Navidad de Nicaragua

While we were in the states at Thanksgiving time, lots of people asked me, "So what is Christmas like in Nicaragua." All I could answer was, "I dunno--haven't been there."
Now I have been there--and I probably still don't know.
Here, just like in your town, there are probably as many variations of celebrations for as many different reasons as their are houses on the street. But here are some generalizations and reflections from my first Nica Christmas.

It was neat!
Christmas Eve is the bigger holiday here and on the 24th we were so blessed to be invited to the home of a fantastically fun family.  We laughed and told stories about our families. We ate chicken, rice, yucca, and salad. We drank Coke and ate a spicy gelatin desert (with sprinkles!) out in the garden as neighbors came and went bringing greetings. The kids performed goofy magic tricks and we giggled and teased. We played silly parlor games in the living room--8 of us sharing a couch and one chair--and felt completely at home with our Christian family.

Their house, like almost every home I could peek into, was decorated for the holiday. In a few houses we saw tabletop Christmas trees, in others Nativity displays. Most had some kind of lights somewhere around the house. Even those without what I normally recognize as coming from the Christmas-decoration-aisle of the store decorated with clay bells, lacy curtains hung on walls, garlands of flowers or paper, or something sparkly.

As Jonathan mentioned here, gifts/packages/presents are not really in evidence. But there is definitely a spirit of sharing and giving. As we hung out with our friends, I was amazed when the 9 and 11 year old ran out into the street saying, "We are Santa Claus! Go get all the kids! We have lots of candies to give them!" The 11 year old girl took her whole stash of about a dozen small individually wrapped pieces of hard candy and gum and gave them to the lined up group of younger neighbors--completely delighted to be giving away every last piece.

It sounds so cliche' to say that it was a time about "giving and sharing"--except that it was. As the night got later people drifted out into the streets to greet their neighbors and watch as kids played with fireworks. Ah--the fireworks. Every house on the block we were on had kids out front with sparklers and roman candles and other loud and sparkly things. But that didn't prepare us in the least for what happened at midnight.

We'd been hearing fireworks off and on for a week--and the frequency was certainly increasing--but we still weren't prepared for midnight. Around 11:30 the frequency of the familiar "pop" was every few seconds or so, so we headed up to the roof to watch.
Wow.
Jonathan said, "This must be what it was like in Beirut in the 80's." Non-stop rockets from every direction possible. Sometimes aiming up in to the air--sometimes, it seemed, in our direction. Imagine the kind of fireworks display a small town puts on down at the baseball field--but coming from every direction at once. When midnight rolled around there was an undeniable sense of common celebration. Every person in town was having this same experience of hearing the booming echoing off the mountains and seeing the sky light up again and again.

The fireworks really exemplify the public nature of the celebration here. You can't shoot off fireworks for yourself. By their nature, they are a shared experience. And that's the biggest thing I noticed about this Christmas: it only exists if shared.
I think that's so appropriate.
I pray I carry this lesson with me through this new year.

Wise words from a friend

I bet you have one. Maybe not all the time, but I bet there is someone who shows up in your life to bring wisdom to you at just the right times. Maybe they are words of encouragement, maybe loving rebuke, maybe they "explained the way of God more accurately" to you. I am so blessed in this particular season of my life to have several people like that. Some are friends who've been speaking wisdom to me for years, some are faceless voices on the internet that share what they're learning. People who let God use them to share wisdom in just the perfect dosage on the perfect schedule for me to take it in.

Debbie B. is one of those women who is always doling out wisdom in my direction (and many other people's as well) in loving little morsels. I wish I could share with you all the things I learn from her--but I couldn't resist sharing this one tidbit from a recent letter.

Hi Sheila!

I am so exhausted tonight, this morning, whatever it is. We had the party and gift giving at Riverside tonight and it could not have gone better. These children are so sweet and gracious, and the gratitude and thankfulness that came in the form of tears in their mamma's eyes was so touching. We were so blessed. I am so blessed by those who help me in this work. Jonathan would be so blown away by the loving hearts of these lovely Christian people. Many of them you don't know because they are new to GCOC, but you would love their giving hearts. Mark and I have been unwinding and talking about the good time we had tonight (I couldn't have done this without him, he started early with a funeral and went right into doing whatever he could for me) and the holidays and precious time with our children and grandchildren. This has been a good day....and I'm relieved it's over. I think you may know what I mean. 

