Update – October 2006

Dear Friends,

Hello from Nicaragua.  Below is a photo of our current street, Calle Santa Lucia, just five blocks from the center of Granada.  Even in a city of over 150,000 souls, we enjoy horse carts, an occasional cattle drive and the call of the women selling produce from the baskets on their heads, as they pass by the house. 

Right now we are in the immersion phase:  learning the language, getting to know the people and their needs, and learning how to get along in this environment.  It’s been seven weeks now and we’re still passing through interesting stages of transition.   After getting used to water and electricity rationing, local foods and opportunistic organisms, the greatest challenge has been to bend our goal-oriented natures to a mentality where all plans are fluid and time is definitely not of the essence.  We are finding it helpful to learn from other missionaries in the area and are reaching out to make friends where we can.  Sometimes this comes as a mixed blessing, as every new friendship comes with shocking tales from the field.  Indeed, we even have a few of our own now.

Finding the right base site is slow work, as transportation can be difficult.  Also, with no multiple listing service, any given realtor may represent only one or two properties. One otherwise promising property had to be discarded as it was previously operated by the Sandinistas, and as such ran a higher risk of expropriation down the road.  Another is probably too close to the Costa Rican border which was heavily mined during the Contra war…a two hour drive got us to within a two hour boat ride of another site, only to find the boat was nowhere to be found.  We try to make the best of these adventures, and know that with His guidance, we will eventually turn over the right stone. 

Until we have a formal base, we have been helping local people in need, such as the pastor from the Caribbean stranded in Granada and many homeless and sick people around town. In addition, one of the real estate agents, a young man with a wife, child and a broken past, has reached out to “Carlito”, in search of prayer and discipling. 

Although the needs are great in all areas, we hear constant requests for medical help.  This could be a full time ministry in itself, though we have not envisioned our work to be exclusively in this area.  Charles, who just returned from a week in the States to help his mother, came back with medicines requested by a Nicaraguan widow (whose property we had briefly considered as a base site) who tries to help out the campesinos in her vicinity.  Below is a picture of that operation to help give you a sense of what ministry in the “campo” looks like. 

Unexpectedly, we find that a whole ministry could be devoted to reaching out to the ex-patriots who have washed up here in rejection of the materialist lifestyle back home.  The opportunities to invest oneself are endless. We are anxious to get the base up and running and move into a more structured role, and need daily reminders to wait on the Lord for his leading.  We do know that God is at work here.  Even 30 year veterans in this field feel that important things are happening here.  You can see it in the simple reference to God’s provision in the following photo.

Right now, God seems to be telling us to look, learn and remain open to His leading.  Until the results of the Nov. 5th Nicaraguan presidential election are in we must proceed to develop plans appropriate for either outcome.  In the meantime, thank you for your prayers and the support you have provided.  We are mindful that each of you is involved in your own ministry back home, both within your families and in a broader context.  Strength, wisdom and God’s blessing on you and protection for your families.

Charles, Sarah, Banks and Willa Kaye