Passport, Shmassport

Have you ever had an experience that made you say, "Seriously? I am so much better than that!" I had one of those moments exactly one year ago. Some of you may know the story, but I thought I'd share it here, along with how it had a lasting impact on me. Plus, the statute of limitations on embarrassing stories is one year, so it's okay to look back and laugh at myself a little. Key words being "a little."

I flew back to the States in March 2020 as the world started to go into lockdown. I was on one of the last flights out of Managua. I finished the school year online, and my parents graciously put up with me for about five months. (Thanks mom and dad!) In August, I booked a flight to Managua. I went and got tested for Covid (a requirement for entering Nicaragua), but the flight got cancelled. I forget exactly how many times my flight got cancelled. All of the teachers who were in the States were getting antsy and anxious about returning to Nicaragua, and finally, the school decided to book a private charter flight for us. This was the only guaranteed way to get back to Nicaragua. 

Because the Covid test requirements were so strict and specific, I decided to join most of the other teachers in Miami 3 days before we flew to Managua. There was a lab there that offered the right test with rapid results. So we all got tested, then enjoyed the next couple of days. We were all grateful to receive negative Covid tests, but there was still anxiety about getting back, so we prayed often for smooth travels. 

The day arrived! On Friday, we woke up in our hotel rooms and started gathering things to head to the airport. In my room, Amy said, "Okay, everyone! Passport check!" to which I replied, "Yeah, because I left my passport in Indiana." (Note: that should be read in an extremely sassy voice.) I reached for my passport, but it wasn't there. A pit fell into my stomach. I messaged my dad, and it went something like this:

6:40 am

Me: Hey dad, I'm having trouble finding my passport. Can you do a look in my room on the dresser and in the drawers to see if you see it?

I received the following reply at 6:47 am.

The next few hours were some of the longest of my life. I went to the airport with the group, but was prepared to fly back to Indiana that day. Long story short, with only a paper copy of my passport, a coaching session from someone on the ground in Nicaragua of what to say upon arrival, and an army of prayer warriors, I was allowed to board the plane. The first half of the flight was agonizing. I cried and prayed, then cried and prayed some more. But after a stop to refuel in Jamaica, I felt nothing but peace and a certainty that I was in God's will. With each mile closer, the more convinced I was that I would be sleeping in my own bed in Managua that night.

We landed and had to go through customs. The guy at the entrance asked me for my passport, and I had to say (in my broken Spanish) that I didn't have it. I had left it in Indiana. Another man took my paper copy of my passport and told me to follow him. He handed it to the guy at passport control and told him that he'd have to use the piece of paper in lieu of a passport. As the man at the computer folded up my passport copy, I just apologized profusely and assured him I have never done anything like this before. He smiled kindly and responded, "No es una problema." Call me crazy, but this seems like the textbook definition of a problem.

He scanned the paper and asked me the usual questions about what I do in Nicaragua and how long I was gone; then he handed me back my passport copy, and told me I was free to enter the country. There were more tears, this time tears of joy and disbelief. I slept very well in my own bed in Managua that night.

My parents sent me my passport via DHL, and I haven't misplaced it since.

As with any experience like this, I asked why this happened. But what I haven't told you is that, in the weeks leading up to my departure, I was conflicted on returning. I was preparing to take on a new role as secondary guidance counselor, and I was doubting that returning, especially in a new role, was the right thing. So when I left Indiana, I prayed, "God, reassure me this year that I am in the right place and here for a purpose." When I discovered the missing passport, I thought, "This is it. God is making it clear that I am not to return to Nicaragua." In retrospect, I see that God was making it abundantly clear that I was right where I was supposed to be. 

Throughout the year, I had moments of doubt. Was I really supposed to be here? And God would just whisper, "Passport". That word, passport, may seem insignificant to you, but it has become a symbol of God's faithfulness, of His promise to never leave me, and an assurance that He has a plan. 

