Land of Judah -- where FAITH precedes the miracle

LAND OF JUDAH, AN AMAZING PLACE  -- March 25, 2011

About 9 o’clock this morning Steve Bakos from the Messiah Project picked me up and took me to their facility called Land Of Judah which is possibly the only orphanage in Nicaragua that takes children with disabilities. Their 7 acre site is just the nucleus of many projects they have going. Currently they have about 25 children from age 6 months to 6 years but some are older as they are growing up at LOJ.

Messiah Project is a faith based mission that is not associated with any denomination or other organization. Steve runs the day to day operation and Scott runs the office from Austen, Texas. To all appearances they are well funded, but not so much. Much of what they have is a result of simple dependence on the Lord for help. They are what I would call a FAITH based mission that supports 52 churches (only 4 of which have buildings, the rest meet in homes, parks or other places); they have feeding programs that provide about 3,000 meals a day to children and they are building 6 new 2,000 square foot houses they call Noah’s Arks.

Steve is a former builder so he knows how to construct a proper house and these are really nice and will house another 40 children or so. While the government doesn’t like to admit there are children who are starving, abused in any number of ways, abandoned, etc. Land of Judah is taking in more kids and Steve expects they will fill up the arks and are prepared to build 6 more.

Running the facility is difficult and costly. Staff in their pre-school and dorms have to be licensed teachers. The government wants the children to be raised by people who know about child development even though other kids are raised by parents who are completely illiterate. They have a psychologist and social worker too.

Steve showed me some of the special need’s kid. One girl was 19 with severe cerebral palsy. She came to LOJ severely malnourished and unresponsive. She cannot communicate verbally but has gained weight and smiles when approached. Another boy was about the size of a 4 year old although he was 9 when he came. Severely malnourished he could not walk. Now he is 11 and can walk with assistance.

The government does not want children to be adopted. Their position is that even an abusive home or one where children are literally starving to death is better than an adoptive home.

I got a lesson in agronomy there too. I saw my first pineapple plan and saw firsthand the importance of drainage and how little it takes to make a difference between a successful crop and total failure.

What is most amazing about Messiah Project is how the funding comes. They have a website but for many years didn’t even have that. They don’t have a real newsletter. They don’t do speaking tours in the U.S. But somehow people hear about them and they open their hearts and wallets to contribute. Teams are coming in increasing numbers as their reputation has grown through word of mouth. As the funding increases they strategically increase their projects but all the while Steve is careful to train people to take over when he is not there. He is literally working himself out of a job as he knows that some day he will not be able to be there. Evidence of this is the Arks. Some people heard about Messiah Project, learned that they wanted to build these 2,000 square foot houses at a cost of $25,000 apiece and a few days later they received a check for $50,000 to build the first two and money for the other four soon followed. Steve’s experience as a builder allowed him to work with a welder to construct steel trusses to support the metal roof. A painting crew was finishing the inside of one of the arks while I was there. The owner of the paint store belongs to a local church that wanted to help and basically donated almost all the labor for painting.

As I said, Messiah Project, like so many of these orphanages is a FAITH based ministry.

San Jose to Jinotepe -- The Tica Bus Adventure

SAN JOSE TO JINOTEPE

I couldn’t sleep the night before for fear I might miss the Tica Bus to Jinotepe, Nicaragua. I asked the night guard at the hostel to wake me up at 6:15 but I woke him up at six. I quickly dressed, pulled the last of my stuff together, put my backpack on my back and went to flag a cab to the bus terminal.

True to form I was at the terminal plenty early but I was hungry. I went into the terminal café, bought some breakfast rolls and started to have a leisurely breakfast. I was half way through it when I noticed a guy inside the terminal stacking up the chairs and it seemed awfully quiet. This couldn’t be good. I grabbed my half eaten roll, screwed the cap on my juice and headed back through the terminal door to find the place empty and a man opening the terminal gate so the bus could pull away. Wait!!

They waited, the driver opened the bus door and I settled down into my assigned seat--#7. Other than being long the ride to the border was just a 4 hour trip with some nice scenery. That is for the first 3 hours. Occasionally the bus would stop and a person or two would get on and look for a seat. The half full bus that left San Jose was now quite full when we stopped again. As I looked out the window I saw her. A willowy thin woman in her twenties with died red hair and perfect skin and bare shoulders protruding from her tight hot pink camisole top. “Long and tall and tan and lovely the girl from Ipanima goes walking and when she passes each one she passes goes aaaahh” Without even thinking about it the words to the song started passing through my head as she stood kissing her nothing to speak of boy friend. I’m thinking, that is one lucky guy.

One last kiss and she turns and steps on the bus. “Young and tall and tan and lovely,” she starts coming up the aisle. “The girl from Ipanima goes walking and when she passes, each one she passes…” “Aqui” she says and she slithers into the seat next to me with that hot pink, I’m trying not to look top on.  Somehow I manage to get my breathing under control and do the only sensible thing a married 63 year old with this gorgeous creature seated beside him can do—I drifted of to sleep until we reached the border.

The border crossing took about two hours. First it was passport control on the Costa Rican side. Everyone else headed into the passport office to get their passport stamped. We had already coughed up the $13 exit tax to two officers on the bus. But me---I took the road less travelled…the one to the men’s room. I had been holding it, hoping I wouldn’t have to use the toilet on the bus and now…it was locked. I waited..and waited for someone to come out. “It must be a one holer,” I thought and some idiot is constipated or something. ‘Why doesn’t he hurry up. Doesn’t he know I’m out here?” Suddenly I realize most of the people from the bus have passed the window coming from the passport office so I leave my first position in the men’s room line and get my passport stamped. I don’t know how much longer I would have to hold it. I had nearly resigned myself to the embarrassment of using the bus toilet. Then I spotted a guy who had been helping us who spoke English. I asked if I needed a key for the men’s room because I never saw anyone go in or out, but the women’s room had steady traffic and even a guy with hemorrhoids should be done by now. He motioned to a woman behind the lunch counter and then pushed the door handle. The door swung open revealing a vacant restroom. Electronic lock.

