Hermosa Granada

So this weekend I had another expense paid trip by Ave Maria. This time to the city of Granada. It is probably the most beautiful and most toured city in Nicaragua. I also think it is one of the oldest. I find it funny that even though my trip was paid for I still did everything as cheaply as possible. I think it's just in my blood. For instance, I could have easily taken a taxi around town and to the marina as I searched for water sport potential, but instead I rented a bike for $2 and rode it everywhere. I kind of enjoyed the exercise, but the roads here are not very smooth so some stretches were pretty rough on the body. Altogether it was a great trip and I found a great spot to do some water skiing, wakeboarding and tubing. Of course, I didn't miss the opportunity to do some siteseeing while I was there.

On my way back to San Marcos, I met up with some friends and we went swimming in the beautiful lagoon below. It is crater of a dormant volcano. I am pretty sure that is the first time I have ever been swimming in a crater. There were a few volcanic rocks floating around. It was a beautiful and peaceful experience. I felt like I was in a movie, not The Blue Lagoon, but something like that.

More Than a Carpenter

This is the bracelet that I wear nowadays. For a short time I thought these symbols would make a cool tattoo until I saw someone wearing it as a bracelet. For those who don't know, it means, "He came, He died, He arose, He ascended, & He's coming back." The entire gospel in 5 easy symbols. This bracelet has led to a few interesting conversations, and one happened just the other night.

I was meeting with some of my German and Peace Corps friends that I had met here in San Marcos. They brought some other friends along, so we were all doing the "Hey, so where are you from?" stuff. One of the girls eventually asked me what my bracelet meant. So, I told her.
"Are you a faithful person?" She then asked.
"I'd like to think so," I answered.
"Are you a Christian?"
"Do you want the short or long answer?"
(Also for those who don't know, my short answer is 'yes' but I normally like to answer in a different way because so many people have bad stereotypes for Christians.) I gave her both answers.
"And you?" I asked.
"I grew up Jewish but have kind of formed my own faith."
"Hey, the best man to ever walk this earth was Jewish."
"Yea, I think so too, but I don't think He's my Savior or anything like that."
That really made my heart and mind start racing. I can't just sit here and not tell her the truth. But is now the right time? How aggressive should I be? I decided I had to say something. I couldn't just let that go.
"Can I share my thoughts about that?" I then said.
"Sure."
"Well, there are really only 3 possibilities for who Jesus is and was." I continued to explain the 'Lord, Liar, Lunatic' expression that Josh McDowell writes about in his book, More Than a Carpenter. I told her that Jesus doesn't give us the option to think that he was simply a very righteous man with good teaching.
"That is very interesting," she responded, or at least she said something like that.

There was a part of me that wanted to tell her that I wasn't leaving until she admitted that Jesus was THE Savior and even more, HER Savior. The Chinese Christian Brother Yun from the book The Heavenly Man (an amazing true story by the way) wouldn't have let her walk away without getting a full confession, prayer of repentance, and then baptism. I struggled with what was my role and the Holy Spirit's role in this situation. I know the Holy Spirit is the only one who can convict the soul, but we have a very vital part to play. And I didn't want to use that as an excuse not to push her to realize the truth. Well, we talked a little further about faith and other things, but that was about all. I just hope that those words of truth about Jesus resonate in her mind, and she chooses to search for the truth on her own.

After 2 Whole Years!

Earlier today, Joslynn and her 3 boys (Melios, Rosendo, and Beto) left El Crucero and Nicaragua for good to reunite with Ryan, the father, in Florida. (Side note: Ryan had just left El Crucero after being here for a few weeks. They were actually able to start living as a family here.) After a long two year adoption process, the Heath family is now together in the States. A lot of tears where shed this morning at MQV as we said our final goodbyes. The boys are really excited. This is their first time to fly, and as soon as they set foot on American soil they are officially U.S. citizens. They will be spending the next few weeks visiting family in Florida before heading home to Chicago. It is going to be a big adjustment getting used to the cold up there. It is a blessing to have been there to see them leave and to have been a small part of the process. I remember my first trip to Nicaragua in October of 2008. We flew to Waspam to find the boys' grandparents, get some birth certificates, and start the adoption process. A full 2 years later I am saying goodbye as they depart for their new home. I hope to be able to visit them in Chicago sometime and see how they are doing.



