Finally Home

Our last day was spent working in the community doing something many of us feared, washing and applying lotion to the hair of the people in the community who had lice. It was a humbling experience for many of us. We had our own fears of getting lice, and having to deal with it, but as many others did, I realized that we have access to medicine, we have access to the tools needed to keep ourselves clean and nourished and healthy, these people don't. So we dug in and became the hands and feet of Christ.

Our trip ended with a long trip home. Time to think and reflect on the weeks events. It started with a early morning rise at 4am so we could get to the airport and beat the long lines at checkin.
We flew to Miami where we sat for 2 hours on the plane at the gate for some mechanical issues, but once we got into the air the flight went smoothly. The kids did great this past week. The heat was a little bit more than they have ever experienced, the smells the sights were certainly different. The people  they have met have impacted their lives, and it's my hope for a life time.

We want to thank everyone who prayed for us while we prepared, traveled and returned from this trip. We also want to thank those of you who helped support us financially. It wouldn't have been possible for us to make this trip had it not been for your generosity and support, Thank You!

For those of you who see on a regular basis, if you have question about our trip we would love to tell you about it and the wonderful work that Food for the Hungry is doing there, and more importantly how you can make a difference there as well. There is still a lot of work to be done there in the communities and there are still a lot of children that could benefit from your support and friendship through sponsorship. If you have any questions about how to get involved, please email me at eccchrisk@me.com and I will get you the information you need.

Thanks again for following us on this wonderful and life changing experience.

God Bless!

Day two

Today was a great day. We started the day out by splitting into three smaller groups, and taking lemon trees to homes in the community of El Porviner and planting them for the family as a symbol of family. We explained to them that in order to grow this tree, they will have to water it, feed it, and protect it as it grows. The same for a family. As we raise our children we must feed them, water them (with living water, the word) and protect them, so that just like the tree, they will grow and produce good fruit. We hope that as they watch the trees hat we planted for the, grow, hey will remember their own families and do the same. 

 After planting the tree, we took turns and time praying for the family and for any special needs they had. I was wondering through this process, what my kids were thinking and getting out of the whole thing, and about our third or fourth house, While others were planting the tree, Ethan came up to me and asked if he could say the prayer for the family. He was getting it. I was a proud papa as he asked for help but led the prayer for the family. It was a neat experience.

We then gathered the group back together and went to the new feeding station that was put up by previous teams where we ate lunch which was prepared by local residence of thcommunity           ommunity. After a filling meal we began to prep for VBS. What a          

                                                      great time of singing, teaching, 

                                                      crafts and playing outside with the kids 

                                                      from the community.

Day Five

(Written post trip)

Our fifth day was a day for relaxing with one another, thinking and talking about what we had experienced, the relationships we had formed not only with each other, but with the people of the community. We woke up to the sound of an awesome rainforest rain storm. We ate breakfast on open porch area complete with hammocks and banana leaf roof. Once we were done and the rain has subsided a little, we all loaded up in the van and took off for Masaya Nicaragua to hit the market. On the way we stopped at a volcano park where there is an active volcano, when we arrived we were told that we could go up and look for only five minutes because it could erupt at any time.
As tempting as it was, we declined and continued

on our way.

It was neat to walk through the market and see all the creative thing that people came up with to sell. We bought a few hammocks and nicknacks, we also purchased a few tops for the boys. nicaraguan tops are very popular with the children there, and the boys took right to learning how to wrap the rope and spin them like pros. There are a few tricks they want to learn with them, but that will require a little more practice.

After the market, we headed to lunch at Papa Johns Pizza of all places. The kids really appreciated the pizza and the break from the beans and rice that we had all come familiar with for our meal times. Following lunch we traveled a few more miles to a place called the Monkey Hut. It is up in the mountain range and is an extinct volcano. It's crater has been filled with fresh water and is an amazing place to swim, kayak and scuba dive. I didn't think about it soon enough or I would have tried to rent some scuba gear and see what the crater looked like under the surface. The water was crystal clear, it was almost like swimming like swimming in a pool, you could see everything around under water, except for the botom.
I expect it was quite deep.


We eventually traveled back to the Nehemiah Center where we were staying and began packing up for  our trip home the next day. It was a great day to just spend time with each other and let the kids unwind before a long day of travel.

Day Four

Day four

Today we planted the last of the trees in the community and spent some more time praying for the people there. I didn't know this before, but El Porviner is split into two sections and divided by a trash dump.  We had to go through the trash dump to get to the other half of the community, which is where we spent our morning. After going through the dump I was expecting to see more of the same trash and plastic houses.  I was surprised to see a little more orginazation and pride in the community. Fences were nice and the houses were landscaped "nica style. 

We also did VBS again today which was fun to hear the children singing very loudly the songs we had been singing all week. I was also able to share a personal story with the children about fighting and speaking nice to your siblings, or the consequences there of. More on that later.

We took a quick road trip to Terencio where we saw a few familiar faces and took some pics, then we headed off to the beach for a quick cool swim. It was the fist time the boys had seen the ocean, and it was neat to see their reaction to the waves and the undertow, which was very strong. 

