Flying and Running.

April 5, 2009. Managua to Springfield.

What to say about a day spent at in airports? We left Managua at 8am (9am CST), and arrived in Atlanta at 1:30ish EST. We thought we had time, but we were wrong. Customs was ridiculous! We waited forever for our luggage and by the time we went through the line and got to our terminal, it was almost 3. Our flight was supposed to leave at 3:02. Needless to say we were running.

Well, as usual when you are running late to these things…once you get to the gate, they announce that their will be a slight delay due to overbooking. Well, we left about 15 min late and arrived in Springfield at 4:20. I said goodbye to Ryan and headed out into the cold without a coat mind you.

Tif picked me up and we headed home. It was nice to be home. She did very well with the clean house and the shampooed carpets and washed dogs. She made it very welcoming to be home.

We sat on the couch, looked at pictures, I told some stories. Then it was off to financial peace university with Dave Ramsey. It struck me then that I was on a very whirlwind day; I woke up in Nicaragua, took a shower, admired the lizards that were on the outside of the glass as they were every morning, walked to breakfast, had some fruit and coco puffs (naturally) and then I was ready to go. Eight hours later I was sitting 2,000 miles away in my church, watching a video about how to achieve financial peace. What a weird day. Now I’m sitting on my couch, wifi going strong and I’m writing this here blog. How small the world seems sometimes.

Like I said…not much to say about a day spent in airports. You fly. You run. You fly some more.

Leaving.

April 4, 2009. Managua, Nicaragua.

Today was the odd day of the trip. Ryan, myself, Clarence (one of our translators) and Erika (she heads up Rainbows scholarship program) drove up to Estili, which for all of you cigar enthusiasts out there is where most of the handmade Nicaraguan cigars are made. Rainbow supports a couple of children who attend a school for the blind there. We met the people who run the school and two of the students that they sponsor and drove back. It’s about a two ½ hour drive one way, so there was time to kill.

Most of the road was the same road that Ryan and I drove yesterday, so as far as filming much scenery, I already had it. So, having fresh in my mind the lack of connecting I’ve been able to do on this trip (with Nicaraguan’s that is) I decided to play 20 questions. Well, really I just played ask questions and get people talking until we get home. Here’s the trick, Clarence speaks English, Erika does not…so Clarence had to repeat everything everybody said, including himself! I felt sorry for him. But we seriously had a great conversation about Nicaraguan culture and the work of Rainbow and the future and so on. Some questions were silly, some were serious. It was a truly fun conversation to have, and the element of being able to communicate effectively with someone who doesn’t even speak the same language was amazing.

So after we arrived back to the hotel, Clarence and Erika said their goodbyes and went to get a taxi. All day Ryan and I had apologized to them for having them work on their day off, and we both felt bad about it. I had been thinking that it would be a good gesture for us to buy them lunch, so I ran out to them and asked them if was ok to feed them lunch. I said I would feel better if they would let me. Naturally, they did…who turns down a free lunch? So the four of us headed over the airport (which is across the street) because the airport has a food court that is open to the public and it’s cheaper than the hotel restaurant. We all ate at a place called Tip Top, it’s like KFC. Our conversation continued there, but it was defiantly more humorous and not serious, just plain relationship building, ordinary conversation. Who knew a normal conversation could be so much fun?

This evening was a bit different. We interviewed Keith here at the hotel. This is his last trip as president. He officially steps down in two weeks. He said today was good, tomorrow will be very emotional for him. He is cleaning out his office and taking some stuff home that he’s had down here for 14 years! I can’t imagine.

It’s been an interesting trip. I can’t say that I recommend being the camera man, audio man, director, producer all at the same time. It’s really not very effective. I know I got the job done, but I would have done it better with help. There is always next time.

