Medical Team Trip Recap

"You have no idea the impact you make when you visit our school. Not only do you help children's health, you have changed hearts." This was a quote from Luis Reyes, the principal of Managua Christian Academy (MCA). Our team of 14 could easily say that we are the ones equally blessed and changed in heart. We provided medical, vision and physical/occupational therapy health screenings for over 500 children and family members in 4 short days (One afternoon we did a women's health clinic!). This was made possible by dedicated medical staff and an excellent translation team.
 
Radius Nicaragua served very much like a small group. We prayed and studied the Bible every morning. At the end of the day, we hit the streets surrounding the school, gave away 100 free waters and shared testimonies. We replaced the tin roof of a school volunteer. We visited a nearby pre-school and shared the gospel and some medicine. We even spoke and performed a skit for the youth group. Most important of all were the relationships we made that gave full meaning to the gospel.
 
On a short-term trip we can go and get a lot of things done, but incarnational giving is the sort of giving that empties the self in a relational sense. This is why Radius continues to return to Nicaragua. We want a deep and lasting connection where we become doers of the word and not just hearers (James 1:22). Ask Mary Catherine about her dolls in Nicaragua. Ask Tina about Yarissa. Ask Nicole about Ashley. Ask me about Junior. Lastly, ask God if He is calling you to be His hands and feet to Nicaragua, so that we may continue to be the church and have our hearts changed.
 
-David

Thoughts From Managua

There is a beauty in being content and joyful with what God has provided for you and we definitely learned much about this from our Nicaraguan family this week.  We learned how to be joyful in relationships without having fancy things like TV’s, gadgets, and large clean homes and to keep us entertained.  We learned that joyfulness is possible without hot showers, air conditioning, or fancy medical machines and we all hope that as we return to live life with our family and friends in South Carolina we are able to add more of this joyfulness to our relationships with them.   We learned that God is gracious and constantly gives us reminders of how well He has orchestrated His Big C Church: through the ease of playing games of hopscotch and soccer with our Nicaraguan family; through the ease of expressing love and compassion across language barriers with our expressions and hugs; through the ease of using our minds and hands to clean homes and build new roofs; and through the ease in which we were able to work together, meshing our talents without much hands on practice as being a team before landing in Managua on Sunday.  These pieces of the Big C Church gives us a glimpse of what we hope to experience once we enter His eternal kingdom one day!  We thank our Nicaraguan family much for this.

We also live in a fallen world, where often times our bodies, minds, and spirits are broken.  Sometimes we have been broken for so long that we come to accept our broken-ness as normal- as good, forgetting that God has more in store for us if we just acknowledge our brokenness and push forward.  Everyday, many in our Nicaraguan family would walk into the medical clinic and say they felt good and had no complaints.  When we dug a little deeper, we would find that our brothers and sisters have had upset stomachs and muscular pains for months or years. Their pain and discomfort had become a part of their normal daily life.  Because it was so common, they no longer saw it as painful, and stopped pursuing help to alleviate it.  We had a blast this week being a part in God’s plan to help our family find hope in improving their physical health, taking the time to reassure them that they can live life here in earth in better health.  It also opened our eyes to just how broken we are spiritually. How easy it is for us to conform to the ways of this world, acting and believing like our pridefulness and selfishness is normal; what God intends for us.  We take credit for the works we do as our own, forgetting that God is our breath and life.  As we return to South Carolina, we feel driven to take steps to improve our spiritual health so we can function and do the things God has in store for us. Because if we base our normal good spiritual health like we do our physical health, we are missing out on so much.

-Tina

Where did you see Jesus this week?

That was the question that our host Estuardo asked us on Friday. We saw Him at church last Sunday. We saw Him in the ladies giving thanks for their dinnerware. We saw Him in an older gentleman working as hard as he could to make sure we had supplies. We saw Him again in the same gentleman when he shared an egg with one of us – the only thing he had to give. We saw Him in the LWI staff as they took care of us. Last but most definitely not least, I saw him in our team. Luke 9:10-17 really resonated with me this week as I was reading through the book. There weren't exactly 12 of us and we didn't feed anyone baskets of fish and bread but we were able to serve our friends in the village just as Jesus and His disciples had done.  Who are you going to serve?  That's the question I want to leave you with as we wrap up this trip.

