More Books in Nicaragua

Hello, again! I owe you an update from a few months ago. I went on our Facebook page  to talk about it, but never took the time to write up a post. One of the main reasons? I married a wonderful man on August, 4! I'll post a picture of us because I can't pass up the opportunity...

Anyway, on June 26th I went with my sister to S.C.A.R.C.E, and we found the biggest haul of Spanish books yet! Take a look:

It took a long time to go through all the titles and record them here on LibraryThing, but it was worth it to find out how many we got. All told, the Library Mission gained 204 books--121 of them being unique titles. This is because many of them are (gorgeous, brand new) textbooks for math and science and we got multiple copies. You can see exactly what titles and grade levels the books are at the LibraryThing page. In summary,  they are mostly K-5 math and science, with some 6-8 grade materials. 

On July 20th I dropped off around 50 books at Ginger Creek for them to be taken to Nicaragua with the Salt Co. mission trip. I still need to follow up with Jana and see if she got any pictures of them over there or any pictures of the new school, church, and library buildings. 

Needless to say, there are still a bunch of books here that need to go to the kids in Nicaragua!

This Little Light of Mine

Maria and Me - Feb 23, 2012 at Scott Wloszczynski's house

Oh, how I've missed The Library Mission! This evening I met with my small group and we were graced with the presence of Maria who is in town speaking at Ginger Creek. She is such an inspiration. I can scarcely describe how much her passion ignites my own. After telling us her story about how God called her to begin preaching and serving the people of La Chureca (she was watching a news program in 1998), she told us the latest happenings. Nicaragua and Spain have been continuing their project of cleaning up La Chureca and moving people out. Meanwhile, Ginger Creek and others raised funds to purchase land and build new, larger facilities outside of La Chureca--in Tipitapa, I believe. She told us the church is three times as large as the old one and the school has three classrooms. You can see pictures and read about it here. She also said that the response to the school was overwhelming: Maria expected 100 students and there were 215 from La Chureca and the surrounding area who wanted to attend. Consequently, they are lacking pencils, books, chairs, and almost everything else.

I asked Maria if the library is still a necessity and priority and she responded that it is indeed. I was humbled because she said that she speaks of me in Nicaragua, of how I am trying to get more books for them. She said she sees the passion God has given me, which means so much coming from this lady who wakes up at four in the morning so she can pray and listen to God. Her belief in me is an honor I don't deserve.

So what does this mean for the future of The Library Mission?
I haven't given up! Next semester I want to get students and professors from my college, Aurora University, involved in The Library Mission. Whether that means I partner with existing campus groups or start something of my own, I've seen how responsive the student body is to similar causes. You may wonder "why next semester?" This semester is extremely busy for a number of reasons. Aside from going to school every day, tutoring an ESL student, and working as a gymnastic instructor, I am engaged to the most wonderful man ever, Miguel ("Junior") Muñoz, and am consequently planning our August wedding and preparing for life after the wedding. Wow, that was a long sentence.

There are a few upcoming trips to Nicaragua, and while I don't anticipate going myself, I do intend to take Maria's advice and send the books that are in my closet down there in someone's suitcase! I'm also looking forward to springtime and all the library book sales that come with it.

2010/2011 Goals Update

This is a continuation of the previous post. If you've been following The Library Mission's progress, then without a doubt you have noticed the silence this second year of its existence. Back in September last year I set three goals I wanted to accomplish before Salt Company returned to Nicaragua this year. It now being a month after their trip, it is my responsibility to report on the progress of those goals. Since I'm in many ways a perfectionist, I've been dragging my feet, hoping to avoid posting anything other than "I accomplished it all!" This is un-Christlike in two ways: 1) It's dishonest--I think--to withhold information, and 2) It's prideful, making it seem like *I* was the one who accomplished anything to begin with--and it wasn't me, it was God. 

First I'll walk through the goals' outcomes, then I'll discuss the causation and implications.  

1. Fund 2 Encyclopedia sets - The approximated goal was $500. I did not solicit funds, and thus did not receive any. However, I did find a ten-volume Dictionary Encyclopedia set at S.C.A.R.C.E. of Glen Ellen, and the current plan is to send it down in December of this year.
    
2. Pochocuape Computer Lab - I exchanged a few emails with Marcia's husband, who was heading this project on this end, and it was determined that new computer equipment was preferred. This meant money, rather than donated materials were preferred. Since I didn't raise money, The Library Mission did not contribute in that way. I have not heard more about this project, so I need to send a few more emails and find out what is still going on. For various reasons, which I will address later, I think it may be on permanent hiatus if it was not already completed.
   
   
3. Collect Multiples of Books to Grow La Chureca Library and Plant Pochocuape Library - Quite straightforward. Since my last trip down in August 2010, I collected about 50 more titles for The Library Mission. One of those titles I obtained 20 copies of. (It's a small kids book.) As mentioned in a prior post, there is also a Bible story collection that can go to Pochocuape. Since I did not find any new books this past year, there were no multiple copies ordered to help plant a library. For various reasons, I'm not sure if the Pochocuape Library is still feasible. 

The Why:
In regards to the first goal, I never planned how I would raise the money--though I had Salt Company in mind, thinking we might do what we did the previous year when we got $500 for Maria to build cabinets. Since I stopped attending Salt Company, I didn't have an effective way to get them involved. That being said, I still do intend to find money to fund two encyclopedia sets.

