HCS 8

It is now November 2013.  I have re-visited this blog and find it compelling.  For this reason, I am trying to bring it to more prominence in the listing of my blogs.  I will update this today, Oct 30, 2013 to see if this brings it closer to the top.

 

Sunday was a full day.

We attended Verbo Church in Managua. It is largely Nicaraguan, but many missionaries and visitors attend. The praise and worship was truly annointed! I felt bi-lingual as we joined in the singing (aided by the overhead projection of the words!). I believe it's common to experience praise and worship to God in a different country and to realize that God in Nicaragua is the same God here as back home and we're all united in our worship of Him. The joy of the Lord is universal.

As Muggy and I prayed and planned for Nicaragua, we had resolved that we would come to this country expectantly. That is, we would come without pre-conceived notions of what we would experience and what we would do, but rather that we would anticipate that God would meet us here and show us what He had for us.

An awesome "divine appointment" that He has provided us with is the opportunity to meet a young lady named Meagan who comes from Indianapolis. She is here representing her church working through Partners in Christ on a fact finding internship. Meagan has a glorious smile which I believe reflects the joy of the Lord that is in her heart. As the week progressed, it became obvious to me that God had planned for Muggy and me to be here to meet Meagan.

Each morning we shared conversation of the things of the Lord as we enjoyed our morning coffee. We spoke of Meagan, Muggy and me being allied in our work for the Lord. We are not sure of exactly how this alliance will come to fruition, but we were all certain our meeting was for a purpose. As we prepare to leave Nicaragua, Meagan will stay on for a time. Our prayers for her efforts here will add to the prayers of her prayer support team from home.

Two other individuals I wish to mention are Gary and Trish, the house masters for Partners in Christ. They have left family and home in Knoxville to be here doing the work of the Lord and they are truly a blessing to all who enter this house.

We all know, or should know that there are no coincidences in God's work. Our team members, the missionaries, the children, the Partners in Christ workers are all a part of the master plan that God has for this country and, seemingly, for our lives.

Another divine appointment was realized Sunday afternoon as we traveled to visit Ruby, a Nicaraguan prophetess and missionary to the people of Managua. She lives near the dump, by choice as that is her mission field. When people stop by to visit her, she sits them down and has church by singing a few songs and quizzing her guests on Bible knowledge. I discovered that I am woefully lacking in Bible knowledge!

If one desires, Ruby will lay hands on and pray for you. Sometimes God provides her with specific words for the individual. She spoke specifically to Muggy and me this day and we move forward with a new sense of expectancy of things of the Lord.

And so, the sun set on another day in Managua, but it set too on our trip, for on Monday we will depart Nicaragua. It is with sadness that we will say good-bye to these people and their country. We have been given an opportunity to enter their lives for a short period of time and now we move out again.

Leaving from a mission trip is a head jerk event as we begin to think of the life we return to with its responsibilities, challenges and all that makes our lives what they are. This week I've come "unstuck in time" (reference Kurt Vonnegut's book, Slaughterhouse Five). I didn't forget that I had another life to return to, but it did seem like it was very, very far away and distant and the impact upon my life from this time in Nicaragua is far more than simply a week away!!

Will we return to Nicaragua? I quite simply do not know. I know we are resolved to learn Spanish.

I know for a fact that our lives are different in a powerful way from what they were and we move forward now expectantly again for what God has for us!

Ken

HCS 7

Saturday proved to be a day that this trip is all about.

We bussed to the center about mid-morning. Perhaps I should make a few comments about the center. The facility began existence as a re-nutrition center. The purpose then was to bring children from abandonment on the streets and restore their diets and health. It has now blossomed to status as an orphanage. The life at the center is quite frankly these childrens only hope for any kind of future. Were it not for the center, they would be fending for themselves on the streets (or at the dump) of Managua; hungry, sick and alone.

So, back to Saturday; once at the center, we quickly moved to setting the water tank in place. The cement had dried and the platform was ready. It took us only a few moments to set the tank in place and we then gathered our construction team and took pictures.

Earlier on Saturday, the boys and I had had our room meeting. I knew the boys had not had much interaction time with the children during the week as the boys have been working hard doing construction and cleanup jobs. I suggested that they seek out times today to interact with the children.

As the morning progressed, I saw that the boys were acting upon the suggestion and were playing with the children and having a great time.

