Love and Cigars

We encounter so many ways each day to show God’s love, in big ways and in small ways, with and without much self-sacrifice. As my husband mentioned in an earlier post, indeed there are people in need so close by. So why would we incur such expenses as plane tickets, a week off work, food and lodging, etc. to help our brothers and sisters all the way in Nicaragua?

Angel, the older son

I don’t know what it means to have a struggling economy, and I certainly can’t imagine the practical application of that in day to day life. What does it mean to live on less than two dollars a day? Our rent alone is many dollars a day. I’m thrilled if I can make a meal for the two of us for two dollars. The difference is not in currency, I promise. The difference is in things like dirt floors, leaky roofs, rice and beans, and contaminated water.

I saw a baby crawling on a dirt floor this morning, in a home where stray dogs wander in and bugs are far from sealed out. That was all I needed to see to justify our travels. Nearly half of homes have dirt floors. That often means babies don’t learn how to crawl, which leads to many health and developmental issues. If they do crawl, they risk infections and other health risks that can rarely be treated due to inadequate finances.

Mini Jenga was a huge hit with the kids!

^"9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10

Mixing concrete

We are also so blessed by being here. God’s people are treasures, and meeting them brings joy, undoubtedly.

Gioconda and Arnoldito, the younger son

We had the pleasure of learning about the tobacco industry in Nicaragua, an industry that is growing rapidly in Estelí. According to a 2012 article from the website nicaraguadispatch.com, “Estelí is indeed at the center of the international hand-crafted cigar industry, which supports tens of thousands of families in the region. In addition to tobacco farms, there are processing and rolling factories in and around the city, as well as a giant network of growers, buyers, and sellers.” 

We toured the AJ Fernandez Tabacalera (Tobacco Factory) and learned about processing and fermenting harvested tobacco leaves, rolling cigars, aging them, and packaging them. The factory looks like something unlike what we would see in the US, and smells so strongly of aging tobacco, but the workers were working hard and chatting with their friends and generally appeared to be having a good time.

De-stemming tobacco leaves

Our guide Ricky, explaining how to evaluate the tobacco leaves during the fermentation process

The cigar rolling room

Gathering the long leaves for a perfect density

Pressing cigars after their initial roll

Smoothing out the tobacco leaf for the final roll

Cigar packaging room

After our tour, we had a special presentation at our hotel where we learned better how to roll cigars. We even got to roll our own!

Chey, rolling a cigar

Yours truly, getting a clean leaf edge to roll

Joe selecting leaves to fill the cigar - the man's job

William, rolling his cigar

The culture and the people are beautiful here. I confess that this trip is not completely inspired by selfless love. I know that God blesses those who do good, and I am reaping the benefits of those blessings every moment. 

With love and blessings,
 Natalie