Plugged In?

Here's a photo entry of our retreat this year with the 4th-6th graders. It's hard to believe that this is the 3rd year we've done this retreat. I continue to be motivated to plan this event because of the shine in the kids eyes as they participate in all the activities. It has also proven to be a time when quieter students have really come out and shone.

The photo above shows kids getting ready for a boat race. They had boxes and a roll of duct tape to build their boat. Each team had about 30 minutes to construct their boats. One group even made a surf board this year and was quite successful.

So in the barrel is a bunch of cow manure and water. Students here are learning how the trapped gases can be used to make a flame. Later students roasted marshmallows over the poop flame.

Water Energy. Students constructed a water wheel from cardboard and used them to haul up a small bucket. This became a race to see whose waterwheel could haul up the bucket the fastest. Record time was in the 2.5 second range.

Solar Power. Being close to the equator we have some great sun time. We took advantage of it by building a solar oven to bake cookies in. Depending on when the cookies were put out into the sun depended on how baked they got. I'd say it was pretty successful.

Wind Power. Students are walking out the height of a windmill and it's blades to understand how large and powerful these structures are.
A quiet time of silent prayer and reflection before the next chapel session.

Awesome Deals

Going to the grocery store here is quite entertaining. Even though there is less selection on the shelves, there are some really fun deals you can find. As shown on the picture below, if you buy a pancake mix you get a pen and pencil for free. Who knows how the two products relate, but it's FREE. My favorite was when a food product is taped to toilet paper or some other non food item. A friend of mine had mice eat a small bag of rice that was attached to her toilet paper because she put it away without detaching it.

Middle School Retreat

Volcan Maderas

Tini adding her rock to the post of burdens.

Team Red reaches the summit first. Sweaty, tired, and hungry but everyone did amazing.

Our very brave youth leaders plan a Middle School Retreat every other year which goes to Ometepe Island to hike Maderas Volcano. Ometepe is an island in Lake Nicaragua and Maderas is one of the two volcanoes on the island. We took 31 middle school students on this adventure. This could well have been the hardest thing they have ever done in their life.

The adventure brought out many spiritual lessons on the trail and upon reflection that night around a campfire. We started our hike at 7:30am and reached the top at 12:30pm. Each hiker was encouraged to take up a stone which would represent a burden they would carry up the mountain and leave at the top. Depending on the size of the rock, the weight of it in our backpack could also be a constant reminder of that burden and our need to give it over to God.

Many students mentioned that along the trail they were sure they wouldn't be able to make it. We celebrated the fact that all 31 of them started the trail, made it to the top, and made it down again my 5:30pm. That's not to say we didn't have some sore muscles, blisters, and a few scrapes. Since our students could conquer a volcano, we encouraged them to think about what other goals, battles, or challenges God might have for them in their lives. Just as they became discouraged on the trail, in life there will be obstacles too, but we are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus who gives us strength.

The students hiked the volcano in groups. There was a lot of teamwork and cooperation needed in this area. In each group there were those that wanted to race ahead and those that lagged behind. At the beginning of the trail there were two boys in our group who were almost throwing up and really suffering physically. They just didn't want to continue and were really discouraged. About half way up the volcano and after a good rest they took the lead and took on a whole new attitude. They were know helping their team over difficult climbs and were setting a good pace for the group. It was neat to see the transformation.

Visit from a Brother

It was also a great blessing to have my brother Tim visit for a week. Tim works for Worldwide Christian Schools and came down with one of the WCS teams. I was able to spend several evenings with him. It was fun to compare and contrast Nicaragua to Zambia. Perhaps Nicaragua will grow on Tim enough for a return visit.

I learned from Tim that an African custom is to bring a chicken to honor the leader in a village. So, Tim wanted to bring a chicken when we went to visit a Nicaraguan family. There are lots of chickens around but can you really just scoop one off the road and keep driving? Not when its the food of a family who doesn't have a lot to begin with. We stopped at a random home on the side of the road and asked the people if we could buy one of their chickens. They were very kind about our strange request and soon we were off again with a chicken in the car. Below is Tim presenting his chicken and explaining the Zambian tradition.

Goodbye Michaela

When I was teaching in Houston, BC, Michaela was on the volleyball team I coached and in a Bible Study I led. This semester she was student teaching in Nicaragua. It was a lot of fun for me to have a Houstonite close by for 4 months. Thanks Michaela for choosing Nicaragua; you were a great blessing to the school and for me as well! I pray that God would strengthen you as you prepare for your next adventure to Indonesia.