For those of you who have traveled much, the last day in a country is always a hard one. You want to leave, but you don’t. You feel like you’ve learned so much, yet you know you don’t really know very much. There are so many things you are glad you did, and so many things you wish you would have done. There is so much work to be done here, and you know that you are going to go home and distance yourself from what you’ve experienced. You know that there is no way to describe your experience to anybody, and you almost fear that conversation, yet at the moment you can’t think of anything else to talk about. You’ve been immersed in a culture and tomorrow you will step into an airport and leave that culture and that mindset literally at the door. Yet, when you get home and get off the airplane and step out of the doors of a different airport part of you really wishes that part of that culture and atmosphere will meet you there…and it doesn’t. The brain flips out. Some of us control it better because we are veterans and we’ve become numb.

You feel very rich when you are here, yet when you get home, you don’t feel it anymore. You feel very poor and somehow less ‘real’ than when you left (at least those us who by American standards are actually poor). I can’t imagine what someone who is rich feels like. Probably a bit like shit, but that would all depend on their nature and how they use their wealth. I’m not trying to belittle the rich; I plan to be one of them. I am merely stating that I think it might be harder for them in some ways to see their wealth against the backdrop of people who live in a mud hut. The difference between them and me is that they are more likely in a position to help than I am. This is where I feel like shit…there, now we are all even and feeling the same way.

There is a great story happening here. Furthermore, there are great stories happening everywhere. Look for them. Let them inspire you to change you. Be a part of the story, your page is waiting for you to pick up ink and write something.

The other side of the lens.

April 3rd, 2008. Managua, Nicaragua.

First things first…the air conditioner worked, so I slept. Sleeping is such a nice thing to do after you’ve been up all day and not slept the night before. Next on the agenda…breakfast. I didn’t care if I didn’t sleep I was going to get up no matter what. I didn’t eat coco puffs though.

Rainbow Network has purchased new land just a few blocks from the hotel we are staying at in Managua. We went there this morning to film Keith talking about the plans for the land and what it means for the future. It’s a really large piece of land that they got for dirt cheap. In their dreams, they hope not just to build a better head office here, but also a warehouse and possibly a medical clinic. But the really cool thing that they are hoping works out…it turning the land into a NGO hub. They are hoping to partner with several other NGO’s who are looking for a safe place to build an office. Having several of them have offices together could be a really powerful network of allies.

From here Ryan and I headed to the mountains. Our final destination was an area known as St. Ramon, which is just past the city of Magaulpa. Our agenda was to hook up with the director of the office in St. Ramon, Mary Luz. She took us to two different communities, El Paraíso and La Grezia. The reason for this trip was to show Rainbow supporters a different flavor of Nicaragua. This is a very rural area with some very intense poverty situations.

We met one lady who’s family of 18 lives with her in her house. The house was the same size, if not a bit smaller than my hotel room. So, her children, grandchildren and other relatives all lived there. As far as locations go, the house was set in an immaculate setting. Very green, lots of trees and plants and flowers but the house itself was one of the worst I’ve seen here. Dirt floor, obviously, walls made of thin pieces of wood tied together to form a structure, and a mixture of mud and wood pieces to form the walls, and naturally a tin roof. The tin roof had enough small holes in it that it looked like someone was punching out star constellations all over the roof.

One of the major physical/health related issue that faces the people who live in the rural areas in these conditions are respiratory problems. Most of the families cook inside the house over an open flame. They use wood to fuel the fire, as opposed to using coal which is standard in other parts of the developing world. Smoke fills the houses because as you can imagine, there is no proper ventilation for the smoke to escape. After being in one of these houses you quickly understand the respiratory issues.

One of the major problems with filming documentary style, especially if you are the cameraman, director, cinematographer, and audio person all at once is that you don’t really interact with those you are filming. There are other people with me doing the interaction and I am looking through the lens, which for those of you who aren’t experienced in that way…for an artist looking through a lens, you kind of get sucked in to the screen/viewfinder, and reality slips away. You are more concerned with your framing that with the people. It’s a major downside to the job. So, I decided today that I wanted to interact a little bit. After I had filmed everything I thought we needed, I would had the camera over to Ryan and simply walk around the houses again, without the video camera and actually see what I had filmed. I know it sounds weird and a bit shallow, but it’s not, it’s just the job.