I really loved the list you made and especially the story you told about Luis. I'd like to meet him. The more I devote my life to serving others the less pretentious I become and the less I care about things of this world. I think some of this comes from becoming older and wiser, but most of it comes from serving others, making myself exhausted for others and really putting myself second. I think I like this person I am. BUT, now I have to be careful not to become too judgmental of others who are not in the place that I'm in, serving in the way I am. I need to leave that to God. I remind myself that I still have growing to do and that's enough for me to worry about.  

Well, enough of that. I'd better get to bed. I think I've finally unwound enough to go to sleep. We still have gifts to give out so we'll need to go to their homes and deliver in the next few days.

Blessings on you both during this busy holiday season. Do you have a Christmas tree? I'd be interested to hear how the people of Nicaragua celebrate Christmas and I bet your other readers would be interested too. Love, ~Debbie

Go back and read that part I italicized. Go on.

!

That's the Christian I want to be all summed up in half a paragraph. 

I love, love, love that phrase "making myself exhausted for others". Listen to how she explains that exhausting herself for others is what helped her find balance in accepting and loving who she is, and accepting and loving others wherever they are, in humility before God. 

I don't know who your wise friends are--but I am confident God has put some in your path. I know I am so grateful for what I learn from mine. 

^{2 Corinthians 3:5} Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,⁶ who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Yes, Victor, there is a Santa Claus

Mi amigo, Victor

Sheila and I have the opportunity to spend time with a six year-old named Victor. Frequently he sits with us during church. Victor is, well...active. Yes, let's use the word active to describe Victor. He is the only boy in his family and is everything you could imagine a six year-old boy to be. He is rambunctious, likes to sing in church, really enjoys attention, pesters his sisters and cousin, finds it a challenge to sit still and loves to give hugs.

Like most families here in Nicaragua, his is challenged to make ends meet on the most meager of incomes. Recently I asked Victor about the visit Santa Claus will be making at his home. He immediately and repeatedly protested, "¡Él no es real!, ¡Él no es real!, ¡Él no es real! (He is not real!, He is not real!...)

I was first caught by surprise, then saddened, that such a young child did not believe in Santa Claus. This prompted me to do a little research into the Nicaraguan version of the Christmas holiday. I asked Alberto, the mission's school director, what traditions were observed at Christmas. His answer was simple enough: Nicaraguans will put a tree to decorate if they are able to go and cut one down somewhere and find a way to haul it home. They will get together with family and enjoy feast, most likely made up of once-a-year food items that are often beyond the financial limits for regular meals. They will dress in their nicest clothes - new ones if they are in the budget. They will spend time together as a family. So far, this probably doesn't sound too far from what we experience in the US.

Here's the real difference: Are you ready? Are you sitting down? NO GIFTS. PERIOD. Nicaraguans don't exchange gifts. Therefore, Santa Claus -the bringer of gifts- is not real. ¡Él no es real! Wrapping paper isn't even sold in stores here. Santa, or someone to tell your wishes to with hopes that they magically appear under the tree Christmas morning, is not real. Maybe it's a result of the tight budgets on which these families live. But it might be because their focus on Christmas is one of faith and family, not gift giving. I know we refer back to the wise men presenting Baby Jesus with gifts as the reason we include gift giving as part of the Christmas tradition. It's okay with me either way. Personally, I think the process of teaching a giving spirit to those around us manifests itself this time of year better than any other.

Regressing back to a simpler celebration as Sheila and I will observe in Nicaragua this year I am reminded that Ol' Saint Nick symbolizes the spirit of giving. And that giving does not have to be a material possession. It can be time with family, a shared thought of good will and an opportunity to promote peace right where you are, Hmm...peace on earth good will to men.

