The River Church Community

Blogs: ICE Visit to Nicaragua

bLoG1: Why ICE trips?  (if you read my Honduras Blog ignore this first one.  It is a repeat.)

It is not always clear why we send members of our congregation across seas, mountains, and plains to other countries.  Have you ever wondered why we do this?  I have.  Many times I have questioned the wisdom of spending so much money to board a plane to love someone in another country.  Why travel so far when our unknown neighbors are so nearby? 

I believe these are good questions. They are valid and worth exploring.  As I have struggled with them, I initially concluded that such international compassion experiences are worth more than the money we dedicate to them as long our compassion is not limited to our overseas “neighbors.” 

With that said, with that assumption suspended, I realized that I have a certain local bias.  This local conviction is important to me.  I believe that we cannot ignore our literal neighbors assuming that a weeklong love-trip somehow fulfills a quota.  But I must admit that this conviction has softened as I have traveled to Peru and now Honduras and Nicaragua.

Traveling to Peru, I realized that ICE trips can have an inherent value, regardless of whether the trip leads to on-going compassionate service locally.  Money spent on securing justice is never poorly spent.  I realized that the work done in Peru is, without question, necessary. 

Moreover, during ICE trips we experience a certain alignment, which often escapes us in daily California life.  On ICE trips individuals can experience an alignment between what they read in the gospels and the lives they live.  If only this experience allows one to read the gospels with new eyes, this experience is valuable.  

ICE trips can also help us to exit our Superpower lens for a short time and learn from those who do not see reality from a posture of wealth and power.  ICE trips are an opportunity to learn and repent.  They are an opportunity to see reality from the posture of Jerusalem, not Rome. 

And ICE trips are an opportunity to share our resources with those in need.  Paul teaches that those with much should share with those with little.  Simply, ICE trips are a way to do this. 

But on this trip I have learned a much deeper reason for ICE trips.  There is a purpose, which dwarfs all others.  It is an end and not a means.  I am fully convinced as I sit en una casa en Nicaragua that ICE trips are not about accomplishing something or performing good works.   They are not about personal transformation or biblical application.  In their essence, the purpose of ICE trips profoundly simple.  They are about friendship. 

Leaving Honduras and Nicaragua, I leave friends.  They are not a means to an end but ends in themselves.  They are friends.  Together we have laughed and prayed, broke bread and worshipped.  They have welcomed me with open arms and now we are more than partners and certainly more than international “abstractions,” they are friends with whom I have shaken hands and hugged.  They have given me gifts of precious worth.  But the greatest gift they have offered is friendship.  And that is why I will return and encourage others to go.  Let me introduce you to my friends.  They live in Honduras and Nicaragua.  Let me introduce you to their lives and their struggles.  Let me share with you about the wonderful people that I have met.  My friends.

bLoG2: Nicaragua, Day One

The bus from Honduras to Nicaragua took about six hours.  This may sound odd but I really enjoyed it.  For six hours I was free to read. 

When I arrived in Managua, Osman, Adelaida and Enma picked me up in a Taxi.  Though my Spanish had improved by this time, I was relieved when Osman spoke to me in perfect English.  The ride to San Juan de Oriente was quite quick.  The road along which we travelled apparently goes all the way to Costa Rica; and it was quite smooth, making for a comfortable trip.  Mostly I spoke with Osman, though Adelaida (the director of La Vida) and I spoke for a moment about the day’s schedule.

After dropping my things off at Anita’s home (my wonderful home-stay hostess), we visited families in the pueblo with whom River families had stayed.  As we walked from home to home, it began to rain and we had our first real bonding experience running from shelter-to-shelter to escape the torrential downpour. 

And one of these shelters happened to be a potter’s shop.  More accurately, it was a home, ceramic studio and shop.  Father and son greeted us.   Clearly, it was a family trade.  (I later learned that every home I went into had a potter’s wheel and a little store in which the family sold pottery.  Something like 90% of families in San Juan de Oriente make and sell ceramics).   The son showed us how he made the ceramics and when the rain ceased, we were off to visit another family.       

Having met the different host families, we walked to a dinner with the entire staff of La Vida Education.  Our dinner was in Catalina, the pueblo next door—or better yet, up the hill.  And at the top of the hill are both restaurants and a beautiful view of a lake and volcanoes.  Truly, it is spectacular!

