Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua

Time seems to fly during the week here, and all of a sudden I realize it's been a week and I haven't written a blog post. It's not for a lack of topics to discuss - I always have new things on my mind to share - but my weeks are pretty busy! I've been trying to focus recently on time management and priorities, and determining what I should be doing with my time. Blogging and communication is definitely on the list, so hopefully I'll get better at having a routine of updating twice a week!

As it stands, I still owe you all an introduction to the other communities we work with, other than La Chureca. There are two others - Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua (pronounciation: chee-kee-lee-staug-wah), which are neighboring communities a few kilometers from our house. I work much more in Cedro than in Chiqui, since more of Manna's programs in general are there. So, this will be a double-update: an introduction to the communities, and an introduction to the programs which I'm working on this year!

When Manna Project first started in Nicaragua (2004), we had a partnership with some Christian missionaries who had been down here for a few years before we arrived. Halle and Kathy August came down to Nicaragua about 9 years ago, and began working primarily in Chiquilistagua with some work in Cedro Galan. They now own and run a fantastic sports center in Chiquilistagua called El Salero (the land), which gives kids a safe place to hang out and play sports, read books, and use a computer. They also run a preschool in Cedro Galan, and own a small school building there which is named El Farito (the lighthouse). Although we run our programs mostly independently from the August family, they graciously allow us to use both of these spaces for our programs.

Here's a picture of El Farito from our hello/goodbye party we held before the old Program Directors left:

I have been spending a lot of time in Cedro, between programs and just hanging out with families who I've gotten close with. It's a wonderful community with wonderful people. Most people live in small concrete houses or sometimes tin houses, depending on how well off they are. Most families are able to get by and have the basic needs, but there's definitely still a lot of poverty and a lack of opportunities for advancement in a lot of cases. Manna has provided some microfinancing options, and our loans have helped jumpstart some businesses in the community, which has been really cool to see! Some examples are a lady named Laura who runs a small food shop out of her home, and a man named Henry who used the loan to build a structure around an oven to allow him to make and sell bread. It is very rewarding to see how a simple loan and some business training and advice can allow these people to provide for their families!

The programs we run in Cedro include English classes for kids and adults, math and literacy classes for kids, a kid's art class, a feeding program and a women's exercise class. Of these, I am responsible for coordinating the feeding program (not cooking - moms from the community take care of that!), co-teaching kid's English, and co-teaching adult beginner's English. Kid's English has definitely been my most challenging program so far. We usually have between 30 and 45 kids between the ages of 5 and 15 in the class, so it's a lot of kids. I've been told that that would be hard to handle even with an education/teaching background, which makes me feel a bit better about my inability to adequately control the class at times! The kids are great, though, and it is definitely growing on me. We're currently working on learning professions...and I think the kids are learning something. :) My adult English class has truly been a joy to plan and teach. We usually have around 20 students, and they are eager to learn. The variety of levels within the class is sometimes hard to plan for, but we've made it work so far and I think are catering to the needs of the students to the best of our ability. It's a very rewarding class and I've loved getting to know my students so far.

In Chiquilistagua, I help two of my fellow PDs with their teen English class. It's two half hour classes with around 15-20 students in each class, between the ages of 12 and 16. The kids are great, in their own way - but they're middle schoolers, and so they can be difficult. I must say that my youth ministry background from the last two years has come in handy here more than once! The kids in this English class have really grown on me, and even when they're troublemakers, they're definitely winning my heart and I'm excited to keep building relationships with them throughout the year. Other programs we run in Chiqui include a younger kids' English class, computer class, and a girl's soccer program. I don't spend much time in Chiqui other than for classes, but I hope to try and get a bit more involved in the community by going to one of the youth nights which the Augusts host for the community. The last one got canceled due to lack of power (welcome to Nicaragua, where the power goes out randomly...), but hopefully I'll be able to go to one soon.

Other than programs, I am starting to get settled into a routine. All of the old PDs have left, I have moved into my room, gotten more comfortable driving the car with crazy Nicaraguan traffic lack-of-enforced-laws, and am getting used to what life looks like here. In some ways, it has been very nice to feel settled and at home in the house and in the community. In other ways, a bit of homesickness has set in as life has slowed down a bit here. Prior to now, there was enough action at all times to stop me from thinking too much about home, and so I didn't really miss it. The past few days have been a bit rough for whatever reason, and I find myself really missing the in-person support of my community in Houston. While this has been a hindrance, it has also pushed me to start forming deeper relationships here and creating an equally strong support network here. I know that this takes time (and that God is teaching me patience even if I don't want Him to right now...:-)), but even just making progress on it is helping put me in a good mood and feel excited about being here.

Thank you for all of your support, whether it be financial, emotional, or spiritual - I appreciate it more than you know. If there are any specific topics you'd like to hear more about in the blog, just leave a comment and let me know!