James' Travel Blog

Feliz Navidad, familia y amigos! Doy gracias a Dios por tu amistad, por haber sido parte de mi vida. Ha sido un año difícil, aunque lleno de muchas bendiciones. Espero que la tuya haya estado llena de bendiciones de Dios también. Eventos Familiares La ultima foto con mi padre Douglas Febrero 2019 Mi padre Douglas falleció en febrero de 2019 en su casa en Dixon, California. Fue tratado por cáncer de próstata por varios años, pero el verano pasado el tratamiento dejó de funcionar y decidió no buscar tratamientos alternativos. Aun así, se había llevado bien solo, activo como miembro de la Junta de Educación del Condado, aunque decidió retirarse al final de su mandato en octubre de 2018. Durante las vacaciones de Navidad de 2018, se estaba debilitando, así que los miembros de la familia, incluidas mis hermanas Lisa y Drea , mi sobrina Jenny y los vecinos Andrea , Nick y yo hicimos arreglos para que él recibiera atención diaria. Cuando su salud dio un mal giro en enero, todos...

Merry Christmas, family and friends! I thank God for your friendship, that you have been part of my life. It has been a difficult year, although filled with many blessings. I hope yours has been full of blessing from God also. Family Events With my dad in February 2019 My father Douglas passed away in February 2019 at his home in Dixon, California.  He was treated for prostate cancer for several years, but last summer the treatment ceased working, and he chose not to pursue the alternative treatments. Even so, he had been getting along well on his own, active as a member of the Solano County Board of Education, although he decided to retire at the end of his term in October 2018. During the 2018 Christmas holiday, he was getting weaker, so family members including my sisters Lisa and Drea , my niece Jenny , and neighbors Andrea , Nick and I arranged for him to get daily attention. When his health took a bad turn in January, we all traded off day-to-day responsibilities tak...

With tour leader Sandeep In early June 2019, I traveled to Bolivia with a group of sponsors and staff from Compassion International to tour charity projects and visit children that I sponsor there. Compassion is a Christ-centered, church-based child-focused program, which seeks to lead children out of poverty through development in four areas: physical (health), cognitive (learning), socio-emotional (relationships with family and friends) and spiritual (relationship with God). As a sponsor, I send a small amount of money per month for each school-age child to participate in the program and receive resources.. I sponsor two kids in Bolivia, and others in other countries. The tour was headed by Sandeep, formerly sponsored as a child from India, and Shaylee, a new tour leader with several year's experience at Compassion. Our group of about 30 sponsors and staff met in Miami and traveled together to the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra for our first set of visits. Link to Bol...

For about a week in January 2019, I was blessed to tour Child Development Projects in Nicaragua, as well as visiting three of my sponsored children, Cristian, Ana and Danilo, plus Enmy, whom I sponsored for over twelve years until she finished the program in 2015. The tour was hosted by Compassion International . This is the second part of the story. See a detailed Google photo album here. Sightseeing and Another Visit with Enmy & Family At the town of Catarina, with Lago Apoyo in the background On Sunday afternoon, we traveled to the hilly village of Catarina, a touristy town overlooking a small lake--Lago Apoyo--with the large Lago de Nicaragua visible in the distance. The village boasts numerous artisan shops; I picked up a few small banners with Bible verses in Spanish to give to members of family later in the week, including verses: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthen me." (Phil 4:19); "So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed...

For about a week in January 2019, I was blessed to tour Child Development Projects in Nicaragua, as well as visiting three of my sponsored children, Cristian, Ana and Danilo, plus Enmy, whom I sponsored for over twelve years until she finished the program in 2015. The tour was hosted by Compassion International . Link to photo album Project NI-111 in Ciudad Sandino Half of our tour group at Iglesia Esmirna, Jan. 19, 2019 After arriving in Managua with nearly thirty sponsors and staff on a Friday night, we spent Saturday morning touring Child Development Center NI-111, "Fragrance of Myrrh" run by a local church, Iglesia Esmirna, in the the nearby city of Ciudad Sandino. Many children welcomed us at the entrance, some holding homemade name tags for each of us. We sat in rows in the church sanctuary while various children's groups sang and danced to worship music. In one of the groups, three of the boys in back ran out to the front to break dance and do cartwheels...