Today we had the finals of our first annual spelling bee. Pictured are the finalists. The the winner was Reyna (far right). It was a good way to challenge kids. Next year they will have to include accent marks where appropriate, but this year we were a little more forgiving. 

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Spelling bee preliminary rounds

Today, we did the preliminary rounds for our first spelling bee (this is one of the second grade rooms). The concept of a spelling bee is new to them, but it has generated some excitement and we will, next week, crown a school champion.

Súper Blanca Brillante

  Last Saturday we had the Kids Bible club and we talked about Christian basics - only Jesus can forgive your sins. Here Barb is doing the drama "Súper Blanca Brillante" where she tries to push her new soap, that can clean any stain. 
  This is when a little girl shows up with a dirty heart and asks her to clean her heart which she says she can do but can't. In the program we go on to explain that only Jesus does this.
  Our kids should have vivid memories of this from their time in Nicaragua in the 90s. 

Library day

  Since we started a lending library at the school, once a week, the kids go through and exchange their books. Lending libraries are unheard of here and we were told we can't do it, but a love of reading will change their lives and we want to get books in their hands.
  The kids have a library card and they have to keep the books in plastic bags.
  Thanks to all who have helped with books - we have over 400, but our immediate goal is 1,000. 

Niños de Gracia

  Today we had our first kids Bible club meeting "GraceKids" or it's Spanish equivalent "Niños de Gracia". It is for kids form 5-12 years old, and designed especially for them. If you want to see a pic of them singing, look at  Te Doy Gloria
  We appreciate so much everyone that is helping this ministry.

From mud to gravel

Some of you may remember our journey in getting a bridge over the small creek leading to the school. One problem that has persisted is the sloppy mud on one side of the bridge. This week, the city of Nueva Guinea, with a donation from us, is grading the area and putting in gravel. Believe it or not, this is a big deal to us!

Independence Day

September is "El Mes de la Patria". Starting on September 1st, our truck was the float that led parade to kick off the month. Today, actual Independence Day, our teachers carried the banner to lead the parade. Since our kids are still too young to march, our teachers were asked to do this. We are in the rainy season, but fortunately, we were dry for the parade and the presentation of schools and awards in the baseball stadium.

Windows

Windows in our classroom - I didn't put them in originally because I thought "Why spend the money since we keep them open to get air all the time anyway."  Well, after several months without them and finding wasp nests under our desk and under the tables, we gained a new appreciation for the reason for windows even in a hot climate.

City wide competitions

  Had an interesting week at school. Our little school won, for the second time, the city wide competition for best ecological mural. Pictured are some of our staff and the judges. Our prizes included a white board, some brooms, and some disinfectant.
  Also, two of our preschool girls, Isdania and Yelitza came in second in a folkloric dance contest. In the picture, you can see some Christian banners in the background that we brought from Plano.

Mothers and grandmothers

  First grader Yuri (pronounced "Judy"), has latched on to Barb. She has had and continues to have a difficult family situation and I guess she found a new grandmother.

  At today's mother's day program, the teachers gave Barb a special gift recognizing her as the school's mother.

Barb not only teaches at our school, but is back in school at a local University. She's auditing an education class mostly to better understand the system here and learn the vocabulary. This photo shows the teacher (far left) and her new classmates.

Ready for music program

Brian, a second grader, always accompanies me on his air guitar. I think he is getting ready for the day we start our music program.


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Helping the Red Cross in Nueva Guinea

This is Jose from the local Red Cross here in Nueva Guinea. He supervises the x-ray department which has the only x-ray machine in the city. Thanks to PrimaCare (where I used to work) and for their donation, we were able to help Jose with some very much needed cassettes and a name flasher so the films can actually have patient information included. The cassettes he had been using were ones he had found in a trash bin and he had been hoping to get some better ones some day.

Learning English

A car wash business in Managua - trying to attract the English speaking crowd.

Meet "Stripes"

"Stripes" (kids here pronounce it "Estripes"), made a visit to Bible class at Manto de Gracia to tell kids about Holy Week and the death and resurrection of Jesus. He was a last minute fill in for the old stand-by "Eugenio". Turns out that Eugenio is stuck in a shed in Plano. A more serious problem, however, is that we originally picked the name Eugenio because it was so funky and easy to make fun of, but lo and behold we have a student named Eugenio enrolled this year and will tread a little softer.

No whining!

As we were setting up the rules for our classroom this year, there are some behaviors that we don't want, but we just can't explain in Spanish.

The Bible is like gum..

In the first weeks of school, we do an intro to the Bible - what it is, how it's made up, and how to use it. Barb is teaching that the Bible is like gum - it's no good to look at it or leave it on the table, you need to open it up, chew it and really experience it. By the way, the kids are not in uniform in this picture because it is "Crazy Wednesday" where they can wear regular clothes.

Progress happening

A cement truck - something you never saw in Nicaragua was caught pouring a street in Nueva Guinea. Our little rural town is in the process of transformation. We thank God for bringing us here and allowing us to participate in the kingdom work and the town grows.

Getting ready for new year

Coming on to the start of the new school year, we had our first parents meeting to share about the new year and what we expect of them. In spite of the serious faces you see here, it went really well - I shared the vision from 2Peter and then Rodíver, our principal, explained all the details of school policy, uniforms, books, discipline, etc. We will post more as the year kicks off.

Eating pancakes in Managua

Recently in Managua, to buy things for school, we went to the local pancake shop. Had seen the signs and wondered what GHOP was - we had a great meal at "George's House of Pancakes".

A blast from the past

As we were in Managua this week, buying things for school at PriceSmart (our kind of Sam's Club), we ran into Jairo & Lorenzana RodrÍguez. We worked with them in the early 90's developing the children's ministry in a good sized Managua congregation and have lots of memories with them. They are still in the ministry, and in spite of many trials, are going forward. They just looked a lot older to us, and unfortunately, us to them. Keep them in your prayers.

Jim & Pat Sorum

  Recently we traveled to South Dakota to visit our friends Jim & Pat Sorum (and kids Jamie, Micah, and Jacob). Jim has been deeply involved in Nicaragua since the late 80s and is currently part of our ministry board. Jim pastors a church in Rapid City where he works with the indigenous Lakota population. We are excited about the work they are doing and to see what God has for them in the future. We ask your prayers for them, their ministry, and their family.

Trip up north

  During our break from Nicaragua, we had the opportunity to not only see our families in New Mexico, but to visit Jim and Pat Sorum in South Dakota. They have been friends since we first met them in Nicaragua in the early 90s. Jim is also part of our ministry board. Soon I will do a blog on them and their ministry. We return to Nicaragua in mid January. Feliz año nuevo a todos!