This trip has been a lot of firsts for the Kuntz's. First time out of the country, first time in a jet plane to fly, first time the whole family has gone on a missions trip together, first time seeing live volcanoes, first time seeing true poverty and being able to be Christ to them, and the first time seeing the ocean. This is a trip that will hopefully stick in the memories of the boys and impact their lives, and their outlook on missions & poverty and what they can do about it.

Tomorrow we spend our last day in the community helping the medical staff de-lice kids in them community, then we head for Managua for our free day. Not sure what that holds, but we find out together.

Blessings,

The Kuntz's 

Day Three (no pictures)

Today was a special day, a day I had been waiting for since I knew the family would be coming down to Nicaragua. Today was the day we all got to spend time with our sponsor child "J". We started the day out planting lemon and orange trees again in the community and spending time getting to know the people of El Porviner and praying for them. Then we headed  to the school for lunch where we spent time with the kids again, playing games and teaching and singing songs. Then it was time.

We loaded up in the van and headed for Ameya where he lives. As we drove through the community, I showed the boys and Lisa where I spent my time last September while I was here, and saw a few familiar faces as well. Soon we pulled up to "J's" house, and nervously got out and walked up to the fence where we were greeted by he and his mother.

Smiles spread across faces as we saw each other and gave hugs to his mom, then J jumped into my arms and gave me a huge hug. It was so neat to see his excitement to have us there and to now that he had not forgotten me. We sat down in a circle and began to talk and introduce him to my family. He'd asked questions of my family and mine his. We shared a gift with him that FH put together. a blanket, some hot chocolate drink, some tooth brushes and a picture album that Lisa had put together as well. He flipped through pictures pointing and laughing, and enjoying the gift.

We spent some time praying for the family, as there is some illness with the boys that is keeping them out of school, and also for steady work for J's father. Then it was time to go for the other home visit with the other part of our team, but because we were just going down the road, his mother let him come with us, so we could spend some more time together.

Our boys had a blast getting to know J, and to see just how well he fit into our family. They spent  time giving pigback rides, wrestling, playing tag and tickling. There are many days I wish we could  bring him home with us, but I know that isn't what is best for him. He is such a good little boy and a  huge help to his mother when papa is away working.

Our time with J and his family was brief, not near enough time for my family to get to know him like  I did last year, but who knows, maybe God will allow us the opportunity to visit him again. As we said our goodbyes we hugged and gave high fives and watched him walk down the road toward home. We found out later that as he walked away, he began to cry because he didn't want us to leave. Well that's pretty much how I feel about it too!

Our work here in these communities is only beginning. There are many more children and families that need support and the love of people who care. Lisa told me she already knows who our next sponsor child is, and luckily I will get a chance to get to know him better tomorrow.

Day Two

I apologize in advance for any duplications of text, the iPad doesn't like the wifi signal and has dropped several times thus far. 

Today was a great day. We started the day out by splitting into three smaller groups, and taking lemon trees to homes in the community of El Porviner and planting them for the family as a symbol of family. We explained to them that in order to grow this tree, they will have to water it, feed it, and protect it as it grows. The same for a family. As we raise our children we must feed them, water them (with living water, the word) and protect them, so that just like the tree, they will grow and produce good fruit. We hope that as they watch the trees that we planted for them, grow, they will remember their own families and do the same. 

After planting the tree, we took turns and time praying for the family and for any special needs they had. I was wondering through this process, what my kids were thinking and getting out of the whole thing, and about our third or fourth house, while others were planting the tree, Ethan came up to me and asked if he could say the prayer for the family. He was getting it. I was a proud papa as he asked for help but led the prayer for the family. It was a neat experience.

We then gathered the group back together and went to the new feeding station that was put up by previous teams from ECC where we ate lunch which was prepared by local residence of the community. After a filling lunch we prepped for VBS. My group was responsible for teaching and singing, and we had a blast teaching the kids about Noah's Arc and obedience. One of the groups of kids even took the stage and sang us a song, it was pretty cool. It even fit the lesson for the day. 

We finished out the day with a bunch of high fives and then traveled back to the hotel where we all got cleaned up and enjoyed some family time in the pool. The day in the community certainly made us all appreciate the accommodations we have and the blessings we have as Americans and our families.

Tomorrow we have our family visit, and I am very excited about introducing my family to our sponsor child. I hope to have pictures to post for you tomorrow from that visit. Until then, we appreciate your prayers and thank you in advance for them.

Peace, the Kuntz's 

Tomorrow I get to introduce my family to our sponsor child and I am very excited about our time there tomorrow. Thanks in advance for all your prayers, we appreciate them. I don't have pictures to post yet, but I hope to have some from tomorrow for you all of our family visit. Until then, peace.

Day One

Well today didn't quite turn out how we all thougt it would. We left Fort Wayne at 6:45 am and were delayed in Chicago due to a broken first class seat. We final made it to Miami two hours late which chewed up our layover time and you guessed it, we missed our connecting flight to Managua, Nicaragua. So we are hold up in a Comfort Inn enjoying Miami's "best" customer service.  We will leave tomorrow about noonish on our flight and look to arrive by 3:30 - 4:00 pm tomorrow. My only big regret is that the boys and Lisa won't get a chance to experience a Nicaraguan church service, but other than that, the trip so far has been ok. The kids are getting along great, and they loved their first real flight.

God is going to do great things this week, and it started today with teaching us all to be patient with our circumstances and with each other.




Blessings, the Kuntz's