Me and Yuri


Clothes donations - Thank you Lillias M. and Katie M.!


The soccer tournament champion team...


Look what I found when I started to pack! Oscar wanting to come home with me...


My taxi driver - so nice! And safe...

Part of Leonel's contract in order to study English at Ave Maria is to graduate from high school, keep up his grades at Ave Maria, and to quit the cock-fighting scene. He also had to rescue these roosters from fighting and maintain them for life (we'll help pay for their feed). So far so good! He's been calling and emailing me about his progress and so far has kept his word on all fronts. So proud of him.


Karen, Larry, and Geovannia - 1st Family Photo!


Leonel's brother and cousins...

Dinner at Pizza 2 Go


My Nicaragua family

These are "my" kids, Laura, Adolfo and Oscar


Staying up late to ask all kinds of questions. They wanted to know about everything from organ donation, space travel, what universities are like in the states. They are sooo sleepy, but kept fighting it in order to learn more.

What an eye-opener. Went to visit Bepo in the hospital and I was shocked at the conditions. He had a motorcycle accident on December 23, already had one surgery, and was waiting for a second surgery in another two weeks. In total, about a 5-6 week stay in the hospital, in a room with fourteen other men.

Registering for class at Ave Maria College


The students on their first day of class. Yuri, Javier, Segundo, Ricardo, Leonel, and Lourdes

During my stay, they kids managed to watch a fraction of hours of TV they normally watch.

Playing chess with the mastermind, Adolfo. I won only a handful of games while Adolfo was still learning, and since then, he has beaten me every time.


The chess board from game with Adolfo


Oscar playing with the Legos


Willman and Miguel, two of my students from the morning class...

Playing Perfection...


Playing the 15 piece puzzle...

Me and Adolfo at the beach...


Nerds descend upon Nicaragua

Another dog trapped...

After my evening English classes, and on the evenings I didn't teach, this is the group with whom I played basketball and soccer. I miss those nights!

After two and a half months of meeting three nights a week, my adult English class celebrates completing Level I English with a graduation ceremony. Carlos, our resident pastor/police officer, offers a prayer before the ceremony. I'm so proud of all of them!

Segundo and the shoes he made for me as an appreciation gift for teaching the class


Mr. Carlos giving prayer before the graduation ceremony


Ricardo


Javier


Lourdes, student and hostess extraordinaire


Leonel


Yuri


Segundo


Carlos


Group photo

We had 6 women's teams participate in our tournament. Working closely with Fundacion Diakonia, a Christian organization that works to promote HIV/AIDS education and awareness through the use of a women's soccer league, we managed to create a hugely successful event. I provided uniforms for four of the teams, the soccer ball, trophies, medals, food, referee, music/sound system, snacks, drinks, sign up forms, rules/regulations, etc.

Thank you to the Griffiths Family - Nicole, Eriks, Wesley, Evan, and Matiss - for helping to sponsor the event! Big thanks to Carla R., Carla P, Christine S., Linda, Lillias, Connie, and Brad for helping to pack and sort the boxes full of uniforms, games, and educational materials.

Special appreciation to Eurosport, the Girl Scouts, Passback.org, and US Soccer Foundation for providing various supplies. I can't wait to do this again someday!

Opening ceremony of Nick's tournament


Our referee


Sign-up sheet


The trophies


Support from the Red Cross, they were wonderful with our only injury of the day


Thanks to McLean Youth Soccer League for the uniforms! (white and green)




Thanks to Passback.org and US Soccer Foundation for the red and purple uniforms, soccer balls, cleats and goalkeeper gloves and jerseys!




Christ has Power team, they had their own jerseys


The girls in action


One game was decided by penalty shots


Second place


The winners!


Our gold medal winner for best sportsmanship

Apparently the children (and especially the adults) survived the night. Evidence...

Breakfast of champions - Nacatamales

I helped sponsor the evening for some of the kids who normally get one meal a day or less.

Laying out the rules for the night


The boys' mattress


Waiting in line for the snacks - pastries and soda


Finally being served!


Do they look scared? This is the ghost story segment of the evening

Ceremony in MILAVF, Pizza and ice cream courtesy of Bertha Deering of Maryland.

Waiting for the pizza to arrive, many of the kids had never tasted pizza before!






Ice Cream, too!


Miguel and Willman from my morning class, celebrated the graduation with the larger afternoon class




Feeling like they're on top of the world!


In the park, after all the sugar and pizza, they were rather excited.


The after-party. Celebrating in one of the kids' homes - a converted garage.


Proud of their diplomas - Andreina, Yaritza, Alexandra, Juan Carlos, Ramon and their little sister

My birthday couldn't have been any more special. My adult English class from the evenings took me out for ice cream. Lourdes and her family cooked a special meal and my students made me birthday cards.

Juan Carlos makes me a card


Damaris made me another card


Me and Lourdes at the birthday party

We had a meeting in MILAVF this afternoon. We´re in the process of forming the soccer league and I´m really looking forward to having it all up and running. Today, we discussed MILAVF´s role in the league, how we´ll determine the rules, our schedule for following week, who will be permitted to join the league etc. MILAVF and I have decided that we will invite the schools to participate interscholastically, and we´ll also be inviting the individual barrios to form their own teams. The league will have more than one service as we plan to have the girls attend workshops on health/nutrition/sex ed, and ask them to plan and execute an approved community service activity. For each community service activity, I´ll sponsor the teams to play a certain number of games for free - so, in theory, the girls who plan multiple community service activities could get to play the entire season for free. They´ll also earn the right to use the new uniforms and I´ll loan soccer balls and other equipment as needed. Hopefully this will be enough of an incentive for them to plan some wonderful things in their communities. I had wanted the girls to be able to use the league as a launching pad for networking, social activity, exercise, friendly competition, etc, and I knew I´d have to put my money where my mouth is, but this could get expensive! What do you think of the idea? I don´t want to pay directly for community service, but can´t think of any other way to get the girls motivated and to complete their projects.
We´re in the early stages, but will have our first game on March 1st. Our tournament will be held before I leave in May.

Can´t explain it, but something about this little boy caught my attention. We were on the bus from Jinotepe to Managua and he was so bright eyed and precocious.

Today, Lourdes hosted a party where we gave away shoes that were donated by some very generous friends from the states. She bought a piñata and filled it with candy. Her kids, along with some family friends, blew up balloons and made them into fun shapes. We had face painting. The girls were so excited to have their new shoes, and just in time to wear them to school, which starts tomorrow February 4th. At first, I felt overwhelmed with the decision of who to give the shoes to, but Lourdes took the reins and went to some needy families in her barrio, asked them to trace their kids´ feet and then she matched them to a pair that would fit by slipping the tracings into the shoes. It was a brilliant idea. Hope you enjoy the photos. Special thanks to Rina Cantrell, her husband and daughters, who donated many of the pairs in the photos.

16 yr old Lionel, helping to blow up the balloons, which were so hard!


Balloons


Trying on new shoes




Two little models


Modeling their new shoes as a group


Face Painting


Piñata




Richard and little Joel


Oscar, Lourdes and Richard´s son, hamming it up on the roof of their house


Me and Adolfo, Lourdes and Richard´s older son