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.