Day Two

Why are you going to Nicaragua?  What are you hoping to accomplish?  These questions were posed to one of our group members prior to leaving for this trip. If the answers were elusive in Canada, the questions have lost their relevance here.

Matt Tschetter, the Connecting Persons program coordinator with MCC Nicaragua shared a “saying for the day” with us that resonated with many in our group.

“if you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound with mine, then we can work together”

Our second day was spent at a Baptist University – UPOLI – where we met with participants in a peace training program run by Redpaz -  Peace Network.  A group of about 20 people, mostly pastors and church leaders from all over Nicaragua – opened their last session for us to observe.  The focus of this training was “ the Spirituality of Peace”.Much of the discussion centered around dealing with burdens and hardship as peacemakers.

What stands out from this is the way in which this diverse group comes together to share, support, and encourage each other in the face of great difficulty.  We also got a bit of taste of the cultural diversity of Nicaragua as some participants were from the Atlantic region.  Many people from this region are descendants of slaves from Jamaica.  These women added a lot of pizzaz to the day!

The afternoon involved us talking about our work, responding to questions and engaging in discussion.  Why do people insist on being so gracious??!!!

The day for Peter and myself (Darrel) was capped off with attending an Ash Wednesday service at a church near our hotel.   When I asked Peter if I was now branded for the week, he responded with, “for life!".