Christmas in Mississippi

We're celebrating Jesus' Birthday at Bonnie and Andrew's new home in the Magnolia State!

L2R: Nate, Nellie & Loren Strickland, Bonnie & Andrew, G&G

Staff Wedding

Grace and I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of one of our P.E. teachers today!

Definitely a first for me to be asked to perform a service.  I certainly enjoyed the chance to invest in the life of one of our talented young teachers in the "pre-marital counseling".

None of this is on the job description of a school administrator, but healthy relationships are nonetheless foundational for our teachers to be free to minister optimally to their students.

I love this panoramic photo of the wedding reception dinner and especially the beautiful redhead in the foreground

New Applicants

These 18 took their admission tests yesterday, with the hopes of being added to our upper school rolls for the next school year beginning February 6, 2017...

The school continues to grow; we have 240 finishing out this year, and next year's budget is based on a student population of 272.

Granada

We have had Christina Gatti (Asheville Christian Academy Class of 2007) with us for a month exploring the idea of coming back to teach Art and English here in January.  Last weekend she flew home, but not before we had the chance to spend the day in Granada (the oldest city established by Europeans in the continental Americas... 50 years older than St. Augustine, Florida) with her and Samantha Lingamfelter, one of our current staff of dynamic teachers at Nicaragua Christian Academy - Matagalpa.

Christina, Samantha, G&G having brunch at Kathy's Waffle House in Granada, Nicaragua October 8, 2016

Black Forest

The two days of National Holiday celebrations fell on a Wednesday and a Thursday this year giving us a free Friday, so we gave into the urge to drive 20 miles up the mountain to this little retreat center called "Selva Negra" (Black Forest)...

Fiestas Patrias

Two panoramic views of the scene at this morning's Independence Day celebration at NCA Matagalpa... 241 students, about 50 staff members and all the parents who could make it!

Nicaraguan Champ

I know... not a really clear photo, but there was a lot going on.  Grace and I had just picked up one of our alumni from the Asheville Christian Academy Class of 2007 who will be with us for the next month exploring the possibility of joining the faculty of the Nicaragua Christian Academy Matagalpa in 2017. On our way north from the Managua airport, they had blocked off the highway in Sébaco for a telecast of the WBC junior bantamweight title fight between a formerly-undefeated Mexican fighter and the first Nicaraguan to ever be champ in four separate categories: Román "Chocolatito" González... Welcome to Nicaragua, Christina!

25th Anniversary

Fun celebration Friday night in Managua... Grace and I work at the third campus of the Nicaragua Christian Academy; the first one launched in the fall of 1991.  I (Greg) served at its Director 1996-2005.  Many testimonies were given of the ways God has blessed this school over the years; this photo was taken during the one given by one of Kara's classmates from the Class of 2004! :-)

Panoramic view of the audience in the Eagle Center (gymtorium) at NCAI listening to testimony from Xochil Wilson.

¡Muy Muy Divertido!

We took advantage of the rare day with nothing on the agenda to do a little exploring in our department (also called Matagalpa); we had lunch in a town called "Muy Muy", which translated literally means "Very Very".  We've asked, but no one seems to know the origin of the name.

The selfie at left was taken on a ridge near a Pre-Columbian village called "El Chile" that specializes in hand-woven textiles... hard-working people, fresh air, gorgeous countryside... we'd be happy to show you around!

Tim is Married

It was a beautiful wedding and reception in Montreat/Black Mountain, NC... the couple will be honeymooning in Mexico, and making their first home as husband and wife in Mooresville, NC.

Tim earned his degree in Appropriate Technology from Appalachian State University and has accepted a position as a Construction Manager with 4G Design Build <build4g.com> beginning August 1st.

In the Neighborhood

Some of our 10th graders crossed the river this morning to do a little standard of living survey... a great experience for our kids!
After chatting with the third grade teacher at Oasis of Hope Christian School, I asked for her permission to take the photo (at left) of her class.  The picture below is looking back at our 13-acre campus (a little right of center, just left of the tree with the blood red blossoms) from the neighborhood just north of us (clicking on the picture should enlarge it for you.)

Family Day @NCA

It doesn't get much cuter than a bunch of first graders dressed in their mothers' clothes...
This part of the annual program designed to honor parents!

Nicaraguan Mothers' Day is next Monday.

Grandson #2

Today was the day for that little bundle of joy to make his appearance, and Grace was there to welcome him into this crazy world!


Jonathan Elliott Strickland tipped the scales at nine pounds, seven ounces... I'm sure it won't be long before he's making his big brother Josh earn his status as the alpha male of the next generation... for the time being he's just plain cute!

GG (Grandma Grace) now gets five days to get to know the little fella before she has to fly south again and join the fun here in the tropics!

My Birthday

With Grace in the US ready to welcome our second grandson into this world, I got to celebrate turning 59 with this crew... they sang Happy Birthday to me in English! :-)

ESL Class for Teachers

This is what one of the best groups of teachers in Nicaragua looks like after a full day of teaching, 90-minutes into their first 2-hour class of English as a Second Language... Grace and I love these people!

Batchin' It

Bonnie's due date was last Friday, but since our second grandson apparently wanted his GG to be there to welcome him... as of this morning, she's there (in Fort Lauderdale.)

I'll be holding down the fort for a couple of weeks here in Matagalpa, getting a lesson in just how blessed I am to have Grace by my side for the second half of my time on this crazy planet!

Grace's Birthday

This is the birthday girl's 7th Grade English class... teaching them may not be rocket science, but I doubt there are many rocket scientists who could do what she has done with this bunch!

Grace Studying

I'm really proud of the progress this girl is making in her language studies... she's almost done with Level 2 in the Rosetta Stone series and has a 106 day streak going on DuoLingo.

All that while making the adjustment to life in a new culture, negotiating the public bus system to get to school on mornings where we arrive separately, dealing with power and water outages, teaching 7th grade English, helping in the school library...

Monday Off

I realize I am a day late with the Valentine pic, but in China we were half a day ahead with everything, so this should help balance things out.

We had Washington's Birthday off (today), not in honor of our first President, though... yesterday was the 154th anniversary of the founding of Matagalpa... we thought it the perfect opportunity to get out and explore a little, so we drove north through the villages and towns tucked away in the beautiful mountains in this region of the country.

We stumbled on Cascada Blanca (White Falls) Eco Lodge just 30 minutes up the road.

It's back to work tomorrow, helping 243 young people prepare themselves for the tasks God has in mind for each of them... by doing the one He has called us to do!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Warmest greetings from tropical Central America to all... exciting things have been happening down here, including God's provision in His timing of two English teachers to complete our faculty.
Grace and I are now settled and ready for visitors!!

My valentine and I decided to take a circuitous route on our walk home from church one Sunday... thought we'd share!

Overdue Update

You'd think we'd have a bunch of extra time on our hands since school is out until February 8th... with us still being one English teacher short of a full faculty, and all that needs to happen for us to be ready for next Monday's first day of pre-planning, that has not exactly been the case.

We did, however, get to the scenic lookout at ‘Cerro El Calvario’ (Calvary Hill) yesterday for this photo of the two of us with our new base of operations in the background... Come see us!!