Christmas Day in nircaragua

Christmas on ometepe

The photos and video clips are not uploading so watch this space while I wait for a day when the computers are running a bit faster!?

Christmas morning started as usual before dawn with the rousing call of Guyo. Guyo is the centres senior cockeral. Its a position that in all honesty seems to have gone to his head. He takes on his duties with mucho gusto
We ignored him for as long as we could. Easier for us (because he is at the end of the day just a chicken) than for those of you with children who believe that 5.30 is the time to be opening presents.

While we are talking about Guyo Its worth saying that he has prompted brendan to learn a new phrase in spanish (having learnt how to express his affections for tona) "Quero comer guyo" - "I want to eat Guyo". Each time we have chicken for dinner we hope it may mean an uninterupted lie in the next morning; no such luck as yet.

So we had been given a few gifts to bring out with us, so we thought it best to make some sort of tree.





Strangely enough each household here seems to have a european style plastic christmas tree which does seem little out fo place without the cold and snow and holly and miseltoe. Anyhow we thought our effort was in keeping with the climate at least.

For christmas we were given a table tennis set - so we spent the rest of the morning creating a table suitable to play on. Fortunately our place of residence doubles as university on saturdays so there are plenty of tables and whiteboards to be creative with. So that was christmas morning. To be honest we were like two little boys, stuffing our faces with chocotate and not wanting to do anyhting else other than play with our new toy.

And there was the customary sprout - will I ever get away from it???????????? (thanks jude)

In the afternoon we took a little stroll into las pilas; our local village. We ended up chatting to a few people and getting an impromtu game of baseball going - with a branch and ball that lives in my bag.



A few words on local christmas traditions.
The first one is to build a grotto out of tree branches and dry grass. Wire up some electricity from the overhead power lines (how more people aren't seriously injured I don't know!) Play some loud christmas music and invite all the kids round in the evening. Give out sweets, sing some songs, say some prayers. It seems a catholic tradition - someone may shed some light on this for us?
Families around the village to take it in turns to do this through the christmas period.

The Piqueta is my favourite. This invloves a makeshift frame with a large wire and paper figure, suspended by a rope. This piqueta has sweets stuck on it all over. It can be lifted high out of reach or swung like a swing. A child is blinfolded and given a big stick. The Piqueta is swung around the child, into him, over him. The idea is that the child dances around taking wild swing trying to knock sweets off the swinging Piqueta while everyone else laughs and tries not to get hit. The bigger the child the more the piqueta is swung and the harder it is to find and hit. Eventually the Piqueta falls apart and is pounced on my all the children. Then the next one is hoisted up and so all the kids get their turn.
Hopefully this video link will work

A final thought on the perils to christmas drinking. The chap had obviously spent some time with the rum on christmas eve. If the video link will open you will agree I'm sure that his fate was probably deserved.

Some chistmas Day musings

A few thoughts on the christmas story.... the gospel according to my imagination.

So a teenager, 14 seems to be the popular guess. Engaged to be married - perhaps only been going out with joseph for 6 months or so? May not have known him before that.
Perhaps they had been struggling a bit together. Not knowing each other too well yet. Wanting to do things their own way.
Having to deal with all the pressures from inlaws. Most of their families seeing it as an illegitimate pregnancy in one way or another: "Probably joseph's child, cos she's not the kind of girl to have been with someone else... but then again - you never know; its always the quiet ones!"

The couple must realise they are now in a big story. Not looking like its going to be easy. Not knowing what lays ahead.
Some evenings together they don't understand each other, feel alone despite being together. Other times learning to support each other. Knowing they are in this thing together, for better or worse, whatever is about to happen. Leaning on each other. Not sure who is going to stick by them in this - learning that it might just be the two of them.
Then the day arrives. Labour starts. The family may not be willing to make room for them, her mother in law perhaps refuses to come and help. I'm sure the local midwife woundn't have let her go through her labour on her own: "Thats not right whatever people are saying about her". A long night, a long labour.
Her baby is born
Everything changes, the look on joseph's face, the hope in her heart. The confidence they have together. Everything is going to be alright. Well everything may not be alright but they'll get there. They'll come through. Faith sometimes comes in strange places.




