Reunion with their youngest brother, Saul

Andrea - relaxing on a hammockGener (cool), Saul (trying to be, but naturally giddy), Nahum (happy as always)

After 10 months of separation, Saul, Nahum and Gener were reunited for a week here at our home in Nicaragua. They hadn't seen each other in person (other than via Skype) for ten months.

It took a little more than two years of navigating the Nicaraguan adoption process for Andrea and Brant Fisher to bring him home to their family in Indiana, where they live with their other three (younger) sons. So, during their Spring Break this April, Andrea and Saul took a little time to visit, and we were glad to see them. Saul was glad to see Nahum and Gener, and also glad to have the opportunity to once again see their father and one of their other brothers, Nelson.

As you know, Nahum and Gener were over the age limit for adoption into the U.S., which was a huge motivator in our decision to move to Nicaragua. We never thought we'd make such a move - weren't looking for an opportunity to live in a third world country hahahaha - but life happens and decisions are made. We understood their plight and decided to provide a home and support them as they finished school. The alternative would have been for them to return to extreme poverty - having had a glimpse of education and a glimpse of what they 'could have had.' So here we are!

During their visit, the three boys huddled in a bedroom, giggled, complained and spent the hours together after our boys got out of school every day (noon on M-F). They also had Sunday and Monday off (totally) because it was Holy Week here, and so they got even more time together.

Best of all (for us) is that we were able to sit for hours and enjoy Andrea! We're connected in a lot of ways, and so it was wonderful to talk about the boys - their progress - their lack of progress - idiosyncracies - etc. and share more deeply. We have known her since 2005, but our relationship deepened as we got to spend time with her last year while she was waiting for the adoption to be complete. Every time we see her, our friendship is deeper and we appreciate her so much.

The brothers have each other and always will. We gained a sister and a friend.

Chickens, Eggs and Hope for a Future

Chickens watch Antonia and Mr. Chacon read the loan papers

Gerald signs the original loan contract and passes it to Claudia for signature. Gerald is 16 and sole support for his mother and brothers/sisters. He also attends school!

The past 2+ weeks have seen some very exciting changes in La Ceiba. The hens have laid an average of 86 eggs per day since they arrived in their new digs. The “instant success” was really not expected somehow (too good to be true??). Initially, there was a lot of rushing around every day to find buyers for the eggs, because there would be 86 more to sell the next day! This initial flurry of activity quickly turned from chaos to order as the beneficiaries met the new challenges of caring for the chickens, making minor improvements to the hen house, feeding and adding daily vitamins and antioxidants to the water, gathering eggs, cleaning the hen house and selling the eggs. They’ve “gelled” as a group, which seemed to be the biggest challenge (in our minds). But when the hens actually arrived, they put their perceived differences aside and worked together in an organized fashion. It’s April 5th and 1,634 eggs later … and the group not only performs their work, they also meet weekly to pray, discuss business and deepen their new friendships. Their goal is to pay the loan before its official due date. We shook hands, celebrated with three homemade cakes, and enjoyed a moment of unity that transformed their thinking to include a hope for their futures … one they now realize has always been part of the Plan. Their smiles were deep. Their hope has been reborn. And we were happy to be there to document this in our hearts and share it with you.

Thank you for helping make this possible! It was a fine hour in transformational development of La Ceiba's people. We look forward to whatever is next.