Shawtys fiah is burnin’ in Nicaragua by Jon, Nick & Thelma

  Monkeys!!!!!!!!!!! So the CDCA has this fantastic monkey that has been around for a while that I got to play with today. Sadly she is tied up to a few trees outside of where we are staying, and we were asked not to interact with her more than feeding her. Things like that never quite stop me though So I went over and let her climb on me, and we took pictures and had a fairly novel time. Shhh don’t tell anyone. It was an interesting break from reality to be able to just play around with the monkey. Kind of a live in the moment type of thing. We have seen a lot over the past week, and not all of it has been particularly pretty. Managua is a huge city with people just packed in, and the poverty is very visible on almost every block. It is a very humbling experience when you think about it. Let’s not even get started on the history lessons we have had along the way. The perspectives offered by several of our speakers have been quite colorful to say the least, but they certainly have reason to be. So with all the seriousness we come back to the monkey, and perhaps how it is important to enjoy the simple things along the way. All the other blogs I am sure have expressed in more detail our crazy experiences over the past few days, and so I am just tossing that thought out there as a way of summing up a fun yet sobering trip. Never forget to stop and play with the monkey along the way It has been a fantastic trip, and now I’ll turn it over to my cowriters. That way they can stop giggling over my shoulder at all the innuendos they think they are reading on the page above. Off to the disco!      -Jon

Teeeeetthhhhh!!!!! So Rock Hill has this fantastic dentist that theyve been dragging along for a while. His name is Dirk Anderson and I’ve had the unique privledge of assisting him with dental procedures for most of the week! The clinic has an interesting process of giving out what they call “bonos” (short for probono) to people who either have a turn or do communit service for the clinic. A bono is basically a pass for one free visit to the dentist or whatever service the person needs at the clinic. So while Dr. Dirk is in town, aout 10-11 people a day are given one of these passes. We’ve don work including pulling teeth, adjusting bites, and filling cavities. I got to setup for each patient and got to find tools as well as getting to help with some more up close work like using mirrors to hold mouths open and and suctioning (Narcie would be cringing by now). I think one of the best parts of the whole experience was having to learn enough spanish to communicate effectively with patients. We’re running out of time to write so I’ll pass the writing over to Thelma!  -Nick

Concretttttttttttttttte!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So the battery on this laptop is about to die, so I sadly do not have much time (Jon and Nick took too long).  So I will talk briefly about my experience here.  So I have never done any construction work from scratch.  Here in Nicaragua, everything, and I mean everything is made from scratch.  This week, part of our role here was to help with the JHC center, and to help around their property.  Specifically, they had us make path stones for the entrance and help repair a sidewalk at the Health Clinic.  Let me tell y’all, I have a full appreciation for the work ethic these people have down here.  They work so hard and the processes they have to go through to achieve a result (in this specific case a smooth driveway and sidewalk).  And the crazy thing is they still have a smile on their face while they undergo the hard labor.  I have to tell you, managing a smile on your face while you are working in heat is not an easy task.  It has truly been an inspiration for me.  I have such an apprecaiton for the things I have back home.  I think if I saw the labor that went into every road I drive on, and every sidewalk I step foot on, I would appreciate things back home alot more.  I hope to take this reflective thought with me when I return home, and I hope to think about these people and their hard labor the next time I complain about something.  I adore everyone in the group, and I look forward to coming home and telling everyone at home the things I have learned about Nicaragua and also myself.  LET’S DANCE!   -Thelma

Nicaragua by Jordan

Hello lovely followers,

Our trip has been a very life changing opportunity for most of us. Today we continued to make wonderful cement blocks for the soon to be pathway to the Jubilee House. I think many of us have a new respect for construction workers; I know I do. I have found myself many times pondering the conversations and observations of these wonderful Nicaraguans only to come to a conclusion that many of their points of view, I agree in. The second part of our day was filled with more cement making (luckily not blocks) for a sidewalk. It was very encouraging to make this sidewalk because it was the entrance to Nueva Vida’s clinic. I think most of the Wesley group has learned that cement making is not easy!!!!!!!!!!!! As we worked we also experienced the poverty around us including children with no clothing, no toys, and no food. It hits your heart when you know you eat three meals a day while an average child in Nicaragua may only have one meal. I have had a wonderful week and I think that most of the group has reached outside of their comfort zone. One main point I want to take from this trip is this; though these people have nothing and some of them literatally have houses built of trash, they take care of each other. Many Nicaraguans have mentioned that it surprises them that the richest country in the world could let so many people be homeless. Though it saddens the heart to see the conditions that these people live in, most of them are happy! Nicaragua has truly reached in my heart and made me realize that no materialistic lifestyle HAS to be the pathway to happiness. I have seen everything from kids filling dirty water into a hole at the dump and swimming in it, to naked children running around and playing. But every child enjoys waving and smiling and it brings a new sense of joy and respect in my heart. I hope that everyone who reads this can take a step back and think about this blog.  I don’t think complaining about air conditioning in my car not working will cross my mind after I have been on a hot bus all week for transportation. I won’t complain about washing clothes in a washing machine because here, they scrub them on a washboard and hang them to dry. With all the worries in the world, mine are little to the ones that these people face everyday. Keep us in your prayers as we head back to the States tomorrow.

Love and peace to you all -

Jordan