My last full day here in Nicaragua. Didn't sleep much at all last night. Kept monitoring downloads on my computer and then synced my phone, iPod and Kindle. I'm so thankful for technology (and for the opportunities that God brought my way to earn the money for these nice toys that I really need to keep in touch from down here). I kept having weird dreams about losing my Nicaragua phone while back in the states. In my dreams were people I don't normally see in my daily life. weird...
Friday, the team plus Beth, Kearsten and Bethany, all went out for Fun Day. They rode boards (like sleds) down the side of a volcano. Mixed feelings about the experience. An hour hike up a very steep rocky volcano in the heat. A dirty, bumpy and sometimes perilous ride down. Doesn't sound like fun to me, but some of the team loved it tremendously. I did do the zip-line on my first time here, but I don't think I'll indulge in volcano boarding. Anyway, they came back to León and had lunch and did a little shopping and then spent their last moments on the beach. They videoed some testimonies with the ocean as the background. I'm sure they are very moving. We all went to Suyapa for dinner. Everyone loved the food. We got back to the team house and everyone started packing for the departure time of 3am. Mary and I got up to see them off. Beth popped out of the room in time to wave to the vans.
We enjoyed the team very much. We had a good week, although there was more down time than usual in our schedule. They made a great impact with 230 salvations, a conference, bringing messages in church services, a feeding, VBS and some construction work. They were a blessing to us after 2 months of teams coming down. I hope that they were blessed themselves and stretched and grown and challenged in their walk with the Lord.
Yesterday, we worked around the house doing the usual cleanup after a team leaves. Plus we started packing up our stuff for the move to the new place. We went into town to drop Beth off to visit the Speigles and we headed out to Posoltega to see the spot where we hope to purchase a piece of land to build a church plant and feeding center. It's a very unique and poor neighborhood. I'll be starting Women's Bible Studies there in the fall and I'm praying about the women who live there and how God is going to touch these women's lives.
We had a quick lunch at the Tip Top Express at the Texaco station. Then we picked up Beth and headed back home. It was raining off and on and a perfect afternoon for a much needed nap.
I caught up on working with the receipts from the team expenses. My stuff is all packed except for what has to wait until Sunday night. Although, it looks a mess in my room! Mary went to the Hulsey's to sit with Manuel while Mike and Sherry had a date. Beth and I fixed left overs and soup for dinner. I've been taking advantage of having possession of the internet cable all last evening and all night long. I was downloading tons of updates, syncing my stuff and generally was up and down every few hours all night long.
I'm anxious to get back to Rogers to get a ton of stuff done and meet with a lot of people to organize some stuff that needs to be put into place for the the fall. I want to use my time very wisely. There is much to do there so that I can come back in Oct for the rest of the year. I'm so thankful to my God for all He allows in my life.
It's after 6am, so I had better go for my walk before it gets too hot.
The rest of the day will be spent on packing and getting ready to leave at 3am for the airport. I'll have to plan my naptime accordingly to get the best use of it!
God has blessed us so much this summer. Voice of Hope Ministries is growing and expanding and reaching so many people. God has opened His floodgates to bless the people of Nica. He blesses us by using us. I can't wait to get back and start some more of the on-going ministries. He is so faithful.
For now, I'll be excited to see friends and church family in Rogers. I'm so lucky and blessed with the life that God has given me. I couldn't ask for more.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011 Nicaragua
It's been a whole week with the team and I'm just now getting the chance to post anything on here. It's crazy getting internet access sometimes. Thank the Lord that I have facebook and internet on my phone to keep up with things. It's just too hard to type anything lengthly on that little keyboard. But I'm thankful!!
This week has been nice for me, because since Beth is here and can run the Fiestas, I get to do some things that I don't normally get to do. It's been a wonderful end of the hard summer schedule for me.
The team arrived Saturday evening and got settled in. Sunday morning we went to Rose of Sharon Church at the Country Club neighborhood. I enjoy that church very much and we are starting to do a lot of ministry with them. They are doing lots of outreach in the community. We had lunch, Fiesta training and rest time and then headed back into town for services at 2 churches. It was good worship.
Monday, the team held 2 Fiestas in the morning. I got the chance to do some street witnessing while the Fiestas were going on. I was blessed to lead 4 people to the Lord. After the Fiestas, we stopped by a little preschool and gave out toothbrush kits and some food packets. The kids were precious. They recited some English words for us and then a few of them did a little dance to a song. We loved it! What an awesome day! We came back to the house for lunch and then headed into town for some ice cream and shopping. Then back to the house for dinner.
Tuesday, the team held 2 more Fiestas in the afternoon (1 in a school). I was happy to join part of the team who were going to present a conference to Pastor's and Leaders. We broke for lunch and the team of 6 that I was with, plus 2 translators, grabbed a taxi and headed for my favorite restaurant (Callejón) for lunch. The Pastor's had lunch brought in, but we went to a restaurant since North Americans have delicate stomachs. The Nicaraguans understand this and don't get offended if we don't eat with them sometimes. One of the guys on the team thought that we should have eaten with them and said that this is his 3rd trip and has never gotten sick. He has now been sick for 2 days and he's been eating mostly food that we prepare, with the exception of something from a café when in town. You can't be too careful. Anyway, we finished the conference and rode the bus back to the house. This helped with the logistics of getting the Fiesta team where they needed to be, as well as getting us home. The bus was not crowded at all and it was a very pleasant ride. The team members got the chance to talk with some visitors from England who are staying at the beach, too. We all ended up at the house and had dinner and then headed off to church.
Wednesday, the team left in the morning for a Fiesta a little ways out of town. I went for my good long morning walk and then showered and headed off to the Rose of Sharon church to help the ladies cook the food to be given to the kids for lunch. I was going to take the bus, but missed it with its crazy schedule. I needed to take my phone to Sherry so that she could hook up with Mike. Various problems with 4 phones later, she got to talk to Mike. In the meantime, a taxi (a friend) was called to pick me up and take me to the little church. It was an interesting morning.
