Robbery: The Aftermath

In case you haven’t heard, or didn’t read my last newsletter (shame on you), Yeril and I were robbed last month in a taxi in Managua.

If you have heard/read/etc. you may be wondering how we’re doing now taking taxis…

Unfortunately, this event has affected how both of us look at the people around us. I don’t have the same innocence/trust that I had before. I look around and I see dishonest people, I see people who given the opportunity would steal something from me, I think carefully about what I take with me at all times… it’s different, but it’s life. Maybe I should have thought a little more like this before as well. Maybe it’s not bad to be more cautious. However, when we were coming home last night from the store and needed to take a taxi it took us just a little too long to actually accept a taxi. It was hard because we wanted to take one that looked trust-worthy, but you also don’t want to stand in the same spot too long waiting to choose the right one because that gives time to the people on the street to check you out and make plans. We finally chose a taxi that we both thought looked safe, and right after I sat down I thought “I’m such an idiot… I didn’t pay any attention to the number… again” then I prayed. I got a little uneasy as we turned down the same street where the other taxi driver had picked up the two men who assaulted us. We arrived home and discussed how it’s not fun to have this new development in our attitudes.

Even as we examine the street where we live we feel like it’s getting just a little more dangerous. Our house at the mechanics shop we still feel is very safe, but the street and neighborhood at night is something that we take a little more seriously. Our 6 month contract at our apartment expired the day after we returned from the states so we’re extending for another 3 months and we hope to find something a little bigger and more comfortable (hopefully an attached kitchen) during that time. There are a couple of options in Yeril’s parent’s neighborhood but it’s far away from the church so without a car it’s not real practical for us.

We were not able to raise enough money while in the states to purchase a car, but we’re still hoping and praying for more support to come through to help us save and buy one. We were able to save a little and invest a little so we can get started towards buying a car.

Please pray with us for safety, that we’ll be able to find the right house to rent in a safe/close location, and for the finances for a car.

Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Dr. Seuss vs. Youth… and Pan Chiquito

A couple of weeks ago I took on a new challenge… preaching to the youth. I didn’t do too bad, the last two weeks I took on a whole new challenge… reading Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who, in Spanish to 5 year olds. Which is harder?? By FAR Dr. Seuss!!! Two weeks ago I started reading the book to the kids during Segundo Paso and this week when it was time to finish one of the kids asked if we were going to finish the story about the elephant. I was happy that they were actually asking me to read it! We were able to finish the story but it was much much harder than speaking to the youth. Thankfully 5 year olds are pretty forgiving with my Spanish.

On another note… This week a couple of the girls in Segundo Paso asked me where Pan Chiquito (little bread) was so I asked them who that was and they informed me that it was my husband. He was giving guitar lessons to a couple of the boys and these girls were going to be next and wanted to know where he was. When I asked him later about the nickname he told me that they had asked his name so that’s what he told them it was. I’ve seen the girls a couple more times since Wednesday and they always ask about Pan Chiquito!

The Things You See..

Unfortunately, this happened too fast to get a picture. But I’m constantly amused by the things I see working as a missionary here in Nicaragua. My most recent shock/cause for laughing:

A flash goes by my office window and I realize it’s my husband running past in a super hero costume, quickly followed by Chase with a video camera!

Priceless!

They Stole my Idea!!

Last Wednesday afternoon I was with the kids and volunteers from Segundo Paso (our after school/abuse prevention program) in the park across the street from the church and noticed that it needs some fixing up. The next day I went into Paul’s office, he’s our short-term team and intern director/coordinator and made the suggestion that we ask a team to help us paint it and fix it up. Well this morning as I was walking to work I saw a big truck full of guys back up into the park, then as I got closer I saw that they were unloading paint buckets and ladders. They stole my idea! They’ve been painting all morning, and although I’m glad that they’re taking care of the park, I’m a little sad that they stole my idea!

The Good Samaritan

Today Yeril was on his way home from giving a guitar lesson at the church and he saw Jason – one of our neighbors and Niños de Vida regular – alone outside his house. On Saturday mornings after services we walk Jason home since he lives on the way, just two blocks from our house. He tends to walk hand in hand with Yeril.

