Hello friend!! 👋
In these crazy times of quarantines, travel restrictions and a general ruffling up of "normal" we are glad to take a moment to send you some good news! Hopefully one of the stories below with make you smile, cause you to praise God or perhaps just distract you from the duldrums for a moment. 😍
NOVEMBER...
was a busy month -- not only is it the close of the Nicaraguan school year, but this past November was also FULL of fun and fellowship.
We hosted our second ever Spelling Bee 🐝 -- this time at the Enrichment Center and with the students from Colegio Tomas Borge! We started with 24 representatives from 3rd through 6th grades and spelled our way down to our top 3 winners. When we got to the last two, they were nearly impossible to stump! Each class was cheering for their participants and some even brought big signs to cheer them on!
Our family was SUPER blessed to host Megan's parents, Paul & Mary, who came to visit all the way from Serbia where they serve as missionaries (The Propel Initiative: propelinitiative.org)! We spent a fun- and loved-filled 11 days together and got to celebrate Thanksgiving and Alison's high school graduation together.
Speaking of Alison -- she graduated 🎓 as valedictorian of the Class of 2019 from the Nicaraguan Christian Academy in Matagalpa. In their 25+ years of existence, Alison is the first North American to earn this scholastic distinction among the three campuses of the school. We are insanely proud!!
December...
was a little different this year -- with our larger team we were able to do more ministry & we were able to celebrate the students' talents in new ways.
Our Mom's Group 👗 hit its stride in December with many meetings focusing on Christmas decor from recycled materials. The ladies also learned some new recipes together and shared tips for making some staple foods a little more exciting. Hillary is leading the group while developing relationship and sharing Jesus with the women who attend.
We partnered with a local restaurant in early December to host an Art Show! We collected the students' projects, mounted them on posterboard and hung them throughout an extra room at DankBurger. Parents and students came for showings with light refreshments provided by the venue -- yummy sliders and Cokes. It was beautiful to see the room full of art and to watch the students point out their paintings to their parents and siblings. 🎨
December to january...
The Tingles flew back to the US in late December, just in time to spend Christmas 🎄 with Wayne's grandmother in Florida. And then they were off!! We visited friends and churches all over the beautiful US -- if we visited you, thank you for your loving hospitality; if we didn't see you this year, send us a message and let's see how we can make it happen at the end of this year.
We are super blessed to work with so many amazing churches ⛪️ who welcomed us, handed us microphones and let us share about how TOGETHER we are expanding the Kingdom in Nicaragua.
As our travels came to an end, Megan had the opportunity to share at a women's conference in Florida called I Am Clay. It was a wonderful day full of breakthrough, healing and truth. You can read more by the organizer of the conference, Andria Hoag, on her blog : www.thedoorwayproject.com/
Before we said goodbye to the USA, the Board of Directors for Enrich Missions got together for a few snowy days ❄️❄️ on a mountaintop in Upstate NY for our annual face-to-face meeting. God led our time together and helped us to plan and dream for the future. We are so grateful for each member and the fresh perspective they bring to the organization. We capped the weekend off with a visit to a local axe throwing gym where we laughed a lot and managed to not get hurt.
Throughout all these exciting events, our Nutrition Program 🍝🍜🌮🍲 continued to grow and thrive. We love sitting down over a plate of nutritious food to visit and encourage the kids! The bowl of food on the header is fancy chicken ramen!
February
Our BJJ students got a surprise in February with a visit from Coach JP Garcia of Escuela de JiuJitsu 💙 -- Coach JP is Coach Abraham's coach!! Originally from Ecuador, Coach JP currently lives and rolls BJJ in California while running the EDJ network of schools.
Coach JP was onsite to do a special clinic with our students and then presented several of them with stripes and/or new belts for their hard work and dedication!! Oss!
Our music classes 🎼 got a hand up in February when we brought our classes to the Enrichment Center now equipped with instruments for learning. Wayne scored an electric drum kit on Craigslist while we were in the US and we took it apart, stuffed it in suitcases and reassembled it here. In addition to drums, we have a full keyboard that two students can practice on a time, several iPads with keyboarding apps, a bass and a couple of acoustic guitars. Mondays and Wednesdays are a bit of a cacophony, but it's worth it!
Our ballerinas 👑 are more flexible than ever and enjoying learning new steps and combos. The girls had the opportunity to show off for our February teams and were beaming as they performed!
Late February brought us our first team of the year -- Central New York Medical Mission!! This dynamic group was thrown into the week having to completely change their plans, but God had a better plan and thanks to their flexibility so many people were blessed. In place of one-on-one consultations, the team gave informative "Ted" talks about health issues that are important to the Nicaraguan community. 😷 Providing practical advice and answering questions opened up a whole new way of looking at health care in missions.
The team brought down a metric ton of luggage (might be an exaggeration, but doubtful) most of which was lovingly donated clothing and shoes. As our friends from the community visited us, they were able to go "shopping" for clothing, rice and beans. A true blessing!
The team also brought us our First Sight eyeglass kit 👓, something that had been recommended by one of our Medical Committee members. The kit has everything you need to do an eye test and then make 100 pairs of glasses! Ginny & Cindy studied up and came prepared to give the exams. By the end of the week we'd done 50 screenings and given out 14 pairs of glasses!
March
🎉 Megan & Elizabeth are here!! 🎉 You may remember that last year we had two young ladies go through our Missions Training and then head back to the US to fundraise. Well they worked hard, trusted God and shared their plans and over the first two weeks of March, both landed here in Nicaragua.
They are currently living with Nicaraguan families and attending language school to learn Spanish. We are grateful to have them here!
And now you know what we've gotten to -- worldwide pandemic COVID-19. Ick! 😷
In an effort to keep our students, staff and community safe, we suspended all classes on March 19th. Knowing that a healthy immune system and body is the best defense against illness, we have continued to provide lunches and vitamins to our students, but in a take away format. This has caused us to stretch our imaginations, but has also allowed us to use creativity and provide some yummy options.
We are all well. ♥️ Alison returned from college on March 19, Emily's last day on campus was March 18 and they are both studying online through Google Classroom, ZOOM, Skype, Whatsapp, etc. Thankfully, already living thousands of miles away from friends and family, we were already set up to "distance" ourselves. Ronald, Gloria, Hillary, Megan and Elizabeth are all practicing social distancing and are in good health also!
The Nicaraguan government has been dealing with this crisis in the opposite manner of almost every other country in the world, but the people have decided to self-govern -- business have closed, schools have moved online, people are staying home/washing hands/etc.
We believe in a God that is greater than any virus. 🙌🏼 We have hope that a cure and a flattened curve are coming. 🙌🏼 We are praying for each of you, for first responders, for medical professionals, for grocery store workers and all of the other 8 billion people we share this planet with. 🙌🏼 We are making smart choices. 🙌🏼 We are o so grateful to be safe at home. 🙌🏼 And doubly grateful for you!
If you made it this far -- God bless you a little extra! 😍😂 More inbox enrichment headed your way in a few months!!
With lots of LOVE!!