But, in the back of my mind, I was shielding myself from interaction with the children. Let me explain. Read the blogs from earlier this week when I've commented on the distance my life is from the lives of many daily lives in Nicaragua, the boy riding in the cart with his Dad or the young boy riding his horse along the road. The boy on the cart had his Dad next to him and the boy on the horse had someone who provided him the horse...there was someone else in their lives. Now, move a couple of steps beyond those lives and think of the children of this country who have absolutely no one who gives a rip if they eat, or are sick or live or die. Now you have reached the point that mercilessly grabs your emotions and makes you ask questions like "why them?, why me and what can I do?"

It is extremely powerful to come to Nicaragua (and other places in the world) and experience this. And if you have an ounce of compassion in your soul, it moves you in powerful ways and makes you say, "I NEED TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!", however small, I need to make a difference.

So, lunchtime arrived and I observed all the young people from our group interacting with all the center children, eating, playing and talking. As I walked past the lunch table, I saw one little boy sitting on a chair by himself, finishing his lunch, so I sat down next to him.

He didn't speak, he just looked at me with a sullen look and determinedly went about eating his lunch. When I would try to help him with this or that, he was very adamant in wanting to do it all himself. (I would learn later from Chris that orphaned children are many times extremely independent in wanting to do whatever they are able themselves.) He wanted a cookie as he saw the other children eating theirs, but he knew he had to finish his lunch. The one thing he did want me to do was to keep him clean. He doesn't like having messy hands and he would extend them to me to wipe with a napkin.

So, we finished lunch and Hai-Mei (not sure of the spelling, but putting it here phonetically) went about playing in the patio area. He was not rambunctious like the other children. He is not very expressive, either facially or verbally, but most of the time is observing as if he's saying "well, I know I'm not where I used to be and yet I'm not sure if I trust any of you or even think that I like you too awful much."

As we prepared to leave for the movie, I found myself with Hai-Mei in may arms and it appeared that God had destined that Hai-Mei and I would spend the afternoon together. Just before we boarded the bus, I showed him his picture on my camera and for the first time that day, he smiled at me. It was a magic moment and I immediately felt a bond with this little Nicaraguan boy.

During the bus ride, he stood on my lap and intently watched out the window. He is earnestly interested in all the sights and sounds as we rode through the streets of Managua, taking in as much as he could. Who knows if he's ever had a bus ride before?

Our plan for the day was to attend a movie and then go for pizza. For many of these children this was likely the very first time they have ever done anything like this. And we were quite a troup! We were about 40 total and made quite a procession as we piled off the bus at the mall and walked to the theater. By this time, Hai-Mei and I were getting along well and he was getting comfortable with this old guy's shoulder.

We entered the theater and found our seats and Hai-Mei was all about eating some popcorn and drinking his soda. As I watched him, I'm not sure he was really too interested in the movie (we saw Rattatoie in Spanish), but he was definitely enjoying the whole experience as he began to be quite vocal...to the point that Chris asked him to quiet down.

And then, as is so common for two year olds (I hadn't know until now how old he was), he'd had enough popcorn and soda and movie and he fell asleep. He slept peacefully for a while and then began to stir, so I picked him up and held him with his head on my shoulder for the rest of the movie.

But the movie was not the real event that was occurring. Here I was, in Managua, Nicaragua at a movie theater in a mall watching a Disney movie in Spanish with a two year old boy in my arms who's likely never known a day anywhere near like this day in his entire short life!! And it was happening to me and I'm thinking, what can I do? What more can I can do for these children? Yes, there are starving children the world over, but God has opened the door for me to come to Nicaragua and to meet this day with Hai-Mei. And for an oh so short a time, we connected on this Saturday afternoon. And at one point in time he called me "Papa".

We went to Pizza Hut after the movie and had a great time on the playground. Hai-Mei tried the slides a little, but was mostly content to watch the other children play. He and I shared our pizza supper together and once again I observed that he likes to do things himself. I'd cut his pizza into smaller bites, but he wanted to cut it and he wanted to hold his cup.

It was an amazing, awesome afternoon! I knew that too soon it would end, but I know that I will never forget my afternoon with Hai-Mei. As we rode the bus back to the center, I laid my hands on this little Nicaraguan boy and prayed. I prayed for his future and for hope and a life of knowing Jesus and making a difference in his world and his country. I prayed against evil that may try to come his way.

I will see him again on Sunday afternoon, but then I wonder if I will ever see him again?

I've been touched by a little boy from Nicaragua in a powerful way and I thank God for the opportunity we've had!

Be blessed!

Ken

HCS 6

Saturday morning and I've been away for a couple of days. We made a cross country trek to Montelimar, a beach area on the Pacific. We traveled through the Nicaraguan countryside, taking in the sites of the villages and the scenery along the way.

