January 17, 2011

It's been a busy day. I started out on the computer trying to figure out what I did wrong when backing up files from my old laptop to my external hard drive. I worked a little more on my to-do list for ministry. Then I packed everything up and headed to the Olive St offices to do some things and get ready for the Staff meeting. Kellie was kind enough to come by and pick me up. She lives near by now, so it wasn't too much trouble to pick me up on her lunch hour.

When I left the house, Deanna was babysitting for sweet, little Allie, her great-granddaughter. She is so cute and growing so much. it was nice to get to see her.

At the church offices, I got some documents signed and sent for the plane tickets for the March missions team to Nic. woohoo! I'm excited about this team coming down. We're going to have a great time serving together.

Before Staff meeting, Brian checked out my computers and the hard drive to figure out what is going on. The old laptop was acting funny, but the files seemed to be on the hard drive, even if the old computer didn't recognize it. I'm glad that I didn't lose anything.

Staff meeting was interesting. I hadn't been in one in over 2 months, since I was in Nic and last week I was sick and missed it. It was different not having John or Raleigh there. Cliff was a new addition. Eric Hansen, a family from our church who are missionaries in Indiana, shared what their ministry is like. It was good to hear. They will be in AR until I leave IN to return. We'll cross paths going in different directions. I would love to spend time with them in one place or the other to catch up. Maybe one of these days...

One of the assignments for the staff is to turn in an example of how we spend our time during the week. I don't keep 'office hours', so it will be interesting to put my schedule on paper. I do most of my computer work early in the am and especially in the evenings.

There's a staff retreat on Monday and Tuesday of next week, but I'll be in IN, so I will miss out on it. I'll have to email Bro Wes my ministry plans and status, so that he can share it with the team. I will miss hearing what the others have planned, although I'll be told later, it's nice to be there when it is all being discussed.

Brian worked on my computers a little and I ended up missing the chance to go to Springdale today for the Samaritan's Feet event, but that's okay. I appreciated all that Brian did to back up my files. He ended up sending me home in his truck while he stayed at the church for girl's basketball practice (he co-coaches with my friend Bob). Bob dropped him off here at the house to pick up his truck. That was sooo very nice of him. Brian will finish up transferring my stuff between computers after I get back from Indiana next week. I'm so glad that it was salvageable. I'm dangerous with technology! ha

It feels so good to have everything already packed and ready for my trip. Since today was kind of crazy on logistics, I had packed yesterday. No matter what my schedule was today, I still didn't have to worry about getting home to do anything for the trip. That was so nice. I fixed some soy bacon and eggbeaters with mushrooms and cheese for dinner. Now I'm enjoying some hot chocolate and going to bed early.

I don't look forward to getting up at 4am, but it will be nice to get to meet my sister and niece in mid afternoon to eat and shop on the way to their house. The 10 days will go by very quickly, I'm sure.

I'm praying for boldness and discernment to be able to share with my family about salvation in Christ. It is so hard to witness to family. They tend to shut you up if they don't want to listen. I asked for prayer regarding this in staff meeting today. Lord, help me to carry on with the desire to see all people, even my crazy family, come to know You as Savior and Lord. Amen!!!

January 16, 2011

Sunday night.

I watched FBCR on TV this morning. I always enjoy hearing Pastor Wes' messages. I missed the music, but I needed to stay home until time for Cuerpo Vivo. I'm thankful to have FBCR as a strong faith base in my life.

I really enjoyed the worship service this morning at Cuerpo Vivo. I feel so much in the presence of the Lord during the music. I finally got to hear Andres sing and play his guitar today. He does a great job of praising the Lord with his gift. Today's service was focused on missions and how Cuerpo Vivo is reaching out to touch the world. (and the service started out with Baptisms!!)

A group from FBC Garfield was in attendance to share about their mission trip to Monterrey MX that included a a family from Cuerpo Vivo. It was wonderful to hear about their on-going ministry to touch people's lives and also to equip and train churches in the Monterrey area to continue discipling the new Christians.

I also shared about my work with Voice of Hope Ministries in Nicaragua. It was the first time I have been in church at Cuerpo Vivo for 2 months and I have really missed all my friends there.

Russ and Jennifer Huffstetler also were recognized for their work in Monterrey in the past (until it got too dangerous to travel there). At the end of the service, Jaime had all of us come to the front to be prayed over. It was very sweet. I love the chance to be gathered with people who openly love God so much.

