It’s been a while since our last update, and we’ve been working a lot!  School starts on Monday, so the church has been able to help a lot of students from our congregation with uniforms, admittance fees, and school supplies.  From Heavenly Harvest Coffee proceeds we were able to buy 59 food baskets to distribute to the congregation.  This is such a big help for our members, as we enter the “dry” season where there isn’t much work and times get tough.  We approved our budget for 2007, and we were able to make quite an increase.  This year we are trying a different system.  Last year, David and I kept all of the money, and each project leader came and asked for funds and such.  This year, we have binders for each project and each week the leader gets their portion of the budget so that they have the money ready and don’t have to make a trip to our house.  I think this will work great because 1-the men can’t spend more than their budget and 2-each will know how much funds they have for their projects.  And it also gives me a break from keeping track of all that money!!  Hopefully they’ll learn some good budgeting skills and be able to apply them to their home as well.

In our children’s classes, we started a new plan and it is going well. Before, each teacher made their own lesson plan.  This discouraged some from being teachers because it’s hard to think of what to teach on plus all the visuals, activities, etc.  I also wanted all the classes to learn the same thing because many kids come without parents, and I think it would be great if older kids could help younger, and they could all talk about the same topic to their parents.  I found a plan online that was supposed to be 1 quarter of curriculum, but I made it into much more.  It’s theme is learning about God, and it talks about God our Creator, God is Holy, God is King, etc.  Each topic was to be 1 class, but they are very deep, so I divided them up into 3 or so each.  We are in God our Creator now, and have talked about 1-How God made something out of nothing - we could never do that; 2-How God knows what is best for us and is “smarter” than us because he made us and everything; 3-How God made us caretakers of the earth, and we need to fulfill our task.  I like it because it gets to the heart of the creation lesson, rather than just learning what he made on each day!  The teachers like it too because they can work together to make activities and such and trade ideas.  Each teacher teaches the same topic, but they can teach it in their own individual way.  Please keep this new system in your prayers.  I’m really excited about it.

I’m hearing all this whining about ice and snow in Oklahoma, but it’s gotten down to 70 degrees here, and we’re really freeeeezing!!  Last year at this time I was still used to the OK weather changes, so I walked around in sleeveless shirts and short sleeves and snickered at all the people in jackets and sweaters shivering.  But now, now I’m officially Nicaraguan and shivering right along with them!!  A while back we got a thermometer to kind of keep track of what the normal weather is.  People ask a lot about what the range in temps is, but the only official info is from Managua, which is a lot hotter than here.  So when we first got some cold days I’d rush to the thermometer in the morning and it’d be 74 degrees.  Now it’s gotten to 70 and 72, but I still feel pretty wimpy!

So I’ve been thinking lately (a scary thing, I know), about the way that I, and therefore I assume all others =), view prices and spending. When I go to purchase something, I almost always buy the cheapest thing. I’m upset that I have to purchase my jeans in longs, and so I have to pay $30 for them, because longs never make it to the sale rack. I want $5 shirts. The cheapest food products (as long as quality is similar). I try not to buy fruit that costs more than $1/pound. And my reasoning, “I can’t afford that!” if it’s more.

Last week I got an email from a man who has a fair trade sports shop. This means that the workers who make the balls and such get paid enough to support their families (”living wages”). He had read the blog about sustainable coffee and saw that we mentioned that the men here love to play soccer. He asked if some of our supporters in the states might like to purchase some soccer balls for us from his shop, that maintains the same goals and ideals that we have. (www.fairtradesports.com) I looked online, with my normal attitude of “cheap.” Now, I really don’t know how much soccer balls cost, but for me, anything over $5 takes thought and a real decision to buy (ok, ok, I’m probably cheaper than most). I’m ashamed that I thought the prices were high and “I could get something cheaper somewhere else.”

The point is, I probably could get something cheaper somewhere else, but should I? If it’s cheaper, does that mean the people who made them didn’t get paid enough to feed their families? I guarantee it does. I’ve seen this first hand with the coffee farm. We have no debt for the land, since a member of the church donated the money to purchase it, but if we were selling our coffee to a broker (where all coffee companies in the states buy the coffee from), we wouldn’t have come close to breaking even on our investment this year which included fair pay for our workers, medical help, and upkeep of the farm. So, how do most Nicaraguans, who had to purchase their land, who have to break even, and who have to support their family from the profits, make it? The answer is: They don’t. It’s that simple.

