Brimming with informacion!

Pues compa, it is only Tuesday and I feel like I have been attending classes for a week I have received so much information!

To carry on from my last posting, the family I am living with is bien bonita. The mother (Karlyn) is kind, hard-working, and prone to giggling when she hears me laugh or observes one of my awkward facial expressions (you would look this way too if you heard about the way dogs are maimed on the streets of Nueva Suyapa...). The father is a jokester and an amazing artist, sporting Nebraska Cornhusker t-shirts like it was his alma mater. The kids are super energetic, including me in and teaching me games until their parents are practically screaming "Basta!" (last night I learned the "Choco-la-te" hand slapping game, and in turn the children learned an Unofied edition of Indian poker). They have also been using me as a verbal punching bag of sorts, hurling broken English at me until my head is spinning from hearing so many mispronunciations and laughing wildly at their constant confusion (Dennis (the father) has begun pointing at people and saying the word "sheep," which in truth sounds more like "cheap"; I told him what the two words mean, but he continues regardless of this new information). Sure, the stay has been somewhat difficult for me so far since I am not used to showering via a "balde" and since flushing the toilet in the United States does not usually involve anything more than pushing a button (I have actually spent a considerable amount of time over the last few days wondering if I am "flushing" correctly...). Furthermore, using Spanish as the primary language to express myself--although exciting and absolutely awesome--is pretty challenging. No importa, ando bien!

I suppose you all want to know what kind of information I am storing in my cabezon. Well, it all started when I walked in the gate belonging to the ASJ offices. A. I expected to see Kurt and Joanne VerBeek...and only those two. B. I expected maybe a few computers, a few dusty posters promoting social justice, and a bathroom similar to that found in Nueva Suyapa. C. I expected a one-room joint with stuffy conditions. Come to find out that ASJ is actually a pretty large operation... The immaculate and large building is occupied by almost 60 employees, three floors of cubicles, several bathrooms, a microwave, and even a fish tank (among other office-type fixtures...). And only at one point did I see the VerBeeks (the Kurt variety)! To this moment I am amazed at how expansive this organization's operations have become, and I say this in the best way possible. As Abe, Kurt, and Joanne have informed me, a prevailing concern has always been ultra-rapid growth to mainly destructive ends. And while it is true that the organization has grown bastante, the growth is more a testament to their genuine success than to mismanagement or to misguided ambitions. ASJ is this big because the scope of the organization's work is this big! When I say scope, I am not referring to the geographic area in which the organization works; instead, I am referring to the impact their multiple projects have had on the people they serve. You want numbers? Let's talk numbers.

Regarding the land rights project, ASJ has helped 30,000 poor families obtain land titles, provided legal advice, aid, and orientation for 100 neighborhoods, stopped illegal evictions, and proposed amendments to improve the Property Law. And what about labor rights, you ask. The Labor Rights project has won reparations for 135 workers whose rights were violated and educated 7,000 workers about their labor rights. It gets better... Over 100 victims of sexual violence and other violent crimes have received legal and investigative aid. 9,300 individuals have received legal aid and psychological counseling. Thousands have been educated about sexual abuse prevention, domestic violence, depression, and addiction. And I have saved the best for last: through the Peace & Justice project, ASJ has lowered crime rates in one target neighborhood by 60%, moving it from #1 on the list of most violent neighborhoods in the city to #14. Ahora, a mi me toca talk about the information I have gathered that pertains to each distinct project.

But first, I will cover my goings-on el lunes y el martes. First Monday. After participating in devotions (did you know that Jesus sabe hablar bien el espanol?), receiving a lengthy orientation about AJS/ASJ, and eating the almuerzo packed for me in a nice red lunchbox, I visited one of the sites affiliated with Gideon Centers and observed a meeting of youth from the community Flor de Campo. When the "work day" was done, I enjoyed a lovely meal with Kurt & Noah VerBeek at their casita in Nueva Suyapa and returned home to play un rato with the cipotes. Today was another busy day in which I sat down with a few different ASJ teams to talk about the specific work they are doing and visited a local hospital to talk to security guards and cleaning women about their working conditions. Right now I am sitting in the second floor cubicle located closest to the window, listening to Over the Rhine (apparently Kurt VerBeek is a big fan) while I attempt to put whatever notes I have taken for the past two days in the next few blog posts.