Because of this choice, I had my favorite moment of the trip so far. As I was walking back through, there was a young girl cooking in the kitchen. I took a few pictures of her and quickly called for our translator, Hiro, to come and help me speak to the girl. I asked her what she was making…she was making a tortilla. I figured as much, and told her that I had seen people in Kenya and Jamaica make similar food and that I thought that it looked good. She laughed quietly, gave me a great smile, and blushed in the way that really humble people do when you try to pay them a compliment. It was a beautiful moment.

To most people who haven’t experienced the developing world, they will have a hard time grasping what I have said and what I’m about to say. I can not tell you how I longed to get to a place that was more ‘slum like’ and very very poor. I love to go to those places. Not because I love their conditions, but because I fall in love with the people who have survived those conditions and still have their honor and dignity. It’s a reality check if you will. It shows you, if you are paying attention, a little bit of what life is all about.

Jesus says that the poor will always be among us. I’m not God, so I can’t tell you why exactly this is and why he doesn’t just rip poverty away from us forever, but I have a few theories. One that is most dominant in my thought process is simply that the poor and poverty stricken people of this world really resemble the face and the love of Christ in so many ways, that I think that they are around so that we can see the face of God and be humbled. Not guilty, but challenged and inspired to do something. The poor people in the developing world are a very resilient and determined people. They are not stupid or lazy. If they were, they’d all be dead already.

But they are not. And they survive.

Food and Children

April 2nd, 2009. Managua, Nicaragua.

Well my long day actually started with a long night. My air conditioner stopped working and my room got pretty stuffy. Not only was it not working, but there was something rattling inside and I couldn’t find it. So, I was hot, sweaty, and there was a ‘rat a tat tat’ next to my head all night. Needless to say, didn’t fall asleep until 2am. I finally got up, took a shower and tried to write this blog. I was worn out enough that I finally crashed, slept through my alarm and got out of bed just in time to get everything ready and leave. But, there was no breakfast for me.

Today was the big day that I was originally brought down here for. Today the Rainbow Network celebrated serving their 25 millionth meal!! That’s no small feat!

The story goes like this, 13 years ago Keith Jaspers, founder, had a meeting in a small community where they had a school and did sponsorships. At the end of that meeting Keith stood up, getting ready to leave, and asked if there was anything else? A young teacher spoke up, after trying to brave the courage over the last hour. She said, yes Keith, there is something. Everyday I have at least 3 children pass out in my class because they have no food. They can’t focus, they can’t study. They need food. Apparently, at this moment, Keith sat back down, and the meeting began all over again. That teacher was there today, and she told her story. The event was held on the very grounds that that meeting took place.

The feeding is one small portion in what Rainbow does, but as Keith prepares to retire and hand over the reigns to his organization, it was a very good way to celebrate. It was something tangible, something memorable, and something important. To show how much the feeding centers have done throughout the area, some people got on a bus at 2am just to be at the ceremony.

The finale of the ceremony was when all the special guests gathered around the children and served them all their meal at the same time. I know it meant a great deal for those involved to be there and experience the moment. I don’t think I’ll forget it as long as I live. There were so many things represented in that one act and so many things achieved in that one moment.

Be the change you wish to see in the world…and your world will become that change.

Medicine and Rocks

April 1st, 2009. Managua, Nicaragua.

I had coco puffs for breakfast this morning. As I sat down and took a few bites, the board chairman said to me, “You’re not eating coco puffs are you?” I said, “Yes, why?” He said, “There’s rat poison and feces all over their cereal down here. I would stop eating that if I were you.” Not totally believing him, I took my next bite. He looked at me strangely serious, I said, “seriously?” as I put down my spoon and gave him a puzzled look. “No, really…April fools.” I finished my cereal in peace.

