...other seed fell on good soil

"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matthew 13:3-8

As I was on my way to the Project this morning I saw the literal apparence of this passage in a new field... there were stalks that had shot up high early, there were stalks growing well and steadily, there were patches where nothing good was to grow, and there were areas with more weeds than crop... and seeing this made me think of Matthew 13, then it made me think of my own experience the other day...

Michael is in second grade. He is 7 years old, has light brown hair which perfectly matches his skin tone, has teeth growing in, and talks with a lisp. In Music Class he enjoys singing, but usually gets tired of it after a song or two and would rather be messing around...
the other day with music class it was so hot inside that I decided to take them outside to sing under the trees. Going outside in the middle of the schoolday always excited kids, I think. It's refreshing, too. I taught them the song "Siyahamba ekukhanyen kwenkhos" (We are Marching in the Light of God; Marcharémos en la luz de Dios) and we sang it in all three languages. Most of the kids loved it, along with the dance that I taught them. There were a few boys who acted as though they were too cool to dance with us; so, they didn't put forth total effort. Michael was not one of these boys though... nor was he 100% into it and among those who asked if we could do it over and over... especially "¡En Africana!" He seemed to fall in the middle group, the one that partcipated... and had fun, but ehh whatever.

After a morning of making a fool of myself dancing around trees and singing loudly what sounds like gibberish to anyone who speaks English or Spanish... I spent a better part of the afternoon relaxing by the Pulpería and chatting with Darlin, David, Pedro, Manuela, and whoever else was around. At one point I was talking with Michael's older siblings Darlin and David (who are in 5th and 6th grade) and they were telling me about how many siblings they have... then asked me how many kids I want... and David asked me if I wanted Nicaraguan kids, and I said that it depends on who I marry, but it doesn't matter to me... so Darlin asked me if I wanted African kids... well, Michael was coming over; hearing the conversation he interjected that he could speak something in an African language... and started singing the song. Darlin and David thought he was kidding at first David rolled his eyes and Darlin responded in gibberish mocking him. And he turned to me and was like "No! Profe Rebekah, that's right isn't it?" and he sang it again... and when I assured him he was right he walked away with his head held high singing and dancing to Siyahamba ekukhanyen kwenkhos. It was so awesome to see the effect it had on him, and how much joy a simple song brought him.
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This morning I met Raúl on my busride to the Project. He started conversation with me for no apparent reason, maybe I looked cute this morning? Who knows... but he's 23 years old and lives near Masaya... however he works in Managua (that's a long trek, I know because I make it everyday). He works for Pepsi (by the way no one in Nicaragua drinks Pepsi, it's all Coke here) and was on his way home. He goes into work at 6 pm every night, and clocks out at 6 am. 12 hour shifts, 6 or 7 days a week, for not enough pay to live on... it's sad to see... and you may think, Poor kid, he has it rough. Yet, the truth of the matter is, he's pretty lucky. He's among the thirty percent of Nicaraguans who are employed. As I was thinking of this when I met him today, my heart ached anew for the people of this country. If you didn't know, Nicaragua is the second poorest country in our Hemisphere (only Haiti is worse off). 80% live below the Poverty line, and 70% are unemployed. These statistics are massive, and horribly sad... but when I meet these people, I stop thinking about numbers. I see desolation; I see difficult lives without a hope for a better future. The family I live with is poor, but there are many poorer... Raúl is poor, but there are many worse...

Thank you all for your prayers for me, I am overflowed with your love for me and with the Spirit...
Please pray for the people of Nicaragua who are living in poverty...

Please pray for the children at Project Chacocente that they grow in good soil...