the tail effects of the swine flu.

I want to express my thoughts on this swine flu. I really am confused at how and why the media can take whatever news it wants and blow it to this proportion. Over a week ago CNN was reporting that there were over 2000 cases of swine flu in Mexico when the world wide number is still below 1200 today.

I was in Mexico City when the hype was hitting and it was almost impossible not to get caught up in the fear. They were making announcements about the swine flu, passing out free masks, and giving surveys about the illness. The scary thing was that I had all the symptoms of the swine flu. I sat in the airport with a headache, fever, achy, stuffy nose, and a cough. Mentally I knew it was impossible that I had the swine flu but in the back of my head the pandemonium made me doubt it. For the next week I watched the news unfold as I continued to have all these symptoms but my doctor told me this was all a media hype.

I think we have to be very careful what we trust in, even the news. Now a week later the headlines have changed to a new fad. It went from Saudi Arabian pirates, to swine flu, to who knows what this week. We need to remember that the love of Christ casts out all fear but the media thrives on this fear so you will return to it time and time again. I'm not cursing the news but just saying that we need to be careful how we let it shape us.

a Change.

Monday I left Nicaragua and the orphanage and came to Mexico where I spent last summer. It was a decision made very quickly but I had a huge peace about making. It is very hard to express the whole story that led me to this place in a blog.

I was working with an orphanage that admittedly had problems in their organization and they are looking for people to spend years there to help fix the problems. There was also a demand to commit a lot of time there for the sake of the kids. A horrible fact of orphanages is that the kids are the only ones who can’t leave. I have seen how these boys have lived their lives with people continuing to come in and out every 6 months, 1 year, or possibly 3 years but they are always there.

For these two reasons, I was always debating if the orphanage was really a place that I wanted to pour out my heart for the next 5 years mainly for the sake of a consistency to the boys. As time passed I realized that this place was not that place for me.

I thought if I stayed 3 more months I would be faced with the same faltering decision if I was going to stay 6 more months or not and didn’t see a long term commitment in the future. More details to follow.

Back in Los Cedros.

I am back in los cedros with the boys and the crew. I spent my last weekend in Matagalpa hiking up to the top of this mountain over viewing Matagalpa. I learned a whole lot of spanish while i was in Matagalpa. I pretty much only spoke in english when i talked to my mom or translated anything for the school. This has proven to clearly be the best way to learn another language. I will definetly plug this school becuase i thought of it to be very professional. http://www.matagalpatours.com/

Now that I am back in Los Cedros, I am left to make some big decisions here in Los Cedros. If I am going to stay I want to stay for another long little while to continue to make a impact in the boys lifes. But I am not confident that I have a true role in this organization. I am working that out with the leadership these next few weeks. Please be praying that Lord will show me a direction to go and make it clear to me.
Thanks for listening.
KB

clebrating the resurrection with high school nicaraguan catholics.

The week before easter is a huge week for the Central American culture. No one works and they have many celebrations of the resurrection and the time leading to Easter. Yesterday I went with one of my friends I have met up here at matagalpa to a youth rally to celebrate the resurrection. There were close to 2000 high school aged kids that came to this one day conference at 7AM.

They had a few different speakers and a lot of music and at 3 PM we began to walk back down the mountain behind the cross to the local cathedral in the town. It was about 3 miles that they closed down one side of the highway for us to walk all the way to the steps of the cathedral where they had a closing ceremony and the bishop of the country spoke a word to the kids. It was a really interesting ceremony.

more stories from semana santa (holy week) to come...

Language school.

Today Finished my first week of language school. Nearly 5 days of nothing but spanish 24/7. I thought/did learn a lot of spanish in my first week. They taught me a lot of the little grammatical things that I never knew from only learning from talking and listening for 6 months.

I have two sessions of class a day. All instruction is given in spanish and normally we finish each session with about 30 min of practicing what i just learned. For the most part in a slow thought intesnive spanish I could carry a 30 min convo without to much trouble almost understanding all of it. Then today I went to work in a carpentry shop with some friends of the family i am staying with. After speaking spanish for four days with people who spoke a clear perfect spanish I was ready to speak in the workshop like a nicaraguan.

When I met the owner of the shop and he asked me the first question I thought it was whats your name but i wasn't dead sure. I spent the whole day struggling through understanding their spanish. Imagine this. It is best described like trying to understand another language in a loud workshop with dusk masks speaking the dirtiest "southern" spanish you can find. Needless to say it was a challenge...

Besides this things are going well....

language school...