And then we ate.  I ordered bistec con Jalapenos again (by the end of this trip I think I ate this meal 3 or 4 times.  It became a bit of an addiction!)  It was also during this time that I learned more about La Vida Education and its staff.  La Vida (or La Biblioteca as the locals call it) was started by a former River attendee and youth director, Aaron Pick.  It is more than a library—though it is the second most trafficked library in Nicaragua!!! In a town of about 8,000 people, they have over 30,000 visits a year! It also hosts music and art classes as well as helps students at all of the local schools do their homework.  Not only is the staff available to help with student assignments, but La Vida buys the books which students need in their classes so that the poorer students can afford to learn.

As I learned about La Vida, I also learned about its staff: Adelaida, Sully, Enma, Celia, Osman, and David.  Each member of the staff introduced himself or herself and explained how La Vida has helped them.  Most of them shared how little money they had made as teachers at a local school and how working at La Vida had improved their lives.  Now, most of them are able to afford university and able to help their families financially.

Walking home from dinner, Adelaida and David (her husband) invited me to their home.  They shared with me family photos, of their wedding and other special occasions.   And then I asked David, who works at La Vida as a music teacher, to play the guitar for us.  He agreed but then invited us all to sing worship songs.  It was amazing.  I enjoyed all the songs I did not know, and I relished the Spanish songs that I had learned at the River.  It was such a beautiful moment to be able to sing with them!  We truly worshiped together.  We sang for over an hour with David, Adelaida, and David’s parents.  Though it wasn’t Sunday, it was church.

bLoG3: Day Two in Nicaragua

I awoke early and ate.  Anita, my host mother, fed me a delicious meal and I was off to meet the families of the La Vida staff.  Both families were very welcoming and kind.  Each showed me how to throw a pot and shared with me their finished pottery.

As we walked from one casa to another, I noticed that kids were playing baseball in the streets.  It reminded me of old videos in which kids in the Bronx played stickball.  As a bit of trivia, unlike most Latin American countries, Nicaragua focuses its talents on baseball, not soccer. 

Next we took taxies to the nearby town of Masaya.  We ate (and I ate Bictec de Jalapeno again!) and then we checked out the market.  There, Adelaida surprised me with two wonderful gifts.  One is a traditional Nicaraguan shirt, which I wore the next day.  The second is a cup, which I really like.  I had been looking for a goblet with which to celebrate the Eucharist and I found it at the market.  I wanted to get it (I think it was $5) but Adelaida would not allow it.  And so now I have it as a gift!

After a bit of rest at my home stay and some cena, I joined a few of the staff for church—at a Baptist church nearby.  [One of the truly interesting things about the staff of La Vida is that there is an intentional effort made to have a balanced number of Catholics and Protestants.  Because there can be some division between the two communities (as in the US), when La Vida hires new staff they make it an absolute principle to have as equal numbers of Catholics and Protestants.] The church worship was enjoyable but in all honestly I could not understand the sermon.  It seemed like people who understood it enjoyed it.  While the pastor preached and I sat uncomprehendingly, I decided to do a little people watching and I noticed a bunch of gringo families.  I felt like I should wave at them or pass a note.  As you can imagine, I didn’t.     

bLoG4: Day three in Nicaragua

In the morning of my third day in Nicaragua, Adelaida and I walked to a nearby school to explore property that La Vida Education is interested in purchasing.  Due to the enormous demand of their facility, they currently have to force youth from each school into time slots during the week.  For instance, one school might come on Mondays at 8:00am and another at 9:00am and so on.  Even with this forced limitation, it is the second most visited library in Nicaragua!  Imagine if they had a larger facility in which more students could fit.  Well, this is exactly what they have done.  They imagined.  And accordingly they found a piece of land, which is both for sale and being sold for a good price.  With land, La Vida could build multiple buildings to house each of its diverse “ministries.”  It would also enable La Vida to expand its library—which is currently limited by space.  In fact, La Vida has stopped stocking more books because it is already crammed to bursting! 

The property is actually quite beautiful: a green and rolling landscape that lies next to a local road for easy access.  Though many of the coffee plants located on the property would likely be removed, I could imagine that coffee beans might add some revenue.  And more than four acres, it would be plenty of space to build a new facility. 

Hopeful about the prospect of the new property, we next went to a local school. The principle greeted me and then brought me to each classroom in the school.  When I entered each classroom one of the students, on behalf of her/his classmates explained how La Vida’s library has helped them in their studies.  This was pretty amazing.  Their gratefulness for La Vida’s services was overwhelming.  Clearly, it made a significant difference in their lives.    

