tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50702874728615107592024-03-13T04:07:04.877-07:00Mitchell, Lauren, and Ezra YoderHere's some of what we're up to in Nicaragua. It's a good place to be.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-28016458808558191002017-11-17T15:00:00.003-08:002017-11-17T15:00:37.943-08:00Our Top 10!4 weeks left, people, but who's counting??<br />
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We started this post in October and meant to send it out then! Sorry it didn't happen!<br />
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As we getting ready to leave and reflect on our time here, we thought it'd be fun to think about the top 10 things we WILL miss about Nicaragua and the 10 things we WON'T miss at all! We hope you enjoy :)<br />
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<b>Things we WILL miss:</b><br />
1. <b>The people. </b>We've made good relationships here. Above all, we'll miss Yosi and Martha more than anything or anyone. We're so thankful that everything is falling into place for them when we leave and that makes everything a little easier. Enough said.<br />
2. <b>The food.</b> Do you think we'll be able to find plantains, dry cheese, ice cream or soda in a baggie, calala and pitaya fruit drink, gallo pinto by the side of the road, or authentic pico de gallo in the US of A to name a few?? WE HOPE SO!<br />
3. <b>The beautiful landscape. </b>Nicaragua is known as "The Land of Lakes and Volcanos." It's a beautiful country with great places to explore! There's a lot we were able to do in 3 year's time but so much we didn't! It's been a blast to get to know another country so well.<br />
4. <b>The generosity of people's time and things. </b>So many people here don't have much when it comes to objects and possessions. But they're willing to give you the shirt off their back if you need it. Time is something that we, in the States, can never get enough of. "I have this many hours in my day and I need to be efficient!", we think. Here, anyone will drop anything they're doing to help you and spend hours of their time doing just that. I love that.<br />
5. <b>The way everyone wants to give you an answer to something even if they have no idea what they're talking about.</b> This one could go either way, really. I could take it or leave it. It's a cool quality in the people here, but can also be frustrating. You could ask a simple question like, for example, "Where is the grocery store La Colonia?" They will give you an exact answer even if they have no idea where it is! Then you go right to where they said and you'll find a cow in a field.<br />
6. <b>The relaxed feeling of everyone here.</b> At first little things like the way people walk SO SLOW really got to me. Over the past few years I've learned to live with it and even appreciate it and I'm trying to join that mentality, although it's difficult, especially getting stuck behind a slow walker.<br />
7. <b>Recognizing how much we depend on God.</b> Things here have not been easy, and we have clearly seen God's hand working. We will still recognize it once we are back in Virginia, but it has been more obvious here, far away from our comfortable home and loved ones.<br />
8. <b>Time focused on our family.</b> We have spent the last three years heavily focused on our family and what we need in order to have a solid marriage and household. It's easy to get sucked into lots of activities, and this has been a good way to get some space from constantly being busy. Our busy-ness has been in a different arena, and we have grown a lot through it.<br />
9. <b>The perspective.</b> Living here has widened our worldview considerably. We've realized what's really important to us and what we value. Living here has changed us and we're better for it.<br />
10. <b>The heat.</b> I'm kidding. Keep reading.<br />
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<b>Things we will NOT miss:</b><br />
1. You guessed it. <b>THE HEAT! </b>Oh my word. The answer is no, you do not get used to it. You just sweat from the time you get out of the shower in the morning to right before you take your shower at night before bed. Oh, the heat!<br />
2. <b>Crazy drivers!</b> DAH! If you've visited you know exactly what we're talking about here. It's truly a sight to behold. Looking out for cycles, bikers, semis, walkers, horses, cows. That's not even to mention how people have a whole different system for following the rules of the road. It's organized chaos that I will NOT miss.<br />
3. <b>The way NOTHING seems to be easy here. </b>Nothing is done according to our efficient timing. It all takes a billion years. Something that should take only 30 minutes seems to take days here, or even months!<br />
4. <b>The way you lose electricity for hours, and even water, often. </b>This is harder for me, Lauren, than for Mitch. He understands more that these things are privileges while I feel more like I should always have them. It's been a difficult adjustment.<br />
5. <b>The litter. </b>Oh! I remember coming here to visit the spring before we moved here and what stuck out most to me was all of the trash everywhere. People just through their trash out their car windows. The gutters are full of trash and in the rainy season, when the rains come, all of that trash goes directly into Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua. It's sad.<br />
6. <b>Lack of attention to detail. </b>Things, whether in physical structure or in things such as lesson plans - discipline and routines - are lacking. That makes it tough to figure out how to fit in and add suggestions here when it doesn't seem too valued by most.<br />
7. S<b>chools. </b>Speaking in terms of a school system, we are so fortunate for what we have learned here at NCA Nejapa and in the public schools. But wow, we am ready to be in the HCPS system again!<br />
8. <b>Lack of seasons</b>, as we know it from back home in MI, PA, and VA. Where's spring? Where's fall? And WHERE'S WINTER???<br />
9. "Hi, are on your way yet?" <b>"Si, estoy en camino." </b>It literally means that you are on your way, but it usually means that, although the person might be thinking about going, they are still sitting at home. That makes it SO hard when you're waiting for someone to come to your house or when you have a meeting. You could be waiting anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours. Being on time isn't really a thing here. It's HARD when it is VERY valued back home in the States.<br />
10. <b>Being far from our family and friends</b>. Oh, this one is the hardest. You know what we mean.<br />
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<br />Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-26280477481680715332017-09-25T19:39:00.001-07:002017-09-25T21:02:48.552-07:00Part 2: September: Ezra's 1st Birthday Party!We celebrated Ezra with a great Nicaraguan birthday party, including a piñata and a four person Marimba band. We had a great time; even Ezra was loving the piñata and the music!<br />
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Here are some of our favorites from his birthday party!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(His lunch before the party with his first taste of cow's milk!!)</td></tr>
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-15752145663512078632017-09-25T19:28:00.002-07:002017-09-25T19:28:24.133-07:00Part 1: September: Ezra 1-12 months!Hello everyone!<br />
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In keeping with writing monthly, I thought the end of the month was a great time to post because Ezra just turned ONE yesterday, September 24th! Here are pictures of him from each month as he's grown and changed tremendously.<br />
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We can't help but feel so incredibly blessed and thankful that God has given us this little buddy. We love him so much and our hearts are so full because of the wonderfulness of who he is and who God has created him to be. Thanks be to God!<br />
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<i>"For you created my inmost being;</i><br />
<i> you knit me together in my mother’s womb.</i><br />
<i>14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;</i><br />
<i> your works are wonderful,</i><br />
<i> I know that full well. " Psalms 139:14</i><br />
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-51420807297959229862017-08-31T08:37:00.000-07:002017-08-31T08:37:02.552-07:00August UpdateHello Everyone! Lauren here. Kids are back at school this week in the States, and I feel like it marks the beginning of fall! It's hard to believe that tomorrow is September already.<br />
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So sorry to all of you; Mitch and I have not done a good job of keeping you updated in the past year and that's our fault. Between Mitch's job, our girls, and Ezra, we get pretty tired in the evenings and enjoy spending time relaxing together. I will try to do better in these last months of writing each month until we head home to Harrisonburg, VA on December 13th (our three one-way tickets are bought!!) So, let me jump right in and update y'all. (Side note: I feel like I need to start using the phrase "y'all" in preparation for moving back to VA.) I listened to Christmas music in July because this year we'll be HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, and I want to prepare early :) Although, now I'm holding off on the music until October. If I can.<br />
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Now that we have less than 3 months left here in Nicaragua, we are trying our HARDEST to be present here but it is awfully difficult! We know we have a beautiful home waiting for us in Harrisonburg that we have been blessed with, and we are already envisioning ways to be intentional with our lives in that home. I find myself day-dreaming daily, and at this point I don't think it's a bad thing. We're also trying to fit in our favorite cities and adventures here in Nicaragua one last time before we fly home! We've loved getting to know Nicaragua these past 3 years!<br />
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The latest news that many of you do not know is that the children's home, CINAFE, or Fortress of Hope, closed at the beginning of August. The closure came quickly, and although it took us by surprise, we were kind of anticipating its closing from all of the government changes that have been happening here in Nicaragua. Sadly, the government recently required that all board members of NGO organizations be Nicaraguan, which was impossible for us, being that 4/5 members were US citizens. They also changed the finance law for children's homes, requiring all money to be filtered through the Nicaraguan government, with which the board members could not comply in good faith. There were also other factors that led to the closing of CINAFE, and we could see more barriers down the road if we did not close in August. So, what happened to the staff and kids who were at CINAFE? Well, the staff we had are now looking for, or have found, other work. The children that were at CINAFE were either placed in other centers or sent home. You can be in prayer for the staff and children of CINAFE. It's amazing for us to think about how we moved down here to help at CINAFE and since moving here in 2014, God has placed different things/people in our path that we did not anticipate. Now that CINAFE is no longer operating, we continue to see how God is using us and how He will continue to teach us daily in our time here.<br />
(It is important to note that when CINAFE started 10 years ago, it was 1 of 300 orphanages/children's homes. At its time of closure, it was 1 of 14 homes left in Nicaragua. The government has been in the process of trying to shut down protection centers like CINAFE, and we are thankful that CINAFE was able to help children for 10 years, as one of the last standing centers here!)<br />
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So what are we up to now? Well, Mitch has been very busy in his work at NCA Nejapa as the coordinator of the English team, as well as teaching three English classes, so CINAFE's closing didn't affect him too much. However, since I've been home with Ezra this past year, we went to CINAFE 2-3 times a week, and it was a great way to get out of the house and help how we could. I am now finding myself investing in other relationships here in the international community. Ezra and I have a play-date once a week on Thursdays with two other women and their kids. It's been my saving grace. I love that time each week and am thankful that Mitch and I have been reaching out to others in a more intentional way since we've been going to the international church, ICF (International Christian Fellowship). We had been switching each week between this church and a Nicaraguan church, Hosanna, but around April we decided to go consistently to this international church as we felt the need for a closer community and the need to be in more intentional worship. This change has been really great for us in these last few months. We had the thought recently of wondering what God could have taught us in this church had we been there from the beginning, but at the same time we wouldn't change a thing. We feel like we've consistently listened to God's calling and have gone where He wants us and that gives us peace.<br />
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I also just started volunteering at NCA Nejapa this week in Kindergarten through 3rd grade on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I LOVE being back in the culture, the classroom, and speaking Spanish again! We found a great Nicaraguan lady to watch Ezra those mornings and although he's not quite sure he wants to be without his mommy for a few hours on those days, I love it! She does a good job with Ezra and he gets to hear Spanish all the while! I'm excited for next week!<br />
