This photo was brought to my attention recently. After seeing it inspired me to write a brief summary of a bit of the history of Nicaragua. This photo is of a Sandinista, taken during the height of the Nicaraguan Revolution, in 1979, in the city I'm living in now, Esteli. Esteli was actually a main area for the fighting that took place in Nicaragua, to overthrow the Somoza Dynasty, a family of dictators that controlled Nicaragua for many years until the uprising of the Sandinistas.
The country has had a sad history. This war in the '70's and '80's, famously known as a fight between the Contras and the Sandinistas, was preceded by a devastating earthquake in 1972, that hit the capital of Managua, obliterating 90% of the city. This led to corruption in the Somoza-run government because of the bad economic situation the country was in, giving fuel for the Sandinista cause to overthrow the Somoza family.
Here is a picture I found of the city of Mangua, pre-earthquake:
Managua, pre-1972, was a bustling economic center. It was the most prosperous and greatest of all the Central-American countries at the time. This picture shows that the city once had the qualities of a modern-day city, with tall buildings and whatnot...
The earthquake ended up fracturing most of the major buildings in the city, forcing 90% of the city to be torn down and rebuilt... Today, much of the city has been rebuilt, but still to this day it hasn't fully recovered. The central part of the city was re-defined because it was destroyed, and many communities lie on the outskirts of the city, because many took up residence on the outer edges of the city right after the earthquake.
This reminds me of the museum at the bethel branch we visited last year, which has since ceased operations back in November. Refer back to the post about bethel about the museum... The brothers endured a lot through the difficult times during the Nicaraguan Revolution, and even though Nicaragua's turbulent history had it's trials for the brothers here, it still didn't stop the good news from reaching the people, and the rest of the world as well.
Waw... congratulations for sharing this experience! We are pioneers from France and we dream of doing what you're doing!!! We are looking for a country in Central or South America where we could get the residency easily (in order to stay a few years) with the help of the local Branch, and a place not too expensive. We have been learning Haitian Creole for a while and are searching for a territory where Haitian Creole-speakers are needed. How is it where you live? Thanks a lot for your encouraging reports. Christian love. Matt & Mary mtdns@hotmail.com
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