30 Days of Thankfulness: November 29 and 30--The Rest of the List

The end of November is here! We'll admit, there have been a few days this month that we've grumbled, "WHY did we think this blog-everyday-thing was a good idea?" Admittedly, it has been more of a task than a joy to take a picture and write each day, though we truly are thankful for all of the things we've written about this month.
So as the month comes to an end. . .I hope that we'll maintain a sense of thanks regardless of circumstance. I was reminded by another blog from a missionary here in Nicaragua that true Christian thanksgiving is about an attitude that isn't so much about having good things or having everything worked out. “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Would I still be thankful to my Creator even if many of the things we've mentioned this month disappeared? Our car breaks down. We get sick. Our internet goes down again. I don't know. Something I'm working on, for sure. It is pretty easy to feel thankful when everything seems to be going our way.
Here are a few things we didn't get to write about, but that we'd jotted down when we started this journey:

Caponeras--The little three-wheeled motorbike/taxis that take me part of the way home every once in a while when I can't get a ride otherwise. It costs about 75 cents for a 5-minute ride.

Galletas de Oro--A few weeks ago my classroom aide, who is Nicaraguan, was eating a Dutch cookie (Stroopwaffle) during preschool snack time. I couldn't believe it! It turns out that a Dutch man who lives here (and whose kids attend NCA), taught his wife how to make these delicious treats and now markets them in Nicaragua! YUM! Fun having something "Dutch" here!

Spanish Classes--We are thankful for a weekly Spanish class afterschool at NCA, a weekly chat session on our neighbor's porch each Monday night after our children are in bed, and a great iPad app we use almost daily to improve our Spanish. A slow road, but we are determined!

Seranias Market--Our closest "store" (4 minutes in the car or a 20-minute walk), it's nice to have a place to quickly grab a 2-liter for a party, a pack of spaghetti, or some bananas. Kids like picking out random treats here for behavior, and enjoy that parrot that screams "Que Rico!" when you enter.

Jairo--MANY people have made our lives possible here in Nicaragua. Jairo has spent a LOT of time with our transition here, specifically in terms of our paperwork for residency. He has spent entire days sitting in  the immigration office on our behalf, only to find out we didn't come with the correct paperwork. We are thankful for this help; on our own, we'd be in big trouble. While we're still working on our cedulas (residency), he always says, "Don't worry, Mr. Henry. Don't worry!" I try to take his advice!

Nicaragua--At an English-speaking Thanksgiving service last Sunday, a man stood up to thank God for Nicaragua. "We're here because we love Nicaragua, and we love the people of Nicaragua." That's true. We need to remember to thank God for the privilege of living and serving in another country, and for the welcome we've felt from the people here. Nicaragua is a beautiful, broken place (a statement true of the whole world, I suppose), but we are right now called to this PLACE and we are thankful for this dot on the map that is slowly becoming much more than a dot!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: November 28--You

We are thankful for you. If you are reading this (or had the opportunity to read it by seeing the link), you are a friend of ours. We are keenly aware, now more than ever, of how deeply we depend on a community. We're talking about our community back home in the States, and we're talking about the new community we've formed here over the last four months. God created us to be in community with one another, and we praise Him on this Thanksgiving Day for surrounding us with so many strong and loving people, people who demonstrate His love so well to us. You enable us to serve here in Nicaragua, to follow a call to serve here through your prayers, generous financial support, and practical help. You enable us to be better parents, raising three kids with the help and love of so many--something we can't alone. You enable us to seek justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. We love walking with you; walking alone here in Nicaragua isn't even an option. . . .so THANK YOU for being a part of our lives.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: November 27--Water Delivery

Many people here in Nicaragua, including our family, drink purified water. The water here in the city is supposedly fairly safe to drink, but because this isn't true 100% of the time, and because the water that comes to our home is stored in water tanks, increasing the risk of contamination, we choose to go the safer route. This means buying 5 gallon jugs of water and refilling them when they are empty, which is not nearly as convenient as filling up a cup of water directly out of the tap. It is almost as convenient, though, because every other Tuesday, there are "water guys" that come right to our door with full containers and take away the empties. While this seems very insignificant, we are grateful for this service that makes our lives a little simpler.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: Nov 26--Our First Visitors!

We have been anxiously anticipating the arrival of November 26 since before we left to come to Nicaragua because we knew that when November 26 arrived, so would our first visitors, Mur and Micah--my sister and nephew--who we have missed more than you can imagine. Soon after to our arrival in Managua, Henry made a count down so we could keep track of how many days it was til they  got here....

Looking back at all of those little dots, it's hard to believe that the day is finally here.  We are so thankful for their safe travel and arrival, and for the opportunity to introduce them to our new home, friends, and lives.  We are excited spend the week with Mur catching up and showing her the hottest spots in Managua (Nicaragua Christian Academy, the grocery store, the bakery...) and we are also excited that Micah will be spending the next 6 weeks with us as a part of our family.  We are very thankful for how small our world has become, allowing travel and visits like this to be possible.

 

  Reunited at last!

30 Days of Thanksgiving: November 25--Music Class

When my students leave on Mondays at 12:30 pm, my school day is not over! I quickly push around tables, set out carpet squares, and get into "Music Class" mode. Today was my fourth week leading a 30-minute music class with 17 NCA preschool and kindergarten students. Stealing a bit from my own kid's experiences in Music Together classes, we have a ball exploring instruments, playing music games, dancing with scarves, clapping beats, singing silly songs, etc. I have two adult helpers to control the craziness, and I'm thankful that they seem to love the class, too! While we only have one more scheduled class, I think there was enough interest that we will repeat the class for students after Christmas. We're also thinking about ways to use music in other settings as well--possibly Tesoros de Dios or an orphanage? We'll see where He leads! I'm so thankful for the gift of music, and the opportunities I've had at NCA to use music in my classroom and beyond.

 

 

30 Days of Thanksgiving: November 24-Sunday Game Nights

Typically at this time on Sunday evenings, Ruth and I are sitting at the table of our neighbors Karel and Myra, deciding which game to play together. . .a last hurrah of the weekend before another busy week. The tradition has been going on for a few months now, and we love the fact that our baby monitor can act as our babysitter as their house is only yards from our own! We've learned to play pinochle and they are now addicted to Settlers of Catan. . .and we always enjoy a good game of euchre together as well. We're thankful to have people to play games with and for new traditions as we settle into community living here in Nicaragua, though we still miss our game buddies back in Grand Rapids--Noah and Megan and Phil and Bridget and James and a few others, too.

30 Days of Thanksgiving: November 23--New Christmas Decorations

There are very few material things we miss here in Nicaragua, but as we are entering into the holiday season, one thing we are missing is our decorations.  We are a family that loves holidays and traditions, and as Henry listed off all the things we normally do during Christmastime that we won’t be able to do this year, Andrew and I felt a little ache in our hearts.  We are slowly acquiring some decorations (including the Charlie Brown version of a fake Christmas tree), which we are thankful for because they make life feel a little more normal.  We are also excited to start some new Christmas traditions as a family (swimming on Christmas day?  Decorating a palm tree?).  We are also VERY thankful that while we won’t be travelling home for Christmas, my family will be coming here to celebrate with us.