Wow! It's a bit different here

Que Onda? Well that was the greeting I attempted to give Alejandro Pita, the seasoned Nicaraguan attorney who is helping us work through the process of obtaining our residency. When he gave me a puzzled look I said it again, Que Onda?? Allejandro looked at me this time like I had just fallen off the flat bed full of bananas that we had passed on our way to the National Police station to be fingerprinted (No, we have not committed any crimes while we have been here- it is just part of the process of getting our residency). I glanced at Cindy who was motioning for me to cut the "Que Onda" talk.We have added two additional days of language training to our schedule. We are continuing on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays with Freddy Guadamuz, a degreed Spanish and English instructor and now on Tuesdays and Thursdays with David, who has always lived in Los Torres, a very, very poor, rough, some say dangerous barrio. Freddy is teaching us the proper Spanish, along with things specific to Nicaragua, and David is teaching us with a curriculum that is used in the Peace Corps, but he is also throwing in some Nicaraguan slang. The two separate classes are complimentary to each other. Now we just need to know when and when not to use our slang. Our new motto is- "when in doubt, leave it out!" The "Que Onda" comment I mentioned earlier is translated at best as , "Hey man are you in the wave?" That was the greeting of choice in Los Torres, and since I had recently learned it I wanted to to try it out on the attorney, but not smart.You know when you are the new kids on the block it's good to glean as much as you can from those that have experienced the road a bit.

Unique from most of the other missionaries we have been privileged to spend time with, Bryan and Millie Hutson are a unique blend of Nicaraguan experience and culture. Millie is Nicaraguan. They met 19 years ago while Bryan was serving in the Peace Corps. they were a part of Abundant Life church in Florence, SC as the Spanish church pastors and for 6 years they have served as EFI missionaries in Nicaragua. They know both the formal and "street " language perfectly and have really extended help and opportunity to us as have the Bagwells and the Havlins, also EFI missionary families. The Havlins have been Central American missionaries for 27 years. Mike pastors a fellowship church for missionaries here in Managua and is meeting with us weekly as a type of missions 101 or missionary orientation class. The Bagwells are very gracious and open to us helping them at anytime at the orphanage and with teams they are hosting.

This past Thursday I attended a service at a church in a barrio that was 6 months old. The team that Tim and Chris hosted, Evangel Christian Center in Matthews, N.C. , constructed cinder block walls to enclose the entire church building in 3 days. The service Thursday was a dedication of the completed building.This team also was kind enough to deliver the ISOM curriculum to me, 93 DVDs and a large binder of sample syllabuses, exams, and class notes as a guide for setting up workbooks. ISOM now recognizes us through EFI as distributors of their program. Each supporter has made this possible. Thank you so much!

We have been attending Bryan's church, Abundant Life Managua, for the past few weeks. It is truly a Nicaraguan congregation and they are so welcoming and loving. Bryan is familiar with the International School of Ministry and has been very interested in having a school at his church. He has been very gracious in offering his church as our first ISOM training center location. He has several ministers in his church that he wants to send through and there are other ministers and leaders from the November EFI conference that have indicated a strong desire to attend. Bryan's church will be the pilot church for ISOM and will allow us the opportunity to work out any kinks and make necessary adjustments before offering it to other churches and locations. We are very excited about this and are planning to begin the school in May!This past Sunday, April 1, was a special service at Abundant Life Managua. It was the official inauguration for the new building and new location downtown. All four of the EFI families were present and Carl Morris from Florence, SC preached. At the end of the service we officially ordained three leaders from Bryan's church as EFI ministers.

Cindy and Markie were spending time at the Bagwell's orphanage recently when it was explained to them that the particular baby that they were holding had been diagnosed with an enlarged heart. Chris explained that they now needed to get him in to see a cardiologist. Several days earlier Cindy had met a lady who explained how she had helped a child get heart surgery from an American Cardiovascular surgeon who is here in Nicaragua performing heart surgery through an organization called Babyhearts.org. Cindy contacted this lady who put her in touch with the surgeon, who was then able to schedule the baby for an appointment with the cardiologist. This happened on a Thursday and the baby's appointment with the cardiologist was the following Tuesday! Pretty fast for Nicaragua. The cardiologist performed an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart) and stated that the baby's heart is normal!

Stephen, Luke, Markie and Philip are all continuing to do well. They are involved in school and some extracurricular activities such as soccer, basketball and piano. They are really adjusting quite well and we are proud of them for being such troopers and allowing the Lord to work through them at such a young age. We have heard some people say that the parents may be called, but the children are not necessarily called. We believe that our children are called just as much as we are right now- even if it is just for this season in their lives. Please pray that they will each sense God using them as we are here in this country and that their walks with Him will grow deeper.

Cindy and I are doing well, although we have each had our moments of homesickness. We have been told by many that our feelings and emotions are normal. We know that we are not the only ones who have felt these things and others have made it through. We will too! We cherish your prayers for us.Thank you all for your love and support!

We Love You!
Mark Quillen(for the Quillens)
Posted by ********** at 6:19 PM
Labels: 2007, April 2