Yesterday the team we had been anticipating the most this year went home. Our home church, Westside Faith Center, sent a team of eleven awesome people down to serve with us here. Our friends led the group (and did an incredible job), and we had relationship with all the members of the group previously. Honestly, receiving the team and hosting them here was a dream come true. For so long we have been wanting to be here in Nicaragua, and knowing that hosting teams would be a big part of it, we dreamt of the day when we would have a team full of people we know and love. That dream came true in the last two weeks, and I feel like I’m still realizing how sweet it was.

From the get go we were told that this team wanted to do one thing while they were here in Nicaragua: help. They didn’t care what it looked like, what the work was, or anything else except that they wanted to come to Nicaragua and help. Um, ok!! 🙂 We had a few random things at Ruby Ranch that sort of needed to be ‘finished up’ as the summer came to and end, so the first couple of days we were at the ranch. We varnished the new slip’n’slide railings, applied polyurethane to the structure at the top of the slide (shout out to Corbin and Matthew for sticking with it when it was not even a little bit fun), and planted trees and bougainvillea. We knew that we were also going to work at the Los Parcelas school, a little two room school that serves about 35 primary school aged kiddos. Not only was the team going to paint and sort of ‘make-over’ the classrooms, they also raised money to put in a new latrine. The old one was quite literally falling apart, with the rusting metal door resting on the ground next to it. [When we asked the teacher how the girls go to the bathroom she said, “With a friend, so that the other girl can hold something up as the door.”] So as we began painting at the school on Thursday, Henry and the guys began working on digging the six meter deep hole for the latrine. (In case you’re unfamiliar with the metric system, that is about 18 feet, that would be dug by hand.)

It was perfect timing, really. We began working at the school on Thursday afternoon because class for primary students is in session in the mornings. And as we spoke with the teacher we were told that they didn’t have any school on Friday, because it was the last Friday of the month, which is always off and essentially is used as a teacher inservice day. So instead of cramming everything into the afternoon at the school we were able to be there all day, painting, cleaning, digging, and digging some more. It was so incredible how everything worked: we had a perfect amount of people for the work involved, it was the perfect time of the month for them to be here, and we had the perfect amount of money to work with to get everything done.

We split our forces on Saturday morning, with half of us working to clean and put back together the classrooms and the other half preparing the Ranch for the fun afternoon we had planned with the kiddos. As a way to include our bigger church body in the mission here people from Westside were invited to write a short note on a label, which was then translated into Spanish, and placed inside one of the 170 Bibles the team was able to purchase. Though many people who are neighbors to Ruby Ranch would say they are Christians, and many go to church, very few have access to a Bible, let alone one of their own. So the offer of a brand new, totally yours Bible is a big deal. The team also wanted a day to share in fun with the kiddos many of them knew from last year, so on Saturday we invited the kids from the neighborhood to the Ranch for time to play, lunch and the slip’n’slide. It was such a joy to see my friends loving on and playing with the kids who have become so dear to my heart, and to be able to tell the kids that these are my friends from my home church in Oregon. I’m telling ya, I had a VERY FULL HEART the entire time they were here!

Sunday was more relaxed, with church, the market, the Masaya volcano (WITH REAL LIFE FLOWING LAVA!!!), and dinner at the Galerias food court. Though we got back late, it was a sweet time of just being together and relaxing, because on Monday we had to finish everything at the school.

We ended up getting to paint the inside of the local clinic (which is right next to the school) since we had extra paint (which was also the perfect amount), and then we put the finishing touches on the school. We decorated with fun, bright posters, Nicaraguan flags, and giant foam letters. A few of the kids from the neighborhood went home after class to change and eat, but then came back and watched everything we did to their school. They were so excited for what we were doing! The community coordinator came over, as well, and saw what we were doing. He has historically been a little dubious of our involvement in the community, and aligns with the Sandinista party, who generally do not like Americans. As I stood talking with him about what we were doing at the school his grandkids go to and daughter-in-law teaches at, I prayed that our time there would be redemptive for him in some way. That he would understand our hearts for that community, and soften towards us in the future. We were able to present the school to Mary, the teacher of the older kids, as well as her husband and other family members. She was so grateful and so excited.

We ended our time out in Los Parcelas with a trek up to Chapel Hill. It was such a peaceful time, as we arrived, realized the sun was about to set, and everyone fell silent. There weren’t many times with our team that everyone was silent, but up on that hill, with the cross in front of us and the sun setting in the distance, words felt unnecessary. Eventually Landon got up and shared about the cross, what it means and why it propels us to live the way we do, but it was a very tranquillo time. There was a gentle breeze the entire time which isn’t what we have come to expect while on Chapel Hill, but was perfect for that day. A gentle reminder of the Lord’s presence and goodness.

Tuesday was for prayer and Wednesday was for the beach and pizza, but that is a whole post in itself.

Sometimes living in Nicaragua is quite literally warm beaches and big laughter with great friends. Sometimes I buy groceries, go to the bank and put gas in the truck with no problems. My mind races from point to point, trying to make sure I remember everything on the list because I don’t really want to have to go back today. Or even tomorrow. So I stay in my head, check all the boxes, and arrive safely at home to work on projects, make a smoothie and maybe catch an Olympic event on TV.

But then sometimes it doesn’t go like that.

Sometimes I see all the brokenness. The window washers who work long hours at the red lights to make a few Cordobas with each job. The ones who are either obviously mentally handicapped, or appear to have created that state through sniffing the glue. The kid who is probably only twelve, wiping down our window with a rag, while his blind, elderly relative stands with his hand on his shoulder. The elderly man’s condition being the ‘reason’ they’re soliciting the help of a few cordobas. Sometimes I look up to see the young girl with the baby on her hip, shoeless, but walking with purpose somewhere. Or I see the kid that cannot be more than 5 or 6, and definitely can’t reach the windshields, but is at the red light with his squeegee anyway, when it is definitely an hour at which he should be in school.

Sometimes I see it all. And it is heavy. And it hurts. And I can’t shake the burden.

This is why we say yes to the window washers when they ask if they can have the random coconuts from out of the back of our truck. We were planning on planting them at the ranch, but we can pick more up later. These two guys are in front of us, asking for a “pequeño regalo” now. It is also why I hand my barely drank iced latte to the twelve-year-old at the red light when he asks, after already giving him a few Cordobas. Because it can fill his belly now. It can maybe make him realize that he is worthy of a gift he asks for, rather than the rejection he most likely receives daily. And because, maybe even for a moment, it will make him feel like a regular teenager.

Sometimes living in Nicaragua is heavy.

Last weekend we made our way (via Tica bus) to Costa Rica. Part of the headache of us being here on tourist visas is that they are only good for 90 days. Then you can extend your tourist visa for another 90 days (for about $50 each), but at the end of that you have to leave the country. We have friends who live in San Jose, so we decided that rather than just hop the border we would see if they were around and we would go visit them.

Even though Adam and Landon grew up twenty minutes from one another, it wasn’t until Kelsey and Neil went to George Fox that the two met. And over the years Lando has become better friends with Adam, who 1) loves the Lord, 2) loves fishing in Oregon, and 3) serves in Central America as a camp director. When we reached out to him about coming to visit he said absolutely, and would love to talk with us about running the camp in Costa Rica.

Traveling by bus can always be interesting, as you’re never quite sure how thoughtful other riders will be, whether the bathroom will work, or what the driver will be like. On the way into Costa Rica there were some interesting moments. For example going pee on a moving bus is sort of like trying to pee into a coffee cup while riding a surf board. It just takes a lot of patience. Also, when we got to the border and handed the Tica bus employee our passports and money and he disappeared with them. I mean, he took everyone’s passports, but still. It was very unnerving, especially since then you just wait. You can buy a drink, and pay 5 Cordobas to use the bathroom, but otherwise you just wait. And then he comes back, calls out the names as he hands you back your passport, and you reboard the bus. Then you drive 200 yards, unboard again, and go through immigration in Costa Rica. More lines, your bags through an x-ray machine, and more waiting. Apparently there is no boarding the bus until everyone is through the line. (We just laugh and shake our heads now…) All the while you are being solicited to buy Coke, juice, or random snacks.

