Monday, June 29th

This competent young heating and air conditioning diagnostician had "good and bad news" for me; hoping the second would assuage the damages cause by the first, I asked that he start with the bad...

• "Well-sir, your condenser is shot";
• "OK, so what's the good news?";
• "It's only 18 months old, so it's still under warranty-sir";
• “So, you’ll replace it for free!”
• “No-sir, it’ll still cost you $1,150 to replace it”;
• “I thought you said it was still under warranty?”;
• “Yes-sir, the new condenser is free, the cost is for labor, R-22, and hardware we’ll be using… you can talk to my boss if you want-sir”.

I gave “Will” a glass of tea (he’s a really nice young man) and sent him on his way; the call to his boss did earn me a $400 reduction in the repair estimate… "funny" how they can get you to feel good about forking out $750 to replace something that never should’ve broken in the first place.

Sunday, June 28th

I've been extremely blessed by the counsel of the older men in my life... my father and Lana's dad & step-dad, the pastors and Bible teachers in the churches of which I've been part, my mission mentors (Jim Palmer, Bob Trolese, Nour Sirker, Joel Huyser), and many others... their advise has always come spontaneously, often without words, through the example of their lives...

Recognizing that I have some pretty important decisions to make in the next year or so, I recently asked Bill Grady (a friend from church, pictured here with his sparkly-eyed bride of 45 years) to mentor me; yesterday was the second time we've gotten together for that purpose... we talked 3 hours over 1 cup of coffee... good decision!

Saturday, June 27th

These are two of the 167 pictures Lana's brother, Mitch, posted on his Facebook from his May 30 wedding/honeymoon in St. Lucia... Couldn't you have picked a nicer setting, Mitch & Heather?

Friday, June 26th

Tim made a good deal of progress on his SIP today... he's zeroing in on the issue pacemakers and other gadgets used to keep the "old ticker" ticking. I look forward to seeing how he develops his argument and arrives at his conclusions... he has about two weeks!

Thursday, June 25th

Coach Hughes started them out with a lively game of "soccer-tennis" this afternoon (that's Tim at the "net" in the navy t-shirt)... it was a good release after another five hours in surgery (as an observer). The season officially kicks-off one month from tomorrow at the "Runnin' Bulldog Elite Soccer Camp" (@Gardner-Webb University).

Wednesday, June 24th

Tim spent six hours in a room that looked like this; he'll be observing another heart surgery tomorrow as part of the research for his senior integration paper (SIP); his personal interest is in all the electronic devices used in the medical field... today, he was most excited to report that after taking Anatomy & Physiology at ACA, he could easily identify all the organs visible, and valves being replaced... good work, Mrs. Hagan!

Tuesday, June 23rd

Zachariah Andrew Meyer was born at 5:00 this morning at the Santa María Chapalita Hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico; he's the son of our good friends, Ben and Amy Meyer (pictured in the second photo with the rest of their clan: Grace, John, Luke and Abraham). I hired Amy to teach high school English at NCA 12 years ago; Ben worked with the Christian Reformed mission in Managua... they came to Nicaragua as newlyweds, served their two years, did a little graduate work at the Calvin Seminary, and have been planting churches in Guadalajara (and raising a family) ever since!

I also got word today that Tim's 4th grade teacher, Shawna (Prins) Sjaarda had her third on Memorial Day! Tabitha Jo is pictured here with her older brother (Jonathon) and sister (Nicole); Shawna taught and coached at NCA for four years and is one of the best young teachers I know; she met her husband, Nick, while he was doing some short-term mission work in Managua... their courtship is one of my favorite stories!

26th Anniversary

Lana and I would have celebrated our 26th anniversary today were she not out celebrating bigger things...
For the occasion, I'm posting two photos, one taken the day of our wedding in Hawaii; the other (with my brother, Steve, and his wife, Kim), about ten months earlier at my parents's home in Orlando...

Fathers' Day

These two make the "job" of being a father pure joy for me, especially at this stage in our relationship. They surprised me this morning with a sweet card and couple of fancy accessories for my camera (I didn't even know there was such a thing as a card that automatically transfers pictures from camera to computer the moment I walk in the door... wirelessly!)

Tim suggested that maybe two years was long enough for our golf clubs to rest since the last time we pulled them out of the closet, so we hacked our way around the municipal course after what our pastor called "Man Church" this morning... yeah, being a dad is tough work, but somebody has to do it!

Saturday, June 20th

The attendant at the batting cages was surprised to hear that Tim played more than one sport; he said "even 7-year-olds are locked into one these days." We play pick-up soccer with the Latin-Americans about 3-4 times-a-week during the summer just before dark...

ACA is hoping to make a run at state championships in both sports this year; that doesn't happen by accident...

Friday, June 19th

The guys started a Facebook Fan Club for the monkey that lives outside of the apartments where we stayed in Nicaragua (Camilo.) Thought you might enjoy seeing footage of our hairy little friend from early in our stay...

Mike's 45th Birthday

This is one of the 69 pictures my brother, Mike, just posted on his Facebook from this month's trip to the British Isles...Pictured are (L2R) Mike, Nick, Kailey and Suzanne (the whole "fam") riding the "London Eye". They call Bradenton (Florida) home, but can often be found exploring... Happy Birthday, Little Bro!

