Here is a copy of our latest family newsletter, with our latest big news - that we are coming back to Texas for good now in a few days. If we have your email you have already seen this.
Dear Family and Friends, Dec. 11, 2008
May the Lord give you His peace and joy in this Advent season.
We write to you from Matagalpa, Nicaragua, where we have lived the last two months. We have been here with four Franciscan Friars of the Renewal beginning a new friary. We, the Hinckleys, have been living in a large house that used to be the rectory of the Cathedral and then was the minor seminary of the diocese. Pretty much as soon as we got moved in, we went around the place and closed all the doors to rooms we would not use at all. So we live in about five rooms and don’t use at all about five rooms. The place is almost on the banks of a river, which flooded during the 2007 rainy season. The water came four feet up in the bottom floor leaving a lovely mud/water line on all the walls. Some of the Friars came over and painted 3 of the rooms to make it feel a little cleaner. While the house has some definite frustrations, we are so grateful that we have been able to live here and the children have a place to play in the back and we’ve been kept safe.
We are quite grateful to the Friars for switching places with us as we were supposed to stay in the place that they are using. Their temporary residence is a building which used to be offices for the diocese. A sink had to be put in for them and it is altogether a makeshift residence. Though it is definitely easier for four friars to put up with the makeshift-ness of it than for our family, the friars are surely getting some extra prayers from Saint Francis for their sacrifices made in living there. And yet as I write this, I think how neither we Hinckleys or the Friars should have anything to complain about when considering some of our neighbors live in much greater inconvenience and true poverty. The poor and the rich live side by side here, possibly setting up more self-pity for the poor and more stinginess for the rich.
While here we’ve witnessed the nationwide mayoral elections. In our city, Matagalpa, there were no riots - the elections were easily won by the Sandinista party. In the capital city, Managua, there were riots for two weeks afterwards, until decisions were made that satisfied both the Sandinistas and the Liberal party. These elections happened just a few days before the U.S. presidential elections. It was an interesting time of watching and waiting and praying and hoping and wondering. On one wall we pass by often, painted several years ago before a previous election, were these words of someone who knew that no person on earth will be the perfect candidate: “Jesus por Presidente.”
The elections were soon followed by the Feast of Christ the King. “Viva Cristo Rey!” Our true ruler is just, loving, wise, and all-powerful. May He reign in our hearts.
The actual construction as in digging of dirt and laying down of bricks has not yet begun though we expect it to in the next few days. Just today a contract was signed with the maestro de obra. Fr. John Anthony, the local servant of the Friars here in Matagalpa, and Daniel are the main organizers of this project called Convento San Antonio. The land which was donated to the diocese is located up on the side of a mountain (the whole city of Matagalpa is mountainous) so it has a beautiful view of the city below with the huge cathedral in the middle and then the mountains all surrounding. The friary will be right at the edge of town with only five minutes to get to the Cathedral and still have the feel of being out of the city since it is on the edge of a cliff with a seasonal waterfall right beside it. The road up to the friary is a trip - at least the last 50 yards or so require 4-wheel drive since the road is so steep and rocky. Fixing the road is one of the first two parts of the first part of the contract signed. The other part is to build a large concrete wall around the whole property, unfortunately a costly necessity in this country. Daniel has been working diligently on creating the plans for the friary, a real challenge because of the steep slope of the land, its long, narrow dimensions with the cliff on one edge. We’ll soon find out how fast construction will go.
Unfortunately we Hinckleys will not see the progress since we have discerned that we will not continue on living in Nicaragua after December. As planned, we will head back to Texas on December 23rd for Christmas and a wedding. In January Daniel will come back to Matagalpa for about three weeks to help get the construction as far along as possible, most especially with the plans. Fr. John Anthony and some friends of the diocese who have been donating their time to help the Bishop by supervising his construction projects will be taking over Daniel’s responsibilities. The contractor is also someone whom the Bishop has used before and has highly recommended. All of this is to say that, though we truly feel sorry that we are unable to see the project through to the end, we are comforted by the idea that it is in good hands.
Humbly we admit that we came to this decision a little late. Last winter when we were presented with the opportunity to assist the Friars in another building project, a bit carried away by missionary zeal we did not realistically think and pray about what moving our family once again to a foreign place would mean. Then we found out we were pregnant and some other health issues came up, but we still did not pause to discern if these were possibly signs for us to pull out. Now that we have been here and experienced many physical and spiritual struggles which have brought us to our knees in prayer, we know that God uses all things for the good of those who love them. Though we made some errors in pride which committed us to a project that we couldn’t follow through on and which gave extra work to the Friars that they had not prepared for, our gracious Lord has provided all involved with the graces needed to carry on. We thank you for your prayers, also.
So what’s next for the Hinckleys? This decision to not continue in Nicaragua was made just this week, so we haven’t had a lot of time to think about it, let alone research the possibilities. After Daniel returns from his three week trip to Nicaragua at the end of January, he will hopefully find a temporary job in Fredericksburg while he looks and applies for something more permanent. We will stay with my parents until we can find something else…hopefully a few acres to keep some livestock and grow a garden. Baby Solanus is expected to arrive sometime in February. That’s about as much as we can think about until we get to Texas in a week. We look forward to being closer to family and friends and really being a part of a Church community.
For any of you who supported us financially over the past 5 years while doing foreign mission work, we thank so much. And for you who supported us in prayer, we likewise thank you and ask you again for prayers through this next transition which will probably be just as difficult as any of the previous. Muchas gracias! Dios les bendiga. Feliz Navidad.