Our time in Costa Rica at Camp Roblealto was very refreshing. The camp has been around since the 1940’s, is seated at 4000 feet, and is a quiet reprieve from San Jose and Managua. Honestly, the climate reminded us of Oregon. At one point, while on a walk to the nearby little town, we looked up to see a dairy cow. The hillside behind her was completely green, and the grass was lush. If I didn’t know better I would have sworn I was on a back road in Tillamook county. Not only was our time at the camp refreshing, but our time with the Carlsen family was as well. We enjoyed a couple meals together, lots of laughter, and plenty of visiting with Jacob, Adam and Andrea’s six month old son. It was a beautiful time.

 

Though we don’t love the long bus rides, returning to Costa Rica will definitely be in our future. And maybe next time we’ll try our hands at fishing one of the many rivers there.

As the oat flour pancakes cook, I’ll take a second to write about our home.

We moved into another subletting situation a few weeks ago, and are very glad to be here. We have battled mosquitoes more here, and our next door neighbors are loud chickens, but our little neighborhood is very safe, full of AWESOME people, and very close to the Buzbees, making our commute almost nonexistent (which is a very good thing). We hadn’t intended to sublet again, but as the end of our time at the other house came to the close and we looked at the calendar, we realized we would have no availability to go look for a house for ourselves. So when we were forwarded the e-mail about our current house again, we decided to go see it, speak with the normal renters and give it all a shot.

I am so glad we did. We are staying in a house with three bedrooms and two baths (though one room is full of the other family’s things, so we do not have access to it), a great sized living area and great kitchen. We do not have a huge amount of outdoor space that is ‘attached’ to our house, but within the neighborhood there is a pool and some other shared space that we are allowed to use. Living here in Nicaragua can be pretty different than in the states (like we don’t flush toilet paper here), but this house has a few things that make it feel a little more ‘normal’ to us.

We will be in this home until December, when we come back to Oregon to visit. We will need to find a new place to rent before our trip back for the holidays, so prayers for that would be very much appreciated. We would need to begin renting the home before we leave so that we can move in, and then come back to it in January. (Those are logistics I’m not super excited to figure out, but I know it’ll work out in the end, so I’m not stressing about it.)

 

This week has been fairly relaxed as we are winding down the crazy busy summer season, and we needed to catch up on a few things. It is amazing how quickly twelve-hour days displace things you have to get done (like buy groceries), so we were grateful to have a slower start to this week.

I wanted to share about a random ‘daily life’ thing. I am hoping to explain more about what living in Nicaragua is like, as many people asked about that before we moved, but now I feel like I have something to say about the topic!

Today’s topic: buying fruit.

A lot of the time we buy groceries at the local grocery store. We have two that are close, La Colonia and La Union. They are very similar, with the biggest difference (I see) being that La Union is owned by Wal-Mart, so sometimes you can buy random products there that you would also find in the States. We also have a Costco type store here (called PriceSmart), which is awesome for things like toilet paper, big grocery runs, and when teams are here and need a lot of chips/hot dogs/soda for a beach excursion. Recently, though, we have been getting our fruit at a stand near a major roundabout, from a man named Omar.

It is really, very convenient. We go around the roundabout, pull over on the side of the road by the stand, roll down the window, and chat with Omar about what he has available. He usually begins the interaction with giving us something for free (it’s been mangoes the past two times because we wanted to buy some, so he showed us they were good), and then we talk about what else he has. He’s a great salesman, and usually gets me to buy a few things I wasn’t originally looking for, but when the fruit man says the avocados are good today, what are you going to do? Certainly not argue. So we pick out the fruit we want, he hands it through the car window as we go along, and then at the end he quickly adds up in his head what our total is. Could he be charging us extra? Sure. Is his knife that he cuts the mangoes open with clean? I have no idea. But, we are growing to love these short interactions, and our smoothies are pretty delicious these days!