Our current physical task has been completed. We dedicated the well with the help of a pastor from a nearby church during a ceremony where locals from the village and members of our team had a chance to speak whatever God put on their hearts. We now have a responsibility to share what we've learned with others and continue to impact the kingdom of God.

We look forward to seeing all of you and sharing stories and pictures. We love all of you and thank you for your prayers this week. We couldn't have done what we did without your support. See you Sunday.
-Zoltan

Providing Comfort - Real Life

 One of the many things we have been reminded of here in Nicaragua is that living in community and providing comfort is often more important in growing God’s kingdom than being physically healed.   We wanted to share one of the many real life stories today:

 A young lady showed up for a clinical visit.  She explained that she was having heart palpitations with chest pain.  She was worried because her mother, grandmother, and great grandmother also have the same palpitations and pain.  She came to the clinic because she had become more fearful because her great grandmothers passed away because of her heart condition.  During the doctor portion of the visit, Melissa recommended for her to have an EKG to see how well her heart was working.  Instantly, the young woman began to cry, because she thought that an EKG was something to be afraid of.  Melissa took the time to listen to this young woman’s concerns and speak with her.  Melissa helped her to understand that her concern was normal and reassured her that the EKG would be beneficial.  She took the time to explain the procedure and reassured her the test was safe.  The young woman instantly became happy and began to smile.  We could see that she realized the EKG would be a great step in confronting a fear that spanned four generations of her family! 
-Chris

Let There Be Water and Hygiene

Today was definitely the most rewarding and possibly difficult day we've had during our trip. We showed up at the village at the usual time and installed the pump. You can see the time lapse video of that here:

 Once that was completed we asked one of the men from the community to test it out for us. Thus, the first bucket of water was drawn from their new well.

Since the drilling team was finished we went over to see how the ladies on our hygiene team were doing. As we walked up, we witnessed the most heart-wrenching and intense prayer and praise that we've ever seen.

In the morning on our way to the village we stopped by the market to pick up a few items for the ladies. This particular village was wiped out by a hurricane some 10-12 years ago and never really recovered. The people lost everything. If they have guests they typically have to go around to the neighbors for plates and bowls because they're lucky if they have enough for their own family. As a gift, each of the ladies got some personal care items and a few plates and bowls for their families. The intensity of their prayers truly displayed the strength of their faith as they praised God for the few things they received which we would consider to be basic essentials. The Holy Spirit's presence was definitely evident.

Once the gifts were handed over the ladies prepared to go over the week's hygiene lessons with the kids that have showed up. The men from the drilling team were enlisted to help out with the review.

Community Loving

We spent Wednesday spending more time loving on the communities surrounding the Academy.  In the morning we sent a small group to a preschool located in the neighborhood where many of our kiddos are from.  The kiddos had a blast coloring pictures, throwing balls, and learning how to play hopscotch.  It is so cool to see how God creates His kids in Nicaragua to enjoy many of the same games as His kids in the USA.  What a reminder of what’s to come in heaven when we will all stand together as one family! 

After lunch we opened our doors to serve the families of our students by offering a women’s clinic and had the chance to serve the school’s neighborhood by throwing a mini Radius parade by loading a wagon with water, walking the streets, and handing out about 130 bottles of water.  It was a great way to love on our community and let them know that as refreshing as a cool bottle of water is on a hot and dusty night, accepting Jesus can offer so much more.
-Tina

 John 4:14
14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Germs, what's that? - Well Drill Team Update

Casi terminado. Almost finished. After stopping at a depth of 100' yesterday, this morning we decided to go looking for water since it is an area LWI is familiar with. We made sure that the hole we drilled didn't collapse by sinking the drill bit back down the hole we drilled on Monday. Once we were sure that it was still clear, we set the screen along with the casing and began to flush the muddy water out of the well. It wasn't long before the water started turning clear and soon after cleared up completely. By our driller's estimates, it is capable of producing about 100 gallons per minute.

