September in Estelí­

We have a little more information about where we will be going and what we will be doing in Nicaragua. The training is in Estelí, a small city in the northwest region of the country. If you click on the image to the right, you can view a satellite map centered on Estelí. The training begins August 31, and lasts for three months.

One disappointing fact we read in the trainee handbook is that Kris and I will probably be living with different host families in completely different towns for the three months of training. We are guessing that this is so that we don't use each other as crutches during the training. It takes away opportunities to speak English, so we will learn Spanish faster. But it is probably going to be the most lonely three months I have experienced in a long time. But God will be with us.

The good news is that Estelí is situated at an elevation of 2,700 feet above sea level, so the climate is relatively cool.

Our job descriptions are basically to help people to have a reliable, sustainable source of food, as well as train them to use the agricultural resources they already have. Poverty and malnutrition are common in Nicaragua. Half the population is under the poverty level. We'll be working with individual families, training them to squeeze as much agricultural productivity out of the land surrounding their small houses as they can without damaging the environment or denuding the land. Sounds like fun to me!