Summer Update

The Latest Update from the Hollands in Nicaragua

GLOW PLUGS

My truck, a 1999 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, is a diesel. It uses a glow plug. A glow plug is like the filament in a light bulb, except it takes a little more time to get hot. The purpose of the glow plug is to make sure the mixture of air and fuel are warmed so they will ignite. Without waiting for the glow plug to warm up the engine will usually not start. If it does start, it may not run well or may cause damage to the engine. (I got these facts from the Internet. I know nothing about glow plugs – or engines in general, except one has to wait for the squiggly light on the vehicle’s instrument panel to go off before starting a diesel engine.)

The glow plugs slow me down in the morning. Yet without it, I might not run at all. I have to take time in the morning to let it do its job. Sure, I could start the day without it and everything might turn out okay, or I can wait as I should and be secure in how things are intended to work.

When I wait on God’s timing everything works out better. When I force it, things go awry. It’s all about timing and as a confirmed impatient person I need a few more glow plugs to make me pay attention…and wait...and listen.

Lamentations 3:25-26 (CEV)

²⁵ The Lord is kind to everyone who trusts and obeys him.
²⁶ It is good to wait patiently for the Lord to save us.

INTERNS

Each year we have interns come and serve alongside us. These are college-aged men and women who provide leadership, muscle and youth that we lack. I cannot imagine trying to make it through a summer without them. In addition to the three contributions I noted above, they are a Godly example and Christian friends. I love them, miss them and look forward to seeing them again. Include a word of thanks to God for Jamie Rea Capri, Jamey Grimsely, Ben Tinsley and Logan Price - living examples of God’s blessings.

GUESTS

Misión Para Cristo has hosted 681 people this year. That is down from last year at this same point but is doesn’t physically feel like it.  J That translates into over 16,000 hours of labor for the Lord. By serving medically, constructing homes and taking the smile of Jesus into many schools, senior centers, maternity homes and day cares. These are doors North American guests open up for our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters to reach into.

VISION CLINIC

Sheila has continued to open the vision clinic each week. She has screened the vision of 578 this year and matched 514 pair of used prescription glasses. That is a success rate of 97.4%.  Nice…very nice!

CHILD VISION SCREENING

With the assistance of many of the North Americans, and one of our gifted translators, Amada Quintero, we were able to go to 32 schools, most of which are in the remote countryside of the Jinotega Department. We have screened 2,529 children. We have referred 143 of those screened and provided 78 pairs of new glasses for children. We are blessed with workers like Amada. She has done this so much of this she could take the equipment and run the program without me!

CHILDRENS’ PROGRAMMING

We continue to work to provide support in both curriculum and more modern teaching methods to churches looking to improve teaching techniques. We are striving to teach methods that are paperless as some old habits have led to a rut in how a lesson is presented. Specifically, the children, who love to color, are often given a color sheet that has nothing to do with, well, anything. We are working to provide items more on topic as well as teach that color sheets do not have to be king of the classroom.  Now, when we use a color sheet it is a vehicle for getting a Bible story into the child’s home.

·         The Apanas community hosts between 75 and 90 children every Saturday for their “Sunday School on Saturday.” In addition to writing (modifying) curriculum for them I work with the 3-to-5 year olds, of which there are normally 20 to 25. It is exhausting! The Girl has made several friends in the community and it has provided some great teachable moments as many of these new friends live in plastic shacks. We are seeing a compassionate side of her develop nicely. The preacher, Juan Carlos, leads with great energy and is teaching about 12 youngsters, ages 12 to 16, to lead the children. He then requires them to stay an additional hour for a Bible study just for them.

·         The Jinotega group currently hosts 55 to 75 each Sunday afternoon. My role with this group is strictly as the disciplinarian, trouble-shooter and financial resource manager. They call me when they need money. They operate pretty much without me and they do so very happily and very well.