I experienced a poignant moment again when I saw a little boy, about five years old, riding a horse along the side of the road. Again I realized how far my life is from the lives of many of this country. As one travels the roads here, it is not at all unordinary to see horses, oxen, goats, pigs and cattle. And it appears that many of the homes we pass do not have electricity.

The road to the west coast is actually quite nice, being constructed of paving bricks. It's quite impressive to think of the work that went in to constructing such a road.

I had occasion on Friday morning to swim in the Pacific Ocean. As I stood there appreciating the immensity and power of an ocean, I thought, the ocean is like God. It is beautiful and serene, but oh so very powerful. As I stood looking west that morning, I could see nothing but the water and I thought of God being ever present. We can appreciate him from the shore, or we can wade in to our knees, or jump in all the way and fully enjoy and appreciate the power and vitality of a life with Him.

We are back in Managua now and will spend the day with the children from the center. I know that our time in Nicaragua grows short. I feel a part of this country now. Muggy and I are both resolved to learn the language. Pero sin fe es impocibal agrandar a Dios...without faith it is impossible to please God.

Be blessed everyone!

Ken

HCS 5

Greetings to Everyone!

Please keep any and all missionaries and workers in your prayers. I say this particularly this morning as I read about the 22 Korean Christian volunteers being held captive in Afghanistan. One of their group has already been killed by Taliban forces and the rest are in imminent danger.

But also pray for the workload and immensity of tasks confronting missionaries anywhere as the task is immense and we are seeing this firsthand here in Managua.

We worked at the re-nutrition center again on Wednesday. More assistance was provided to the staff in caring for the children.

Each day it seems I hear of another orphanage, or gathering of children who have been abandoned by the system and life of Nicaragua. The need is tremendous! And then, the present efforts may provide for these children until they are 15 years of age or so. Then, they are forced to leave the care facilities, most times only to return to lives of drugs, crime and prostitution. Pray that current efforts begin the systemic change in this country for a brighter future.

Yesterday I heard of a young man at the center we are assisting who has known little other than life at the center and the influence of Christians. He has seen groups come and go and been prayed for and with and one has to believe that God is working at that level to provide fundamental cultural change in this young man's life; so that he may be a catalyst for change for the future.

It was a comical scene yesterday morning when we arrived at the center. We were running late, but were anticipating the delivery of the water tank. The laid back approach to things here usually says that things aren't always delivered precisely when they are "supposed to be". On the way to the center, I said a prayer that the tank would be delivered on time and don't you know, when we pulled up, there sat the truck with the tank.

The tank is so large that the delivery truck could not negotiate the driveway. So, we unloaded in the middle of the right lane of a 4 lane road. Then, we turned the tank on its side and rolled it up the driveway to the prepared site. We stood it upright on the slab and all cheered as it looked very nice sitting in place.

A local craftsman came to drill a hole in the tank for the water lines and he informed us that our slab needed more work. We had a couple of high spots and also needed to fill the space between the blocks with cement, as well as cement a berm around the edges. Sometimes in our lives, we all may think the job is done, only to receive more insight that the job is not yet done. We were not discouraged and promptly set about making the job right!

Later in the day, we had an opportunity to visit an active volcano (not spewing lava or rocks, but lots of steam coming out) called Masaya. I only wish that I was able to download pictures and share them over this blog. Watch for pictures at a later date.

The team is jelling. I can see that bonds are being established amongst the team members that will last forever and pave the way for things in the future that God has in store for us.

And the "Room 2 Boys" are excelling! These are the young men on this team who are maintaining excellent attitudes and tremendous levels of enthusiasm for all we are doing. They are Timmy, Aaron, Erik, Jonathon and Acen.

We are all well and have been blessed in that no one has been hurt or sick! Keep up the prayers please!

HCS 4

We traveled up the road yesterday to the re-nutrition center. Chris and Tim met us and welcomed the team to the facility. We were given another insight into the tremendous need in Nicaragua for efforts to save these children. These children are the future of this country. The efforts we as Americans bring today, albeit seemingly small, are catalysts for change which will make a difference for the future of Nicaragua.

The day proved extremely productive. Each member of our team packed one extra suitcase (our own personal one and a second one for supplies) with supplies for the center. Several of the team members spent the day unpacking and stocking the supplies. They also had opportunity to help the staff with the care and feeding of the 30 children presently living at the center.

The center is currently understaffed, so the team spent the day doing many projects which the staff are unable to accomplish: cleaning toys, arts and craft with the children, playing with them on the playground and interacting with the children on a one-to-one level.

Another group of us worked outside, split between clean-up projects and grading/leveling work.

