On August 12th, 2010, my wife, three kids, and I boarded a plane for Nicaragua to embark on a 9 month adventure. Crossing the border into Nicaragua we entered a new frontier: a land where we did not speak the language, had no friends or connections, and where the territory was unfamiliar. We went with very little money and without any affiliations to church, mission, ministry or outreach programs, supported only by our faith in God.
This is a collection of posts from our journey.
We are currently in Costa Rica. We made it safe and sound after some hassles in Denver. We are in the city of Alajuela, which is the Costa Rican equivalent of SeaTac. Not very attractive, a little too crowded, and fairly industrial. But the hostel that we are staying at (Vida Tropical) is nice, even…
Our second night in our Nica house brought a new adventure. We had just returned from town, where we spoke for a while with our new friend Mara. She’s lived here for the past 8 years, and has watched the town grow up in that time. One of the suggestions she had for us was…
It turns out that the current season of Survivor is being filmed here in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. I’ve heard that the cast/crew is HQ’d at Pelican Eyes, the local resort. Right now, there is a helicopter flying around the bay, probably taking B-roll video for the show. Pretty cool, huh?
It’s official: we have our first International ills. Lindy woke up this morning with a scratchy throat and feels lethargic. Gus woke up complaining of a headache, which has gotten steadily worse through the morning, with occasional bouts of nausea.
Joey, Bridget and I walked to the ice cream shop last night, as per our usual routine. On the way back, It struck me that Bridget was dancing and singing (in English) without any inhibitions. She tends to be a pretty uninhibited kid, but there was something a little different last night. She was a…
It seems like every time someone goes on a trip to somewhere exotic and impoverished, their common refrain is a benediction of praise for the simplicity of life, the warmth of the people, and love of the surroundings. I wanted to believe that would be the case for us in Nicaragua. Moreso, I wanted to…
I’ve held off writing this post because we have only been here for a few weeks and the pace of new “noticeable differences” has not yet slowed. On the other hand, things here that first seemed completely foreign to me are becoming familiar. Hence this post, which I will probably add to in the future….
We had planned to go to Granada today. The trip to Granada promises to be an adventure in and of itself for our family. Two public buses: one that takes us the 16 miles to Rivas, and then a transfer to another bus for the trip to Granada. Bus schedules are non existent, and the…
I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon over the past few days: My neural language pathways are changing as I gain practice with Spanish. I often find myself thinking through sentences in both English and Spanish, sometimes automatically with little effort. Specific word translations are coming more easily. The different grammatical structure of Spanish is beginning to…
I spent time last night chatting with my buddy back home about the differences between life in Nicaragua versus the US. It’s very difficult to articulate the dichotomy between life here and there. Lots of our friends are asking what its like here though, so after much thought I’ve cobbled together a few what-if’s that…
One of the most pressing questions Lindy and I had when we were planning this trip is, “How much will it cost to live there?”. We’ve been in the rental house here in SJdS for exactly 3 weeks today. Our routine is such that I can feel pretty confident in a calculation of our monthly…
We have been in San Juan del Sur for almost four weeks. Since we arrived we have been trying to visit the colonial city of Granada but circumstances have conspired against us: Spanish language school, Lindy getting sick, unpredictable weather, our collective need for a day of rest, etc. Last Saturday, however, we finally made…
One of the things I read about Nicaragua before we left the states was the abundance of noise here. I’ve found that to be a very true statement, and I’ve gone through a couple of phases dealing with it. When we first arrived at our homestay in SJdS, the house was located on the main…
We’ve been living here in our little barrio for a little over 6 weeks now. We know most of our immediate neighbors, and we recognize many of our other neighbors. Sometimes things happen that cause me to look at my long-held beliefs in a new light. Recently I had to reconsider how my philosophical disposition…
I love mornings in San Juan del Sur. The birds are active, the air is cool and dry, the bugs are down, and people are out and about getting ready for work or school. This is the best time to run, too. Here is a link to one of the routes I’ve run in San…
Our lease will expire this coming Friday (3 days from now) and we have not found another house to move to. Instead, it just seems like God has a different plan for us at this point. Not sure what that looks like, but it’s all part of the adventure. Here’s what’s up: Almost 4 weeks…
Have you ever noticed how cynical we are as North Americans toward self-description? We really don’t want to believe someone can tell the truth about themselves. For example, if I see a company called “Honest Plumbing Shop”, my first thought is “well, that guy must be a liar”. If a salesman says, “trust me…” I…
We just had Sunday morning service lead by Beverly Rutledge. Also in attendance were her boys Lance and Luke, and her girls Kelsey and Esperanza, along with Loretta (from Washington State), Harry and Elwin (both Nicaraguan young men), Joy (the director of an orphanage) and 4 young kids from the orphanage. The basic message of…
“There is no security in life, only opportunity” -Mark Twain My wife is the consummate “planner” with the calendar to prove it. I tend to be more flexible in my approach to the future, but am afflicted with a need “to do”. Before we left the states, between home schooling the kids, running a business,…
This morning at the breakfast table we were talking about the first few versus of the book of James. James is writing to the early churches, and encourages them through their trials and difficulties. We talked about how our own trials and difficulties can help us to develop a stronger, more enduring faith. It was…
My friend Pastor Earl posted the following on his Facebook page this morning: “We follow what we see, hear, and say; that is what we become.” This reminds me of something I was taught a long time ago: you can tell what a person will become in 5 years from now by the books they…