I absolutely loved helping the ladies cook. They were very gracious to let me come. Actually, I don't think they had a say in it, but Pastor Marvin was sweet to say yes. The kitchen is an open space beside a building. A tin roof covers 3 open fires. There, we cooked big pots of rice. We also fried lots of chicken pieces cut up like 'chicken tenders'. A special coating was made for them and then we dredged them in flour and fried them. The 'stove' was kept going by placing sticks of various sizes in the fire. The temperature was regulated by the size of the stick and the placement of it under the pots. There was lots of moving the sticks back and forth.
The ladies thought it funny that I kept getting smoke in my eyes and they would tell me where to move to. I understood them talking about how I must cook on either a gas or electric stove. When they realized I spoke a little Spanish, they asked if I have an oven. I told them yes and they asked if I can bake cakes in it. They then laughed and asked for some cake. They were just having fun, but when I told Sherry about it, she decided to make them some cakes and we'll take them on Sunday.
Cooking the chicken took a while and was very hot work. The air under that tin roof was sweltering. I can't imagine how hot it would have been if there were walls! They ladies also mixed up 5 gallon buckets of drinks. They shredded a 5 gallon bucket full of cabbage and carrots. It's kind of like a cole slaw without dressing. Tortillas torn in half completed the meals. We portioned it up into little plastic 'to go' containers. They reuse these at each meal. They even have to wash some from the earliest served so that the rest of the kids can have a plate. They washed and reused the forks, too. I think I'll try to find some more containers for them and donate them so that they can have enough for everyone.
The team got to the feeding in time to pass out the food. They also passed out the toothbrush kits made up the day before, along with some candy. We fed over 200 kids that day. This little church tries to feed the kids 3 times a week. They work very hard for the community. I'm blessed to be able to help them just a little bit. They ladies said I could come back again and help. I guess I did okay for a Gringa.
We came home for lunch and then rested until time to go back into town. The power went out right before the team was going to leave, so even those who were planning on hanging out at the house went into town. Kearsten and I were the only ones who stayed here. We had a nice visit in my room. The power was still out when the cooks came back to make dinner. They had to cook hamburgers and french fries by flashlight. We served the meal by flashlight, too. It was fun. About the time that the meal was over, the power came back on.
I had done a load of laundry and had it hanging out when the rain started. Without the power, I couldn't use the dryer. So I had to hang my clothes around my little room. It looked crazy with clothes hanging from every possible spot.
After dinner, Bethany and Kearsten came to hang out with Beth and me in my room. It was fun conversations. Then it was bedtime and I slept very well.
Today, we all headed out to Las Quimeras church to do a VBS with the kids, evangelize with the adults and to do construction on the church. The guys worked hard on pouring the concrete floor. They almost got it finished. The workers will finish up. At least they now have the concrete mix that is needed for the job. Mary, Bethany, Juan and I went street witnessing. We had a good morning there. We came back for lunch and then rested. They power went out again, but came back on before dinner. We then went to Todopoderoso church for the Youth service. It was fun and they had the Christian Rappers again. The team enjoyed it. I love the music there. I always feel 'at home' at this church and love it very much.
Now it's time for bed. The team is leaving at 6:30 in the morning for their fun day. They will got to Cerro Negro volcano and 'surf' down the side of it (after an hour hike up it carrying their boards). Not something I want to do... They will then stop in León for lunch at Tip Top and then headed home. For dinner, we'll all go to Suyapa. It will be a good day.
God has blessed us with almost 250 Salvations this week. A conference and a feeding were hosted. We had more down time than usual, but it was a good week. We even took the team by the Hotel to see where our new home will be. Some are planning on coming back next year and are excited about our new digs. God has blessed us tremendously. I'm thankful for all the new brothers and sisters in Christ this week. He is awesome.
This week has been nice for me, because since Beth is here and can run the Fiestas, I get to do some things that I don't normally get to do. It's been a wonderful end of the hard summer schedule for me.
The team arrived Saturday evening and got settled in. Sunday morning we went to Rose of Sharon Church at the Country Club neighborhood. I enjoy that church very much and we are starting to do a lot of ministry with them. They are doing lots of outreach in the community. We had lunch, Fiesta training and rest time and then headed back into town for services at 2 churches. It was good worship.
Monday, the team held 2 Fiestas in the morning. I got the chance to do some street witnessing while the Fiestas were going on. I was blessed to lead 4 people to the Lord. After the Fiestas, we stopped by a little preschool and gave out toothbrush kits and some food packets. The kids were precious. They recited some English words for us and then a few of them did a little dance to a song. We loved it! What an awesome day! We came back to the house for lunch and then headed into town for some ice cream and shopping. Then back to the house for dinner.
Tuesday, the team held 2 more Fiestas in the afternoon (1 in a school). I was happy to join part of the team who were going to present a conference to Pastor's and Leaders. We broke for lunch and the team of 6 that I was with, plus 2 translators, grabbed a taxi and headed for my favorite restaurant (Callejón) for lunch. The Pastor's had lunch brought in, but we went to a restaurant since North Americans have delicate stomachs. The Nicaraguans understand this and don't get offended if we don't eat with them sometimes. One of the guys on the team thought that we should have eaten with them and said that this is his 3rd trip and has never gotten sick. He has now been sick for 2 days and he's been eating mostly food that we prepare, with the exception of something from a café when in town. You can't be too careful. Anyway, we finished the conference and rode the bus back to the house. This helped with the logistics of getting the Fiesta team where they needed to be, as well as getting us home. The bus was not crowded at all and it was a very pleasant ride. The team members got the chance to talk with some visitors from England who are staying at the beach, too. We all ended up at the house and had dinner and then headed off to church.
Wednesday, the team left in the morning for a Fiesta a little ways out of town. I went for my good long morning walk and then showered and headed off to the Rose of Sharon church to help the ladies cook the food to be given to the kids for lunch. I was going to take the bus, but missed it with its crazy schedule. I needed to take my phone to Sherry so that she could hook up with Mike. Various problems with 4 phones later, she got to talk to Mike. In the meantime, a taxi (a friend) was called to pick me up and take me to the little church. It was an interesting morning.
