On Mission, Nicaragua

Hola, everybody. This posting will be a little different in that you are going to hear from Norma and me in the same writing. I will start and at some point she will jump in. 

We have some really “shaking” news for you, literally SHAKING news. While we were eating lunch last Saturday, (June 15) the table began to shake and then the room. There was no noise, just shaking. As Norma mouthed the question to the groundskeeper just outside our door, “Terremoto?” he motioned for us to come outside. We stepped into the center of the parking lot with a few other neighbors and waited for a few minutes and that was the extent of it. The tremor lasted 1.5 minutes.  We learned later there was a 6.6 earthquake with the epicenter located just 31 miles off the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua at Masachapa. That seaside village is 30 miles west of us here in Managua. We’ve heard no confirmed reports of any injuries or damage. I have been in two or three tremors in my lifetime, but this was the strongest I’ve ever felt. For us at 60 miles away, it was just a tremor and nothing else.  So now you have heard the “shaking news.” 

Most of the rest of our news is so funny that it keeps us smiling at God’s wonderful sense of humor. We hope you’ll enjoy the humor too.  At the same time we enjoy the funny side of life, we are also blessed and grateful for the opportunity to serve in Nicaragua in a capacity that our Ginger Creek pastors have been teaching…“On Mission” and “Life Mission.”  We have been so excited about the “out-pouring” of God’s blessings over us.  And as Norma likes to say God “winks” at us in many ways that are simply icing on the cake. He’s such a good Father and so typical of our sovereign Lord to give his children sweet little additional blessings on top of the many necessary provisions he showers on his children. I will let her tell you about the next one. 

Norma: Yes, it’s both humbling and empowering the way God has showered his many blessings on us. It’s so much like the tropical rains this time of year in Nicaragua. Out of seemingly nowhere, literally buckets of cooling, soothing rain simply fall from above to calm the hot, humid and exhausting days here. God literally floods us and overwhelms us with his provision and goodness.

We’re relieved to finally have some wheels! In our search the first week in Managua to buy a dependable used car and after being dumped a couple of times on the side of the road by two different vehicles we were test-driving, we quickly realized God had deeper things for us to learn than trying out two cars. It was much about meeting the two owners. One was a gracious new missionary friend at the Nehemiah Center who was kind enough to rent us his old Toyota for $10/day, while deciding if we wanted to purchase it. What a joy to get to know this retired dairy farmer/agronomist/missionary to tropical countries. He has eagerly agreed to meet our pastor friend Jorge on Pochocuape Mountain to assist in the church communities new efforts to compost, recycle and grow crops. Jorge and wife Monica are excited at the prospects of learning God’s ways to steward the use of his land for the benefit and development of the community. The other vehicle owner is a blessing just to speak with. He’s a Nicaraguan pastor/mechanic. What an encouragement to hear of his deep faith in God and vision for his own church and community (at the foot of Pochocuape mountain). We look forward to introducing Jorge to Bismarck (pronounced bees-mark).

We ended up purchasing this white Toyota Land Cruiser from a third new acquaintance, another retired farmer/missionary who’s also a mechanic. Having a vehicle gives us a whole new perspective on ministry here because transportation is key. The test for all vehicles was whether they could tackle the 30 degree incline on Pochocuape Mountain and this Land Cruiser got an A+. What a relief to have transportation. It looks, smells, drives and rides like a safari jeep that’s made many trips across desert and outback. It’s wonderful! We want to name it. If anyone has a suggestion better than Mater, please feel free to tell us. J

Ok, this is Dock again.  I just have to throw my two cents about our car deal. 

Most of you who know Norma well, know she is a bargain hunter. She has saved us lots money over the years with her skills in researching good deals.  She had been searching for a car long before we ever left the States.  She had contacted a family in Leon, about an hour away. They called me the other night, wanting to drive their Toyota Land Cruiser down to Managua to show us and see if we were interested.  The owner told me on the phone that if I saw it and drove it, then I would want it.  Sure enough, he was right.  It is an old car (1987), but has been kept in superb condition.  It was checked out by two good mechanics (one from the Nehemiah Center) and both of them said they had never seen a car that had been kept in such superb shape mechanically.  And, for its age, it looks pretty good too.  The mechanics say that these cars are in great demand in Australia, and they run forever.  It is sort of like a tank.  Four wheel drive, 6 cyl. diesel with great A/C, which here in Nicaragua is as much for safety as it is comfort.  So, we are just praying that it is as good as it appears to be.

Norma again:  We are camping out in this cute little ground floor, 2-room apartment until the furloughing missionaries’ house is available July 3. (We have the white door with a window on either side.) We met the missionaries who will be allowing us to use their home. Once again we were fully blessed and surprised by God’s goodness and provision. Lots of praises! It's been an exciting week. We are enjoying lots of impromptu, drop-in meetings with each of the Ezra Team at the Nehemiah Center. They are the national leadership of the NC ministries. We attended our first staff meeting at the Center last Thursday with two Nicaraguans, two Canadians, one Costa Rican, one Australian, a 15-year missionary veteran from Montana (I think), and a couple of transplanted Okies from Chicago!  (Makes me want to add “and a partridge in a pear tree” but I won’t.) We met all morning, sharing the ups and downs of ministry. We prayed together and planned together how to best serve Nicaragua for God's Kingdom. Half the missionaries have been here for 10-15 years and the others much shorter time. Dock and I are the new kids on the block…we have much to take in and learn. 