So there you have it - the story of how I legally flew to and entered another country without a passport. But more importantly, it's yet another case of God showing that He can make a way where it seems there is none. I hope this has encouraged you that, even if the way forward seems impassable, God has a plan in it. 

Updates on Life (And What Comes Next)

Well, I guess it isn't really a secret that I am a terrible communicator. Or at least, if it was before, it's not now. It's one of my flaws, and I will work to overcome that.

So here are some updates from this school year:

1.) Senior Advisor:
I was asked by the seniors to take on the role of senior advisor. I have been the girls' homeroom teacher for the last two years, but it was still a tremendous honor to be asked to fill this role. Unfortunately, my co-advisor, Tom, had to return to the States for health reasons. I have been doing a lot of work to help the seniors raise money for graduation, make sure they are meeting their goals and deadlines, and also offering some informal counseling when things get too stressful. ;) I have some AMAZING seniors though, and a huge shout out to the senior class officers. We wouldn't even be half this close without their leadership and delegating skills. We only have about 3 months left together, and I am determined to make the most of it.

2.) HACIA:
For the third year, I was an advisor for HACIA Democracy, an extracurricular activity kind of similar to Model UN that is run by Harvard students. Our students are assigned to a committee, such as the OAS, and given two topics to debate, along with a country whose point of view they should take and argue/debate from. It's a great opportunity for students to practice problem-solving strategies and to meet students from all over North and South America. My role is to participate in/help lead practices weekly, and to serve as an advisor to three students. I met with these students weekly to check their progress and work through the topics with them. This year, we were going to Quito, Ecuador, but unfortunately we received word that it is postponed for now. We aren't really sure what that means, but we trust that the leaders of HACIA are working with Harvard to make the best choice for all involved.

3.) Worship Coordinator:
I have completed a full year as my role of worship coordinator at International Christian Fellowship, the English-speaking church I attend. The church meets Sundays at 8:30 am. I came on council last January, and it's been a learning process, to say the least. The council has monthly meetings that I attend. My specific responsibilities involve making sure that we have someone to lead worship, getting people who are interested in being on a worship team plugged in, and working with NCA to determine what our specific needs are (i.e. purchasing new materials). It's a bit overwhelming sometimes, but I'm glad to be a part of the church in this way.

4.) College Advisor:
I had the opportunity this year to be a college advisor to two amazing young ladies. I met with them regularly to help them determine where they want to apply to college, helped them write application essays and upload transcripts, and looked through financial aid options. It made me feel pretty inadequate at times, but overall, it was an incredible opportunity that had some lasting impacts. More on that later. ;) One of the students has committed to Indiana Wesleyan University (let it be known that I did not push it... this was all her. ;) ) and she found out that she received the Luther Lee Scholarship, which is for students in the Honors College and who are minority students. This is a full-tuition scholarship, and we are all incredibly excited! My other student is waiting to hear back from the colleges she applied to, but I'm excited to see what she decides to do.

5.) Same House, New Friends:
With two housemates moving back to the States and one who got married last summer, I started the year unsure what my housing would look like. In September, NCA had a student teacher named Leah move down for 3 months. She was so sweet and kind and a fantastic roommate. She was patient and encouraging in my grouchiness and tiredness from all of the commitments. She left on Thanksgiving. Then in January, we had a teacher move down for the semester to take on middle school social studies, secondary ELL, and 8th grade English. She's been fantastic, and I've enjoyed getting to know her. Finally, on March 9th, with the school's blessing, we had a senior move in with us. Her parents are going back to the States for her dad's health, and she needed a place to stay. I'm so glad we have the room to support her and her family in this challenging time.

6.) Birthday Extravaganza!:
Back in October, I turned THIRTY on the THIRTIETH! I decided to fully embrace it, and I celebrated by doing something intentional each day of October leading up to my birthday. I had fun adventures like a beach getaway, birding in Granada, and seeing a volcano at night, and I enjoyed some chill events like a musical night with some students (we watched Singin in the Rain), getting bubble waffles, and a pedicure. I felt so loved and supported through it all and I'm thankful for everyone who helped to make it a special event.

