December 7, 2005
Dear Friends,
It’s hard to believe that we have been here in Nicaragua
for 18 months! Last night we had a going away party for Steve
Herrick, a fellow PC(USA) mission co-worker. He was the first
person we communicated with here before we moved to Managua, and
he picked us up at the airport when we fist arrived on April 22,
2004. He answered so many of our questions when we first arrived—how
much do we tip the parking attendant, what’s the Nicaraguan
word for “car for hire”—those things that are
so obvious once you know them. We realize now how much we have
learned in our short time here. We have been fortunate to find
a community of like-minded people here with whom we share our
upsets at the great injustices we see and our pride and hope in
the strength of human beings to show the best of who we can be
even in very difficult situations.
I (Penn) continue to be fortunate to hear from innovative, dedicated
trainers and activists around the world through International
Peacebuilders. Through the ecumenical committee we find ourselves
surrounded by individuals in Nicaraguan and international organizations
that are consistently “doing the right thing” in the
face of great odds. I hold their faces in my mind whenever I feel
discouraged. One of these, a poor farmer who is struggling to
keep his land in the face of intimidation and severe harassment
from the surrounding wealthy landowner, is an exceptional example
of nonviolent living even when all is stacked against you. It
has been an honor to work with him and those supporting him.
I (Doug) continue to work with delegations from the United States,
with all of their variety, problems, and blessings. It is exciting
to watch these people learn (just as I am still learning) about
a different culture and different ways of being in the world.
This past week I was in a village on the slope of Cerro Kilambe.
Several years ago, they built a water system, tapping into a mountain
spring and piping it down the mountain to their village. Now,
with further development, there are other villages uphill from
their spring, and contamination from these villages has polluted
their water source. Instead of being angry with their uphill neighbors,
these folks have realized that we can’t all live upstream,
but we all need to learn to use water wisely and carefully as
a resource for the all the people. Even as the international financial
community pushes Nicaragua toward the privatization of water,
the people of Cerro Kilambe continue to treat these mountain springs
as a precious gift to be used carefully for all, not hoarded for
a few. It is always a joy for me to visit these villages.
One of the things we have learned is how precarious life is—the
number of people without jobs grows, more families find themselves
in starvation as natural disasters combine with indifference and
neglect. We have learned from our time here that the process of
how you live your life is as important as the outcome of your
work to make social change. How you treat others, what you spend
your time doing, where you spend your money, and where you put
your energies are all important. We have control over these things,
and we can see that our choices do have an effect on those around
us. We alone do not have the control to stop injustices, end poverty,
stop war, etc. So if we judge successes only by these standards,
we feel overwhelmed. Sometimes we live with hopelessness and learn
to be loving and caring and actively involved in spite of that
acceptance. We have learned so much from those close to us here.
Doug Orbaker
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
57 |