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So what will happen to Marthita when we leave? We have made arrangements with a Nicaraguan family whose daughter goes to NCA Nejapa and is in the same class as Martha. Martha will move in with them and live with them for the last two years of her high school time. In November, we will meet with the family and a lawyer and transfer the guardians to this family. We will need to raise money in order for her to finish at NCA Nejapa. The total cost will be around $3,500 which isn't much but it's money we don't have. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO HER EDUCATION, WE WOULD LOVE IT! CONTACT US AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE!<br />
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So what will happen to Yosidara when we leave? Yosi is going to stay here in Nicaragua for the coming year, 2018. We are going to enroll her in a full-time English program right here in Managua. She will be able to live there on campus Monday-Friday but we are currently looking for a family she can live with on the weekends and during vacations. Yosi does not have any family to live with and options for her are very, very limited. Please be in prayer for us, that we can find a family that is able and willing to take in Yosi for the coming year. We will also need to raise money for Yosi to do this program. The total for the year is $1,500 but we also need to give a stipend to whichever family takes her in, $75.00/month. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO HER EDUCATION AND LIVING COSTS, WE WOULD LOVE IT! CONTACT US AND WE'LL GO FROM THERE!<br />
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Well, that's all for now.<br />
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Tonight I think Mitch and I, and Ezra of course, are going out on a dinner date! Time together in our family of three is always nice.<br />
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Thanks for listening.<br />
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Look for another blog post next month, when Ezra is 1 YEAR OLD! (Time flies!!!)<br />
-Lauren<br />
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Now for the best part. Enjoy these pictures below! (They're out of order)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holding his bottle for the first time in July</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of us after peeling coconuts, Ezra wishing he did!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martha's 15th birthday party!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nUen_nS5Or9P1COGhyphenhyphenBWYO3bWZYDKdSpAOqZfY-_R2vnQcMEJaApIQ6N0x6cmyeYJhbHRo56P_vIwoS5PmduoO0bNBjCY2iciSb7ilQiAG93mVkyJCuMVVp3nJ3iASElr2nfCYAf1kQ/s1600/IMG_4526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1040" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nUen_nS5Or9P1COGhyphenhyphenBWYO3bWZYDKdSpAOqZfY-_R2vnQcMEJaApIQ6N0x6cmyeYJhbHRo56P_vIwoS5PmduoO0bNBjCY2iciSb7ilQiAG93mVkyJCuMVVp3nJ3iASElr2nfCYAf1kQ/s320/IMG_4526.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating Mitch's 30th birthday at school</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family beach trip! (Along with Mitch's school faculty)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home to PA to see Lauren's family in June/July</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEHsHW_BNjYmlAl2rHJLqWcfpctACLwXcQO5LdXenxdGF0O1PCyFgg85zzN__VyolN57cZVGCzmRBc0OdzwVBtU-bPOdIElS5Y9_lFhyphenhyphenEHNcOySSedB35LyePo2FUqG7EazHTfW1WY20/s1600/IMG_4731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEHsHW_BNjYmlAl2rHJLqWcfpctACLwXcQO5LdXenxdGF0O1PCyFgg85zzN__VyolN57cZVGCzmRBc0OdzwVBtU-bPOdIElS5Y9_lFhyphenhyphenEHNcOySSedB35LyePo2FUqG7EazHTfW1WY20/s320/IMG_4731.JPG" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Extended family meets Ezra!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ezra eating breakfast with his cousin, Josh</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5g7QpUPd1W7ay2CAVeUIOdm45h2RnerKdYCJ7wtywLHy_eFYI5d7d7QqxFn_oIHxZG2X6sHrrO4aXg4YxlTjyFKhzuYFrtTKId5DMqmrTjYH1s9Ug0p6kG_FnGOv_AXhsriDqY6ThB8s/s1600/IMG_4769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5g7QpUPd1W7ay2CAVeUIOdm45h2RnerKdYCJ7wtywLHy_eFYI5d7d7QqxFn_oIHxZG2X6sHrrO4aXg4YxlTjyFKhzuYFrtTKId5DMqmrTjYH1s9Ug0p6kG_FnGOv_AXhsriDqY6ThB8s/s320/IMG_4769.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We went to see the Liberty Bell in Philly</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ezra laughing with MomMom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitG7ZoBctE1dPhAsqLUhyphenhyphenfqHe6n8MUdSX3YgNVL6aJixeXTpY85pLntRUxHmwxDqyHv3ARUQZUet9dLli0xbjQKJ-fxIR4MtGkzlt_e_tVt1zXICedY-NHwfg4lJ7e2F7XPvuFvFpraKU/s1600/IMG_4899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitG7ZoBctE1dPhAsqLUhyphenhyphenfqHe6n8MUdSX3YgNVL6aJixeXTpY85pLntRUxHmwxDqyHv3ARUQZUet9dLli0xbjQKJ-fxIR4MtGkzlt_e_tVt1zXICedY-NHwfg4lJ7e2F7XPvuFvFpraKU/s320/IMG_4899.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family pictures!<br />
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Yosi's 18th birthday party!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgna547blCVGHSdntNxHMkXaPKWDxzZLWe882ojvZQY0Uu5xDV3ijFNkWPTfV34q4n-3hF-Vb4q2Lyv8gK1nSNMvyLoRd_dp6UXgwBuGhj9Wkou05Q_4RxDsT3TtOf1XYYO9Pet_RJ6A7U/s1600/IMG-0177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgna547blCVGHSdntNxHMkXaPKWDxzZLWe882ojvZQY0Uu5xDV3ijFNkWPTfV34q4n-3hF-Vb4q2Lyv8gK1nSNMvyLoRd_dp6UXgwBuGhj9Wkou05Q_4RxDsT3TtOf1XYYO9Pet_RJ6A7U/s320/IMG-0177.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Ezra is 11 months old!</span>Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-47210646274229139622017-03-02T11:01:00.000-08:002017-03-02T11:01:16.843-08:00Grand Update!Hello everyone!<br />
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Lauren here. We are so sorry that we have not written for half a year! We have been very busy and things have been hectic recently. The last time we wrote was just before Ezra was born. Hey - if you haven't heard yet, Ezra Luke Yoder was born on September 24th, 2016, and he's the love of our life!! ;)<br />
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I feel like there are so many things to write about that I don't even know where to begin. It seems as though one thing comes our way, we take a deep breath and deal with it, and then another thing comes shortly after. To start somewhere, we'll begin with the birth of Ezra. I had an unexpected C-section, which made recovery for me a lot longer than we had planned. Thankfully, we had such great care and great doctors at our hospital that everything went very smoothly. Mitch was also able to take that first week off from school and spent his time with Ezra and me, which was simply incredible. All I had energy for was resting so that my body could heal, care for Ezra with the little strength I had, and care for our girls the best I could. Around November I started feeling 100% again, and we enjoyed a good month of time together once Mitch's school year finished in December.<br />
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In the middle of December we headed up to Alaska for Neil's wedding, Mitch's cousin. We got to spend Christmas with family and had a great time relaxing, eating great food, enjoying the snow, and the beautiful mountains. The only small bummer in the beginning of the week was that Ezra got a cold that made him a little more difficult than normal. Stuffed-nosed babies are no fun!! In the middle of the week on Wednesday, we had a BIG bummer. We went skiing with Mitch's family. It was a great day with one of the most incredible views I've ever seen. On the last run of the night, Mitch's ski came off, and he fell hard to the ground, breaking his collarbone. Mitch had to get surgery up in Alaska. We struggled a lot with why this had happened to us. We took 3 flights with an infant to get up to Alaska and had 3 flights back. (Thankfully, Phyllis, Mitch's mom, rearranged her flights so she could fly the first two with us to help out with Ezra. And boy, was she an amazing help.) We desperately needed this break from Nicaragua, and we were so thankful for the opportunity to be with family and to be somewhere we've always wanted to visit. With Mitch's broken collarbone, he wasn't allowed to fully hold Ezra for 6 weeks, and this added a big obstacle to our lives in Nicaragua. Ezra was 3 months old at the time and, of course, still needed lots of attention and care. Without family and friends to help out at all, the job falls completely to us 100% of the time. And now it was even more difficult with Mitch unable to help fully in the evenings after work. Anyway, we got through that difficult time and Mitch's collarbone has been healing well. At 5 weeks he actually got the go-ahead to hold Ezra on his own, and we were so thankful for that leg of the journey to be over. God is faithful and was with us all along and helped me take one day at a time.<br />
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We had a breather for a few weeks, but then at the end of January Ezra started to get a bad cold. It was fine at first, and we just watched carefully to make sure it didn't develop further. Once I heard it arrive to his lungs, we called the doctor and had an appointment that morning, Sunday Feb. 5th. Our doctor noted that Ezra seemed really exhausted and gave us medicine and had us use a defibrillator on him several times a day to help with his breathing. The following day, Monday, the 6th, we went to get my parents at the airport because they were going to visit for the week of my birthday (the 12th). The night that we got my parents, Ezra seemed short of breath and needing rest. We talked with our doctor through text message, and he urged us to go to the hospital. We didn't think much of it, as it's common to go to the hospital here in Nicaragua when you're not feeling well. It's not like in the States where you go only for a complete emergency. Anyway, we went and saw a lung specialist. and she told us that Ezra had bronchitis and to continue with the meds that our doctor had recommended, only changing one. She sent us home that evening. For that week while my parents were here, Ezra was on his medication, and he seemed so uncomfortable. The one medicine, our doctor said at another appointment on Tuesday, could make him like that. We went to an appointment, she lowered the dosage, and my parents, Ezra, and I went on our way again.<br />
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We had another appointment for that Thursday to check in and make sure everything was still okay. My parents, Ezra, and I were in the car on our way to get lunch and run some errands before the appointment, and that is when Ezra had his incident. While driving, my mom put Ezra to sleep in the car, but soon after we noticed him fidgeting around. His eyes were opened and looking up to the roof of the car and his arms were flailing around, but he wasn't awake. We couldn't wake him, either. It was a horribly scary sight as I was driving and looking in my rear view mirror at Ezra. We realized he was having a seizure. Thankfully we were already close to the hospital where our appointment would be that afternoon. I called the doctor on our way and told her that we were coming RIGHT NOW and that we needed to see her immediately.<br />
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Upon arriving to the hospital, my mom fainted in the back seat, then came to, from everything that was going on. I realized I was feeling like I might faint and had to sit for a minute before my dad and I rushed into the hospital with Ezra, leaving my mom to rest. At this point, Ezra had woken up and was conscious. We saw the doctor shortly after getting to the office, and we explained to her what had happened in the car and how we thought he had a seizure. She gave us the option to run some tests or admit him to the hospital and run tests. I wanted him admitted, no question. The doctor gathered papers, and I called Mitch to fill him in. He left school and rushed over as soon as he could. After doing tests on his chest, the doctors found that the lining of Ezra's heart was enlarged and filled with liquid. The lack of oxygen pumping to his brain caused the seizure. Thankfully, it was very treatable with medicine. The following morning Ezra had a CT scan on his brain to see if the seizure had caused any damage. Thank the Lord everything was, and is, fine with his brain.<br />
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In the hospital we continued treating his lungs and heart for two days. Mitch stayed during the days and brought my parents over to stay too, then took them back to our house at night and came back to the hospital to sleep. We are SO thankful to have had my parents with us during this really difficult time. On Saturday the 11th we were released in the morning upon doing another test on Ezra's heart to reveal that that liquid around his heart had shrunk considerably. However, I also got very sick from the same virus and felt very weak and tired. God placed my parents here with us during this time intentionally, and we are thankful for His faithfulness. My mom was able to stay an extra few days, and our church in Harrisonburg lined it up so that when she left, Mitch's sister Rachel came to help us. She was a great blessing to us, and especially me as I felt very weak and tired from dealing with everything and being sick with the same cold as Ezra on top of it. Having to deal with this incident after dealing with the difficulty of Mitch's collarbone just left us both feeling pretty emotionally and physically broken. We continued treatment for another week and had follow-up appointments with the pulmonologist and cardiologist and they told us that he is now healed completely, and we are thankful beyond words.Praise God, Mitch, Ezra, and I are all healthy and feel 100%! <br />