Wednesday, June 17th

Kara's home for the next couple of days... early Father's Day present (since she can't stay the weekend)... What a sweetie!
Pure joy for me to watch these two interact; seems growing up south-of-the-border and going through all that they've endured together has bonded them... I sure look forward to being "dad" to them for the rest of my time on this earth!

Tuesday, June 16th

Well, I'm exactly a week late, but my sister, Susie (pictured here with her husband, Jay, and two terrific "kids") celebrated another birthday June 9th, and her newlywed daughter, Jennifer Courtney, turned 25 the next day... a very belated "Happy Birthday!" with love from the Carolina (and Georgia) Kynasts.

Monday, June 15th

Tim spent 7 1/2 hours in the UNCA library today working on his Senior Integration Paper (a requirement for graduation from ACA)... he would've prefered to have been back in this cell in the old fort at Motastepe, Nicaragua where I snapped this photo last Thursday... My first day back on the job was a little less tense; there's plenty for an administrator to do in the summer, but the pace is definitely more relaxed.

Sunday, June 14th

This is where we worshipped last Saturday night: Principe de Paz (Prince of Peace) Mennonite Church (Nejapa, Nicaragua)... we were back "home" at Biltmore Baptist this morning. It's funny how we can love two churches that are so different, but we do. Pastor Bruce challenged us to "be filled to overflowing" with the Holy Spirit; not your average Southern Baptist sermon...

Saturday, June 13th

Slept in this morning; Tim and I have been burning the candle at both ends, especially that last night in Managua... We're back now, the laundry's done, things put-away, we're ready for Sunday!

One of the experiences I've neglected to document on this blog to this point is last Tuesday's visit to the home of "Miss Ruby"... She and Mike Buzbee led us in this song for starters; we didn't leave until she had anointed each of our foreheads with oil and prayed for us. Ruby is from the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua; the area of Bluefields/Pearl Lagoon is populated mostly by second & third-generation Jamaican-immigrants who have held onto their parents' native tongue (English)

Nicaragua2009 - Day 9 - "MGA-ATL-AVL"

Up at 4:40 a.m.; home safely at 9:18 p.m... underestimated the amount of time it would take to get through customs, security, two baggage claims and retrieving the car from long-term parking, plus we got to spend a little time with Kara and see her new "digs"...Managua (Augusto Sandino) International Airport...Kara is still in the process of decorating this little office/bedroom in a house she shares with a couple of good friends a few blocks from Turner Field (where the Atlanta Braves play their home games.)She suggested Fellini's pizza as our first meal back "in-country"...

Nicaragua2009 - Day 8

Tour day: San Marcos, Masatepe, San Juan de Oriente, Catarina, Masaya, Granada, Coyotepe and the Masaya Volcano... no time for narration; I have to be up in four hours! Check-in is at 6:00; we land in ATL @1:45, need to get Eric on a plane to Houston, and should be back in Asheville around 8:00 p.m. tomorrow!The guys all tried their hand at the potter's wheel... good work, Harrison!In Catarina with Granada, Lake Nicaragua and "Laguna de Apoyo" (the heart-shaped lagoon) in the background...One of the many cathedrals in Granada (the oldest city in the continental Americas, 50 years older than St. Augustine, Florida)...In the main cathedral on the town square in Granada...In the corridors of the old fort at Motastepe (currently run by the boy scouts as a tourist attraction.)On the exterior wall with the Masaya Volcano in the background...At the Masaya volcano cross with our guide (Julio)In front of the main crater at sunset...On the trail, between craters...At the entrance to the bat cave as thousands exit...A couple of hundred meters into the lava cave...Dinner at La Plancha, the fancy steak house where we've historically had our last meal in-country (Brinson Buzbee is pictured far left; the smoke is from the mini-griddles or "planchas" on which the main course is served)

Nicaragua2009 - Day 7 - "Beach Day"

The Buzbees bought some beach-front property within view of the fancy Montelimar Resort... we (the Mirandas and ACA bunch) had the beach practically to ourselves and it couldn't have been a nicer day!Seth and Harrison walking the beach...Denis and Maribel negotiated with some of the local fishermen and ended up buying 5-6 pounds of fresh fish for 100 "Cords" ($5)...They also had this bag of crabs...Harry and "the fab five" pose for the camera after a full day in the sun... (yes, they had me pick up some aloe on the way home ;-)

Nicaragua2009 - Day 6 - 2nd entry

The Buzbees run two homes for children from the dump who are victims of physical and/or sexual abuse... Here are the girls from Casa Havilah; the Buzbees have committed to raising them and putting them through college!

Mike & Sue's son-in-law, Chris "Chachi" Farrington oversees the boys' home (Casa Robles); here he is with two of them... The younger ones were "down" for their nap...

Nicaragua2009 - The Managua City Dump

If a picture is worth 1,000 words; I would need a million of them to begin to describe today's trip to the city dump, but here's a start...Seth's new friend Jose Antonio...


Vilma gave us a peek at her world...
Listening to her story... She generally earns about 70 cordobas/day ($3.50) gleaning plastic bottles from the dump...
3 of her 4 kids...The bedroom (and her fourth)...Just a stone's throw from the dump itself is the school run by the Buzbees: Esperanza (Hope) Christian School... talk about being "salt & light"...