I absolutely loved helping the ladies cook. They were very gracious to let me come. Actually, I don't think they had a say in it, but Pastor Marvin was sweet to say yes. The kitchen is an open space beside a building. A tin roof covers 3 open fires. There, we cooked big pots of rice. We also fried lots of chicken pieces cut up like 'chicken tenders'. A special coating was made for them and then we dredged them in flour and fried them. The 'stove' was kept going by placing sticks of various sizes in the fire. The temperature was regulated by the size of the stick and the placement of it under the pots. There was lots of moving the sticks back and forth.
The ladies thought it funny that I kept getting smoke in my eyes and they would tell me where to move to. I understood them talking about how I must cook on either a gas or electric stove. When they realized I spoke a little Spanish, they asked if I have an oven. I told them yes and they asked if I can bake cakes in it. They then laughed and asked for some cake. They were just having fun, but when I told Sherry about it, she decided to make them some cakes and we'll take them on Sunday.
Cooking the chicken took a while and was very hot work. The air under that tin roof was sweltering. I can't imagine how hot it would have been if there were walls! They ladies also mixed up 5 gallon buckets of drinks. They shredded a 5 gallon bucket full of cabbage and carrots. It's kind of like a cole slaw without dressing. Tortillas torn in half completed the meals. We portioned it up into little plastic 'to go' containers. They reuse these at each meal. They even have to wash some from the earliest served so that the rest of the kids can have a plate. They washed and reused the forks, too. I think I'll try to find some more containers for them and donate them so that they can have enough for everyone.
The team got to the feeding in time to pass out the food. They also passed out the toothbrush kits made up the day before, along with some candy. We fed over 200 kids that day. This little church tries to feed the kids 3 times a week. They work very hard for the community. I'm blessed to be able to help them just a little bit. They ladies said I could come back again and help. I guess I did okay for a Gringa.
We came home for lunch and then rested until time to go back into town. The power went out right before the team was going to leave, so even those who were planning on hanging out at the house went into town. Kearsten and I were the only ones who stayed here. We had a nice visit in my room. The power was still out when the cooks came back to make dinner. They had to cook hamburgers and french fries by flashlight. We served the meal by flashlight, too. It was fun. About the time that the meal was over, the power came back on.
I had done a load of laundry and had it hanging out when the rain started. Without the power, I couldn't use the dryer. So I had to hang my clothes around my little room. It looked crazy with clothes hanging from every possible spot.
After dinner, Bethany and Kearsten came to hang out with Beth and me in my room. It was fun conversations. Then it was bedtime and I slept very well.
Today, we all headed out to Las Quimeras church to do a VBS with the kids, evangelize with the adults and to do construction on the church. The guys worked hard on pouring the concrete floor. They almost got it finished. The workers will finish up. At least they now have the concrete mix that is needed for the job. Mary, Bethany, Juan and I went street witnessing. We had a good morning there. We came back for lunch and then rested. They power went out again, but came back on before dinner. We then went to Todopoderoso church for the Youth service. It was fun and they had the Christian Rappers again. The team enjoyed it. I love the music there. I always feel 'at home' at this church and love it very much.
Now it's time for bed. The team is leaving at 6:30 in the morning for their fun day. They will got to Cerro Negro volcano and 'surf' down the side of it (after an hour hike up it carrying their boards). Not something I want to do... They will then stop in León for lunch at Tip Top and then headed home. For dinner, we'll all go to Suyapa. It will be a good day.
God has blessed us with almost 250 Salvations this week. A conference and a feeding were hosted. We had more down time than usual, but it was a good week. We even took the team by the Hotel to see where our new home will be. Some are planning on coming back next year and are excited about our new digs. God has blessed us tremendously. I'm thankful for all the new brothers and sisters in Christ this week. He is awesome.
Friday & Saturday, July 22 & 23, 2011 Nicaragua
Friday was fun day for the team. Bethany and Kearsten went with team to zip line, shop and eat out. They all got back in the late evening. Mike and Sherry went out to dinner for a date. Mary, Beth and I kept Manuel company for the evening. I got the chance to work on receipts for a while. Beth downloaded some of my cds onto Manuel’s computer for his iPod and Mary relaxed. It was a good evening.
Saturday, I got up early and took a nice long, morning walk. The team left out for the airport right after breakfast. Beth and Kearsten went along so that they could shop a little between dropping off the team and picking up the next one later in the day.
Bethany, Mary, Mike and I crammed all our stuff in the van and delivered it back to the Team house first thing. Then we started helping the cleaning ladies clean up the mess left by the team. It was pretty extensive and took us most of the morning. We cleared away all the trash, empty water bottles and other stuff they left scattered everywhere. Fans and mattresses were put back in their proper places. Donated clothing (clean and dirty alike) was gathered to process for give-aways. Aracelys and Fatima worked very hard sweeping, mopping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms. The beginning of days of laundry (sheets and towels) was started. Bethany helped a lot by folding towels, putting the appropriate number of linens in each room, making sure there was handsoap and toilet paper in each room.
It took me a while to get my room back in shape. And then I started putting my clothes away that I had taken to the Hulsey’s for the week. I was thankful that I got to do laundry there the day before. By mid-afternoon, I had my room in order, a shower and was ready for a nap. Bethany hit the beach for a little while and Mary did her own thing. We all fixed whatever we could find for lunch and dinner, but Mary and I both were still a little queasy from our stomach issues and ate light. Bethany joked about being spoiled to Sherry’s cooking and the availability of leftovers at their house. I think she had peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles for her meals this day.
The team got in about 8:30pm and unloaded their bags and got a quick orientation. Then we all headed to bed.
It was a quick and busy turn around on the house. It felt good to see the transformation and be ready for our new guests. All in all, it was a good day.
Saturday, I got up early and took a nice long, morning walk. The team left out for the airport right after breakfast. Beth and Kearsten went along so that they could shop a little between dropping off the team and picking up the next one later in the day.
