2004 - Leaving on a Jet Plane

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go,
I'm standing here outside my door,
I’m blogging now just to say “Goodbye.”

But the dawn is breaking it's early morn
My mom is waiting, blowin’ her horn
Already I'm so excited I could fly…

So wish me a safe journey,
Tell me that you'll knit with me,
Knit like you’ve never knit before…

'cause I'm leaving on a jet plane,
I’ll be back my dear blogging friends,
Oh babe, I can’t wait to go…

(adapted from Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver)

2004 - So what's the weather like down there?

I'll be spending time in what is called the Pacific zone, which stretches from the west coast to the eastern edges of the two large lakes, Lago de Managua and Lago de Nicaragua. This area is a dry tropical area, with high temperatures and relatively little precipitation.

As in any tropical country, Nicaragua has a dry season and a rainy season, though they vary from region to region. In the western part of the country, the dry season, also called verano or summer by the locals, runs roughly from November to April. Invierno, or the winter rainy season, lasts the other half of the year, from May to October.

I will be arriving during the transition of the seasons, so I may experience a wide variety of weather. While the dry season is preferable for travel, the rainy season—in the Pacific region—may consist of daily showers lasting about an hour each afternoon.

The temperature in Nicaragua varies little from season to season, though the heat during the rainy season can be uncomfortable (i.e. HUMIDITY!). Generally speaking, the temperatures range between 81-90° F during the rainy season, and between 86-95° F throughout the dry period.

I've linked a Weather Pixie in my sidebar, which monitors the weather at Managua's International Airport. While I was not able to link directly to the city of Leon, Managua's temps and humidity numbers should be similar.

2004 - Tell me what you want to know...

Folks ask me if I'm excited about my upcoming trip. Well, I'm the type that doesn't get nervous until I'm just about to go on stage, or feel the excitement until I'm strapped into my airline seat. So no, I'm not exactly excited. I'm expectant. I actually have a feeling of unreality; but I keep on with my preparations.

I have my suitcase down and am beginning to throw things into it as I think of them. Mosquito repellant (with DEET); sunscreen (50 SPF); flashlight; notebook and pen; swimsuit; Nicaragua guide; Spanish-English dictionary.

The Mercy Ships Nicaragua base will be my primary location. It is located in the city of Leon and has the basic modern amenities; i.e. flush toilets, showers (albiet cold water); kitchen and laundry facilities, etc. However, my mom has invited me to spend one or two nights out at the villages; i.e. very primitive surroundings.

