(and working with Art Dennis)
YOUR QUESTIONS, ART & DOTTY'S ANSWERS
Q.... Tell me what to expect upon our arrival in Managua.
A.... FROM PAST EXPERIENCES.... Your plane will arrive a little late, there will be immigration, have US$ 5.00 ready for tourist tax to enter the country, (US$ 20.00 to depart) Then you get the luggage at the carrousel, that is a slow process, to say the least. Then while in that room (that I won't be able to be in) you will have to fill out lost luggage claims, if any is missing, then to customs. I WILL HAVE A CLIP BOARD OR NOTEBOOK WITH "ART" ON IT IN BIG BUBBLE LETTERS so you'll know us on the other side of the window. All of this will probably take an hour.
Q.... What will we do when we arrive in Managua?
A.... If your flight arrives at mid-day we will probably get in the vehicles and drive straight to our accommodations near the work site for the week. We will have a briefing, there, after we get settled down in our accommodations. We might even have time to go look and pray at the job site... Don't know that for sure.
Q.... Will we go to church on Sunday morning or will that be our first day of work. Information needed in order to know what clothes we need to bring.
A.... Church on Sunday morning, YES.... Maybe, church on Sunday night... We'll see about the time table... If anyone speaks Spanish they will most likely be asked to preach or give their testimony.. NOTHING WILL BE ABSOLUTE!!!!! Well, almost nothing..... ABSOLUTELY!!!! NO! dress clothes... Ladies a denim or khaki skirt with a blouse and jeans for the guys are very adequate for any church service. I will wear khaki pants and a cotton shirt.....
Q.... Based on being in a different location, do we need to bring long pants or shorts, short sleeve shirts or long sleeve. Please advise accordingly as to what we need to bring. Will hats be provided? If so, will they have wide brims to shield our necks and faces from the sun? What kind of shoes do you suggest? Do we need to bring rain coats?
A.... I don't like this answer anymore than you do...... I DON'T KNOW!!!!!!! So far, Dotty and I have both worn shorts and T-shirts on the job site... Ladies... NOT! short shorts, We both wear high top work shoes and white cotton socks pushed down.... I strongly suggest that you bring clothes that you will leave.... If you don't you'll probably change your mine by the time you go home..... You'll want to give them away or throw them away.... Dotty and I bring the old clothes home, that you'll leave and wash them and get them back to the location we have been in or give them to the pastor at the next location, to be given out as he sees fit.... We do not furnish any hats, clothing, gloves or rain gear...... We, personally, wear soft hats, like some golfers and sailors wear., with the brim all the way around....Some, like ball hats.... This kind of stuff has to be determined by the individual.... Rain gear.... Plastic rain suit or jacket... K or Wall Mart type... Camping and/or sporting goods stores... A little nicer... Maybe at Lowe's or Home Depots (a yellow rain suit).... AGAIN!!!!! Don't bring good stuff... Bring things that can be left.... SHOES.... You can ruin a pair of white tennis shoes here in a week..... Here again we'll be in a different location... Our last work site was in BLACK mud.....
Q.... With this different location, what living conditions will be provided? You suggested solar shower bags....could explain what the showers are like. You mentioned sheets... I assumed single bed sheets? Do you not have pillows?
A.... For Pueblo Nuevo we will be staying in a small hotel... We have rented the whole thing... It will accommodate your team and our group here, Dotty and I, Gus, our interpreter, and Jeremy, our summer college volunteer.... The toilets and showers are in separate rooms, outside of your sleeping quarters... there is NO HOT WATER... This is typical for Nicaraguans... We suggest if you can't tolerate cold showers for a week... Bring solar shower bags...... You fill the bag with water, lay them in the sun and in the afternoon... WARM, not hot, WARM water for a shower.... Dotty and I tough it out and use tap water, the water isn't freezing cold..... The accommodations are okay, things are clean... we've seen the place but have not stayed there..... There are sheets and pillows.... Remember this is a small, poor village environment.... I don't know how your people feel about using other's linen and pillows... Since the toilets and showers are in different locations from your sleeping quarters bring a robe, shower shoes...... Bring a towel and a wash cloth.... Bring soap..... Think about what you would need if you were one half notch above camping out...... A LOT OF YOUR QUESTIONS ARE PERSONAL CHOICE QUESTIONS THAT WILL HAVE TO BE DECIDED BY EACH INDIVIDUAL ON YOUR TEAM..... THEY NEED TO KNOW THEIR OWN COMFORT ZONE AND TOLERANCE!!!
