Unexpected birthday...

Since Jose Angel went to Managua a couple of weeks ago, everybody was sure that his birthday wasn't coming up until November 7th.

When he was looking for a school that didn't require id-papers a couple of months ago he was glad to have found the San Pablo school, although it is a long way every day.

But now that he last days of the school year are coming up, they told Jose Angel that, in order to receive his diploma, he needs an id or birth certificate.

So, unexpectedly and after not been home for years he needed to go and visit his mother to get the necessary papers.

Before he took the bus to Nindiri, he said:
My family is very poor. If I go and visit them, I make them even poorer.
So I have to bring something to give to them.

He prepared a bag with some of the clothes that Kevin & Nicole had brought.
Something for everybody... even his baby cousins.
He bought some chocolates to share with his brothers.
He got all dressed up, wore his best shoes and his watch that he only wears on special occasions.

In the evening when he got back, he had so much to tell.
First of all he was shocked about the situation his family was living in.
The house is literally falling down. They have nothing.
Everything he brought was accepted as if they won the million dollar lottery.
I wrote it before... sometimes it doesn't take much to make some people happy!
And this all thanks to you... the people who visit this page.

Also very interesting was the reason why he went over to Nindiri...
His mother handed Jose Angel his birth certificate.
To his surprise, the date was different from the paper they had given him in in Managua!
Instead of having more than a month to prepare for his birthday, it was only days.

But the whole situation got Jose Angel thinking. He wasn't going to splash out on the birthday party he always wanted knowing that his family was living in these terrible conditions.

So... on his birthday he took the money that he had saved, borrowed the DVD player and some movies and music so everybody could enjoy a nice afternoon together.
He hadn't seen his family in more than a year.
His other (younger) brothers were also kicked out of the house a while ago because his mom couldn't take care for them. It was nice to be a family again, even though it was only for a couple of hours.

He didn't have the nice cake he never had but really wanted, he didn't have his friends at his party. There was no piñata. But he told me that it was the best day of his life.
His family wants to thank everybody who made this day possible.
Thanks to the money Jose Angel had saved they all could enjoy a great day.
There was enough to buy good food, buy some medication, and even have some urgent repair done in the house.

As a thank you his brother sent me his rubber bracelet, his mom sent a bunch of sweet lemons, his other brother climbed the volcano to get us some banana manzana trees for the patio and some exotic plants for the farm.

When he got back from Nindiri he was glowing all over. Smiling that big smile of his.
It was a great day!

Later this week I will try to drive to Nindiri to thank everybody for the presents.
Jose Angel and I are planning a little surprise for the family!

Come back in a couple of days to see if it happened!