On one hand I'm hesitant, but on the other hand, I want to go for it; experience all that this trip has to offer. Besides, I can't let my 79 year old mother show me up!

~~~

I want to hear from you. Tell me what you want to know about this trip, the mission, me, my mom. You may contact me by clicking the email link in my sidebar or by leaving a comment at the end of this entry (just click on the Comment link and a box will pop up).

2004 - So What Can I do to Help?

Several have asked what they could do to support my trip and the mission in Nicaragua.

For the Staff and Mission of Mercy Ships Nicaragua
The staff at Mercy Ships Nicaragua are all volunteers and do not receive a salary. Each staff member is required to set up a support base of individuals or churches to provide monetary and prayer support.

However, donations for the base and ministry are always a blessing. Following is a list of items that would be appreciated:

* Flashlight bulbs
* Batteries (all sizes)
* Duct tape/packing tape
* Sheets and towels
* Yellow legal pads
* Polaroid film
* Pens, pencils, markers
* Toothpaste, Tooth brushes, dental floss
* Soap, shampoo, deodorant
* Vitamins (adult and children), iron supplements, pre-natal
* Over-the-counter cold/cough medications
* Trip-antibiotic cream, anti-fungal cream, hydrocortisone cream
* Tums
* Feminine Hygiene Products
* Chocolate chips, peanut butter (smooth and crunchy), microwave popcorn, nuts, muffin/brownie/cake mixes (all hard to get or very expensive).
* Baby/Kids clothes and shoes
* Baby items (cloth diapers, pins, wipes, powder, diaper rash ointment)
* Craft items, face paint, coloring books, crayons, stickers, finger paint
* Spanish evangelism material, Bibles
* Reading material for the staff (current magazines, books, etc.)

I am more than willing to transport donated items with me. I am allowed two suitcases up to 70 pounds each.

Support For Me
* Continued prayers for safe travel and good health
* Monetary gifts (appreciated but not required)
* Reading The Nica Report for updates
* Making sure Graeme and the kids stay out of trouble while I'm away (smile)!

You may contact me in my comments or by email (marieedmondson at yahoo dot com) to coordinate donation pick up. You may also leave donations with the office staff at First Baptist Sacramento.

Remember, I fly out May 1st (actually leaving Sacramento 4/30), so I will need to have all items to me by Wednesday, April 28th.

2004 - So Where's the "Ship" in Mercy Ships Nicaragua?

Mercy Ships Nicaragua has it's roots in a prosthetic outreach deployed from Mercy Ships International in 1996 working with the hospital in Leon, Nicaragua. Through the "New Steps" program, this team specialized in providing prosthetic services for the people of Nicaragua. Among others, this team helped people who had been maimed by the fighting when the Somoza dictatorship was toppled, and later in the Contra War.

Mark and Lori Thompson*, the directors of the Mercy Ships Nicaragua land base, were working with this program, but saw many more needs and opportunities beyond the prosthetic outreach. Then Hurricane Mitch hit in 1998.

In responce to Hurricane Mitch, Mercy Ships sent the Caribbean Mercy to Nicaragua with relief supplies and medical teams, docking in Corinto, (an hour drive north of Leon on the Pacific).



The permanent landbase was born out of this response to Mitch. In addition to the Mercy Ships home office in Garden Valley, Texas, the land base in Nicaragua is joined with only one other land base in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa.

*The Thompsons are currently on a one year furlough in the USA.

2004 - Typhoid and Cholera and Malaria, Oh My!

In preparation for my trip, I logged on to the Center for Disease Control's Travel Destination Site.

Living in such an antiseptic society here in the US, we often not aware or just forget the fact that diseases still run rampant in most areas of the world. According to the World Heath Oranization, the group with the highest mortality rate, for the year 2000, within the Nicaraguan population were children between the ages of 0-4. Contrast that with the USA for 2000, our highest mortality rated group was 80 years and over!

So armed with my travel itinerary, I set off for the Travel Clinic at Kaiser to receive inoculations and medications for diseases such as Hepatitis, Typhoid, Tetanus-diphtheria, and Malaria. My mom has foregone taking additional medications for Malaria (although her shots are up to date), I guess she figures at age 79 there's not much else that could put her down - Go Mom!



Although we will be spending the majority of our time in the city of Leon, we will be traveling out to the villages of Villa Soberana and La Palmerita to visit with the people and assist with the outreach programs in these communities. If you would like more information on the specific programs established for these two communities, you can click on the name of each village above and you will be redirected to the specific page on the Mercy Ships Nicaragua website.

2004 - First Contact

Back in the early 1980's, both my husband Graeme and I were volunteer staff on board the Mercy Ships flagship, The Anastasis. In fact that’s where we met and were later married in July 1985. Here’s a picture of us on our wedding day (just remember that was nearly 19 years ago!).



Graeme served for a total of two years and I for one year.

Around the same time my father retired from 40+ years as a merchant seaman and took a position on the Anastasis as it’s Chief Engineer. He and my mother served together with Mercy Ships for 10 years.

There are many stories I could recount about both my, my husband’s and my parent’s experiences with Mercy Ships. I may at some point post them here, but right now I just want to give you an overview of our association with Mercy Ships.

In a nutshell, “Mercy Ships, a global charity, has operated a growing fleet of hospital ships in developing nations since 1978. Following the example of Jesus, Mercy Ships brings hope and healing to the poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide.”

You may access their website here. It is also linked in my sidebar to the right.

2004 - Knitti-Who?

You may have noticed in my masthead the byline, "Knitti-me's on-line journal of her journey to Nicaragua and back — May 2004." So who or what is knitti-me?

Knitti-me is my alter-ego; knitting and me. Some people look at me askance when I share with them my advid interest (dare I say obsession) with knitting. Others understand my fascination with fiber arts and crafts. (Hi to all my fiber-obsessed knit blogging buddies out there!)

I have a passion for hand-dyed yarns that come in a variety of textures and fibers. I love the way the colors play with and against one another as they are woven into unique fabrics. I have often mused while knitting away with a gorgeous variegated yarn, “Who would have thought that mustard yellow and fuschia would go together, but it works!”

One can look in nature and see a multitude of colorful and textural combinations that God put together for our pleasure. Imagine a sunset or a field of wild flowers. Many of the fiber artists I correspond with take their inspiration straight from nature, giving their hand-dyed yarns names such as Flame Lilly, Baja, Yukon, Peppers, Frosted Crocus, and even Seaweed.

As I knit I often reflect on how each yarn could represent a person’s life with the variances of texture, color and hue giving witness to that person’s life experiences. Each yarn is different, each yarn is unique—just like we are. But when our lives are woven together, it forms a beautiful tapestry.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10

2004 - Disaster!

In October 1998, Hurricane Mitch ravaged the country of Nicaragua. For a period of ten days, Nicaragua was bombarded with torrential rains that produced landslides and floods effectively destroying crops, livestock, dwellings, roads, bridges, hospitals, schools, electrical and water supply systems.

Hurricane Mitch was the most devastating natural disaster in Nicaragua’s history. An estimated 3,800 Nicaraguans lost their lives and 800,000—18% of the population—were left homeless.

Prior to Hurricane Mitch, Nicaragua was already among the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere. In 1997 it was estimated that 47% of Nicaraguans lived below the poverty line. The hurricane exacerbated this situation. The future was bleak for the homeless families struggling to survive.

In the Nicaraguan city of Leon, the staff of Mercy Ships Nicaragua also experienced the fury of Hurricane Mitch. Those of us throughout the world that were in contact with the base anxiously read firsthand e-mail reports of the devastation. Mercifully, the base and staff of Mercy Ships Nicaragua were not severly affected by the hurricane and were therefore available to begin immediate relief efforts in tandem with other community and international organizations.

Since the destruction of Hurricane Mitch in October of 1998, Mercy Ships Nicaragua has been effective in procuring and distributing over 285 tons of food, four tons of clothing and over $250,000 (US) worth of medicine and medical supplies to nearly 110,000 people per year for two years. They have also been instrumental in the decontamination of an estimated 1,500 drinking water wells that were contaminated during the devastating flooding.

Although the staff of Mercy Ships Nicaragua remain 'positioned' for relief work, their emphasis since early 1999 has been on longer term developmental transformation of rural Nicaragua. Today, their efforts are primarily focused on three communities of hurricane refugees for whom they have helped to relocate, acquire land and construct new homes. Current efforts are toward the economic, agricultural and educational development of these three communities.

2004 - The Nica Report

My name is Marie and this is my blog chronicling my journey to Nicaragua scheduled for May 1-10, 2004. Check back often to follow my progress as I prepare for and experience Nicaragua.