Nutrition Center

IGNITE is a club we offer at Nicaragua Christian Academy to encourage our high school students to be serving in their own country. This year we have painted at a very needy Nicaraguan school, gone to the city dump, helped construct homes for former prostitutes, and last week we visited the Nutrition Center. The Nutrition Center is a place for children who have been neglected or are severely malnourished. Presently there are 30 children at the center, but there are so many more children in Nicaragua who are also in need of this support.
The stories about these children fill my heart with sadness. These children are born into families of people who are suffering from alcoholism, poverty, and lack a good family structure. It's sad to see the victims being the children; that they are the ones who are suffering the most. Many of these children were neglected and left to die on the street or bush, but by the grace of God they were found and brought to the center. Some of the children have fetal alcohol syndrome, chronic malnutrition, and brain damage; but they are all lacking the love they need.

Last Saturday the IGNITE group went to spend time with these kids. We colored pictures, read books, played games, and just showered the children with love.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:40

La Prensa

Today I took my class to La Prensa which is the name of the newspaper produced here in Managua. The grandfather of two of my students is the owner, which made it easy to arrange. The students were able to go into the library where all the back issues of La Prensa are being preserved. These papers have made it through the hands of numerous owners, three name changes, and the war. In the picture above students are looking at a newspaper from 1978, during the time of the war here in Nicaragua. At that time the paper was being sold for 75 centavos (100 centavos = 1 cordaba). Now the paper is sold for 5 cordabas (18 cordabas = 1 US dollar).

The paper is produced every morning. For one paper, 16 of the rolls that are shown behind my students are used. Amongst the rolls of paper is Chapito, the mascot for La Prensa. While on the tour we had a journalist and photographer following along with us. Some of the students were interviewed so we are hoping for some space in La Prensa soon. Capito is the name given to a very small pencil. He came along with us on the tour and my students absolutely adored him. Miguel is pictured here with Capito, but in fact he was by his side the whole time. They just loved giving this soft, furry pencil big bear hugs. As one student said, "I have a new best friend now." Thanks Capito!

Quesillos

For my first blog posting, I thought I would share my most recent experience of making tortillas. Since January I've started taking Spanish classes again. Ena Patricia is my co-worker at NCA and after some hesitation agreed to be my teacher. I've learned alot more than Spanish in class; our conversations have led me to learn and understand alot more about the culture and traditions in Nicaragua. This week Ena invited me to her home to make tortillas. Sounds easy I know, but when you're learning from someone who has done it a million times it can be a little intimidating. There's a fine art to making a good tortilla, but I found out early on that Kate was a better tortilla maker than I. The first challenge is to learn the rythm of making a perfectly flat and round tortilla. The second challenge is putting it onto a very hot flat metal surface called a comal. The test of a good tortilla is if it puffs up the second time you turn it over. By my third or fourth tortilla, mine puffed too!
So then what? All that hard work ended in a delicious meal of quesillos. A quesillo is made by taking a homemade corn tortilla, quesillo (a Nica cheese), sour cream, onions, and a pinch of salt. This with a side of gallo pinto (rice and beans) made for a delicious meal. If that wasn't perfect enough, I might also mention that this night welcomed in the first rains of the season with a crash and a bang of a thunderstorm. And yes of course, what would be a meal without the power flickering in and out.