Your Generosity

First, I want to thank each of you for your voices of encouragement over these past four weeks. We have appreciated all of the ways that you have reached out to us and affirmed that we are where we are supposed to be. We can feel the power of your positive thoughts, messages and prayers!

Many of you have asked us what we are missing most. It sounds cliché, but you are what we have been missing. I am missing my daily phone calls with “my girls” and family. I am missing seeing each of you face to face, going out for coffee/boba tea or having you over for dinner. It has only been one month and I anticipate that this will only get more difficult in many ways.

In regards to “material things,” I don’t feel like I am wishing that I would have brought a lot of different things. I guess that is a shout out to the effectiveness of my post-it notes (although many of you get annoyed by them) and planning ahead. I foresee that once we move into our final home, there will be a lot of things we wish that we had (for the kitchen, decoration items, etc.). But I guess that will be a good test of “simple living.”

A few of you have asked for our mailing address for sending packages. I don’t want to suggest that this is necessary, although because of the mailing system here I thought it would be important to let you know how it works. Fortunately it seems like the postal system is pretty reliable for delivering from the U.S. and Canada (we love our Canadian friends) to Nicaragua. However, there seems to be some unreliability within the post office here in Managua. Yes, there is only one post office for a population of over 2 million people.

Other MCCers have had packages sent and they have sat in the back of the post office until they were each requested specifically. Thus, if you plan on sending a package, please let us know in advance. I know it ruins the fun of giving a gift or sending a surprise, but we most likely won’t get it unless we ask for it. And again, don’t feel like you need to send anything! We just thought we would let people know so that your lovely packages aren’t sitting unopened.

And if you insist on sending “material things” that we cannot purchase here, we put together a little list: Sour Patch Kids, Boba Tea Bubbles (Asian grocery store for $1), Dove Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Ginger Combination and Reese's Pieces (but they may melt in the mail), Sunflower Seeds (request from Kevin for the local baseball games), Haribo Gummy Berries and good flavored Kettle Chips.  The cost to mail items is a little pricey, so beware!

Oh, and one more thing with Christmas on it's way.  You all know my love for real Christmas cards through the postal service.  I am hoping to receive them here and will for sure put them up on our fridge (as soon as we get one).

Gratefully Holding

Up and down our windows go as rusty buses, ramshackle pickups, and other old weather-beaten cars approach and pass, mile after mile. We finally come to a little town. We stop, turn off the engine, step out, stretch, and, as the red dust settles and the noise of the road fades, we hear a new sound off to the right, down through some scraggly trees, pass a few bony, wide-horned brown cows standing in the shadows chewing their cud.

Beyond the cows and just outside a few strands of barbed wire, there’s a stream and a little swimming hole sparking in the full sunlight. In its brown waters a dozen children are splashing and wrestling. Their laughter rises like music, a cloud of joy as real as the cloud of red dust stirred by another car passing on the road behind us. I think, “I’ve seldom heard this much pure happiness in my life.” We watch for a few minutes, smiles irrepressibly arising on our faces, and then decide to take a break and explore the town before continuing our journey.

As I turn off to be on my own for a few minutes, I see the homes these children come from. They’re small in size and modest in construction, but often painted the most dazzling colors, this one coral pink, the next aquamarine, the next tangerine orange, the one over there a light purple, peeling off in places, showing a royal blue underneath.

There are some dads sitting in the shadows of a few trees, cigarettes dangling under the bills of well-worn baseball caps, sharing stories, playing cards, nodding and smiling as we walk by. There are some moms squatting on front porches, peeling potatoes, washing dishes in plastic basins, nursing babies, shooing flies. I smell coffee roasting, mixed with the scent of a farm not far away. I hear a muted accordion and a flatulent trumpet from a broken radio speaker. I hear the sound of someone sawing a plank, a rooster crowing in the afternoon heat, a dog bark twice off in the distance, and everywhere the buzz of insects mixed with jingling music of children’s laughter in the background.