·         “Desfile” [dez FEE lay] is the Spanish word for “parade.” At mid-term and at the end of the school year all the children march in the desfile with their school. There is always a host of photographers who, for about $2.50US will take a picture of your child. We do this at no charge and attach an invitation to the back of the photo. When the parent comes to the office, or we find them after school on the school grounds, we invite them to the Jinotega children’s class on Sunday. This week we had two new kids who came as a result of the invitations and three returned who had attended at the beginning, but had dropped out.

·         Sheila and I host from 25 to 45 each Tuesday night for Children’s English Class. English is being taught by way of Bible stories, songs and memory verses. Last week they presented the Spanish and English versions of “Trust and Obey” and quoted verses in both English and Spanish before the Jinotega congregation. We invited parents of the children who do not attend and were joined by eight parents who had never visited before. We are planning to have dinner with them next week.

RIO COCO WITH HARDING UNIVERSITY

I was granted another opportunity to visit the indigenous Miskito people of the Rio Coco. I escorted five Harding University students from the School of Leadership and Ministry. It was a blessing in that I had some insight into a younger generation – their humor, their commitment to God, and their interests in how God is working through us on the Rio Coco.

Here is the dilemma the students witnessed: One goal was to see that children in the six communities we visited received parasite medicines. To prevent parasites the local Ministry of Health has said that one 400mg tablet of Albendazole should be administered every six months. However, many of the children we saw already had parasites. The treatment for an existing condition is one 400mg Albedazole tablet a day for three days, taken with an antibiotic. We didn’t have enough Alebdazole and had no antibiotics to treat existing conditions.  I spoke with the local doctor and told him we need to come back with full regimens of parasite treatments. His response was, “Until you can clean the water, the parasites will always be an issue. And until the livestock can be contained, there will always be parasites in the water.” This is not a new problem nor is it one restricted to the Rio Coco of Nicaragua. It is just the one I have experienced. My charge to the next generation: Use the wisdom that God can do anything and everything and help solve the water issue in places like the Rio Coco.

THE TWO

We are in a holding pattern with the Ministry of Family and the adoption process. Although our patience is again being tested, we really are more at a pace the Ministry told us to expect. I guess we got spoiled by the way we flew through the initial steps.

The Two are improving with their school studies. The Boy is at the top of his class and The Girl made marked improvements over the last recording period. Sheila continues to teach them English daily. The Girl celebrated her birthday with friends, cake, a piñata and water balloon games. A good time was had by all! We have great photos we are anxiously awaiting finalization to share with you. The Two are enjoying the 5 not-puppies our cat had a month ago. The kittens are cute and I am excited that they will have new homes in about a month, but I will miss seeing The Two interact with them.

They also were excited to meet Tia Leanna (Patterson from Scurry, TX) and Prima Char (Charlstie Patterson of Searcy, AR is my sister Leanna’s eldest) who came for a visit the end of June. The Two have also spent some time visiting with the grandparents in New Mexico via Skype.

Other firsts for us since the last update: my first Father’s Day, our first family vacation, their first written words in English, and my first time getting to be the Tooth Fairy.

We are blessed. We know that any children with a history such as these who lived in minimal care homes and group home settings have a lot of adjusting to do. The Two are adjusting extremely well. We are new to their lives. Even though they fuss like all siblings, they also protect each other in unbelievable ways. We are blessed.

Our concert of prayer:

Prayers of Thanksgiving-

·         the rapid adjustment of The Two

·         the monthly financial blessing of so many individuals and families that aid us in our work here

·         the church families in Deming, NM and Eureka, IL who have chosen to include us in the mission programs

·         a dry home during this rainy season

·         small bumps in the road that remind us that our God is so big

Prayers of Supplication-

·         Deylin’s Mom, Cecilia*

·         Continued bonding and development as a family unit

·         A few additional donors to help fill the financial gap our family growth has created, and to cover the changes in the giving abilities of others.

