Spring Update

Monthly Update:
God has smiled on me; He has set me free; God has smiled on me; He’s been good to me.
I hardly know where to begin but to tell you that I know I may have missed a month somewhere. For that I apologize. The work here continues and fatherhood, while I believe it agrees with me, has changed many, many things - as only those of you who have experienced it in this particular suddenness can relate. More on that later.
We are thankful as blessings continue to increase:
 We have moved into a new home with an additional living space, bedroom, bathroom, laundry room and rent.
 We have purchased a used car. Typical for Nicaragua it is a 15 year-old Toyota, diesel, 5-speed and 4X4. The turbo 4 cylinder gets close to 40 mph. It is solid and hopefully will last a long time.
 The family adjustments, while increasingly more challenging are not surprising and we have been able to keep a step ahead of these changes.
 We have found homes for all six of the new kittens and they have all gone to friends who will allow “The Two” to check up on them occasionally.
Challenges continue as well, and I think we are supposed to be thankful for them, too, but that is really hard:
 I am missing this time with family and friends in the States. It seems like these big changes in our lives should be shared with you but due process dictates otherwise.
 Sheila and “The Two” have been sick but seem to be cleared of it at this point. So I take my turn. Nothing major same old, same old – cough, breathing issues and the like. I’m sure if I were in the States I would just go to Fuddruckers - for medicinal purposes, of course.
 The mission work is busier than ever and we should be having a brief respite.
 After flying out of the gate like gangbusters in the adoption process we have hit a more realistic stride, which seems interminable. Due process…
 Personally, I find myself physically and mentally ready for the onslaught of summer, but emotionally am not there yet.
Vision screening is continuing at a slower pace.
The days of 500 pairs of eyes a day are past for the time being. Currently Misión Para Cristo is associated in some way with about 35 schools. The vast majority are very small (20-40 students each) and are fairly remote. So we are working to visit all of them, which is time consuming and rewarding in a different way. It is also difficult for children who receive a referral for follow up and glasses to get to Jinotega to be reexamined, glasses ordered and subsequently picked up. I take the mobile equipment to schools on Wednesdays and Sheila continues to open the local clinic on Thursdays. Included in this process is the installation of a new inventory system that will streamline our process significantly once it is fully at our disposal. These are both areas we once worked together, but “The Two” have resulted in needing more availability in our schedules.
Vision by the numbers, March & April 2015:
 Schools: 616 students and teachers screened, 47 referred, 24 pairs of glasses purchased
 Mobile Clinic: 82 children screened, 4 referred
 MPC Clinic: 45 adults screened, 12 referred, 101 pairs of used glasses dispensed.
Recently I had the opportunity to screen the vision of the students at the Max Senqui Special Needs School. We identified many vision correction needs, especially among the Downs Syndrome students. It has been a pleasure as they come in to show off their new glasses.
Children’s Programming
Sheila and I continue to work in various aspects of program development with the Nicaraguan churches. Consider this: have you ever tried to teach someone the value of teaching with a live skit when they have never seen one? This is the typical challenge we face. Teachers here know only one thing: Sit in a desk – that goes for school, church, waiting rooms, etc. From that point it is either color a picture or copy off the board – if they have one. They are literally scared to try anything new.
Figure 1: The Days of Creation in order game.
Figure 2: Sheila teaches with the aid of translator Amada.
We had the opportunity to teach about 45 people, representing a dozen or so congregations, methods in teaching Bible stories that do not require paper/copies. They were stunned. Felipe, one of the leaders of a group I work most with reported this: “I learned so much. This is a fun way to do things. Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?” Another leader from the group said, “For two weeks it has run more smoothly than ever before. The children are engaged and more interested than before and the group leaders are enjoying what they are doing even more.”
Continued adjustment for “The Two” (Okay, really it is for all four of us.)
We knew when we began to pray about this adoption process that the chances of it being a quick, simple ordeal would be slim to none. We have had our bumps as we look back on the first three months as a family. We recognize that these are the first of many. We know that God, time and counseling will help these two precious souls, whom God has chosen specifically for us, receive the best we are able to provide. It is a long road ahead, but we are comforted in knowing we are not alone on the journey.
This week we will celebrate “the boy’s” 6th birthday with a piñata, some friends, a cake and the Avengers.
The Two are adjusting and receiving counseling as one would expect. Sheila and I are adjusting also – maybe even more. We covet your prayers more than ever. Wisdom. Grace. Mercy.
We had our first home visit last month and expect another anytime in the next two months. Now, we wait some more. The subsequent visit will either say additional time for adaptation, or prepare the way for signing final legal documents. Due process…
I usually list a laundry list of the things for which we want to celebrate as blessings from God and what is needed for us. This month I am simply going to ask that you lift up Sheila, “The Two,” and me, as we continue to grow together. I ask that you thank God for the success we have experienced so far, for the future as it unfolds, and the capacity to lay it at the feet of the Master as He prepares us all to not only face the challenges that anyone raising children faces, but to excel as we conquer our “situation-specific” opportunities.
God has smiled on me; He has set me free; God has smiled on me; He’s been good to me