Before our final dinner, we met with the local priest.  Just as in the US, there are divisions between Protestants and Catholics.  La Vida, as noted previously, has tried to alleviate some of these differences.  My talk with the local priest was another attempt.  He is a kind man who loves his community.  In fact, he is someone I so enjoyed that I hope to remain in contact with him. 

Our final dinner was at Adelaida and David’s home.  The food was excellent but the  worship songs we sang afterwards were even better —Protestants and Catholics worshipping together.  It was beautifully ecumenical.   Yet, best of all, were the gifts given and the pictures taken at the night’s end.  It wasn’t that receiving gifts was the height of the evening but the meaning of the gifts I received from my new friends.  Three of the staff gave me a ceramic creation, which someone in their family made and David painted me a canvas beautifully.  They each gave me something, which reminds me of not only who they are but who their families and communities have been for over a hundred years!  

And, finally, we ended the evening with a fun picture—a picture in which we all jumped about in “unique” postures.  The picture captured a moment of fun and joy.  The picture was particularly significant because after taking the picture with a digital camera, David put it on the TV and we spent a good twenty minutes laughing together.  It will be one of those moments I remember for a long time.   


bLoG5: Nicaragua Thoughts, We Made it out of Clay

I would be remiss to write about San Juan de Oriente and not have an entry dedicated to ceramics.  As I mentioned earlier, every home I entered was also a workshop.  And I should say it is like entering into a history—both familial and communal.  The word workshop does not communicate the personal passing on of their tradition from generation to generation.  In every home, a father or a mother had passed on her skills to her children.  Father had taught son.  Mother had taught daughter.  In one home, I met three generations of potters—grandmother instructed mother, mother taught daughter and daughter I am sure will teach her daughters if she has any.  So, to enter a home is to enter an on-going story.  In this particular multi-generational home, the grandmother handed me a ceramic vase, which she had found as a child.  Apparently, it was from hundreds of year previous.  From her ancestors…  

And it is story, which also is linked to the earth.  All their clay comes from the earth, found in their backyards and the countryside.  Many of the colors used to decorate are also from a local lakeshore.  And interestingly, not only are the paintbrushes made from sticks and the like but the bristles are often composed of human hair. 

One of the things which I find most frustrating about consumption in the US is not that we consume too much but rather that we consume poorly and not enough.  These potters consume resources that they gather themselves from their local community.  We consume items shipped across the globe.  And they consume thoroughly—they even use their hair for bristles!  We eat half of a sandwich and toss it; we buy new technological devices every year, trashing last year’s model which seemed to all observes to work just fine.  And so it goes.

 On my second day in San Juan de Oriente, I walked into Sully and Celia’s family home (they work at La Vida) and their father greeted me and proceeded to explain to me about their town and pottery.  Have you ever been in a situation when the person talking to you really seems to know what he is saying?  Because, you know how sometimes people go on and on about things they have never experienced.  (My favorite is when people have dogmatic opinions about things they have never read.)  When their father began to talk about their town and pottery you knew he knew his stuff.  It helped that his hands were covered in clay.  We must have just interrupted him.  In one hand he held what looked like a pot’s handle, which he preparing to attach.  With the other, he gesticulated as he told his story.

San Juan de Oriente made plates, cups and other functional pottery when the rest of country was eating food out of leaves.  People from around the country and Central America came to San Juan de Oriente to trade.  It was so famous for its ceramics that it was affectionately named San Juan de Los Platos.

And then in the 1970’s “Western” banks came to the pueblo.  They saw the commercial potential of the enterprise and made the economic most of it.  They encouraged the potters to make more decorative, and less functional, pieces to sell to tourists.  So, in addition to utilitarian and rustic ceramics, they began to make pre-Columbian copies and other creative pieces.  They also gave the potters colors, which they did not have—of which black was most significant. Furthermore, to increase the speed of production, they also introduced the spinning wheel. 

[Lost in translation (due to my limited Spanish) was whether these additions were particularly helpful.  What benefits resulted from these additions and did they have long-term positive results?  Yes, a tourist received a beautiful vase and set it on her table in Madrid.  But did the woman and the future potters in her household benefit?  These are questions I ask myself but was not able to ask at the time.]

One thing that did not change in the 1970’s was oven construction.  In backyards around the town ovens cook clay.  Little brick igloos heat clay to over 800 degrees.  It is amazing.  Taking a peak at the brick igloos I was puzzled by the simple and yet profound engineering.  A $4000 industrial pottery-baking device could do no better.  This backyard over made of local materials did the job.  And from my perspective, based on the beautiful ceramics throughout the town, it did an excellent job.  Moreover, they built it.  They formed the oven with their own hands and because of this were given a skill which flipping switch on machines rarely does.  Like most modern machinery, it increases speed but decreases skill.  Too often, a sad exchange, if you ask me.  

bLoG6: Nicaragua Thoughts, Public Gatherings, Time and How to Be

We just showed up at people’s homes.  Unannounced, we entered and chatted. 
If we tried to just show up at each their homes in the US, it is not that people would not welcome the visitors (I hope), but that most of us would not be home.  We are busy, productive and paying for entertainment.   

