Please remember us, and all in Nicaragua as the hurricane comes. They think that here we will just get heavy rain, but it is headed towards Blue Fields where there are congregations of the Lords church. It looks like it should be hitting us this evening (about 6pm).

We had another busy week. David went to a meeting for the coffee industry as everyone gets together to try to stop the stealing of coffee. I think it was very frustrating for him because it was not very organized, but such is the way in Nicaragua. He did get signed up for his producers card so he can sell the coffee legally, and he is signed up to have guards come and help us watch the farm. We have the fence all up along the road, and are starting to complete the rest, so this will help a lot. Would should start harvesting next week, so keep us in your prayers that God will bless us with a large harvest and we will be able to accomplish many great things.

Today we went with 3 other couples to a marriage seminar in Masatepe. Giovanni was the speaker, and he made a lot of good points about how to have a harmonious marriage. One point he made was that when a spouse is criticizing the other to other people, it is not the other who needs to change, it is the one who is being critical and sharing this with others. He pointed out that if husband and wife are truly one, then when you are criticizing your spouse, you are really talking about yourself, and we would never go to another to talk bad about ourselves!! Only when we are thinking of “you” and “me” instead of “we” do we talk about each others faults with others (just to criticize, to get help is another situation).

Carolina and I are still working to get things ready for the wedding tomorrow. Last night I made about 17 huge bows to decorate the tables at the wedding. We decided that next time someone asks for help in their wedding, we don’t know how to make big bows like that!! It was not easy. But they turned out really good, so it wasn’t in vain. Hopefully next time I can get some pictures up of our work.

We rejoice that Edgar’s mother decided to become a Christian this Sunday. Hopefully we will meet many receptive people from this family. Please pray for Edgar. He pulled his leg muscles and has been having trouble recovering and is in a lot of pain.

I have been keeping plenty busy making decorations for my classroom. I am also making decorations for a sister in Christ who is getting married this Sunday. Carolina and I have made bows to go on the gifts she is giving, and also vines of flowers and hearts made of crepe paper. Carolina is very creative, so things are starting to look good!

Baby KimberlyLast night David and I were surprised to find Israel at our door out of breath. He said that baby Kimberly had quit breathing. David rushed over and I stayed with the kids. When David got to their house Juri had given Kimberly mouth to mouth and she was breathing again, so David rushed them to the hospital. She was having some kind of attack because they said that she was clenching her hands and was all tense, with her eyes rolled back in her head. Scary. She made it fine through last night though without another episode, and we hope to be able to take her to the children’s hospital in Managua to be sure that no permanent damage was done. Please keep her and her parents, Flor and Israel, in your prayers.

I do have to brag on the kids though, because when David jumped up and left, Edwin told me that David was loving Christ, because Jesus said that whatever someone does to the children he does to Christ (and he quoted the verse along with its location for me word for word). It is nice to know that the kids are not only learning their memory verses, but have them ready in their mind to apply them to real life.

Edgar was baptized this Wednesday.We had two baptisms this Wednesday. One was Edgar. He is a friend of Juan Pablo (from the wedding pictures), and has been visiting the church for about 2 weeks. It is interesting because at first he said that he wanted 3 months to study before he became a Christians, but the more he studied, the more he wanted to obey God. After he was baptized, he said he wanted to cut his hair, and since David and I are the church barbers, he came over and got a trim. He has also been working on the farm for about 2 weeks. It is so nice to be able to give these Christians the opportunity to work where there wasnt one before.

Juan was also baptized. He is the youngest son of Mateo (the caretaker of the farm), and Patricia. I didn’t get a picture of him in the water because he didn’t want to get too cold, so Giovanni dunked him quick! You couldn’t find prouder parents.

This week was so busy! We had our meeting with the house builder and architect, and tomorrow we have another meeting to look at all of the various plans we can choose from that the architect made off our plan. We had a laundry room in the house, but they don’t do that here because of the ventilation and humidity, so we have some extra space. The washer and dryer will go outside. I am excited to see!! Once we pick one they will come out to the farm to see the land and get an idea of where we want to build and what not. Then we will get together to make a materials list, and an estimate of costs. After that we decide what we are going to do about building (who is going to do what work and such).

We made a deal with the church in Jinotepe to help them door knock on Tuesdays if they will help us on Wednesdays. So Tuesday we went and visited 5 homes to talk about the gospel. We made one contact and they went to study with her this morning. I am always surprised at how many people will let you in to have a Bible study (4 out of the 5). This is just going up cold and asking for a little time. Wednesday we did visits with contacts and members of the church who have been missing services. David and I took Edwin and Eddi with us to visit Aurora Lila who has been a faithful member but has been sick lately. This has kept her from working and so she is just overall a little discouraged. She also has a daughter who is about 5 months pregnant and is in danger of losing the baby. We were able to give them the money to get exams and an ultrasound, and also bought them some food and vitamins. I am going to do a little talk sometime about drinking water, because all they drink from childhood is coffee, and they all have kidney problems.

I was excited that Eddi went with us to visit because he is the one who doesn’t go to school. The other day Mateo was telling us that Eddi never went to church before we got here either. It is encouraging to know that we are a good influence. He is kind of in a tough spot at church, because he thinks the worship service is boring (he is only 12), but he doesn’t want to go to his class because he can’t read. So I have been working on that too. All of his family is very intelligent, him included, so he is easy to teach. Please keep him in your prayers because I can see we only have a short time to put him on the right track before he gets too old and doesn’t want to listen.

It is hard to try and think of a creative title for the newsletter every week!

This week in Bible class I had 17 kids!! Luckily some of the kids brought their own little chairs from home, or we would have been hurting. I was amazed at how many kids could say their memory verses, and how carefully they kept the little drawing with the memory verse on it and brought it back this Sunday. I think the attendance sheets will really help the kids come to class every Sunday. Some of the kids who didn’t come last week were distraught that they didn’t have a picture.

Today at 5:00 we have a meeting with a house builder. We stopped by this one house we liked just to see who built it, and the man that lived there built it himself, and had a whole company that could do every aspect of the work. We are going to meet with him again this afternoon with his architect to get an estimate of costs. We are thinking about building the walls, roof, and floors before we have help from the states come so that they can focus on the finer details. We got to see his house, and he had neat ideas, like windows inthe closet for ventilation so things dont get moldy. I wouldnt have thought of that! We are just excited that he had closets, because most houses just use dressers and such and don’t have closets. I will let you know how everything goes!

We had quite an exciting week! Two couples of the church who are married by God, but not by the law got married on Friday. Thursday we had a girls day out to look for nice outfits for them (we got both outfits for 150 cords, which is about $9!!), and we got up early Friday to do hair and make-up. I was in charge of hair, and it was easy because they both had thick beautiful hair. I also spent Thursday night making cakes. Since our oven is so tiny I only had the patience to make one round cake (I had to bake each layer one at a time), but they turned out delicious and that’s all that matters.

I put new pictures up! I have to repent because, though some of the problem was the internet cafe, there was also a problem with the gallery that kept me from being able to add pictures. Sorry internet cafe! The pictures are of the wedding and also of the kids working to plant coffee on the farm.

Our oven tried to kill us yet again, with another leak, but luckily we caught this one much faster. It seems like every time we have to change the gas tank something breaks!

Another exciting thing is that plane tickets are going down! Finally I found some leaving Dallas and arriving in Managua for less than $550!! For a long time they were up to $800 and more and I was getting worried. So, if you are planning a visit, check out Orbitz.com!

Well, things haven’t been too exciting lately, just working a bunch. Friday we had another seminar for the teachers about planning the classes. We learned some new songs that are really fun for my kids. This week in Bible Class I gave a memory verse. We talked about Abraham traveling, being blessed with a son, and Isaac marrying Rebekah. Our verse is “Abraham believed God.”(My kids are only 0-5 so it has to be easy). Today Juri came over and said her cousin, who’s 2, can say the memory verse. How cute!! I can’t wait to see how many can say it on Sunday. One of the things I’m going to search for when we get to come back to the states in January is some class materials. We have some stuff, but I would like to have a whole year’s lessons all from the same source just to keep things in order.

Things continue to go well on the farm. Last week they planted new coffee plants, and they are finishing this week. In the end they will have planted close to 4000 new coffee plants!

