Wings Over Nicaragua Mission Newsletters: 2011

Wings Over Nicaragua Mission
Reaching the Miskito People through Aviation and Medical Work

Baby in a tractor trailer

The radio crackled to life just after breakfast calling us, it was the hospital in Waspam. A man had just come in with a bullet wound, and they were stabilizing him. Could we transport him in 1 hour? A quick check of the weather via Internet looked good, so I started getting the airplane ready. Just then, a man came up on his bicycle and said his wife was in labor, and needed to go to the hospital. We didn't have a truck, and the village was 45 minutes walk away. I told her husband if they could bring her here, then I could take her in the plane. I told him I would be leaving in 1 hour. He was on his bike, so he could be back to his village in 15 minutes. Time would be close, but no one wears watches or pays any attention to the time here so there was little hope they would be back in time. At 50 minutes there was still no sign of them. I had the stretcher in the plane and was ready to fly. I got on the motorcycle and thought I would at least see if they were close by before I left. I got ¼ mile away, and there was the lady lying on the ground beside the road, and her husband had a desperate look on his face. I told them to just wait there, and went straight back to the house. I yelled to Marilyn to come quick with her baby delivery bag. She was ready to go because the lady's mother had just arrived on a different path. Marilyn jumped on the back of the motorcycle while I yelled to our hired hand, Ervin, to bring the small tractor and trailer as quickly as possible. Now the trailer is a very rough ride, not much suspension, but is faster than walking and easier for carrying someone. I dropped off my wife and things weren't looking very good. I left to get the plane started. The tractor arrived and they maneuvered the lady into the trailer and took off over the bumpy ¼ mile road to get back home. Marilyn delivered the baby halfway home, in the back of the trailer. When Erivn pulled in front of the airplane hangar he was shocked to see a new baby already delivered. Brandel (our 7 year old son) was able to hold the brand new baby for a few minutes while all the adults flew around getting everything done.
After Marilyn got the mother and baby cleaned up, we loaded her in the airplane so the hospital could double check them both and be sure there were no complications. In Waspam I unloaded the mother and baby, and loaded the guy with the bullet wound. It is not very often I get to make my trip both directions with patients! That will be the only baby in Nicaragua that can claim being born in the trailer of a walking tractor.

Here are some of our projects that we wish to share with you. We do this for three main reasons. First so that you have knowledge of what the Lord is doing in Nicaragua. And second to solicit prayers. We ask that you will please pick one project and put it on your prayer list. Thirdly, none of these projects can be done with the financial support of you, our supporters. Thank you for your support in both money and prayers.
Truck:
Our first priority is a TRUCK.
Our 4x4 truck quit working last October. It has made life much more complicated, as well as limiting our emergency medical transportation. We have $9,000 saved of the $15,000 we need for a used 4x4 Toyota.

Leadership Training
As we have spent our last four months contemplating where we are and what the Lord wants us to do, we realize that much of what we have done is temporary. When we leave, so will our work. We would like to touch the lives of the people around us in a more spiritual way. To this end we are starting the "Leadership Training" seminars. They will be monthly 3 day Bible training seminars that will teach Biblical truths as well as Christian lifestyle and health. Each month a different topic will be offered. Because we feel our inadequacy in this department we are looking to bring in presenters to help facilitate the education of the laity and members.
Part of the problems with the churches is that there are so few spirit-filled and educated ministers on this side of Nicaragua. There is only one ordained pastor who has to oversee as many as 10 or more lay-pastors who each have 5-10 churches to care for. Much of the cost of this program will be for travel costs for presenters to come from the Pacific side of Nicaragua bringing a refreshing addition of spiritually focused education with them.
We would also welcome people to visit us from the United States, that are willing to prepare and present a 3 day seminar. Translators are available.

Health Worker:
Some villages have a government clinic building, but no medicine or nurse. We would like to hire a part or full time health worker and stock them with simple medicines. They can triage patients before flights to maximize the use of the airplane. They would also assist a doctor when there is one to fly in for a mobile clinic.
The first place to put a health worker would be in Lapan a 2,000 person village that is 35 minutes flight from here. We fly there on average of once a week. It has a government clinic but no medicine or nurse for many months at a time. In order to get a nurse to live there, they would have to be paid the going (or higher) wages, and would open the clinic under MINSA (government hospital) guidance for 5 days a week. Because it is so remote, no one wants to go live there and the government nurse leaves for her own home when she runs out of medicine.