Boys exploring the goods from their Smile Boxes

Our Christmas this year? It has already begun by taking "Smile Boxes," which are Christmas gifts from the US to children here to various sites. Mision Para Cristo will play a part in distributing some 11,000 boxes this year. Christmas Eve we will go to the farm of a local man who is wealthy and he will put up a piñata for local children. Then we will play baseball and eat soup. Christmas Day we will just "hang out" with a member of the local church and his family - just family and faith. So, yes, Victor there is a Santa Claus. You may not be able to recognize him in the form in which he presents himself to you until you are older. But he, at least the spirit he represents, is alive and well in Nicaragua.

My first "smile"

Yesterday Jonathan and I got the opportunity to go deliver some "Smile boxes" in the community of Santa Barbra. What a treat! This community is not reachable by vehicle so after about an hour of driving we had a half hour walk to the school. Since we knew we'd be carrying the gifts in, the guys in the warehouse sent us with gift packs in big bags instead of boxes.

yes, the bridge was swinging and yes, I was visualizing an Indiana Jones movie

A few minutes into our hike, the teacher met us--and brought a man who had a horse. Jonathan said it was the second most grateful he had ever felt to see a horse. (for the most grateful, see here.)

thanks, horse! now nobody has to carry two boxes. whew!

It was a very different landscape then anyplace I'd been in Nicaragua. Less mountainous, less jungle-y, in places almost desert-like. Trees 20 feet tall that look like prickly-pear at the top, strange flowering vines with huge thorns that embed themselves in the trees. We crossed and re-crossed little streams as we headed further into the valley. Down in the riverbed huge trees blocked out so much light that we walked on bare ground through a silent cathedral-like space. 

We arrived at the village to find all the students and some parents waiting for us at the school. The school year has ended, so this correlates to "summer vacation" time, and they certainly had no idea when we might arrive--but everyone was there waiting for us. 

A very shy group, even Jonathan's most reliable jokes and goofs brought only tentative smiles that quickly ducked behind mom or sister's back. And the camera lens brought about wide eyed and stoic faces along with plenty of silence. But when the gifts were placed in their hands--faces lit up in smiles they just couldn't hold back. 

I've been blessed to be part of toy, clothing, and food distributions many times in my life. And I have always been grateful for the special privilege of seeing that smile of gratitude. But these smiles were different--special. Deep, serious smiles. Quiet, not-for-the-camera smiles. Joyful, completely contented smiles.

So, how far would I go for such a smile? How far would you?

Walk a few miles with a box on my head? Yep. 

Pack up dozens and hundreds and thousands of toys and candies and socks and ship them across a continent? Yep.

Spend hours in warehouses labeling, tracking, and organizing? Yep.

Walk the aisles at busy stores, buying the whole bin when you find that great deal? Yep.

Spend Saturdays selling brownies and cupcakes to raise money for a shipping container? Yep.

All for a special smile. 

To each of you who had a hand in the smiles at Santa Barbra--or elsewhere--Thank you. 

Remembering Home

We weren't really gone that long.

But coming back to Nicaragua this time, I am struck with how much I had forgotten about how things are here.

I forgot about:

• the flowers on the hillsides
• dusty feet
• mosquitoes
• the singsong call of vendors in the market
• power outages
• buying just how much you need for today
• how complex achieving a shower can be
• a deep sincere hospitality 
• the noise and commotion of streets full of buses, horses, and bike carts
• butterflies on hanging vines
• that smell
• strangers stopping to push your vehicle over a hump 
• the pace of a meal, or a business transaction
• stopping in the street to greet friends
• the feeling of needing to rely on others
• eating rice with three fingers
• the lack of pretension**
• the openness and camaraderie born of a life not built around privacy
• the morning mists on the mountains
• the fine art of leaning in a doorway

**OK--I won't explain all of these, but this one example is too perfect to pass up. Our dear brother Luis stood up in church to lead a prayer, to a flurry of good-natured giggles. He had been half way through his Sunday morning buzz cut when the power went out. So there he stood, half his hair a quarter inch long the rest about three times as tall. No embarrassment, no mockery, just an amused acceptance of the way things go sometimes.

