micah and Jan,

Eunice, Gloria, and the Mur and Josh clan.

Campus adventures, like caroling to Fred,

Ghost Tours and “SS” filling all with dread!

Hockey and Dodgeball and Scooters in the aux gym,

Ruth’s 30-day challenge not keeping us slim.

Playing Sunday piano and joining the choir,

Missionary presentations on Christmas drawing some ire.

Hogback hiking, icy Hales Canyon and the Crevasse disaster,

Mud and low temps helped us move faster.

Brunch at the farm, Grandpa’s Grills eats,

Bowling and movies and Water Store treats!

Feeding the horses and collecting the eggs,

10% egg survival rate due to wobbly legs.

Getting gifts from mom and dad (never with ease),

Requiring multiple stops and caroling at Mickey D’s,

Home Videos—a walk down memory lane.

Helping us remember which one(s) of us were the pain.

Ringle Bells, soccer games, piano battles were shown,

Three Billy Goats Gruff—can you believe how we’ve grown?

A side trip to Albuquerque, with much to explore.

Tocano’s, Frontier—couldn’t eat more.

Hot tubbing and popcorn at the great Drury Inn.

Laser Tag—Charlotte wants to do it again!

Exploring the artsy world of Meow Wolf too,

Sandias by Tram,  Christmas lights at the zoo.

A quick and full trip up to snowy Pagosa,

Slippery ice on the roads and on each ponderosa.

Surviving the drive and relaxing at the Springs,

Falling asleep before the New Year could ring.

Using the Sienna to get up the hills,

A challenge for chains and Bob’s driving skills.

Skiing at Wolf Creek—incredible glee!

Until Ruth’s stunt off the lift hurt her knee.

Thankful for only a partially torn ligament,

And last-minute PT dates with Anthony—God sent!

What a gift, to be with the Ippels,

Amid the red rocks and dripping ice cycles.

20+ Ippels now—we’re a group! We’re a crew—

Getting us together is quite a to-do!

And three tiny babies soon on the way,

Bonbon or Bobert? Who can say!?

Were so thankful for this past December—

So many memories made to remember.

God has been faithful as He keeps us united,

(I can’t remember the last time we’ve fighted!)

Made one in Christ Jesus—what else can we say, but

Lang saltza leyva, and Hip-Hip-Hooray!?

We are so thankful to God for these last few weeks! Pray for us as we enter back into life and ministry in Nicaragua. Pray for Andrew as he prepares for a new semester at school. Pray for Ruth as she manages the household with an unusable leg (see poem above) and for speedy healing and recovery. Pray for our kids; it isn’t fun to say goodbye to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, and while they do love Nicaragua, they don’t always remember that fact during these transition times (Henry was plotting to spend next semester as a Rehoboth School student). 

An Evening for Tesoros de Dios

Over the last few months, a team at Tesoros de Dios (including me!) has been busy preparing for our first-ever, maybe to become annual (?), event called "An Evening for Tesoros de Dios." The board (on which I serve) decided last spring to host this event in the US (in Wisconsin and Indiana), and we decided that we could put on a similar event here in Nicaragua. . .and I'm glad we did!

Friday evening was a gift. Around 180 people filled the Eagle Center (the gym at Nicaragua Christian Academy) in support of Tesoros de Dios. Around 90 were staff, students, and parents involved in the program. . .the other half were guests--fellow missionaries, students from the American Nicaraguan School (ANS) who support Tesoros, and other friends and family who wanted to learn more about and support the ministry of Tesoros de Dios.

The gathered group was treated to hearing various testimonies of students and parents, two choirs, a few speeches (I gave one. . .you can click here to read the transcript if you missed it! Thankfully you can't read about the part where I almost started crying on stage during the speech. . .thanks dad and grandpa for the crying genes whenever we get emotional!)

The evening was emceed by two current Tesoros students, one in high school and one in university. They did such a beautiful job; I loved how involved Tesoros students were involved throughout the whole evening.

We also threw together a silent auction as part of the evening--something done too much in the US and never done here--but it actually was a success due to very generous attendees (and donors!). One fellow CRWM missionary bought a set of "Andrew Ippel" piano CDs for $100--that kind of generosity just blows me away (I hope they find that donation well spent after listening to the music!)