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Later one evening, while Mitch was taking my parents back to our house for the night, my dad and Mitch started putting things together as to why my mom fainted in the car, why I felt like I could have fainted, and my dad also noted that he felt weird in the head after our car ride to the hospital. They smelled and heard something, and found that the exhaust pipe on our SUV had broken where it connects to the muffler. Which mean that all the exhaust fumes were going up into the cabin of the car, inside of out the back. We believe this spurred on Ezra's seizure as he was the smallest and weakest of health. That's why my mom fainted and that's why my dad and I felt strange. Strangely, we are thankful for the car trouble, which led us to Ezra's seizure, which led us to the hospital, which helped the doctors find the fluid around his heart, which helped us get Ezra medicine and on the path to recovery. Had his seizure not happened, he wouldn't have been hospitalized, and we probably wouldn't have realized the gravity of his bronchitis and the way it was affecting his heart. The Lord is good, and we praise Him in all of this.<br />
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So there you have it. Several things have been going on that have kept us from writing on our blog. We wish we had done a better job to keep everyone updated on here as some of you really enjoy these posts and use this to follow what we do down here in Nicaragua. However, it just didn't happen. We want to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during these past months that have been the most difficult in our time here. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to adjust to changes in our life and as we dig into this new and last year here in Nicaragua. We promise to do a better job keeping you updated in the weeks and months to come! Enjoy the pictures below of Ezra's birth, to Alaska, to the hospital the other week, and now.<br />
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<br />Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-56601273711831064302016-09-03T18:42:00.002-07:002016-09-03T18:43:28.777-07:00Changes are Coming Our Way<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hi, everyone! </div>
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Lauren
here. It’s the beginning of September which means that our due date
for little baby Yoder is NEXT MONTH! October 10<sup>th </sup>, to be
exact. A lot is going to change here for us very shortly, and we’re
anxiously anticipating those changes.</div>
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I have just one more
week of work left at NCA Nejapa before my maternity leave begins. But
actually, the beginning of my maternity leave means that my work at
NCA Nejapa is finished for good. Since our school year ends at the
beginning of December, that means my maternity leave will take me
through the end of the school year. Then, come school year 2017, I
will not be returning to NCA Nejapa as Mitch is. He will work while I
stay at home with the baby. This will allow me to focus on our little
guy, or girl, and also focus more on CINAFE, Fortress of Hope, and
Yosi and Martha. In our last blog post, we showed pictures of our new
home. Moving here has been one of the best decisions we’ve made
since having Yosi and Martha with us, but with that change comes
bigger bills. Come January, living on one income and supporting a
family of five requires more money than we have.</div>
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We can’t wait for
these changes to happen, but with that being said, we realize that we
need to begin fund-raising for our family. Since the changes that are
coming our way will make it much harder for us to financially support
ourselves as much as we could before, we’ve been talking with our
Mission Support Team about the best way to go. They will be helping
us raise money, and we wanted to let you all know as well, being that
you’re close family and friends who have supported us in many ways
throughout our time here.</div>
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If you would like to
support us financially, stay tuned. Our Mission Support Team will be
sending out letters to lots of you and making announcements in
several connected churches. Thank you for following us on the blog,
writing to us, Skyping with us, and praying for us in these past two
years of our lives here in Nicaragua. We are abundantly blessed and
beyond thankful for the love and support we have from each and every
one of you, and we’re excited to see where the Lord takes us in
this next year! </div>
Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-51142305974376293722016-07-30T11:10:00.001-07:002016-07-30T11:10:10.136-07:00Pictures of Our New Home!Hello everyone!<br />
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It's been too long since we've written and today we just wanted to send you all some pictures of the new house we moved into this past June. This home has been such a blessing for us and it's been a much needed change for our ever-growing family (Mitch, Lauren, Yosi, Martha, and baby Yoder...and Emre :)) This house still has three bedrooms, but the layout gives us so much more living space and our yard is such a nice haven for us and Emre.<br />
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Enjoy and thanks to everyone for your prayers of support and financial support to make this possible. We are very grateful.<br />
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Here they are!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrHug6C_8frKkrVXno2oDg73arFrtZhGD2V0fX29aruHspigK9jVEOM539JHUo5mCD8JRr4rBXssbXy9pqn_ydE5OGvJ4k9SYmW-JhRdBg7Mmdkc1PQHmp_cbxMaqXo-dNMb4A5qFmFA/s1600/IMG_9687.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtrHug6C_8frKkrVXno2oDg73arFrtZhGD2V0fX29aruHspigK9jVEOM539JHUo5mCD8JRr4rBXssbXy9pqn_ydE5OGvJ4k9SYmW-JhRdBg7Mmdkc1PQHmp_cbxMaqXo-dNMb4A5qFmFA/s320/IMG_9687.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front view of our house</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirFa04CTIwjVhCMVXjaBnr_KpQwgGJ3jVWVYmbVtxssWfOO_7PaPre-QDYKnNGvUxfRoOtLs7kbpIi3JZEfal0pMJQcXyA42D_HQMw_yP7DSCOyi9vN5qUPMMvxL_vxW08lZAQHgIDXM/s1600/IMG_9734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhirFa04CTIwjVhCMVXjaBnr_KpQwgGJ3jVWVYmbVtxssWfOO_7PaPre-QDYKnNGvUxfRoOtLs7kbpIi3JZEfal0pMJQcXyA42D_HQMw_yP7DSCOyi9vN5qUPMMvxL_vxW08lZAQHgIDXM/s320/IMG_9734.JPG" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren with Emre when we got the keys!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrLKDMmL9QJLjceWY5WvWHnGSkZW5mA_7x-8Hn-0P-zFYW68NwXI4o1PvYez1FPZx_ublyIRVQPonjmOVAEMRS9FYqAUWQbkpPRi19ObCg0gX4eTFzpbGKdgHwTylA4iei9ZmwOlThJA/s1600/IMG_0691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSrLKDMmL9QJLjceWY5WvWHnGSkZW5mA_7x-8Hn-0P-zFYW68NwXI4o1PvYez1FPZx_ublyIRVQPonjmOVAEMRS9FYqAUWQbkpPRi19ObCg0gX4eTFzpbGKdgHwTylA4iei9ZmwOlThJA/s320/IMG_0691.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Living Room</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RVyHWuvClq4wa8kAgCMfFqsRTSV0IweR19CLsQUxSswCq7kUCHsiEmOYl4NvI7n_xqdlgPDHQuiwQ0QuZvU7-8m12sY3nUJgwur5TuiksXOcEE731H6UwrFk_6T-gaynnKZkNVK8vJU/s1600/IMG_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2RVyHWuvClq4wa8kAgCMfFqsRTSV0IweR19CLsQUxSswCq7kUCHsiEmOYl4NvI7n_xqdlgPDHQuiwQ0QuZvU7-8m12sY3nUJgwur5TuiksXOcEE731H6UwrFk_6T-gaynnKZkNVK8vJU/s320/IMG_0692.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dining Area</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7TT2Rs7mXwzSNdo90jpgrLKnG_O18k_acWJjUErZeZQFn-D5d-mYfUwMIO9rOnmyA0viq5Vie2IBz0UMIcQzOK60lob1w_KJa59OS71x8ldFgVqWnmBOOq9QOGoM-1NDRZobwEA96u1I/s1600/IMG_0744.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7TT2Rs7mXwzSNdo90jpgrLKnG_O18k_acWJjUErZeZQFn-D5d-mYfUwMIO9rOnmyA0viq5Vie2IBz0UMIcQzOK60lob1w_KJa59OS71x8ldFgVqWnmBOOq9QOGoM-1NDRZobwEA96u1I/s320/IMG_0744.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kitchen, with real space to prep and cook!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3LriR3zppSOPTsAryNY5dBLiSzfzEov2ETDoE2nFSdJmRtBP_r_1XLA0mrODQp51qOpTpkUvkaWg3TIZuZT0ha3FHQ_-vYQa8O2VkBeO6iH-9LIim9aEO66veXGadki94h6RlNtUKFs/s1600/IMG_0717.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk3LriR3zppSOPTsAryNY5dBLiSzfzEov2ETDoE2nFSdJmRtBP_r_1XLA0mrODQp51qOpTpkUvkaWg3TIZuZT0ha3FHQ_-vYQa8O2VkBeO6iH-9LIim9aEO66veXGadki94h6RlNtUKFs/s320/IMG_0717.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girls' room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgvpooOrX-XwsinoGopsXlWuOzdA8id8zRPUCl_GNNnbGgOfNWt8f4-fvJW-IE1OwB873pKSN4rfwm-wxiWvSb2xGlzaSBPhJ2waFr0IHZzN6GePLbklh-3Diw0f5TmVSBx2rD7xHYGFY/s1600/IMG_0697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgvpooOrX-XwsinoGopsXlWuOzdA8id8zRPUCl_GNNnbGgOfNWt8f4-fvJW-IE1OwB873pKSN4rfwm-wxiWvSb2xGlzaSBPhJ2waFr0IHZzN6GePLbklh-3Diw0f5TmVSBx2rD7xHYGFY/s320/IMG_0697.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hallway bathroom (girls' bathroom)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpxwT73qxD_6nv_vukPc6c3HuuDEKFfYWhTmVO7AGv3ce-XnbRJkYdYqBIsaOUPBxtrOE-K2zhCigxWzhVhDgGnOMELEOvQ5-x3K1mge5-Q5aQUuQjeNVJ6JjpiuUdpxgZ-ZIS6LUWes/s1600/IMG_0720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVpxwT73qxD_6nv_vukPc6c3HuuDEKFfYWhTmVO7AGv3ce-XnbRJkYdYqBIsaOUPBxtrOE-K2zhCigxWzhVhDgGnOMELEOvQ5-x3K1mge5-Q5aQUuQjeNVJ6JjpiuUdpxgZ-ZIS6LUWes/s320/IMG_0720.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our master bedroom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_st2aGUDJwqiFG6-o80WCyuJ5yj0QApOCVii5R3XbRiZa67REXX8ciTAEwrDy3WXW283qjn1BqgEjL75ILB6B3TIeTlDlyJ94ppI67oJPNFDNmwdMLkBQGgoMbNmUgL7d3LEr2EsC1Hw/s1600/IMG_0725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_st2aGUDJwqiFG6-o80WCyuJ5yj0QApOCVii5R3XbRiZa67REXX8ciTAEwrDy3WXW283qjn1BqgEjL75ILB6B3TIeTlDlyJ94ppI67oJPNFDNmwdMLkBQGgoMbNmUgL7d3LEr2EsC1Hw/s320/IMG_0725.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This shows our walk-in closet and bathroom</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33fMMtoYxPWLGxPEmiqxLzErxI4m2u7zxNtkNh7mdQYdpSq_Tm9WyQJ07fPLBSGwtzz7fg9roNg6oczvUDmwHNAE-u9f3LGZ2EEm7-0QkFvWpmrH6aE_l7_5-w_fkZmhf-Ny0WstyL4M/s1600/IMG_0727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33fMMtoYxPWLGxPEmiqxLzErxI4m2u7zxNtkNh7mdQYdpSq_Tm9WyQJ07fPLBSGwtzz7fg9roNg6oczvUDmwHNAE-u9f3LGZ2EEm7-0QkFvWpmrH6aE_l7_5-w_fkZmhf-Ny0WstyL4M/s320/IMG_0727.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walk-in closet with space above for our suitcases! No more suitcases sticking out from under the bed!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06UDkDGtnq7cnLhwmzHfp3XKALR2s35zSgi0UW0oe1QgS-uUFFxp00s-DtDKfKozd761a17PqARBG2N8agzilfz2yO1kDBdCuQFLDPOAye26NyP0_sEjx2kWMzl7_2SVOtYwtmtHDv38/s1600/IMG_0722.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj06UDkDGtnq7cnLhwmzHfp3XKALR2s35zSgi0UW0oe1QgS-uUFFxp00s-DtDKfKozd761a17PqARBG2N8agzilfz2yO1kDBdCuQFLDPOAye26NyP0_sEjx2kWMzl7_2SVOtYwtmtHDv38/s320/IMG_0722.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our bathroom</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvlg4ee2GpcXt5qvDjfpKDgjXVc3XzPQ50uV_rl__Vh-eL4HxjktjGTDRq7j2L2OEiedAVaWbXWzaHykms4lV7l26DoW2nM6MJWw9N79_QLd04NQBBVN1HNsQt-EoYIiQuJPgNSsICa4/s320/IMG_0696.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="239" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our nursery - just needs a few more touches :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnufEbxG1bBvGGgs1cdNmQd0Gak0EPK6Nm-JWka7N8sJHPyP4qAEWoyVxI_SVNycDGtdGBrHFxq6WmnQO6FUMwowP4nFXezXQMgqDH0vqgsDICGolaAqtMTiE3LkScMQyxontH3D3Rfj8/s1600/IMG_0686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnufEbxG1bBvGGgs1cdNmQd0Gak0EPK6Nm-JWka7N8sJHPyP4qAEWoyVxI_SVNycDGtdGBrHFxq6WmnQO6FUMwowP4nFXezXQMgqDH0vqgsDICGolaAqtMTiE3LkScMQyxontH3D3Rfj8/s320/IMG_0686.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rocking chair and pack n' play</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjDDKLgOK5SikF3-aa6ANzAJ0gZqDeCnz29VJduVhlO1n9HrOKsnJ6eT8qAo9I3Dx400rhJsqXjV0pNwNRkpkOme3FLYNnwmPPBlnxKJwbGG6yC-_yaiFeYrromWwDqgPrdbk7FaGlAw/s1600/IMG_0693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjDDKLgOK5SikF3-aa6ANzAJ0gZqDeCnz29VJduVhlO1n9HrOKsnJ6eT8qAo9I3Dx400rhJsqXjV0pNwNRkpkOme3FLYNnwmPPBlnxKJwbGG6yC-_yaiFeYrromWwDqgPrdbk7FaGlAw/s320/IMG_0693.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking through doors leading to back porch</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjWqsqO9cySXnoV6PfsHVPI3Enoy9phyphenhyphenEuls2hXUEJkG4jVP0dGMZjhg7hSme0gZMmgsuH_NOBr7LUR1kvISukYgRi16A_q8kHPuqBeOhdcElVanelz0IwLcgcsu_1-lr21YoSJVJsoE/s1600/IMG_9694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjWqsqO9cySXnoV6PfsHVPI3Enoy9phyphenhyphenEuls2hXUEJkG4jVP0dGMZjhg7hSme0gZMmgsuH_NOBr7LUR1kvISukYgRi16A_q8kHPuqBeOhdcElVanelz0IwLcgcsu_1-lr21YoSJVJsoE/s320/IMG_9694.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back porch area</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emre loving life here :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrM0N4h0M7fVywsKRGcyAkmgokMQuEZ_RoTUddQe7nQfJrYNlHHxl9SRRw6niPT176d2dW8HCwDT3QQwh-unbzTp5cvacGAzeeD5NFvDiGqlOzymBlQqbP9ZLPly9Qfw4hsTKmxM9tCk/s1600/IMG_9703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrM0N4h0M7fVywsKRGcyAkmgokMQuEZ_RoTUddQe7nQfJrYNlHHxl9SRRw6niPT176d2dW8HCwDT3QQwh-unbzTp5cvacGAzeeD5NFvDiGqlOzymBlQqbP9ZLPly9Qfw4hsTKmxM9tCk/s320/IMG_9703.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our big yard for Emre to run and play! (Lauren's in the very back of our yard)</td></tr>
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-19403393834311865232016-04-18T20:45:00.001-07:002016-04-18T20:45:35.852-07:00April means springtime?
