Living In Nicaragua

Living in Nicaragua tells two stories. The first is my work as an agricultural missionary

managing a small farm on the outskirts of Managua. The second tells the stories of several

short-term assignments with the U.S. government in Eastern Europe, Africa, South America

and Central America.

I had already served in the Peace Corps in El Salvador and spoke Spanish fluently. We were in

the second year of a drought; therefore, there was not much we could do regarding planting

garden or grain crops to sell in the local market. The entire area had grass growing on it. We

bought a milk cow and sold milk. We needed more animals to eat all the available grass. I was

worried about what the cows would eat during the dry season. With much difficulty, we tried to

grow garden crops and sell milk.

Needing transportation, I flew to Panama and bought a motorcycle in the Canal Zone and drove

it up the Pan American highway to Managua. I had motor problems and had to sleep in the rain

forest until my cycle was repaired. We worked to develop the farm to help the local small

farmers learn best practices in production and marketing.