One of the teachers at Tesoros de Dios was going to cook/cater for the event, but due to a family emergency on Friday morning, she wasn't able to attend. A HUGE group of staff filled in for her and provided everyone with wonderful food (with CHOICES, too! Veggie lasagna, beef with mushroom sauce, Parmesan chicken!). They worked from 1:00-10:00, and didn't even get to eat their own cooking until after the event, which I felt guilty about (I definitely ate!)

I'm thankful for the Tesoros staff--a group of therapists, teachers, and accountants who pulled off a really, really great event. We are not party-planning people by trade, but I think after Friday that we are certainly a capable crew.

I'm thankful for eMi, Engineering Ministries International, who is partnering with Tesoros as we plan to expand beginning with a covered horse therapy arena this March. Check out this video to be inspired (this is what made me nearly break down, actually!) Our desire to grow and expand and serve more kids is really the impetus behind all of this momentum of promoting Tesoros de Dios.

I'm thankful for the board of Tesoros, and the potential positive financial impact that this evening has had for Tesoros de Dios. I'm excited to hear the "totals" from the other sites.

I'm thankful for the local community that came out on Friday to show support to Tesoros. I hope we gained a few more child sponsors on our end (and MANY more in the US!) and that our plans to grow can soon become a reality.

I'm also thankful the event is over! It wasn't a TON of work for me, but it was added work, and I was honestly a little stressed about the potential success/failure of the event. . .in retrospect, no need to worry! VERY thankful for God and His presence in the details.

Click HERE to see more beautiful pictures of the event taken by Christa Brunt, Tesoros volunteer extraordinaire! She gets credit for all images on this post, minus the first blurry one:)

"I'm sorry I have to do this. . ."

So last night around 7:45pm, I finished tucking the kids into bed and got in our car to drive to a friend's house to watch the election results. As I left our gate and headed down the steep hill that leads from our neighborhood, I noticed an elderly man standing at the bottom of the hill, waving me down frantically with an umbrella or a cane. I am not in the habit of picking unfamiliar people up, especially when I'm alone, especially after dark.

But something felt different about the situation. I mean, he was an old man! SO. . .I slammed on my brakes about 15 feet after I passed him and waited for him to hobble up to the car and hop in. "La Puente," he said, indicating that he wanted a ride to the nearby intersection with a La Colonia grocery store. . .the same place I would be passing anyway. "Esta bien," I responded, and then began driving again.

The man introduced himself as Carlos, and began speaking in perfect English. The three-minute drive to the store was a quick life history of Carlos (aka Charles, the name he used when studying in Spain and France). He was 80 years old, was one of the first persons to build a large house in our area 40 years prior, and had been educated around the world. He felt most "like a New Yorker," though he was Nicaraguan.

We arrived at "La Puente," into a line of cars waiting to turn onto the Carretera Sur next to the brightly lit, busy La Colonia supermarket. I stopped the car and bid Carlos goodnight, thankful I had given a ride to such a wonderful man! And then Carlos reached into his pants, pulled out a gun, and said, "I'm sorry I have to do this."

To be continued. . .

Just kidding. I'll tell you the rest right now. . .too good to wait.  I froze (except my eyes, which got huge). My new acquaintance was holding a real, live, metal gun. I'm terrified of guns. "9mm" he said. WHAT DID HE MEAN when he said "I'm sorry I have to do this!?" Do WHAT? Kill me? Rob me? Make me drive him to a different store? Or country? Many scenarios flashed across my mind at this point, including scenarios involving me wrestling the gun away from this frail, well-educated man only slightly younger than my grandpa! I took a deep breath and said something like, "Okay. . .goodnight. You can get out now," hoping to kill with kindness. I'm sure my voice sounded a little panicky!

Carlos smiled and began tucking the revolver deep into his pants. "I've never used this thing. I'm an old man walking alone at night. . .I have to be careful just in case." It began to make sense that his "I'm sorry I have to do this," already so embedded in my brain as the last words I thought I'd hear, was just an apology for having to readjust his gun visibly before going into the supermarket. He wasn't intending to harm me, or really anyone, for that matter. Just getting comfortable.

Carlos thanked me for the ride, grabbed his cane or umbrella, and slipped out of my car. "Thank you for the ride!" he smiled at me. And he was off. And that was that.

I'm not sure if there is a lesson here. I'm certainly glad I'm alive. I think I'm glad I gave Carlos a ride, but I'll probably not pick up strangers alone at night again for a while. . .especially kind-looking elderly men:) Side note to those prone to worry and worst-case scenarios: we continue to feel SO safe in Nicaragua, without ever taking our safety and well-being for granted. We are thankful for our safe neighborhood and the fact that we've really had no incidences involving theft or security since living in Nicaragua (and Carlos readjusting his gun doesn't change that, okay?). We praise God for His protection.

