Celebrating Success in Diriamba!!

While the Mustard Seed St Brigid's Mission team was preparing for the Opening Celebration in Diriamba this morning, the staff, children, & the Sewing Center volunteers at Hogar Belen were getting ready in Managua. To say that the children were excited would be an understatement, they were simply thrilled even though they probably did not understand what they were excited about! To be getting on an air conditioned tour bus and traveling for an hour is a real highlight for them. Moises insisted on putting on his dress shoes at around 5:45 am, over an hour before the planned departure! Violetta quickly corrected him in her loving yet firm manner. Little by little all was made ready and the buses departed almost on schedule. We were greeted by a banner stretched across the road; there was no mistaking that this was the place for the Celebration! The Missionaries were like one big family trying to finish all the final details before any big party... trying to welcome the early arrivals AND be ready in time for the delegation of board members and guests from all points beyond. Thanks to the awesome advance planning of Michelle Shines and her many, many helpers~ the entire day proceeded like clockwork. Every detail was thought out in advance; it was clear that all in attendance were very moved by all they heard and saw.

A particular high point of the day was the opening comments of Becker Zamora. Anyone who has seen this young boy grow up at Hogar Belen felt so proud of him during this moment in the spotlight! He was so proud to be the "poster boy" on todays program!!! (see photo) Another glorious moment was when Tatiana cut the ribbon at the doorway signifying the grand opening to the new orphanage. The Mustard Seed children then came out and sang their own special song to the guests.

Our Nicaraguan community neighbors also treated us with children dancing their native folklorica dances and then a Nicaraguan version of "Grease Lighting" which brought laughter to everyone present!

Our special delight, in addition to the Opening of Diriamba, was the celebration today of the graduation of 11 Sewing Center students and 20 Cooking Students. Their presence added so much to the program!

We celebrated positive changes and new beginnings for many of our friends here in Nicaragua. And after the lunches were served and the tours of the new dorms and kitchen were given we celebrated together a mass of thanksgiving to our Great God who has brought us together! Co-Celebrants included Father Gregory Ramkissoon (founder of Mustard Seed), Archbishop of Jamaica, most reverend Donald Reese, Deacon Leo of St. Brigid in Atlanta, and Father Rafael Bermudez.

Thanks to all for following this blog ... I am certain that there will be many more posts and comments to come!!!

Estaba un Buen Dia!!
Diane, Janet, Donna & Howie

Father Gregory & Delegates tour Sewing Center & La Chureca Dump

Today was a busy day at the Centro de Costura (Sewing Center).... It was buzzing w/ activity as perhaps 30-40 ladies were cooking and sewing in eager anticipation of the festivities planned for tomorrow at Diriamba. As we arrived we found out that their "borrowed mixer" was not working .... and we surprised them w/ a new KitchenAid Mixer brought in from the United States ... Their eyes lit up as they opened the box to find a brand new Red Mixer! Timing is everything. With the new mixer they were able to finish making hundreds of pasteles (small Nicaraguan pastries filled w/ sweet cheese and pineapple).

Father Gregory soon arrived with his delegation from Jamaica and the U.S.A. .... After a brief tour of the facility and narrative given by Diane & Janet they proceeded to caravan over to La Chureca. Rice & beans and other miscellaneous food products were distributed to the families at the health clinic location inside the dump. Christ in the Garbage ministries provides this service once a month. The delegates were given a bus tour through the garbage dump witnessing the abject poverty. Homes constructed of sheet metal and cardboard and families rummaging through the garbage for recyclables and food w/ burning debris filling the air was witnesses by all.

The "Sewing Sisters" returned to Hogar Belen to play in the ball field w/ the children, playing tag, football, and climbing on backs to play horsie..... ahhh.... what a fun way to release the sadness of the dump. Laughter renews the soul!

The children are snug in their beds but they are all so anxious for the morning to dawn. Clothes are pressed and layed ready ..... shoes polished and baths will begin predawn. I can't imagine getting this family ready for the special occasion.... we will be VERY busy tomorrow AM......
Janet, Diane, Donna, & Howie too! (our sewing bro!)

We have painted, painted, painted, ate lunch, painted, painted, painted, and painted some more. It´s looking very good at Hogar Belen - Diriamba! I wish I could add some pictures at this time, but we had to take a 3-wheel cab into town to post a blog.
(Here is a photo ~compliments of a friend)
All are healthy and working hard. Everyone has gotten to know each other very well after a few days. Lots of good stories and tears. Daphne is keeping us in line, Susan is doing a banner job with our reflection and Beth is leading the "crying game". We are exceptionally grateful for the opportunity to come to Diriamba and serve.

Gotta go and get back to the property. Lots to be done before the big "grand opening" on Friday.
Lots of love and "hasta manana"

Mark

It is always wonderful coming back to Nicaragua! We went to Diriamba late yesterday and the mission house is a beautiful, bright blue and yellow! The land is cleared all the way to the back of the property, the cement fence is up and gorgeous, and there is running water! There were children running around and ready to greet us. Brayan looks like he is having a great time there. We had dinner with the St. Brigid mission group last night. It is really fun finally getting to meet some of the people that I have heard so much about for so many years and to hear their stories about the journey and adventures they've had while building Hogar Belen Managua and Diriamba and the Sewing Center.

We are staying at Hogar Belen with the Sewing Center group-taking walks and eating meals together. Manuel is walking with a little assistance (although I don't think he needs it), Kevin is still spinning on the wheel chair wheel, I fed Gabriel two full bottles of milk this morning, Elvira looks great and has that huge smile on her face, and Omar lays down until he sees someone who will play. There is a new child here, Fernando, who helped with preparing some of the things for the dedication and accompanied us on our walk. Susana is still cooking up a storm and Violeta is running around all day. The rooster is still singing in the middle of the night...all is well at Hogar Belen.