Q.... Please inform what the purpose of mosquito nets or for (for individual cots or tent or what).
A..... Nets and/or mosquito coils will be used in the room at night.... Maybe even OFF repellant... There is malaria and dengue here....... And we're hearing rumors about cholera..... DON'T TAKE UNNECESSARY CHANCES!!!!!! Please read the following.....
I'm sure that this is not news to our folks in Middle America, but it's a good opportunity for a reminder that much can be done to prevent dengue by emptying or covering collections of fresh water. Also there is a lot that can be done in the way of personal protective measures besides an occasional dab of OFF! Or citronella. Volunteers should be aware of these concerns also, as teams have had a number of members come down with dengue. A person's first case of dengue causes severe misery, but subsequent cases can be very serious.
Travis White, MD
The following is a report from the Honduran Health Ministry where they have registered 6,016 cases of common dengue and 47 cases of the hemorrhagic dengue since the beginning of the year, a department spokesman said Friday. There were 1,906 [50%] more cases of common dengue, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, in the first six months of 1999 than in the same period in 1998, the source said. The incidence of dengue as well as of other vector-borne diseases mushroomed in the wake of Hurricane Mitch, when stagnant and contaminated flood waters became ideal breeding grounds for dengue, malaria, cholera and other illnesses. The normal rainy season has helped make the situation even more precarious. Of the 47 reported cases of hemorrhagic dengue, which can be fatal, 25 were registered in Tegucigalpa, Health Ministry spokesmen said.
Q.... What kind of construction will we be doing, cement block or wood post? Cement work versus hammer and nails? Do we need to bring work gloves?
A.... Yes, bring gloves.... I'm back with a "I don't know" answer... While Southern Baptist volunteers have constructed about 550 wood post houses since the hurricane there is a strong need to do more permanent cement housing as well. Sometime the decision is based on availability of termite resistant wooden posts, community needs and what others are doing. Have your team leader check with Art closer to the date of arrival.
Q.... In the orientation hotel e-mail and fax and phone number information was provided. Since we are going to be in a different location rather than Estelí now, how can we communicate with family members if there is an emergency. Will we be able to communicate back home that we have arrived and when we depart? Will they be able to communicate with us in the field?
A.... DON'T count on communications of any type..... Yes, we might have some but PLEASE, don't count on any.... There are telephone and e-mail information in the manuals and available in every state office..... Any emergency should be routed to these numbers first... These folks, in the office, will immediately start to contact us....
Q.... What will the volunteer team leader's roles and responsibilities be in assisting you to make this a successful mission? Can you provide suggestions on how to prepare for our primary purpose?
A.... Watch your team!!! Listen, they're always saying something they want you to hear but don't want to bother anyone and ask...... Listen, to what they're saying to you and to others..... We are doing disaster relief work.... We will have times for evangelism and witnessing but we'll be spending most of our time in building and mending....
Q.... What other surprises might there be?
A....It is not and will not be a cut and dried project.... We have rivers to cross to get to our work site, we might get rained out. BRING A BOOK! The place we're staying might be a disaster, I hope not... But it could.. We might be working in one location, eating in another and sleeping in another and working across the river...... We'll be away from any town of any size... We won't just run to the store for supplies.... Every one of these things can either make or break our week.... A lot will depend upon the way we want to handle the situation..... If we have to, we'll buy lumber and build church benches....
Look at the positives and ask more questions...... We just got back from a hard week and I really can't tell you how much was accomplished.....
COME ON!!!!!!! THE SHOWERS MIGHT BE A LITTLE COOL...... BUT, BROTHER, THE WATER'S FINE!!!!......
We want the locals to work with us.... These houses and shelters will be their home and we want them to have made an investment in them... For doing this we have to pay a price of small tools walking off..... Yes, it's frustrating.... The Lord will have to take care of that part of our job!
DO NOT BRING.... Nail aprons, utility knives, chalk lines or chalk, we have a STIHL 017 and an 018 chain saw.
This is hard, dirty and frustrating work.. We'll lift heavy stuff, carry heavy timber dig holes, with steel bars, run chain saws and eat saw dust, get wet with rain and sweat, get cuts and bruises, mash fingers, get mosquito bit, might even get dog bit..... We'll create a lot of good will, minister to the poor, give away our personal possessions....We'll laugh, well have a broken heart and we might even cry, a little...... MOST OF ALL...... WE WILL SERVE THE LORD........
TAKE CARE...
GOD BLESS...
ART & DOTTY
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