Bethany, Mary, Mike and I crammed all our stuff in the van and delivered it back to the Team house first thing. Then we started helping the cleaning ladies clean up the mess left by the team. It was pretty extensive and took us most of the morning. We cleared away all the trash, empty water bottles and other stuff they left scattered everywhere. Fans and mattresses were put back in their proper places. Donated clothing (clean and dirty alike) was gathered to process for give-aways. Aracelys and Fatima worked very hard sweeping, mopping, dusting and cleaning bathrooms. The beginning of days of laundry (sheets and towels) was started. Bethany helped a lot by folding towels, putting the appropriate number of linens in each room, making sure there was handsoap and toilet paper in each room.
It took me a while to get my room back in shape. And then I started putting my clothes away that I had taken to the Hulsey’s for the week. I was thankful that I got to do laundry there the day before. By mid-afternoon, I had my room in order, a shower and was ready for a nap. Bethany hit the beach for a little while and Mary did her own thing. We all fixed whatever we could find for lunch and dinner, but Mary and I both were still a little queasy from our stomach issues and ate light. Bethany joked about being spoiled to Sherry’s cooking and the availability of leftovers at their house. I think she had peanut butter sandwiches and ramen noodles for her meals this day.
The team got in about 8:30pm and unloaded their bags and got a quick orientation. Then we all headed to bed.
It was a quick and busy turn around on the house. It felt good to see the transformation and be ready for our new guests. All in all, it was a good day.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
This week has went by fast. We've been staying at the Hulsey's house and sharing the internet cord with the team at the team house, so I haven't had a chance to post.
Sunday, we joined the team from Jacksonville FL for 8 church services. After morning church, we went by the team house to have lunch with the team, but the food wasn't ready yet, so we came on home to the Hulsey's house and had leftovers. It was strange to be at the house and not have a place to even put our Bibles or bags. The team has taken over the entire house. It was kind of nice to just come home to the Hulsey's and relax. We haven't shared a meal with the team all week due to logistics. We usually eat the left overs for our next meal. We've enjoyed the food very much.
It's been a different kind of week than usual. The team has been working in Nagarote this week, doing Fiestas, Conferences and Crusade services. We've only seen them a couple of times.
Beth arrived on Tuesday and we all met up in León at La Unión to buy the second round of groceries for the team. That's take a couple of hours. We rode into town with one of the van drivers and then rode home in ChinChin (our van) after Danilo dropped it and Beth off. We had ice cream and shopped a little bit at the Central Park. After we got to the team house and put the groceries away, we went to Suyapa for dinner. It was closed due to the holiday. So we went down the road to the Barco Oro restaurant in Las Peñitas (where I turn around on my morning walks) and had dinner. It was good, but not as good as Suyapa. We were tired when we got home.
Mary, Kearsten, Bethany and I have been working at the Sewer Pond neighborhood. Beth joined us on Wed and Thurs. We've done VBS and a quick class for the women. The team was coming by today to do a feeding there after we finished today.
A couple of us have had some tummy issues today and I stayed home this evening and copied some cds for one of the girls on the team. My stomach is doing a little better and I hope to be able to walk my 4.5 miles tomorrow morning.
There have been around 700 salvations so far this week. I don't have a total number yet. A lot of work has gone on. God has been praised and shared and glorified. It's been nice for our little VOH team to work together separate from the big team for a change, too.
Jeremy has been our driver and translator for our VOH team and has been so gracious to us. Of course he has had a much easier daytime schedule since we have only been out for half days. But then again, he has had to put up with us...
Sherry has worked so hard this week making sure that the meals come together and the house stays in one piece. This team is a challenge since they are so large and they treat the house more like a hotel than a ministry house. It will take some hard hours of work to turn it around for the next team that arrives on Sat (the same day that this team leaves). But we are up for the challenge!
Mike has worked extremely hard this week, too. He has been going out early with the team, working with them all day and then coming back late at night with them (and us when we go to the crusade services). I've probably only seen him a total of 2 hours all week long and we are living in the same house this week!
He and German are pretty much satisfied with the way things are going this week. The translators are working hard (even though on person on the team seems to think that she has the right to use her limited spanish skills to correct them when they are working). I have to say that our translators are wonderful. We feel that they are family and we appreciate them very much. They do a good job of making the teams feel special and they sometimes take a lot of aggravation when working with different personality types. They truly have servants' hearts.
We've been by our new team house a couple of times this week. They are making progress on cleaning it up. I'm looking forward to seeing it when it gets painted. I can't wait to move in and live there!
There are lots of little things about this week that I have wanted to remember to post, but I just can't think of them right now. Maybe one day, I'll sit and peruse them and God will allow them to come to mind. Until then, I guess I can at least say that I am so blessed to be serving here in Nica. Some days are hard and I'm often tired, but I'm always blessed.
Kearsten and Bethany are going on the Fun Day with the team tomorrow. We'll start packing up our stuff to go back to the team house on Saturday and start getting that place in order in short time. It will be a whirlwind on Saturday, so I think I'll try to get as much done tomorrow as possible and to rest a little, too.
It's hard to believe that we only have one more week and then it's back to the states for 2 months. I have lots to do there, but the time will fly by, too.
All of our days are fleeting, if you stop to think about it. We should do our best to be good stewards of our time. A precious gift from God.
Sunday, we joined the team from Jacksonville FL for 8 church services. After morning church, we went by the team house to have lunch with the team, but the food wasn't ready yet, so we came on home to the Hulsey's house and had leftovers. It was strange to be at the house and not have a place to even put our Bibles or bags. The team has taken over the entire house. It was kind of nice to just come home to the Hulsey's and relax. We haven't shared a meal with the team all week due to logistics. We usually eat the left overs for our next meal. We've enjoyed the food very much.
It's been a different kind of week than usual. The team has been working in Nagarote this week, doing Fiestas, Conferences and Crusade services. We've only seen them a couple of times.
