Dear Folks, my name is Ryan Camenisch.

I am in Nicaragua, and this is our last day here. If you have read any of the blogs at  all, you probably know what we have been doing and where we have been and all that jazz. However, right now, as I am typing this our team is riding in a bus from Ometepe to Rivas then head to Managua and where we will stay the night till the plane back to Estados Unidos.

Brad (my brother) just put on a fake mustache which slightly resembled that of Inspector Cluseau (spell check did not help me out with that) but yeah, the guy from Pink Panther.

So people are getting some laughs.

It is, needless to say, ridiculously hot here… like… sweating is not optional and clean clothes are the ones you haven't put on yet. But somehow, as we ride along in this bus and the hot air flows through each window, it feels quite pleasant and makes one wonder how speed at which you feel the air affects how much your body appreciates it.

I am so grateful for what God has done and is continuing to do here in Nicaragua. I am also grateful to be able to be here serving with so many awesome people. I am less grateful for the fact that this blog does not have spellcheck... so if your reading this (and I am assuming you are) please bear with me. I actuallly do not have a lot to say but I will tell you a little about what has been going on here. Basically everyone has been working really hard.... so hard in fact that even my father, Senor Bill Camenisch said that he was very proud of everyone here. I am also very proud to be associated with the rest of the personas that are on this trip. It is not an everyday occurence that you find people willing to lay down there lives to serve someone when they know they will receive nothing in return. Actually that is only partially true because the people that I get to see everyday here in Nicaragua are doing just that. Serving without complaining, without expecting a reward, and most importantly serving with a desire to please the Lord in everything they do.  It is amazing how much work can get done with 15 to 20 people whose sole desire is to forget about their own personal desires and to work with all their might for the Lord. I am so amazed and am definetely surprised by how much work we got done. For those of you interested in the work we have done. We have made a lot of progress on a building that has been here for a long time but was still very unfiinished. We have put up multiple walls as well as laying a concrete floor over the surface area of the building. We have also been working in a ditch, laying concrete along the sides and bottom to help solve erosion problems here at the Orphanage. I am so thankful to the Lord for so many things. He is so good and I am grateful to be apart of what he is doing here in Nicaragua. Well I must go. I need to go on adventures with Jefe mi amigo y hermano. Serve someone, not only today but everyday.

Hello world! It is crazy to think that everything at home is going still going on normally while we are here, doing things that we would never do at home. But I am not here to write about home. I am here to write about Nicaragua.
So here it goes.
How does the saying go? Third time's the charm? This is my third year in Nicaragua. I know that back in 2009 when I said I wanted to go I wouldn't have thought I'd be back for a second time, nevermind a third. But who can resist such a place?
So far this week we've done a lot of cement. Like, mixing it by hand. Which is hard work, just FYI. But it is incredibly rewarding, expecially since we finished the floor of the building we've been working on (except for a small area that needs pipes and what-not). That's been a good team building experience because it requires a lot of communication with everyone. So that's been great. It's been nice seeing the ditch we dug last year get finished as well (despite all the rain!). Yesterday I went with the dental team to the other side of the island, near Volcan Madera (pardon my spelling). We set up in a (hot) church, put a curtain up between us and the pews so that we'd have a space to work without prying eyes, and went to work. I mostly held a light for the dentists while they pulled teeth. No cleaning here, just ask what tooth, what kind of pain, and they start pulling. Definitely need a strong stomache for that. And compassion. The first guy that came in really stands out in my mind; he was so nervous! After he got his first tooth pulled, I attempted to reassure him by using the universal "thumbs up" sign. He had two teeth pulled I think, but they were fairly easy in comparison to others. There were only about 15 people, but I can't imagine how many others need that kind of care.
In other news, God's been doing a lot. My relationship with Him has grown tremendously this past few months, kind of as a taking the step beyond the basic beliefs if you know what I mean. I've realized its not all about me (a lovely realization, you should try it sometime), and that's really been a big thing here for me. Our devotional time here each night in the Rancho time has  been beyond description for me. To use my friend, Ari's words, it is the most beautiful time. The theme this year has been prayer, which is a thing in itself, which I shall briefly explain. Just before coming here, like a week, Father really laid prayer on my heart. That is weird for me, because I have never, ever viewed myself as a pray-er because I never liked to pray out loud in front of people and because spoken word (even in the echoing recesses of my brain to God) isn't really my thing. But I did it because the whole God speaking to me is slightly new, and I was like, "hey, I should probably do that" Anyway. One nut-shell sentence is that "the prayers of a righteous person make a difference." God wants us to love Him and love his people, and (continual) prayer is one way we can (continually) serve them and help carry their burdens. I like that, and I think that is something that is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. There's more I could say and want to share, but this was really supposed to only be a paragraph post. :)
So goodbye, world. Sorry, but I don't really miss you (excluding physical and spiritual family). This little piece of heaven is good enough for me, bugs, rice, beans, and all. But we leave here Satuday to go to the Pacific and Masaya, and then on Sunday we have a long day of travel back to Estados Unidos. Do you think it's okay if I accidentally miss the flight?
Buenos noches. <3