7.) BIRDS!
I was introduced to the wonderful world of birding at the end of last school year. I went on an overnight adventure that involved staying in the sketchiest "hotel" I've ever stayed in, but also a great night with friends laughing and playing games. We went hiking at Cerro Alegre. I saw an elegant trogon, and I was hooked. In August, I started going more. One of my coworkers and good friends, Jessica, is one of the top birders in Nicaragua, and she and her husband have been kind enough to bring me along on many trips. In addition to learning about the many species of birds, it has also been a great way to get out and see more of the country. For Thanksgiving, I traveled with Jessica, her husband, and another teacher friend, Amy, all the way out to the Caribbean coast. It was quite the adventure! We have been on other adventures since then and we are planning on more. :)

Okay. If you've stuck with me this long, then you are in for a treat. Some of you know that this is my third year, and as such, I had an important decision to make regarding my future. Specifically, NCA asked for a decision about if I was staying or leaving. Through a series of events that I may elaborate on a bit more later, God opened doors for me to stay on at NCA, but I will be changing roles. That's right, I'm not going to be teaching math next year. I will be taking on the role of guidance counselor, a first for me and the school. This comes with a 2 year commitment. I am so thankful for everyone who has supported and encouraged me over the last three years. It has been invaluable, and I am so incredibly grateful to you all.

Blessings!

Dog Days of February

Greetings to you, my faithful readers,

I saw a meme on Facebook that said, "Well, January was a long year, but we made it." I felt that was a very apt description. But then February came, I blinked, and it was over. It was a good month overall, but jam-packed with all the things. So here are a few highlights.

February 1-3

My housemates and I had a little "roommate retreat" to Laguna de Apoyo. (I call it the Chicken Lake because when I heard somebody say it the first time, I thought they were saying Laguna de Pollo) Lydia was leaving in a week and a half, and we wanted to have some quiet time to be together. The weekend started of great when we stopped at La Union for some groceries and the guard there, after I parked, came up and said there was parking for pregnant women closer to the door. So I moved the car, and we parked in the pregnant woman parking. We decided he was just being chivalrous and not making a statement about our physical appearances.

We rented a house on the lake, and it is a marvelous place. I stayed there last year on the senior retreat. There is a pool, kayaks, a covered ranchon, hammocks, TV, games, and a view that makes me consider driving an hour and a half each way to work. It was a fairly quiet weekend, consisting of some games, a couple of movies, delicious food.

So, one of the things that Lydia wanted to do was go kayaking to see the sunrise. At first I was like, "You have fun with that." But then I decided to go along. The other three were all going and it was a good memory to make. The house had two kayaks - a single person kayak and a two-person kayak that we put three people in. Guys. I am not a morning person, and getting in a laguna at 5:30 in the morning and the dark is not my idea of a good time. But this will go down in history as one of my most memorable experiences. Erika, Alex, and I were all in the same kayak. Me in front, Alex in the middle, and Erika at the back. Erika and I were paddling, but we weren't doing well with steering or kayak control in general. Erika commented that we were taking on water, and she told Alex to bail. Alex took that to mean jump out of the kayak, which she did quite gracefully, instead of bailing water out of the boat. Erika and I continued to struggle until we capsized. Erika managed to get back in the kayak, but it capsized again. We kinda knew something was wrong at that point. So Erika and I get the thing back to shore (I swore off kayaking ever again). We all sat on the possessed kayak on the shore and watched the sun come up.

Upon further inspection, we realized that the kayak had multiply cracks or holes in it, which explains about 94% of our problems. I'll still take responsibility for the other 6%. It was one of those things where, in the moment, I was thinking,  "This is the worst thing that I've ever done at 6 am", but in hindsight, I am so incredibly thankful I went. It was one of my more memorable experiences and one I'm sure won't fade away any time soon.