I'm working on backing up some of the files from my old laptop to a hard drive. I sure hope that I'm doing this right. I'm always afraid that I will accidentally delete something important. My old laptop will be donated to Puente, a networking service that is serving along side Cuerpo Vivo, to reach out to people needing help in finding the resources and processes to make their lives easier, legal and appropriate in this new country. I'm glad that I can give something usable.

I've spent the afternoon doing laundry and packing for my trip to Indiana on Tuesday (early) to visit family for a week. My day tomorrow will be really busy, so I wanted to get everything packed tonight. I think I'm 99% done, so that's pretty good!

Tomorrow I will go to the Olive St church offices to get some things done and meet with Brian Sander about the Youth Spring Break Mission Trip to Nicaragua in March. Then I'll attend Staff meeting (my first in 2 months). Then Nana Ruth will drive me to Springdale to connect with a rep from Samaritan's Feet, a ministry that does foot washing, shares the Gospel and gives shoes to those in need. I'm excited about seeing this ministry in action and to talk to the rep about the possibility of them coming to Nicaragua in the near future. I love seeing how God uses different people in different ways to reach His world.

It's time for bed now. I love the life that God is allowing me to live right now. He gives me my dreams, He gives me gifts to be used for Him, He takes me places to to do His work, He finds a way to use even worthless me to further His Kingdom. I am so blessed.

January 14, 2011

Friday afternoon.
Settled in for the weekend. Until time for church on Sunday, anyway.

Yesterday, I went to Dr Gartman to see about getting a root canal. After some intense diagnostic tests, he shared with me a very detailed explanation of what is going on with my tooth and what he suggests I do to save the tooth. I really appreciated his was of making me understand everything. Unfortunately, the cost for all the work would end up close to $5,000. I only get $8,000 support a year from the church as a missionary, and I was not about to spend that kind of money on the tooth. Besides, I wasn't all that attached (sentimentally) to the tooth. I had been ready to pull it from the beginning. Dr Gartman was very understanding and called Dr Jeffries back and had a discussion about my options. An appointment was made to pull the tooth after lunch. The people at Dr Gartman's office were really nice. I would recommend them highly to anyone who has to have this type of work done.

I was nervous about my appointment, but I was sooooo ready to be rid of this tooth and the horrible pain. Dr. Jeffries was ready for me when I got there. He said that he hated pulling my tooth, but understood that I couldn't afford fixing it. So he promptly shot me full of numbing juice. While we were waiting for it to take effect, he shared pictures from his mission trip to Peru from 2 years ago. It was nice to talk about missions and ministry. Then he got out his lovely (NOT) tools and pulled that sucker out! It wasn't as bad as I had imagined. It all went very quickly. They only charged $105, so I was very happy. Deanna said that we weren't even in the office 30 minutes. It was all over quickly and I enjoyed it (as much as you can enjoy having a tooth pulled) and appreciated getting to interact with Dr Jeffries and Diane, his assistant. They treated me so well.

I've been able to cut my pain pills in half. There is just some pain from the extraction process and the horrible pain from the nerve in the tooth is gone. Yay! I'm glad to have this behind me.

I slept pretty well, with only 1/2 pain pill, and woke up feeling better than I have in a long time. I'm so thankful. I know that through everything, even simple tooth pain, God has me in His hands and has a purpose for it all. I was able to share with people in 2 different offices about serving as a Missionary here and in Nic, about relying on God and how faithful He is. awesome.

Today, I met with Mike and Sherry Hulsey, Directors of Voice of Hope Ministries, about taking on more responsibilities with the ministry. I'm thrilled. I love this ministry very much and I'm excited to help with planning and sharing and helping to lead teams. It will be a busy spring and summer and I can't wait.

I have quite a to-do list going and I love being able to check things off. I try to be a good steward of the time that God allows me to have each day. My schedule is very flexible and I have even had people tell me that they don't think I actually work, since I don't go to an office for regular hours. Then I have Deanna fussing at me sometimes for working too much, since she sees me working here at home. I know that I'm trying to balance work time, study time (spanish), Bible study time, rest, etc. each day. All I can do is to ask God to show me how He wants me to spend HIS time that He allows me to have. Remembering that is the key.

I need to put together a presentation from my last stay in Nic to share with the congregation at Cuerpo Vivo on Sunday. That will be fun to put together. I also need to put together some pics for sharing with one of the women's Sunday School classes at their meeting in February. I love talking about what God is doing in Nicaragua. I hope that people find it encouraging for them.

