Hola From Nicaragua

     Well it’s Wednesday, our 4^th day in Nicaragua, and I finally have time to sit down and write this update.  We have been leaving in the morning and returning to our hotel between 10:00 and midnight.  The easiest part of the trip is actually working, building the two houses we are building.  Most everything else sometime gets rather stressful.   Len and I both have pockets full of notes from people asking for things.  The majority of the request we receive is to help with school fees and supplies.  We have already filled several hundred dollars of prescriptions, and still have a few to be filled.  When we are building, we always have people asking if we would build a house for them.

     Last year when we came down there were 13 children we were supporting in school.  But when we left, that number was up to 23.  This includes children from college down to kindergarten.   Kids can’t attend school unless they have a uniform and supplies and many families can’t afford this so kids don’t go to school.  Last year the initial cost was $1,800 for school clothes and supplies and then I was sending down $603 a month for monthly fees.  Several months it was very difficult to come up with the money, so I decided not to add any more children this year.  I have a very hard time saying “no”, but this year I have learned.  Currently I have a waiting list of 9 children for school and expecting more.  I tell them we just don’t have the money and hope they understand.  So far things have gone well.  I have a meeting with all of the parents on Friday and will tell what I expect from their children in school or they will be replaced with someone on the waiting list.  This year everyone did well in school and no one will drop off of the list.

     Dennis had his last final today in Medical College and will officially become a Doctor.  In March he will start a 2 year internship and then he has 3 years of public practice and then he can either go into a specialty or start to practice on his own.  His sister Dina, finished her first year in Medical College and did very well.  Since we couldn’t raise enough money, their brother Donnie, who wants to be a Dentist,  had to sit out this year and helped his father Enrique build up his new Church and also take English class.  Now all three kids speak English and Dennis also speaks Korean.  If I can keep coming down for about 7 more years, I will get to see all 3 of them as Doctor’s.

     Last year when we were here we went with Enrique when he got his new Church.  He is a Presbyterian Minister and his Church is sponsored by Korean Presbyterians.  His first service had 6 members.  Five were his family and the sixth was an elderly man who died a few weeks later.  Now he has 35 members plus children.  We are having a Christmas party for the children next Monday and Len and I are playing Santa Claus.  On his Church property we are building his family a home using some exiting walls to hold down the cost.  Enrique is an excellent block layer and Dennis and Donnie are both helping. 

     Saturday is high school graduation and I will be escorting Salina.  Salina does have a Father that lives at home, but since I have sponsored her since she started school, they want me to escort her.  They have already ask me to escort Salina’s sister Susanna who won’t graduate for six more years.  They are planning a big calibration Saturday night since Salina will be the first in the family to graduate high school.  Not many kids graduate high down here especially the girls. 

     I need to get off here and get to bed.  We are leaving here in the morning before 7:00 and have a very long day tomorrow.  I will write more in a few days and let you know how things are going.  If anyone has any questions about the pictures or anything else, please email me at jackmease@msn.com.

     I want to say God Bless You (Doios Te Ben Diga) to every one of you who make all of this possible.  Without you, many of these Children would not get anything for Christmas and some of the kids we sponsor in school would not be able to go.  This is the 31^st and 32^nd homes we have built and without you, these families would still be living in there tin or cardboard shacks.  Thanks to all of you for your Prayers.

God Bless You!

Jack

Nicaragua Education, Shelter and Health Fund, Inc.  (NESH)

P.O. Box 731

Barboursville, WV 25504

PS:  Sorry there are no pictures and it is Friday and not Wednesday, but because of the slow internet where we are, I couldn’t get this uploaded.  I have tried for 2 days at different times, with no luck.  I will add pictures as soon as I can or add all of them when I get back to the States.  Thanks for your patience and being interested in our work in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua December 2013

November 29, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

               On December 7^th Len Rogers and I will leave on another trip to Nicaragua and will return on December 17^th.   This will be my 16^th trip and Len’s 15^th.   Our plans are to build two houses, have a Christmas party at the New Jerusalem Church for approximately 80 kids, and a Christmas party at Pastor Enrique’s new Church for about 30 kids.  All this is contingent upon raising enough money.  I want to thank God and all my family and friends who have made our past trips very successful. 

