First Baptist Church of Ann Arbor has had a Sister Relationship with La Primera Iglesia Bautista  in Nandasmo, Nicaragua since 1987.  The Baptist Convention in Nicaragua sent out a call to establish sister relationships to help people in both countries learn more about each other.  It was during the time of the Contra War.  We responded.

There have been over a dozen delegations to Nicaragua, the first in 1987. On these visits, we have done work projects, such as painting walls and buildings, helping to install lighting, picking coffee, and helping to construct the parsonage. We take material aid, such as school supplies, medications, and hygiene supplies.  Toni Stearns, an FBC member, has visited Nandasmo to provide instruction to the school teachers on how to be more effective in their teaching.  These visits build relationships, by visiting with many families of the church and attending services.  While there, we live with and eat with church families.  Conditions there are very different than we are used to. Members of the Nandasmo church have also visited here, staying with FBC families.

Each year, there the church budgets funds to help provide for basic, unmet needs of the people of our sister church.  The congregation even funded the purchase of land and the start up costs for a farm which is now owned and run communally by the church.  FBC provides ongoing assistance in administration and other business expertise.

Greetings from Nicaragua. (August 19, 2004)

from Maureen Knighton

Hello to everyone. I have been here in Nicaragua for nearly 3 months. It seems like I just arrived, but at the same time, it seems like I never left. Things are much the same here. I spent the first month entirely in Nandasmo. Since the first part of July, I have lived at Provadenic in Managua during the week and in Nandasmo on weekends. Managua is a huge city (approximately one million people), with all the problems and joys of a large city. Nandasmo is very tiny (about 3 blocks square), with all the problems and joys of a small town. Living in both makes a nice balance. At Provadenic, I have a small, private room with a (what luxury!!) private bathroom. 

In Nandasmo, I continue to live with Ceyla Mendieta and her husband, Roberto Muñoz and their two daughters, Jeorleny (age 7) and Cheyla (age 1 year). Cheyla´s father, Feliciano Mendieta, also lives in the house, which he owns. Both of the girls were born at times that I was living with the family. This is a great joy for me. Cheyla had her first birthday August 10. It was celebrated by a "piñata" or birthday party on Sunday, August 15. The entire extended family got together to provide for this party. One aunt bought the actual piñata. Another bought the birthday cake. Someone else helped to provide money for food (a traditional Nica meal made of rice, with tiny bits of meat and vegetables that is served at birthday parties, weddings, and funerals). Other aunts helped to cook this meal. I took pictures. Without the participation of the extended family, the party would not have been financially possible. 

Today, I'm thinking about some of the day to day hardships here that are just considered to be a normal part of every day life. In the States, these would be considered to be crises. Every day, I take a cold shower. There is no hot water. A few families have heating shower heads, but these are seldom used due to the expense of the electricity. At Provadenic, there is one of these shower heads in my bathroom, but it doesn't work. Often the electricity and/or water go off for hours (and occasionally, days) at a time. I buy bottled water to drink, because, although chlorinated which kills the bacteria, the water often has amoebas. These amoebas cause stomach aches and diarrhea. I am fortunate to be able to afford the purified water. Although people here have more resistance to the amoebas than I do, they still suffer from the less than potable water. Diarrhea is the leading cause of death among young children. 

I ride the buses from Nandasmo to Managua and back. It is about 30 miles or so from Nandasmo to Managua, but this trip takes an hour and a half to two hours. First. I get in a camioneta (pick up truck) in "downtown" Nandasmo. I ride in this to the corner of the main "highway," where I wait for a microbus (van) to take me to the market in Managua. Usually, these vans are made to hold 12 - 15 people. Often there are 18 - 20 people packed in like sardines. Most of these vans are not in good condition. They have bad shocks, bad brakes, cracked windows, torn seat coverings, and other problems. When I get to the market in Managua, I take a cab to Provadenic or UPOLI, where I teach. The cabs are also often in terrible condition. If the connections between these vehicles is good, it´s an hour and a half; if not, it´s two hours. This is the fastest way to make the trip, but also more costly. The camioneta costs 2 cordobas, the microbus costs 14, and the taxi costs 15-20, depending on whether or not the driver charges me a "gringo tax" (an informal increase in the price, because he assumes that I have money). This is approximately US$2. Many people cannot afford this cost, so they take the "rutas," the old, beat-up school buses. This entails one bus from Nandasmo to the market in Masaya (4 cordobas), then a second bus from the Masaya market to a market in Managua (6 cordobas), then a third bus from that market to where ever you are going in Managua (2 - 4 cordobas), with a total cost of about US$1. This takes at least 2 hours. Many people from Nandasmo and the surrounding areas make this trip back and forth each day to commute to jobs in Managua. The buses are often packed, so there is standing room only. This means leaving home about 6:00 a.m. and returning at 7:00 p.m. For most of them, there is work to be done at home before they can relax and/or sleep for the night.

There are also the deeper problems of lack of food, housing, and medical care. Few families have adequate food every day. People here are generally uncomplaining about all these daily hardships. They have learned to find joy in small things that happen to them. This is the only way they are able to survive all the hardships. Underlying the jokes and laughter, there is always the much deeper current of sadness and pain, an undertow that threatens always to sweep people away. 

Please pray for Nicaragua and her people. 

Paz, Maureen

Cafe Xically  

Crops are harvested on the following cycle: