Our "other kids" are getting along fine too ...

The relationship between Raisa and Louie is evolving, and Louie is showing himself to be the "alpha" for sure. It's amazing to us that he's "top dog" hahahaha, because we've seen Raisa bare her teeth at people and bark her head off to warn us someone is walking by the yard, yet with him ... she's totally docile.

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She's also very sweet with us, comes in the house when she wants, and is VERY PROTECTIVE of us when we're out for a walk. She loves taking a ride in the SUV. We're starting to feel bad when we can't take her - that's how much she loves going for a ride.

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We are amazed we have a dog (not in our plan), and to have a German Shepherd (our favorite) AND to have her be good with all of us, including Louie, is a great thing.

One more of Gener ...

I love showing you the kids! (It's Louie and Raisa's turn next).

Here's Gener with his great, new smile ...

Gener's smile is so beautiful ... four new crowns, root canal, fillings and wow ... a very happy and handsome guy. He smiles and laughs all the time, and now he looks better than ever. Don't you agree?

Update on 'Life in Nica' ...

Pictures from the top: "Old Couple" - Veronica's daughter "Maria" - and Elifonso's home that the February 2008 Forward Edge team built ... all are in a small community called La Zeiba on the outskirts of Leon.

Life in Nicaragua is more settled in our hearts and minds, and life is very good. We still get unexpected surprises, some nice (our dog, Raisa) and some not so nice (major repair bill on our car). The head gasket failed, and the “head” of the engine is being replaced as I type this.

Public transportation in Nicaragua, countrywide but particularly in Managua, has come to a grinding halt due to a strike by bus drivers over the high cost of fuel. They are joined by taxi and semi-truck drivers. The cost of fuel is high everywhere, but salaries in Nicaragua are oftentimes only USD$200 a month, making a tank of gas ($50) almost “un-doable.” The majority of vehicles in Managua are not privately owned, they are taxis and vans for hire. Though we haven’t been out of our neighborhood for the past two days (due to not having a car!) we have heard about rioting and short tempers in the streets. The heat alone would make me cranky, but add to it the impossible task of getting to work if you rely on a taxi or bus, and now getting to work is impossible. We have heard tempers are flaring and that taxis who have violated the strike are being set on fire. We hired a taxi the last two days (our friend Jorge) to take the boys and pick them up from school. We were not aware that we might have put Jorge and our boys at risk. Since we were without a car, we wanted the boys to go to school because it's "final exam week." Angry people are now blocking roadways, so any form of public transportation cannot pass. Common sense has been lost in this fray to the extreme position they would not let an ambulance carrying a patient enter the city and go to the hospital. Susie Miller (our FEI partner) is now coming to take us to the store to get some fresh veggies, meat, etc. We could walk to a fruit stand, but the walk home with pineapples, watermelons and other heavy items would be a problem. Since we have a ride, now we won’t have to limit our purchases because of weight restrictions. Gener and I carried two watermelons home last week from a closer fruit stand, and by the time we got home the plastic sack handles had etched a groove in our hands.

Saul and his new mom, Andrea, are in the process of completing the adoption and hope to be out of Nicaragua by May 15th. The transportation strike is hindering this already-burdened adoption process. Andrea, Saul and one of our boys will actually take a drive to Waslala to pick up the father and bring him back to Managua this coming weekend. With the bus strike, there is no assurance he would be able to enter the city any other way, and he needs to appear before the judge so the adoption process can be completed.

OK – that’s general life here in the “Little Family.” Our daily family life is on an even keel now … and so now let us tell you about the things we’re doing outside of our daily family life. John’s first Forward Edge team in 2008 spent five days in the Leon area (a small berg named La Zeiba) where they built a home for Elifonso (see above). We have returned to this area twice lately, and plan on visiting there at least once a month to identify find needs and hopefully be of help. With the help of friends, we’ve already purchased rice/beans/oil and other food for four families. Words cannot communicate what it feels like to put basic food items into the hands of people in need, and then see their countenance soften with appreciation - and oftentimes see tears well up in their hungry eyes. Oh my goodness – how blessed we are to be able to help / have the time to go / and have shared resources to distribute because of your generosity. We are truly blessed to be a link in God’s chain to feed his people and bring them hope and reassurance that they are not forgotten.

Thank you for your support … whether now or yet to come. Please realize you are also a link in the chain because of your support. Our prayer is for you too – that God would richly bless you as you come to fully realize you are making a big difference in the lives of real people.

Athough we don’t have pictures of two other families we've provided rice and beans, we'll post them when/if we can.

Bendiciones y Abrazos ~

Saul and Louie ...

It's a lazy day ... so our two youngest are taking a nap together. Actually, Saul's adoptive mom is arriving early next week, so Saul is resting up for the activity with her as he joins her for a couple days. Louie is just doing what Louie always does.

Here we are ... in our back yard

Because some of you asked to see if I was really here (or not). I am :)

Our family is increasing ...

The short story is ... we now have a German Shepherd named Raisa. She used to live on the other side of the fence ... one of three houses that border two sides of our yard (crazy lot lines). On Friday, Saul was kneeling in the grass, hacking a coconut with his machete when he met Raisa's eyes. She beckoned him, so he brought a piece of fresh coconut to share with her. She gobbled it down as though starved, so he ran into the house to tell me. My friend from Colorado, Susan, was visiting for the week - so we both ran out and saw she was skinny, had no water in her drinking bowl, the yard hadn't been "scooped" in a long time and she was generally living in a mess. So, we fed her ham and cheese sandwiches and lots of water thru the chain link fence.

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As it turns out (and there is much, much more to this God-story), the owner had not been home for 15 days and she was left unattended. At some point during this time, our gardner learned that Joachin was in the hospital with broken ribs, broken hip and other assorted injuries from a fight. We don't know how often she was fed or given water during his absence. All we know is she was in bad shape when we first saw her.

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Joachin's cousin drove him home from the hospital on Friday (the day we saw her) to get some things he needed to stay with the cousin to recuperate. At our request, our gardener asked if Joachin was willing to give up the dog. He agreed to let us keep her if he could breed her and keep two of the pups. We said NO - she will be spayed - soon (if you give her to us). I am not positive he will let us keep her, but adjoining neighbors told us to say "no" if he asks for her back. Pretty simple in their minds, but we are considering this simple plan. We don't think he wants to get in a fight again.

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Reports from other neighbors regarding his treatment of Raisa are not good, so she is a rescue of all kinds (hunger, abuse and neglect). We gave her a flea bath, removed some "fat" ticks, powdered her, gave her a pink collar (yea, another female around here). She stood for the bath, and the boys and John and I all particpated in soaping her up and rinsing her off. Our friends, Wil and Karen (big dog fans) helped us flea/tick powder her and advised us about dog nutrition and many other valuable nuggets (hahahaha). We had a BBQ last night and ate on the lawn on a big tablecloth with three candles, and Raisa didn't storm through it or even try to interrupt. She sat at a distance and smiled.

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Earlier in the day, the neighbors who told us to not give her back immediately noticed that she was in our yard. They told each other, "Look! There's Raisa in their yard, and she's smiling!" We don't know how old she is, but we believe she's pretty young - still a puppy in many ways - great teeth - and she has had one litter (her last).

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Join us in praying that she's ours and there is no contest over her. We don't want to give her back. We hope that during the time Joachin's body heals, he will make a connection about what it feels like to be kicked and hurt.

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We are John, Helen, Nahum, Gener, Saul, Louie, Isidro and RAISA.