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Hello everyone! </div>
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How’s springtime? Are the flowers blooming? Are there blossoms on
the trees? How wonderful is the smell of freshly cut grass? How are
the allergies this year? WE MISS SEASONS and would love to be
experiencing spring in any one of our states – Virginia, Michigan,
or Pennsylvania. However, we’re currently in the hottest time of
the year here in Nicaragua where it just gets a little hotter each day until the
rains come in May/June. It’s quite miserable really, weather-wise, but we’re
happy to here, a year and six months in! Time really is flying.</div>
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We realize it's been a while since we've written and we want to update
everyone on our lives. A lot has been changing for us and we’re
excited about the changes that will also be coming soon! Here are just a few
things to fill you in on:</div>
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1. Lauren’s
pregnant! She is due on October 10<sup>th</sup> and we’re so excited!
Right now she’s in her second trimester and is feeling a lot better
than she was in the first! (¡Gracias a Dios!//Thanks be to God!) Please pray
for us, however, as the Zika threat is now a confirmed fact in baby
defects. We have a private doctor and everything looks great at each
appointment and we pray that things continue to stay that way. No
worries for us though, please, just prayers. </div>
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When we
moved here we were just two, Lauren and Mitchell. Then, we quickly added our dog, Emre, and last September Yosi
and Martha came to live with us. Our family is now 4 people + Emre and will soon be
5 people + Emre. Going from no children to three was not something we
anticipated when we moved here in 2014 and we are quickly outgrowing our
house. In June, we will be moving to a different place where we will all
fit a lot better! The house will be a very nice change and will also
be out of the city which we’re both very excited about! </div>
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2. Work at NCA
Nejapa has been tough this year. It’s been challenging for us and some
different things have come up in our jobs that we have to deal with
and work through; part of working in a different culture, right? A
lot of things happen that don’t make sense to us or don’t seem
correctly done and that makes things difficult. We’re praying that
we can put God first and make good decisions in our jobs that glorify
Him.</div>
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3. CINAFE/Fortress
of Hope continues to go well. This year, we’ve adjusted to less
time there as we’ve been busy with our jobs and the girls. It’s
been nice to have less to do after school as we don’t have to head
to CINAFE each day. Mondays are our days to go over, hang out, help
with homework, play some games, and enjoy dinner together. It’s
really nice and is a welcome change.</div>
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In an attempt to keep this short and sweet, we're going to stop there and end with a few pictures at the bottom! We hope you enjoy our recent photos including Martha’s 14<sup>th</sup> birthday on April 5<sup>th</sup>, our baby announcement, and a couple from CINAFE.</div>
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Much love,</div>
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Lauren, Mitchell, baby Yoder, the girls, and Emre :) </div>
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-79028213295760327352016-01-27T08:00:00.001-08:002016-01-27T08:00:09.713-08:00Happy 2016!Hello everyone!<br />
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We have lots of family and friends that have been stuck in the snow between Pennsylvania and Virginia, and we can't say we're not jealous of your cold weather!!! For us, this is actually the coldest time of year right now as well but cold to us is mid-80's. That's not cold, but we'll take it!<br />
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We'd like to send a quick update to all of you as we begin this new year. We will try to keep it brief as sometimes that's a lot nicer when you're checking your social media in between all of your other things!<br />
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<u><b>School (NCA Nejapa)</b></u><b>:</b><br />
We're just starting our second year of teaching at NCA Nejapa. Right now we're in our second week, out of three, of teacher work days. I know, it's a lot. The students begin on February 9th, and we're excited to see what this year holds. Last year was a good and difficult year for the both of us. We learned a lot about the people, culture, and language and spent so much time building relationships that we both feel like we are able to be more forward, effective, and helpful in our roles as this year begins. That doesn't mean that things won't be super hard for us because they will be, but we feel encouraged and hopeful for year two.<br />
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<u><b>Fortress of Hope (CINAFE)</b></u><b>:</b><br />
Ah, yes. The reason we moved to Nicaragua in the first place, right? We have been taking these past two months, December and January, off from CINAFE. It's been a really nice break for us as we were very, very busy with lots of different travels and different people - including us visiting PA for Christmas, Mitch's family visiting us for the new year, and our friends Jackson & Katie visiting just after that. We hope to put a new plan in place for our time at CINAFE once February roles around. If this past year is any indicator of our time at CINAFE, our roles will probably change quite a bit as this year goes along but we have a good idea of where we'd like to start. Our main focus will be a weekly activity with the kids of CINAFE. We're excited for that as it will allow us to spend intentional time with everyone there.<br />
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<u><b>Our girls, Yosidara and Martha:</b></u><br />
They continue to be great, and we are so thankful to have them in our family. It's crazy that in a matter of weeks we went from the two of us and a dog to the two of us, a dog, and two teenage daughters. Again, we feel like God has given the two of us tools to be able to take in two girls from another culture. It's a pretty unusual situation, we realize, and we're glad we listened to God and are doing what feels like following in His will for our lives. These two girls have quickly become our focus and are changing and forming us in ways we didn't imagine for ourselves in our time here in Nicaragua. We are thankful and trust that He will continue to lead us.<br />
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That's all for now!<br />
Here are a few pictures from our vacations:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SamSiT5zs3p607qgrxDtWJuFf1Ztt7V9yEJpuRu1o7pVXan8IP8p9MYUcKuOlIt1HyiAbXGMolQiscLu1DObaMyK-KKRLbouSd8qfr8GafWm-wk4z0XMNH-C4YXqbFQqwJtA-xSwCyk/s1600/IMG_7954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SamSiT5zs3p607qgrxDtWJuFf1Ztt7V9yEJpuRu1o7pVXan8IP8p9MYUcKuOlIt1HyiAbXGMolQiscLu1DObaMyK-KKRLbouSd8qfr8GafWm-wk4z0XMNH-C4YXqbFQqwJtA-xSwCyk/s320/IMG_7954.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we are in PA for Christmas with our nephew Wyatt. He wrote us a card for Christmas :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we are with Mitch's family standing by the Masaya Volcano, one of many things we did during their visit!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackson & Katie came to visit us before their little one is due and here we are in front of a cathedral in Managua. It was such a special time and we're thankful we could spend a few days together.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFz5HwukhG7dRy6zxiPIrWhlr1DEjKi77bwELgXxQ7vPVeRslJmqhy9AqECrsrgYQnimhtpqM8NXG_OrFo-WIUxAaR1CzU66yBzkkNBUErBoLEil9bOHFHIR5lISC2OHNL9M3UmBS3eVg/s1600/IMG_8425.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFz5HwukhG7dRy6zxiPIrWhlr1DEjKi77bwELgXxQ7vPVeRslJmqhy9AqECrsrgYQnimhtpqM8NXG_OrFo-WIUxAaR1CzU66yBzkkNBUErBoLEil9bOHFHIR5lISC2OHNL9M3UmBS3eVg/s320/IMG_8425.JPG" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just the two of us by these beautiful hydrangeas during a staff spiritual retreat for the start of our school year 2016.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDE24oQ0awBa4u5yq3oTJdtJPxv_g9y03Xc9ZlRTxCE4Znrqf94t9Uv1okm4dCHDSkGeN5xKS-2sU2nLllWLqTKHPlWm53B5XlUBPGEBn08re_QfIwSw0legnaYYhMhGXQzvuIQuA8y8/s1600/IMG_8493.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTDE24oQ0awBa4u5yq3oTJdtJPxv_g9y03Xc9ZlRTxCE4Znrqf94t9Uv1okm4dCHDSkGeN5xKS-2sU2nLllWLqTKHPlWm53B5XlUBPGEBn08re_QfIwSw0legnaYYhMhGXQzvuIQuA8y8/s320/IMG_8493.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here are Dale and Jason at CINAFE for the annual board meeting. We enjoyed spending time with them and getting to know Jason more, not a board member but supporter of CINAFE and member at Pigeon River (Mitch's home church.)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-58025072514726694422015-12-23T17:16:00.000-08:002015-12-23T17:16:49.360-08:00Merry Christmas from up here in PA! (We've got an update for you, too!)<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Hello Everyone!</span><br />
<br style="font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">We are currently in PA for Christmas this year and being that we have some free time, we thought we'd take advantage of this opportunity to update everyone. [If you received our email last month, you can skip to the pictures at the bottom. It's basically the same.] </span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Now for our update. Thank you, everyone, for keeping us in
your thoughts and prayers recently. Last you knew, Martha and Yosidara came to live here with us
at the beginning of September. The initial plan was to provide them
with a safe home so they could finish out their school years at NCA
where we teach. However, we took them in knowing that they could
possibly be staying with us for a longer period of time than just until the
end of the school year.</span><br />
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">These past
three months with the girls have been so great for us. In the beginning, Mitch and I have had to transition and figure out some things in our personal
relationship with each other, but we are enjoying our parenting roles
and feel this new change in our lives is just what God is calling us to.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">As the girls came to live with us towards the end of our school year, we knew a big
transition was coming up in their lives once December came around - either moving back to their homes where they
didn't want to go OR going to live at a girls' home where they didn't
want to go. We spent a lot of time in prayer thinking about whether or
not we felt God calling us to offer up our lives and home to the girls
here in Nicaragua for a longer time period than
just-through-the-end-of-the-</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">sc<wbr></wbr>hool-year. We were thinking about s</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">omething more along the lines of, living-with-us-</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">as-long-as-we'</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">r<wbr></wbr>e-in-Nicaragua.</span></div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Through prayer and conversations with close family and friends, Mitch and
I knew, without a doubt, that we wanted to give the girls the option of
staying with us for the upcoming school year, and really, as long as
we're living here in Nicaragua. We sat down with the girls one weekend
in October and offered them the option of staying with us more permanently, being clear
of our expectations and also letting them know of our timeline here in
Nicaragua. We told them to take their time in deciding what they wanted
to do and made it clear that it was their decision to make, though Mitch
and I really wanted them to choose to stay :)</span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Now, we're here in PA for vacation and the girls are just visiting with family and friends while we're out of the country, and they're only visiting because they have decided that they want to stay
with us permanently, while we're here in Nicaragua. Yosidara, 16, knew right
away that she wanted to stay with us and she made the decision on her
own, just letting her mother know what she was going to do. However,
with Martha, being only 13, we wanted to talk personally to her mother
to let her know what Martha was thinking. We got to talk with her mother last month and she was fine with the decision Martha had made.</span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">So now here we are, a year into living in Nicaragua and we've got two foster daughters :)</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;"> There
are lots of things we need to be thinking about as we are now preparing to start our next school year in January - financial budget</span><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">, discipline, and home life structure just touch the surface as we adjust to a very different home life. </span><br />
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
Please
continue to keep us in your prayers as you have been this past year.
Here are some pictures that we've taken together these last few months!