Maybe someday there will be televisions in every house, I imagine. Maybe someday there will be video games and DVD players. Maybe the hum of air conditioners and the roar of many cars. But I don’t think there will ever be more happiness in the air than there is today.

What is this extraordinary happiness? Where does it come from?

Walking through that town in Guatemala, I remind myself of something we all know but don’t take seriously enough. It’s not how much you have that brings happiness; it’s how much you appreciate however much or little you have. Again, it’s not the amount of stuff you have that counts; it’s the amount of appreciation you have that matters, and appreciation means “gratefully holding” rather than simply “having without gratitude.”

We are encouraged by our Creator to slow down and appreciate the gift of life, to employ our liberty in service for others, and to gratefully cherish the happiness we already have. Gratitude may be the greatest secret to happiness there is.

                                            Excerpt taken from Naked Spirituality by Brian D. McLaren

**On this day of thanks, we give praise to God who is the giver of all and remember those with less; both materially and immaterially seeking discernment in the ways God is calling us and you to share the gifts we have been given.

**And just an FYI, Kevin and I (and a couple of friends) ran our traditional Thanksgiving Day 5K this morning.  We missed running it in the brisk and chilly downtown of Minneapolis with friends and family, but we did it!  Now onto the eating…

Carrot Cake

Over the weekend, Cassie and I moved to a new home in Managua. During these past three weeks, we have thoroughly taken pleasure in spending time and getting to know our “Managuan Mom” and her extended family. We enjoyed our weekend with these individuals – going to our first $3 movie at the theater (Money Ball was great!), eating $1 enchiladas, visiting the historical city of Leon (accidentally taking the wrong bus there and turning a 1 hour drive into 4 hours), seeing the oldest Cathedral in Central America and enjoying a scrumptious Nicaraguan home cooked dinner all the while working on Spanish. The family, knowing that I love hot sauces and salsa, went out of their way to prepare several “rico” sauces. They even bought me a Costco sized bottle of Tabasco as a going away gift. We were overwhelmed with their generosity and hospitality and look forward to many more scrumptious meals together.

As a way of offering our thanks, we baked a carrot cake and made peanut butter cookies for dessert. They were a hit! In case you are looking for a healthy and tasty treat:

Gather three bowls and begin!

*Begin with the smallest bowl (S), combine: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. salt
*In a medium sized bowl (M), combine: 3 cups shredded carrots, 1/2 cup crushed pineapple (make sure it is drained), 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I find that walnuts are best and are also traditional), 1 cup coconut
*In your largest bowl (L), combine: 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce, add 4 eggs, 1 at a time while mixing.  We usually cut down on the sugar and oil, but thought we would give the “correct” recipe.
*Add dry ingredients (S) gradually to your largest bowl (L). Afterwards, stir in the ingredients from the medium sized bowl (M). Blend thoroughly and pour into a greased and floured 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Allow time for cooling.
*Frosting (optional – the cake is great by itself): 8 oz. cream cheese, 1/4 cup of butter, 4 cups powdered sugar

Preocupado

Cassie and I have discovered that when you learn a new language you are introduced into a whole different way of looking at the world. There are many common phrases that we have heard in English for the majority of our lives; do as your told, do everything in moderation, do not worry, etc.

But when you hear things in a new language and then translate that new way of understanding into your first language you are provided with a new and fresh perspective on an old adage. Last evening we found ourselves concerned, or better I should say worried about what we had gotten ourselves into in our coming to Nicaragua. We were worried about our future, about where it is that we will live, what our jobs will look like exactly and first and foremost the struggles we are encountering with the Spanish language.

The word worried dominates the culture we have come from. People are worried about so many things that seem irrelevant; especially when one considers what is truly important in life. However, what does it mean?  What is a person to do when he or she is told “not to worry?”

The Spanish translation for this word is preocupado and communicates the idea that one should not be preoccupied with something that he or she has no control over.

We like that, do not worry, or better yet—do not be preoccupied with things that you have no control over.  Instead live each day to its fullest, using your God given gifts and talents!