Denim Dailies

Easter Lesson Plans

DLTK has a series of five lesson plans for Easter starting with People Wave Palms to Jesus is Alive. These are designed for Sunday school teachers, but it would be good for homeschoolers as well. Not only does it give you the lesson, but includes crafts, snacks, coloring pages and games. It looks like it is worth checking out.

-Sheri

Our Next Step

We had a great trip! Our next step for our computer training facility is to get computers, software and equipment. I found a company that will sell used computers for a small fee to non profit organizations that are wanting to provide computer training facilities and internet access in third world contries. Now we need to raise funds to get the computers and be able to hire someone in Nicaragua to oversee the project. We know that with God all things are possible. We would appreciate any suggestions that you might have. Email me at sheri@denimjumpers.com.

Please keep us in your prayers!

Sheri

Back in the USA

Wow, what a trip!

We got back to the USA on Saturday afternoon and spent a day or so "decompressing" at Sheri's sister's house in The Woodlands. We were thrilled to see the kids again - we learned an important lesson about the limits of our tolerance for being away from them. I think I spent the first 15 minutes just hugging them - I still have an extreme hug deficit that I'll work on over the next week.

The final days of the trip went very well. In particular, we were thrilled to talk more with Francisco Hernandez, a young man who may be the answer to our prayer for someone to be able to manage the TECHPoint there in Jinotega. Francisco is bright, speaks acceptable English, and has a true heart for this project. He in fact suggested a similar high-tech project to a missionary late last year, but he said "I never heard a reply." I told him, "You're getting your reply now, I think, just for a different region and with different people."

Even more exciting is the potential he has for being the on-site coordinator for as many TECHPoints as God sees fit to bless us with the resources to build. He's single, wants to travel, and is totally sold on this method of evangelism. We could see bringing him to any Spanish-speaking country to set up future TECHPoints, and we could just coordinate support, hardware & software from here in the USA.

I'll file some more "debriefing" reports from the trip over the next day or so. I'm also trying to get a place set up to upload a bunch of our pictures. Hope to have that available by tomorrow.

--Paul

Random Notes

A few random thoughts while we're here:

- Everyone so far has thought our baby girl was a boy, even when she's been dressed in pink from head to toe. We figured out why a day or so ago - she doesn't have earrings. Even the smallest baby girls here all have their ears pierced.

- They are also surprised to see her walk. Apparently most of the kids here don't walk until they are 2 or older, because their mamas carry them most of the time.

- It gets rather exhausting to always be on the alert about what you eat or drink. But it's worth it.

- We've been here the whole week with a group from Pepperdine University's Project Serve, and they have been wonderful to be around. They are really doing tremendous work here, and it's been fun to talk with them, too.

- I finally saw the "cable company" I've been hearing about. It's called Cosmovision - it's in a storefront, right next to a bicycle repair shop. I went to see them yesterday, but "the guy is out." My translator's comment as we left was "That's not a real company. They should be at work." And yet, that is the closest thing they have here to a "real" cable company.

- As we ate some ice cream (helado) last night at about 8pm, a little girl came up to us trying to sell some tortillas. Sheri talked with her through a translator and got her story. She is 10 years old, and she gets up every morning at 5am to grind the flour for her tortillas. She must sell all the tortillas or her mother will punish her. We realize she may have been exaggerating the details - we don't know. But she WAS out selling tortillas at 8pm, and it wouldn't be out of line with what we've seen here. It breaks your heart.

- The Pepperdine students have been repainting a maternity house here in Jinotega this week. It's a facility to house expectant mothers who are close to their due dates. The come in from the countryside about a month early, they wait to have their babies in the Jinotega hospital, and when they are ready to travel about a week later, they go back home. We met a girl there who was just 13. She had been raped by her brother-in-law. She was terrified, as her mother would not be able to stay with her. The folks here at the mission helped her with food (the mothers have to provide their own food), and also helped her with her legal situation. They have now gotten word that she'll be taken to another facility in a town closer to her home. At least at that place, her mother will be able to make a two hour walk into town to see her occasionally and bring her food. Another broken heart.