Beth arrived on Tuesday and we all met up in León at La Unión to buy the second round of groceries for the team. That's take a couple of hours. We rode into town with one of the van drivers and then rode home in ChinChin (our van) after Danilo dropped it and Beth off. We had ice cream and shopped a little bit at the Central Park. After we got to the team house and put the groceries away, we went to Suyapa for dinner. It was closed due to the holiday. So we went down the road to the Barco Oro restaurant in Las Peñitas (where I turn around on my morning walks) and had dinner. It was good, but not as good as Suyapa. We were tired when we got home.
Mary, Kearsten, Bethany and I have been working at the Sewer Pond neighborhood. Beth joined us on Wed and Thurs. We've done VBS and a quick class for the women. The team was coming by today to do a feeding there after we finished today.
A couple of us have had some tummy issues today and I stayed home this evening and copied some cds for one of the girls on the team. My stomach is doing a little better and I hope to be able to walk my 4.5 miles tomorrow morning.
There have been around 700 salvations so far this week. I don't have a total number yet. A lot of work has gone on. God has been praised and shared and glorified. It's been nice for our little VOH team to work together separate from the big team for a change, too.
Jeremy has been our driver and translator for our VOH team and has been so gracious to us. Of course he has had a much easier daytime schedule since we have only been out for half days. But then again, he has had to put up with us...
Sherry has worked so hard this week making sure that the meals come together and the house stays in one piece. This team is a challenge since they are so large and they treat the house more like a hotel than a ministry house. It will take some hard hours of work to turn it around for the next team that arrives on Sat (the same day that this team leaves). But we are up for the challenge!
Mike has worked extremely hard this week, too. He has been going out early with the team, working with them all day and then coming back late at night with them (and us when we go to the crusade services). I've probably only seen him a total of 2 hours all week long and we are living in the same house this week!
He and German are pretty much satisfied with the way things are going this week. The translators are working hard (even though on person on the team seems to think that she has the right to use her limited spanish skills to correct them when they are working). I have to say that our translators are wonderful. We feel that they are family and we appreciate them very much. They do a good job of making the teams feel special and they sometimes take a lot of aggravation when working with different personality types. They truly have servants' hearts.
We've been by our new team house a couple of times this week. They are making progress on cleaning it up. I'm looking forward to seeing it when it gets painted. I can't wait to move in and live there!
There are lots of little things about this week that I have wanted to remember to post, but I just can't think of them right now. Maybe one day, I'll sit and peruse them and God will allow them to come to mind. Until then, I guess I can at least say that I am so blessed to be serving here in Nica. Some days are hard and I'm often tired, but I'm always blessed.
Kearsten and Bethany are going on the Fun Day with the team tomorrow. We'll start packing up our stuff to go back to the team house on Saturday and start getting that place in order in short time. It will be a whirlwind on Saturday, so I think I'll try to get as much done tomorrow as possible and to rest a little, too.
It's hard to believe that we only have one more week and then it's back to the states for 2 months. I have lots to do there, but the time will fly by, too.
All of our days are fleeting, if you stop to think about it. We should do our best to be good stewards of our time. A precious gift from God.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Saturday July 16, 2011
Finally have internet access! Now I don't remember what all has happened. ha
The team finished up their week with 1013 professions of faith. That included Fiestas, Conferences, feeding 5,000 people at a food distribution and 3 nights of crusade services. It was a good week of ministry.
The team left Friday morning at 3am for the airport. I said my goodbyes about 11pm. They all seem to have made it home safely. I'm sure they were ready to be back home to their families, friends and routines.
Yesterday, we worked around the house in the morning and early afternoon to get ready for the next team. Then we went into town to buy the first round of groceries for the this coming week. It took hours to gather and pay for the items. Grocery shopping here is not a fun thing to do and is not for the faint-hearted. We then went to Suyapa restaurant for dinner. Yum! I had my usual grilled fish. I really enjoyed it!
Mike told me while we were in town that I would be leaving at 7:30am for Managua airport. I wish I would have known that earlier in the day so that I could get my chores done before bedtime. But that's okay. I rushed around and got as much done before bed that I could.
I got up early this morning and started my laundry. Mary wasn't up yet so I couldn't get into the house to get washing powder. I found some travel size Tide in my stuff, and since the washing machine is outside, I was able to throw most of my dirty clothes from last week into one large load. It finished and I hung them out on the line. I had to call Mary and wake her up so that I could get inside to clean up some work stuff in one of the bedrooms. I got that taken care of and rushed around working on packing up my room a little more before Mike picked me up at 7:30am. I was sweaty, but ready.
Mike, Manuel and I rode into León to meet up with German and Danilo. We all switched around and got in the appropriate vans and took off to our duties. German, Mike and Manuel had meetings in Posoltega. Danilo and I headed to the airport to pick up the girls. On our way, we saw a large truck stuck in the middle of the incoming lane on the highway. Not a good thing. It had a flat tire and I guess it ended up in that lane. Later, we saw a body on the road and some people had stopped and someone was holding a tarp over the body to keep the rain off of them. There weren't any policemen or ambulances there yet. It must have just happened. Further into Managua, we were at a stoplight and the driver of a big truck next to us asked Danilo if he could pull out of the turning lane into our straight lane ahead of us. After he went by, we noticed that there was a huge hole in the road where the pavers had been pulled up. Later in the day, as we came home, we noticed that the body was gone, the whole was larger and still not marked well, and the truck was still in the wrong lane but with the whole wheel off of it.
The girl's plane was a little late, so I did a little shopping at the vendor stalls at the airport. I went to one spot twice, so the guy gave me a discount on a bag. It was good to see the girls when they got off of the plane. Danilo remembered Kearsten when he saw her. We grabbed their stuff and headed to Tip Top for lunch. Then we headed out of town. When we got to León, we ran past a store to pick up some Bibles, but the man was not there, so we hightailed it to the team house. Danilo had just enough time to run to the bathroom and then head back to Managua for the team. Poor guy!
The girl's helped me get my stuff packed for this week and to change sheets on the beds in my room. I packed away stuff that needed to stay in my room and hopefully will not be pilfered through while I'm gone. The room is ready for guests and we got the stuff packed into ChinChin to come to the Hulsey's house.
