Animals of Nicaragua

As we have been preparing mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for the Lord to use us in Nicaragua, we have been learning as much as possible for what to expect. One of the questions that has come up, is "What type of wildlife are we going to see there?" Are there going to be snakes, monkeys, jaguars or what? So, today's topic is on the "Animals of Nicaragua," which gives us an excuse to do a little research on the topic.
Iguanas- From what I gather, green iguanas are quite common (not the little ones in pet shops). An average adult green iguana is about 6.5 feet long and can weigh up to 20 lbs! In various places, there are "iguana crossing" signs, because the iguanas will lay on the warm road at the end of the day. People say they can be aggressive if you approach them on foot. On our honeymoon, I found some big ones in the Bahamas, and I've actually fed one a hot dog! The Nicaraguans hunt them, eat them, and sell them. They are popular to eat during the Nicaraguan "Holy Week," which is a week long festival of Nicaragua.

Jaguars, Cougars, Jaguarondis, Margays, and Ocelots- The largest cat found in Nicaragua is the Jaguar, which is the largest, most powerful feline in the western hemisphere (3rd in the world behind tiger and lion). They are supposed to be extinct on the pacific side, and mostly found in the protected rainforests. Then there are cougars, which I'm a little less concerned about. The jaguarondis are even smaller, followed by Margays (which look fairly cute), and the Ocelots, which have even been kept as pets! Maybe it would keep the rodents away?

Monkeys! Nicaragua is home to at least a few different kinds of monkeys. The type I have found the most information on is the mantled howler monkey, referred to by some as the "loud-mouths of Nicaragua". These are found throughout Nicaragua. Monkeys are considered the loudest animals on earth, only behind the blue whale. These monkeys live in families of up to 50 and howl, grunt, and bark like you wouldn't believe. I've also read that the indigenous Indians weren't interested in keeping them as pets because of their noise level and melancholy attitude after being captured. Then there are also white-faced Capuchin monkeys and black-handed spider monkeys. I doubt I would run into any of them.

Birds- Nicaragua has some really cool birds. There are many types of eagles, owls, parrots, toucans... the list goes on and on. I would like to come across some of these...

Other animals- there are way too many to count, but what I am gathering is that there is a whole lot of things we're not used to, such as tarantulas, three-toed sloths, anteaters, strange frogs, and boa constrictor snakes! That being said, a machete will be one of the first things I buy when we get there! Realistically, I probably won't come across most of this stuff, but doing this post has helped me realize what can be found in Nicaragua!

The "other" side of Nicaragua

While we were in Nicaragua, we stayed in 2 very different parts of the country. First, we stayed in the capital city of Managua. Managua is relatively developed. While Managua is still a very poor area by American standards, it has many modern conveniences. For example, there are at least a few different McDonalds throughout the city (which is how Americans measure how similar a place is), other fast food restaurants, La Union (which is a modern grocery store), and Michelle even pointed out that they had a Payless shoe store (which she made me visit). The second place we stayed in was Puerto Cabezas (Caribbean Coast) . Puerto Cabezas was much less developed. The people here seemed much poorer. I don't believe there were any McDonalds or fast food restaurants. There was a relatively modern grocery store (similar to an old, dim lighted Dollar General store). Most houses probably didn't have running water, and the houses were built on poles to keep them off the ground. These 2 sides of Nicaragua were very different.

When we returned to Managua from Puerto Cabezas, a guard in the hotel began to ask Michelle questions, such as "Why were you in Puerto Cabezas?" and "What were you doing there?". I think brother Dayton cleared everything up. Later, we discovered that these two sides of the country are politically separate. In the map below, there are two large pink regions: North Atlantic Autonomous Region (R.A.A.N) and South Atlantic Autonomous Region (R.A.A.S). Both of these regions have their own autonomous government with governors and regional councils. Defense is the responsibility of the Central Government of Managua.

Much of the R.A.A.N is called the Mosquito (or Miskito) coast, named after the Miskito Indians that reside here. You can see this area highlighted in red in the map above. The R.A.A.N. has never fully been incorporated into the nation of Nicaragua. It is isolated from Western Nicaragua by rugged mountains and dense tropical rain forest. There are no paved roads from coast to coast. The Miskito Indians are a different people from the Mestizos of the West, whom they call "the Spanish." The primary language is Miskito, and many speak Spanish as a secondary language. Traditionally, the natives do not regard themselves as Nicaraguans, and some see Nicaraguan rule as a foreign imposition.

The five major cities of R.A.A.N. are Puerto Cabezas (capital), Waspam (by Honduran border), and the "mining triangle towns" of Bonanza, Rosita, and Suina. There are also many towns and villages along the rivers. As we learn more about the geography and people of Nicaragua, we can gain a better understanding of which of these areas do and do not have a gospel witness. The picture below is one such town called Layasiksa, which in 2004, was described as having no running water, electricity, or phones and having 136 families. It is easy to get so caught up in our own world, and forget that there are those who still have not yet heard the name of Christ. They do not know that there is a mediator between God and man who has shed their blood for their sins. "How then shall they call on Him whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe on Him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?"

Miskito Role of Shamans

Throughout my research, I haven't found too many good sources on the religion of the Miskito Indians. Many sources seem quick to categorize them as evangelized. From what I have gathered, this is not exactly the case. While there was a Moravian missionary movement in the 1800's that "reached" a good potion of Miskitos, they now acknowledge both the Christian God and parts of their indigenous religion as well. I know that shamans are an important part of their society, and I have always wondered how this ties together. I came across an excellent article explaining this, and I will try to summarize the issue.