We actually have had a little sun the past few days! Though no days where it doesn’t rain. This is a huge problem for the people here. No one has dryers for clothes, so many people don’t have dry clothes. It takes up to 3 days to dry socks, even when they are inside the house hung up. Just imagine how difficult this is for moms who use cloth diapers (which they all do)!! Another problem is that a lot of the people make money selling drinks and such on the street, and this is very hard to do when it’s pouring down rain! As a result we’ve had a lot of people ask us for work. Please keep us in your prayers that we make good decisions about how to help the people out. It is great encouragement that they are asking for work and not just money or food, but there is only so many people who can clean our house or wash our clothes for us. I can’t wait until we live on the farm because then we will have a yard that needs tending, gardens, and I can see more opportunities for jobs there.

CAFTA - Central American Free Trade Agreement

In late July, after a close and contentious vote, the U.S. Congress ratified DR-CAFTA, the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement. It is under similarly divisive debate by the Nicaraguan National Assembly; some resolution is expected by the fall of 2005. The FSLN (Sandinistas) generally oppose it, the PLC and business interests generally support CAFTA.

Most observers believe it has the support to pass into law, perhaps with added revisions. El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have already signed the bill into law; Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic are still debating it.

Proponents such a U.S. President Bush describe CAFTA as “commitment of freedom-loving nations to advance peace and prosperity throughout the Western hemisphere.” Former President Jimmy Carter said, “U.S. incomes will rise by $15 billion and those in Central America by some $5 billion… if the U.S. Congress turned its back on the agreement it would undercut these fragile democracies.”

Opponents of CAFTA call it and other international trade agreements thinly veiled licenses for giant multinational corporations to erode government sovereignty, subvert democracy and human rights and destroy the environment for the sake of maximized profits.

The debate over CAFTA has fueled strong emotions. Demonstrations, some of the violent, have broken out in Central American capitals. FSLN leaders in Nicaragua have called a “popular movement” against it.

Trade pacts typically lower or eliminate trade barriers such as tariffs and import quotas and strengthen intellectual property rights, though international business can and does go forward without them. CAFTA also has provisions for encouraging direct foreign investment, and protecting it from “expropriation” or interference in the host nations.

CAFTA is a complex, multifaceted legal agreement. The issues at stake are myriad. One of the first raised is agricultural provisions. The pact’s detractors raise images of poor campesinos, starved and forced off their ancestral lands after flood of imported foodstuffs undercuts the market. Opponents say that this happened in Mexico as a result of NAFTA, CAFTA’s model and predecessor.

However, while many small farmers did lose their jobs in Mexico, total corn production, mostly on large operations, went up. Is working for an agri-giant like Cargill worse than eking out a meager existence on a private plot of land?

In Nicaragua, only eight percent of the population earn a living by raising basic staples (corn, rice, beans, etc.) the other 92% would then benefit by this “cheap flood” of foodstuffs. A long list of processed foods from the U.S. and other signatories of the pact would also be less expensive. CAFTA has provisions to phase out tariffs on competing American food imports over ten to twelve years, allowing farmers time to adjust to other crops.

Those against the agreement also say sweatshops will proliferate; the working class of Central America forever doomed to toil in horrid conditions at below poverty-level wages. The greedy multi-national conglomerates get ever richer while the poor grow poorer. The question is are these jobs worse than no jobs at all, and can CAFTA improve the current work conditions.

Proponents of CAFTA say it will help preserve thousands of textile jobs, because the U.S. sends billions in cloth exports to CA factories that sew garments to send back to the U.S. Without the agreement, many of these CA factories will continue to relocate to China, where US inputs are not used. Also, CAFTA has stronger labor law provisions than those already in place, and could result in higher wages and better conditions.

CAFTA has enforcement provisions for labor law violations. It provides for fines, up to $15 million, with a mechanism to allow the US to redirect the monies toward actually solving the labor problem. But CAFTA is just the start on improving labor conditions. As part of the agreement, the US has made a commitment of $180 million in labor and environmental assistance that will strengthen labor ministries and improve labor courts. Just how well these devices can be implemented is another question.

Another key issue raised is privatization of public services such as power, water and communications. Direct foreign investment can mean buying the right to operate these services for profit. Some measure of this has already happened in Nicaragua; the Spanish-owned Union Fenose operates the power company.