Monday I started language school where I am talking and practicing spanish 100% of the day. I have a 1-on-1 teacher 5 hours a day and live with a family that only speaks spanish. I have learned a lot of spanish only practicing in Nicaragua but shcool is very helpful. I am learning that even though I know some things about some of the most complicated verbs in spanish, I still fail to know very simple things like if problems takes on a feminine or masculine pronoun...

Time will tell but I will be continuing to study in school for the next two weeks...

Out of date.

The last two weeks have been really eventful. I was going to language school for a few weeks when I got called up to the other orphanage to reinforce the roof before they could get solar panels installed. Me, Chris and two of the workers went up there for this past week to do the work before the solar panels got there.

I will be going to language school Monday for two weeks where I will be living with a family and fully immersed speaking only spanish all the time. I am excited to see where this will take me over the next little bit of time and and am considering extending that time depending on how much progress I make.

I have been spending more and more time with the 11 teenage boys lately. I have been trying to teach them different skills that they can use in the real world. Currently I am trying to teach them English. Here in Nicaragua if you speak english you have an almost automatic decent paying job working as a translator. I am currently looking for good ESL (english second language) teaching material. If anyone knows of some material that is very helpful please tell me about it.

Lastly something that has been a long time coming is Michael got his hearing aids this past saturday. It was really cool to get to see him to be able to fully hear for the first time in his 7 year life. I am uploading this video of him repeating the words that i say to him. Thank you so much if you gave me some money to help towards this cause.

For some reason I can't load a video now but will bring it soon.

Sweet update on Michael

I went to the doctor today to find out more information about Micheal's situation. We have an appointment Saturday when Julio has the day off to go and get Micheal fitted for his hearing aid. After this process, she said that the hearing aids should be ready Monday. I had no clue that the process was that close to fullfillment but He should be hearing as soon as Monday.

Thanks for your prayers and support.

KB

the uncompromisables

Yesterday we went to a woman's house that lives just right outside the largest dump in Latin America, La Chureca, to pray. This woman, Ruby, and her family have spent the last 20 years right outside this dump ministering and praying for these people. Her family is a powerful testimony by their faithfulness to what God called them to do the last 20 years.

Somehow in just making conversation, all the most confrontational topics about the bible came up; if you had to be baptized to be saved, where your righteousness comes from, can women be pastors, can you lose your salvation.

One girl with us had recently started walking with the Lord and she was not baptized. And they began to tell her she had to get baptized if she really wanted to be saved.

On the ride back we began talking about it and realized that a few of them were really shaken up by the different views that Ruby had compared to themselves. They dwelled on these things for the next few hours of what is true and what is false against the word of God. I was just thinking how imporant it is to know the things that you will not compromise about your faith. For me, the one thing that stands out is the truth that God sent Jesus Christ to take on flesh and die for our sins by the pouring out of his blood on the cross.

I think we need to know our uncompromisables about our faith. Things that if they are changed, they change the message of the gospel. It is clear the bible opens the opportunities for people to stand on both sides of a lot of topics but there are a few that if you change them you change the way you follow Christ. I challenege you to look for those things for you and as said in 1 peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Michael.

So last Monday, Julio, Michael, and I went to the doctor to see about Michael getting a hearing aid. When we went we found out that they had to reschedule the appointment for the 13th. This was last Friday. So we took the bus home and wasted 1/2 a day for nothing. This this past Friday We took the 1hour and a half bus ride back to the doctor to have Michael tested.

When we got there, 2 min early, we were informed this appointment was the 13th of March not Feb. I was so disappointed that we wasted another half a day. So we went around Managua looking for another place to have him tested and found a woman that could do it that day at 3PM.


We had a few hours to kill but came back and got Michael tested. He is able to hear out of both ears and hearing aids will solve his problem which is a huge blessing. At this place they will cost 750 dollars and require a certain amount of maintenance. Like changing the batteries every month and getting the piece refit for his ear every 6months to a year. We have been talking about whether we are going to go with this place or shop for a better price. I will keep you posted soon...

excitement rises and falls in a day...

Disclaimer: This blog entry is slightly dramatic for the affects of a good story but strictly based on true facts that happened today...

Today, more stuff went wrong than any other day I think I have ever been apart of.


The water lines had two main leaks.
The house for well was blown over by the wind.
I took an hour and half bus ride to Managua for a doctor's appointment only to find out it was Friday not today.
We had a fire that burned 75% of our property but didn't get to any buildings.
I ruined one of my best pants fighting the fire.
We ruined a tire on the tractor fighting the fire.