·         Clean water for villages along the Rio Coco

*DEYLIN’S MOM

Meet Deylin. He just turned 10 and is a star pupil in both our Sunday class and Tuesday English class. He is regularly the first to have verses memorized. In the last series he was the top student and was awarded a bilingual Bible. Deylin plays on the Mission’s youth baseball team. In this photo he is wearing the glasses we were blessed to help him get. Deylin is quiet, respectful and sweet. He comes from the poorest neighborhood in Jinotega. We have just recently learned that his mother, about 35 years old, is suffering from cancer, and not just a little. We are proud of who Deylin is and his impressive work ethic. He is a special young man. Please include him, his mother, Cecilia, his older brother and father in your prayers as we minister to them.

APOLOGY…AGAIN

I know this sounds like a broken record and I am sorry to do this again, but…I apologize for the tardiness (which leads to the lengthiness) of this report. I make no excuses, but ask for forgiveness and understanding. So, until the next apology, blessings to you all.

Jonathan, Sheila and The Two 

Stinky Tuesdays

Tuesdays are very full. Tuesday is the day the vision clinic is open to the general public, and the night that we teach our English-outreach children's Bible class.

Tuesdays are also like the late February of the week. The time when all my "New Year's Resolutions" for a new week smack up into the reality of just serving Ramen noodles for lunch, and convincing myself I don't really have to wash the towels yet.

Tuesday's are the days I struggle most with the reality that wanting to "be a worker for the Lord" means your feet are going to hurt and that folks don't get the nickname "the least of these" by being charming.

Tuesdays are all too often the days that I don't want to do the things the calendar tells me it is time to do. Tuesdays are the days I struggle most with a grumpy attitude of selfishness.

Tuesdays can stink.

I mean this literally. The kids who come to our Bible class are among the poorest in the city. When your house is plastic, your floor is dirt, and you have only a few changes of clothes, being clean is not simple. There are some super cool kids we've known for years, and some wild free-range kids, who we are just getting to know. They are neat and special. But not necessarily easy to be around, and some are decidedly stinky.

Visitors to the vision clinic are also quite a cross section. Some have traveled from very rural places, others have just wandered in from the market. Some are acutely aware of their vision needs and are seeking specific solutions. Others are mainly bored and lonely and just looking for compassion in any form. Some are grateful and gracious and kind. Some are rude and demanding and frustrating. And some are very very stinky.

James 2 talks so specifically about our worldly tendency to struggle with loving the unlovable. Our trouble overcoming the urge to ignore and shoo away the stinky in favor of those who speak and act in more acceptable, familiar, comfortable ways.

James 2:2 For example, a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. 3 If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor man, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,” 4 haven’t you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

This Tuesday as I sat beside a very poor "campesina" (country peasant) trying on various pairs of glasses I was reflecting on these verses. I was quoting them to myself in some mixture of exhortation and self-congratulation...

"Wow. My understanding of this chapter is so practical and tangible. It IS harder to give the same attention to this very smelly very dirty woman than it was to that clean professional worker a few minutes ago. And of course, it's not just the physical things--she is so reticent to speak, so clearly uncomfortable, but I am being patient and understanding.  I obviously need to keep working on all this, but I am really getting a chance to practice not showing favoritism in concrete ways and while I may be struggling a bit with it, I AM doing it. So, that's a first step, right? I am probably way better at this than a lot of people I know who would not hide their sentiments as well as I am. I mean, we all know we shouldn't value this smelly dirty lady less, but it's hard not to let that show. And after all, I am sitting right here with her, hugging on her and everything. Yep. I'm pretty awesome."

That's when it happened.
She left.
But the smell didn't.

Yea--that's right. That horrible dirty person smell was me.
I'd been congratulating myself for putting up with...myself.

Sometimes Tuesday stink. And I am the one who is stinking them up.

It shouldn't surprise me. He tried to tell us:

1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

Luke 6: 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.