Wednesday, August 10

Belly Button Day & Self Care 

Today is Wednesday or as affectionately called in Nicaragua, “Belly Button Day.”  Exchanging that term with the American term of hump day with our hosts is a simple example of the ease and openness we’ve found ourselves surrounded with here.  The interaction between our team members from the U.S. and the AMC staff has been incredible and such a blessing for us all.  We’ve shared many conversations that have developed our understanding and knowledge about Nicaraguan culture and its current struggles and successes in history and today as well as sharing our personal stories and what has brought us together.  It has been enriching to share meals, rides, work and laughs with our AMC partners.

Rockin on!

At the New Jerusalem Land Bank, we continued to ROCK as a well-oiled machine gathering and passing along rocks in our human conveyer belt to the area where the construction crew (4 man team) diligently continued their work in digging the bridge footer pad foundations.  During our break Julio and Nester found some gocote fruit and were excited to share this tart/sour fruit with us.  Matt enjoyed them so much he ate 5 with a big smile on his face and an enthusiastic thumbs up.  The others, including me, were happy to sample them for a new taste experience and decided that they were interesting.  The rest of the morning was spent moving 120lb boulders and smaller rocks, diverting the river away from the eroding bank, picking up litter (my obsession) and wrapping up work before a late lunch with an awesome yoga session led by our resident yoga master, Alex.  Thanks Alex for keeping us all grounded and nimble.

Who knew how entertaining it could be to watch chickens, roosters and ducks run around chasing rice and peas?  We had many laughs and some flying poultry during our lunch break as we nourished our bodies and shared community at the work site.

The late afternoon held a new plan and we headed for La Dalhia, a town about hour away from the New Jerusalem Land Bank.  On our way from the work site, we stopped at the “ranch” and did a quick change and grabbed Alex’s computer and headed to the AMC office in La Dalhia. There we met the staff and learned about their local programs that include sex and pregnancy prevention education, agricultural development and support programs and pharmacy services.  This office serves the surrounding communities with a population of ~60k and provides direct services to about 10k people.  The staff is truly impressive in their energy and commitment and have made a large, positive impact in this area.

Alex stayed behind at the AMC building to check-in via the internet and upload our blog posts from the past 2 days.  The rest of us, riding in the ambulance and pick up truck, always an adventure, headed to the gas station.  This was not like any gas station I’d every been to.  Yes, it had gas and a convenience store like so many American gas stations do, but it also had a specialty store, car wash, ice cream parlor, internet café, playground, amazing mountain views (complete with a rainbow) and 5-star bathrooms.  Too bad we did not have time to log into Travelocity to write a review and put this place on the internet must-visit list; we’ll have to do that when we are back home.

 

Our evenings wrap up with a devotional time and Brinna led our time tonight with the message and reflection on self-care. Since we all express our faith through service, Brinna reminded us that we also need to care for ourselves to be able to serve others well.  After sharing our individual ways we practice self-care, Martha reflected on the actions of Jesus and pointed out that even Jesus took time for himself.  Alex restated this thought as, “Everyone poops, even Jesus.”  Martha added, “Yes, Holy S _ _ t!” 

I hope by this long entry you can get a feel for how this mission trip or what may be better described as a spiritual journey is unfolding.  Our days are filled with encounters, activities, exchanges, moments that can be taken for granted as we rush through life or can be lived in the moment and used to enrich and deepen our understanding of ourselves, our faith, our community, our purpose and God’s presence in our life.  I am so thankful for this opportunity to stop and live in the moment and be a part of this team of unique and caring individuals in this beautiful country.   Oh, and the laughter is awesome too! 

Blessings ~Marianne

for Nicaragua VIM Team