I began writing this on Saturday evening, but ran out of time to finish it. Until now. And it is too good not to share!

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It was celebration day. A day, at the end of the week, where we play games, hang out, smash piñatas, and make the hike up to Chapel Hill to hear a word from Pastor Todd. The kids came into the day just as excited as every day before. We gave them ‘free time’ until everyone arrived and then we all began the hike up to the hill. It takes a little bit. It’s steep in some places, and maybe even feels a little unreasonable. But then you come to an open place, a field full of mint that smells refreshing, and the path eases. Then you make a right turn, go down a little slope, and gently climb back up to the Chapel. I walked along with the mothers. As we entered the Chapel space they all paused. They took it in. I don’t know why they stopped, but it seemed as if they were pausing in reference. I asked if they would like to sit. They said yes, and we all took a seat in the back so that the kids could sit close.

As Pastor Todd began to share, with Brinson translating, the littles continued their chatter, but I began to notice a few of the kids listening intently. As is always the case at camp, friends can distract one another, but there was something happening in a few of them. They sat up a little straighter, ignored their friends a little more. And as Pastor Todd shared about the woman at the well, the one who was outcast from her community but who Jesus told about living water, I saw a few countenances change. I imagined those dear ones hearing the words, “Maybe you feel a little like this. Maybe you have felt forgotten or shunned,” and their hearts crying out at that reality sinking deep. As Pastor Todd finished, and offered them the opportunity to simply accept the gift of Jesus’ sacrifice, I watched as a few dipped their heads lower. And, in my spirit, I could tell the Lord was ministering to them. Drawing those ones to Himself.

We said amen, and began the trek back down the hill to continue the fun. After playing some organized games, we put the worship music back on loud, and I looked over to see Gabriel playing catch with Bayron, but in between catching and throwing the ball, he would jump and sing along to the song on the speaker, yelling loudly, “Creo en Ti! Creo en Ti!” (I believe in You! I believe in You!) I told Landon, “I think Gabriel met Jesus today,” and Landon walked down to talk with him. I later asked him what he had said, and Landon said he had asked the teen if he had accepted Christ that day. “Yes sir, I did,” Gabriel replied, in all seriousness. Brinson asked again, in a different way, and Gabriel said the same thing… I cried. As I watched my husband and our close friend celebrate with a young man who first came to camp skeptical and a little hardened, I couldn’t help but cry.

The Lord is so good, and His great grace is overwhelming, on a daily basis.

Please join us in continuing to pray for Gabriel, and the others who made a decision that day to follow Christ. Like most teens, a lot of things will pull at his attention, and sometimes there aren’t great role models for young men. Please pray that the Lord’s truth sinks deep, and he doesn’t turn from it.

We have spent this week out at Ruby Ranch, also, but this week we have been working alongside an awesome group of students from Tallahassee, Florida, who have an incredible work ethic, a great sense of humor and a huge heart for Ruby Ranch. This Wildwood team is seriously a joy to get to work alongside.

I began the week pretty slow, as I was pretty darn sick last weekend. We’re talking all of Sunday on the couch with fever of 101.6 and consistent trips to the bathroom. I’m mostly over it now (though I still get quick spurts of light-headedness) but it meant that I had to take the first few days very easy and slowly. It’s not an incredibly easy for me to do, as I love to be in on the action, but it was completely necessary.

But that didn’t mean that I didn’t get to visit with some of my favorite kiddos, AND I was able to meet almost an entire camp full of new ones! For this camp we spoke with Todd (Wildwood’s youth pastor) about inviting all new kids. Loads of the Las Parcelas kids get to come every time there is camp, but there is another little community we always drive through called El Caimito, so we decided to talk with the teacher there and invite those kids. The first day was a little crazy with LOADS of energy, but yesterday and today have been absolutely awesome. I cannot say it enough: watching kids laugh and play, with no stress or worry, is the funnest thing in the world. I am continually amazed that facilitating those times for them is part of my job here. Like, really?? Seriously?! Because this is awesome! I’m hoping as my Spanish progresses more I’ll be able to hear more of their stories and understand more of their home lives. I know some are good, full of love and care, with both parents present and active in their kids’ lives. But some are broken. And influenced heavily by the poverty they live in.

