Dear Family and Friends,
I’m just writing a quick request tonight to ask you to please pray this weekend through next Tuesday for peace here in Nicaragua. Political tension is very high and it is predicted that next Tuesday there may be increased rioting and violence here in Managua. The rioting has been going on for the past week, but mostly after dark so we have been able to get to the school and grocery store, etc. during the day without a problem. The school and our home are located on the outskirts of town which is good. We do hear gun shots and smell things burning, but we are very protected inside walls that have razor wire on top and also have an armed guard at the gate. Also, North Americans are not a target – two political parties are fighting each other.
I’m really not able to give a lot of detail or opinion about what it going on politically, as “email is as confidential as a postcard” someone noted. But, I do think there is news coverage on TV and opportunities to learn more on the internet. So, if you would like more information you can check these places.
Tonight, I told Dan that I was getting weary of living with this political tension and uncertainty about how this will all turn out. He said, “You know, most of the world lives like this.” I had never really thought about that before. His statement challenged me to be thankful for the opportunity to experience and to understand something that so many people have lived with their entire lives. We’ve only lived in Nicaragua for two weeks, but I think that each one of us has realized how incredibly privileged we are and how much we have taken for granted.
Thank you for your prayers and for your notes. It is a comfort to us to know that we are covered in prayer. There is no safer place to be.
Peace to you,
The Van Zoest’s