The view from our house. It's great when you have the choice of pool or lake.

The aftermath of the kayak capsizing. 

Don't worry. We still watched the sun come up. :)

                                          

My girls. From left to right: Alex, Me (duh), Lydia, and Erika

February 8

 

Lydia and I had a lovely roommate date night. We got pizza and milkshakes, played an escape room game, and made a butterbeer cake. 

February 9

Our house had been watching all of the Harry Potter movies in order together. We finally made it to the last movie. We ate butterbeer cake together and all sat on the couch together. That's one of my favorite things. 

February 12

Today was Dia's last full day. We ordered Tip Top (and got an AMAZING little combo deal that had us laughing very hard), played some Nerts (a fast-paced card game), and generally just enjoyed one another's company. 

Apparently, our meals came with these awesome cup/straw/bowl combos. Don't worry. We put our drinks in the cup and ate out of the bowl.

February 13

It was departure day for Miss Lydia. My principal was kind enough to let me dash home on my prep to get a last good-bye hug in. Since then, I've rearranged our room a bit, but it still feels empty. I have really missed having her say, "Good night, Andrea. Sweet dreams." And I miss the nights were we would say, "Wow I need some sleep" and then stay up another hour talking. But I know how happy she is to be with her family. This is all part of life. And I'm incredibly thankful for technology that lets us keep in touch.

February 16

It was the annual Color Run to support the seniors! I just walked it, but I got to walk with 6 of my 9 homeroom girls, and that was really special. We talked about how this will be them next year. Crazy! After the run, they always do a color war. You get two bags of the paint dust (I don't actually know what it is) and you just get whoever you can. You can see the aftermath below here. 

My main walking buddy, Julie. I love this girl!

The girls wanted to soak up all of the colors. Plus, they did this last year. So it's pretty much a tradition now.

I know I look great. 

After the color run, I got cleaned up, hung out with my girls for a bit, then I made cupcakes. Erika and Alex and I had our friends Kelly and Mackenze over for a girls' game night. 

February 21

We had field trip day today. I went with the junior and senior girls to House of Hope, a place that helps women get out of prostitution and learn new skills and hear the word of God. We did some work cleaning and organizing supplies, then we heard some testimonies from women who left prostitution. We were thankful these women were willing to share a glimpse into their lives and share the transformational power of Christ. We ate lunch, then played with some of the kids who live there for a while. Overall, I'd say it was a good day and an important experience for the girls.

The girls worked super hard to clean and organize things at House of Hope.

Back in January, I was officially voted into the role of worship coordinator at church. My responsibilities include coordinating when people are leading worship, encouraging them in their leading, and going to monthly council meetings. February 21 was my first council meeting. It was all pretty relaxed, at least until a large something started flying around the lights. It was in this moment that I was reminded that some cockroaches can fly and I questioned why they really even exist. But in true Nica fashion, we pretty much just ignored it. 

February 22

I was asked to speak at the high school youth group (Launch), and they asked me to speak on... wait for it... taming the tongue from James 3. If you know me at all, you will know just how amusing that really is. But God is good, and I think it went well. 

February 26

You may remember that I am a mentor in our HACIA democracy program. It's similar to Model UN, and we are going to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday for our big international debates. Every year, we host an expo for the students to show parents what they will be doing at HACIA. Our students did a fantastic job, and I'm excited to see how they represent themselves at HACIA.

February 28

Tonight was opening night of the school musical, Godspell. The kids put in hours and hours of work, and it paid off. I got to go all three nights, and I enjoyed it every time. I am so proud of our students (and staff) for all of their hard work. This is a challenging musical to do, and they did it well. 

The cast of "Godspell"

Well, that's it for February! Stay tuned to see what adventures March turns up. :) If you've made it this far, thank you for sticking with me. I hope it was worth it to you.

New Year, New Me?