First, as I said, the Miskito people recognize the Christian God. In their language, He is called "Daiwan" or "Dawan," which means "owner" or "master" in an unlimited sense, as in "Owner or God of everything." This is the God of the Bible. However,they believe that between man and God/"Dawan" are mythical beings called "Dawanka." Dawanka are masters/owners of something specific such as fish, game, cotton, etc. For example, Duwindu is master of game animals and Merry Maid (Liwa Mairin) is master of animals of river and sea. In fact, I've read that Miskito children often wear amulets to protect them from mermaids/liwa who might drag them into the sea. Anyways, these Dawanka (who you could think of as spirits) are believed control the things of nature. Interestingly, Dawan/God blesses the good/upright and gives misfortune to the bad/sinful. Dawanka/Spirits, however, give out their blessings much more randomly.

Apparently, humans have little or no influence over the dawanka/spirits, therefore needing a mediator to ensure they receive the blessings from the dawanka. This is where shamans come in. Shamans act as intermediates between the people and the dawanka/spirits. If somebody wants to be blessed with game, fish, or fortune with the opposite sex, they may consult a shaman, who will then entreat the dawanka/spirit. In this process, there is an understanding similar to a contract, that there is a price for this blessing. Sometimes this may be in the form of the dawanka's claiming of the persons next child, whom the person may care little about. This end of the bargain inevetably comes into play as the person is unable to keep their end of the bargain. If the person does not hold up their end of the deal, the dawanka can then come harm or kill a person. So essentially, the dawanka are viewed as having two natures- one of blessing which is necessary, and the other of opportunities for the greedy and unwise. They are viewed as dangerous- so dangerous that only the shamans can entreat them without being ensnared. Because of this, the dawanka/spirits are sometimes called "Setan nani" or "satans." The Dar, which is a vine or sometimes a bird, found in the legend of the invisible hunters (also posted on the discussion board), is also considered a dawanka. The dawanka/spirits are also believed to be able to take human form. Sometimes if a wealthy person has a sudden death, people will believe they have been dealing with dawankas/spirits.

As you can tell, this is very interesting and will present a challenge for reaching the Miskito people. The people acknowledge the God of the Bible, yet they still consult with shamans, who make deals with the dawanka, who are essentially called devils. This also reveals how important it is to reach them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am sure I will learn much more about all of this in the future.

If you want to read the article, I have attached a link below:
http://www.dur.ac.uk/anthropology.journal/vol16/iss2/jamieson.pdf

August 2010 Prayer Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

It has now been about one and a half months since we completed candidate school, and we are excited that the Lord would use us to do His work. Right now, we are still laying the groundwork for our deputation ministry. We understand that by establishing a strong prayer support base, God will answer those prayers by blessing our ministry. We were encouraged to see how many people are supporting our ministry with prayer. We plan to keep our supporters up to date on our ministry.

This month has been full of blessings. This is now our second prayer letter which we are also sending out by snail mail for the first time. We also completed our prayer cards and they will be printed soon. Next, we are working on our presentation/video, display table, and information packet we can send to churches that are interested in our ministry. Michelle and I both received promotions at work, which is a blessing because it will help us to transition into full time deputation sooner.

While our hearts go out to those who need the Gospel in Nicaragua, we are still involved in reaching those who are here. We intend to minister to those around us- no matter where we are. Currently, we are involved in children's ministry at our church, and it's always a blessing to see children learn to love the Lord. We know that the Lord is preparing us now for the ministry we will have in Nicaragua. Please pray that we will complete our materials in a timely manner and that the Lord will keep his hand on our ministry.

In Christ,

Jeremy and Michelle Blanz

Dreams and Goals

Dear Friends and Family,
As I sit down to write this it just thrills me that Jeremy and I are finally here. Our first prayer letter. I can hardly believe it. We have been looking forward to this since before we were married. As of tomorrow we will have been official BIMI missionaries for three weeks. There really is a lot to do! Jeremy has been working on designing our prayer card almost non-stop since we were approved. We started by gathering as many cards and we could find and then used some our favorite elements from them to create our own design. We hope the end result will be professional but also appealing. I am so proud of Jeremy as he has learned how to do all of this from scratch. He downloaded a free design program and then watched online videos that taught him how to use it. Every day he shows me something new and the card just looks better and better. Next up will be our presentation video, letter head, information packet and display board. We have some ideas for our video, but we may end up putting that into the hands of someone else. Pray that we can find the someone who can give it just the right touch.
When we went on our survey trip in March, we bought a lot of things for a potential display table even though we weren't sure we were headed there yet. We thought that if we didn't end up using them, we would at lease have some neat souvenirs! To complete our table we will need a table, table cloth and a display board that communicates what we are hoping to do. So as you can see we have our work cut out for us!
More important than all of the bells and whistles of our deputation presentation however, is the fact that we are headed for a needy country, and we are just so excited and ready to go! I have been searching the internet for pictures that we could possibly use. Oh, the children! The landscapes are pretty. The shots of the ocean are beautiful. It's the pictures of the children however, that keep gripping my heart over and over. So many precious faces that have never heard the truth about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We truly cannot wait to get there and get started. Pray for us that we will finish our materials quickly and professionally and also that God will keep stirring our hearts for the people of Nicaragua!
In Christ,
Michelle Blanz