Well, that's a first.

This month has been full of firsts.

First time tying shoes.

First solo side-ponytail.

First word read.

And our first home visit.

It came during our first family sickness.
On a day when there hadn't been water in our house for at least 36 hours.

Visualize it for a minute.

Nobody's been cleaning up--we've been in the house for 3 days coughing and lazying around. There are corn flakes encrusted on the table, lonely socks dangling from the backs of chairs,
stuffed toys and blankets tangled around empty juice cups, DVD cases in a steadily growing dusty pile.

Mopping? Certainly not.
Dishes? All dirty. ALL. Did you know you can give cough syrup via spatula?

And then the phone rings: "We'll be there tomorrow morning. We'll talk and take some photos."

Photos? Can you imagine?

So we gathered up every large container we could find, drove to the mission and filled them with water, and proceeded to try and clean things up the best we could. Including our unshowered selves

And, yes, I absolutely did hide the dirty dishes in a suitcase. Another first.

simply the best

Adopting older children has some very specific challenges. But there are also some amazing and unique blessings. Among those: the freedom to brag unashamedly.

You know, most parents have to navigate a fine line---bragging on how great my kids are can be misconstrued as saying how great I am..."Look what awesome humans I have created and trained!"  But as adoptive parents of older children, who arrive in our home with a sense of who they are--we are free to tell about how neat they are, without fear of  self agrandizement.

Yesterday, as Jonathan was waiting at the school for classes to be released, a woman approached him requesting assistance with school related expenses. He explained, that while the Mision does have a program to help with those costs, the budget for uniforms had already been exhausted for the year, and most of the school supplies had already been distributed. She pressed, "But I just need one notebook. Even one notebook would help."  Before Jonathan could even respond, our son jumped in, "I have one that only has one used page, you can have it!" and proceeded to rip open his backpack, remove the one written on page and smilingly hand her his notebook--one of the few possessions he brought with him when transitioning to our home.  What a beautiful heart!

I am sure every parent acknowledges that the beauty we see in our children is merely a reflection of God's spirit in them, and no work of our own hands. But in our unique circumstance, raising kids who are not the "do-it-yourself-kit", it is so much more obvious. 

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.

Psalm 139: 13-14

Two weeks

Two Thursdays ago, we were granted custody of some beautiful people. We are now in a time of "adaptation" that should culminate in the legal process of "adoption". Officially, from a paperwork point of view, the process has just begun. Emotionally, from a bonding and healing point of view, the process has just begun. And yet, in some difficult to articulate way--there is a feeling of completion rather than initiation. There is some deep sigh of the heart finally at rest. There is some "click" of everything at last lining up in it's correct place.

How can it only be two weeks?

