Viva Spanish

So we have been taking classes since we arrived in Nicaragua at Viva Spanish School. We started at 20 hours a week (so intense!), went down to 10 after the Christmas break, and just recently have gone down to 4 hours a week so that we can be more involved with Camino de Vida. Since we started, we have had probably 8 different professors (they switch off every week), but consistently, we have had Armando almost every day.


Armando speaks English and is a really nice guy (he remembered what day we were getting back to Nica after Christmas and texted us to say welcome back!) who has been helping us a little bit with our car search. It seems that he is always keeping an eye out for the kind of car we are looking for, and a few times, he has taken cars for a test drive, and even bargained a lower price for us (although he told the guy it was for his Nica father who couldn't come because he was sick!) When we've asked about his religious beliefs, we've gotten mixed messages, although we are fairly certain he is not a believer. We've invited him to church and a church event, but so far he has been unable to attend. We're praying that Armando would trust Christ and that we would be sensitive to however the Spirit wants to use us! We will probably be taking a few weeks off from classes as we will have several visitors in March, but pray for us that we would continue to pursue our friendship with Armando and that God would be glorified through it.

The injury

So the other day, I (Chase) and William were practicing for our slapstick ninja skit we blogged about a couple of days ago (see the Ninjas de Vida post).  Somewhere along the way, I broke my big toe. I actually don’t really know how it happened.  I’ve broken my pinky toes before, but this is a little different, as more weight and balance depends on this.  Consequently, I limp obviously, which is more embarrassing than it is anything else.

All in all, not really a big deal, but I thought I would supply our beloved readers with an update and some gross pictures. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what a broken toe looks like.

Where the Streets Have No Name

Many of you have probably heard this famous U2 Song, and what you might not know is that many believe it was written about Managua, Nicaragua, as Bono visited here one year before it was written. Whether or not our new home was the inspiration or not, it is true that the streets here do not have names. You describe a place by using landmarks (sometimes that do not exist anymore or are different than they used to be). For example, the road that we live on is referred to as “the old road to Leon”; the location of Viva Spanish School, where we have taken Spanish classes, is “Behind MetroCentro (a mall), 2 blocks South from the FNI building”; and the “address” for Camino de Vida is “From the Monseñor Lezcano Statue, 2 blocks south and 2 blocks up”. There are no street numbers or addresses anywhere in the city. It is definitely an adjustment for us, after relocating here from the States. For more information on the connection between this song and Nicaragua and to read a funny story about receiving mail in this country, see this article: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1701487,00.html

good vs. evil

This Saturday we are starting a new series in our children's services! This is exciting because it is the first series that Chase and I are planning. So we are planning the Order of Service, including what Jeremy will be teaching each week and we created the invitations to give out as well!


Above is the first invitation we have created. It includes the theme - el bien contra el mal - or Good vs. Evil. (Chase created this graphic - isn't it great?) This Saturday we will be doing the story of Adam and Eve. The memory verse is in the bottom right corner of the invitation. It is Romans 12:21 and in English, it is "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." This memory verse will last for the whole theme, which will probably be 4 weeks. Each week we print about 400 invitations to give to children in the Oriental Market (a dangerous and unreached part of town) and to the children of prostitutes. What a joy it is to invite these children to our church and share truth with them and be a part of helping them know God better!