We really hope you enjoy this first picture of us four in our Christmas
hats the day before we came to PA!</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
So much love,</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
Mitch, Lauren, Yosidara, and Martha (oh, and Emre!)</div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-60804031411644326992015-10-10T11:07:00.000-07:002015-10-10T11:07:43.111-07:00Changes...Hello to everyone, and sorry for the long absence of communication. We've been going through quite a few changes, and while keeping you all informed should have been higher on our list of priorities, we are finally getting to it. Thanks for thinking of us even when we aren't in touch!<br />
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Where to begin? Biggest news first, I suppose. The number of people in our house doubled two weeks ago! We currently have two Nicaraguan girls living with us until the end of the school year, which has been an unexpected, but God-driven, development.<br />
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These two girls, ages 13 and 17, attend our school, NCA Nejapa, and had been living with a lady from Maryland for the last year or two. She had to move back to the States at the end of September for some severe health problems, and the girls needed a place to go. Without a place to stay, they would have moved home and dropped out of our school as their homes are far away.<br />
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We heard about the situation as other options were being considered, such as Fortress of Hope or other organizations like that. The girls stayed on our hearts and minds, and eventually, after much prayer and deliberation, we offered them a place with us until the end of the school year. They moved in two weekends ago, and here we are!<br />
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It's been quite an adjustment, although there haven't been major problems. We've had to figure out many different things. How to act as parents...to teenage girls...who only speak Spanish...from a completely different culture. How to spend our time between their needs and our needs. How to cook food that teenage Nicaraguan girls will eat. How to communicate our expectations and reasons and understand their needs in Spanish. How to make decisions that balance the two cultures.<br />
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Overall it's been great, though tiring and with a few bumps. It feels like God is still leading us down this road and teaching us along the way. As a couple, our biggest prayer request is that we take good care of our marriage as we embark on a new journey. It's already changed our relationship in some significant ways, and we have to figure out which of those changes are good, bad, or unsustainable. So far we've communicated well, although sometimes it feels like we go for days without having a meaningful conversation. All in all, it's only been two weeks, so we feel good about things so far. God is faithful and leading us, so we're going to follow as far as he takes us.<br />
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Other than that large event, things have been moving right along. On October 7th, we celebrated being in Nicaragua for a full year, as you can see in the picture below.We're in a bit of a difficult patch with our jobs and Fortress of Hope. Each has its own issues right now, and we're praying that things will smooth out soon. Hopefully we'll be disciplined enough to write something more in-depth this week, but here are some things to pray for, if you are so inclined. If you want to pray for Fortress of Hope, pray that lingering issues among the children can be resolved soon, and that our relationship with the social services branch of the government continues to be strong. If you want to pray for NCA Nejapa, pray that we can give our best efforts in everything we do and that we continue to search for ways to contribute to the work being done there, rather than becoming complacent.<br />
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We want to say a huge thank you to everyone reading this. We know that many of you pray for us regularly, many have supported us financially, and many have walked with us through recent decisions. We are eternally grateful because this journey would not be possible without your support. God is good, and His goodness is shown to us through each and every one of you. Your little notes, emails, texts, and photos remind us that our work here is not something we are doing alone. We have all of you behind every step of the way and for that we thank you.<br />
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Make it a great day,<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-42277737280916609802015-07-28T12:58:00.002-07:002015-07-29T09:56:27.648-07:00Vacation to the StatesAs we drove to the airport to catch the plane that would fly us to the States, I found myself a little apprehensive to head back home. Most of me was excited to visit family and friends, but a small part of me was anxious that I would get back home to where life was familiar and comfortable, and I would want to stay there for longer than just three weeks. Before we left Managua, someone asked me, "How are you feeling about heading to the states for vacation?" I told them about my excitement but also that I was feeling a little anxious that I might get there and not want to come back to Nicaragua. The person told me, "You just need to pray that God has you where He wants you and that you can feel at peace about it." <br />
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We got off the plane and were greeted by two friends, ready to take us from D.C. to Harrisonburg. Instantly, we noticed that we were no longer in Nicaragua. Driving was orderly, there were clear signs on the roads, large cones for construction and even larger machinery.<br />
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We arrived in Harrisonburg in the middle of the night and opened the door to Mitch's aunt's house. We were greeted with a cold blast of air and a loving note on the kitchen table that welcomed us to anything and everything in the house. We soaked ourselves in steaming hot showers before bed, and then snuggled under a nice, warm comforter, rocked to sleep by the hum of the air conditioner. It felt like a spa experience.<br />
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Our three weeks were excellent, there's no doubt about that. We were able to do so many things - celebrate in the wedding of a cousin, see all of our family and friends, enjoy corn fields and clean lakes, eat familiar meals, camp and grill brats by the fire, drive 70 mph on a highway, worship God in English, take only one shower a day and still feel clean at the end of it, talk to someone quickly in passing and understand every word the person said without having to focus on the movement of the person's lips as they spoke. Everything was great and we found ourselves soaking up every experience that we had grown to love in the states, knowing that soon we would leave it all again.<br />
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Thinking back to what that person told me before we headed to the states, I realized that I didn't even have to pray to God that He would help me feel at peace about living in Managua right now. He made it perfectly clear that this is where we are supposed to be. Now, as I write this post with a glass of cold water at my side, a fan blowing on me, Emre sleeping on the porch outside, Mitch taking his second shower of the day, and knowing the kids at Fortress of Hope are playing just down the road, I know that this is my home. This is the place where God has called us for now.<br />
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We missed so many things about living in Nicaragua that when family and friends asked us what we were missing most about Nicaragua, we didn't really know what to say. A whole list of things came to mind for both of us, all equally important in forming this experience that we love. This is where we are. This is where we want to be. And this is where we'll stay for as long as we feel called, and I feel at peace about that. <br />
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-Lauren<br />
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Here are just a few of our favorite pictures from our great trip. Check out the whole album on my Facebook page:<br />
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<br />Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-47371852521945658052015-06-27T08:40:00.001-07:002015-06-27T08:44:31.692-07:00Back for a visitSorry for the silence! We've been settled into a routine and haven't thought to share recently. But we thought we'd better let you know that we are back in the States for a while! We have a three week semester break right now, and we'll be here for that whole time. We're going to try and visit as many people and places as we can! Here are a few places we'll be if you want to hear more of what we're doing.<br />
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June 28th - Eastside Church, Harrisonburg: We'll share a little bit and bring the message on Sunday morning. Church starts at 10.<br />
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July 1st - Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg: We are having a dinner to share information about Fortress of Hope. We'll share what we've been doing and how the organization serves the children of Nicaragua. The dinner will start at 6:00.<br />
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July 12th - Pigeon River Mennonite Church: Well share a little bit and bring the message on Sunday morning. Church starts at 9:30.<br />
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Hopefully we have the chance to see you while we are home, whether at one of the events above or just around town!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-82399467543759613922015-06-07T20:46:00.001-07:002015-06-07T20:46:38.971-07:00The rains they are a comin'...Wow. When it rains, it rains and when it storms, it storms. <br />
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When we arrived here last October, we got just a glimpse of Nicaraguan storms towards the end of the rainy season, but now that we're in June and the rainy season is just starting, we're beginning to experience rain almost every day and the storms that go along with it.<br />
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The rain comes down for hours without stopping or slowing. It. Just. Pours. It is beautiful and also reminds us of how powerful it is, as our electricity wavers and sometimes says goodbye for a little while. The other night we went to sleep with the sound of pouring rain and a beautiful crackling thunderstorm. It took a while to actually fall asleep, but lying in bed listening to the storm right over top of us was an incredible experience. We've never experienced storms like the ones that are here in Nicaragua - where you actually hear the lightning as it strikes with incredible thunder. Have you ever taken a baking sheet and shaken it to model lightning and thunder? It's like that. Absolutely deafening. <br />
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Each day after the storms, we see roads washed out or hear stories at school of co-workers houses that flooded in the night. There's a missionary couple with a daughter in my classroom and the father told me he went to bed at 11pm and got out of bed to check on things when he stepped in water on his bedroom floor. He turned on the lights and saw that the water was pouring in. He and his wife were scooping up buckets of water until 1am. Other people have even less shelter from the rain, and we can't imagine what it's would be like to spend a night outside. Listening to these stories just reminds us of our sturdy and dependable house, and we are grateful.<br />
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If you're ever in the mood for a real, loud storm, come down to Managua for a visit anytime from June to October. We'll be here! <br />
-Lauren, and MitchLauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-42534770321635100352015-05-06T21:05:00.000-07:002015-05-06T21:21:01.815-07:00Just. Love.It's about 9:00pm on Wednesday night and we just got home from Fortress of Hope about an hour ago. And tonight, I left with my heart full. <br />
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Most days after school, we get home around 3:15, change out of our uniforms into something a little less sweaty, relax at home for a little bit, put Emre on the leash and then head over to FOH. And, well, if I'm being honest, some days a part of me doesn't quite feel like going to FOH. Part of me feels like staying home because I just finished working and now I would like to relax. And for a moment, today was one of those days. <br />
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For the past 3 days, we've been at school until 4:30pm because of after-school meetings consisting of reading through 113, yes 113, pages worth of documents written in Spanish. It's been draining! Then today after that, we came home to change clothes, we grabbed the dog, and quickly headed over to FOH for dinner, help with kids' English homework or whatever else until 7pm when it was time to lead devotions. <br />
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However, today, when devotions ended, we ended up just hanging around for another 30 minutes. You see, every day when we get there, we're both greeted by 2 or 3 lingering hugs from kids who really just need a lot of love. They just. need. love. We aren't greeted with hugs because we're super-special, but because with 20 children there are always a few who need more one-on-one attention.<br />
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Sometimes, we get to FOH and the kids ask us why we didn't come earlier. We get ready to leave and they ask us,"ya te vas?"... which means, "you're leaving already?" It takes us 20 minutes to say good-bye each night to these kids because they hang from the windows of our car to keep us from moving. They always have something more to say to us before we go. They hug us and don't want to stop. The kids are this way with most of the adults they come in contact with at FOH. Just this past weekend, a small cross-cultural group from EMU came to visit and it didn't take long until the kids were seeking them out for love and attention as well.<br />
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These kids need direction and they need guidance, all of which the staff of FOH gives so well. For our part, we're happy to finally feel capable of giving these kids extra direction and guidance they need so much. Most of all, I'm glad we can give them unconditional love, every day. Even on the days when we might just feel like staying home to relax.<br />
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Below are just a few pictures of the kids we love.<br />
Makes it a great Thursday,<br />
Lauren<br />
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-18235459493326212522015-04-26T19:32:00.001-07:002015-04-26T19:37:21.770-07:00Oh my, how fast the time goes!Lauren here. <br />
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A couple of weeks ago we passed the one year mark when we traveled down here to Nicaragua for the first time together and began this whole journey. When we came here last year on our spring break, we didn't even imagine the idea of moving down here just a half year later. It's amazing what we've seen God doing and how He's been working in our lives. Now, I'm sitting in a hammock writing this on the front porch of my home in Nicaragua, our dog Emre is walking around the house with his little football ready to play inside the house, Mitch is working on his lesson plans, we've got the fan blowing at full speed in this almost 100 degree weather, and I'm wondering how time goes so quickly. <br />
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In the past 6 months, almost 7 now, we've experienced so much that it's hard to put it all down on paper, but to name a few - we've explored surrounding cities, climbed volcanoes, eaten lots of Nicaraguan dishes, spent time with different family members who came to visit us, learned how to ride the Managua buses, swam in the Pacific, flown home to PA in January, and experienced both the rainy/humid and dry/hot season. But along with the fun things also comes the things that are difficult and challenging as well - the language, cultural differences, worship differences, the lack of nearby family and friends, and how to make relationships with the people around us here; these just skim the surface of the things we're learning daily. <br />