Two weeks ago, we had a special "meeting" to talk about what a family is. We clinked milk glasses, and signed pretend signatures to papers agreeing to work on being a family. Jonathan and I talked about what one, first "rule" or expectation did we need to present--just one thing to focus on for safety's sake. So at this special "meeting" we practiced Rule #1: "When we call, you come." As the week progressed, we gradually saw the power of our response to their calls as well. The phrases that have been said most often in our house these last few weeks are "Aqui estoy!" and "Me voy!" ("I am here!" and "I am coming!")

As I shout these words hundreds of times daily through bathroom doors, and from under piles of blankets, and across playgrounds, it is so clear to me, that I am not merely answering these little people, I am quoting scriptural promises.

From Genesis to Jesus final words at His ascension, The Book is full of God calling back to his insecure children, " I am with you." "I am coming."

These little ones need so much reassurance that these new parents of theirs can be counted on. And I will tell them a thousand times, " I am here." " I am coming."

Just as my Father keeps reassuring me every time I forget, or let fear take hold:

He is with me.
And He is coming.

Timing

During my first week as a student at Harding University, I heard someone say, "I've known her a couple of months, but they were 'Harding months'. It was the first time I had heard someone express this shared sense that at this stage of our life time was flowing differently. The beginning of our marriage was another wacky time when it felt like we were packing decades of "big experiences" into weeks and months. (got married, moved, changed jobs, moved again, took in foster kids, took in those kids' parents, family deaths, changed jobs again, foster kids returned to family, moved again)

 Neuroscientist  David Eagleman explains it like this:
The more detailed the memory, the longer the moment seems to last. This explains why we think that time speeds up when we grow older,—why childhood summers seem to go on forever, while old age slips by while we’re dozing. The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain writes down, and the more quickly time seems to pass.

While not the first time I've felt this way, the past month has been an amazing example of this phenomenon.  The calendar reminds us only a few weeks have passed, but they've been great big long ones--and it seems the coming weeks may be even bigger.

We returned from (what we thought of as) a whirlwind time in the US on December 13. We were settling in for some slow times, some waiting. We knew there wouldn't be many visiting groups to the mission for a while, we knew most government agencies and other organizations would be on holiday and in the reflective new year planning season. We saw this as a time to work on all those big projects that get shuffled to the back burner when things are hectic, and a time to focus on hospitality and relationships. The next few months were clearly going to be the sort that slip by all too quickly.

We worked on glasses inventory, planned for children's bible programs, delivered "smile boxes", sorted through boxes of donations, organized school supply distributions, and had various kids/teens parties at our house twice a week.

Then on January 13, precisely a month after our return to Nicaragua, we were sitting at our dining room table with two case workers from MiFamilia completing our adoption home study. I can't express how surprised we were with the timing. We delivered our paperwork to the ministry of families the day before we flew to the states in November, and based on the 20 months that it took to establish residency with the immigration department, we expected to settle in for a long wait before there was any action. But one week after dropping off an updated form, the case workers were asking folks around town their impressions of us.

Those same case workers explained the next steps in the process to us. They will prepare our report, it will be evaluated by the adoption council at their next monthly meeting. (*note that in this case "monthly" means they meet once during a month not necessarily that they meet every month). At that point, we will be given an appointment to come to Managua and find out if our application is approved or denied. If approved, our names go into the pool of families waiting to be matched with adoptive children. The case workers advised that the timing for this matching process is generally between six and eighteen months. After that comes an in-home adaptation period and if affirmed by the council, the legal process of formalizing an adoption can begin.

So, excited about this progress we returned to our projects, settling in for the first of many coming wait-ings to find out if we might be approved.

>>>>Now, I just have to insert that "waiting" has such a negative connotation to many people, but I find it kind of comforting. I think I am good at it. To me, waiting signifies that your actions/decisions are not needed. Your part, for now, is done. I like that feeling. Maybe that means I'm super-spiritually patient. Maybe that means that I'm far too lazy. Maybe it means that I am deeply indecisive. (Yeah, O.K., I know, it's not the first one.)

Just 23 short days from the home study a phone call came:
"Will you accept two children?"
"Will you come to Managua on Monday?"