It's good to be all settled in. I'm going to sleep well. I hope, anyway. It will be cozy this week having 8 people in the Hulsey's little house. We'll have to try not to get on each other's nerves. God will cover us in blessings this week, I'm sure.
I'm very thankful to be here, even when I'm so tired. It will be a busy 2 weeks to come, but so good. I'm ready for a rest, but I don't think my 2 months in Rogers will be all that restful. I have so much to do before I come back for 3 months in October. But time is fleeting and I pray that I use my time appropriately, according to how God has it planned. I just want to be obedient to Him.
The team finished up their week with 1013 professions of faith. That included Fiestas, Conferences, feeding 5,000 people at a food distribution and 3 nights of crusade services. It was a good week of ministry.
The team left Friday morning at 3am for the airport. I said my goodbyes about 11pm. They all seem to have made it home safely. I'm sure they were ready to be back home to their families, friends and routines.
Yesterday, we worked around the house in the morning and early afternoon to get ready for the next team. Then we went into town to buy the first round of groceries for the this coming week. It took hours to gather and pay for the items. Grocery shopping here is not a fun thing to do and is not for the faint-hearted. We then went to Suyapa restaurant for dinner. Yum! I had my usual grilled fish. I really enjoyed it!
Mike told me while we were in town that I would be leaving at 7:30am for Managua airport. I wish I would have known that earlier in the day so that I could get my chores done before bedtime. But that's okay. I rushed around and got as much done before bed that I could.
I got up early this morning and started my laundry. Mary wasn't up yet so I couldn't get into the house to get washing powder. I found some travel size Tide in my stuff, and since the washing machine is outside, I was able to throw most of my dirty clothes from last week into one large load. It finished and I hung them out on the line. I had to call Mary and wake her up so that I could get inside to clean up some work stuff in one of the bedrooms. I got that taken care of and rushed around working on packing up my room a little more before Mike picked me up at 7:30am. I was sweaty, but ready.
Mike, Manuel and I rode into León to meet up with German and Danilo. We all switched around and got in the appropriate vans and took off to our duties. German, Mike and Manuel had meetings in Posoltega. Danilo and I headed to the airport to pick up the girls. On our way, we saw a large truck stuck in the middle of the incoming lane on the highway. Not a good thing. It had a flat tire and I guess it ended up in that lane. Later, we saw a body on the road and some people had stopped and someone was holding a tarp over the body to keep the rain off of them. There weren't any policemen or ambulances there yet. It must have just happened. Further into Managua, we were at a stoplight and the driver of a big truck next to us asked Danilo if he could pull out of the turning lane into our straight lane ahead of us. After he went by, we noticed that there was a huge hole in the road where the pavers had been pulled up. Later in the day, as we came home, we noticed that the body was gone, the whole was larger and still not marked well, and the truck was still in the wrong lane but with the whole wheel off of it.
The girl's plane was a little late, so I did a little shopping at the vendor stalls at the airport. I went to one spot twice, so the guy gave me a discount on a bag. It was good to see the girls when they got off of the plane. Danilo remembered Kearsten when he saw her. We grabbed their stuff and headed to Tip Top for lunch. Then we headed out of town. When we got to León, we ran past a store to pick up some Bibles, but the man was not there, so we hightailed it to the team house. Danilo had just enough time to run to the bathroom and then head back to Managua for the team. Poor guy!
The girl's helped me get my stuff packed for this week and to change sheets on the beds in my room. I packed away stuff that needed to stay in my room and hopefully will not be pilfered through while I'm gone. The room is ready for guests and we got the stuff packed into ChinChin to come to the Hulsey's house.
It's good to be all settled in. I'm going to sleep well. I hope, anyway. It will be cozy this week having 8 people in the Hulsey's little house. We'll have to try not to get on each other's nerves. God will cover us in blessings this week, I'm sure.
I'm very thankful to be here, even when I'm so tired. It will be a busy 2 weeks to come, but so good. I'm ready for a rest, but I don't think my 2 months in Rogers will be all that restful. I have so much to do before I come back for 3 months in October. But time is fleeting and I pray that I use my time appropriately, according to how God has it planned. I just want to be obedient to Him.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Tuesday July 12, 2011 Nicaragua
We did 2 more Fiestas this morning. It was hot and the people were crowding in and would not back up. It became stifling. But they were so interested in what was going on that they would not back up one inch. They truly loved the games and songs and the drama. We had a total of 267 Professions of Faith today. That included kids and adults at the Fiestas, street witnessing and a few people that the Youth Conference workers spoke with. Quite a day of witnessing.
The Youth Conference was not advertised well by the churches for some reason, but the 5 people from the team who went to lead it went out on the streets and prayed with 3 construction workers, who accept Christ. They also were prayed over by a Christian woman who said that she gets up at 3am every morning and prays for the workers from North American who come to Nicaragua to share the Gospel. The team members were honored to have her pray over them.
Manuel, Mike and Sherry’s 9 year old son loves to ‘preach’. He shares the Gospel over and over again all day long. He gets excited at the Fiestas and is so happy to be here in Nicaragua when he can preach like his daddy. After the first Fiesta, we were in various levels of packing up and making our way back to the vans. Manuel was ‘preaching’ to a couple of kids on the roadside. A bunch more kids were gathering behind him to see what he was saying. Manuel knows that he needs a translator, so he had snagged one who was faithfully sharing what Manuel was saying. Some of the team came along and saw what was going on and turned Manuel around so that the crowd of boys could see and hear him. They helped him along by leading the boys in the prayer to accept Christ and 35 boys accepted Jesus because of Manuel starting to preach! It was awesome!
On our way home from Chichigalpa, where we are working all week, the air conditioner in the silver van died. We rolled down the windows and enjoyed the fresh (if hot) air. I loved it. I’d rather have a breeze or fan blowing than air conditioning myself. We made it back to the house to find the power was out again. We had a great lunch of grilled chicken breast, rice, beans, slaw and tortilla. So good! Some of the team took advantage to the 3 hours of down time to hit the beach. The rest of us found spots to rest.