Whenever we pass his house on the way to or from the church he at least yells ‘adios’ and often asks a bunch of questions (mostly about how to say something in English). Today, Jason told Yeril that no one was home and he was all alone after having been let out of school earlier than expected. Yeril called me to find out what we should do and we decided to leave a note and bring him to the house. We watched cartoons, gave him a little snack and answered twenty questions… he’s a curious little guy! I love the way that Yeril cares about the kids around us.

Jason eating a snack Yeril bought for him.

Jason’s step-father came and got him an hour and a half later and was grateful that we were able to help out.

No One Deserves To Be Loved

Today I was listening to a sermon about adoption and our inheritance from God.  I started thinking about what the pastor was saying, that when someone adopts a child there should be no difference between that child and a biological child, because God has adopted all Christians as his own.  That led me to think more about God’s love and how we as humans love each other.  We always fail, always.  Your spouses, parents, siblings, friends, pastors, etc. will always let you down.  And sometimes that let down is big, huge, and would appear that doesn’t deserve that love would continue after that let down.  No one deserves to be loved.

When Jesus came to earth to live as a human, and die to pay the death for our sin He demonstrated love.  He loved and loves us and there was absolutely no way that we can say that we deserve it.  We have done nothing to earn a love that would give his life in place of ours.  A love that would give itself for the life of someone that would never return even a fraction of that love, that would never recognize or accept what it did for them.  But that love was and is freely given.

We do not deserve to be loved by God, by our parents, by our spouses, by our children, by our friends etc.

That’s the great thing about love!  It’s not something that is earned, it’s something that is freely given.  We should never feel like we have to earn the love of someone, if we “earn love” it is not love.  We should never feel like someone has to earn our love, that is not love. Love is to be given without the hope or expectation of being returned.  That is the only way we can truly love the way that God has asked us to. To give and give and not expect anything in return, to truly put someone else’s well-being or needs ahead of our own.  Even with God we need to love like that… not expecting anything in return, He has already given us more than we ever deserved!

The next time that you don’t feel like loving, try to remember that love is to be freely given regardless of the circumstances.  That’s what Jesus would do!

Preaching: In Spanish?!?!

This past Friday morning I was not feeling well, and know that we had a big outreach event with a short-term team and about 100 kids in one of the neighborhoods that afternoon, I decided that I would stay at home and try to store up some energy to be able to go full-force in the afternoon.  Mid-morning I started feeling a little bit better and decided to check my emails from home before going into work.  That’s when Ileana, a co-worker of mine, sent me an instant message and asked if I’d be able to give the message on Saturday night for the youth.  I’ve done public speaking before, and don’t have problems with sharing a message with youth, however, I had never done it in another language!

I told Ileana that I would be glad to give it a try.  She had already prepared the topic and some main points for me, which helped a lot.  Anyway, I had a little time to study on Friday and a little on Saturday as well, but not nearly as much as I would have liked.  When the service started we were packed out, we had our highest attendance ever!  If that doesn’t add to a girls nerves I’m not sure what does.  I was a bit nervous, and it showed, but I got a lot of good feedback from, first of all my very supportive husband, but also from others in the church.  People said that I was easy to understand (praise God that they understood me), that my Spanish wasn’t too bad, and that I even was able to relate well to the youth since my Spanish is so nica-style.  I was very pleased to have been able to successfully communicate a whole message in Spanish!

What Breaks My Heart

I know I haven’t posted much on here about my work, you can check out more about it on Facebook though (The Refuge Project), but here’s a recent post that I posted to The Refuge Project’s blog and facebook page.

We’ve now been running Segundo Paso, our after-school program, for five weeks. During these five weeks we have gotten to know the kids and come to care for them even more than before. Emelina, our psychologist, has been able to identify a couple kids that she’d like to work with more. Praise God that the right kids are coming!