Concerning Pochocuape, a few things took place while I was out of the loop that has changed Ginger Creek's mission focus down in Nicaragua. I do not know the details and haven't actively searched for them because it seemed like it may devolve into gossip. What I know is that Ginger Creek has a location other than the compound for groups to stay in while they are down there. It also appears we are no longer actively involved in Perry's missions. The upside is we are able to be involved with more and different people. The downside is it makes it difficult for me to proceed with either the library in Pochocuape or a computer lab.

So if we are not based out of the Pochocuape, where are we focusing? I believe the place Salt and Light Company stayed is "near" an orphanage called Hogar de Fe, where they spent a significant amount of time. (You can read what happened on the trip here.) In addition, a number of months back Ginger Creek did a big collection, in conjunction with a few churches, to raise money for the rebuilding of Maria's community outside the dump. Last week Pastor Charles said we had $80,000, I believe, that will get the project functional. As they figure out more details they will let us know. For the time being, I know that significant progress has been made in clearing the dump. I saw with my own eyes last year how many flat, plastic-covered plains there were that used to be hills of garbage. 


Now what?
I was recently inspired by my brother, Chris. He is a Boy Scout and did the bulk of his Eagle Scout project in July. For his project he built three medical supplies cabinets for Hesed House, found businesses and individuals to donate medical supplies, helped organize a first aid instruction session for Hesed House employees, and a few other things. Chris worked hard to create feasible goals and then reach them. He kept reaching out until he found the right resources. He got advice from his Boy Scout leaders.


Last year, obtaining educational materials other than books was a secondary goal of mine. I want to start placing a little more emphasis on it now--though books will still be at the forefront. As I have found, there are many more places that sell educational supplies than Spanish books. But before I re-evaluate project goals and create a plan of action, I need to get caught up on what is needed. This means I need to speak again with Marcia, Maria, and others. Where does The Library Mission fit in with the current situation at La Chureca? How does it fit in with the construction of the facilities outside the dump? (As a side note, I was told that the construction plans include space for a library! It was even labeled on the model.) And how can The Library Mission help with other Nicaragua-related goals that need to be met?


Even though school is starting again and I'm looking for a job again, because Borders is closing, I am going to find a way to get those encyclopedia sets, more books, and educational materials. 

More Books

After entering them into LibraryThing, the current book count is 306. Of those, 263 are in Nicaragua. Work, finances, and summer school kept me from going to Nicaragua with Salt or Light Company this year. Since graduating High School, I have not been attending Salt Company or volunteering with Light Company, so I was not privy to much of the trip preparations. Consequently, I was unable to arrange for the remaining books to be sent down. There was a possibility at one point, which is when I dragged them all out of my closet and took these pictures.

 

It was a great encouragement as I took out book after book. Going to library book sales and such I wasn't able to find Spanish book in bulk like I did last year, so I had the impression that there were fewer books than there actually are. This in itself points to how great God was helping me and others to get more than 200 books last year! Looking at how "little" was accomplished this past year, it is easy to get discouraged, but it is important for me to remember what God has already accomplished.

Ecclesiastes 3:14-15 

I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.

 

Maria

Maria Magdalena's Story from Ginger Creek Community Church on Vimeo.

Notes from Nicaragua / Missing My Friends

During the first week of our 2010 trip, I met up with a kid in Pochocuape whom I remembered from 2009. We didn't talk much in 2009 (and I thought his name was David). It turned out that his name was Maycol/Michael, and he was 13 years old. We became good friends. I called him "mi hermanito," and joked about packing him in my suitcase for the flight home. He loved singing the songs from the church services and got me to join in even when I didn't feel like it. I just assumed that he was a Christian--after all, he's pretty old and goes to church all the time.

Friday of the second week, we had a very moving service at Pochocuape. Afterwards I saw Maycol crying and it turned out that he had just accepted Christ for the first time. It was especially special to me because I had the opportunity to play the main role in the Lifehouse "Everything" drama we did in Spanish that night. I like to think God let me be a factor in why he chose to accept Jesus that particular night. I was incredibly happy for him and told him in Spanish that now he really is my brother--in Christ. 

Now, over the course of the past several days I had been teaching him "How have you been?" because I had learned how to say it in Spanish. I would ask him in English and he would reply with a perfunctory "bien" or "fine." But when I asked him a while after the service on Friday night he surprised me by practically shouting, "happy!" God is good, and it gives me so much joy to know that he made Maycol happy. I've been praying for Maycol that he would continue to seek God and that God would use him to reach out to his peers. I miss Maycol. I can't wait to see him next year after he turns 14 on March 9th.

Below is a note he wrote me after he got saved.

How I've translated it:
"Hello, Amanda. How are you? I hope I found you in good health.The reason for this letter is to tell you the this: that I am happy to have accepted Jesus (or something similar--I can't quite translate it). I hope that your trip back goes well; I'm going to miss you.
From Maycol,
for my sister in Christ. I love you very much."

Pictures of the Cabinets

I can't stop smiling. I just got an email from Marcia with pictures of the bookshelves/cabinets! Here's what she said: "I was just at La Chureca, and Maria showed me the cabinets she had built and all the books in them. She has one cabinet for all the school's books and supplies, and another for the community's library. She's so proud of it!"