Looking forward to what's next. . .

Tomorrow, we will hop on a plane from Managua to Albuquerque. We are so looking forward to the change of routine, seeing family and friends, connecting with our faithful supporters and churches. And the non-essential things, too, that we sometimes miss while living here: like driving on nicely paved roads, eating at Taco Bell, shopping at Target, drinking out of the tap, speaking English while we're out and about, and flushing toilet paper.

We know these next two months will fly by. . .which is actually okay. Saying goodbye to our home, neighbors, school, and church here in Nicaragua isn't that fun, . .we will look forward to returning at the end of summer! I'm especially looking forward to the beginning of the SOAAR program. We've worked very hard this last semester, readying ourselves for the expansion of our inclusive special education program at NCA.

It's been great to work on this project as a team; I'm certainly not doing this alone! Thanks to Kevin (our current learning resources teacher), Marysol, Susan, and Sylvia  (administrators) for all of your hard work and the many hours you've spent with me this past semester as we dream and plan.

As a committee, we've done a lot of work on paper and through conversation. All parents at NCA just recieved a one-page fact sheet regarding the program; I'm hoping and praying it is well-received by our wider school community, as this is quite a shift of how our school operates.

Now some "concrete" things are happening, too, as we begin to expand our area where special education services at NCA will be housed. Here are some pictures of Kevin's current classroom (also known as a closet!), where she does an amazing job using her tiny space so well with over 20 students throughout each day!

When I arrive in Nicaragua in late July, our new space (that I was able to design!) will be move-in ready. No more closets for students with learning differences!

We're expanding our old library, and dividing it into two classrooms for Kevin and myself with a shared conference room. Keep in mind, too, that using the inclusion model, most of our student learning will actually take place in the general education classrooms! So thankful for our school. . .their increased commitment to serve children with disabilities is being witnessed by increase in staff, space, and resources!

The last thing I did today with the manager of the project was look at paint colors. . .I had to laugh when the first light blue paint color I turned to was named "Soar." I chose it without hesitation, loving the silly coincidences God places in our lives as confirmation that we're moving in His direction.

Airplane Conversations. . .

I was on my way home from Grand Rapids. It had been a great 5-day marathon journey, beginning in Chicago with a college graduation (yeah, Michael!), ending with a poignant celebration of Grandpa Ippel's life. The time between these celebrations was filled with visiting friends, reconnecting with family, rubbing shoulders with folks that I hadn't seen in a while.

One special exchange was with my aunt, Barb Newman. She is a special education inclusion guru, author of a variety of resources for folks beginning inclusion programs at schools and churches--pretty amazing, considering that is exactly what we are doing at Nicaragua Christian Academy right now. Not only did Barb give me some wise words, but she handed me a pile of her books for me to take back to Nicaragua as we continue to develop the SOAAR program at NCA.

As I boarded the airplane to Managua, I wasn't in the mood for conversation. This was my last three hours without my kids, which meant this time had to be either productive or spent taking a nap. When I realized that my window seat was surrounded by a loud, boisterous church mission team (extremely typical on flights to and from Nicaragua!), rocking their matching T-shirts, I figured I'd be safe from conversation but probably wouldn't get a nap! They could have their own pre-Nicaraguan mission trip chatter, and I could rotate between eavesdropping and browsing through the inclusion resources my aunt had given me.

After about an hour, the girl next to me passed out asleep, and the guy on the aisle decided to strike up conversation OVER her. Looking up from his Bible that he'd been studying, he asked me if I was excited to visit Nicaragua. He explained that he was so excited to share the love of God and Jesus with the people in Nicaragua. I explained that I  actually lived in Nicaragua, leading to an overview of our lives as "missionaries." Eventually, I told him about our plans at NCA to expand our special education program next year. A strange look came over his face, and he leaned a little closer. "I don't usually tell people this, but I have autism. I'm really high functioning, so you might not have guessed. I just want you to know that this will be really appreciated in Nicaragua."

His openness led to a long conversation. With his permission, I asked him to describe how school had "worked" for him, now a university computer science student . He gave me a long list of things that might help kids on the autism spectrum at NCA, recognizing that each kid with that label is different. He was pretty honest with his personal struggles growing up--limited friendships, bullying that resulted in home schooling, maddening sensory overload that took years to figure out. He was quick to describe some benefits of autism, too, like his ability to "hyper-focus" on a task, and his loyalty to friends and people that he could trust. I asked him about his church, too, and how he felt included or excluded at his church home. He said that his faith in God and Jesus helped him throughout his struggles growing up. I asked him, "Is faith stuff, like believing in God, tough for someone with autism? When it is abstract and not very concrete?" He smiled. "I've never really thought of that before. For me, God was always something that made sense."

I reached into my backpack and handed my new acquaintance one of the books that my aunt had just published, "Accessible Gospel, Inclusive Worship," which I hadn't read yet. He was really excited about it. "I am definitely going to check this out when I get home." He wrote down the title and the author in his journal, skimmed the chapter titles,and read the introduction (which, I later learned, just so happened to begin with a sad anecdote of a woman challenging the notion that folks with autism could understand an "abstract" God!)

As we drew closer to Managua, and began to see the city lights, my neighbor asked again about the name of my school. He wrote it down in his journal. "We have a pretty good website," I said, figuring he was just information gathering or asking to be polite. "Oh, I just want to pray for you and your school as you begin your program next year. You need to know, it really will be a blessing to people like me."

