Experiencing Nicaraguan Life

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Experiencing Nicaraguan Life
It has been great to communicate with many of you via emails and phone calls. Technology is wonderful and sure does make the life of a missionary easier these days. Some common comments from many of you have been- What is it like there? What are some of the differences? What is your average day like? We would like to share with you some of the answers to those questions.To be honest, life in Nicaragua can be somewhat frustrating for a North American, especially those who are list makers, goal setters, thrive on efficiency, and measure their daily success by how many things they got checked off their list. (Smile) These first few weeks for us have been spent trying to get our house in order (we won't talk about de-batting again), learning how to run the household efficiently in a country that has frequent power outages and a water shortage. (Just trying to figure out when the best time to wash clothes, so that we will still have enough water for everyone to be able to take a bath and brush teeth has been a daily challenge- just when we think we have it figured out- it changes). We have had to learn where to go and buy things and even when to go. We are also still adjusting to having a guard at our house 24 hours a day and really just to the whole Nicaraguan culture. We have also been dealing with many emotions. We have all had moments of homesickness and the Lord is helping us all to deal with that. We are all trying to develop new friendships with Nicaraguans and with other missionaries, and are trying not to compare everyone we meet with our wonderful friends in South Carolina. We are trying to focus on learning the language first (we plan to devote 3 months of intensive training to this- knowing that it will take longer than that to master it). Many who have gone before us have counseled us to do this. They have all said that we will be more effective sooner if we work on the language first.

Our children's days are spent at school, then home doing homework, and some extracurricular- Stephen basketball, Luke will start soccer soon, and we would like to get each of them back into their musical instruments soon. ( There are some missionaries here who teach piano and guitar- as part of their ministry and Stephen may be able to play his trumpet in the Nicaraguan Symphony- we will know more about that next week.) They are not as busy as they were in the States and they seem to enjoy just coming home and playing soccer together in the yard for now.

We have met several Nicaraguans that we have bonded with; one is our language instructor- his name is Freddie and he is not only teaching us the language, but he is also teaching us about the culture. He loves his country and the people of his country and he is helping us to have a better understanding of them. Learning why they do some of the things that they do has helped us with some of the things that have been frustrating for us. They are truly a gracious people and the Lord is giving us an even deeper love for them and their country. We are praying that this love will continue to grow. We mentioned the man that we bought our car from in our last note. Mark called him yesterday and he told us again that we were "his family". We also met two sisters the second day that we were here, Marisol and Violeta. They are both in college and speak great English. We had them to our casa (house) last Friday night for spaghetti. (They were our first house guest). We feel like we have 2 more children and Markie feels like she has 2 big sisters. We are also beginning to meet some of our neighbors.The Lord is helping us with all of these things. His ultimate goal for all of us is to bring us closer to Him. Yes, we are here to minister, but He is using this time to do a work in us. We are having to depend on Him more than ever, and that is a good thing. When we have a hard moment we are reminded of why we are here and somehow the moment gets a little easier.Thank you all so much for your prayers and your support.We Love You,Mark, Cindy, Stephen, Luke, Markie, and Philip
Posted by ********** at 9:56 PM
3 comments:
jack said...
Hi Sweet Family,We love you! Glad to read the update. Call ANY time!Love,The Robinsons!
January 27, 2007 8:22 AM
Sabrina said...
Hey guys! I've been wondering how you are so I was glad to see an update. I know it's difficult at times, but after a while, Nicaragua will start to feel like home! Keep relying on Him and know that you are being prayed for.much love from SC!
February 3, 2007 11:34 PM
Guy4God said...
Hi Quillens! I'm glad to hear that ya'll are doing well! I hope that ya'll continue to settle in well and that ya'll continue to learn the language! I hope ya'll's multiple injuries continue to heal! I hope to hear from ya'll soon! TTYL! Lots of love! GOD bless! ---Graham McBride
April 3, 2007 8:14 AM
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