I've gotta be honest. I kinda hate the whole idea of New Years' Resolutions. It's like we say, "My resolution is to be healthier. I better eat all this junk food while I can!" And then, when we inevitably break our resolution, we just go back to eating our junk food, like "Oh well. I gave it the ole college try." Now, I may sound bitter, but I'm sick of this idea that if we don't meet a goal, we have failed. I decided in 2017 that I was going to read through the Bible in a year. Guess what? Still working on it. Haven't even made it out of the Old Testament. It's a work in progress, but it's progress.

At the beginning of the school year, I set 3 goals for myself:

1. Spend time in the Word at least 4 days a week.
2. Update my blog every other week.
3. Exercise/stretch at least 3 times a week.

I haven't met a single one. Does that mean I've failed? I wouldn't say so. I didn't exercise or stretch 3 days a week last year, but I still went out at times and walked. Progress. Last semester, I was terrible about updating my blog. There were times where I genuinely felt like, "What's the point? I'll just wait until a break or until next year. It'll be easier then." But that's the thing. We fall short of a goal or we mess up in some way, and instead of dusting ourselves off and saying, "I'm gonna keep on keeping on," we sit around shrouded in darkness (at least, that's what my roommate says I do) and throw a pity party. What I've found is that, as a result, we miss out on the here. The now. The ever elusive moment.

I came back to Nicaragua on January 5. I already knew that my roommate was leaving in February, a mere 6 weeks from our return. But then, on the plane, I learned that another dear friend, colleague, and housemate is returning to the States after this semester. This is a transient community, which is hard. People come and go. But I also think it forces you to make a decision: are you going to pick yourself up and keep going when you fall short so you can continue to do life with these people? Or are you going to shut down when you make a mistake and miss out on opportunities to invest in people?

So, all this to say, while I'm not a fan of resolutions simply because the year changed, I am setting a goal to invest. I want to invest in people, but also allow them to invest in me.

I started my school year off with a whole lotta investing. The staff of NCA always does a staff retreat in January to have some intentional worship, small group time, and team building games. Oh, and good food and relaxation. :) This year, we went to Laguna de Apoyo, one of my favorite places in Nicaragua. It's a lake that formed in the crater of a dormant volcano. And it is stunning. One of the families at NCA owns a house on the lake, and they opened it to us to use for the day. I stayed there last year for the senior retreat, and I'll visit there again in early February. (More on that another time).

Here are a few pictures from our time there.

This is the view from where we had our retreat. 

The first team building activity. We were the fastest to create a square with our rope while blindfolded, and it looked pretty darn great, if I do say so myself. :)

The second team building activity was to construct a tower from spaghetti and marshmallows. Ours was the tallest that stayed standing for at least 5 seconds.

A group picture of our staff. I love this family so much!

First Time for Everything

I know, I know. I'm a terrible blogger and correspondent.

In thinking about the need to write a new blog post for the last two months, I've debated what to write about, because there is so much to share, but I have decided, for this blog post, to share all the new things in my life.

Life With Roomies
In my last blog, I shared that I am now living with three other young women. This has been such a blessing, but it has been an adjustment. I am trying to be aware of things like if I'm using the entire kitchen to make a sandwich while others need to eat or yelling at the Colts game when others are working or napping. I think it's going quite splendidly... at least they haven't told me otherwise. ;)

We did "family pictures" and had a blast with it!

Okay, we look super cute, but don't you love those hexagon shelves?