Even when we were readying to move to Nicaragua and talking about “helping the poor” I didn’t really get this. My thinking of “I can’t afford that” is just plain wrong. What do I mean by that? If I pay $1.50/lb for this fruit all year, I might not be able to buy fast food when I want to. I might have to buy a $150,000 home instead of a $170,000 home. I might have to get a cheaper car. I might have to settle for 3 bedrooms instead of 4 (we know 2 is out of the question). That is what it means for us.

But what does it mean for the worker? If we won’t pay $1.50/lb, it means that their family might have to go 2 days without eating this week. I means that their kids might have to drop out of school because they can’t afford the school supplies, or worse, they need their kids to work. What does it not mean? I doesn’t mean they’ll have to buy a cheaper car - having a car isn’t even considered in their wildest dreams. It doesn’t mean they’ll have to buy a smaller house - their house consists of boards, cardboard, plastic sheets and metal combined to make walls. It doesn’t mean their kids won’t have their own room - it means their kids won’t have their own bed, and will have to share 2-3 in one bed. It means they can’t go to the doctor when they’re sick, or if they do go to a free clinic, they can’t afford the medicine.

This reminds me of the times of the Civil War, when slave owners said, “I can’t possibly run my plantation without slaves. I couldn’t afford it!” How many have seen movies or read books of this time. Slave owners lived in 10 bedroom houses, ate the best food, had multiple servants. Maybe if they paid workers they’d have to build a 5 bedroom house, cook their own food, make their own bed.

Now, we are always happy and ready to give money to help out poor countries. But what builds self-esteem and produces a solution to the problem? A man who worked all day who has to hang his head and accept a hand out because even with all his work he can’t support his family? Or a man who worked all day and doesn’t need the hand out because he was paid a fair wage for his work? I’m not talking about making the guy rich. I’m talking about paying him enough money for what we learned in school are the basic necessities: food, clothing, and shelter. After all, doesn’t he deserve it (1 Tim 5:18 - “The worker deserves his wages”)?

Oh, and we’re in big trouble for this attitude. James 5:1ff says, “Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you. Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. You have lived on earth is luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered innocent men, who were not opposing you.”

Lets all start sacrificing a little and find places to purchase from that pay fair wages, so that we aren’t hording our wealth at the expense of lives of the workers. And here’s the best part: a small sacrifice for us makes a huge impact for the worker. Here, a pound of rice costs 25 cents (You didn’t read it wrong - $0.25). A pound of beans: $0.33. A liter of milk costs $0.61.

This Sunday we were blessed to have a special fun day for the kids. Benny Baker heads up a work and brings tons of gift boxes to Nicaragua each holiday season. The boxes include: pencils, crayons, sidewalk chalk, stuffed animals, candy, notepads, stickers, and other toys. I don’t know how many boxes he brings, but I know it is a lot, and we are so appreciative, along with our kids, for this work. Sunday we gave the toys away to the kids. Benny gave us a great idea to have a donation box and each of the kids give one toy for their box for someone in need. The kids loved this (I have to say I was a little worried), and they were so proud when they gave away their toy, yelling, “Look Kimberly, I’m giving this…”

To start the day, we had arroz con leche for breakfast, and then gave away prizes for the kid’s with perfect attendance. Hopefully this will encourage the kids to attend each and every Sunday. Then we got to kill the pinata. The kids loved it. I had to buy two to fit all the toys in, and I think it worked out well since it gave both the big kids and the little once a chance to play. Some of the toys broke, so it was a good thing I bought some extra! Those kids have some muscle!

I received an email about our coffee: Is is Fair Trade? Is it shade grown? Bird friendly? These questions are very important, and I thought that others might want to know the same thing, so I’m posting my response below.

Thank you so much for you interest in our coffee. Your questions are our top concern in our work here. The farm is a great way to support Mission Nicaragua, which works in benevolence and social works, but one of the main goals is to provide a boost for our local economy. The thought follows: If our workers are going to need our benevolence, what good are we really doing?