We talk with Jorge and Monica via phones, when the signal works on the mountain. We can't email each other because their computer died a few weeks ago. They lost all their files, including Jorge's seminary studies and notes and ministry files. Help them and us pray about this huge loss. We saw them for Sunday school two Sunday’s ago. What an uplifting experience to see such a vital group of believers. A few days ago, Jorge came down the mountain to join us at the Nehemiah Center for the Monday 8 am staff devotional and prayer time. We drove him home afterward and stayed the rest of the day with him and Monica. We talked, prayed, laughed together and at times were close to tears together recounting the joys of the Lord as well as the challenges of ministry. We so enjoyed our time together, plus enjoying Monica’s great cooking--beans and rice and fried plantain. I love it up there on the mountaintop! What makes it most special is hearing and seeing how God’s work is progressing through Jorge, Monica and the faithful ones in the church community.

We had a phone conference with Maria this week. (She's in New York City right now on a missions trip.) We got caught up on the latest and most urgent matters and will really be glad when she gets back to Nicaragua June 26 so we can hear great stories of God’s moving in lives and dreams for the future ministries of New Jerusalem church and school.  We have visited the school twice, and have had in depth conversations with Fausto, one of the elders and caretakers at the school, Juan, a Pastor, and one of the teachers, and Josefina, the director of Fe y Esperanza.  We felt more than rewarded by the reception we received from the children at the school, by their hand made letters to us upon our arrival. 

Although we don't yet have a scheduled meeting date, we are emailing with ORPHANetwork and Hogar de Fe orphanage and will meet with them soon. 

Having just arrived in Nicaragua again only a couple of weeks ago, our perspective on the ministry partnerships right now is much like I Corinthians 13:12. We are seeing the future as if through an opaque glass or in a mirror by candlelight. We see vague images and vision, but can’t quite make out the reality. That’s fine with us, because it’s God’s plan anyway and we trust him to reveal what’s necessary in his own time.

Pray for us 1) as we speak sincerely and heart-to-heart with our beloved Nica ministry partners in the days to come…and 2) for our travel safety as we learn the "unspoken" rules of the Nicaraguan roads. !Que Dios os dirija en cada paso y que os cuide mucho!

Well, it’s me again--Dock speaking. Life is so much fun here, it is hard to believe. After the seriousness of God’s protection from the tremor we thought we would use the rest of the day to go grocery shopping.  We got in the car, took off and no more than 3 minutes on the highway, I was pulled over by the police in one of their random inspections.  They were very cordial and ask me for my license and documents which are supposed to be carried in the car at all times.  I had inadvertently left one of the papers they asked for at our apartment and when I told them I did not have it, he said, ”OK, go on”. It truly was God’s loving hand of protection that we were not ticketed.  We wondered if we should return to get the papers, but decided to keep going. After all, what’s the chance of getting stopped twice in one day? 

We got our groceries, packed the car, and had to work about 5 or 10 minutes to no avail trying to move our car from the parking spot we were in.  A taxi had pulled right in behind us and parked so close that it was impossible for us to maneuver out of the spot we were in.  After a few minutes of frustration, and several loud long honks to try to awaken the taxi driver to come and move his car, a man came along and helped by standing in front of the taxi (to keep me from hitting it) and motioning me inch by inch until I finally maneuvered out of the spot. There is nothing like pulling an army tank out of a tight parking lot designed for compact cars.  Norma calls this tank “Mater.”  I call him Tow-Mater, because he has a big tow hook on the back.

Now we are on our way home with a load of food.  No more than 6 or 8 minutes into the drive, the unthinkable happened again.  Yep, you guessed it.  Another cop around the curve was waiting for me. 

He waved me over and I reached into the car pocket and pulled out the few documents we did have and waited for his response.  When I reached out to hand him the papers, he in turn reached over to shake my hand instead of accepting the papers.  How rude of me, why didn’t I think of that and extend my hand to him first?  Oh, well, we are learning. What a surprise.  I had never had a cop stop me to shake hands with me.  So, I clumsily took his hand and gave it a big shake. He asked to see my license and ID. He looked them over and said, “Que tengan un buen dia.” (Have a good day.)

We head on home, safe and sound after one hard busy day, giving thanks to God for his watch and care over us.

Please continue to pray for us for His care and protection. If you would like to help in this continuing ministry you may do so by sending a check to:

Partners in Christ International

PO Box 237

Tempe, Arizona 85280-0237

(Attach a note to your check with the following text: "Nicaragua Account, for Caton expenses".)  

Our love and prayers are with you.

Dock and Norma Caton