By some estimates, less than half of Nicaraguan households have potable piped in water. Large-scale foreign investment could pay for the infrastructure to improve the situation. The question is at what price this water will flow; and what power would local government and citizens’ groups have to address any problems that might arise.

Protection of intellectual rights is another provision of the agreement. This could mean extending patent rights on medicines. Say opponents, CAFTA stipulations defending intellectual property threaten to move AIDS treatments and other medications beyond the reach of many C. Americans in need. Generic competition has lowered drug costs. CAFTA will lock countries into tough new patent rules that will drive the cost of life-saving drugs up and delay or obstruct generic competition. However, it would also encourage the introduction of new medications into the CA markets sooner.

Perhaps the most volatile issue raised by CAFTA is environmental protection. Activists issue dire warnings of the investment protection provisions being twisted as an excuse to wreak havoc. Massive lawsuits against the hose nations’ governments would subvert environmental protection statues. Lowered tariffs on exotic wood will accelerate illegal deforestation. CAFTA does not give corporations the right to ignore environmental laws. It does give them a new set of regulations with which to mount challenges to these laws in court.

According to some sources, corporations are planning more such lawsuits. If CAFTA passes, a subsidiary of Harken Energy has said it will demand $58 billion from Costa Rica (whose entire GDP is only $37 billion) in compensation for hypothetical future lost profits, if they are not allowed to drill offshore in Costa Rica’s protected Talamanca region. This is one of the planet’s richest marine ecosystems, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Is this an extreme example, or a portent of things to come?

The pact also carries provisions for bidding on government contracts. For any purchases over $117,000 (eventually to be lowered to $58,000), CAFTA forces governments to open up bidding to transnational corporations. That means that nations will no longer be able to give preference to home-based businesses, and so mom and pop operations in CA and the US will suddenly be competing with the DuPont and the Halliburtons of the world.

Overall, CAFTA’s supporters paint a rosy picture of mutual benefits, hailing the seven-nation pact as a open-door policy that will benefit exporters, expand industry and see prosperity and democracy in CA and the Dominican Republic.

Never the less, as in any evolving economic situation, there will be winners and losers. There is little doubt that the big multinational corporations have the most to gain; if they have the will and conscience to do so, these benefits could be spread across the societies of all the signatory nations.

Between the Waves Edition 12/ September-November 2005

Our email was down today, so if you tried to email me, try try again! I know that must be the reason that I didn’t get any exciting emails; they all got lost!!

I’m working on getting pictures on the gallery, but when the computer reads the CD, the internet is too slow, and when the internet is fast enough, the computer won’t read the CD. This has been the case for weeks!! Now David’s trying and for some reason it won’t accept his log in, though the computer can read the CD! Ahhhh!

They have been planting new coffee plants on the farm to help us get prepared for the next years of coffee growing! Our tractor broke down (the alternator) so we’re thinking about selling it and getting two oxen, and maybe we’ll have money left over for a couple of horses too.

Church working is going good. I’ve become quite a little artist. We are going to decorate our class with animals and flowers (since we’ve been talking about creation and Noah and such). Today David went a bought us teachers a ton of supplies for the next few months. Now if only we had a working bathroom! One of my kids went peepee on my floor Sunday! Yuck!

We are at a new internet place, and I cannot make apostrophies (I do not know how to spell that either), so I will be talking very formally!

I thought I would tell you about sister Reyna. She has been a faithful Christian for about a year. Her husband is not a good guy, and a few weeks ago he kicked her and the kids out, so she has been living with her sister. As a result, now her sister and their family have all been coming to church too! We have Bible studies set up with them for this week. They are all very hard workers. I just think it is amazing how God can take a bad situation and make something good out of it.

The farm cleaning is all done, and we are laying low this month, because it never stops raining. Right now the sun is out and it is still sprinkling!!

Davids parents are safe and sound back in the States. They were under house arrest for 6 days in Cuba, but the government finally decided they were not working for the CIA, and they are free to enter Cuba any time.

Please pray for our Spanish teacher, Gloria. She hurt her foot and is at the hospital right now to find out if it is broken or what. Her husband passed away about a year ago, so she works alone to support her 5 kids. She cannot afford to be out of the game for very long!