New Classes

This year, my schedule is a little different. I'm not teaching Math Applications or AP Statistics, and instead I'm teaching Biblical Ethics and Domestic Arts. Biblical Ethics is a class for 10th graders (girls this semester, boys next semester) that takes place 3 days a week. The purpose of the class is to discuss how we see and respond to issues in the world from a Biblical perspective. It's very discussion heavy, and I get to play devil's advocate a lot, which I love. Domestic Arts has been so much fun. We've done various projects such as book making, crocheting, and card making. I like having the opportunity to flex my creative side of my brain. Next semester, I'll teach Culinary Arts, so I'm anticipating needing bigger clothes. :)

That Coach Life
I got involved last year playing volleyball every other Wednesday. Volleyball is the one sport I've ever felt like I could be good at, and my skills have improved (I think) with the addition of being an assistant coach for our girls' volleyball team. It's a short season, only 6 weeks long, but I loved working with the girls. The improvement that we saw was undeniable, and I am so proud of all of the girls' hard work. This has been a joy, and it's something I hope to continue with.

What's Life Without a Little Music?
At the beginning of the school year, our director approached me and asked if I would sing on the praise team about once a month with him and a few others at the international church I attend. I said yes, and I have had the privilege to sing three times with that group of people and once with another group. I love music, and I enjoy helping lead worship.

Leading worship for the first time

I think that's it for now. There are other little "firsts" that remind me continually of how blessed I am to be here. I am so thankful for the opportunity to call this country my home.

Second Year, But Everything is New

Well, I'm back! I'm back in the country I love with the people I love doing what I love. Basically, it's just a lotta love!

Summer was very difficult, to say the least. I wasn't sure if school would resume, if I would get the green light from OMS to return, if I even wanted to return. People kept asking questions, and all I could say was, "I don't know." That may have been frustrating for them to hear, but I promise it was even more frustrating to say.

But God is good. He worked everything out perfectly, as per usual. I arrived in Managua on August 1. A friend picked me up at the airport, and the drive home was bizarre. It was about 8:00, still relatively early, but the streets were deserted. The barricades that blocked so much of the country have all been removed, so what little traffic there was flowed smoothly. It seemed surreal.

On our first day of teacher training, our director had a very frank conversation with us. He said we are living in a "tense calm" where everything appears to be normal, but everyone knows there is still stuff brewing under the surface. He also gave us a list of precautions to take. There was nothing completely jarring or unreasonable. I can still go to the store, go out for a bite to eat, etc. But we check for news of protests and marches to know what areas of town to avoid. Overall, we feel very fortunate for where we live and work, because this side of town is so quiet.

We had two weeks of staff training instead of the normal one week. This was very nice to have that extra time to be in the classroom and prep, but also led to some procrastination. "Eh, I still have a week to do that." The thing that consumed most of my first two weeks here were my car. Yes, my poor Charlotte and her accident from March 6. That was five months ago. This whole experience with insurance and the car shop has led me to decide that I should never have a car accident in Nicaragua ever again. I'd write up the whole process for you to read, but it honestly would take too long to explain. Maybe I'll do a Facebook live video again and explain the process.

My biggest life change is that I have moved out of my one bedroom apartment and into a 3 bedroom duplex with 3 other young women. Two are fellow teachers at NCA, and the third, and my roommate, works at an organization called Tesoros de Dios, which works with children with special needs and their families. Other than the periods of time that I stayed with my parents, I haven't lived with anybody since college. It's definitely been a great transition, and I fully believe it was the right move. But there are still moments that I have to figure out. I just have to shake my head and smile at how God brought us all together. We are such different personalities (I'm the only extrovert and a seriously external processor) and yet we are so similar. Have you ever heard of or read about the 5 love languages? Well, we are all physical touch people. So tonight, as we watched The Bourne Legacy, we were all four of us on the 3 person couch and happy as could be all snuggled up. We are still working at making the space our own, but pleased with how things are coming along.

Erika, Alex, and I on our first day of school!

First day of school was a success. I got to see my sweet angels, although they weren't so angelic during the tape game. More on that in a minute. Our school day has been slightly altered. We start 15 minutes earlier and end 45 minutes earlier. This meant that the traditional first day activities had to be changed slightly, but we were still able to keep the spirit of the day and welcome students back in style. This included the annual traditional tape game. If you haven't heard about this game, here's what you need to know: you get a piece of tape on your shirt. Your grade level is your team (teachers are their own team). Protect your tape. Get tape off of others. Girls can get tape from boys or girls, but boys can only get tape from boys. That's it. There are not really any rules beyond that. I didn't play last year, but I did play this year and it was pretty great. I had to ice my arm and I got my clock cleaned by a senior. But the teachers won, so it was all worth it in the end.