While the dirty water was getting flushed out, we took the opportunity to clean up all the equipment that we were done with. After flushing was completed, we sealed off the area around the casing to prevent the well from getting contaminated and poured the concrete pad that will serve as the base for the well pump.

The well drilling process has been incredibly easy compared to the experience we had last year. We are a full day ahead of schedule. With the down time that we've had, we've been able to engage the kids that have showed up for the hygiene classes and also some of the men.

The ladies on the hygiene team are total rockstars. They've put a lot of effort into teaching the women how to take care of themselves and their kids better. When they got around to teaching about hand-washing and being careful with transferring germs, the hygiene team discovered that the ladies in the village had no idea that germs existed nor that they were harmful. There were also many other things that they learned for the first time.

Thank you all for your prayers, it's evident that we're being lifted up. We ask that you keep praying for us to continue to make progress as we take care of our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters. Pray that we continue to stay healthy and get enough rest as we cope with the temps that are in the mid 90s.

Serving in the Medical Clinic

After completing 2 full days of living in community with the Managua Christian Academy we have provided health care and love to over 300 students, including many of their family members.  More importantly we have been blessed beyond our wildest expectations by their love and patience.  Today, over and over again our Nicaraguan family expressed great gratitude as we explained why they had sore muscles, tired eyes, and stomach pains.   In their daily lives, few take the time to say ‘I know this is where life is today, but let’s see what we can do to together to try and make tomorrow better’.    For one young lady, tomorrow has come.  She came into the medical clinic to day with her mom and older sister. She had difficulty walking without loosing her balance because she could not lift her toes up while she walked.   After some Macgyver style problem solving and teamwork, Amy and I were able to put a smile on her face and help her to walk better.

Taking the time to listen and care for people is a key piece of living in the image of God.  Human nature often leads us to be selfish, looking to see how a relationship best suits our needs, with little to no concern on the impact it has on others.  We so easily can spend our days rushing from one place to the next, upset when we get stopped in our path, failing to see that by us stopping, someone else is able to pass by with ease.   Just imagine where this young lady would be tonight if God had not lead us to take the time to create braces!

We still have many more in our family to serve in God’s image with compassion in the medical clinic and are excited to continue to be served with compassion by our family.  Stay tuned for more!
-Tina

100' and Counting! - Well Drill Team

Sunday was a day to get adjusted to life in Nicaragua. Since the community we would be drilling in does not have its own church, we attended a bi-lingual non-denominational church where several LWI staff attend. The pastor preached on the seven sayings of Christ which he spoke while he was on the cross. We also enjoyed some great worship in English and Spanish, singing familiar songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_Otu81EsYA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiKNNjxeDk8

We had some free time after lunch to explore the city some and see how our Nicaraguan friends live. While it was a nice introduction to the culture, most of us were pre-occupied with the work that was before us.

Our evenings have been spent sharing stories of what God has done in and for our lives and also enjoying the dueling guitars of Will and Stu(our host).

Today we went out to our work site after loading up the truck with the supplies that we would need. The community that we are working in is on the smaller side. Altogether there are only about 50 people nearby and very few kids. The need is still great, however. Their existing well is only about 20-30' deep, open air, and retrieving water means lowering a 5 gallon bucket and reeling it back up by hand. Most importantly, it's far from usable for cooking, drinking or bathing.

After meeting the locals, we began to drill. We barely made it 10' down before I started having flashes of the difficulties that we experienced last year as the engine powering the hydraulics of the drilling rig began to lose power. After some troubleshooting, we found some sediment in the fuel filter that we were able to clean out which seemed to resolve the issue. Thank God for that!

The rest of the day went smoothly. All the guys worked hard and we seemed to hit a sufficient aquifer by the time we made it to 100' so we decided to stop there. Meanwhile, the ladies on the hygiene team worked with the ladies from the village and inviting kids from the nearby communities after school to teach them basic hygiene and, most importantly, share the Gospel.

