Gracias

Hey! I had an enjoyable morning so I want to write to share a bit.

Lauren and I were walking through our neighborhood to the bus stop when a Mercedes slowed down next to us and a man asked us, in English, where we were going. When he heard we were going to catch a bus he offered us a ride, which we clearly accepted. Turns out the man, Ramon, lives in this baller house just outside of our apartment complex. He’s a powerbroker who works for the NYSE. If I didn’t know we were in Managua I would think he was a typical American businessman, complete with blackberry and sweet car. Instead of merely taking us to the bus stop, Ramon took us all the way to Metrocentro, going the complete opposite way he needed to go. Along the way he asked us questions and got to know us. After offering to take us to San Juan del Sur, he apologized for not being able to take us during the week since he had to work. He also repeatedly thanked us for coming to volunteer in Nicaragua and gave me his business card, offering to help us with anything we might need.

I then visited Compassion and found out that Maria Jose is sick today but that she would call me as soon as she comes back into the office. Afterwards I stopped by Catholic Relief Services, located about 3 blocks from Compassion, to get some information. The director was out of town but I was able to get a brochure describing, in English, their work in Nicaragua. I am just trying to get a back up plan if Compassion doesn’t work out and CRS looks pretty appealing.

After visiting CRS I took a bus to Cetro America and walked to a place called Scooter King which I had seen while driving past last week. Lauren and I have talked a bit about buying a small, slow, moto and I figured I should check them out. I talked with a man named Roberto who spoke good English and showed me a 75cc moto which only costs $720. He then told me I might have trouble getting it registered but then disappeared for a few minutes to call his friend who knew if it’s possible to register a moto with a US license and passport. We found out it’s possible, and, Roberto then bargained the man down from $100 to $20 for the service. He then offered to give me lessons for free since I don’t know how to drive a moto. We got to talking about why I’m here and when I told him I don’t have a job lined up yet he took my number and offered to call some of his friends who do social work. As I was leaving he gave me his card and told me to call him anytime or to stop by the store with any questions or problems about anything.

The attitudes of servitude displayed by Ramon and Roberto are yet more examples of the beautiful nature of Nicaraguans and Nicaraguan society. Lauren and I have been the recipients of more unsolicited help than we could ever dreamed of. A businessman gives us a ride and ends up repeatedly thanking us. A salesman spends his own time and energy trying to help me in my job search.

These events are particularly noteworthy to me since I am re-reading Henri Nouwen’s Gracias right now. The book is Nouwen’s journal from his time in Latin American in the 1980s. Nouwen expresses thoughts, emotions, and reflections that I resonate with yet am incapable of expressing with the eloquence and depth with which he writes. He also challenges me to recognize God here. Our experiences, while different in the basics of where we are, who we’re serving, etc., are strikingly similar.

One observation Nouwen makes is that he went to Latin America to serve but instead ended up being served. Lauren discussed this concept a few weeks back. This idea that instead of offering something to those with whom he worked, Nouwen merely receiving their blessings, certainly struck home with me today. We, as Americans, myself definitely included, could learn much from the Latin Americans in terms of service.

I’m sure I’ll more about Nouwen later. He is my favorite writer. If you get a chance to pick up Gracias you should, as it is basically this blog although about 5,000,000 times more introspective, challenging, and better written.

This post is long enough. Hope you are well.

Much love,

dw