Submitted by: Skip Winter
On Sunday evening January 15, eight tired, but smiling members of the First Presbyterian Church’s Mission Team to Nicaragua debarked from a United Airlines Flight at Newark Airport. The journey, which began on Saturday, January 7 was definitely a successful and eye opening experience for all participants.
Jeff and Carol Berns, Mark Cassidy, Lynne Fitzpatrick, Phyllis Dunlop, Jim Vanderhoff, Kelli Bruno and Skip Winter experienced all facets of life in Nicaragua, from visiting agricultural villages without clean and available drinking water, and which had waited 20 years for electricity, to INHIJAMBIA, a facility in Managua for abandoned children, to a new surgical facility operated by one of the best spine surgeons in Nicaragua.
The journey began in Esteli, a northern Nicaragua community which had suffered many casualties in the Sandinista Revolution in the 1980’s. The group visited and met with representatives from FEDICAMP, an agricultural community that desperately needs clean and available drinking water and had just received electricity after waiting for over 20 years. The initial plans had been to begin construction on a water project to provide drinking water for families and schools in a rural community. Upon arrival the team found out that the government had agreed to fund that particular project this year. The efforts were not in vain, as the mission team was able to begin to develop another water project in a neighboring community with the assistance of a local Rotary Club.
Moving on, the team traveled south to the capital city of Managua to visit INHIJJAMBIA, a facility that works with street kids, many who are drug addicted and live on the streets in groups and fight for survival every day. Staying in Masaya, the mission team visited the construction site of the new home for AXAZYACATL, a facility to assist women who suffer from domestic abuse and domestic violence. The Last year’s Mission Team had initiated the construction and they were pleased to see that the new home is about sixty per cent completed.
The journey was concluded when the team spent a few days in Granada, a Nicaraguan city rich in culture, art and history. They visited two of the schools where previous mission trips had done work and helped plant some newly acquired trees.
Perhaps the most important parts of the trip were not only to learn about the rich cultural history and political turmoil of Nicaragua, but as a group, to work and travel together as a community of twelve to work hard, learn a great deal, and have a good time doing it. A highlight of the trip was to have Kelli Bruno perform on stage in a restaurant in Masaya with her new handmade Nicaraguan guitar.
Through the effort and inspiration of Lynne Fitzpatrick, owner of the Guillotine Salon and Spa in Westfield, plans are already underway to fund barber and beauty school training at AXAZYACATL and INHIJAMBIA.
The First Presbyterian Church of Cranford is located at 11 Springfield Ave. Cranford, NJ.
For further information and mission opportunities please contact the church office at (908) 276-8440.
(above l-r) Jeff Berns, Carol Berns, Lynne Fitzpatrick, Kelli Bruno, Phyllis Dunlop, Jim VanderHoff, Skip Winter and Mark Cassidy.
