"Zealous Patience"

Just a little update on the everyday happenings here in Managua:

Last week was crazy busy, but I started my work week with a little self-care; spiritual direction with Sr. Dianne, a nun from Louisiana who has been in Nicaragua for almost 20 years. I basically spent the entire morning opening up to her about many of my struggles with being in Nicaragua and so far from home/family.  I felt a sense of relief in verbally expressing my feelings (I am journaling every night still!), and really appreciated her faith-filled wisdom.  I went away from our meeting in search of "zealous patience".. sounds a little contradictory, but you could say it's wanting something so bad that you're willing to wait for it.  I pray that I will soon feel that reassurance that I am following God's will in serving abroad for so long, but perhaps 'embracing the impotence' is all part of the process and in fact the true meaning of solidarity with the poor..


In other news, last week there was a photo exhibition in Managua of photos taken by many of the youth of Cantera's territories. Megan, another Cap Corps volunteer, gave a presentation about how she led the photography classes throughout the past year. The winner of the photo contest was one of her students! A few of the territories presented folk dances and social activism plays for everyone in attendance.  The entire event went really well, and the contestants were super excited to see the news crews show up!

I spent much of the week in Mateare with the teens, painting a mural for the Libros para Ninos program.  Murals are really popular here--to add color, advertise programs/companies/events, and to raise awareness about social issues. I thought it was exciting to be included in something so fun, and it's looking pretty good! I don't have the most recent pictures, but here's a few from the beginning. I'll be sure to take more when I go this week!

One of my days in Mateare I joined Calin, a Nicaraguan co-worker, in visiting the schools in Mateare to begin community gardens with the students.  We first visited the grade school and talked with most of the classes. Their public schools definitely look a little different than ours in the states!  I thought it was kind of fun that the principal (seen below in the jeans and white long sleeves [seriously-in this heat?!]) just went into the classes, announced that we were there (mind you, we came unannounced) and then pulled a bunch of kids from class and sent them with us.  The kids were very anxious to come back to Cantera with us to get the plants for the new garden!

After we were done delivering the plants, we stopped by the Comisaria de la Mujer y la Ninez (police station for women and children) to talk to the social worker about possibly painting a mural on the side of their building.  Although they declined, I was able to talk with the social worker about her role at the agency and set it up to accompany her for a day! 

Wednesday was my day at "the clinic" as I refer to it, and I was absolutely captivated the entire day.  It was fascinating to notice the "first impression" differences of social work in Nicaragua vs. at home.  They were not necessarily bad, just very culturally different. For instance, confidentiality/privacy is virtually non-existent here. The walls in houses don't go all the way to the ceiling (most have rooms partitioned off by a piece of fabric or lace), most windows are made of glass slats (much like blinds) instead of solid glass, and doors are usually left open throughout the day to allow airflow, soooo other people in the house and neighbors hear and see virtually everything. Therefore, it didn't really seem to phase the clients when the door was open or people watched through the window as they told the social worker their story, sometimes through tears.

We only spoke with four women on my first day, but the social worker explained to me that many of her cases deal with child neglect and sexual, physical and verbal abuse.  This was true for the small sample with whom we spoke on Wednesday.  Although accompanying the social worker at the clinic would not be an easy placement, I was drawn to the nature of the work and also to the simple concept of listening to these women's stories in order to understand more fully their reality.  I am now looking forward to accompanying the social worker again in the hopes of eventually getting a little more involved!  I definitely feel more drawn to this type of work after studying Social Work and working with the women at the Juan Diego Center.  I'm excited to learn and to gain more experience, but I am also nervous for the challenges that will surely come of it!

Our community before Thanksgiving dinner!

With the heat still in the upper 80s and the grass and trees still green, it's hard to believe that Thanksgiving was this week! Although turkeys are expensive and hard to come by here, we enjoyed a pot-luck dinner at Casa Ben Linder with over 30 other North Americans who are now living in Nicaragua (some for almost 50 years!).  It was neat to share the traditions with the community, but I definitely missed mom's cooking (especially after Thomas told me he made the pistachio pudding--a personal favorite!).  I was able to Skype in with everyone before dinner--it's always so good to see them and especially to see them together. :)



Friday evening Ana, Megan and I splurged and went out for dinner and to see Katia Cardenal (a Nicaraguan singer) perform! The concert was part of the Celebración del Día Internacional de Lucha Contra la Violencia de Género (International Day of Celebration of Action Against Gender Violence).  The venue was very intimate and the music was fabulous - definitely worth it! 

If I can figure out how, I'll post a video of one of my favorite songs, Casa Abierta, by Katia Cardenal.

After a busy week, a quiet weekend at home was just what I needed. While Courtney, Ana, and Matt went up north to visit a friend's family, Megan and I stayed at the house to relax and prepare for the busy weeks ahead. On Saturday, we joined a family she knew in Mateare for hamburgers (and Lays sour cream and onion potato chips!!) and spent much of the afternoon just talking around the table. I also got to play their little keyboard for a bit.. the closest thing I've come to a piano since August!

We returned home from Mateare to find Perrita (the cat we're currently 'borrowing' from our local coordinator) scaling the wall under the sink, attempting to chase a mouse!  We realize that mice can cause a lot of health issues, and after trying everything under the sun in the way of poisons and traps, we were able to let Perrita come live with us for a while.

As you can see, she had to give up this time (kitty nails on concrete is like teacher's nails on a chalkboard..yikes!), but on Sunday she was back at it.. this time trying to get to the spice rack on the wall...

Once again, the little rascal got away, but this afternoon she finally got him!! It was definitely a team effort, but we let her have all the glory (and the meal)! One down, 951,387 to go! ;)

Sorry that's a little morbid, we were just so proud!

While Perrita was hard at her 'mission impossible', Megan and I cooked up some yummy garlic chicken and enjoyed one of her favorite movies from childhood--First Son. A little cheesy, but we thoroughly enjoyed the 90s flashback! :)  Saturday evening, Alex and I enjoyed a long Skype date with out distractions--we checked out and spent some time in conversation deeper than the day-to-day 'catching up'. Since returning from Nicaragua he has already been on several work trips and seems to be really enjoying accounting thus far.  I am continually blessed by his patience and commitment to our relationship. It definitely isn't easy being this far apart!

Although sometimes my patience fails me, I make an intentional effort every day to maintain that zeal which got me here -- that passion for service, faith and relationships -- and trust that consolation will come with time.

Thank you all for your loving support and especially your prayers.
I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and that all may enter into Advent with "zealous patience" as we prayerfully await the birth of Jesus Christ.

Con Dios,
-isa