My only desire is to serve God as well as I can. I want Him to be glorified and praised. I want people to come to know Him as Savior and Lord. I want to show my gratitude for the life He allows me to live. He is my ALL.

January 12, 2011

Wednesday evening.
It's been very cold here. We had a little snow on Monday night, but the temp dropped so much that school was cancelled. Therefore, our Bible Study was cancelled, too. I'll be gone on the next 2 Tuesdays, so I won't get to start the small group discussions until the class is a month old. But that's okay. We're also keeping up via internet. I'm enjoying the reading.

I fixed the roast and veggies on Monday night and it was so yummy. Then I fixed some noodles with some of the roast and broth. Not home made, but not bad. I've enjoyed my soups that I stocked up on.

I've been getting a lot of work done here in my cozy room. I love my new computer and how reliable it is. I have lists and piles of docs all over my huge ottoman. I like this kind of office. :)

My tooth, jaw and ear were killing me today. It brought me to tears. Every time it hits, it's worse and worse. I called Dr Wolfe, but he was going out of town and for various reasons couldn't help me. So I called my former dentist, Dr Jefferies, and he got me right in. He gave me a prescription for vicodin and called for an appointment with Dr Gartman, an endodontist, who will see me tomorrow morning for a probable root canal. I don't usually like taking pain meds for any reason, but I have to say that the vicodin has become my friend today. While I was filling the prescription, I picked up some more Orajel and found a box with at $1 off coupon! yay. I am thankful that Deanna was available to take me to my appointment. She has volunteered to take me tomorrow, too. I'm blessed.

My Christmas present to myself arrived today. A Kindle! I'm so excited. This is going to be wonderful for me, especially when I'm traveling! I'm checking out all the free books I can download. I'll be trying it out in the waiting room at the dentist's office tomorrow and especially at the airports next week when I travel to Indiana to visit family.

My friend Carol, from NYC called this evening. She is battling a tough affliction right now. It's painful and unpredictable. It was good to hear her voice and her faith that God is in control. We talked about the view out of her apartment window. I have a picture of snowflakes falling against an evening skyline from that same window. I pray for healing and comfort for her.

Overnight, our power went out, which means we had no heat. It was about 3:30am when I woke up to go to the bathroom. It was very dark and very cold. I put on 2 pair of socks and climbed back in bed under the covers. I fell back to sleep pretty well and woke up about 8am feeling very cozy. Yesterday and today are supposed to be the coldest days in years here. At least we don't have a lot of precipitation to go with it!

I feel that God is revealing Himself to me in new ways lately. Some are subtle and are like layers of comfy blankets that He covers me with. No matter what the circumstances are, He has things under control and ways to give me what I need, even before I know that I need them. He knows the plans that He has for me and what I will need and what I will need to be in the future. He directs my path. I just need to stay out of His way, let Him work and let Him reveal Himself to me. It takes trust, love, obedience and humility on my part. Instead of wondering what God is going to do in my day, I need to seek what He wants from my day to glorify Him. I want to know Him more intimately and deeply. I want to honor and praise Him. I want to share Him with others. I'm thankful for the desire that He places in my heart.

January 10, 2011

Monday night. Very cold and a little bit snowy. Definitely different than this time last week in Nic.

I got back and promptly caught a cold. Added to the issues of my ear and jaw pain from my tooth and I'm ready to cut my head off. But, Dr. Wolfe (dentist) gave me cipro for possible sinus infection that he thinks is causing my jaw and tooth pain. I'm going to see Dr Bob at the church medical clinic on Thursday to see what to do about my ear. I haven't been able to hear out of that ear for almost 4 months now. Hopefully, we can clear up that problem soon. Other than that, I'm fit as a fiddle!!! And thankful.

I stayed inside yesterday with the exception of going to a team meeting at the church in the evening. Deanna let me borrow her van to go to the meeting. I felt very rough by the time I got home and was ready to get into warm jammies, take some cold meds and climb into bed.

We had a great meeting for the Nic team going over spring break in March. I'm looking forward to working with some people I haven't gotten to know very well yet. This will be wonderful to get to know each other on the field. Stacie and Kearsten are returning vets, who will help show the team the ropes. We're going to be prepared to make an impact as soon as we get there. I like getting to be part of preparing the teams to serve. It creates a great bond.

I rode with Deanna to Walmart this morning to get some groceries. I stocked up on soups that I had coupons for, along with other stuff. They had some roasts marked down and I got one for dinner tonight. It was so yummy! I want to have food stocked up since I'll be home more without a car. I love being able to work from home, so I don't worry about transportation too much. I'm looking forward to cooking more, too.

