Today I saw a couple of things that ranged from incredibly awesome to frustratingly tragic. I’ll start with the awesome, since that was how the day started. Daniel wanted to give me a chance to see a bit more of the country, so for today we headed out to the outskirts of the city of Masaya, about 30km from Managua, where lie two volcanoes, one that is still active, and one that has been inactive for years. Driving up the road to the ridge of the volcano I spotted a large cross standing near the edge of the volcano (more on that later though), which looked really cool at the top of the hill. We arrived at the end of the road, which brought us to the ridge of the volcanic crater; an active volcanic crater. Looking down into a 300 meter deep, really really wide crater and seeing smoke rising from the depths of the still active force of nature was an incredible experience. We walked up a trail to a high point at the edge of this one crater, where the cross was located, and which actually overlooks three individual craters right next to each other. The view from there was incredible. In front was the view of the triple crater. To one side was another volcano less than a mile away (this one inactive). To another side was a view of a far away range of volcanoes beginning just past the beautiful Lake Managua, and behind us was a great view of Lake Nicaragua (the 8th biggest in the world, and apparently the only one with fresh water sharks), which has multiple island volcanoes within its waters. Now back to that cross. The volcano first erupted in the 1600s, and the crater has been smoking and erupting mildly ever since (though no eruptions since 1999). Following the eruption, the natives believed the bottom of the crater to be the entrance to hell. Because of this, one of the local priests had this cross erected to keep the demons away.
After going back down the trail, we headed up another trail to the ridge of another (this one inactive) volcano. It’s crater was filled with thick vegetation, and around the ridge was a nice trail, which we hiked. This one was 200 meters deep, and 600 meters in circumference. Walking around this volcano, and taking in the panoramic view it provided, was wondrous. A laguna lay not far away, and there was an even better view of Lake Nicaragua.
Imagining these volcanoes prior to their eruptions, and seeing pictures that had been drawn before the eruptions, put me in a state of awe at the force of nature. I’ve seen Mount St. Helens, and that was a huge eruption and destructive force, but this was different. It was different because here I could stand at the edge and look into the depths of where this eruption had come from. I could stand on top of the now much shortened mountain and imagine how high it had once risen, and how much mountain had been blown from its place in the eruption. Thinking about the power of nature, and that our God created and rules over all of it, makes me even more awestruck at the incredible power of our God and Creator. I truly am thankful for the opportunity to take in more of His beautiful creation in a setting very different from what I’m used to.
I also saw something today that angered me and hurt as well. Holly is one of the boys who Daniel and Darling recently adopted (4 months ago). His mother had basically abandoned him; while she was present, he was given very little care. He is 6 years old. Because of the lack of care he received prior to his coming to live here, he has a (suspected, though not yet confirmed) condition that causes him to bruise incredibly easily, which can also cause internal bleeding from even light contact. This past week it seemed worse than normal, so Daniel took him to the doctor. This morning he was to be brought in again for some blood tests. However, yesterday afternoon Holly’s birth mother came to his school as class was getting out, and without telling anyone or asking Daniel’s permission, took Holly, and brought him to the hospital. Apparently this is now the second time she’s come and taken him without permission or without even telling them. The first time she just wanted money. This time, while she may have done so out of legitimate concern, Daniel was still visibly angry. First of all, this woman who had not shown the responsibility to care for her child had come and disrespected Daniel, who is caring very well for Holly, and broken their trust yet again. Second of all, while Daniel had taken Holly to a private doctor who was quite good, organized, efficient, and in an overall good situation, Holly’s birth mom brought him to the local public children’s hospital. It’s chaos there. We went and visited today, and the entrance was a mess, people everywhere waiting for slow service. Also, Holly doesn’t even have a room, because there aren’t any open, which means he’s in a large room, with a surface to sleep on, but it’s a hard surface, not a bed. He’s being cared for adequately, but had he been left with his new family, he would have been cared for just as well if not better, and under better conditions.
Besides being upset that his son (Daniel and Darling very much consider Holly and his brothers their sons, which they truly are), had been taken from him without a word, he also told me that the health care situation in Nicaragua always upset him. In the 1960s, 70s, and even into the 80s health care here was actually quite good, he told me. However in the 1990s, and recently, things have actually deteriorated, and the government has spent tons of money on failed projects, while apparently mostly ignoring health care.
It was sad for me to see the situation at the hospital, and what happened with Holly upset me as well. Holly, Axel, and Gerald have become as brothers to me, and not having Holly around last night and today was sad. Seeing Axel and Gerald visibly upset (crying at various points because they missed their brother and weren’t sure about the situation) hurt. Seeing how this woman (Holly’s birth mother) seems to be taking advantage of the situation was angering. When Daniel confronted her about this at the hospital, she said she could do what she wanted with the children because she hadn’t signed any document giving up any rights over them. This is true, she hasn’t singed any document, so legally she still has rights to them. This, as far as I can see, leaves the Aragon family in a tough spot. If they want her to give up her rights to the boys they can ask her to sign a legal document, but if she doesn’t want to there’s no way to pressure her to do so. It’s not like they’re going to say “If you don’t sign we won’t care for the boys.” They love these boys and will care for them no matter what.
I was going to continue on and share some thoughts about this situation specifically, as well as the general problem that I see, but it’s making me upset, so I’m not going to right now. However, I will say that seeing the way that Daniel and Darling care for these boys, how they’ve taken them in, and are fighting for the right to give them a good life, a solid education, and a Christian upbringing is inspiring. The love that this couple has for these boys, for the Church, the school, and the community, has been an inspiring example for me to see these past few weeks.
Asi fue, y Dios vio que todo lo que habia hecho estaba muy bien.
-Genesis 1:31
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