Letter from Nicaragua

by Sarah Wimmer

Mark,

It has been a long time since we have been in touch, but I just wanted to reconnect in order to thank you.

When you visited Omaha and treated me to dinner you encouraged me to do what I loved in terms of volunteering and not to concern myself so much with the financial details. Well, I took your advice, sort of. I turned down several of the teaching options I had before me, realizing that it was not what I felt I was needed for. I continued a long agonizing search until I came up with the Center for Development in Central America. A sustainable development organization that assists Nicaraguans in the instigation, construction, business, etc of sustainable projects including a women’s sewing co-op, many agriculture projects, a health clinic, and several other endeavors.

And here I sit, in Cuidad Sandino, 6 kilometers outside of Managua, thankful for advice such as yours that helped give me the diligence to continue a search and not settle for teaching rich kids English.

A second note of thanks, thanks again, for writing The Book of Mev. I, stupidly, forgot my own copy (although it should be arriving via package any day now, along with The Struggle is One) but was graciously lent a copy from James Meinert. Thank God someone has thought this out! But reading the book again, it takes a whole new meaning now that I am in Nicaragua. Sometimes I feel like the book serves as a sort of guide, to help sort out experiences and emotions I’ve had. For instance, the other day, my friend, Alyse, and I were discussing the essence or idea of God as opposed to the generic image of God, and a conversation around those lines. That happened to be the night I was lent The Book of Mev, and before going to bed, I started thumbing through, looking for my favorite parts. I happened to land on the reflection called God/5 from Ivone Gebara. By the time, I found Alyse, I was shaking as I read. The reflection, although it was short, was the exact outline of the conversation we had just had, paragraph by paragraph, we just used different examples.

It’s funny too, when I journal, I think of Mev a lot and the details you let us share in the Book of Mev. It’s dorky, but often times, I even strive to make my reflections and entries ‘Mev quality.’ I know that not all entries are meant to be life altering, but it does push me to really reflect and consider experiences.

So thank you, thank you, thank you, for making yourself and Mev’s experiences available to me. It’s amazing how much one encounter can affect the way you perceive.

Sarah

Sarah graduated from Creighton University in May 2006.