Our Ladies Ministry at FBCR had great Bible Studies each year. I'm participating in the one that is walking through the Bible chronologically. I got started a week late, so I'm all caught up now and looking forward to the class tomorrow. I won't be able to attend all classes, since I'll be traveling a lot this year, but I can keep up and have people keep me accountable to continue. I had been praying about getting a chronological Bible for this year. How fun that there is a study where I can discuss with others what we're reading.

There are so many projects I need to be jumping on. There's just not enough time in the day. I am a big list maker and I need to update my list so I can prioritize and conquer! Thankfully, everything (well almost) is stuff I will enjoy doing or am excited to research. There is so much I know that God wants me to experience. I'm up for whatever it is. If it's from Him, it's worth it! Of course, that doesn't mean that the experience will be enjoyable, and it might even be hurtful, but if He grows me and He is glorified through it, I'm game!

Wednesday, January 5 & Thursday, January 6, 2011

Wednesday was a good day. I slept in till about 9. I then fixed some pancakes for breakfast. I did some laundry, made a dentist appointment, made a doctors appointment, made a few phone calls, looked for some things that I had packed away here at the house before I left, unpacked my suitcases, had lunch, took a nap, talked Deanna's head off, had dinner and then finally got on the computer to do some emails. I went to bed tired again and slept very well.

Thursday, today, I got up early so that I could catch a ride with Deanna to my dentist appointment. My tooth and jaw and ear had still been bothering off and on. When the pain hit, it was bad. Dr. Wolfe xrayed my top and bottom molars again and said that my description of the pain and how it radiated through the side of my face and ear sounded like it was sinus infection issues. He called me in a prescription for anti-biotics to start on. I told him that I have an appointment with Dr Bob to check out my ear, since it has been an issue for over 3 months now. Hopefully, between the two of them, we can figure out the problem and get it taken care of. I was so glad to not have to have any work done on my teeth. It was also easier on my wallet!

After my dentist appointment, I walked down a few blocks to Braums and had some breakfast. Then I walked a few more blocks to my haircut appointment. It was fun to talk with Carolyn and have her fix my self-inflicted haircuts from Nic. I got to see Ms Helen Walters from church while there. That was nice to get a hug from her.

After the haircut, I was walking to the church and had just gotten a few blocks before I heard my name called. My friend Monica Herrera and her husband had pulled over to see if I wanted a ride. They were on their way to lunch and invited me, but I needed to get to the church, so they dropped me off. That was nice.

At the church (Olive street building) I caught up with some friends and then met up with Oliver and Andreas and his wife upstairs. It was great to see that they are starting their networking ministry there at the church. It's called Puente, which means bridge, and helps Hispanics to know where to go and what to do in many situations to get settled in Rogers.

I answered the phone while Glenda ran and got us sandwiches and I got to visit with her a little bit. Then I met with Brian Sander, our Youth Pastor, to talk about the Nic team for March and our planning meeting this Sunday. After that meeting, Oliver snatched me and we met with Andreas and they shared with me all the things that God is doing for and through Cuerpo Vivo.

During the afternoon, we found out that Cuerpo Vivo ministry received a donation of used computers to use for the part of the ministry that Puente will be a part of. I also got a call from a friend and fellow missionary, who works with Samaritan's Feet. He wanted to talk to me about the chance to meet a rep from their ministry who will be in Springdale on Jan 17. I'm excited for that encounter. There's a possibility that they will send a team to Nic, too. It is wonderful to see Cuerpo Vivo growing in strength and maturity as well as in numbers. So exciting!

Nana Ruth called to see if I was free for dinner. I walked to her apartment and we went to Red Lobster, where she had a coupon and gift cards. We enjoyed a very yummy dinner. It turns out that she is off work on Jan 17th and will go with me to Springdale for the Samaritan's Feet event. yay! After dinner, we went to Walmart and I got groceries. I was so thankful for that chance.

Now I will stay home tomorrow and work on computer. I won't have to ask anyone for a ride. I'll have my prescription delivered and I have grub to eat. I'm looking forward to a very productive day.

God is so good. He is busy and He is allowing many people to be a part of His work. He is awesome and I love Him so much.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

I was so tired by the time I got home on Tuesday night, that I didn't post this until 2 days later. Hope I can remember everything that I wanted to share.