We would like to take a girl with "promise" from the village and send her to nursing school for 1 year (a practical nursing). With that minimal training, she could return to her village and work for us. And she would be willing to stay in the village because it is her home. She would also stay because we could provide her more consistently with medicine. Wages for a new practical nurse start at $150 per month with a mandatory increase yearly.

Runways:
We are slow to build runways at this time because we are waiting for the village people to build it themselves. If we provided some incentive such as shovels, picks, machetes, files and/or food, we could get a few built more quickly. Barbed wire fencing for runways is also needed.
The runway in Raiti is the next one I am working on. I plan to go there soon to work some. It is a 2 day trip (45 min flight) by river and I would work there a few days. If a volunteer came and knew Spanish, they could spend a week or 2 there (+ travel from America would be 4 days on each end, min 2 1/2 to 3 weeks) and probably get it done. The people need motivation and management, and an American could do that quite well. Not speaking Miskito and knowing the culture, it would be harder, but if they knew good Spanish they could probably do it. I would go get them set up for a couple days. The rainy season is starting, so it would need to be soon for a volunteer. Money to purchase tools would also help to get it done much quicker.

Water.
Biosand water filters. I built one out of cement, it will last forever. They cost about $200 each to build, and one per family would be ideal at some time in the future.
Other water projects. We drilled a well in 2 villages, ours and one a few miles away. I would be interested in a solar pump and tank as a trial in one of the villages. The well water is clean, so would not need filtration. The problem is not everyone can easily access one place, but it would be a start.

Agriculture program:
The agriculture program is one of our hardest areas since neither of us have any expertise in this area. Slowly Marilyn is working on her own garden and sharing techniques and seeds with people who are interested.

It would be nice to have some agriculture classes from a visiting "expert". Also some Spanish literature about agriculture would be read if rightly distributed.

Last year we did a project with Wings Of Hope and distributed seeds that they sent. It worked well and many people have brought us fine vegetables that they grew using the seeds. We are looking forward to repeating this project again in the fall.

One drawback to most village gardens is that they plant them out away from the village on their plantations. Since they don't visit them every day, often they are destroyed. The people are afraid to plant close to their house because of the pigs, sheep, cows and chickens that run free in the village. As part of the project, some fencing material would be well received. Barbed wire works great for cows but the other animals go right through. Some kind of pig wire type fencing would be better. One project passed out barbed wire and almost everyone used it. It now keeps the cows out of many of the gardens but fails to keep out the sheep, pigs and chickens.

Sincerely,

Clint and Marilyn Hanley

******************

Tax deductible Donation information:

Wings Over Nicaragua Mission

185 Harris Rd

Goldendale, WA 98620

We also welcome Visa, MC and Paypal online at www.wingsovernicaragua.org

We are a 501(c)(3) IRS registered non-profit

*******************

Connect with us:

[1]Follow us on Twitter
[2]Like us on Facebook
[3]Read our blog
[4]Watch our podcast
Links:
1. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=4b361536c7&e=feaa5401ad
2. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=580eee27fd&e=feaa5401ad
3. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=16c48e9cb8&e=feaa5401ad
4. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=77977fa6c3&e=feaa5401ad

Share this email:

Wings Over Nicaragua Mission
185 Harris Rd
Goldendale, WA 98620

[5]view email in browser | [6]unsubscribe | [7]update your profile |
[8]forward to a friend
Links:
5. http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=d25be0c6b2&e=feaa5401ad
6. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=46dc7724b9&e=feaa5401ad&c=d25be0c6b2
7. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=46dc7724b9&e=feaa5401ad
8. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=d25be0c6b2&e=feaa5401ad

[9]Unsubscribe *|info@wingsovernicaragua.org|* | [10]Update your profile |
[11]Forward to a friend
Links:
9. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=46dc7724b9&e=feaa5401ad&c=d25be0c6b2
10. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=46dc7724b9&e=feaa5401ad
11. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=d25be0c6b2&e=feaa5401ad

Wings Over Nicaragua Mission
185 Harris Rd
Goldendale, WA 98620

Sent to clint_hanley.brandel@blogger.com: [12]unsubscribe | [13]update profile | [14]forward to a
friend
Links:
12. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=46dc7724b9&e=feaa5401ad&c=d25be0c6b2
13. http://wingsovernicaragua.us1.list-manage.com/profile?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=46dc7724b9&e=feaa5401ad
14. http://us1.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&id=d25be0c6b2&e=feaa5401ad

Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp
http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?aid=d2293e347ab46e005d7eb5682&afl=1

What have I learned?