Seeing all the folks coming down here for the dedication and hearing their stories makes me realize that so much love has gone into this MSC apostolate. Feeling very blessed to have been a part of it.

-Kathy Regalado

Christ in the Garbage Ministries update Feb 23, 2010

Donna Malloy, Diane Rochford, Janet Weidmann & Howie Markel arrived at Hogar Belen in great anticipation of the exciting week ahead! Our sewing ladies will be attending the 4th Annual Graduation of the sewing center in conjunction w/ the opening dedication of the new orphanage at Diriamba ...
We awoke at 3AM to catch a 6:30 flight out of Atlanta... headed to Miami then to Managua. Arriving to sunny 85degree weather after the snow a week ago was a great reprieve! It is a beautiful country in spite of abject poverty.
There is evidence of progress each year that we come... more cars....less horse carts and bikes ... but the typical homes are very modest wood frame w/o screens and w/ metal roofs ... or otherwise shanties w/ cardboard and wood mixed w/ sheet metal and other materials to keep the rain out.
We have yet to see a moquito while we are here but there are reports of dengue fever which is transmitted by daylight mosquitos.... there is no vacination to this so we must remember to spray ourselves daily.
We are all excited to see the progress of the sewing center tomorrow and deliver our 8 suitcases of fabrics and notions ...donations from the designers in Atlanta. a container of additional goods will arrive in 6 months.
Stay tuned for more updates ... and activities! .. ..... Janet Weidmann

Laura Doherty, Kathy Regalado and I arrived in Managua and Hogar Belen on Monday afternoon. Kathy is the veteran Nicaraguan missionary teaching us the ropes, as this is the first trip to Nicaragua for both Laura and me.

We've been incredibly excited in the MSC USA office in Medfield, MA leading up to this trip. One of the greatest aspects of working at Mustard Seed is hearing from missionaries when they return and listening to all that they love about MSC and the children and what means so much to them about their mission experience. MSC Nicaragua's reputation proceeds it and it surpassed our expectations. Upon our arrival, we saw the brightly colored Hogar Belen and heard the voices and laughter of the children. The mission team from St. Brigid was at Hogar Belen working hard! It was the end of their first day and they were covered in paint, having worked at Hogar Belen painting all day. It was wonderful to meet the team and the children. Having heard so much about each child, it was great to finally meet them in person. They are all so beautiful and each have tremendous personalities.

After meeting everyone and a full tour of Hogar Belen-Managua, we headed off to see Hogar Belen-Diriamba. Despite having seen several photos of the extensive progress there, we were still blown away by how much work has taken place there and how amazing the property, mission house and cottages look! It's a beautiful space and the 12 children there seem very happy! The land has been cleared and three of the cottages are completed, together with the mission house, the kitchen and dining room and the laundry space, there are six buildings all together. All of the hard work from missionaries and the MSC Nicaragua staff is evident in the immense progress! The opening is sure to be an incredible celebration of this work!

Today we've been spending time with the children at Hogar Belen and working on some preparations for both the opening on Friday and the MSC USA Board Meeting on Thursday. We are very excited that 7 board members from MSC USA are among the many people traveling to Nicaragua for the opening and dedication.

One of the great things about working here at Hogar Belen has been the opportunity to see what a typical day is like for the children here. Breakfast is at 7 and so many of the children feed themselves, following breakfast, several of them attend school. Moises goes to a school outside Hogar Belen and a teacher comes to Hogar Belen and works with several children here. She works with the younger children first (we were able to watch as they sang this morning!) and then with Becker, Tatiyana and Marlin in the afternoon. The photo above is of Becker, Tati and Marlin at school today! We also met Amanda today, she's a year-long volunteer from Canada, who works five days a week with the children at Hogar Belen-Managua. We came across her blog a while back and it was wonderful to meet her in person, hear about her travels in Nicaragua and see the amazing work she is doing with the children.

The Sewing Center group from Atlanta just arrived, so we are off to spend time with them.

Adios from Nicaragua,

Lori Evans
MSC USA Staff

We have all arrived safely in Nicaragua... Diriamba is absolutely wonderful. Thanks to the ladies we went to sleep around 3AM and rose at 630AM!

This morning and afternoon we are in Managua at the original home doing some much needed painting. Of course immediately upon arrival we were overcome with the emotions of seeing old friends and the beautiful children. So many familiar faces... Jose Emanuel, Becker, Omar, Kevin, Tatiana, Elvira... The boys and girls look like a million dollars. Smiles and Laughs were everywhere.

Hope to blog tommorrow,

Mark

It’s the night before departure...

The anxiety has passed and the excitement is here. Tomorrow we once again step outside our comfort zone. One more hot shower for the next 7 days!

We can't wait to see the kids and the home in Diriamba...

God bless all those that have offered support - both financially and spiritually. We couldn’t do it without you.

Look for daily updates from Diriamba come Monday.

The tarantulas and roosters are waiting!

Hasta manana, Amigos!

Mark Weltlich

The St. Brigid Mission Group is eagerly awaiting our flight on 2-21-10 to Nicaragua for the Diriamba grand opening. We are looking forward to reconnecting with the children we fell in love with on past trips to Hogar Belen and are excited to meet the new teenagers living at Diriamba. We built the front retaining walls in 2007, dug foundations, wired rebar, and painted in 2008 and 2009. What a thrill it will be to see the home up and running; providing love and care to the children of Nicaragua.

-Daphne Nordone, St. Brigid Mission Team Leader

Diriamba and the Children at Hogar Belen