Tates Creek Presbyterian

Greetings from Field staff:

            Greetings from Nicaragua, my name is Nathan Sandahl, and I am the Associate Country Director for FH Nicaragua.  One of my current responsibilities is to oversee the entire Child Development Program (CDP) here in Nicaragua.  As such, I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit Bayardo Arce on many occasions and have gotten to know the community and its people.  Since this is our first Quarterly C2C report for all of you at Tate's Creek Presbyterian, I want to take a moment to especially thank you all for committing to work with us and the community of Bayardo Arce over the next years.  We look forward to getting to know you all better through your sponsorship correspondence with the children, teams, and other opportunities of interaction.  We also want to thank you for the tremendous steps you have already taken to start build relationships with the community through sponsorship and the initial vision team.  I really enjoyed spending time with the team and sharing the vision that FH has for impacting the communities of Nicaragua with a transformational development.  May God bless you, the community of Bayardo Arce, and FH through the growth and development of this unique C2C bond.

 Greetings from Children:

            The children of Bayardo Arce would like to send you greetings and thanks for your support for their community. 

 New projects or advances in the community started with FH participation:

            Wilber Salazar and Guadalupe Lopez (CDP promoters) in Bayardo Arce continue to spend the majority of their time visiting the families and getting to know them, their dreams for the future, and their struggles.  Through these home visits, Wilber and Guadalupe have had many opportunities to encourage and support the families as they work through very difficult situations.  In many cases, Wilber and Guadalupe have also had the opportunity to share the hope and blessing that comes from knowing Jesus and following His Word.  As a result, some families have begun to see changes in their lives as they begin to trust in Jesus and obey the teachings of the Bible. 

            During many of the home visits, many women began expressing concern about the possibility of having contracted HIV.  The culture in Nicaragua does not encourage men to be faithful to their wives and therefore the women have a justified fear that they could become infected even if they are happily married.  Due to these requests, Guadalupe went to visit the Ministry of Health (MINSA) in order to inquire about the government's ability to support these women in getting tested.  With the Lord's blessing, Guadalupe found the doors of the Ministry of Health opened up and they began to offer all kinds of assistance to the community as long as FH would also provide some additional resources.  As a result, in October the Ministry of Health sent a mobile health unit (medium size trailer) to the community to provide a one day mini-health fair.  Community members received a variety of health services including general consultations, family planning training and Pap exams for the women, training on the importance of maintaining a clean environment and of course the HIV/AIDS testing.   A local church from Chinandega (with whom FH has been working with through the Nehemiah Center) also provided some training to families interested in understand more about issues related to HIV/AIDS and offer support to anyone who may have tested positive.  Fortunately, none of the women who got tested gave positive results. 

            After the experience with the community health fair, other members of the Ministry of Health showed interest in collaborating with FH in the community.  In November, the dentist with the Ministry of Health took a day to visit Bayardo Arce with the promoters and did an initial screening of children in the community and what their primary dental problems were.  The plan is for the dentist to make another trip back the beginning of 2010 to do a more extensive work with the children and do some training on the importance of dental hygiene.

            The end of November was also full of excitement and energy as 25 children from Bayardo Arce were able to participate in the first FH/Nehemiah Center/Build-a-Bridge Arts Camp.  The 25 children were transported each day to a nearby church where they joined 25 children from El Limonal (another CDP center) and together they learned about painting, choral signing, and dance.  As they learned about these art forms and developed new skills, they also learned that they were each created in the image of God, as such they were also creative and that creativity could be used to change their future reality.  However, they also learned that creativity and skills need to be developed and managed if they are going to be useful.  Through all this the children learned about hope and that reaching one's dreams is not a matter of chance but rather greatly dependent on making plans, developing skills, and following through.

 New projects or advances in the community started without FH participation:

            While this is not a new project, the community continues to work with the municipal authorities to get their lands legalized.  This is an on-going work that has many complications and can be very disheartening for people who have nowhere else to go.  The issues of land ownership are also very tied to politics which can undue years of work with the change of political loyalties from key players.  However, even in spite of the delays and problems the community continues forward, seeking out ways to move the process forward so that one day they will be able to rest, assured that the land they live on will not be taken away from them.  FH has not been a direct participant in this activity, primarily because of the political components that could jeopardize all of FH's work if it got connected to a particular political group.  However, FH has continually supported the community through encouragement and hope, especially when things do no look good. 

Prayer Requests:  

1. Please pray for the health of the children and families as many people are suffering from respiratory infections and fevers due to the changing weather.
2. Please pray for the leaders of the community, that they may work together in unity and harmony for the good of the community.
3. Please pray for the children's parents, that they would seek better ways to take care of their children and provide for their needs.

Thank you for your continued support for the children, families, leaders, and churches of Bayardo Arce.

God bless,

FH/Nicaragua CDP staff