I find it significant that the people of San Juan de Oriente often gather without paying for a reason to gather.  From what I could tell, they rarely go to movies or pay for someone to entertain them to provide significance to being gathered. They simply eat together and talk.  They just sit in parks and lookouts.  They sit in one another’s homes.  It is a beautiful thing.  So often this is not true of us.  This is why actors and actresses, spots players and other famous people make so much money!  We pay their salaries.

But this is not even the primary point I want to make.  Time is not king in Central America.  In the US, time rules.  Sure, Jesus is greater than Cesar but is Jesus really more important than our time?  In Silicon Valley the watch (followed by the chip) is king.  I can’t tell you how liberating it was for me to enter slow life.  I felt no pressure to be productive with my time or to fill it.  Waiting for someone for 30 minutes was less frustrating because my schedule was not packed.  As I waited, I enjoyed the chicken strutting on the streets, pigs pacing, and thin horses munching on grass.  And if I were lucky, a beautiful parrot would land nearby, showing off.  Or other times I would simply watch the sky and dark clouds prowling or simply become lost in absent-minded thought. 

The pace, the slowness, reminded me of Sabbath slowness.  A slowness that accepts the simple fact that God is in control, not us—a slowness which embraces being a limited and humble creature that will die but whose creator is gracious and merciful.  If I were to contrast this Sabbath orientation to our orientation in the US, it would be like the simple and yet profound story of the tortuous and the hare.   And we all remember who “wins” in the end.
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bLoG7: Nicaragua Thoughts, Exporting Technological Culture 

My conversation with Gerardo Rodriquez, San Juan de Oriente’s priest took place in an adjoining room of the Internet café.  Its location is ironic given one of the topics, which we discussed: electronic technology.   While Westerners are becoming more aware of the cultural perspectives, biases and assumptions that they bring to a place, few of us even consider the technological culture that we bring with us and that it is being spread around the globe without thought of its consequences.  When the priest said something along these lines (though much more diplomatically), he was surprised that I heartily agreed with his critique.

For instance, most of us assume that technological progress is a good thing.  Health care saves more lives.  Advances in engineering enable water distribution and ensure the water’s safety.   The examples are numerous.  And they are real and good improvements. 

But we rarely consider the other technological “advances” which we adopt and then pass onto the rest of the world.  For instance, cell phones.  I was surprised to see how many people in Nicaragua have cell phones.  And my immediate question is whether or not this is a good addition to culture—whether in the US or otherwise.  Just like in the US, I saw people gathered together in a crowd of friend text messaging and phone-focused.

Or TV.  Is the TV a societal good?  Now that electricity has arrived, TV’s are becoming central to living room arraignments—with TV as focal point.  How will this affect social and family life?  In the US, the facts are very clear about how it affects family life.

Or Ipods?  I have seen young people walking around wearing earphones and even wearing them in the presence of friends.  In the US, the same is true.  Is this a societal good?  Better yet, is it an ecclesial good? 

Questions to consider are how does technology affect our understanding of the incarnation and therefore embodiment?  How does it affect the speed of our lives and the practice of the Sabbath and walking with a Slow God—a God who walked for forty years a distance that most humans cross in two weeks?  How does our technological culture affect our consumption and our relationship to the earth?  How does our tech culture lead to the disenchantment of our perceived reality and therefore lead us from the awe in which we encounter God’s presence?

As I visited Honduras I asked myself whether such (and other) technological advances are really ecclesial goods?   If not, then why don’t we even talk about them?  Such “advances” are spreading across the globe.  These “advances” have not only affected the US church but now they are spreading to the rest of the globe.  What are we to do?  I believe that if we are the presence of Christ whenever we are, then we need to seriously begin to question whether the technologies that we place so much hope in (yes, hope) are actually an ecclesial good.  These are not only questions for US Christians serving around the globe but they are essential questions for all of us living in one of the most technological valleys on the earth.  Technology is not bad in itself.  I am no Luddite or technophobe.  But like anything it can be used for good or for ill.  And, yet, I only here a chorus of its potential good.  Why is that?