Woke up early to get ready to depart the mission house. Finished off my last bit of oatmeal for breakfast. It felt very strange to put on jeans, shoes and socks. We loaded up the van with all our luggage and some things to drop off at German's house and headed east to León for the last time. After saying goodbye to German's family for the last time (and using their bathroom before leaving town) we headed to Managua.

We got to the airport and it was bustling. We got into the line to check in and it moved at it's usual slow pace. After getting our boarding passes, we went to through another checkpoint to show our little forms, then we went through security. My carryon bag got to be sniffed by a drug dog. He wasn't impressed, so I guess vitamins don't count. Then we went upstairs to our gate to wait for our flight.

I stopped in the restroom and should have known that I was in trouble when I saw the lady mopping the floor. Of course, the water was greasy and I felt my left foot slipping straight out in front of me, which of course, meant that my right foot curled behind me. I knew I was going down and that I couldn't stop, so I just relaxed and went down easily. The mopping lady started making little shouts because she thought I was going to be hurt. Mary heard the commotion and came running out of the bathroom stall. I told everyone I was fine and got up from the floor in the most graceful way that I could (which is not very graceful). That was our excitement for the day. :)

We sat around until our flight was called. I ventured into the bathroom by myself one last time and met a North American lady heading to San Francisco. We had a nice little chat. Before we could get on the plane, we had to have our carry-ons inspected. Then we made it to the plane and our seats.

I got to set beside a North American man heading to Los Angeles. He served in Nicaragua in the Peace Corps for 2 years after he retired. After the Peace Corps, he decided to move to Nicaragua and has lived there for 7 years. I asked if the residency process is difficult and he very earnestly said yes. He watched a movie during the flight, so I didn't really get to talk to him much, but I did give him my card and asked that he email me so that I could get his email address and ask him questions about living in Nic. I don't know if he will email me or not. But it was nice to visit with him a little. Mary teased me that I was trying to pick him up. ha

We made it to Houston and ended up in a huge crowd of people going through customs. It took us about and hour. Then we made it baggage claim and got our bags and dropped them off again. Then we went upstairs through security again. Mary was worried about getting to her plane on time, so she took off and I never saw her again... I got through security and went to the food court to grab a couple of sandwiches, thinking that I could drop one off to Mary at her gate. (Her plane was leaving about 40 minutes before mine) I stopped at Schlotzkis and it took forever to get the food. By the time I was free, it was too late to catch Mary at her gate. I walked down the hallway to my gate to make sure it was really the correct one, then sat in the hallway and ate my sandwich. Then I walked back to the food court area to find a bathroom. While in my stall, I heard little Hope (from the mission team) say, Look Mom! It's Ms Vickie next to us. I guess she recognized my shoes. We figured out that our gates were near each other. The team had originally planned on a sit-down meal, so I didn't even look for them after going through security. It turns out that they went to the food court and I didn't see them. Chet called my cell phone to tell me to meet them in the food court for a sandwich, but I didn't get his call or Mary's 3 missed calls until I got settled in at my gate. We finally met up at our nearby gates and got to say goodbye.

My flight to NWA was uneventful, but a little turbulent. The plane was almost empty, so we all got either single seats or got to spread out in the double seats. The flight attendant guy was funny. The flight was only a little over an hour long, so I was back in the cold weather before I knew it.

Kaylie Reither picked me up at the airport and had a warm blanket in the car for me. It was so nice to see her sweet face. I got home and said hi to Deanna and Jet and rolled my bags to my room. I was really tired and found some warm jammies and jumped in bed. It was strange to go to bed in a cold place all burrowed under blankets after I had been sleeping in shorts and tank tops without blankets and with fans running. I slept really well, though.

It was nice to see Deanna and Jet, but it felt weird to not go back to the mission house to go to bed. I'm ready to be back in Nic, but I'm also ready to be here and doing what God has planned for me. He is in control of my days and I want to live each day to the fullest and do all I can to glorify Him.

January 3, 2011

My last night in Nic (until March). Thinking about it would keep me awake if it weren't for the fact that God has given me a very busy day to wear me out so that I will fall asleep really easily in just a few minutes!

We packed up and headed out at 7:30 this morning. Once in León, we picked up Juan, Jeremy and Michael, our translators at the light. Then we headed over to pick up German at his house and to drop off the extra boxes of New Testaments for safe keeping. Then we stopped at On the Run for a last bathroom break until much later in the day.