It has been a busy weekend. The irony is that I’m posting this early on Saturday morning before the weekend has actually begun. Nevertheless, we are back in San Juan del Sur this weekend to help our friend Jane Mirandette prepare for the 9th anniversary of the library that she founded, Biblioteca Movil. This project…
Ever since we moved to Nicaragua people have told us that we would love it in San Juan del Sur and Granada, the two cities in Nicaragua that are heavily dependent on tourism for their respective local economies. We lived in San Juan del Sur for a little more than 2 months, and I have…
Ugh…some days are meant to end sooner than others. Yesterday is now just a memory, and for that I am grateful. Most of the day was fine. We went to a Bible study with the couple we are staying with. The study was presented in English and Spanish and the energy was fun and upbeat. …
Lindy and I had a great conversation with our friends Don and Jackie last night. Don and Jacque are a young married couple from a suburban town outside of Denver, Colorado, who moved to Granada, Nicaragua a couple of months ago for a mission trip. We were sharing how our family and friends reacted to…
It is now 8:44 am, Monday morning and I’ve already conceded the remainder of the day to my adversary, Señor Nicaragua. Yesterday 10:30pm Went to bed with a sink full of dirty dishes, an empty cupboard and a plan for today. Much of the plan was based on knowing that the house cleaner would be…
When I was very little, my parents had a vinyl record with the picture of a little turtle on it. One of the songs on this record was about “patience”, and it was sung (ostensibly) by a slow-moving, baritone-throated turtle: :Have patience :Have patience on’t be in such a hurry :When you get impatient :You…
Learning Spanish has not come easily for our family. I took 5 weeks of classes, but Lindy and the kids only took a week before the budget was stretched and they started their normal home school year. The result has been that I’ve been more emboldened to jump into conversations with people, and learn by…
Every once in a while I pull out my passport just to hold it and feel it. Really, I grew up in the suburbs and didn’t even see a passport in real life before we received ours earlier this year. I still feel so Jason Bourne just having one. I wonder if I have offshore…
Random thoughts about Estelí, Nicaragua: Spent the better part of the morning walking around the city today. I’ve discovered that, next to running, walking a city is the best way to get a feel for the layout and vibe. I’ve covered about 6 miles today at a leisurely pace. I walked through the cemetary, past…
Before I begin I must lead with certain disclaimers: For our friends here in Nicaragua, please don’t take any of this personally. For our friends back home, please don’t worry about us. For anyone reading who believes that life in a developing country is the positive antithesis of American excess, and wishes we could all…
One of the things I’ve mentioned on this blog in the past is that there is no shortage of noise here in Nicaragua. Out in the campo (the jungle, or country) most of the noise is from animals: dogs barking, roosters crowing, cows mooing, birds cawing, insects buzzing, etc. Much of that same noise exists…
When Lindy and I were considering our family trip to Nicaragua we wanted to be sure that it was the “right” thing to do. ”Right” in the sense that we didn’t want to go against God’s will. We’ve been through enough up’s and down’s in our family life, and seen His hand at work often…
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Every once in a while I have one of those moments where I realize something cool about my life. A few days ago, we crossed the 100 day mark here in Nicaragua. I talked with a few friends back home about this milestone and what it meant, what we’ve been through, how things are going,…
Once upon a time, in 1994, a lovely princess met a rad lifeguard, er… intrepid knight, and fell hopelessly in love. Actually, the falling-in-love part came later. But they went out a few times and realized that they enjoyed being together more than being apart. During their first Christmas season together they traveled yonder and…
We realized a long time before we left that this Christmas would be completely different than usual for our family. One of the downsides to living like nomad gypsy traders is that we couldn’t really justify buying a Christmas tree. For one thing, they don’t really do live trees here in Matagalpa, leaving us with…
One of the fun things about Facebook is the ability to go back in time to see what was going on in life. Sometimes my kids say funny stuff, and sometimes they do funny stuff, and occasionally something in there makes it to Facebook for all my friends to see. The following status updates are a few…
As of today, December 29th, we’ve been away from our home for exactly 139 days, and we have exactly 139 days before we return. In runner’s parlance we are at the turn around point of a 9 month out-and-back. It seemed appropriate to pull together a few thoughts for the day. Things I’ve learned to…
We have settled into life here in Matagalpa, which may explain why it has been over a month since my last post. Travel tends to cause interesting stories to bubble up, and we haven’t been travelling much. I don’t have any pressing philosophical revelations to explore, no near-death experiences to report, no crazy stories to…
Over the 15+ years that Lindy and I have been together we’ve been through some significant ups and downs. But for me, the 3 years preceding our trip to Nicaragua presented a rising tide of anxiety, frustration, and depression that all but suffocated the highs. My life felt increasingly like somebody else’s. Somebody I didn’t want to…
We are rapidly approaching the end of our time in Nicaragua. In 13 days we will be back to our hometown. I’m so excited that I can barely stand to be in a room with myself. It’s a royal challenge to stay “in the moment”. Fortunately we have lots to do and think about in…
I had the privilege of standing in for Pastor Stephen Collins at LifePoint Church last Sunday. Stephen has been preaching on the book of Ephesians, and asked me to speak on Ephesians 4:1-16. The message was titled “Equipped”. One of my great joys in life is coming alongside individuals in the pursuit of their calling. I believe…
I’ve had the distinct honor of sharing our family adventure with several church and not-for-profit groups since we’ve been back. Our story resonates with people on a number of different levels: How do we know if we are doing God’s will? What do we do when our faith is tested? How do we handle big…
I met with a friend and colleague over coffee this morning. We were deep in conversation when today’s date, August 12th, 2011, suddenly occurred to me. I choked up a little bit as the weight of the anniversary of our departure hit me with more emotional force than I was expecting: It was exactly 1…