A few more pics of the Ave Maria Knights and a video of our first touchdown of the season.

Progress is happening.

Two things here are really moving forward. First, this weekend I took an all-expense-paid trip to San Juan del Sur for Ave Maria University. Actually, they gave me $50 and I had to spend less than that. But that wasn't a problem for me since I am so good at being thrifty. Ave Maria wanted me to investigate the possiblity of bringing groups there for weekend surf trips. They had a hard time convincing me to go, because there were so many other things I'd rather do than go to the beach and surf. Are you kidding?! I was ecstatic. I went by myself, and it was a very successfull trip. I found some great places to stay with a group of about 15 to 20 and transportation to all the great surf spots. The only downside was that I left my rash guard on the beach, but hopefully my new friends from there picked it up for me because I told them exactly where I left it. I can actually see it laying on a rock far down the beach it in one of the pictures I took. The pictures are from Playa Romanso, and the waves were beautiful. However, the purpose of me telling you all this is because the University is seriously considering a paid position for me as a "Water Sports Excursions Instructor / Sports Director." I really just made that title up, but it will be something like that. And this trip was the beginning of making that all happen. It would be so amazing to bring a group of students here and be able to surf and play during the day and then have worship around a big bonfire on the beach at night.

Second, the Ave Maria Knights football team is getting better. We had our second football game this past Sunday. And when I say we were so close to winning, I am not just saying that. We were SO close. It almost hurt worse when we lost. We had two touchdowns called back, and at the end of the game we were on the 5 yard line and all we needed to do was punch it in the endzone, but we have no running game. The offensive can't push the D-line back or give us any holes to run through. The final score was 14-8, and I know we gained more yards on offense than the other team. The one good thing that is coming from all this is that the students are hearing about our games and know that we are getting better. Our next game is this Saturday at home (the Ave Maria Campus), so I am sure we will get a lot more support for this one. Hopefully we come out with a victory.

One short spiritual note so you all know I am not here just playing around. I have been praying that God would give me opportunities to share His love with others. So, yesterday I was talking with two friends on campus. One of them mentioned how she had been feeling down recently, and that's why she was smoking a cigarette. We've talked before about our faiths, and she had shared that she is a relatively new Christian. I told her I was sorry she was feeling low but didn't know what to do to lift her spirits. Luckily, I had my iPod with me and was listening to my "Jesus Music" playlist. It was actually playing softly in one ear as I was talking with them cause I had been listening to it all morning, and one of my favorite songs (my mother's too) was playing - "The Old Rugged Cross." I told them that whenever I am feeling a little down I listen to this playlist and it makes me feel better. So, I gave them my earphones and let them listen to the song. I even told them a little story of how that particular song had impacted me deeply a few Easters ago in Costa Rica. So they sat and listened to a song that so easily, yet powerfully, explains the Gospel message. When the song was over the girl said that she honestly felt better, and the other guy with her said that he really liked the song too. I don't know about his faith, but maybe soon. I just really liked how God gave me that little opportunity and all I had to do was hit play on my iPod.

Football Americano (Nica Style)

This past Saturday the Ave Maria Knights had there first football game of the season. We have been practicing on and off for about 3 weeks now. What I mean by "off" is that you never know who's going to show up each day for practice. So, I believe that we have only had about 4-5 solid practices in those 3 weeks. Nevertheless, Saturday arrives and I am really excited yet nervous, because I have no idea what to expect. I don't know anything about our competition or my own team for that matter. About 20 guys show up (some from around San Marcos and a few from the university), we load up into a microbus which doesn't have enough room for us all, and drive 30 minutes to Managua for the game. There are a total of 4 teams in our league, including us, and the first two are playing when we arrive at 1:30 in the afternoon. I am only able to watch a little bit of the game, because I am busy telling everyone what position they will play, going over a few plays, and practicing snaps with my new center. Of course, these are all things that should have been taken care of weeks ago, but we are doing them one hour before our first game. As the first game starts winding down, we begin our warm-ups. We can see our opponents on the other side of the field doing the same with about 40-50 guys, and all in unison as they count every stretch. We, on the other hand, seem more like the three stooges times six, because we can't count in rhythm, much less do jumping jacks together. I couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time. "We are going to get creamed," I thought. But I tried to keep my spirits high.