Be proud of your friends and family, Radius. Everyone is working hard without complaining or reservations. Continue praying for us, by no means is any of this easy. Pray that we would continue to be stretched and be willing to step out on faith as we interact with the community we are serving. Pray that we would also serve and love our hosts well.

-Zoltan

Some videos and pictures from today:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0v3BYE5kCw
http://youtu.be/g_O9QkRGI6c
http://youtu.be/YdINN6_Do80

Setting up the drilling rig

Angel, our lead driller

Ryan drilling, Angel inspecting cuttings, and Mike taking samples.

 Brian cleaning the filter

Mike, Matt, Angel and Ryan add another section of pipe

Zoltan, Matt, and Jimmy waiting to add the next section of pipe

We have an audience!

Little girl playing frisbee

The Medical Team Arrives!

The medical team arrived in Nicaragua today safe and sound.  We were greeted by Henry's family with warm hugs and smiles and they immediately made us feel right at home.   We are looking forward to living in community this week with our Managua family.  In Romans 12 it talks about how we need to let go of our routines and expectations of home and let God do His will in our daily lives.  We are excited to live this out during our time here in Nicaragua.  David shared four reminders of our purpose here this week:

1) serve - serving our host with extravagant generosity
2) listen - quiet our hearts so that we can hear what God is teaching us through His word and his people here in Nicaragua
3) commit - commit to how we can carry over our experience in Nicaragua effectively once we return home to our comforts
4) say yes - letting go of our expectations for the trip and saying yes to the unexpected opportunities God will place before us

Join us this week in living out Romans 12:1-2
"Therefore I urge you brothers in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and prove what God's will is - His good, pleasing, and perfect will."
-Tina

Well Drill Team Arrives in Nicaragua!

We are here. Most of us have had a very long day. In talking with team members, it seems that most everyone was up before their alarm clock was set to go off. That's if they slept at all. Feelings ranged from anxiety to excitement and anything in-between. Some had never left the South Eastern United States before. Some had never been on a commercial flight prior to today. We are all equally glad to be here and equally excited to see what God will do in our lives in the next several days.

Don't think that we have forgotten about our friends and family back home. Worries about sick family members or the feelings about being away from loved ones in general linger. What we do know and take comfort in is that God is omniscient and omnipresent.

Our travels went as smooth as could be. Flights were ahead of schedule, navigating airports went smoothly and everyone's luggage made it. Some time after leaving the airport in Managua we stopped at a Tip-Top (Central American fast food chain that serves grilled and fried chicken) for a late lunch. There we ran into a second Living Water International (LWI) team from Northern VA who will be drilling at another village in the area.

Upon arrival at the LWI compound we went over some rules of the house, helped unload a supply truck and then ate a delicious dinner.

After dinner we spent some time praying and sharing some of what God has done in our lives and how we've arrived to where we are now, physically and/or spiritually.  We prayed for all of you, our team, our goal & mission but most of all that God would use us. We ask that you do the same throughout this week and beyond.

One thing that is for certain is that lives will change because of the obedience of the 11 folks attending.  

-Zoltan

Nicaragua Bound - 2012

The book of Matthew is loaded with verses describing what the life of someone who professes Christ as their Savior ought to look like. Some are broad in scope (Matt 22:37-39; “love God, love people”), while others are more specific (Matt 5; Sermon on the Mount). So how do these verses shape our lives today?
 

For at least 25 of us, this week, it looks like a plane ticket to Nicaragua. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus instructed us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” so that's what we are doing. Split up into two teams, we will be drilling a well for a village and providing medical care to over 400 students and their parents. Most importantly, we will be living out the Gospel in a practical way. A way that many of the people with whom we'll be interacting have never seen before.
 

If you look through the passages above, nowhere does Jesus say that we're guaranteed success nor that we will always be welcomed with open arms. He only tells us to go and to love the people that He created in His image.
 

Please pray for us that we may be able to express Jesus' love to the people we'll come in contact with and that we would be able to accomplish the work that He has ordained for us. Pray that we would have an open mind and to let the Holy Spirit guide us and to leave our own agendas behind.
 

Check back daily as we walk through the week.

-Zoltan