               This past year we sponsored 23 kids in school and all did well.  Dennis finished his 5^th year in medical college and starts his internship next year!   Dina finished her first year of medical college and Luis and Daniel finished their first year in college.  We have one young lady, Selena, who will graduate from high school this year, and has asked me to escort her at her graduation ceremony.  We have sponsored Selena since she started school.  

               Over the past 10 years, with the help of family and friends and Barboursville Rotary, we have built 30 homes for families with children.  We have sponsored numerous kids in school and, due to this sponsorship; there will be a total of 6 kids attending college beginning when their school starts in February 2014.   Several children are now learning English, which makes it possible to communicate throughout the year by email and telephone.  This will be the 8^th year that we have had the Christmas party for the children at the New Jerusalem Church.  We give all kids a Christmas gift and, for some of the children, it will be the only gift they receive.  We always play games, have something to eat, and, of course, we have a piñata.  If I raise enough money I want to buy chairs for the children’s’ Sunday School Class.  I received a couple calls and emails during this past year asking for chairs.  One of the emails had pictures of the children sitting on the hillside next to their Church conducting their class.

               This year we have two houses to build as long as we raise the money.  The houses we build are 18’ x 18’ cinder block, with a tin roof.  Paying friends we know to work, it costs us around $3,500 to build a house.   One house is for a mother and her two children whom we have known for several years.  This house will be very close to the New Jerusalem Church.  The other house will actually be the parsonage for Pastor Enrique at the Presbyterian Church in Maysiah.  This house will be bigger and will cost more than $3,500, but we will use Church members for labor.

               We will work a couple of days with a group from Fifth Avenue Baptist Church taking the kids from Remar Orphanage to the market Christmas shopping and buy their school clothes.  The group from Church gets there the day before we do and will be staying for four days. 

               Angelica monitors all of the children’s grades throughout the year and makes sure all are doing well.  While we are in Nicaragua we will meet with Angelica and the parents and kids whom we sponsor in school to check on all their grades.  Because of rising costs, I think we will stay at 23 children this year and not add any on this trip.   My belief is the more children we can help get educated, the better off everyone in Nicaragua will be.  The past few years have been very successful and growing for our work in Nicaragua.  Because of the various things we are now doing, we have moved some of the projects out of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church and four years ago started a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called Nicaragua Education, Shelter and Health Fund, Inc. (“NESH”).  We did this in order to help with fundraising and because of all of the people outside of our Church helping with our work. 

               Now comes the part where I ask for YOUR help.  God says you won’t receive if you don’t ask, so I am asking!!  We haven’t raised all of the money yet to build the two houses, pay for the children’s Christmas party, and pay for school clothes and fees for the upcoming year in school, which runs February through November.  Many of you have helped with our Nicaragua work in the past and I could never tell you how much I, the people in the 30 houses, the kids in school, and especially Dennis, appreciate it.  I already call him Dr. Dennis and, every time I talk to him, I can’t count how many times he says to me, “God bless you Jack, and all your friends.”  I know he is going to make a very good doctor.

               You are all invited and I wish you could all come with me sometime to see and experience how grateful these people are.  It really makes you realize just how blessed we are to have been born in the United States.  If you have any interest in ever going to Nicaragua, please let me know.

               I know the economy has been bad and everyone’s budget is tight, but if you could find it in your hearts to help me and all the people I just talked about, I, and they, would be truly grateful.  You can make a tax deductible check payable to “NESH” and send it to NESH, Post Office Box 731, Barboursville, West Virginia 25504.  You will receive a letter confirming your contribution.  100% or your contribution will go to work in Nicaragua.  All administrative cost of Nicaragua Education, Shelter and Health Fund, Inc. are paid by the Kroger Company.