Volunteers!

As you know, the SOAAR program at NCA currently relies on volunteers, a wide range of wonderful individuals who commit to spending a year of their lives working and serving students with support needs in various classrooms. Right now, there are four SOAAR classroom assistants and a speech and language therapist who splits her time between NCA and Tesoros de Dios. I have the privilege of coordinating schedules of the volunteers, and making sure everything is in place and running as smoothly as possible for the volunteers. It has been a blessing to work with such committed, dedicated professionals this year. While their 7:00-2:30 work is really under my umbrella of "SOAAR Coordinator" responsibilities, their life outside of school is of course, outside of my control.

We learned quickly last year, however, that it can be hard to form community and feel included as a short-term volunteer at NCA. Volunteers don't typically have access to a vehicle, and it is difficult to get to know many people and the lay of the land in a short amount of time. Ruth and I decided that we wanted to prioritize creating opportunities outside of work for SOAAR volunteers to fellowship and explore Nicaragua. Once a month, we gather to eat at our home. And once a month, we host an "event," doing something fun around Nicaragua. So far this year,  as a group we've been to the beach, the volcano, and downtown Managua to explore the parks along the lakeshore. While I hope the volunteers enjoy these gatherings, our family certainly benefits from these relationships, too! Our kids LOVE hanging out with the volunteers, and they are very gracious with giving our wild children attention and love, too! (Two volunteers even babysat last weekend overnight for Ruth and I to celebrate our June anniversary!) We celebrate this micro-community that has become an important part of our lives at school AND beyond.

The Residency Process

Two weeks ago, we celebrated the fact that we were once again able to renew our residency status in Nicaragua.  If I had read that sentence before moving to Nicaragua on one of the blogs of the many people I “blog-stalked,” I would have had lots of questions:

         

          Why do you need residency?

          Why is it something to celebrate?

          What do you have to do to be residents?

Maybe some of you have these same questions.  I hope so, because I’m going to answer them.:)

When we arrived in Nicaragua for the first time over 3 years ago, we entered the country on tourist visas, which is an easy $10 stamp in your passport as you arrive in the Managua airport.  The tourist visa is only good for 90 days, though, and after that there is a daily fee for being in the country 

without a visa (being an illegal immigrant, essentially). 

Even before we left for Nicaragua, we began the residency process by collecting Birth Certificates, Marriage License, Police Reports, Doctors notes, and work contracts, all notarized and apostillized (a step above notary).  This was a long, tedious, and expensive process.  It took us over a year after arriving to finally get our residency.

Now, every year we have to renew our residency.  We have friends that have had babies here, and because of that only have to renew every five years, but as appealing as it sounds, were not quite willing to have another baby just to avoid yearly renewal.  So, every year, we get a new police report, new pictures, and start the process again. 

We are very fortunate to be under the care of Nicaragua Christian Academy, because Jairo, an amazing man that works there basically facilitates the whole process for us.  He tells us what we need, and then submits everything for us and tells us when we need to show up to make it happen.  Then he or Arturo, his assistant run around making it all happen.

When everything is ready we all have to go to the immigration office here in Managua.  We all (including the kids) have to be present at this appointment that we usually plan on taking at least 3 hours.  I have learned to come prepared with lots of snacks and entertainment to pass the time.  There is also a small playground outside where we take turns watching the kids.  You can buy donuts and ice cream inside the immigration office (which is a genius business strategy!), so we make our kids hold out as long as possible (at least until they get their picture taken) and then reward them with sugar. 

This year we celebrated because the whole process went very smoothly—we were in and out in two hours with our cedulas (residency cards) in hand.  We also celebrated because we had been a little fearful that this would be the year that we wouldn’t be granted the privilege of calling Nicaragua our home.  The government has recently instituted new laws about allowing missionaries to enter and work in the country. They have been asking more questions (we have friends who are currently “under investigation” from immigration), and making the process a lot more unsure. 

We love Nicaragua, and living here has been one of the deepest blessings that we have experienced.  We are thankful for God’s faithfulness throughout this necessary but at times inconvenient process. We are thankful to Nicaragua for allowing us to live and serve here for (at least) another year!