Finally, we started out for Posoltega, where we were going to work with the Todopoderoso church at their church plant. They had everything very well organized for the day. It was so wonderful to work with them! One of the best days we have had! Once in Posoltega, we met with the team from Todopoderoso and also some workers from the local area. We split up into groups and walked up and down the streets inviting everyone to the Fiesta and Feeding, and also witnessing to everyone we found. We had about 1 1/2 hours for the street evangelism. It was wonderful!

Then we got back to the area where the Fiesta was to take place. It's a piece of land that is cleared off and they have outdoor church there. Everyone brought their chairs (molded plastic lawn chairs that are used everywhere down here) and we had a very orderly audience area. We are usually crowed by the kids pushing in to see everything at the Fiestas, but this was wonderful. We did the Fiesta and everyone had a wonderful time. The drama went well and the witnessing with the groups of boys, girls and adults was great. It was nice to have so many workers.

Right before the Feeding, they had a piñata for the kids. It happened to be hanging from a tree very near the food tables. Once it broke open, the kids lunged for the candy and the adults had to physically protect the food tables from falling over! I got some pics. Crazy!

The Feeding was great. They had prepared very yummy looking food. Everyone was fed. There was even some left for the Nica workers. Mandy and Chet from our team had made us all peanut butter sandwiches and apples for our lunch in the field. That was a nice snack for us! During and after the Feeding there was still lots of sharing and witnessing going on. We gave out Salvation bracelets to everyone and New Testaments to most of the people. We also gave out extra candy. It was fun.

All the Pastors and one Pastor's wife, German and Chet all made speeches to the workers. Everyone was so pleased with the blessings of the day. There were 163 salvations. Everything ran very smoothly and all the workers enjoyed the time together. It was really an awesome day. God blessed us so much on our last work day. Great memories.

We headed back to León and stopped again at On the Run for the bathroom. It was a much appreciated stop! Then we headed to downtown to a Western Union store to pick up some wired money. Then we stopped at La Unión for toppings for the sandwiches for tonight's dinner. German and I went to 4 pharmacies before we found some medicine that Mary and I needed to bring home with us. Thankfully, all 4 pharmacies were within 2 blocks of the van. The team went with a lady they met earlier in the week to purchase some glasses for her. We said goodbye to the translators and then stopped at German's house so that Chet could ride the motorcycle to the mission house. We said goodbye to German (and I think he was saying goodbye to his motorcycle) and we headed home, finally, to have lunch.

It was about 2pm when we got home. The cook was glad to finally see us back so that she could leave! We had rice mix and cabbage salad and tortillas for lunch. It was good.

Mary and I jumped right in on doing some laundry so that we could pack away our clothes to keep her. We started packing the mission house stuff away for safe keeping. We'll finish that tomorrow morning before we leave. I worked a few hours on all my stuff and then Iris, one of my Nica daughters, called to say that she and her mother and sister were coming to the house to visit. We had not had the chance to see each other these 2 months. When she got here, we sat with the team and had a wonderful conversation. I enjoyed it very much. They caught the last bus (about 6:30pm) out of Poneloya for León and I went back to work on sorting and packing.

We had sandwiches for dinner and the team pitched in getting things ready. They had plenty of time to relax and visit the beach for the last time. It was a nice evening. I finally got all my work done by 9pm. I was so tired! I went downstairs to visit with the team a little bit and then came up to get on the computer about 10pm. I need to answer a few more emails and then I'm going to sleep!

Today, while we were all going in different directions downtown, I had the chance to record a commercial for Juan's English School. It was fun. I really respect Juan and his wife and their school. If I could live here more time out of the year, I would love to work at the school with them. Maybe someday...

I can't remember anything else noteworthy from today, so I'll finish this. God has been so amazing to me. I can't put into words what it means to me to have this relationship with Him. I pray that I will find the words and be ready at all times, when asked the reason for my joy. It's all HIM!

January 2, 2011

Wonderful Sunday, even if it IS the last one in Nic for 2 1/2 months!

Woke up and had my cold oatmeal and some milk for breakfast. I have found that the bagged Eskimo milk from the grocery store is pretty good. The boxed, shelf-stable milk is not! I miss milk. :)

Headed to Iglesia Rosa de Sarón (Rose of Sharon Church). We were a little early and Danilo (van driver) doesn't think we should have to sit at the church waiting for it to start. (I told him it's okay, that our visiting Pastor would appreciate some time to talk to the local Pastor, but we still don't get there very early. oh well.) Anyway, Danilo took us to the park for about 10 minutes. We walked around to a few vendors and bought a few souvenirs. Then we headed to the church.