I write this for missionaries or Christians, who come to places in their life where the Lord has closed the doors and it seems our life as we have known it, must change. This can happen when we lose our job, home, or a close family member. The details can vary, but the way you find God's will in those circumstances is how we learn to come to a better understanding of God's character.

During the last 3 ½ months (January to mid April 2011) at our mission station here in Nicaragua, Central America, we have faced some unique problems. For the first time in 2 ½ years, our airplane has been shut down by the government. They have given no reason, just failed to renew our permissions to fly in the country. During that time, we seriously and prayerfully evaluated many aspects of our life and work in the mission field. As months rolled by with no permission, we put everything on the table for the Lord, requesting his guidance. Our options varied from liquidating our mission and go home to work in America, to relocation, to just closing down our aviation program and staying here. Whenever you are faced with obstacles, you always slow down and seek the Lord's will. Complicating this, our truck engine went out 3 months before we lost permissions for the airplane. When people came to us for medical emergencies, we had to tell them we couldn't transport them. That was hard, but we know the Lord is in control. Then the same thing happened to the plane and I had to tell the hospital and remote villages when they called with pregnant girls in trouble and major emergencies I couldn't fly. After a few days of them calling and pleading with us, we turned off our emergency communication radios. Why did God put us in this situation? When we first moved here we had no truck or plane, the same thing, but then people didn't ask us for transport. Now that we had transported people for a few years, the people had grown to depend on our help. We have no backup, and they have no backup. In most situations there was no other transportation and the people died.

As I tell everyone who asks us how we are funded, "We're volunteers, and that is nice because we are not tied into any length of time. As long as we are needed, we will stay." So now our useful life might have seemed to end, why stay longer? We examined our usefulness without the airplane, and found that even though our mission was currently centered around it, we had a lot of things we could do without it. The infrastructure we had built up over the last 5 years living here is a tremendous amount to just leave. One test we have always used in our mission work or projects, is that the Lord will provide the money for what he wants us to do. If he does not provide it, we will go back to America and work. Through this whole time that the truck and plane weren't working, our finances from many donors kept coming in as regularly as when we were flying. To us, this meant the Lord was telling us that we were suppose to continue in mission work. Maybe change something, but to move home and shut down did not seem to be His plan.

So as the weeks rolled on, we examined our past carefully to see if the Lord was trying to tell us to change. One thing we saw from examining our past 5 years here, is the longevity of our work here after we are gone. There are only a few things that will continue after we leave. One of those is education: both spiritual and secular. Evangelism classes to train elders and lay-pastors, better sermons in church, classes about how electricity, hurricanes, and how engines work – education is something that will change lives for the better. Lives brought to Christ will make a lasting difference. While we have supplied clean water, health and housing to many people, these will not have the lasting impact that education will have on their future. Our time here is limited, not just because of the stability of the country, but because we won't live forever. People may or may not take over from us in this place, but years from now, what remains here in this small part of the world we touch, will be lives God has changed. Children who grow up better because of parenting classes, and a thirst for education passed onto the younger generation. Humanitarian aid is a necessary thing, but combined with education it will have a much farther reaching influence. When we get our truck, we are planning on starting mobile classes with our projector, sound system, and generator. We plan to develop some classes and go to villages and give 1 hour to ½ day classes in health, religion, science, and several other areas.

In the middle of April we simultaneously got permission to fly for 2011 and also a specialized team from America came and erected a communication tower so we can communicate with remote villages for emergencies. We are only a few thousand dollars short of getting a replacement truck – the Lord is blessing. We will continue our work with renewed vigor and a focus closer directed to a longer lasting impact.

We know harder times than this will likely come, but we pray that each time trials come; we are able to learn from them and continue on the road that God lays out before us. Just like the old classic Pilgrims Progress, we will face many trials, and each has a unique lesson. There are two roads – and the road we are taking is the narrow one.

Clint and Marilyn Hanley
Wings Over Nicaragua Mission
www.wingsovernicaragua.org
info@wingsovernicaragua.org
Reaching the Miskito Indians with Aviation and Medical Work

Wings Over Nicaragua Mission Newsletters

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Newsletter from Nicaragua May 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

What we have learned

Favorite Links

Blog Archive

Tax Status

Donate

Newsletters