Today we headed to Del Rio, to the St. Augustine clinic where we met a doctor who works for Rainbow. We took the Pan American Highway for about an hour north (I believe) and picked up our guide for the day, Erica. She led us to the house where the doctor was treating patients that day.

I don’t know how many times I’ve been off-roading in a vehicle, but it’s not much. You know things like going mudding or taking a rental truck and plowing through three feet of snow (thanks Justin), but I have a feeling that I was on an excursion that would match up with the best of them. You see, to get to where the doctor was practicing, you don’t normally use a vehicle…in fact, a vehicle won’t even get you to the house…you had to walk no matter what. Most people, well, a good number of people in the rural areas have horses, and they are not for breeding or showing or racing…they are for transportation. There is a reason. A mild description of the road we were on would go like this: Imagine a relatively tropical/desert looking topography with the upper layer of ground being made of semi-smooth rocks averaging a size a little bigger than my head. I’m not talking rocks and stones that have been smoothed out over time into a street, I’m talking about a road that makes my drive across Kenya seem like a limousine ride. And, we were on that road for a good 30 min. Lucky for us, it was only one of three such roads we would encounter today, but this was by far the worst. The guys that have been coming down here for the last several years also agreed that it was by far the worse road that they’d seen.

So, at the end of the road, we arrived at this beautiful place with an amazing lush setting. (lush for dry season anyway). The house sat on the edge of a cliff that opens up to a huge lake, with very green surroundings and huge mountains in the background. It reminded me of the scene in ‘Land Before Time’ when they finally reach the ‘promise land’, or the land of the ‘five star leaf.’[or whatever they called it]

From here we trekked back across the road from hell, which I have since learned is a lava field actually, and went down another road similar in conditions to the newest housing development. They are building 35 homes, and the last few are almost complete. In May, they will have a ‘opening’ ceremony when all the houses are complete and the owners get to move in. We spoke to the head of construction for the development and spoke to the leader of that community. They are very excited to see the benefits that will come from the houses.

The reason these houses are such a blessing came evident in our next stop. We drove ½ mile and went to see a family that had purchased one of the houses. This family lives in a mud house, with a tin ceiling that has multiple holes in it. These two things mixed together do not make a good combination come rainy season. The house floods and the walls melt away. The home is most likely re-built every year.

The unique thing about this family is what they are doing to get themselves out of poverty. They started a family business of making hammocks several years ago. They would but the yarn from the same man who bought the hammocks from them and then sold them in different markets. Apparently the man sold them the materials at such a high cost and bought the hammocks at such a low cost, that the family never actually made any money. They received a micro-loan from Rainbow, two actually, and within the last twelve months, have increased their profits many times over because they are now buying the materials themselves and making their own yarn. They are making enough that they were able to purchase a new house and anxiously await moving to the new place in May.

From here we made a pit stop to meet an old friend of the guys in Rainbow. Her name is Victoria. When they first met her, she was more or less crippled in some way and couldn’t walk. He children would carry her around in what you and I would call a plastic lawn chair if she needed to go anywhere. In September, they were able to bring Victoria to Springfield to have surgery. The results were amazing, and today she jumps for joy and walks everywhere. To show just how much she went through, and just how much she is loved, we drove as far as we could to her house, and then had to walk the remaining 20 min just to get to her house. The path to her house was full of bigger rocks than we had driven over earlier. As we arrived, I discovered that we merely did all this just to say hello. Her entire family met us as we came over the hill to her house. She was sad that we could not stay, yet tears of joy welled up in her eyes as she embraced those she knew.

It is people like Victoria that give you hope that there is still good in this world and there will be until the end. She is one of many stories that exist in the developing world that should humble you to your knees and reflect on the meaning of life for a while. Any amount of problems that I personally face, just don’t compare to the struggles of the everyday man/woman and child throughout the world. The day we spoiled rich kids learn to stop complaining and start acting on our natural God-given instinct to do good in this world, we may finally find true peace amongst the chaos of life.