The church is located in the middle of the block of a small street with vendors on both sides. We parked at the end of the block and walked to the church. It's not the best smell to be in the middle of an open market selling produce, dairy and meat... The church was very welcoming, as always. We found our seats and prepared to have a wonderful service. It's always so hot in this church, so I brought my fold up hand fan. The music was wonderful and we stood for about an hour singing and dancing and sweating so much that the dirt from my sandals made little mud tracks when it mixed with the sweat falling from my face to the floor. You could feel the Holy Spirit throughout all the music. It was so amazing, as always. The dancers (with tambourines, scarves and ribbons on sticks) came out about half way through the music session. They made us hotter just watching them perform in their long sleeves, long pants and tunics. It's fun to watch them.

Hope, the 7 1/2 year old girl on the team, gave her testimony today. She was a little nervous and when she got on the stage, she said she couldn't do it. But we kept smiling at her and her mom kept encouraging her and she finally read her notes. She had a wonderful little testimony and you could tell that it was straight from a child's heart. She got a lot of amens and applause from the congregation.

Then Chet gave the message and it was very good. I love to hear him preach. There were a few salvations this morning. Then Pastor Panteleón asked if Chet would like to officiate a baptism. They pulled up the floor boards from the stage and underneath was the baptistry. Chet took off his shoes and emptied his pockets and stepped right in. It was awesome! He was drenched afterward and just enjoyed the memory as he air dried in the sun.

I always love the music and worship atmosphere at Rose of Sharon church. I was standing there with sweat actually pouring down my face, clapping and dancing a little to the music and had goosebumps on my arms from the Holy Spirit. it was so special. The Lord has been wrapping me up in His love at these churches. I love it!

I met a man at church, who volunteered to help translate what was going on at the end. His name is William and he is visiting his family here in León for the holidays. He lives in Maryland now (for 22 years) and is in the ministry there. He was dreading having to travel back and get into the fast-paced life of the states. It was a blessing to meet him.

I also talked to 2 girls who were asking if I had been at the 'project' at Monte Horeb (Sewer Ponds) last week. They remembered me from there. It was nice to visit with them a little bit.

After church, we went back to the park so everyone could finish their souvenir shopping. Then we stopped by a medical clinic to visit Christopher, Evelyn and their new baby boy (Leyvi Joel), who was born this morning. How special to get to see him and to give the proud parents big kisses! I took a couple of pics. Mary and I just stayed about 5 minutes because the team was waiting for us. We were so happy.

We made it home for lunch and enjoyed the wonderful pollo asado (grilled chicken), rice, beans and salad that Jasmina had made. We love her chicken! Then Mandy and I got the stuff ready for the Fiesta for tomorrow at Posoltega. It was soooo hot in the room where the stuff is, and it is a room that is open on 2 sides! whew!

Everyone spent the rest of the afternoon resting and doing whatever they felt like. I spent some time working on the computer. Hope came upstairs looking for something to do and she joined me in my room while I downloaded some of Mary's pictures. We had hamburgers and then got in the van and headed back to town. We stopped by the grocery store to buy more candy for tomorrow and then we headed to Todopoderoso church for service.

This is German's church and also Jeremy, one of our translators, is now a Pastor there. His father is the lead Pastor and Jeremy was 'anointed' (ordained) on New Year's Eve. It was wonderful to see his beautiful wife, Kelly, too. We get a wonderful welcome from this church, too. They asked us to sit up front (a place of honor in the churches here) and brought us bottled water. The music was wonderful and I was brought to tears on a few familiar songs. I get so overwhelmed by how close I feel to the Lord here in Nic. It's wonderful. Jeremy is the worship leader and he does a wonderful job. The band is good and the choir, who also do a little choreography, is so worshipful. ahhhh... German's wife and kids were there tonight, also. It might be the last time we see them on this trip. We say goodbye to them every time we see them, because we don't know if it will be the last time or not.

I was teary at one point between the music and the message tonight. Chet was talking about how much he loves coming to Nicaragua, how blessed he felt by the Pastor and the church, how much he enjoyed working with the translators, and how much he appreciated VOH. He asked Mary and I to stand up at one point and I had tears on my face at that moment (wouldn't you know it!). I was reminded that this was the same church that we celebrated our last Nic service when we left at the end of the summer. I cried like a baby that night because we were saying goodbye to all the translators, too. I'm just a big crybaby.

We made it home and I think everyone is asleep by now. I should be too. We are getting up a little earlier for the ministry work tomorrow. I'm looking forward to the work tomorrow. It will be great.