               Again, I want to thank everyone for their past and present support, and ask everyone to please pray for our safety and our work.  I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to remember what Christmas is all about.  In Nicaragua, Christmas is quite different; they celebrate the coming of our Lord for several hours on Christmas Eve, set off fireworks at midnight, go to bed, and wake up to few, if any, presents on Christmas morning.

               You can see pictures and follow our trip and read about past trips at http://jackmease.blogspot.com.

                                                                                          GOD BLESS YOU ALL,

                                                                                          Jack Mease

Final Pictures and Update from Nicaragua 2012

Hola from Nicaragua,

     I’m sorry I haven’t posted a blog for several days.  We were very busy and it takes ME several hours to put these blogs together with the pictures…I have some catching up to do.  The second picture above is of an active volcano named Mombacho.  They have a great zip line on the mountain with 15 different platforms.  The next to last picture is of me and Celina.  Celina is the girl that has asked me to escort her at her high school graduation next year.  The last picture is of Dennis, Dini and Donnie.

     Tuesday after visiting the building sites, we left to go to Caterina to visit Enrique and his family.  Caterina is a lagoon created in a volcano.  There is a picture of us standing in front of it.  Where this picture is taken is a tourist area.  Enrique lives at the bottom in the house of a Korean Presbyterian Missionary.  Enrique is a Korean Presbyterian Minister and the Father of Dennis, Dini and Donnie.  Dennis is the young man we support in Medical College and finished his fourth year in December.  Dini, we support, and she finished her first year in nursing school in December and Donnie just graduated from high school and we will support him in his first year in Dental school starting in February.  When Dennis graduated from high school, he was number 1 in the school.  Donnie just graduated number 2 in his high school.  Enrique and his wife Francis have 3 exceptional children.  If it wasn’t for us, they would not be able to go to college.  The day before we visited, Enrique was given a new Church in Masaya.  As a Korean Presbyterian Pastor, he makes $150 a month and receives $50 a month to live on.  He does as many other jobs as he can to feed his family … but he also has Church services 3 to 5 days a week and each lasts at least 2 hours.  We will support his family with $450 a month this year to pay for all 3 in Medical College, books and transportation.  This is a lot for a small nonprofit, but I think this is a small price for what these 3 exceptional kids will do in the future.  Tuesday evening we took Enrique’s family to dinner in Granada for Donnie’s graduation.  When leaving, we saw a Rotary Wheel and took pictures of it.

     On Wednesday we spent all day in Vera Cruz at the building sites and talking to the children and families that we support in school.  This past school year that ended the first of December, we had one boy graduate from high school and all of the kids passed to the next grade.  I saw most of their grade cards, and several of the kids had all their grades in the 90’s.  There are 7 children we support in a small private elementary school in the community and I met the founder and we talked for about an hour.  He is from Maryland and now lives in Managua.  He started the school in the late 80’s and is in the process of expanding with a high school.  He wanted to talk to me and let me know they were increasing their standards and kids that make bad grades or have behavior problems will not be allowed to continue in this school.  Also, any new students would be interviewed and investigated before being accepted.  This school costs around $6.00 per month per student, and is much better than the public school.   I told him I didn’t have any problem with that and if he had to expel or reject anyone we support, I would totally support him.  On Wednesday night, we took a few boys to a Nicaraguan Baseball League game.  This is a winter league and several Americans are playing in it.  We saw Managua beat Chinandega 11 to 10, and an American was the star of the game.  His name is Mark Minicozzi, is in the Giants organization, and went 4 for 5 with a grand slam and a double.  During the game, I got a baseball that came into the stands.  When the game was over, they let fans go onto the field and I talked to Mark and had him autograph the ball I got.  He was excited to talk to an American since I don’t think he spoke much Spanish.