These last few days have been long and passed slowly. Not just because we are too excited to sleep at night. There is so much to do, and think, and feel packed into so few hours. What happened to the waiting?

And suddenly it is Monday. We met with the ministry of family (who are sooooo nice!) and heard the case file on some precious little ones. In less than an hour we were headed across town to the shelter to meet them.

After a little while with balls, dolls and swings, the counselor and case worker were explaining that papers granting us permission for an off site visit were complete.  Lunch, playing, sight-seeing...the day was a whirlwind of play-dough and giggles and french fries and getting to know you questions.

And already, rather than feeling like the first day we met, it feels like the first night we are apart.

We dashed back to Jinotega to gather some clothes and make sure things are in order. Tomorrow we will head back to Managua for several days of visiting, followed (we all hope) by bringing these beautiful young hearts home.

During this period of adaptation, before the legal parts of the adoption take place, we will be tempering our excitement and desire to share every detail in order to protect the privacy and identity of P. and J. We hope you will use any moments of curiosity for details as a reminder to pray for these two very special and loved little ones.

Company

For the last few days we have had a house guest. His name is Ederson and he is 14 years old.  He is from the town of San Andres on the Rio Coco and has come to Jinotega, to further his education. 

A group of families from the church here have committed to helping him with this dream of his, and while we organize, arrange, and gather things like beds, and clothes and supplies...he's staying with us. He's such a neat guy! And we're having a blast learning from each other. 

Can you imagine? 14 years old, and you've left everything and everyone you know because you are so hungry for school? Aside from how hard being away from home would be for any kid, imagine the culture shock for this guy. His home is a place without water, electricity, or even a door. His town is a place without roads, advertising, or strangers. 

Here are a few of the things he's learned about this week--experiences I have lived in a new way through his eyes.

• flushing a toilet
• turning on a faucet
• turning lights on and off (it took him a couple of days to get brave enough for this one)
• feeling the coolness from the refrigerator
• walking in traffic
• tasting bread with jelly
• tasting an apple
• tasting a carrot
• television
• playing a video game (he hated it, by the way)
• taking a shower
• using a key in a lock
• going to a grocery store
• eating at a restaurant

He's a great storyteller, an amazing singer, and speaks three languages fluently. (Sadly for us both, English isn't one of them). He's deeply inquisitive, obviously brave, hard working, and plain 'ol hilarious. (Can you tell I totally want to be like Ederson when I grow up?) Here are a few of my favorite (roughly translated) quotes from the last few days: 

• "Can I try to make my own ice in there? How do you know how long it will take? How long will the ice last once it is frozen? Can I do it every day until I understand these things?"
•  "How do you know which trucks are going to stop so you can continue walking?"
• (While looking at photos of animals online and teaching each other names for them in various languages) "Oh wow! Pecary! They are my favorite. They are so beautiful. I love them. They taste better than toucans."
• "I've been inside the house so long I think I am turning white." (obviously teasing) "Is that what happened to you?"
• (Car alarm across the street going off) "Does that sound mean the car is broken? It isn't moving. It is broken. Why do they let that sound continue? Is someone going to stop that?"
• "Once while deep in the forest I found gold. After my dad sold it, he gave me new rubber boots. I teased him, 'I find a gold nugget and my only gift is boots? These must be expensive boots.' He said, 'Be quiet, we are getting a cow and you can follow it wearing your boots!'"
• (Teaching me words in Miskito) "That means the food is very delicious. You keep giving me cold things from that refrigerator without warning me, but I will still say delicious."

Please pray for Ederson. He is a special person facing some big challenges with incredible grace. 

Fruit of the Day: Bananas, yep, bananas

Mmm... bananas.
Don't give up on me yet. I know, bananas may not seem exotic and exciting--but this fruit of the day ends with the most delightful miserly moment of my very frugal life.

But first, bananas:

Bananas are great. Here, we have access to lots of different types of bananas including these tiny 'lil two bite bananas that are my very favorite. They are great because they stay really firm even when they are fully ripe. And look how cute and tiny they are!