     In the night the fans died, leaving humidity so thick it was hard to breath. Then the rain came, sounding like a rushing river cascading down our roof and spearing the ground with thick droplets.The day started with a lot of rain. The drenching, tropical, crazy kind that feels like you're getting pelted with airborne marbles. Had breakfast with teammate Rachel Young, the dentist team, and the orphans. If there's one thing all people can enjoy together it's a meal!! By the time breakfast was over, the rain had stopped, and there was an enormous, full-arch rainbow painted across the lake, reminding us that God would never flood the earth entirely again (though it'd felt like maybe the world was flooding earlier that morning. The rainbow is a sign of God's eternal promises, promises and Words that remain and resound across generations and across miles. It was an hour's drive or so to our site for the dental clinic, packed in a 5-seat truck with two in the open-air back. The simplicity and wild creation around me reminds me of how very away I am. I've been here three times before, and the smell, heat and sun beating on fertile earth, mixed with a sharp burning scent and frijoles in a caldero, always ignites memories. God has been faithful to the people here, and to the people who come. We have so much to share with each other. The dentists are from Managua, and their. They are a blessing to the people. As we bump and chug through the riverbed roads I am amazed at the sacrifice and dedication of the people around me. There are three dentists: Jonathan, who I met four years ago and assisted before, his friend Miguel, and his wife Hazel. Hazel is four months pregnant, and her and Jonathan have brrought their son, Jonathan Junior, who is three, "hyperactive" (Jonathan says: "How do you say that word? Hyperacteev?"), and spends much of his time sprawled across our laps fast asleep despite the earthquake like environment that is the truck ride. Then there is Jonathan's sister and "Jonah's" aunt (tia), Raquel. She is youthful and smiling. Finally there is Rachel and I, and Oswaldo, our driver, who has been at the orphanage pretty much his entire life. What a crew! It very much feels like a family environment, because it is one. We all look out our windows and take in the smoky campos and jungle, and laugh at Jonah's antics, attempting to learning more about each other despite language barriers. It's hot in the simple church we've have to set up our clinic in. The church is four walls and a roof. Wooden benches for chairs, rickety tables and cloth, flowers, a bible, a few instruments. With the help of the village nurses we clear the stage and hang up a curtain. Jonathan re-teaches me the names of instruments, the cleaning cycle and the process of assitisting him. I explain that to Rachel. Hazel hand writes a list of patients and begins making baggies oof pain killers and antibiotics. Slowly patients begin to fill the church seats, children and adults, silent and patient, some massaging their cheeks. Miguel and Jonathan are smiling and light-hearted, expert with their work, easing the minds of their patients and explaining diagnostics. Making good use of the simple tools we are able to bring to the island (which has little dental care). We work steadily all morning and well into the afternoon. Rachel and I hold lights, set up instruments, refill gauze and anesthesia. we hand them to the dentists and snip stitches thread. We hold the hands of children, and smile at the brave people who come with very, very painful, rotted teeth, braving the extraction. The patients are brave, most of them don't make a peep. There are a few tears, but Miguel jokes with the kids and gets them to smile, helps them to trust. Little Jonah and his tia plays in the background, making friends with neighborhood children. It's a long hot, humid day of work, the one fan aimed at the patients. A squeaky dental chair and a stack of plastic chairs their seats. Without any complaints, the dentists do their work. Jonathan gets out his cell phone and plays classical music for atmosphere, a little guitar, a little saxaphone, a bit of Beethoven. Chariots of Fire (be brave kid!! You'll make it!). The people of the village feed us lunch and we get a soda at a local tienda. Stocked with hand picked fruits, t-shirts, shoes, soda, this and that. The people are happy to be cared for. We leave happy to have had patients. I feel proud of this little family with generous hearts and a senses of humor. Steady, helping hands. We've gotten up early and sweated all day, so we find a place to take a break by some cool water and then head back to the orphanage, in time to eat with everyone! Our teammates are all reporting aching limbs and sore backs from mixing concrete all day. We eat a yummy meal of beans, soggy pasta, pan, veggie patties, and fruit juice. Then congregate in the rancho. We sing a worship song together, a favorite thing for many of us, lead by Ted and JM. Jason gives us  a message illustrating Christ's love for people and the love we must have for people. He leads us in praying for one another, an act of love that shows a vulnerable side of each of us not too often exposed in such short aquaintance. It brings us together. Raquel, Terri, and Stella pray for me, and I am blessed an encouraged. Afterwards we are easier in our interactions, though we are a very diverse group. We play games, tocar la guiterra, sing songs, dance around, goof. Tomorrow it's out with the dentists again. And NOW is time for sleep! I wipe sweat from my brow (from humidity, not from the exertion of writing this), and look forward to collapsing on my cot. The bugs are chorusing, the orphans are asleep (or at least tucked in), and I hear a few murmurs. Goodnight all! God bless-  Justina  

Greetings from Nicaragua!!

This is my first time coming to Nicaragua, and it has been very unlike anything I had imagined. The heat is crazy intense, especially for a New Yorker like myself. I feel as though I need to be spinning constantly, like a rotissarie chicken, in order to be cooked evenly.
This past day I worked with other members of the team on constructing rebar that will be used on the house we are helping construct. We were bending rusty metel rods into triangles, and tying them to rusty rebar pieces with rusty wire (Yes, we have all had our tetnus shots). Many times the group discussed how you would never find a group of inexperienced young people constructing rebar in the United States. But that is one thing that I am finding on this trip, not only are we helping others through service but we are doing it in ways that seem very foreign to me, and I am learning in the process. I am looking forward to the rest of the week to see what we can accomplish and what else I might learn.

This is my first time coming to Nicaragua, and it has been very fun to get to see the orphanage that I have heard so much about from friends and family.  This is the fourth mission trip that I have been on, all to different countries; but the first one I have done with most of my family.  It is a huge blessing to be able to share the experience with them, and see them experience for the first time something that has been such a huge part of my life, and walk with the Lord.  It is also very cool to get to be a part of the many projects here at CICRIN, and there vision for the future.  I am looking forward to the next week, and the work that we will be able to accomplish during our time here; as well as everything that the Lord is going to do through us, ad for us.

From where I sit I can see two volcanoes, both swathed with clouds that might make me believe I am in the Himalayas...except for the fact that the heat has been making me sweat every liter of liquid I ingest. No, this is Ometepe, Nicaragua.