     Early Thursday morning, we picked up Enrique and Francis at a bus stop in Masaya and took him to his new Church for the first time.  There are a couple pictures at their new Church.  He met the Korean Presbyterian Area Director and was given the keys to the Church.  The Church has enough property to build a house on and we told Enrique that if we could raise the money we would consider building him a house next year.  A house inside the town would be much different than what we normally build.  It would be much bigger and would include a bathroom.  Enrique estimated it would cost between 7 and 8 thousand dollars for materials, but there would be no cost for labor.  Enrique has led the job on several of the houses we have built and his estimates are always real close.  This would be a big improvement over what he will be able to afford from his salary and living allowance.   It would also be a great location for a Mission Team.  Those that want to work on construction could do so.  Others could work with children in the Church.  The Remar Orphanage that Fifth Avenue Baptist Church is associated with is in between where we stay and the Church, so there would be several different projects to work on.

     Thursday at noon we went to Yajaira’s for lunch.  This is the lady we are building the first house for.  They were finishing everything except the roof and windows and doors when we got there.  After lunch we took pictures with Yajaira and her children with the Barboursville Rotary banner hung on the house.  She cried tears of joy for the next half hour.  Since we finally got the welder fixed, our roofing guy was able to put the roof on the house the next day.  We said our goodbyes and left.  We went to the other building site and everything was going great.  We gave Carlos the money for the labor and said our goodbyes and headed out of Vera Cruz.  On the way out, we stopped at the hardware place and ordered the materials for the third house.  Thanks to our two generous donors that mailed us the money after reading my first blog, I will Western Union the money down on Monday after we get back, and the materials will probably be delivered on Christmas Day.  As I have mentioned in previous postings, unless you work at one of the bigger businesses, most people work on Christmas Day unless it falls on a Sunday.  They celebrate the Birth of Jesus by spending Christmas Eve in Church for several hours. 

     This trip we made several trips to the Pharmacy filling prescriptions for people.  I also learned a lot about baby milk.  There is Nedi 1 and Nedi 2….depending on age.  Pedia - cure.  We bought a lot of baby milk.

     We left Nicaragua on Friday morning and, except for not being able to land in Charleston, everything went fine.  The weather was bad, but planes were landing in Charleston.  Our pilot was inexperienced and couldn’t land.  We landed in Lexington, KY, where they let people that wanted to get off do so, but the plane continued back to Atlanta where they planned to bring the people back to Charleston the next day.  We got off in Lexington, rented a car, and drove home.  This concluded my 15^th trip to Nicaragua and to be totally honest, by the end of the other trips, I have always been ready to leave.   But this time was different!  The 11 days passed by so fast and there were things we still could have done.  I didn’t want to leave at all.  The day after returning home is usually a bad day.  Reflecting on the trip and thinking how lucky we are to have been born in the United States and thinking of how all our Nicaraguan friends live, it’s hard for me to put everything into perspective.  I know I should have gone Christmas shopping on Saturday, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go to the mall and see all the people spending money and carrying presents, knowing that the people I just left probably will not receive any presents on Christmas.  But I guess most of the people in Nicaragua know what the real meaning of Christmas is . . . the Birth of the Christ Child…..not receiving gifts!

     When we left for Nicaragua on December 10^th, we were sponsoring 13 children in school.  Upon leaving December 21^st, we are now sponsoring 24 kids in school.  More people want to get an education than ever before.  We have 9 children in elementary school and 9 children in high school.  It costs an average of $200 a year to sponsor these 18 kids.  We have 6 children in college, and the cost for these kids is between $15 a month for 1 of the students to $150 for 3 of them.  We also have 2 houses to build on our trip next December.  If anyone would be interested in going with us next December, please let me know.  If you would be interested in being a sponsor for any of these projects, your help would be GREATLY appreciated.  If you itemize your deductions on your tax return, your contribution would be totally tax deductable.  Please send contributions to our 501c(3) organization, Nicaragua Education, Shelter and Health Fund, Inc. (NESH for short) P.O. Box 731, Barboursville, WV  25504.  NESH has zero administrative costs because all of the costs are paid by Kroger’s through a 5% rebate they give NESH for using Kroger gift cards.

     Feliz Navidad y que Dios Te Bendiga…..Merry Christmas and God Bless you all.

Jack                          jackmease@measecpa.com