So what are you doing??

Cassie and I thought that some of you might be wondering what it is that we are exactly going to be doing in Managua!? In many ways Cassie and I may have some of the same questions that you do; however we thought we could fill you in on what we do know. Cassie and I have been hired as Culture of Peace Educators through the Mennonite Central Committee. Cassie will be spending the majority of her time at the Polytechnical University of Nicaragua working in The Institute of Investigation and Humanistic Development. This branch of the university is part of an academic, nonprofit service orientated department focused on "serving the community." Its work focuses on training community leaders in the vision, sensitivity and social commitment toward those who suffer from social and governmental injustices, with an emphasis on the church being a bulwark in this task. I will be spending the majority of my time at the Baptist Theological Seminary. The seminary was founded in 1941 as a pastoral training institution with the claim to fame that it is the first evangelical seminary in Nicaragua. The majority of my time with be spent in the classroom working with pastors and leaders of local churches. My duties will include teaching classes related to the topics of conflict transformation, trauma, reconciliation, conflict mediation and pastoral ministries with an emphasis on social involvement. That's about it. We were able to have one translated phone conversation in which many Nicaraguans working with MCC and for these institutions seemed excited for our arrival. We look forward to meeting our future friends, co-workers and teachers and for the adventure that lies ahead.

Our duties:
*Teach classes on the culture of peace and conflict transformation
*Teach classes for students in the bachelor's degree theology program
*Facilitate workshops on trauma and recovery
*Work with students to help them complete their graduate theses
*Participate in committees at the university
*Design a postgraduate program on peace and conflict transformation
*Develop training focused on strengthening skills of pastoral and community-focused ministry