I'm not going to talk about how we only have one more day here. I'll deal with that tomorrow...

I love my Lord so much and I am sooooo blessed to be able to spend my life serving Him full time. I am overwhelmed and so happy.

January 1, 2011

Happy New Year! It feels wonderful to be starting the new year here in Nicaragua. Just feels perfectly natural!

We had a quiet morning and I got a load of laundry done and dried on the line. We got ready and left the house about 10:30am. We stopped at Suyapa restaurant in the next little town on the beach. We made our reservations for tonight's dinner and pre-ordered our food. The wait staff know us (Voice of Hope) and were happy to make our reservation. I'm sure they have seen Mary plenty of times. This was my second time there.

We headed into León and had lunch at Tip Top Chicken. They know Mary and I there very well by now. I think we have averaged eating there at least once a week over the last 2 months! The team enjoyed the chicken. Then we stepped next door to La Unión grocery store for food for the next 2 days and so the team could buy some coffee and other things to take home. The store was so empty compared to usual. The extra displays for Christmas and New Years parties were down and you could actually walk through the aisles! There were hardly any shoppers either. It was quite nice!

We packed the grub into a huge cooler in the van and headed off for some sightseeing. We went to the Cauldrons at the Telica Volcano. This area is super hot with steam and bubbling earth and sulfer. We were just there in December with the team from Paragould, AR. Mary and I could not believe how much it has changed in just these weeks. It was amazing. The small bubbling holes from December are now huge craters with hissing and bubbling earth. Some of the ground was actually soft from all the steam holes. We took some pictures and some videos and got away from all that heat. The team enjoyed seeing it.

We returned to the house and unloaded all the groceries and everyone went their own way to rest or walk on the beach. I did some work on the computer and put my feet up for a while. The beach was crowded today. Mary and I are used to a deserted beach with just 10-20 people tops. I walked out and took a zoom picture to the south and to the north. I didn't venture down the beach. There were more and more people coming and going to this area today. We got into a line of vehicles waiting at the checkpoint to get into the Las Peñitas/Poneloya area. We had to pay a toll again because of the holiday. There were buses packed and trucks with tons of people crammed in the back. So many people.

This morning, we lost electricity for awhile. That's not uncommon and sometimes it's an accident and sometimes it is planned by the city. You never know. And you never know how long it will be out. But it wasn't more than an hour this time. We were without power to pump the water during that time, so we couldn't shower, wash dishes, flush toilets or wash clothes. We were glad when it came back on.

On our way into town, we went past a wreck site where a truck had went off the road and down an embankment and into a huge concrete pole that held the power lines. We figure that's why we lost power. The people were all gone from the area, but the truck still remained down the side of the hill. We hope the truck was not full of people on their way to or from the beach. They would have been hurt really bad. The city was putting up another concrete pole. Very interesting work since they don't have all the equipment that is taken for granted in the states.

We left the house about 5:30 for the 5 minute drive to the restaurant. It took over 30 minutes to just get within 3 blocks of it. We finally got out and walked the rest of the way and Danilo waited in traffic to park the van. He came into the restaurant before our food arrived, so it was okay. He carried in a flashlight with him because the restaurant had lost electricity for some reason right when we got there. It came back on before we ate. The restaurant is on the beach and our table was in the sand under a thatched roof. When you sat in the chairs, they sunk into the sand. It was funny to see everyone at different heights around the table. The food was yummy and we enjoyed the dinner. We missed the sunset since we had been in traffic so long. But we had a good time.

We came home and sent Saturnino home for the night since we have Danilo here. He will be our fearless guard for the night. We all settled in for the evening. Some playing games, some chatting and drinking coffee. I came up to my room to get on the computer to do some emails and to post some pictures on facebook. I have tons to do still.

Now it's time for sleep. We'll be going to Rose of Sharon (Rosa de Sarón) church tomorrow morning. We don't have to leave the house until 8am, so that will be nice.

Mary and I are trying not to think about the fact that we are leaving on Tuesday. I choose to think of it as packing for a vacation in the states. We have lots to do in the next 2 days to get ready to leave the house for a few months. We'll do a little tomorrow between church services and shopping at the park. Then we will finish up on Monday evening after the Fiesta and feeding at Posoltega. I get all antsy thinking about leaving. But I know it's God's plan for now. The plan looks like I'll be spending about half of 2011 here off and on. I love that! I'm so blessed no matter where God leads me or for how long. I love being His child and His tool in His work. What a blessed life He has allowed me to live.