I am amazed and grateful for the welcoming spirit of my brothers and sisters in Nicaragua that make this exotic, strange place feel so familiar and so much my home.

Thoughtful Thankmas

A few years ago Frank Costanza (the character played by Jerry Stiller on Seinfeld) developed a holiday he called "Festivus- a holiday for the rest of us." I think in his attempt to make a new tradition based on suiting his personal needs, he may have stumbled upon something.

I made an agreement with my siblings that, due to travel limitations and their involvement in support of our work in Nicaragua, we would not be exchanging gifts with them this holiday season. We did not get the word to Sheila's parents and the result was a wonderful, perspective-changing holiday I have named "Thankmas."

Thankmas this year fell on the second Wednesday of December which is just about halfway between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This date was chosen because it happened to be one of the few days Sheila and I were actually in New Mexico visiting her parents. This is a holiday where individuals are showered with gifts specific to their needs wants. It comes with the understanding that if there is not room or if weight restrictions keep it from making the subsequent flight, no one will call "foul."

Never did I think I would get excited about opening a Christmas gift - from here on known as a Thankmas gift - that contained a jar of peanut butter or Nutella. Both Nutella and peanut butter are available in Nicaragua, but only the extremely wealthy (of which there are few) can afford it. We are talking about a single, small jar costing upwards of $7 or $8. Beef jerky is not even available. Hairspray (Allow me to interject here: I have a saying: "I may be fat and ugly, but God gave me good hair." So, yes, I use hair spray and other product.) is not available in Nicaragua, hence great appreciation for the carefully selected can of men's hairspray.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch, my all-time favorite breakfast cereal - by the way, it's not just for breakfast anymore - is not a purchase one would make in Nicaragua, but is the perfect Thankmas gift. Cans of green beans, with their limited availability and high price tag, are also great Thankmas gifts.

Another part of the Thankmas tradition is to have all the favorite traditional Thanksgiving foods (Turkey and all the trimmings) one day and Christmas ham with its accouterments the next. Yes, it is a great deal of food, but the makers of my cholesterol and blood pressure medicines heartily endorse the tradition of my newly founded holiday.

The conclusion of the Thankmas holiday includes spreading out all the gifts received to plan their destination in our luggage. One cannot help but recognize what a blessing it is to be around others who not only know what you miss while in a developing nation, but appreciate that space and weight will impact what actually make the trip without hurt feelings.

The Thankmas celebration has brought to light what we already knew. There is a line between need and want. We have seen the "need" of those around us and have felt the "want" of things we miss. We are blessed to have family on both sides of the Clark and Holland clans willing to be flexible with specific wishes, whether spoken or unspoken. We were given the opportunity to see "wants" answered from our perception of a comfort item verses holiday fluff gifts that crowd luggage and take up space unnecessarily  These items presented a different warm feeling that showed some fore-thoughtfulness that we miss sometimes in trying to hunt for "the right" gifts.

God is good - all the time. And we really feel His caring arms through loved ones during Thankmas. So in addition to wishing you Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas, we offer up to you a very Thoughtful Thankmas.

Home Church

As we prepared to make this particular "run" back to The States, many people asked me if we were going to be able to visit our "home church." I'm sure I made my answer longer than necessary (and not just because that is my particular gift) because I didn't quite know how to respond. Is my home church the one I was at last? The one I was at longest? The ones that financially support me? The one where I have the most friends? What makes it "home"? And my answer probably sounded preachy and Sunday school-ish referring to how everywhere the Church is one--and we are all family wherever we are--and I am home wherever I am--blah blah blah.

But I mean all that. I just couldn't quite sum it up.
Worshiping here in Deming, New Mexico the last few weeks has helped the picture solidify in my mind--maybe I can explain:

There is something so deeply alike about worshiping in Deming and Jinotega. Both congregations will have around 40 people. Both rotate through a list of men to preach, or lead singing. Both use buildings that sometimes cause distractions--too cold, loud fans, too many dogs, noisy streets. Both struggle to find bible class teachers, and have little in the way of supplies. Neither have what some would consider exciting programs or events that they are promoting. Both are populated by members that are not most marketer's demographic target.