Tomorrow is our celebration day with the kiddos which will be awesome. We have a full day, complete with lunch, water balloon competitions and the slip’n’slide! Please join us in praying for safety over everyone, and grace to continue to have fun together.

This week we are out at Ruby Ranch with a group of high school students who are part of a program called Compass. It is an incredibly interesting program, where these upper high school classmen from across the country are stretched, taught and challenged in things of the Lord. Everything from an intense backpacking expedition, to taking seminary classes, to serving overseas. We have had a great time the past few days getting to know them, hear their stories, their future plans, and what they think of Nicaragua. We will spend the rest of this week at the Ranch with them, putting on day camps for the kids who live out in Los Parceles, the community the ranch is in.

I realized after the first day that if all I was able to do this week was spend time with the Los Parceles kids, that would be enough for me. I know I am probably not supposed to have favorites, but I just love these kids. They live in a fairly rural part of Nicaragua, so many of their parents have jobs related to agriculture. And the kids seem to all have a lot of responsibility in their homes, but they also have a great sense of their community and of themselves. And this incredible thing happens every time I watch them enter our gates: they turn back into kids. They run, jump on the trampolines, play soccer and laugh. They have no worries, and in that, they have great joy. They also are very thoughtful. I had one of the boys come and tell me today that his cousin, who had come a little late, hadn’t been able to have lunch. He was wondering if there were any left. (We typically buy Nica style plate lunches from a local lady for $2/person, which includes rice, beans, a tortilla, chicken and ensalada.) I told him that there were, and I would definitely send one with his cousin. His cousin could have come and asked me, but is a little shy, so the more bold boy asked so that his cousin didn’t go without. It may not seem like a big deal, but to me it was amazing. These kids look out for one another, and they are a JOY to spend time with.

We also both spent time playing soccer today, which was awesome. Sometimes when we go to the ranch now, (because of our role) we end up coordinating things a lot more. Which is awesome, and we are so glad to do it. But today we were super glad to have the time and space to jump in on the action, as well. I (Jamie) also love that maybe it demonstrates to the girls who come to camp that it is ok if they like sports. Some of them do enjoy playing sports, so to see another female playing ends up giving them a little extra confidence to join in as well. Plus, these girls are strong and super tough! One of the seven-year olds, Stacey, totally took a ball square to the face today, and when I went over to see if she was ok she firmly nodded her head yes, grabbed the ball, and kept playing. I later told her she was muy fuerte. (Very strong.)

Will you join us in praying for Ruby Ranch and the kids who live nearby? We want the ranch continue to have a positive impact where it is, and know that we need to be in fervent prayer for it. Thank you in advance! 🙂 If you would like to donate specifically to Ruby Ranch, you can send it the same way as is outlined on our ‘Money Stuff’ page, except in the memo write ‘Ruby Ranch.’

This was written yesterday, but I knew I needed to share it today.

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We drove behind a set of oxen the other day. The two men who were trying to get them to work together were obviously frustrated. The two massive beasts, full of strength and potential, were hardly moving anywhere. The two huge bodies were not moving in concert with one another, making the load lighter for each other, but instead were actually pushing against one another. Their resistance towards one another created an awkward dance of sorts, where the will of each one would win out for a second, but then the other would pull back, and the ground covered previously was lost. It was fascinating and somewhat sad to watch, as I could see what they needed to do. They were yoked together, and should have been able to effectively move the empty trailer, but instead their conflict caused more harm than good. I am not a person who knows a whole lot about oxen, about how to take care of them, train them and work with them, but even I could see that they had to work out whatever it was between them in order to be effective. And at about that moment, the men aboard the trailer began to work with them. One jumped down, grabbed the lead rope, and began physically leading them where he wanted them to go. The other man stood atop the trailer and used a long stick with a pointed end to prod them in the direction he wanted them to go. Rather than let the oxen destroy one another, or the equipment, the owners stepped in. They saw it good to intervene, and begin leading and prodding those potential rich animals in the way they should go.