In Christ,
Michelle (Eilers) Hinckley with Daniel, Juan Pablo, Emmanuel, Maria Victoria, and Baby Solanus
Dear Family and Friends, Dec. 11, 2008
May the Lord give you His peace and joy in this Advent season.
We write to you from Matagalpa, Nicaragua, where we have lived the last two months. We have been here with four Franciscan Friars of the Renewal beginning a new friary. We, the Hinckleys, have been living in a large house that used to be the rectory of the Cathedral and then was the minor seminary of the diocese. Pretty much as soon as we got moved in, we went around the place and closed all the doors to rooms we would not use at all. So we live in about five rooms and don’t use at all about five rooms. The place is almost on the banks of a river, which flooded during the 2007 rainy season. The water came four feet up in the bottom floor leaving a lovely mud/water line on all the walls. Some of the Friars came over and painted 3 of the rooms to make it feel a little cleaner. While the house has some definite frustrations, we are so grateful that we have been able to live here and the children have a place to play in the back and we’ve been kept safe.
We are quite grateful to the Friars for switching places with us as we were supposed to stay in the place that they are using. Their temporary residence is a building which used to be offices for the diocese. A sink had to be put in for them and it is altogether a makeshift residence. Though it is definitely easier for four friars to put up with the makeshift-ness of it than for our family, the friars are surely getting some extra prayers from Saint Francis for their sacrifices made in living there. And yet as I write this, I think how neither we Hinckleys or the Friars should have anything to complain about when considering some of our neighbors live in much greater inconvenience and true poverty. The poor and the rich live side by side here, possibly setting up more self-pity for the poor and more stinginess for the rich.
While here we’ve witnessed the nationwide mayoral elections. In our city, Matagalpa, there were no riots - the elections were easily won by the Sandinista party. In the capital city, Managua, there were riots for two weeks afterwards, until decisions were made that satisfied both the Sandinistas and the Liberal party. These elections happened just a few days before the U.S. presidential elections. It was an interesting time of watching and waiting and praying and hoping and wondering. On one wall we pass by often, painted several years ago before a previous election, were these words of someone who knew that no person on earth will be the perfect candidate: “Jesus por Presidente.”
The elections were soon followed by the Feast of Christ the King. “Viva Cristo Rey!” Our true ruler is just, loving, wise, and all-powerful. May He reign in our hearts.
The actual construction as in digging of dirt and laying down of bricks has not yet begun though we expect it to in the next few days. Just today a contract was signed with the maestro de obra. Fr. John Anthony, the local servant of the Friars here in Matagalpa, and Daniel are the main organizers of this project called Convento San Antonio. The land which was donated to the diocese is located up on the side of a mountain (the whole city of Matagalpa is mountainous) so it has a beautiful view of the city below with the huge cathedral in the middle and then the mountains all surrounding. The friary will be right at the edge of town with only five minutes to get to the Cathedral and still have the feel of being out of the city since it is on the edge of a cliff with a seasonal waterfall right beside it. The road up to the friary is a trip - at least the last 50 yards or so require 4-wheel drive since the road is so steep and rocky. Fixing the road is one of the first two parts of the first part of the contract signed. The other part is to build a large concrete wall around the whole property, unfortunately a costly necessity in this country. Daniel has been working diligently on creating the plans for the friary, a real challenge because of the steep slope of the land, its long, narrow dimensions with the cliff on one edge. We’ll soon find out how fast construction will go.
Unfortunately we Hinckleys will not see the progress since we have discerned that we will not continue on living in Nicaragua after December. As planned, we will head back to Texas on December 23rd for Christmas and a wedding. In January Daniel will come back to Matagalpa for about three weeks to help get the construction as far along as possible, most especially with the plans. Fr. John Anthony and some friends of the diocese who have been donating their time to help the Bishop by supervising his construction projects will be taking over Daniel’s responsibilities. The contractor is also someone whom the Bishop has used before and has highly recommended. All of this is to say that, though we truly feel sorry that we are unable to see the project through to the end, we are comforted by the idea that it is in good hands.
Humbly we admit that we came to this decision a little late. Last winter when we were presented with the opportunity to assist the Friars in another building project, a bit carried away by missionary zeal we did not realistically think and pray about what moving our family once again to a foreign place would mean. Then we found out we were pregnant and some other health issues came up, but we still did not pause to discern if these were possibly signs for us to pull out. Now that we have been here and experienced many physical and spiritual struggles which have brought us to our knees in prayer, we know that God uses all things for the good of those who love them. Though we made some errors in pride which committed us to a project that we couldn’t follow through on and which gave extra work to the Friars that they had not prepared for, our gracious Lord has provided all involved with the graces needed to carry on. We thank you for your prayers, also.
So what’s next for the Hinckleys? This decision to not continue in Nicaragua was made just this week, so we haven’t had a lot of time to think about it, let alone research the possibilities. After Daniel returns from his three week trip to Nicaragua at the end of January, he will hopefully find a temporary job in Fredericksburg while he looks and applies for something more permanent. We will stay with my parents until we can find something else…hopefully a few acres to keep some livestock and grow a garden. Baby Solanus is expected to arrive sometime in February. That’s about as much as we can think about until we get to Texas in a week. We look forward to being closer to family and friends and really being a part of a Church community.
For any of you who supported us financially over the past 5 years while doing foreign mission work, we thank so much. And for you who supported us in prayer, we likewise thank you and ask you again for prayers through this next transition which will probably be just as difficult as any of the previous. Muchas gracias! Dios les bendiga. Feliz Navidad.
In Christ,
Michelle (Eilers) Hinckley with Daniel, Juan Pablo, Emmanuel, Maria Victoria, and Baby Solanus
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