In the midst of all the sadness happening in Haiti, I humbly pray and reflect on His Love and Almighty Power to heal and restore the people of Haiti. And I thank God that I am able to have this opportunity to share with you a few good news and joyful developments from Nicaragua.
It is all well here in Nicaragua. I am still learning to trust God blindly and doing my best to learn the true meaning of 'Patience'. Nothing in Nicaragua moves fast. Nevertheless, since my arriving in Managua early December, the two major events surrounding El Transito, the fishing village, are worthy to share:
1) El Transito Youth Leadership Conference at the El Cristo Viene Church, on December 19, 2009:
We had five invited guest speakers (one Nicaraguan and four Americans, from various different walk of life and profession), and 94 youth (ages 13 - 29) came and were blessed by the event. We fed everyone a hearty lunch and snacks, and at the end of the full-day conference, we were able to hand out 48 new Bibles to the ones who volunteered to seek the Lord through His Scripture. It was an awesome day and everyone was blessed.
2) 2009 E.T. Arts & Craft Competition, sponsored by ETAC (El Transito Arts Learning Center) and NICA:
Last week, we gave out 6 prizes to the winners of the first arts & craft competition in three different categories (Nature-driven jewelry; knitting and crocheting; Jicaro sculpture). The purpose of the competition was not only to encourage the locals to find new means and ways to supplement income, but also for us, NICA (a local NGO) and ETAC (our ministry), to figure out where and who the local talents are and learn what they are already capable of producing. There is a renewed sense of purpose in their small group gatherings now whether it be a crocheting session or English Conversation class with me, and everyone is beginning to think about 'creating' something out of their ordinary environment. (Please see the bracelet made from the soda can caps by 12-year old Kairo Aguilar, who won the third prize in Nature-driven jewelry category and the three beanies made by the ladies in our first two crochet sessions at ETAC)
Finally, as of today, the leveling and compacting of the learning center property has been completed. yea!!! The work took a lot longer than anticipated, but the great news is that it created jobs for 8-9 men of E.T. for the twelve days they worked on the project, manually filling the land and compacting the soil painstakingly by hand. Now it is ready for the next phase of actual building: the storage room and caretaker's room. I am waiting to have a meeting with the local engineer named Darick Ramirez (a young, Christian activist from Managua) later today to discuss the plan and designs, and finalize the costs and list of the building materials. Still need to go and meet with the Mayor in Nagarote to get his approval for building the Arts Center, and the good news is that he has already verbally approved the project and likes the Center's idea of self-sustainability.
I was supposed to return to the U.S. on January 28th, but I will stay an extra couple of weeks to make sure that the construction is off to the right start.
Meanwhile, my prayer requests are:
1) please pray that the title of the ETAC property is completed without a glitch in the very near future, like next three weeks (yes, it is still going through the governmental process). As of today, January 29th, I am pleased to report that we received Mayor's provisional permit to build, a new recommendation letter to the head of Leon City Attorney's office to expedite the title transfer, and an exemption from paying a heavy-duty tax to develop the property (since we are there to benefit the community-in-need).
2) that Denis Mendoza (the local construction crew manager) and Darick Ramirez (the Managuan engineer) are the two young men that God has chosen to partner with us to complete El Transito Arts Learning Center, and that God will plant a heart and passion in their hearts to help us see this project through.
3) that my health sustains me to get the work done before I return to U.S. to raise fund and get back here again.
I have to confess that I feel a little lonely at times, but I feel so blessed to be here in Nicaragua. I know that God has me here for a reason, and I am trusting Him blindly and obediently to see His purpose through.
Happy 2010 eveyone! It is going to be a great new year.
The building that will be ETAC's multi-purpose room (meaning: a classroom, storage, make-shift dormitory all at the same time) and the room for ETAC's eventual long-term volunteer is well under way. I cannot help but be thankful that the work is continuing even during my absence. Thank you Darick! 