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Upon moving here, it didn't take us long to feel comfortable in Nicaragua. I'd say once we got off the plane, things basically just took off and we settled into a routine. Our jobs continue to go well at NCA Nejapa. We are both learning a lot. Every day. In no way are our jobs easy, but I think we're both up for the challenges that we face. At times, the tasks we see in front of us can feel daunting, but I know we were placed there for a reason and I find peace in that. As for life at Fortress of Hope, CINAFE, things continue to get better as time goes on. We see CINAFE as a place where we feel rejuvenated each day. This past weekend we didn't go to CINAFE on Friday or Saturday, and by the time Sunday morning came around, we were already missing the kids. We're investing a lot of time there, and we both feel so happy to spend each second, minute, and hour at a place where we feel at home. With no kids of our own, we feel like we've got 20 kids that we get to love and call "hijo/hija" (son/daughter) each day.<br />
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I will leave you with 2 things: <br />
1. Some pictures of us this past weekend at the beach. After being here for half a year, we finally made it to the Pacific. <br />
2. Song lyrics from a group that I've just recently gotten into, I Am They. Their song, "Make a Way" is one that is no doubt a comfort to me here. --<br />
"Wherever you lead me, I know you won't leave me. Where you call me, you will make a way. Wherever we're going, I will be holding to the promise you have made. You will make a way." <br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uc8XTZSqso">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uc8XTZSqso</a> (they don't have a music video, so just listen and ignore the strange lion picture)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Pacific!! This weekend was our first trip to the beach! Just an hour drive to Pochomil.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we are :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our hotel was right on the water!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammock time at the hotel!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Relaxing by the hotel pool!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mitch reading on his kindle.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkhqIMsXRQPJprJvrasBWpHXzLkgn-ezfp9M6jrPxUd21O7xz2Cv2QpxM48FLR0LQ6CuhY3DYs-ujebfrLDEumIux-MzB5d5xBRfosygw4iOODEE1BZUVkpK2C8zw-JhNEE1L1px0Vh0/s1600/IMG_4348.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbkhqIMsXRQPJprJvrasBWpHXzLkgn-ezfp9M6jrPxUd21O7xz2Cv2QpxM48FLR0LQ6CuhY3DYs-ujebfrLDEumIux-MzB5d5xBRfosygw4iOODEE1BZUVkpK2C8zw-JhNEE1L1px0Vh0/s1600/IMG_4348.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful beach!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCGrkLtod9TmiUHk4byzACrZ6c838drHXS2kYYQuMhHGcH4YyR2nlAg4ftLzcColCwQgqTiv62wiiB7nQCBmW5GLtIQcum_3npCGeFunbAzLAjqOCVgvVRJ-syOD0zj3Wxkau7Je65zI/s1600/IMG_4364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCGrkLtod9TmiUHk4byzACrZ6c838drHXS2kYYQuMhHGcH4YyR2nlAg4ftLzcColCwQgqTiv62wiiB7nQCBmW5GLtIQcum_3npCGeFunbAzLAjqOCVgvVRJ-syOD0zj3Wxkau7Je65zI/s1600/IMG_4364.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDqRfr2Jr_bCYXOikKI9cZv7lJ_IOPvWtXSqEdqwgqwOU5iiw8ZEOt6uMXRotErFdOmO3gKIwt0UFxPM9B9Gmw5CWbj-RM3QVLwfsxFdgYDOHQMA-ZRiO0upIjdOhtjlvy7mbN-67zKw/s1600/IMG_4389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtDqRfr2Jr_bCYXOikKI9cZv7lJ_IOPvWtXSqEdqwgqwOU5iiw8ZEOt6uMXRotErFdOmO3gKIwt0UFxPM9B9Gmw5CWbj-RM3QVLwfsxFdgYDOHQMA-ZRiO0upIjdOhtjlvy7mbN-67zKw/s1600/IMG_4389.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We walked right out from our hotel onto the beach to see the sunset over the water; it was beautiful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The next morning, we rode horses along the beach and then spent some time in the sun before heading back to Managua!</td></tr>
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-80662306142722423732015-03-15T14:19:00.001-07:002015-03-15T14:31:12.368-07:00Simple March Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello family and friends,<br />
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Lauren here. In our last post, we said that we would post some pictures of our school to show you all where we're spending a lot of our time. As promised, below are some pictures. So if you're not going to read the post that follows, you at least have some photos to check out! :) Take a look.<br />
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Anyways, Mitch and I really do want to keep you all, the people we care for most, updated. I also thought that writing this post would be a good way to relax, therefore, I'm writing to you all today. I don't have much to say, but thought I could fill you in on recent happenings here in Managua. <br />
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This week marks the middle of March, which means we've been working at our school for two months now, since the middle of January. I know I've said it before, but I really can't believe how fast the time is going. Somehow, even without close friends and family nearby, without The Walking Roots Band practices and gigs, Eastside events and worship practices, school work in the evenings, we're still managing to fill our time right up. If not to the brim, pretty close. <br />
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Though we have lots of time to relax in our home in the evenings, our mornings and afternoons are busy each day and we're enjoying the different places we get to be. School has been great for the both of us - challenging and new, yet comfortably familiar. We are learning so much every day and I'm beginning to see how far we've already come in our Spanish abilities. Just this past Friday, we were in a meeting after school with a few teachers who are visiting from the states and are at NCA Nejapa to offer some advice to the teachers here. I was asked to translate in a small group setting for a lady who only spoke English. I wasn't sure how it would go but I gave it a shot and I was able to translate everything, save for a few words! It was a good test of my Spanish abilities and when the meeting was over, I couldn't believe what I'd just accomplished!<br />
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Our time at Fortress of hope, CINAFE, is also so great. We're busy in school until 3pm, but then head over to FOH until 5pm or so. Soon, we're going to take on leading devotions for the children 2 nights a week, which we're both nervous and excited about. This time will also be another good test of our Spanish language abilities, for that, I am nervous. However, we're going to be able to develop relationships with the kids at FOH in a different and deeper capacity, for that, we are excited. <br />
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We love each of the kids in our work at NCA Nejapa and at FOH and are loving every minute spent there. We would love for you to see pictures of the kids that we're working with at FOH, so visit the FOH's website: <a href="http://www.fortressofhope.org/">www.fortressofhope.org</a> and head to "meet us", then "children", and you'll find our recently posted pictures of each beautiful child.<br />
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That's all for now. Enjoy the few pictures of our school below!<br />
Much love,<br />
Lauren, and Mitch<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybdmmQB7P6B3wn8-EOg37RP9X9vQZyN9h6ZcTivfXqUm1jWNlO21cfvcNmC0mg5uaJCsR39Y8iO-CoAnVwjioSs_sgX6qqTOeGv_y2UzBE1u6RUL4lAmz5KkD1Tw23QJkK-sRRFSa3jc/s1600/IMG_3861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybdmmQB7P6B3wn8-EOg37RP9X9vQZyN9h6ZcTivfXqUm1jWNlO21cfvcNmC0mg5uaJCsR39Y8iO-CoAnVwjioSs_sgX6qqTOeGv_y2UzBE1u6RUL4lAmz5KkD1Tw23QJkK-sRRFSa3jc/s1600/IMG_3861.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here I am, excited to receive my first work uniform!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us together after the first day of school.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuvi9jfIpyTVr_NTEDlJKooTqxJGoQgs0TWj2g64uIWiSWS0iiyvK5UmnWwAF2oqNYgJm25uxnVT-BbaoIR81vf46uueKqLtT6Ic9pr4-asga52BBPaY9qkNLTJW1ysNfqflfqZakMpo/s1600/IMG_4077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLuvi9jfIpyTVr_NTEDlJKooTqxJGoQgs0TWj2g64uIWiSWS0iiyvK5UmnWwAF2oqNYgJm25uxnVT-BbaoIR81vf46uueKqLtT6Ic9pr4-asga52BBPaY9qkNLTJW1ysNfqflfqZakMpo/s1600/IMG_4077.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a teacher work room, where Mitch spends a lot of his time with the English department teachers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR49DNgPsVgGw9CaEVv1y0JMyJ8mdMnKz9jmlFf1E35GA0YONl1Xqh0RcbLPClcSQuf4JkmI3TD_tuPlT00XbI1l9pWUGe7YZjswHHOq5BP_tcbghRiEL6asF_SsRVxAk9bFbBygeMd9c/s1600/IMG_4079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR49DNgPsVgGw9CaEVv1y0JMyJ8mdMnKz9jmlFf1E35GA0YONl1Xqh0RcbLPClcSQuf4JkmI3TD_tuPlT00XbI1l9pWUGe7YZjswHHOq5BP_tcbghRiEL6asF_SsRVxAk9bFbBygeMd9c/s1600/IMG_4079.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NCA Nejapa is completely open-air. The outdoor hallway on the left, leads to my classroom, and the open-air hallway on the right lead to the teacher workroom as well as other classrooms.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcM7300Qy7PNO76W5cNrCGaP4OD9VjN-Ek957EZxssavNgNgvTMRCoMcgsz_F-RrDKPeSYlzEhDzefarzqIKnZuRuG6pZ0uINY4WvWCrXThoAStFmBcoa8557397YHMAkeRxtrTUSzNIM/s1600/IMG_3924.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcM7300Qy7PNO76W5cNrCGaP4OD9VjN-Ek957EZxssavNgNgvTMRCoMcgsz_F-RrDKPeSYlzEhDzefarzqIKnZuRuG6pZ0uINY4WvWCrXThoAStFmBcoa8557397YHMAkeRxtrTUSzNIM/s1600/IMG_3924.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the Preschool/Kindergarten team celebrating my birthday together with a traditional Nicaraguan snack.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDg1LQbEVIi6c0sAt3Zu2stv8riVdwgqGzP7F__CWG2i2ei52Vy7HQ1l-vcpflcKkK2obH1q6zJlr6kQHSZlaxDMAJ4DODBjE44BPI_BpFbEylBi21zkWNcZiHrPojwSLA1xgc4gJhS9s/s1600/IMG_3899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDg1LQbEVIi6c0sAt3Zu2stv8riVdwgqGzP7F__CWG2i2ei52Vy7HQ1l-vcpflcKkK2obH1q6zJlr6kQHSZlaxDMAJ4DODBjE44BPI_BpFbEylBi21zkWNcZiHrPojwSLA1xgc4gJhS9s/s1600/IMG_3899.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My colorful kindergarten classroom.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJ4zEGk_Xi40ye1GFi7NKqV5rf2SPU4Uerad0CuRD03bKL9iwMiZF93_MwrT3_gzZIRwbdhrxGkmbiRMjcunCjTd5bIbpgqKmzdc1_L0M90JtNhHWtIXW1FWjHKrDm-Tv0qqET3gd7fM/s1600/IMG_4098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJ4zEGk_Xi40ye1GFi7NKqV5rf2SPU4Uerad0CuRD03bKL9iwMiZF93_MwrT3_gzZIRwbdhrxGkmbiRMjcunCjTd5bIbpgqKmzdc1_L0M90JtNhHWtIXW1FWjHKrDm-Tv0qqET3gd7fM/s1600/IMG_4098.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outside right is the playground area where we spend our recess time. The area in the far back is the open-air gym.</td></tr>
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Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-23759754013639427522015-02-26T18:07:00.002-08:002015-02-26T18:08:19.982-08:00Update on teachingHello and happy almost Friday,<br />
<br />
We've been teaching for three weeks now. Our days go very quickly and time seems to be flying here. We are still so thankful to be living here and continue to soak up each day. We were actually just talking the other day about living here, right where we feel called to be. Mitch brought up the fact that we need to remember to continue to seek God's will, even now when we feel we are where we need to be. He mentioned that moving to Managua was only the first step, not the final step. Now that we are here, we need to continue asking God what He has in store for us. That was a good reminder for both of us as we are starting this new phase of teaching.<br />
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We're both settling in to our new teaching roles. Lauren is enjoying being an assistant, with all that that brings - free evenings, extra time to cook, time to read, more time to write blogs, and do all the other things that she often put to the side during her teaching days in Virginia. Although Lauren doesn't have work to bring home, she sees the work ahead of her this year in working with the teacher of her kindergarten classroom. Right now, she's helping a lot with classroom behavior management and will begin this next week with implementing small group times in the classroom. Every teacher at NCA has, or is working toward, a degree in teacher education; however, the methodology taught here is much different from what we were taught in our courses. The techniques we learned at EMU are not often seen in the majority of the classrooms, and we are adapting every day.<br />
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Speaking of classrooms, Mitch is in a lot of them each day. While he's figuring out his role and responsibilities at the school, he also has to oversee the other 4 teachers in the English department. Since he is the coordinator, he spends half of his time teaching and half of his time advising. He teaches 3 classes each morning: 5-6th grade advanced, 7-8th grade advanced, and 9-11th grade advanced. In his afternoons, he observes the other teachers and offers feedback. Though his work comes home with him after a long day at school, he doesn't seem to be overwhelmed at all. We both feel so encouraged by our school community, and it's a great place to be.<br />
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The past 2 weeks, we've also made more of a point to get over to CINAFE, Fortress of Hope, after school almost every day of the work week. We walk Emre over and sometimes stay for 15 minutes, sometimes an hour. We get to help the kids with homework and just hang out with them. Without the obligation of teaching English each afternoon there, we are really relishing the time we have to continue building relationships outside of a "classroom" setting.<br />
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This past weekend we enjoyed such a great, short trip to Granada with some new friends that we are making here in Managua. It's definitely different not having a close friend group nearby, but we're comforted by our little family of 2, and a dog, as well as our family at CINAFE and our school community at NCA Nejapa. <br />
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Thanks for thinking of and praying for us continually, we'll write again soon! And next time, we'll try to attach some good pictures of our school :)Lauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-22535711504003355732015-02-07T15:19:00.003-08:002015-02-07T15:19:35.809-08:00School DaysHello, everyone! Is it really already February? Spring is just around the corner for most of you. The seasons and weather all run together here. To us, it's just hot. Always. Hot. Although the weather doesn't seem to be changing much, our daily schedules down here in Managua have become quite different in the past few weeks. Students start school this Monday, February 9th! We're excited to get started and meet all of our students! It feels like it's been a while since we've been in a classroom and we miss it! <br />
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We began our teacher work days at NCA Nejapa (Nicaragua Christian Academy) 3 weeks ago. Just to recap, Mitch is the English coordinator and will teach 20 hours a week and advise the other members of the English department the other 20 hours a week. We anticipate that he'll get to speak some Spanish, but mostly English. Lauren is a kindergarten sssistant and will spend each day in a Spanish speaking classroom. We're excited for these different roles and all that we'll learn in the year to come.<br />
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What a difference it is to be in this Christian school system, instead of the public system we were used to. We've been adjusting well to all of the changes and are enjoying the Christian atmosphere. Our first week our principal reminded everyone of the importance of academic learning, but more importantly, of the importance of teaching about Christ and being models of Christ in our classrooms. We talked about it at home later than night and how we never had the freedom to share those things before now. It was always academics above all else. We are grateful that we're getting the opportunity to experience both sides of the coin in these early stages of our careers!<br />