I fell asleep in my room and slept hard in the stuffy air. I awoke not feeling great, so I stayed back tonight from the Crusade. I went to the house to pack for tomorrow’s Fiestas and the Women’s Conference and realized that the power was back on. I don’t know if it was on for a long time and I just didn’t know it, since my fans were turned off. How silly if I was in that stuffy room for no reason! Ha Anyway, I got my chores done and then took a much needed shower and got some Bible Study and work done this evening.
My stomach is still a little iffy, and supper won’t be served until the team gets back about 9pm, so I had a peanut butter sandwich and will call it a night.
As I am typing this, the power just went back off. I hope they get it back on before time for bed. The air is cooler because it rained earlier, but the mosquitoes like to come in the open windows at night and I hope not to have to sleep with my windows open. Oh well..
At least the cooks and work by flashlight and the oven is run on propane. I’m glad I got my shower earlier. Guess I’ll get off here for now and conserve computer battery power.
I’m sure the Crusade is going great and I can’t wait to hear all about it. God is really blessing here in Nicaragua and it’s so wonderful to be a part of it. He blesses my socks off!
The Youth Conference was not advertised well by the churches for some reason, but the 5 people from the team who went to lead it went out on the streets and prayed with 3 construction workers, who accept Christ. They also were prayed over by a Christian woman who said that she gets up at 3am every morning and prays for the workers from North American who come to Nicaragua to share the Gospel. The team members were honored to have her pray over them.
Manuel, Mike and Sherry’s 9 year old son loves to ‘preach’. He shares the Gospel over and over again all day long. He gets excited at the Fiestas and is so happy to be here in Nicaragua when he can preach like his daddy. After the first Fiesta, we were in various levels of packing up and making our way back to the vans. Manuel was ‘preaching’ to a couple of kids on the roadside. A bunch more kids were gathering behind him to see what he was saying. Manuel knows that he needs a translator, so he had snagged one who was faithfully sharing what Manuel was saying. Some of the team came along and saw what was going on and turned Manuel around so that the crowd of boys could see and hear him. They helped him along by leading the boys in the prayer to accept Christ and 35 boys accepted Jesus because of Manuel starting to preach! It was awesome!
On our way home from Chichigalpa, where we are working all week, the air conditioner in the silver van died. We rolled down the windows and enjoyed the fresh (if hot) air. I loved it. I’d rather have a breeze or fan blowing than air conditioning myself. We made it back to the house to find the power was out again. We had a great lunch of grilled chicken breast, rice, beans, slaw and tortilla. So good! Some of the team took advantage to the 3 hours of down time to hit the beach. The rest of us found spots to rest.
I fell asleep in my room and slept hard in the stuffy air. I awoke not feeling great, so I stayed back tonight from the Crusade. I went to the house to pack for tomorrow’s Fiestas and the Women’s Conference and realized that the power was back on. I don’t know if it was on for a long time and I just didn’t know it, since my fans were turned off. How silly if I was in that stuffy room for no reason! Ha Anyway, I got my chores done and then took a much needed shower and got some Bible Study and work done this evening.
My stomach is still a little iffy, and supper won’t be served until the team gets back about 9pm, so I had a peanut butter sandwich and will call it a night.
As I am typing this, the power just went back off. I hope they get it back on before time for bed. The air is cooler because it rained earlier, but the mosquitoes like to come in the open windows at night and I hope not to have to sleep with my windows open. Oh well..
At least the cooks and work by flashlight and the oven is run on propane. I’m glad I got my shower earlier. Guess I’ll get off here for now and conserve computer battery power.
I’m sure the Crusade is going great and I can’t wait to hear all about it. God is really blessing here in Nicaragua and it’s so wonderful to be a part of it. He blesses my socks off!
Monday, July 11, 2011 Nicaragua
The rest of the El Dorado AR team arrived Saturday afternoon. Everyone got settled and we had dinner and orientation. Sherry made lasagna, salad and cake for our dinner and we all enjoyed it very much!
Sunday was a blessed day with 4 church services in the morning and 4 in the evening. The services were full of worship and 8 people accepted the Lord. Most of the church bodies were filled with Christians. Everyone enjoyed the time with fellow Christians in each other’s languages.
We had a wonderful lunch of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. The mashed potatoes and plain corn kernels were something different for the cooks, but they did great. (they think we eat weird sometimes) We have finally convinced them that mashed potatoes are a huge side dish, like rice, and not something to serve by just a tablespoon amount. They made plenty of potatoes and we enjoyed them very much! I guess I talk a lot about the food, but it has improved so much since Sherry is here. Even the returning teams this summer have mentioned it. It’s an important thing for us!
The weather has been very hot and we’ve had some rain storms off and on. The rains wash streets and mud away and then it gets hot and humid again. Usually, when it storms, we lose electricity. Today we lost it a few times and when we got back from dinner, it’s still out. We really miss the fans during that time!
Today we did our first 2 Fiestas and 1 radio spot (advertising the Crusade). There were 109 salvations today at the Fiestas. The team did a good job with the drama and many of them got to go out street witnessing. It was really hot today. Not much of a breeze to speak of. We would get wringing wet just standing still. Our VOH team is pretty much used to it, and the visiting teams struggle with it, but they know that it is only temporary for them. It makes me think about the Nicaraguan people and how they live in tiny 1 or 2 room houses made of plastic or tin, or if they are lucky, concrete. There are few windows, if any, and very little ventilation. It must be stifling for their families to pile into those small, enclosed spaces with no fans. We are so spoiled. They are so strong.
This afternoon most of the team went into town for ice cream and shopping at the square. A couple of the guys and I stayed back at the team house. I was working on my Bible Study and they were just hanging out. When the power went out, it was too hot to stay in my room, so I went upstairs to set out on the veranda for the wonderful breeze. They guys had pulled mattresses out onto the floor and took naps. I settled into a rocker with my feet up on a chair and dozed off myself. I was facing right into the breeze from the ocean. It was a wonderful nap!
The team and all of VOH staff went to Suyapa for dinner. Everyone enjoyed it very much. Since this team is not going to have a Fun Day (they leave on Friday), this was a great time for them. They appreciated it very much.