The orphanage owns 85 acres and 75% of burned in what started was a brush fire. Quite the excitement. Basically the whole property was covered in weeds over head high and we frantically tried to stop it from coming on the property for 4 hours as we watched it come with little success. Then when it came crunch time where it was either put out the fire or lose vegetable plants we succeed.

At about the same time two fire trucks came 1 hour and 45 min after we called them and came to the agreement that if they came we would pay for their gas. They fought the fires for about an hour, I paid them 25 bucks 6 liters of soda and a bag of bread thinking the day was over at 5PM.

Then I get a call at about 5:15 while I am enjoying my own soda at the front end of the property that the fire has returned. For the next two hours we fought the fire by smothering it with large leafy branches.

Life in Los Cedros.

It has been a while since I have posted and to be honest life has just been life around here the past few weeks. I have been building some storage rooms inside of a large storage shed to protect the items from rats and dust the past week and just working more and more with the boys, trying to shape them into men.

Julio's kid Michael went to the doctor on Thursday and he has another appointment to go back for another exam on Monday. I am hoping this process will come to an end soon but like all things in nicaragua, they are slow and normally even slower than you expect.

Tara and Jennifer, two girls i went to college with, have been here at the orphanage for almost a month now. It has been the best thing to have people that i am already familiar with and can relate to. Just having 2 people freshly out of college operating and thinking on similar wave levels is awesome. This has been a huge answer to prayer seeing as though before Christmas there was a large community gap here at the orphanage.

I promise to get some pics of Michael up sometime this week. FYI if you don't know Michael is Julio's kid who is nearly deaf but 6 years old so he cannot talk. Some of my friends and family while i was in the states gave me some money to buy him a hearing aid.

Life in the country.

I have been back about 3 weeks now and have gotten back in to the swing of things. I have begun to take steps to get Julio's kid hearing aids. We found a place that only charges $12.50 for each doctor visit and then helps him to find the cheapest hearing aids possible. I am hoping to get a picture of Michael soon to post on here. Your prayers are still continually appreciated as this process can be very difficult in a third world country.
2 of my friends that I went to college
with came down here a week after I did for three months. It truly has been the biggest blessing to have some consistent people around. Since most of the missionaries here at the orphanage are in a completely different walk of life than me or live off the property, serious lack of community was something I experienced for first time in my life. It really taught me about the importance of relationships with other believers and why the bible empathizes community so much. But needless to say these two girls have been a huge breath of fresh air to me and Fifo here at the orphanage.



















All of us at the beach.


















we had a party with a pinata and this shows how all ages will still fight for candy.



















Jamie Ripped his fingernail off so I played Doctor Baynard tofix it.

Ehh...

So I told you about the school that I visited. All day wed I prayed and thought about the opportunity I had. Upon thinking and praying about it I just felt that it was not for me, even though it seemed so right. Thanks for your prayers but for now I am going to hold tight in Los Cedros and even pursue some opportunities here.

Yesterday the Tia's (aunt's) had the little kids make their own kites and then fly them in the wind. I felt this was something only best explained in photos. FYI Celeste in the picture flew much better than any kites that day.

Joseph


Yelkin in the foreground and Jose in the background



Celeste Flying through the Nicaraguan Sky.

Opportunity....

Even though I just got settled in Los Cedros to work here at the orphanage yesterday I looked at making a move. When I first came back I just felt that maybe my time here was up and this couldn't be a place I was at long term. So I began to explore other opportunities.

Within a few hours, I found a ywam, youth with a mission, school in a small town called diriamba about an hour from here. They had an opening for a construction facilities manager in Sept. But to work with them you have to attend their mission training school that is 5 months long and it starts monday. I went to visit them yesterday and see what I thought and to get a feel for the place.

They had everything that I was looking for. A beautiful property, people from all cultures including nicaragua and other latin american countries. The climate there is amazing and it is in the middle of a larger town than Los Cedros. Now I am left to pray about this situation for the next few days before i decide.

I know that it would be good for me and I would learn a lot but I want some confirmation that this is a place I could spend some time and not just go to school for 5 months and be at the same place. Please pray that I will get some confirmation in that over the next few days.

Over and Out

Sorry I took a few weeks off as i took a few weeks off of my journey. I wanted to sincerely thank everyone that gave me money to help Julio's (the guy I have lived with the last two months I was here) son Michael get a hearing aid. Julio may claim Christianity as many people in the States do but he does not act on these things. I am excited to see how this gift to his family will lead to conversatoins about Christ's Love.

I ask that yall will continue to pray for me as I am down here. Just in the hour that I have been here, I have felt the desire to pray for change and Christ's Love to be re-instated in these communities but also the burden that the mountain is so high and the climb is so long.


Thank you,


More stories to come.