Grinding at the ESVO

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A hobby of mine has always been the grill. Taking time to smoke some ribs, or roast a leg of lamb has been a joy for me to share this craft with family an friends for any reason. So when we moved to Nicaragua I couldn't take my grill with me, and I had to live a BBQ free life the first year or so. Imagine that, no BBQ?

Not that Nicaraguans don't grill meat, they love to grill meat. There are people grilling meat and selling it all over, these paces are called asados. And it is very good, but there's nothing like the flavors you grew up with to make you feel comfortable and at home. So we needed a grill!

When I grilled some ribs open pit style at the Nehemiah Center they were delicious and everyone gathered around and ate well. A time to get together again, and forget about the political crisis affecting our lives for a short moment. It was after this day I decided to design a barrel grill, USA style! December of 2018 I walked across the Nehemiah Center's parking lot to the ESVO school with the plans I drew up for a barrel grill I called El Muchachon!

I have spent the 2000's decade working in tool shops and machining. So I knew what we had to do to put together a good grill! The young apprentices learning trades at the ESVO were there to help and learned about BBQ. We produced a great grill!  I present to you El Muchachon!

El Muchachon!
Now I am back home smoking good again!

The ESVO School stands for Escuela Vocacional or vocational school. You can read more about them here at ESVO Ministries.  The apprenticeship program is where we see young people learn a trade and how to take pride in their work. The ESVO leadership team helps to answer the call of every humans desire for work and how we honor God with our work, and businesses. The apprenticeship programs vision is right inline for our work with entrepreneurs here in Nicaragua. Working with the young men gave me time to share about honoring God with the work of our hands. That this labor is also an act of worship and we out to treat everything we do in business as an offering to our Lord! I had a great time with these young men, it brought me back to my own days as an apprentice in the tool and die shops of west Michigan! So all of you old die makers, if your getting bored at home and need a vacation and a place to grind steel again, come down to the ESVO and share your experiences!

Marcos, Bryan, myself, Jose, Angel. Proverbs 22:29
I haven't welded in years, good to be back in the shop!

Keep your nose to the grind stone

El Muchachon
Marcos splitting him open!

Good steel!
Location: Nejapa, Managua, Nicaragua

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