I looked back out the window, hiding the fact that my eyes were tearing up with joy and emotion and awe in a God that had placed such specific people in my life at just the right time: a prolific, wise aunt bursting with resources regarding beautiful inclusive education programs. . . and a brave young man with autism in my row of seats on Delta 369, heading to Nicaragua to serve a God he loved so much--a concrete God he couldn't WAIT to talk about, a young man committing to pray for me and for the SOAAR program.

Our God is so good!

Baby Shower!

Yesterday, I was able to celebrate 12 weeks of learning and friendships with the women from my childbirth class at AMOS Health and Hope by having a baby shower for them.  My hope is that these 9 women have learned a lot throughout this time and feel better prepared for labor and delivery and motherhood. My purpose is to empower them to be active participants in their health, because often in the hospitals and clinics here they are not given information or choices. They are such sweet women and have really invested themselves in this class, and I am proud of the changes they are making to better their health and the health of their babies.  Here are some pictures from the fun event:

The class is also attended by 2-3 community health workers who volunteer to work in the community surrounding the clinic where the class takes place.  Their experience and wisdom has been a huge asset to the women in the class. This is Juana loving on Jimena during the shower.

We had to play some crazy games, of course, which involved making diapers out of toilet paper and putting on diapers one-handed and blind folded.  The women had a blast!

Each woman received a gift bag full of diapers, wipes, toys, and clothes.  If you would like to donate items for future baby showers (they happen every 3 months), please let me know!

Each women "graduated" with a certificate of completion.

I invited their husbands to attend, but only one came.  We were happy to have him!  My dream is to have Andrew do a workshop for the dads to teach them what their role in supporting their pregnant wife and newborn children could look like.  I often reference what a wonderful husband and dad Andrew is when I am teaching them, and they are always shocked!

One of the women, Adeleida, couldn't make it to the shower because had had her baby two days before, but I was able to visit her in her home, meet her new baby and deliver her gift.

It was such a privilege to visit Adeleida in her home, although it was a real eye-opener for me.  She lives in a one room house made of tin and wood, with a dirt floor and no windows.  I can't imagine what it is like bringing home a newborn to this house, but she seemed so happy.

After visiting Adeleida, I also made a very sad visit to one of the other women, Anelika, who had lost her baby earlier that week.  This is the third baby that she has lost, all very close to term.  I was very nervous about this visit, especially with the language barrier, but I am so glad that I got to see her, tell her how very sorry I am, and give her several big hugs.  I also learned while visiting her that her husband had left her while she was in the hospital.  Please pray for Anelika.  I am very worried about her emotional health and well-being during this extremely difficult time.

Happy Un-Birthday!

 I forgot Oliver's birthday! I had been reminded the week prior, but when I arrived at Tesoros de Dios and saw Oliver on that particular Thursday, I realized that I had no planned way to celebrate Oliver's life other than a spur-of-the-moment "Feliz Cumpleanos!" I asked Oliver how he had celebrated his birthday today. He shook his head "no." Well, I asked him, are you going to have a party or special dinner tonight to celebrate? Another "no." I'm not sure if I understood him correctly, but it made me a little sad and motivated me to pull off at least a small celebration of another year of life for Oliver.

I promised Oliver that I'd find a way to celebrate his life the FOLLOWING week, and decided that we might as well have one gigantic fiesta for ALL of my Tesoros students, as I'm likely to forget their individual birthdays as well. So we wore hats and sang songs and popped balloons and laughed hard and decorated cupcakes together. There is a lot of life worth celebrating at Tesoros de Dios! Happy Un-Birthday to all of my awesome friends at Tesoros!

It's been a while. . .

We've not been very faithful on keeping up with our blog lately! We can blame many things. . .the novelty of life in a new country is wearing out. . .or we've been really busy. . .or it is just so hot here this time of year any extra motion (even typing on a keyboard) causes me to break out in a sweat. But we do want to keep you updated on our lives here, regardless of how trivial they may or not be! So here's a few things that have been keeping our hands and hearts busy.

1) Illness. We've been pretty sick these last few months, taking turns with fevers and puking--a pretty hard-hitting virus that hit us all but Henry. Mae also had a UTI that meant sporadic fevers for 10 days. Charlotte had worms (giving us all incentive to take some anti-parasitic medicine). Mae has fungus in her ears. Ruth has a night cough that just won't go away. We're excited to be well again, but thankful we've been able to be somewhat "functional" throughout the process.


2) Car. Our car has been having some mechanical issues lately. After 3 trips with our trusty mechanic, it is now GUSHING power steering fluid rather than dripping it slowly! We can't drive our van right now, and are relying on our neighbors and the school van to get us through until. . .next Thursday! We just bought a World Renew (formerly CRWR) vehicle from missionary friends of ours that will hopefully serve us more reliably than our comfortable-but-impractical Honda Odyssey!

 3) Micah. Our nephew Micah is living with us for the rest of the school year (as of a week ago)! We are thrilled to have him as part of our family and part of the NCA family, where he is in the third grade. He has already made so many friends and loves school. He plays outside ALL of the time and thinks Henry is crazy for ever wanting to use "screen time"; I think he feels like he is coming out of hibernation after surviving the last Michigan winter. Henry and Micah are sharing a room, and I love hearing them "chat themselves to sleep" while laying in the bunk bed.

4) Grandpa. My Grandpa Ippel ("Henry the First") isn't doing very well health-wise, and he is now in hospice care. My parents are driving up today from New Mexico to Michigan to be with him right now. We are so thankful for God's faithfulness in my grandpa's life--if he does pass away, we will have to make a decision about whether or not I will travel to Michigan to attend his memorial service--a tricky thing about living in another country.

Okay, there you have it. . .hopefully you feel more connected to us again:) Thanks for your love, support, and prayers amidst car breakdowns, puking, house guests, and hard decisions.