It came time for the coin toss, so myself and two other smaller guys from my team walked out to midfield. We were met by the 6 largest guys from the other side. We shook hands, won the toss, deferred to the second half, and returned to our sideline. We sent 11 guys on the field to kick-off, but we still didn't know who was going to kick. But since everyone here in Nicaragua plays soccer, it wasn't hard to find someone to do it. Luckily for us, he kicked a line shot. It hit of the shoulder of a guy from the other team, and we recovered the ball. First and ten, Knights!! I was quarterback and I had 25 seconds to explain to my team the play we were going to run, and I had to do it in Spanish. The first few plays were meant to be pass plays, but I was mostly running for my life. The offensive line didn't do the best job of blocking. I finally got a little time to throw and hit my best receiver (which is really just 1 of 2 that I trust to actually catch the ball) on a corner route for about a 30 yard gain. Now we were in the red zone! The next play we gained another 15 yards for "roughing the passer." Yes, that means I got killed. So, we had first and goal from about the 5 yard line. I just wanted us to run the ball and punch it in the end-zone, but running didn't work at all. So, I tried to pass and had no time. So finally on 4th down, I decided to run it myself. On the snap I took off to the right, had some room, there was only one guy to beat at the 2, he was a little smaller so I thought I could just run him over, but he went low and tripped me up. I fell over him around the one. And that was the closest we got the whole game to the end-zone. Actually, we had two other opportunities. One on a reverse where the receiver was wide open downfield but he slipped and missed the ball, and the other on more roughing the passer penalties that took us close to the end-zone. But, with the amount of guys we had and the lack of practice, the guys just weren't able to block late in the game. So, we got beat 21-0.

Another funny note. There was one guy on the team (#9) that for some reason I thought he spoke English. It wasn't until the 3rd quarter that I realized the truth. Normally, I'd explain the play in the huddle in Spanish, but once we got into formation I'd tell some of the other guys what to do in English. This particular time I told the team we were going to run to the right. I was going to hand the ball to #9. However, once we lined up I noticed that the defense had over-loaded the right side. Therefore, I told #9 that we were going to run to the left. I said it about 3 or 4 times and he kept nodding his head in agreement. Well, I snapped the ball and took off to the left and no one came with me. Needless to say, I got drilled again. The morning after the game my body had no desire to get out of bed. I hope that our next game this Sunday turns out a little better. I'm hoping for a better offensive line and more guys to throw the ball to. I am very busy recruiting this week.

El Dia de la Biblia

A couple of Sundays ago there was a national holiday for the Bible. Most churches had special events planned for that day, and my friends from El Crucero invited me to their church service. Unfortunately, we are in middle of the rainy season, and without fail it was raining that morning. I was told to meet them at kilometer 27 on Carretera del Sur (Southern Highway). Nothing here has an address, so I was already a little anxious about finding the exact place they were going to be. So, I got off the bus from San Marcos at km 27, and of course, I saw nothing. So I started walking hoping to hear some music or see some people. I was wearing a rain jacket, but it wasn't doing much good. I also tried to call my friends but I was out of minutes. (Perfect timing, huh). So I just kept on walking because I knew they had to be close, and I only needed to go over the next hill. Well, many hills later I still hadn't found them so I decided to hop on another bus that was passing by and go to my friends house in El Crucero. At least I would be out of the rain. The bus dropped me off in the heart of El Crucero, which isn't much at all, and I saw a lot of people with umbrellas standing around a long flat-bed trailer. It just happened to be the group I was looking for. My Spanish isn't the best, but I know they didn't tell me it was going to be there. I found out they had decided to move it at the last minute because of the rain. I'm glad I was informed of that, but there is nothing better than walking a few kilometers in the soaking rain on a major highway in a third world country. Not many people get that experience. But I was still impressed with the determination of the church to continue their worship service rain or shine. Nothing was going to stop them from singing praises to our Lord. It might be hard to see, but the picture above is the church group still singing after more than an hour. I have to admit that I went inside my friend's house after a while. It is conveniently located right across the street. It was just one of those experiences I had to share.