Today was new. There were no repeats, was no deja-vu. We woke up early so we could get out of Puerto by 8 (even though we didn’t), and the morning was filled with moving suitcases, camping gear and trucks. We said goodbye to Mark, Jenny, and their two sons, Tate and Theo. We told them a few more knock-knock jokes before they left. We left Puerto between 8 and 10, though I don’t remember the exact time.
I got to ride with John, one of our translators. On the way up to Awas Tingni he was telling me stories about when he did SCUBA diving, or about when he was working on fishing boats. As we passed villages he would tell me their names and what they meant: Boom Sirpi (Small Boom), Cecil (some tree that was similar to a Kapok tree), Digwa Tara (Big Pot), and of course, Awas Tingni (Pine River).
The ride up was pretty bumpy, especially the second half, after we passed through a town called Santa Martha. The countryside was not what I was expecting. I had an image of a dense jungle, lots of palm trees and large kapok-like trees. Instead I got to see miles upon miles of lightly wooded badlands, hills and everywhere there was a light smatterings of pine trees. Despite the surprise I received, I found it refreshing and beautiful in its own sparse, arid way; rolling hills and short grasses, wide open spaces with small stands of pine trees and palm scrub.
When we got to Piñera we stopped to pick up Ivan. He’s one of the leaders in Piñera, and was our host during our stay there. He went with us to Awas Tingni to introduce us to the leaders there. As we drove, the brush became more and more dense, changing from a pine forest into a tropical jungle over the course of a few miles. I assume it’s because of the proximity to the river that the forest changed so much. Then we came over this hill, and Awas Tingni was spread out on the hillside below us.
Awas Tingni isn’t really a village, but it isn’t a town either. It has schools, wells (some dry, some working, all hand dug), two rivers (Awas Tingni, and the Rio Wawa), a small clinic, solar panel systems for charging batteries, and a model farm. The community population is over 2000, and has been growing a lot recently, from about 1100 in 2001. They have many needs, many more than we could meet on our small trip, needs that we hope to address if there are any trips in the future. The people of Awas Tingni speak mostly Miskito and Mayanga, and a little bit of Spanish. Mayanga is their tribal tongue, which they speak to each other, they learn Miskito for communicating with the rest of the Miskito coast, and they learn Spanish in school. They need a lot of prayer, for the water situation as well as others, especially in the schools where they are in need of curriculum and teacher training.
We met with the elders there, and planned for the next day. Afterwards we returned to Piñera to set up house in the building Ivan lent us – a recently built Nicaraguan style house, painted a pretty almost-Pepto-Bismo pink.
At dinner we got invited to a praise service that was going to be happening that evening. We got there to the sound of clapping, singing, and twangy classical guitars. The worship was intense, loud, and very spirit-filled. People would come up and share something, then lead a song that everyone knew, or sing something special. All this was punctuated by times of “worshipping the Lord in prayer.” Everyone got on their knees and cried out loudly to God. Prayers filled the small house like a spiritual explosion. After a short sermon and another deafening session of prayer, they ended the service. We were all very moved by the faith and especially the prayer of the believers in Piñera. We came expecting to be Christ to these people, setting an example, and they have shown us the raw passion for God that they hold within their hearts. It was humbling in the most epic manner possible.
Pray for the communities of Piñera and Awas Tingni, that their faith would be strong, and that they would be able to use the filters well and keep them maintained. Pray for support and interest from groups that would be willing to help the Collaboratory’s project there as it begins, that the future would be filled with possibilities for us to serve the people there, and to continue to learn from them of the grace and power of God.
- Max
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