The teacher team before the madness began.

An action shot. No, they didn't get my tape.

A little view of some of the action.

After the tape game. I was a little muddy.

The first two weeks have gone very smoothly. With my different schedule, I have my prep time earlier in the day, which makes a huge difference with my brain power and energy levels. But really, I'm just so happy to be surrounded by my students and colleagues again. I'll write more about all that next time.

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement. I don't think I would have made it back home without you all.

Finding Peace in the Storm

I have been staring at this blank page for a couple of days now trying to figure out what to write. I want to share what's going on, but the truth is that I don't know the truth or entirety of what is happening. So I guess I'll do my best.

On Thursday, we were released early from school due to protests that started taking place across Managua in response to the government making changes to the social security system and existing pensions. School for Friday was cancelled that evening. The protests continued throughout the weekend, usually starting mid afternoon and continuing into the late evening and even early morning hours. I was able to go with some friends on Friday and Saturday to the store, more because we wanted to get out more than an actual need for anything. We stuck pretty close to home, and we saw minimal signs of protests.

Other cities have begun protesting as well, and the national police have been responding. I can't speak with 100% certainty with who is starting what, so I'll leave it at that. Probably the most disconcerting thing is how difficult it is to get the truth of the matter. On Thursday evening, the government ordered all local news stations off the air. As a result, to find any news or information, I have to scroll through social media, which is full of one-sided opinions, photos, and videos, or search for news stories. And with my Spanish not being that great, I can't understand a lot of the stories that have been published. Honestly, if it weren't for social media, I would have no idea of what is going on out there.

I know the president was on TV today, and I believe, if I understood some of the messages correctly, that he was saying they will put a hold on the social security increases since nothing is set in stone yet. However, I don't know if that will be enough to calm the masses. People here, on both sides, have been very frustrated for a long time.

As for me, I am safe. I am well-stocked on provisions. I have my vicious attack dog who has enjoyed having me home and slept for probably 22 out of 24 hours of each day. Maybe she's part koala? Here is a map that someone shared. The red pins are the protests happening around Managua. I marked a blue star to show where I am in relation to the protests.

I don't fear for myself. I am worried about the response of the police to protesters. I am worried about the mob mentality that could take over. I am worried about some of my students who go out to protest. And, this may seem silly to some, but I am worried about the rest of the school year. We had classes for tomorrow and Tuesday cancelled, and beyond that is unclear. I have students who will take the AP Statistics test on May 17, and they are missing out on valuable learning time. My other students are probably going to have units cut if we miss much more. I know that is such a low priority compared to some of the things happening, but I'm a teacher - that's what is on my mind. But I know that God is the author and perfecter of all things.

I was able to go to church today at International Christian Fellowship, the English-speaking church I attend. We spent time praying in groups for this beautiful country we call home and for everyone involved. Would you please join us in prayer? Here are some specific ways you can pray:

• Pray for peace. There is a march scheduled for tomorrow. Please pray that people are able to march and express themselves peacefully without fear. 
• Pray for Godly leaders. There are so many lies and so much deceit swirling around. We prayed this morning that God would raise up men and women who will speak truth on both sides of the conversation.
• Pray for safety. The numbers of deaths I've heard are all over the board, but the most consistent I've heard is that more than 25 people, mostly college students, have died. Please pray that the bloodshed would end.

Thank you friends. Please feel free to share with friends and family these prayer requests. We are trusting in God to provide and to intervene. 

In church this morning, part of our prayer time was spent praying Psalm 91. Let these words sink in and become your prayer for Nicaragua. 

Psalm 91

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”