A letter from Carl Agsten and Leslie Clay in Nicaragua
November 2010
Lessons Learned
Dear Friends,
As we write to you at the end of our first year in Nicaragua, we feel like students again. Some lessons we have learned the hard way, and some have landed lightly in our laps. All of them are precious to us. Our family answered God’s call to be mission co-workers because we believed there were lessons to be learned about living intentionally and sharing our lives with our neighbors in Central America. We wanted to challenge our assumptions in order to experience a broader worldview. We were scared to death of the heat of Managua, of having to learn Spanish, of whether or not we would prove proficient enough to do our jobs, but we were also reassured by God’s promise “I will be with you always!”
After three months of language study, we began our work with CEPAD in January of this year. The transition to life in Managua was challenging to say the least. We rented a house, bought an old Toyota 4Runner and started getting to know our new hometown. Right away we knew that our language lessons were ending and our life lessons were just beginning. So at the end of our freshman year, here are some of the lessons we have learned:
Lesson 1: Pay Attention
Leslie with her teacher Lussi at the Spanish School Matagalpa.
Nicaraguans sometimes describe themselves as vivos, literally meaning alive. What this term signifies to them is that they are quick, alert, astute, and can even be tricksters. They are the opposite of naive, and they certainly pay attention to their surroundings. So, to us Northerners they say: “Pay attention. If you don’t, somebody else will, and you might not like the consequences.”
Paying attention goes beyond just watching out for the safety of your family and your things. It means watching out for your neighbors as well. Our greatest opportunities for mission happen every day at the traffic light, with our next-door neighbors and at the market. So if you keep your eyes open, opportunities to be in community and to accompany someone in need are everywhere.
Lesson 2: Just Say Yes
Whether someone is extending an invitation or extending a hand asking for help, the answer is: “Yes.” Unless there is a compelling reason to the contrary, the answer is always: “¡claro que sí!” (yes, of course!). These opportunities are the connectors, and they almost always lead in the direction of grace.
Just Say Yes to all birthday party invitations!
The attorney who represented us to obtain our Nicaraguan residency also represents refugees for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Her name is Blanca Fonseca, but everyone calls her Blanquita. I think her nickname derives from two reasons: her diminutive stature and her affectionate manner. Our relationship began as all business, mostly because she made zero concessions for our language deficiencies. Her Spanish was like a machine gun, with a short pause every once in a while to ask “¿Me entiende?” (Do you understand me?) “No, Doña Blanca,” we'd say to ourselves, “we don't have a clue.”
We heard one day from a friend that Blanquita had broken her leg at a bus stop; she invited us to accompany her to visit Blanquita and take her food. Our response was “¡Claro que sí!” because by then we were beginning to learn our lessons. The visit was a little awkward, but pleasant enough. After the visit, however, our relationship changed completely. Blanquita’s Spanish slowed down and her connection with us was unmistakable, like we had gone from clueless gringos to intimate friends overnight. Now our friendship with her is one of our most treasured experiences.
Lesson 3: Know Your Support Network
Leslie’s Nica Support (left to right): Damaris Albuuerque (CEPAD executive director), Leslie, Blanquita Fonseca (UNHCR) and Anita Taylor (Nehemiah Program director).
In case you did not know, self-reliance is an illusion. In times of need you need all the support you can find, whether it is through existing networks or the kindness of strangers. Leslie likes to say “You can’t have too many angels!”
The day we moved into our house in Managua, we let the door swing shut and locked ourselves out. Not knowing the word for “locksmith” Carl began driving through the city looking for a sign with a key on it. Then he remembered Tracey, our regional liaison and friend, who is one of our angels. Tracey gave Carl a phone number for a cerrajero (locksmith).
Carl somehow muddled through in Spanish with Juan Manuel, the locksmith, who said he would need a ride to the house. As Carl set out towards the house, Juan Manuel (our second angel of the day), patiently waited for Carl to realize he was lost! Finally Carl identified a landmark: the Tip Top (a local chicken joint).
On the long drive back to the house Juan Manuel cheerfully explained that he would be late for his son’s third birthday party, but that he would never turn down someone who is locked out. The locksmith made quick work of the lock and charged next to nothing. Carl grabbed Kai’s new Mickey Mouse ball as an extra gift for the party, and drove Juan Manuel to his house in time for cake. So at the end of a long evening we had a new friend and a locksmith for our support network. [See also photo album picture 4.]
Lesson 4: Be Bearers of Hope
Tom Elander, elder at Brentwood Presbyterian, serves children at the feeding program of Verbo Church in Bluefields.
We have met a great many people from the North who care very deeply about Nicaragua, mostly from churches and communities that visit here as mission delegations. In our work with our Nicaraguan Partner (CEPAD) we have received 38 delegations in 2010, including 40 dear friends from First Presbyterian of Charleston, West Virginia, our home church. People want to connect with their global neighbors and do something to reduce the trauma of poverty. The message of hope that they bring to the rural communities of Nicaragua is much more powerful than any aid or assistance they can offer.
Dr. Gustavo Parajón, who founded CEPAD in 1972, puts it like this: “For us in the rural areas, the most important thing we can share is not material but spiritual. And the people from all these other places…they are actually interested in us! They’ve taken the time to come. And that sparks in us a hope. I think that the church has to be the bearer of that hope.” [See also photo album picture 6.]
Lesson 5: We Are All Connected!
We want to thank each of you for your love, your prayers and your support. It has meant the world to us to know that you are lifting us up. One church we had never heard of sent us their bulletin with the signatures of all those who attended a Sunday worship service in which they had prayed for our mission. We were blown away!
Carl at the orphanage in Rivas.
God really works in mysterious ways and connects us all. Each night Kai and Ella join us to end our day in Managua with this prayer:
God is my All, I have no fear
for Life and Truth and Love are here.
We end the nightly prayer by thanking God for all our friends and family, and invite Kai and Ella to name the ones who are in their hearts. Then we ask for God’s blessing on each of you and ask God to help us be a blessing to you. Certainly you have been a blessing to us. [See also photo album pictures 8 and 9.]
Grace and Peace in Christ,
Leslie and Carl
The 2010 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 282