As we were praying today at Miss Ruby’s, this is the thing the Lord reminded me of. I was praying for other people, getting pictures and words and encouragements for other people, and the Lord reminded me of the oxen. And I knew why. For the past little bit of time, this has been us. Each full of potential, yoked together, and yet fighting one another. I would push against Landon, trying to lead where we were going. Then he would resist, pulling another way. Not completely in opposition to one another, but fighting one another, nonetheless. Having deep desires to move along in the way we are to go, but ending up doing an awkward dance together instead. Fighting our differences, rather than using them together to further this walk we are on. But this morning, the Lord saw it good to help us. To come in front and lead, and also to come behind and prod. To show us both where we have been wrong, and to bring us back to our knees before Him.

He is faithful. Great is His faithfulness.

 

I wanted to post a little update. And though we haven’t had a team out at Ruby Ranch exclusively since Valor left, we have had plenty to do.

Through a series of ‘oh wow! The Lord is amazing’ connections, we were able to have a meeting last week with the director of another local non-profit here called Engineering Ministries International, a “non-profit organization that provides donated design services for evangelical Christian ministries in developing countries that are helping the poor and advancing the gospel of Christ.” In other words, exactly the kind of help we need right now with Ruby Ranch. We are coming to a place and time where we would like to begin building more permanent structures (cabins, bathrooms, kitchen, shop, etc) but in reality we are not sure of where the best places to build those would be. And though Ruby Ranch is about 500 acres, we are really focusing on developing the first eight or nine, which are what we continually posting pictures of. We plan to eventually develop the other 492 acres into an incredible trail system for hiking, horses and, possibly, dirt bikes, but, we want to first develop the part that is closest to the main road. Which is the part we need help with. And amazingly enough, the kind of project we have (master planning for a camp) is right up EMI’s alley. We are in the application process right now, and will be sharing more as things progress, but we are hopeful that our application will be accepted and we can work with EMI on this great plan. (Please pray for this!)

We hosted three day camps at the end of last week. Even though Ruby Ranch isn’t complete, and we can’t yet host overnight camps, we have an awesome ability to do day camps, utilizing our playground equipment, trampolines, soccer court, baseball field, horses, bicycles, volleyball court, and of course, giant slip’n’slide. The kids who are invited to come just love to play. Most of them know how to ride bikes, and maybe have ridden a horse before, but get very few opportunities to do so freely. So when they come to RR, the objective of the day is to have as much fun as possible. I don’t think words will ever do justice to the great privilege it is to be able to provide a place where kids like Tito and Dulce Maria and Alexander can run, jump and laugh in such a free way. It is truly amazing.

Last weekend we were also able to hang out with two different friends from our time at language school in Granada. Alex came and stayed the weekend with us, and kind of just joined in with what we were doing. It was so fun to share good conversation, food and laughter with someone we had only begun to become friends with when we left Granada to come back here to Managua. And also to hear, first hand, what a Brit thinks of Great Britain leaving the EU… Then on Monday, we were able to pick up another friend (who had been my classmate at Casa Xalteva) at the airport for a whirlwind hangout time. Seraphine had to fly back to Switzerland on Tuesday morning, but not before we introduced him to the Buzbees, showed him Ruby Ranch and cooked a wonderful meal together. We loved having both friends with us, sharing about what has happened since language school, and what we hope to see in the future.

Today we had a beautiful time of prayer with a team from Beautiful Feet, an awesome organization that is based out of Florida. It is always so encouraging and amazing how the Lord uses simple vessels like us to minister His great love to His sons and daughters. Praying with people this summer at Miss Ruby’s house has been the deepest honor of my life. I look forward to every time, and want more of these times. (Look out friends and fam!)