Jonathan and I have been in Juigalpa for two years now. We arrived when the project of starting a home community for disabled adults was in its last stages of preparation, a project aiming to improve the way society looks at intellectually disabled people.
My work here is supported by Week Dutch Missionaries (Week Nederlandse Missionarissen) who pay for my travel costs and social insurance premiums. Their contracts are usually for two years and hence my first contract is soon coming to an end and I am now about to hear whether my request for a contract extension, supported by letters from supporters in Nicaragua and the Netherlands, will be accepted.
A trip to the Netherlands
For me this seemed a good period to make a trip to the Netherlands, without Jonathan. We have not got a home in the Netherlands anymore, or an activities centre he can attend, and I can offer him no structure or regularity durng a short stay in the Netherlands. My trip to Honduras was a good test whether Jonathan can cope with living without me for a short while.
I have booked the journey for the last two weeks in October. I still need to prepare my itinerary, hopefully quite soon, but of course it will be a mixture of visiting family and friends, and activities to promote the work in Nicaragua and the work of Vivir Juntos in the Netherlands. If you have got ideas, please let me know. Who knows, maybe there is a chance for me to tell you about our work in person!