I took a quick one and ran for the bus. Ipanima girl was waiting for me to board first so I wouldn’t have to crawl over her to get into my seat. She had a Styrofoam box in her hand and the smell of fried chicken wafted from it. I looked out the window as she slid into the seat next to me. I didn’t dare look at that pink top but the smell of that chicken was overpowering. I looked at her well cared for nails as she fingered that chicken. I never knew eating chicken could be so sexy.

The bus rolled forward just a few yards into Nicaragua. We all got off, grabbed our bags from under the bus, lined them all up on a long wooden table and customs agents picked out a few random pieces to seach and told us all to go pick up our passports from a guy who handed them to us as we got on the bus.

The bus rolled on into Nicaragua. Almost immediately I saw the shore of Lake Nicaragua and a huge volcano on the other side. It was an incredible sight. In another hour or so we pulled into Jinotepe. No terminal really. Just a bunch of predatory taxi drivers. I asked one how much it would cost for a ride to Hotel Casa Mateo where I would be staying. 50 Cordobas he says. I calculate in my head, $2.50. Is it far? Not far? I think about walking it but realize how foolish that would be since I had no address for the hotel and had no idea where I was in the town. Suddenly $2.50 sounded like a pretty good deal. And it was.

My Newest Adventure--Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala; Mar 21-Apr 7, 2011

THE ADVENTURE BEGINS

Hello friend-----Follow me on my first blog adventure. I have always been an adventurer; ever since I hitched my first ride at the age of nine. Why not? My brothers did it. Of course they were in high school and I was in third grade. But I digress…

Three days ago (3/21/11) I started another big adventure; traveling the way I like it best—alone! I am not anti-social, but alone I can go where I want, when I want and feel totally free. There are no group decisions to make and when I see a side street that looks interesting I take it. But whether it is alone, with family or a group of students, off the beaten path is where I like to be.

A ROUGH START

This adventure started off as always—with me trying to do too much and not getting ready until the very last minute. I will be visiting several orphanages on this trip and for one of them they require a criminal background check. This I found out the night before I left and an e-mail reinforced the need by telling me that it is required by Guatemalan law for volunteers to orphanages. So, the very last minute I called the police department and was able to secure a letter from the police chief deeming me to be a solid citizen but the process left just enough time to get to Tulsa International Airport to catch my 4:30 flight. No problem, 138 miles at 80 miles and hour will just make it!

Of course it was mid-day in Kansas and traffic was slow getting to the freeway where I could make time. I am watching the clock and watching for cops all the way. We hit I-44 and the speed limit is 75. I hope I see no cops and that they will forgive me for going 85.

We make it to TUL with just enough time to catch the flight. I pull in to the departure area, creeping over the first massive speed bump but forgetting about the other as I am looking for the Frontier Airline sign. I hit the other speed bump so hard it killed the engine and all lights came on. Fortunately the airbags did not deploy and it started again immediately but there was no sign for Frontier. I asked a guy with an ID badge where the Frontier ticket counter was. He didn’t know. I went inside to the United counter.

“Frontier? They don’t have a ticket counter hear. Are you sure you don’t mean Southwest?” I look at the itinerary which definitely says Frontier. Then I notice the initials MCI! I am at the wrong airport. My flight is from Kansas City---5 hours away.

What to do?

I still have time to make my connection in Denver for San Jose if I can get there before midnight. First thought is to drive to Kansas City and catch a flight for Denver. But calculating time and gas it might be better to see if there is a flight from Tulsa to Denver. Long story short—5 hours and $250 later Southwest airlines delivers me to Denver International where I have a leisurely dinner and check in for my 12:10 flight on Frontier to San Jose, Costa Rica. I made it through the first rough patch and arrived at 5:30 am at Juan Santa Maria International Airport. I avoided all the predatory taxi drivers and made my way to the local bus that took me to one of the many terminals in San Jose. From there I strapped on my 32.7 pound backpack and made my way to Hostel El Museo. Made my way after a two hour hike that is. I thought I knew how to get there but ended up tracing and re-tracing my steps until at last I caught a glimpse of one of the towers of the National Museum of Costa Rica. I knew I was home free then because the hostel is right across the street. 

ATENAS

After a 2 hour nap I caught a bus up the mountain to the small town where our study abroad group will be in May. I had a quick meeting with Tina, our Global Crossroad country coordinator and we talked some more about our projects and some complications with the schedule. I shot a few photos of the Casa de Ancianos where we will have one project and then went to the orphanage Hogar de Vida (House of Life) and got the tour, saw all the kids and talked with the director there at length about the fitness testing I want to do with their kids, my experiences in Romania, traveling on buses and the like. By the time we finished I just missed the 7 o’clock bus back to San Jose and had just one more chance to get home for the night at 8:30. I caught that bus and fell asleep minutes later. I woke up as we pulled into the terminal in San Jose.

It was dark and that terminal is in a rough area known as Coca Cola. Let’s see---Taxi to hostel will cost $2. Walking 2 miles to hostel will be free but I have to walk through a bad neighborhood to a safer one. I walked—fast.

Come with me if you want an "Edu-Venture" this spring!!

Do you want to have an adventure but you have to get your education? Then come with me to Costa Rica this spring and have an Edu-Venture (Educational Adventure). We will work with kids and adults with disabilities by week while earning college credit and have cultural, historical and ecological adventures by weekend. If you would like to know more about it contact me for information and cost.  ferguson@pittstate.edu.