The clean-up team cut brush, branches and grass. But the most fun part of the cleaning up was removing fallen mangoes from the roof of the facility. The roof is corrugated metal and not tremendously supported with beams. Team member Jonathon deftly negotiated the narrow support beams while he swept the roof to clear it of partially fermented mangoes. As you may be able to imagine, the smell was pretty bad. And the flies were horrible. But Jon and the rest of us maintained our attitudes by having a little fun with the fermented mangoes...they splat really nicely!

The center is installing a new water storage tank. The electricity is turned off here every day and during that time, there is no water available, save that which is kept in storage tanks. Our church is buying a new 2,500 gallon storage tank for the center. Our project for the day was prepare the site for the installation of the new tank.

We first had to clear and begin to level the site. For tools we had two shovels, a hoe and a level. If you've ever done grading projects, you understand the challenge here. We used a cut branch with a mark on it for our grade level gauge.

Once the site was "leveled", arrangements were made to deliver the bricks we plan to use as the base. These bricks are challenging to work with. The bricks measure 24x20x8 and are very heavy. We covered the leveled area with sand and when we thought we had a spot ready for a brick, two guys would lay a brick in place....usually only to find that it wasn't yet level. We'd pick it up again and re-work the area and then lay it in place.

The leveling of the bricks is critical to the success of this project. We calculate the tank, when full, will weigh somewhere over 10,000 lbs!

It was a very tiring day's work, but by 4:30, we had the bricks all in place and we are now ready for delivery of the water tank on Wednesday.

As we prepared the tank site yesterday, my thoughts were of a cornerstone. For our project, it was critical that the first block we laid was completely level. All the rest would measure up to that stone. Just as Christ is the cornerstone of the church and the standard we use to measure our service in His name.

We talked in the evening with Gary and Trish (see the Partners in Christ website http://www.partnersinchrist.info/) the house masters for the home we are staying in. Gary spoke of their call to Nicaragua. It was a situation that became so obvious that this was where they were called to be, that there really was no other choice for them.

They spoke of challenges and frustrations, but joy immeasureable in seeing changes in people's lives and future of this country.

HCS 3

Good morning everyone! or better, buenos dias!

It is about 4:30am here in Managua. I know that likely sounds like an absolutely hideous time of the day to be awake, but Managua time is the same as mountain time in the states, so I'm two hours behind my usual wake up time. That means I slept in today!

Oh my gosh! I'm in Managua, Nicaragua. That statement stands by itself for a truly unique and potentially life-changing status. Let me recap our first day!

We arose early Monday; actually about 4:30am, so maybe this time is the standard for this trip. Muggy, Erik and I loaded our bags into the car and said a prayer for God's favor over Grandma, who is staying behind in Georgia and Roberta, our friend who is staying with Grandma, for Luke and Rachael who are returning to Georgia today from their honeymoon and for our travels on our missions trip. Got your scorecards ready? You may need them to keep track of all this!

As we drove to the church Monday morning, (Harvest Cathedral in Macon, GA) we listened to NPR. Now, I'm not trying to make something out of nothing, but one particular story this morning really caught my attention. The story was of young people "hearing the call of God on their lives". It profiled two young people becoming Methodist pastors as God had called them. The story caught my attention for a couple of reasons: 1) For NPR to do a story on "God's calling" on people's lives was unique in and of itself, 2) Muggy, Erik and I are on this trip to see what God has for us. Not just for this week, but actually for the rest of our lives.

We met up with the rest of the group at the church and had an uneventful van ride to Atlanta for our flight, scheduled to depart at 10:15. The Atlanta airport would prove to be a very interesting environment.

After obtaining our boarding passes, we were directed to the security processing lines. Now, if you've ever been through Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, you know it's a huge airport and that the lines can be very, very long. Well, on Monday, July 23, 2007, the lines were absolutely unbelieveable! The lines went from the security area, across, the atrium between the north and south ticketing area, double-back across the atrium, went back to the baggage claim area where the line snaked around the baggage carousels, out the middle door of the south terminal, and down the sidewalk in front of the building!! The estimates were that it would take 1 1/2 hours to process security! As it was now 8:30 and our flight left at 10:15, we potentially had a problem. I quietly lifted a prayer that we would make our flight and accepted the fact that God is in control and knows that He wants this team in Nicaragua. I knew we'd make our flight.

As we moved through the baggage claim area, a airport agent stopped the line five people in front of me and said all of you come this way, and led us off to the other side of the airport. We queued up outside a door to a part of the airport I'd never seen before. We processed through the door, down an escalator to a temporary security screening area the airport had established and were through security in about 15 minutes. We were at our gate by 9:15, plenty of time to relax, have breakfast and get ready for our flight.

