Tomorrow is the big day! Everything is getting ready for celebrating the second birthday of the Ruach Foundation.
The party will take place in the morning. We have invited about 70 people, among them representatives of local ministries, and many other people who in one way or the other have contributed to the well-being of our Foundation. We can only celebrate together, with people who feel involved with us. That is why we have also invited, by email, people who live far away (like yourself) to give them a chance to ‘be with us’ on the day. We have had many warm responses, including this one:
‘Yesterday I read out your invitation in our meeting. It was well received. On behalf of everyone we’d like to say:
- keep up the good work
- we wish you a good life together
- congratulations
- strength
- we will stay connected
- lots of success in what you do.
Programme
From 8 am we will be busy turning our big sitting room into a conference hall for at least 60 people. Of course we have rented extra chairs for this occasion. Our walls, inside and outside, have been adorned with party decorations and balloons. Around 10 am the music equipment and the master of ceremonies will arrive, and the coffee and tea and snacks will be ready for the first visitors to arrive. Starting events ‘in time’ is next to impossible in Nicaragua, and people commonly arrive an hour or so late for events, but we expect that our celebrations will start at 10:30, or soon thereafter.
Loyda, Daniel, Miguel and Jonathan will sing, together with their mentors, a children’s song (although probably more by the mentors than our residents!) This will be enjoyed by everyone in their own way! The participants of the activities centre will sing two songs – I hear them practising every day.
My role will be to give a visual report of what we have achieved in the home and the activities centre in the past year, because of course a presentation of pictures is more attention-catching than words. There will also be Question and Answer time before we close the formal part of the meeting.
The music band will then take over, while visitors enjoy another drink or snack. Those who do not know our house yet will be welcome to make a tour of the community home. The celebrations will end with a lunch for personnel, residents, participants of the activities centre, relatives and some good friends, in total about 40 people.
A new beginning
A birthday is also an opportunity to look back at the year that has just passed. We look back in gratitude, not so much because we have not met obstacles on our way or that all our projects were implemented according to plan, but because we feel that our work is being blessed, and that our circle of friends is growing in both Nicaragua and other countries, friends with whose support we can make a difference.
A birthday is also the starting point for a new year in which new challenges await us. Symbolic for our work at Ruach is this picture of the first harvest of our garden project. It has taken a lot of trial and effort to get this far but we have persevered and have won. This week we harvested the first cucumbers. We pray that the work of our Foundation may bear fruit in the next year. We thank you for every drop that you contribute to watering our ‘garden’!