The empowered empowers.

March 31st, 2009

I think this day may go down as one of the longest days of my life. My thoughts may come out a little jumbled and illogical, but I’m not trying to write a Pulitzer here, just trying to recall the day.

Breakfast. The hotel has a full scale breakfast with cereal, pancakes, eggs, bacon, fresh fruit and even a guy that will make omelets for you. We don’t have plans for lunch, or time, so breakfast is extremely important. Needless to say, we eat a lot in the morning.

Ryan and I have our own vehicle, as we are on a different schedule than everybody else here. We are driving around in a Toyota SUV, can’t remember the name of it but I know they don’t sell in the US. Anyways, so we headed out to the main office to pick up our translator, Hiro. On the way out, we passed by the old cathedral that is here. If you google Managua, the cathedral will be one the first things you come across.

Once we got outside of town we drove past Lake Managua. It’s a huge body of water with volcanoes and the whole bit. We came to one of those ‘scenic views’ along the highway and stopped. When I got out, I was amazed at what I saw. Lake Managua didn’t look too pretty. The water looked like antifreeze. Sure enough, there were some major industrial companies along the waterfront several years ago, including Kodak, and they basically polluted the lake beyond imagination. The fury that built up in me as I looked at this huge source of water and resource ruined in party by ‘western society’ I just wanted to punch someone.

Redemption. In the middle of this lake stands an active volcano. At the base of this volcano is a geo-thermal energy plant. So, amidst destruction, modern science is taking advantage of the natural heat to create energy. This made me forget about punching for a while.

From here, we headed to check out the school program that they run down here. They have child sponsorships that support people to go to school. We were at a high school where 15 graduates of the program met us. They all shared their names, year of graduation and plans for the future or in most cases what they are already doing. We also talked with the school director and one of the teachers at length about the work of the school and the impact on the community.

The most amazing story from this day was of a young girl; again memory has failed me for her name, which was supported medically by the rainbow network when she was a child. She had a very serious heart condition that nearly ended her life. Rainbow stepped in and she had heart surgery that saver her life. She later became a sponsored child by Rainbow and graduated from high school. She is now apart of another program called “Young Entrepreneurs.” This program is for people who want to start a business. So, long story short, as she was describing her past, she began to weep as she told us about how thankful she was for the help she had received, and announced that she is now trying to start a pharmacy in her community. Her sweet spirit, her compassion, her determination and her miracle filled life will surely lead her to success. After we spoke with her at the school, we followed her to her house where she showed us around and her very proud mother and family gave us a tour of their community.

Another aspect of the work that is being done here is housing. Over 300 (I think) houses have been built in the last few years by rainbow. They build them in communities, around 35 houses in a community. She lives in one of these and we were able to see the many families living in secure, concrete homes, as opposed to the mud homes that dominate the land. As you can imagine, during the rain season, the mud homes don’t last long.

I know it doesn’t sound like a very hard day, but in the heat and following people around all day juggling a camera, microphones, cables and two backpacks…you get worn quick. I filmed exactly three hours of footage today.

I am learning a lot about this culture and the problems here in a very short amount of time. And I am learning it from experts who have been working here for almost 20 years. I feel like I am grasping well the rural struggles of the areas I have been in and I must say it is no easy thing to live in rural Nicaragua.

Day One

Buenas Noches from Managua!

Being back in Latin America is really amazing. The sight the smells and the sounds all bring back fond memories of so many different places. But before all that, let’s get to the ‘how were the travels’ part of everything.

We left Springfield at 10:11 ish in the morning on Monday (which, more than any other place I’ve been, feels like a week ago already). Landed in Atlanta and Ryan and Jim and I went to Chili’s for lunch. Knowing that we had several hours on our hands, we sat there for a long time. I had a hamburger I think, and of coarse a coke-a-cola to drink. Heaven forbid that any airports or any airlines anywhere carry Mt. Dew, or Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper! Seriously, how is coke still kicking everybody out? Ok, back to the story.