Meanwhile some teenage boys (and some younger) come down from the hills where they'd been with the sheep, some sandwiches and a couple of cheeky bottles of the local brew (to make sure they stayed warm, of course).
They all talk at once: A messenger angel, a whole team of angels. Good news, a saviour. Several of the younger ones had wet themselves; the older ones hadn't been scared at all, of course. Peace to men - what does that mean? and they'd been told exactly where to come and here you are - just like they'd said, in a manger and everything. They hadn't known it'd be Mary though, had heard she was pregnant and all, and had never believed what people where saying - honest. But now it makes sense, its amazing, its a miracle - THIS is the messiah, baby messiah!
How strange that a few years ago they all used to play together at the festivals and make jokes. Now she's got a baby and not any baby but a messiah baby! the messiah baby. And now shes married too - well sort of. wow! crazy.
These lads told everyone. Refused to listen to listen to cynical replies. Told peoeple they can laugh if they like but if they'd seen the angels....
And they looked after mary and joseph. Brought them food, clothes, whatever they semed to need. Not quite sure where it all came from. Plenty of their mothers and sisters who apparently had stuff to spare. Of course they always asked permission... just maybe not to be going to the temple in certain babygrows!




At the same time, in a land far away east, some Asian professors were up very late talking. There could be no doubt as to what this new star meant. It fitted with everything they had studied. It was in keeping with all of their theories..... if their theories were right.
They were sure their theories were correct. If not, then what had they spent their whose careers working towards? All those papers, conferences, lectures. And now this star arrives as if to prove it all.
They couldn't ignore it. It couldn't be just for academic interest - put it down in their next textbook as the sign of the saviour of the jews, and in fact all peoples.
This was real. They all knew as they sat there, that they had to go. They talked about how they would tell their families. Through the kyber pass, goodness knows how many weeks travel on from there. They'd never known anyone who'd made the journey and they'd heard of plenty of traders who'd died on that journey - Bandits, the weather, strange illnesses from the west.
But this is the kind of thing that you would wait your whole life for. IF this is true, if this is true - they knew it must be - they can prove it. They all knew the calculations. Had checked them and double checked them. They had to go.
And go they did. Horses, then camels; hot, then cold, then hot again. They soon learnt that spoken hebrew had changed a fair bit since the ancient texts, but they got by. Sign language and silver gets you a long way!
And sure enough, a baby where the star stopped. How many of there predecessors and colleagues had wanted to see the moving star. The prophesied moving star! They had only ever dreamed; theorised.
No palace, no ceremony. A simple family living in poverty. But a family with a look of peace and faith in their eyes that told them they were in the the right place.
They spent a fortnight with them. Never lived in such simple suroundings, but this jewish family were so hospitable. All that they had, they were willing to share. Not like at home.
They listened to all the stories. All the prophesies. That was the strangest thing. It was all prophesies, visions and dreams. No science. No evidence. Well not real "scientific" evidence as they defined it. But it all fitted. Every aspect of their calculations was backed up by what they found. Incredible!

........and mary stored all these things up in her heart.

Steven

Allow me to introduce Steven
Steven was born in birmingham, growing up in handsworth.
As an adult he moved to quinton, was a single parent living on welsh house farm estate.
He made a foolish decision in order to earn a lot of money. He agreed to bring some illegal drugs back from central america.
He was caught and was sentenced to serve 25 yrs in a nicaraguan prison.
We heard about steven through an english lady working here in nicaragua. Brendan had the opportunity last week to visiting stephen in prison here in nicaragua. The male prison in nicaragua is hard place to live. Gangs fight regularly, nutrition is poor and medical care seems to be negligable.
The last time stephen spoke to his mother she was telling him how hard it was for her realising she may never see him again. Stephen speaks to his son as often as he is able, but with very few people here in nicaragua who can buy him credit for his phone, we're not sure how often that is.

Its a striking feeling to realise that a british man in prison here was previously living just a few roads away from us at home in quinton. In fact brendon even recognised him when they met. We feel some sort of connection to this man, and a lot of compassion for the situationhe finds himself in.

We've been thinking about a few verses from the bible as we've pondered this man's story:
Jesus quoted this ancient prophesy when he started his public ministry: " the spirit of the lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the lord's favour." (Luke 4:18-19. NIV)
The prophet Isaiah wrote these words to encourage the israelites towards a more practical sense of spirituality:" Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke... and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood" (Is 58: 6-7 NIV)
These are examples we try to follow and as such we feel a growing burden for steven. He is a member of our own community, living in our own parish. In that way we could perhaps consider him to be our own flesh and blood.
Its not that we would condone what he has done, and one could say that he is recieving justice. However we would love to see him shown mercy. For his sake and for the sake of his parents and for his son.
He has served 5 yrs of a long sentance is a very long way from home.
We will be trying to visit stephen on the 30th and will be setting that day aside as a day to be praying for him.
We would be really grateful if anyone, who feels able, would like to join us in praying for him on that day. Our prayer is for a swift release from prison, or initially for a transfer to a british prison.
We'll be taking him some food and a few bits and pieces he struggles to get hold of.