But the feeling of familiarity between the two is not about the physical, temporal similarities.

I think it might be about the announcements.

In Jinotega and Deming the announcements are anticipated instead of begrudged. They are full of detailed and specific information about members' lives--and the entire audience wants to know all of it. Did you really hear that part? People want to hear the announcements.

In Deming and Jinotega, the big draw--the part nobody would miss--is the shaking hands and hugging  before and after the formal assembly. What makes these two congregations so alike is that they want to congregate. They want to be together. Nobody is rushing out the door to get back to where they'd rather be. Nobody is ducking behind a ficus tree to avoid talking to that one weird guy. Nobody is prearranging signals with their spouse to avoid a lunch invitation from the family whose kids they'd rather not hang around with. Nobody is timing their exit from a row of pews to be sure and miss that woman they're kind of put out with.

Neither group is particularly glamorous or overtly lovable. In both buildings you're gonna end up hugging somebody who smells kinda funny. In both worship services the members will have to pull together to pull the song leader out of the mess he's gotten us all into. The scripture reader might not be particularly literate, or the teacher may forget what he was going to say. The listeners in each auditorium must be patient, and work hard to understand--to overcome hearing issues or second language issues. In both assemblies, you will hear an update on a brother who is struggling with the same struggle he's been struggling with since the last time you were there. But the brothers will still care about him, still ask about him, still pray together for him.

At this time of year, it seems everywhere I look I see some stylized vignette of "home".  But what is it that makes home so special? What is that intangible something that Pilsbury and Folgers and Halmark commercials are trying so hard to make us visualize?

To me--home is where people will tell, and listen to the same tired stories again and again. Where the projects that are not up to Pinterest standards are still celebrated. Where your hair can stick up and you can smell kinda funny, and still get your hugs. We want home to be the place where each person is not just accepted but cherished.

Isn't that what we want a home church to be?

So how do Jinotega and Deming do it? They are bodies with plenty of problems. They each have plenty of reasons to become discouraged. But they sincerely love each other--and when they focus on that, they make a beautiful home.

So start listening to the announcements. Maybe you'll realize you are home.

John 13: 34-35 “I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you. If you love one another, everyone will know you are my disciples.”

December 2012

Why is "vacation" always so tiring?

Since we have returned to the US just prior to Thanksgiving we have burnt up I-35 between the airport in Austin and the Dallas-Ft. Worth area (and beyond).  We have had some good meetings and enjoyed time with family.

As of this writing, Sheila is at the home of her parents in southern New Mexico and I am preparing for the second of two school field trips with a small school district north of Mt.Pleasant, TX. This is a contractual, consulting relationship that dates back almost 20 years. This year more than any I am aware of the 20 years that have passed under the bridge since I first started the 3-day field trip business.

We are enjoying our time here in the states, yet our thoughts are also pulled to those we love in Nicaragua, and we look forward to our return there in mid-December.

Recently we sent out a thank you to each of you with a request regarding future financial support. Some of you have not yet responded, some of you have indicated you would be able to meet the small increase and some have noted that they must reduce financially for whatever reason. The beauty of this is that, of those responding, without doubt are continuing  spiritual support through the awesome power of prayer.

As I look forward to celebrating my first anniversary of moving to Nicaragua, facing some additional financial challenges, I am at peace and confident of what lies ahead because of your commitment to maintain your spiritual support. God is good...all the time. I don't know if God's plan is for us to stay through January 2013 or January 2033, but rest in the comfort that God is in control.

One of the logistical changes we as a foundation made in the past year is that we have a new mailing address. I am taking this opportunity to remind those of you who send an annual donation to use the post office box address. 

The address is:

SFSE

PO Box 903

Georgetown, TX 78627

Finally, we are working hard to continue doing what we have always done. We are fitting more glasses in Nicaragua and continue to answer the bell when called upon by those seeking general benevolence assistance in the US.

Our next scheduled trip is set for mid-January when we return for the medical mission conference and the annual Mision Para Cristo Gala - both to be held in the Dallas area.

Until then...

Jonathan and Sheila