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Speaking of things being said, all directions that we're given, all staff/teacher work days, all workshops, and devotions are all done in Spanish. We decided we probably get about 35-40% of what's being said at school. Directions are given, and we miss them. Tasks are divided out, and we miss them. Jokes are said and all the staff laughs, while we look at each other with blank stares. Depending on who is speaking, how clearly and how slowly, we can either pick up most all of what's being said, or we miss almost every word. We are learning to be gracious with ourselves in acknowledging that we've only been here for 4 months and there's a learning curve to learning a new language. <br />
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The first week of teacher work days, we skipped the morning session to go to a funeral of a staff member whose father passed away. Somehow we didn't catch that when it was explained to us all in the morning announcements. Lauren found out when someone came up to her and told us in English, "So you two will get to experience your first Nicaraguan funeral today!" Lauren said, "What?" She then went and told Mitch and somehow he missed the memo as well. Since then we've been careful to clarify everything that we hear in Spanish. There are several staff members who speak English very well. All of the staff in Mitch's English department speak English and help us out when we need it.<br />
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We've been trying to figure out our schedules and get into a routine so we can find intentional times to go to Fortress of Hope in the evenings. Today, we went to Fortress of Hope to begin English classes again. This was our first English class in 2 months! We decided to teach English there only on Saturdays for now and we'll hopefully add a day or two during the week once we're a little more settled in to our school schedules. <br />
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We'd love your continued prayers, especially now as we're adjusting to a new school in a different culture. Thanks for your love. We feel it all the way down where it's 90 degrees :) <br />
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Make it a great week,<br />
Lauren & MitchellLauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-61039723719727109812015-01-20T19:00:00.001-08:002015-01-20T19:00:50.015-08:00Hello everyone! <br />
<br />
We hope that your new year is off to a great start. It's hard to believe we're already getting close to February. These past few weeks have been so busy for us that we have not taken the time to sit down and write a new blog post, but we're finally making it happen. We already know how much we enjoy getting out our thoughts, feelings, and updates on this blog, and we're thankful that our close family and friends enjoy reading our updates. Thanks again for your support. It means a lot to us. With that said, here's what has made us so busy:<br />
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Mitch's parents came here for a long weekend on 3rd of January with the board of Fortress of Hope (CINAFE) to have their yearly meetings. We were so thankful to see family and to spend time with them just as the new year started. We enjoyed listening in on board meetings and giving just a taste of our Nicaraguan life to Mitch's parents. Our time with them went too quickly, but it always does when you're with family! Once his parents left on Wednesday, the 7th, we flew to Pennsylvania the next day, the 8th, for a quick trip home.<br />
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Back in November, we bought our plane tickets with the hope of seeing Lauren's family, and her sister Steph's baby! Knowing her due date was on the 8th, we knew we were taking a risk that Steph might not even have the baby while we were home in PA. THANKFULLY the Lord knew just how badly Lauren wanted to see her niece as a newborn, rather than when she was a year old or so. Steph had her baby on Saturday morning, little Emily Grace Wilson. We got to spend lots of time with the family and enjoy holding our new little niece before we came back to Managua the following Wednesday, the 14th. (We know we've only been in Nicaragua for 3 months now, but it still felt strange to notice the differences between here and the states. And the cold weather is one of those differences. Oh, how we loved to sit by the warm fires Lauren's dad made for us and pull out our winter boots and coats to go outside! Lauren's mom also made so many of the great meals we had been missing. It was such a great time at home!)<br />
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Just this past weekend, the 17th, Mitch's aunt and uncle Gene & Gloria came to visit us, too! They are spending a couple of weeks down in Costa Rica and made the long trip up to see us. We enjoyed a short amount of time together, really just one full day, but it was so great to see them! They came at just the right time because we started our teacher workdays at NCA Nejapa yesterday. Their being here was a great distraction from thinking about all of the unknowns of starting a new job, at a new school, with a new language, and a completely new setting.<br />
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For those of you who don't know, Mitch will be the English coordinator at our school and Lauren will be a Kindergarten assistant. We're both so excited to learn a lot this year and help where we can. Right now, after only 2 days of listening to everything in Spanish - Spanish devotions, lectures, and conversations - it's safe to say we're already feeling a little tired. We'll be writing again soon to let you know how it's going once we know a little more :) <br />
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That's pretty much it from down here. Enjoy the new year and all it holds!<br /><br />Make it a great day,<br />
Lauren and MitchLauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-16337817374980024032015-01-01T10:17:00.000-08:002015-01-01T10:17:43.836-08:00And a New Year arrives...Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and everything else that comes at this time of year. We haven't written anything for a while, but that doesn't mean we've been bored! We're glad to have a few days to relax and unwind as the new year is fast-approaching. Here's a quick run-down of what's been happening here in Nicaragua.<br />
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- Finished language classes. We might go back for a refresher before we start working, but for now we've learned all the grammar and skills we can. Now we have to practice, practice, practice. We start teaching in a month!<br />
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- Visited the city of Matagalpa. We didn't do much except enjoy the cooler weather. It was nice to get out of the heat of Managua.<br />
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- Finished teaching English classes at CINAFE. Hopefully we can continue those in January or February, but we'll have to see how full our schedules are once we begin teaching.<br />
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- Participated in the CINAFE Christmas party. It was great to see the children happy and loved, and the staff as well. The staff members told the kids how much they loved them, everyone opened presents, and then we ate a great meal. We are feeling blessed to be a part of the group. Sadly, we also said goodbye to a family of four who have lived at CINAFE for the last 6 years. They are now living with their mother again, and we are praying that everything works out well for them.<br />
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- Spent 3 days on the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua. Lauren was hoping to see some freshwater sharks, but those live at the south of the lake so we missed out. We did manage to stay in a room right on the edge of the lake, and it was mighty pleasant to sleep with the waves crashing. Christmas was very different on the beach, especially since we didn't feel so great. Because..<br />
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- Contracted the Chikungunya virus! Thanks to our mosquito friends, we had solid fevers and chills for a day, then bone and joint pain, and now we just have some sweet itchy rashes across every square inch of skin. Truth be told, we are almost perfectly fine. It should run its course pretty soon. We are lucky we haven't had many commitments.<br />
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- Cared for a girl from Fortress of Hope for two days. The staff had meetings for two days this week and asked if we could care for one of the girls during the day. She stayed with us from 8 to 5 both days, and we got to visit the park, make brownies, color pictures, buy groceries, and dance and sing the songs from "Frozen," all in Spanish. We are so glad that the staff trusts us in that way and that we are capable of doing something like that.<br />
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And now, we are waiting for 2015! We can't wait to see what this year holds. There will be family visiting us here, trips to visit family and friends in the US, new jobs beginning, and nobody knows what else. We're sure God has things in store for us that will help us grow, and we're sure He has the same for you.<br />
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Make it a great day,<br />
<br />
Mitch and Lauren<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-87050771878179607032014-12-06T09:04:00.001-08:002014-12-06T09:04:23.892-08:00Sledding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Happy holidays! While you all are enjoying the cold, snowy weather [most of you, anyway], we've been basking in the sun. Although, basking makes it sound downright enjoyable. More accurate phrases might be 'sweltering in the sun,' or 'suffocating in the heat.' Now that's probably an exaggeration. Suffice it to say, we miss the comfort of a warm house when it's cold outside. Our James Taylor Christmas album doesn't sound the same at 90 degrees! When we heard about the early snowstorms and saw pictures of children and animals frolicking in the snow, we decided we needed to do something about this lack of winter activities in our lives. So we went sledding. Here in Nicaragua. More on that later.</div>
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We're continuing to learn Spanish every day. Right now we need practice, practice, practice. One way we've been practicing is by taking advantage of our flexibility and traveling! It's been nice to get out of Managua and see some of the other cities. Taking a bus is very inexpensive, so we're able to move easily through Nicaragua, and we're hoping to continue traveling as much as possible before our jobs begin!<br />
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After spending Thanksgiving with other North Americans who understood the holiday, the next day we caught a bus to León, an old city to the northwest of Managua. We stayed for two nights, and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Lauren now has a favorite city in Nicaragua :) The city has a much different feel than Managua, and it was nice to walk the streets comfortably after dark without much fear. There were many families, tourists, and students taking in the sights. One of the coolest parts of the city is the cathedrals. We went touring on Sunday morning and attended 4 different masses [a portion of each]. It was pretty cool to be in buildings that were so incredibly old, yet still filled with people seeking the Lord.<br />
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But the most unique part of the weekend was our Saturday morning activity, volcano boarding. Much to Mitch's surprise, Lauren wanted to sled down a volcano. So we signed up and joined a group that took us to Cerro Negro, a volcano 30 minutes from León. We hiked to the top, battling some serious winds while holding our boards, which acted like extremely heavy kites. After turning the corner on one of the switchbacks, Mitch's sunglasses were blown right off his face and down into the crater! Managing the boards and traversing a narrow path with steep drops on either side caused a few moments of angst for Lauren, but no harm befell us.<br />
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When we reached the top, our guide told us to sweep aside the top layer of sand and feel the ground underneath. It was extremely hot! Cerro Negro is an active volcano, and there was clearly action under the surface. After catching our breath and calming Lauren's nerves, we prepared to slip over the edge. There's no denying that the hill was steep, and quite a few people were feeling less than brave. The guide showed us how to ride the boards and how to control our speed. Knowing she could slow herself down if she wanted made Lauren feel much better about the whole situation.<br />
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Finally people started the descent on two separate tracks. The boards zipped right over the volcanic sand and kicked plenty up of dust. Mitch waited at the top until Lauren went so she had a little extra moral support. After she started, Mitch took off on the second track. Even though Lauren had a 30 second headstart, Mitch arrived at the bottom and had time to take quite a few pictures and a couple of videos of her descent. Let's just say she didn't break any speed records.<br />
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Nevertheless, it was an exciting ride down, though once was enough for Lauren. We got the chance to go a second time, and Lauren chose to run down while Mitch boarded. Doubt we'll ever do it again as a couple, but if you're looking for something to do while you're here, Mitch would gladly go with you!<br />
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That's the most recent news from us. We'll probably post something soon about how we're fitting in to a daily rhythm, but we wanted to share our trip to León because it was a great time for us to get out of Managua and relax for a bit. If you do come visit, León would be a good candidate for us all to explore together! Below you'll find a few pictures of our sledding adventure, plus a video of Lauren tearing up the mountainside. Below that is a sampling of the beautiful cathedrals we visited. If you're sitting in the snow and cold, enjoy the sun in our pictures! We'd gladly trade a little bit of sun for a little bit of cold :)<br />
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Make it a great day,<br />
<br />
Mitch and Lauren<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before making the climb</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYXtR-kw9Iq1BRHz6RwdSxbdfaHSef9kVtmPgPWIQZ7OH1T0dFpoGRheNregMrGhEmkYyR6WKHH8qvmI0e-Up-JfhmA0AXuOM_wDfxxXZtkkzGQfncBdkhQrxXjpCaEYQLcU0ocZZmmqy/s1600/IMG_3252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtYXtR-kw9Iq1BRHz6RwdSxbdfaHSef9kVtmPgPWIQZ7OH1T0dFpoGRheNregMrGhEmkYyR6WKHH8qvmI0e-Up-JfhmA0AXuOM_wDfxxXZtkkzGQfncBdkhQrxXjpCaEYQLcU0ocZZmmqy/s1600/IMG_3252.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the top with our gear</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lauren blazing down the mountainside</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the bottom, feeling joy at our safe arrival</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-55693551352696789522014-11-23T16:54:00.002-08:002014-11-23T16:54:57.437-08:00Fish and Chicken<div class="MsoNormal">
We thought we'd share some interesting quotes from our local
church here in Managua. Here's just a sampling:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"We all have fish, and the only way to receive
salvation is to ask the Lord to forgive our fish."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"This afternoon we will have a talent show to benefit
the youth. They need a chicken for trips and other activities."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh, the joys of learning a language. You can imagine our
confusion as we tried to figure out the great theological meaning of fish. Turns
out that the Spanish word for fish, 'pescado,' is quite close to the Spanish
word for sin, 'pecado.' We're glad the the Lord is forgiving our sins, rather
than forgiving our fish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And why do the youth need a chicken?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'Necesitan <u><b>a pollo</b></u> para excursiones y otras
actividades,' is what we heard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
'Necesitan <u><b>apoyo</b></u> para excursiones y otras
actividades,' is what the pastor actually said. The two underlined portions are
pronounced the same, at least to our ears, but the second one means 'support.'