Fair Trade: We do not qualify as Fair Trade because we are not a cooperative. The farm was donated by a member of the church in order “help the people help themselves,” and so it belongs to the church, and not a group of small farmers. Having said that, we do try to meet other Fair Trade standards. These include:

• Fair Price: Since we sell our coffee directly to the consumer, we are guaranteed a fair price for our coffee.

• Fair Labor Conditions: We pay a premium wage to our year-round workers and seasonal harvesters. Permanent workers receive sick pay, vacation pay, 7^th day pay, and food pay. We also pay for medical needs for them and their families. We treat our harvesters to special prizes. Last year, we pay extra to those who received stars for excellence in harvesting. At the end of the season, we had a group meal. This year, when we finish harvesting in a few weeks, we will give basic baskets of food away. We pay extra to our harvesters so that they can support their families, but also because of our high standards in harvesting. In addition to these things, we give away firewood for cooking, bananas and any other fruit available on the farm.

• Direct Trade: You can’t get more direct than us!!

• Democratic and Transparent Orgs: This usually applies to investing revenue. We have a group in Edmond, OK, that helps us decide where best to use our funds for social works. On the farm, we give our workers freedom to decide many things. We consult them about the best time to start the day working, how they would like to handle purchases for work (rain boots, machetes, etc.), and such. Since we are new to the Nicaraguan culture, we make sure we hear their opinions and they are able to make many decisions on how to make their job work best for them.

• Community Development: The farm itself is a meeting place for the community. All the men in the area love to get together to play soccer, but used to have to drive to a nearby town. Now we have a field on the farm where they can play. We have a church building on the farm, and are planning a garden for those in need as well. We donate firewood to the local school, and support many projects. We are hoping to build a playground area in June. The coffee proceeds also go to purchase medicine for the community, food, medical exams, and any other family needs.

• Environmental Stability:

• Shade-Grown: We have about 50% shade (compared to the 40% minimum standard of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center). These include fruit growing trees (mangos, mandarin oranges, bananas, plantains, lime, etc) as well as simple shade trees. One of our projects in this area is to plant more fruit trees. Unfortunately, this year we had a very limited rainy season, so we are forced to wait to plant until the next year (October).

• Sustainable Practices: We use organic fertilizer we make on the farm from coffee pulp and chicken droppings. Since our goal for the coffee is quality, not quantity, we are not even tempted to adopt practices that up production in the short run while destroying the soil and the plants in just a few years.

Our environment and the people around us are very important to us! We are new to this work. We arrived last July and barely had time to “trim the grass” on the farm before we began the harvest season. This year, we have devoted ourselves to the long term development of the farm. We have pruned coffee trees to promote healthy growth. We have organized our shade trees for even coverage. We have planted new coffee trees in empty lots. The lack of rain this year set us back a bit, but it is our goal to develop the farm fully into a sustainable farm. In addition, if we ever reach the point where we need to purchase from other farms to meet demand in the states, we will only purchase from farms that meet these same standards. We also support the economy in Nicaragua during the process to prepare the coffee for sale in the states. Though it might be a bit cheaper to purchase bags, labels, and such in the states, we purchase it all from Nicaragua, helping give a steady income to these companies.

Thank you so much for you purchases and interest in our work. Please feel free to write us again if you have any more questions! We are more than happy to share information about the project here.

Well, we have been considering all of the things we are going to have to do soon, and there are a lot of plans in the works!   The ladies class met Tuesday to plan activities for the next year.  We are going to have a full Saturday of seminars in March.  This will be the first time to have a ladies seminar, and it should be great!  We are also going to have some classes with our young ladies in the youth class over things specifically for their age.  It has been great to see our group grow from 4-5 each Tuesday to 10-15, and I think we can grow even more with these exciting activities.  Please keep these plans in your prayers.

The men have been meeting to plan our budget for 2007.  We collected way more than our budget in 2006 (Yeah!!), so we have been able to expand.  This year we are adding funds for the youth class and the women’s program, and we are hoping to be able to fit in a garden ministry as well.

We also received donations to make pews for the church building.  The chairs we normally use make child control very difficult!  So we are hoping that with benches we can teach our children to not run around during services!

Please keep all of our plans for the New Year in your prayers that we will have success with the help of God!