Delta Airlines has a direct flight to Managua from Atlanta. I understand this is a relatively new route as previous trips always had lay-overs. We arrived in Managua 3 hours and 15 minutes later.

But I must note what I consider to be a significant item regards the passengers on the flight. There is apparently a huge Christian Church effort underway in Nicaragua. There were at least five separate groups, or representatives of groups on the flight. Ours, of course, and through our youth pastor and wife and family that represents a long term effort. Darin has been to Nicaragua 13 times. There was a group from Arkansas, another Asian group from Oregon I believe, a woman representing the Methodists seeking to hire teachers in Nicaragua. It was eye-opening to realize their is such a tremendous outreach effort by churches.

We were met at the airport by Tim and Chris. We piled into two busses and set off west through town, taking in the sites and being totally awed by the fact that we were driving down the streets of Managua, Nicaragua.

A particularly poignant moment for me occurred at as we sat at a stoplight. Picture two busses full of Americans who've just arrived in the country generally considered to be the poorest in North America. We were stopped at a light on a six lane road through the heart of Managua. As we waited for the light to change a single horse-drawn, two-wheeled cart pulled up next to us and stopped. At the reins (literally) was a man of about 50 years of age and seated next to him was a young boy of about 4 or 5 years. The little boy was perched on the driver's bench of the cart next to his (?dad/grandpa?) and he was falling asleep as he sat there in the hot Nicaraguan sun. No car, no air conditioning, no modern items we take so much for granted. Just a man and his son moving through their lives on a horse-drawn cart and the little boy doing what my own boys have done so many times...dozing off, waiting for Dad to get them to where they're going. I realized at that moment the distances that I had bridged that day in simply coming to the country! And it provided me an insight into what waits for us here!

We stopped for lunch at (where else?) MacDonald's, primarily because it was efficient. A Big Mac is 70 Cordovas, with an exchange rate of 18 Cordovas to the dollar, that's about $3.90...not much different than at home and way out of the affordability range of most Nicaraguans.

The home we are staying in is owned by the Partners in Christ group. See their website at
http://www.partnersinchrist.info/. The home sits on fairly high hill on the southwest side of Managua and is surrounded by other beautiful homes. We received a short instructional talk from the missionaries we are here to support and then spent the rest of the day and evening relaxing and settling in. Pastor Darin spoke to us last evening about serving and putting ourselves last. All of us are tremendously excited to see what God has for us here.

Tuesday promises a trip to the nutrition center and orphanage. Muggy can't wait to hold the babies!

Keep us in your prayers! We again thank each and everyone for prayer and monetary support to enable this trip!

HCS #2

Greetings All!

Well, we're one week out from our departure to Nicaragua. Please keep our entire team in your prayers.

I've studied a little this morning and found out that Managua is about 1400 miles due south of our home here in Georgia. It's only about a 3-4 hour flight non-stop to Managua from Atlanta. The weather is very similar to weather here in Georgia. Right, now we're looking at lower 90s while we're there and a good chance of thunderstorms.

Daniel Ortega is the current president in Nicaragua. He took office in January 2007. He has been involved in Nicaraguan politics since the days of the Sandinistas and Contras back in the 80's. President Bush reportedly called him and congratulated him on his election.

The team will be busy gathering items this week to take with us to the relief center.

Muggy, Erik and I are all very excited. I'm going to borrow a phrase from a dear friend of ours, Linda up in Brainerd, MN. She said in an email this week to "splash the living water in Nicaragua!!"

Thanks Linda!

More later, Ken

Hanson Christian Services (HCS) Report 1

Greetings to all who are interested in this blog.

This is the story of the Hansons trip to Managua, Nicaragua July 2007.

The Hansons are Muggy, Ken and Erik. The three of them believe God has a purpose for them to travel to Managua, Nicaragua this year with the Harvest Cathedral Youth Pastors, Darin and Deborah Bunch, and a host of others.

We will travel July 23, 2007 to visit and help the Bagwell Family. The Bagwells have established a re-nutrition center in Managua to help the children of the streets get back on healthy diets.

This year, the Bagwells have purchased a new piece of land to eventually serve as an orphanage for the children. The team from Harvest Cathedral will help with the clearing of the land. We will also be providing and installing a generator for use during the frequent power outages.

Many of you have already assisted us in this endeavor through financial and prayer support; and we wish to thank you all very much! We are representing each and every one of you. We invite along on this trip. We will share through this blog site, our experiences with you, so that you too can enjoy the ministry efforts.

Please keep us in your prayers! We have been praying much up to now, but will begin earnest prayer for the next ten days in anticipation of our travel. Watch this site for updates.

Be blessed!! Muggy, Erik and Ken