The kids don't need a chicken to travel; they need money so they can go places.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our days are filled with moments like these. Food vendors
ask which we would like: chicken, pork, or cheese, and we answer 'Yes.' Our
teachers ask us, 'How was your weekend?' and we answer 'Oh, not too much.'
Someone gives us directions, and we look at each other to see if the other one
understood. Then we say in broken Spanish, 'Sorry, I did no understands. Cans
you tell another time?' Lauren says we're not quite as bad as that, but Mitch thinks
it <i>feels</i> like an accurate representation of our interactions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Regardless of the mistakes, we truly enjoy learning another
language. It's difficult, and it can be frustrating if you aren't willing to
laugh it off. It takes time, 4 hours of classes each day and a fair bit of
homework each evening. And once you learn a topic, you can't speak it fluently
until you've practiced, practiced, practiced. It's been said that it takes
10,000 hours of practice to become a professional. Don't know if that's accurate,
but it feels right :) Yet we're finding joy in it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where's the joy in all that time and difficulty? When we can
understand the simplest things outside of our house. We took Emre on a walk and
a man who met us said 'Qué bonito pastor alemán!' And without asking him to
repeat himself, we knew he was saying Emre was a 'pretty German Shepherd!' That's
a big deal for us. We get off the buses and can understand what the vendors are
selling, without looking at their wares! That's pretty big, too. When people
use a word we don't know, they can explain what it means in Spanish, and we
understand!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today was the most exciting. We sat through church and
actually understood the bulk of the message! Definitely not all the words, but
the main points. Afterward, one of the children asked if we understood the
message, and we give an outline! First time for that, no question!
So we know we're making progress.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Plus, the children and staff at CINAFE are incredibly
gracious and patient. That doesn't mean they always refrain from laughing at
us, but we all have fun with it together. And it seems like we're developing
strong bonds with everyone there, which is the primary reason we decided to
move here. God has it all under control.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He has been providing us with great ways of interacting with
CINAFE outside of teaching English. It's nice to be a part of the daily life,
and not just guest teachers from the U.S. On Friday, one of the girls cut
Mitch's hair. It was her first time doing it, and it didn't go perfectly! So we
stopped by and made her fix it on Saturday! We showed up and left as we liked,
and we felt like it was natural to simply drop by for something we needed. It
was fun to do something like that which didn't involve teaching or anything
aside from being together. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also, last Sunday there was a talent show [which did not
involve chickens], and the kids wanted to do a play for it. They needed someone
to play God, so they asked Mitch. And they won the drama category! They were
pretty excited, and we were happy they thought of us when they needed extra
people. Plus, Elmer [house parent of CINAFE] wanted to rap a little in Spanish,
so Mitch said he would accompany him with the guitar. Then Elmer asked him to
sing the chorus, so Mitch had to perform a song in Spanish at the talent show!
It wasn't the easiest thing, but Elmer rocked the mic, and they ended up
winning the song category! So we all went back to CINAFE and celebrated with
chips and pop. Just another time when we were extremely grateful for the way
God has placed opportunities in front of us to connect with the people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That's the news from down south. May the Lord always forgive
us our fishes, as we forgive those who fish against us. Make it a great day,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mitch and Lauren</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
-----<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here's a link to part of the Spanish rapping extravaganza.
Start watching around 20 seconds; the mic wasn't on at the beginning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/112646459">https://vimeo.com/112646459</a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-38267299116116902542014-11-13T16:26:00.000-08:002014-11-13T16:30:41.758-08:00Let's talk about foodThe good: <br />
<br />
For starters, you'd better like rice if you move to Nicaragua, and it's good that we do. Almost every lunch and dinner we've been served at Cinafe, Fortress of Hope, or out at a restaurant, is served with rice. It's a good, inexpensive filler and goes with basically anything you put alongside it. For example - black beans, scrambled eggs, red beans, cooked potatoes & carrots, chicken, beef - we've had all of these things multiple times with our rice. We know it's only been a month and we've got many more meals to go, but for now, we're still really enjoying eating a ton of rice and whatever comes with it. <br />
<br />
As we've said in previous posts, we've been enjoying going out to eat different times throughout the week because the local food is very inexpensive here, that is; if you go to a small open-air restaurant beside the road. The other week at our Spanish school, we saw one of our teachers leave around lunchtime and come back about 10 minutes later with a huge Styrofoam to-go container filled to the brim with what looked like an awesome meal. We asked her about it and she told us that she got her food from a woman down the road who makes food in her house to sell. [It's very common here for families to make food in their homes and sell it for very little.] She told us where to go, so we did the next day. We walked down the road from school, turned the corner, and went into a house. It didn't look at all like a place to get food, no sign on the outside or anything of the sort, and if it had been just the 2 of us walking, I don't think we would have found it nor would we have had the confidence to just walk in someone's home. However, we actually started walking right behind 2 other teachers from our school and we followed them right into the house. The lady there gave us her selections for the day and we each left with a tray full of shredded beef, lots of rice, a small side of black beans, a tangy coleslaw salad, and a madura (ripe banana cooked to perfection with a very sweet taste). All this for only 50 cordobas a person, which is equivalent to $2.00US. Lauren was explaining how a meal this large in the states would easily cost between $8-10.00 at a restaurant. All that said, it's hard not to stop by local places and take advantage of a well cooked, Nicaraguan meal. Especially since they even cook the rice differently here and we don't where to start. We've heard about the specific way to make rice but until we learn, we'll enjoy buying it locally.<br />
*Picture below of our meal<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbvDK6YfRk6O4kVjV20EyJ7_8rqeaGJhsxohmthdjsXaHfJpmcDaBvwQtLfezK6Db__VrMxnecbn38Kf1I-hGIxdSs2kiucqpTKRVJVoIen5-rjl9iV3Q5BzbEMNb8vBFbPpLg9OEsVs/s1600/IMG_3028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbvDK6YfRk6O4kVjV20EyJ7_8rqeaGJhsxohmthdjsXaHfJpmcDaBvwQtLfezK6Db__VrMxnecbn38Kf1I-hGIxdSs2kiucqpTKRVJVoIen5-rjl9iV3Q5BzbEMNb8vBFbPpLg9OEsVs/s400/IMG_3028.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
The bad: <br />
<br />
It's hard to say "the bad" about the food here in Nicaragua. We really love it all. Obviously, there's one thing or two that's not our favorite, but we'll eat it anyway. So instead of "The bad", we're going to call it "The different". We really are enjoying the change in diet here. The only things that we miss, or shall we say that Lauren has observed, is the availability of good, green vegetables. Nicaraguan meals generally don't have many vegetables. We're not sure if you'd ever find a side of broccoli here. We'll keep looking. Lauren just WISHES we could at least buy some green beans at the store, steam them in water with a dash of salt and pepper, and a little bit of butter. But we can't. So for now, Lauren will settle for telling her wishes to anyone who is reading this and we'll call it good. As for food in general, we've been able to find almost everything we want and need at the local grocery store, La Union, similar to one you might find in the states<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
. It has lots of familiar brands, which is nice as we're adjusting to many not-so-familiar things.<br />
<br />
However, the other day we tried making pizza at home here for the first time, like we often did in Virginia. Lauren thought she bought all of the correct ingredients like flour, cheese, meat, onion, peppers, sauce, etc., but when we went to make pizza for dinner on Sunday, we found that the flour we bought to make the dough was corn flour, only meant to make tortillas and other traditional breads. We used it anyway. We found that our package of plain, ground up sausage we were planning to cook was actually chorizo, a different type of sausage with some tangy seasonings. We used it anyway. We opened our package of "mozzarella" cheese, smelled it and gave a taste test, only to find that it actually tasted a lot like a different local cheese we didn't care much for. We used it anyway. Our pizza actually turned out to be edible but nothing like the homemade pizza we'd come to master back in Virginia. Like any new place, there are things to learn and new things to try. Got a hankering for some Nica rice? Come on down to Managua. <br />
<br />
Until then, make it a great day,<br />
Lauren & MitchLauren Yoderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01919715847337826540noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5070287472861510759.post-19549611489155246162014-11-06T13:06:00.004-08:002014-11-13T16:50:35.648-08:00Same-yet-different Sunday<div class="MsoNormal">
On Tuesday we passed the 4 week mark! It's encouraging know
that we've been here a month without major troubles. God has blessed us richly,
and we're excited to see what else he has in store for us.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This past Sunday was full of same-yet-different feelings. We
realized as our day progressed that we were doing many of the same activities
we would have been doing if we were living in the U.S., but it felt quite a bit
different in a different culture and climate. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a nutshell, we went to church, ate lunch with friends and
family, then relaxed in the evening while getting ready for the week. Sounds
very much like many of our lazy Sundays in Virginia!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
First was church, just like other Sundays. But, we went to
church on a crowded bus. Church consisted of very loud, electronic music for
worship, a troupe of dancers in the aisles, and an hour-long sermon. We arrived
at church around 8:15 and left around 10:30. We only understood about 7% of
what was said during the service.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we ate lunch with friends/family. But, we took a bus
home from church. We ate a piece of chicken over a plate of rice with a fruit
drink that I can't describe. Plus, we ate outside in short sleeves on November
2nd. And we were still sweating!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we relaxed and spent time with friends. But, Lauren was
running around with our puppy and a gaggle of kids who live in a children's
protection home in Managua. Mitch was playing guitar so that the house papa,
Elmer, could rap in Spanish. Mitch was also trying to sing in Spanish.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then we went home and got ready for the week. But, our
preparation consisted of doing Spanish homework and preparing to teach English.
We also had to figure out how to get a new bus card since Mitch lost his. And
we did all this work in our house in Managua!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It's interesting that a couple can move to a completely new
country and culture and find that certain routines don't change. Obviously
there are differences, but once you can see past those, there are as many
similarities as differences. And this is encouraging: to know that people share
many things across languages, locations, and cultures. Clearly, a Sunday
routine doesn't fully sum up the relationship between two cultures. However, it
was something that gave us a taste of home when home is far away. At the same time,
we're starting to feel like home is here in Managua!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. We feel so
blessed to be here and experiencing life in a different country.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Make it a great day,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mitch and Lauren<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0