That’s the good news, the bad news is that this week we found out that two of the girls will no longer be able to come because their mother and step-father separated and the mother has moved out of the area. This has brought much sadness to the Segundo Paso and Refuge Project staff since one of the girls had been identified by Emelina as one that she’d like to help out more. Please join us in prayer that God continues to guard these two young girls in their path and that He guides them where He wants them to go. However saddened, we are not discouraged for we know that God is with us!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

What breaks my heart is when you know that someone needs help and you have the opportunity, but then that opportunity goes away and you’re left with the desire to do more than you’re able to. The only choice I have is to put these girls in God’s hands, which is where they always had been.

The Wedding!!

The Wedding has now come and gone. Yeril and I are both glad to finally be able to start settling into our lives together that doesn’t include a lot of cross-city traveling and wedding planning! The wedding was beautiful even with a last minute location change due to rain. We knew that a wedding in Nicaragua in mid-May may have a rain-delay so we had a back-up plan and I had great friends that helped pull it off smoothly. The rain did however cause a delay in the groom making it to the wedding site on-time, however, the show went on!

We had a great time with my family and a few friends being here for all of the pre-, and some post, wedding activities. It was really cool for me to see my two worlds colliding in such a foreign (literally) environment. One of the many highlights for me was when my Father-in-law, brother, and a good friend played a song together at the reception. It was a beautiful mix of my life, friends, family, new family, and music.

After the wedding I still and family and friends in town. Yeril and I had decided that even though we just got married, that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to spend time with them here so we took advantage of it. We spent two days with my family and then we left town for our honeymoon. It was nice to get to relax together and I was able to see the town that he was born in. I was also able to meet some of his family that was unable to make it to the wedding.

Here are links to pictures from the wedding and the honeymoon. Enjoy!

The Rehearsal and Wedding

Visiting Granada with My Parents

The Honeymoon: Condega and Estili, Nicaragua

Less than a Month

On Friday I will have just 4 weeks until my and Yeril’s wedding!!! Am I ready? Not exactly. I still have some major and a lot of minor planning things to do. Flowers are the biggest item that I have not figured out yet. However, I do feel like I’m getting closer to figuring out what I want and how I want to do it. Last Monday I went with Yeril when he made the final payment on our rings and we were able to see them and review the engraving. His ring was perfect “Kathleen Lozano 13-05-2011” however, mine came out a bit off “Yeric Lozano 13-05-2011” it should be corrected and waiting for us now, but we won’t be able to go until Monday. Other than the one letter that was off we’re both extremely pleased with the rings and how they turned out. If you’re ever looking to get rings made in Managua we recommend Joyeria Lazo in Bello Horizante. Other small things that we need to get done are getting his pants hemmed, buying his shirt and tie, making final music decisions, and for me I’d like to still lose a bit of weight. I bought my dress last June when I was in Minnesota and it fit like a glove, well it still fits but a little differently. If I’m not able to lose the couple of pounds it won’t look bad, but it’d look just a bit better if I do. 4 weeks and counting… I can do it!!

I’m really excited to see all of the family and friends that are coming down and getting to spend time with them before and after the wedding (yes, Yeril and I are going to take the first couple days after the wedding to spend with out-of-town guests). I’m really looking forward to having my whole immediate family in the same place at the same time and even more special for me is that it’s here where I live. I think it’s been about 3 years since we’ve all been together.

In addition to all the wedding hustle and bustle I’ve been busy with work. The Refuge House is continuing to be prepared and we’re continuing to move forward preparing on our end to get the official go-ahead from the government! We will be inviting them to see the facility and our current programs within the next month and a half! Tomorrow I am going to have a second interview with a psychologist that I’d like to hire and then we’ll start working on our plan of attack the week after next.

Next week is Semana Santa which brings me a much-needed week of vacation (and wedding planning). I’ve been so busy with work and teams being in town that wedding planning has taken a back seat. Next week I plan to finalize flowers and decorations, get my and my sister’s jewelery for the wedding, get Yeril’s pants hemmed, print and hand out the invitations, and hopefully finalize our music list so the bands can practice!

Counting down the days (29)!!