Here are some other varieties I really like. The short fat ones are very very sweet compared with the grocery store bananas I used to know. The red ones, well, just look--they're red! Even the fruit inside is slightly orange-y pink.

wow. blurry AND badly lit. Well, just take my word for it. It's kinda orange-y pink, o.k.?

There are bunches of other kinds of bananas around here,(ha ha! "bunches", get it?!) including one that has three sides and one called "apple banana" that really does taste a bit like apple. (But it's not really time for those right now, so no pictures for you.) 

And then there are plantains. 

You probably know that plantains and bananas are not used in the same ways, but if you have some friends/enemies who don't know better, offer them a raw plantain to eat. HI-larious! No, really, it's a great party game: "bet-you-can't-eat-more-than-two-bites-of raw-plantain"

DISCLAIMER: **I do not know if there are negative health repercussions from excessive eating of raw plantain. I know that they are so hard and tanic that you probably can't chew them up and that when visitors here buy them for a snack they make humorous faces and end up spitting them out. I tried to check WebMD for symptoms related to raw plantain exposure, but of course, it just said "may be cancer" so I leave you to your own reserach**

Plantains can be cooked in many ways, and are used similarly to potatoes. They can be eaten when green, mature, or even when the skin is completely black. At this stage of ripeness they are still very very firm and removing the tough peeling requires you at least begin with a knife.  

My favorite thing to do with green plantains is to make tostones, a thick fried cake that is a terrific vehicle for piling good stuff like beans on.

Slice your plantains into chunks, fry for about 2 minutes until they lighten a bit and are soft enough to smash. Smash with a spoon, and it's back into the pan to crisp up. Traditionally you'd fry in oil both times, but sometimes I only use oil for the first fry and crisp up in a plain skillet. (insider tip: boiling will not work for this application. Ask my sticky gooey countertops how I know.)

Mmm...pile some onions and peppers on there, maybe some mashed beans, and dinner is done!

Even plantains come in a wide variety of types. Check out these weird, triangle potato plantains.
(I doubt that is their botanical name.)

A "bunch" of bananas here, refers to the whole hundred pound grouping that grows on the stalk. The amount a person would normally buy in a grocery store is usually called a "hand". Banana stalks are perennial, (you know, complete life cycle and die in one year) which is kind of amazing when you think how gigantic they are. It's been a blast having a banana in our yard, you can literally see a four foot long leaf grow in a single day. The bunch of fruit (well, berries for you science-y folk) grows very slowly from a huge alien looking flower, and did you remember that it can weigh a hundred pounds? Amazing. I could go on and on with facts about bananas, except I don't really know anything else about them. Besides, I promised at the beginning to reveal my most gloriously penny-pinching moment of all time.

O.K. Here it is. 

Wait, lemme back up a bit. 

Some of you have noticed that I really really enjoy being cheap. Particularly when it comes to food. I delight in figuring out ways to repurpose food that was destined for the dump into something good to eat. Yes, I've probably made some of you blush when I carried bones home from your house. (But come on, are you STILL not making bone broth? It is so delicious!) I realize that some people delight in savoring the finest ingredients, while I come from a family that gleefully served my new husband "road kill" on his first visit. (yes, really).

But even for me: this was pretty cheap. 
I made banana bread. 

Doesn't sound that weird to you? Well, I made it out of other old gross bread! No fresh flour at all. I saved up all the old dead biscuits, broken tortillas and dried up crusts of poorly executed sourdough bread I had made that week, ground them up and used them in place of actual dry ingredients to make the softest, sweetest, most delicious (albeit kinda dark looking) banana cranberry bread. And then I danced a weird little hopping jig all around the house like some fairy tail troll who has swindled the protagonist giggling at my cheapness and insisting: "Eat some! eat some! It's bread inception!" while Jonathan looked on slightly wide-eyed and for some reason started looking up phone numbers for mental health workers. 

Yep! Bananas. They can make most anything edible!