Ryan and I were ‘flying’ buddies if you will. We were seated next to each other on both flights, and he’s the guy that I’ve spent the most time with prior to the trip, and it’s he and I that are doing all the video work, so we’re spending a lot of time together. So, almost the entire duration of both flights we talked about the plans for this week. We really tried to nail down what we were looking for, what type of stories and so on. Not having much time to prepare for this journey, I was feeling desperate to know these things.

My first view of Managua was from the plane (obviously). I was not surprised by what I saw, because I had done my homework. I saw beneath me a fairly organized, very well lit modern city. I could see the traffic lights, yes they have them and they even stop when it turns red…they even keep their vehicles in lanes (except for the motorcycles). Very reminiscent of the places I have been in Mexico. So, this is what I saw from the sky and it was proved when we were out of the airport and literally walked across the street to the entrance of the hotel.

After the plane had come to a rest and the doors were open, well…let’s just say it was obvious that the doors were open. The heat poured in very fast and very thick. I knew I had arrived. The funny thing about arriving in Nicaragua was the music that started playing over the airplane’s intercom, “Babylon” by David Grey. Don’t get me wrong, I love that song immensely, but that was the truly last place I expected to hear it.

The hotel we are staying at is called Las Mercedes. It’s a Best Western. It’s pretty stinking nice. The physical housing is a remodeled US Army barracks. It’s a huge facility with many many rooms, two pools, a bar, a restaurant, wireless internet and on and on. The staff are extremely hospitable.

The rooms are amazing. Air conditioned, hot water, electricity, alarm clock, desk, TV (with CNN!!!), two night stands, toilet, sink, tile floor and a pretty hard bed with two pillows. Yeah…I’m a little spoiled, and I have my own room. And to add to my comfort, I brought the appropriate audio cables to hook my mp3 player to the aux input on the TV and use it as a radio (when I’m not watching CNN).

So, on this day of first’s…that is first to Central America, first to leave the country with only strangers…I had another first that I did not expect. I had a Cuban…cigar that is. However, I have a dilemma. I am not an avid cigar smoker. In fact, it’s been years since I’ve had one. So, I relate this to wine. If someone had a bottle of wine that was considered the best wine in the world…you know some French or Italian wine that was 100 years old and the bottle cost $12,000 or something…if someone gave that to someone who had never had wine before…they wouldn’t really grasp what they were tasting…it would almost be a waste of a good wine. I relate that to the Cuban I had. It tasted and smelled like a lot of cigars I’ve had before. So, not being a coinsure, it may have been wasted. Be that as it may…I won’t lie; I enjoyed that Cigar knowing the controversy that exists in the states over them. It just felt like a very ‘right’ moment.

And that’s what it was like for me to come to Nicaragua for the first time.

The Nicaragua Chronicles

It's another chapter in this crazy thing called life. It's a typical night before traveling to a foreign country...it's 11:30pm and I've not packed a thing. I leave my house at 9am. That's just how it works I suppose. But regardless of how slow or fast I pack, I'll be in Managua, Nicaragua by 7pm CST tomorrow, March 30th.

It's a surreal feeling to be leaving the country again. It's exciting beyond imagination to be headed somewhere I know very little about. I have no cognitive presuppositions about Nicaragua. I know that it's a poor place and that's all, except for their craft of handmade cigars, of which I will sample. I look forward to seeing things with fresh eyes and an open mind...and educated and experienced mind. After spending a month in Africa, I feel like I really learned a good deal about development work and it's struggles and complications. So, I'm really excited and honored to be able to see another section of the world, fulfilling my deep desire to see more of the world than anyone I know. (I've got a long way to go to catch up with Andrew)

So here's to travels and spending the next week butchering any and all of the Spanish language that I may have picked up while sleeping through class.