- Misión Para Cristo is doing some tremendous work here. They could really use your support.

Awhile

Our trip to the church yesterday was very promising. The space they have will be very good for housing the computers, controlling access, etc. However, it will take them quite awhile to remodel. That´s not too big of an issue, because it will take us awhile to get all this ready on our end, too! The cable company is also going to take awhile, since they are in the middle of merging two corporations. They estimate a month before the broadband project gets back underway.

With all this, it´s clear that we won´t have this working in a month... But that´s ok, we knew that going in. We´re looking more at the summer, so we have plenty of time for them to remodel and for the cable guys to get their act together.

Today we make a trip up to San Rafael del Norte to help in a mobile medical clinic and see some more of the work here in Nicaragua. We´ll write again tonight.

F-L-E-X-I-B-L-E

Benny Baker, our host on this trip, is fond of saying that the key to survival in Nicaragua is found in the word "flexible." I do believe he is right. Yesterday did not go exactly as planned, but it was good, nonetheless. We are still waiting for word on the wireless access availability. Today we are looking at the room the computers will be housed in.

We are also running into just a bit of fear here from the other Internet cafes. They would rather not have any competition. In fact, it is ironic that I am typing this while at one of those Internet cafes. We plan on reassuring them that we are not competition, but rather more of training site. Internet access will be much more limited on our part than they currently have, so they should not fear us.

One last note. You may have noticed that I have written this entire entry without contractions. That is mainly because I have not yet found the apostrophe key on these Spanish keyboards. :-) More later ...

Making Progress

Last night, we began our discussions regarding TECHPoints with the church here in Jinotega. We talked about the physical space for the computers, about security, bandwidth, and other logistical details. We also wanted to know if they really saw the need for this, and asked if it would be used. They definitely saw the benefits of it, and they assured us that many people would be excited to use the service. They believe that it will take some time for the general population in the community to understand the Internet and what it can do for them. However, right away the access portion of the TECHPoint will appeal to university students and others with some technical experience already. As others are trained in how to use the computers, we’ll reach more and more.

Today we are checking on the availability of bandwidth. The local cable company is bringing in new high-speed bandwidth via a microwave wireless system. I used to have a similar system for my home access in Leander, so I’m pretty familiar with how they work. If it’s actually available on time (big if), it will do the job nicely. We’ll also be looking more closely at the physical space they want to use for the project and determining what changes they’ll need to make if any to accommodate the computers.

There are still many questions to answer, but we’ve started the process. The excitement over how this can be used is growing. More soon…

Home Away From Home

Our home here in Jinotega is at the Hotel Café. It’s an absolutely beautiful oasis in the middle of the city. The owner, Theresa, has made us feel completely welcome, and we’ve enjoyed the perfect service. If you’re ever in Jinotega – not likely, but hey, it could happen – we highly recommend the Hotel Café.

Birthday Fun

Nothing quite like sharing your birthday with about a hundred people you barely know. Yes, tonight at church in Jinotega, I was surprised by a birthday party and everyone at the church was invited. They brought out beautiful cakes to share with the congregation, and then a pinata. Yes, a pinata.

Since my birthday falls on Leap Day, this is only my ninth birthday. So, they decided to give me the proper party for a nine year old. Very funny. They blindfolded me up, and I started taking my whacks. I nailed it pretty good a couple of times, but I could tell the thing was tough. We then let the kids of the congregation have a go, and then finally we just ripped the darn thing open. It had a clay pot in the middle that held the candy... no all-paper, flimsy pinatas like we get in the States, I guess. This was the real deal.

We also made some great progress on the TECHPoints project in a meeting after dinner, but I'll write more on that tomorrow. God bless, and good night from Jinotega, Nicaragua.

Paul