We got home and the power is still off. We’re using flashlights to prepare for bed. I’ve got all the little windows and the big window by my bed open. I don’t get a breeze here in my room because of where it is situated in relation to the house, but it feels a little better getting the cooler air from after the rain. When I say cooler, I mean it’s still in the 70’s, but better than during the daytime.
Tomorrow we will have 2 more Fiestas, 1 radio spot, a Youth Conference during the morning and then the first night of the Crusade tomorrow night. It will be a pretty late night, since it takes over an hour to drive back home.
Wednesday will be the same, except for switching out a Woman’s Conference for the Youth Conference.
Then Thursday will be 2 Fiestas, 1 radio spot, Pastor/Leadership Conference, then feeding of 5,000 in afternoon and then the last night of the Crusade. That will be a very long day and then the team will get home late, pack their stuff and leave for the airport at 2:30am. They will be very tired! I told Haley that I would sleep for her. ☺
It’s only 8:20pm, but it’s dark and I think I’ll actually read and try to go to sleep early. Nothing else to do anyway. I can hear some of the team in the house singing. I’m sure that they are outside on the veranda where they can get a breeze. Hopefully, we’ll get power back on tonight so that we can have fans for sleeping later. But if not, we’ll make it. God keeps us humble and thankful for what He provides.
Sunday was a blessed day with 4 church services in the morning and 4 in the evening. The services were full of worship and 8 people accepted the Lord. Most of the church bodies were filled with Christians. Everyone enjoyed the time with fellow Christians in each other’s languages.
We had a wonderful lunch of grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. The mashed potatoes and plain corn kernels were something different for the cooks, but they did great. (they think we eat weird sometimes) We have finally convinced them that mashed potatoes are a huge side dish, like rice, and not something to serve by just a tablespoon amount. They made plenty of potatoes and we enjoyed them very much! I guess I talk a lot about the food, but it has improved so much since Sherry is here. Even the returning teams this summer have mentioned it. It’s an important thing for us!
The weather has been very hot and we’ve had some rain storms off and on. The rains wash streets and mud away and then it gets hot and humid again. Usually, when it storms, we lose electricity. Today we lost it a few times and when we got back from dinner, it’s still out. We really miss the fans during that time!
Today we did our first 2 Fiestas and 1 radio spot (advertising the Crusade). There were 109 salvations today at the Fiestas. The team did a good job with the drama and many of them got to go out street witnessing. It was really hot today. Not much of a breeze to speak of. We would get wringing wet just standing still. Our VOH team is pretty much used to it, and the visiting teams struggle with it, but they know that it is only temporary for them. It makes me think about the Nicaraguan people and how they live in tiny 1 or 2 room houses made of plastic or tin, or if they are lucky, concrete. There are few windows, if any, and very little ventilation. It must be stifling for their families to pile into those small, enclosed spaces with no fans. We are so spoiled. They are so strong.
This afternoon most of the team went into town for ice cream and shopping at the square. A couple of the guys and I stayed back at the team house. I was working on my Bible Study and they were just hanging out. When the power went out, it was too hot to stay in my room, so I went upstairs to set out on the veranda for the wonderful breeze. They guys had pulled mattresses out onto the floor and took naps. I settled into a rocker with my feet up on a chair and dozed off myself. I was facing right into the breeze from the ocean. It was a wonderful nap!
The team and all of VOH staff went to Suyapa for dinner. Everyone enjoyed it very much. Since this team is not going to have a Fun Day (they leave on Friday), this was a great time for them. They appreciated it very much.
We got home and the power is still off. We’re using flashlights to prepare for bed. I’ve got all the little windows and the big window by my bed open. I don’t get a breeze here in my room because of where it is situated in relation to the house, but it feels a little better getting the cooler air from after the rain. When I say cooler, I mean it’s still in the 70’s, but better than during the daytime.
Tomorrow we will have 2 more Fiestas, 1 radio spot, a Youth Conference during the morning and then the first night of the Crusade tomorrow night. It will be a pretty late night, since it takes over an hour to drive back home.
Wednesday will be the same, except for switching out a Woman’s Conference for the Youth Conference.
Then Thursday will be 2 Fiestas, 1 radio spot, Pastor/Leadership Conference, then feeding of 5,000 in afternoon and then the last night of the Crusade. That will be a very long day and then the team will get home late, pack their stuff and leave for the airport at 2:30am. They will be very tired! I told Haley that I would sleep for her. ☺
It’s only 8:20pm, but it’s dark and I think I’ll actually read and try to go to sleep early. Nothing else to do anyway. I can hear some of the team in the house singing. I’m sure that they are outside on the veranda where they can get a breeze. Hopefully, we’ll get power back on tonight so that we can have fans for sleeping later. But if not, we’ll make it. God keeps us humble and thankful for what He provides.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011 Nicaragua
Had to walk barefoot on the beach this morning since I have a blister on my foot from walking in tennis shoes. I hope it heals quickly so I can get back to my good long walks in the morning before the team gets here. I won't have time to walk the whole 4.5 miles for the next 3 weeks, but I hope to get in a couple of miles each morning while they are eating breakfast.
I somewhat enjoyed the walk on the beach since I could be out in the fresh air and sunshine. I didn't enjoy that the sand is soft and it's very difficult to walk. Also, the beach is eroding so much that it's not possible to walk along the surf on flat beach like before. How sad.
I was looking out at the ocean and thinking of things this morning. There were clouds way in the distance (to the west) and I thought about how they could effect our weather today. The sea looked calm along the horizon and then as it came closer to the shore the waves and surf became very powerful. Fishing boats were out past the breaking waves doing their thing. A seagull was flying along the breaking waves to see if there was any fish snacks churching in the waves. Then there were the waves curling and crashing and coming on shore all foamy and unpredictable. Taking away bits of shoreline and changing the landscape at will. Each part of the ocean has it's own characteristics, but it's all part of the same ocean.
It reminds me of our lives. So many different parts that are all connected to each other. Some parts are calm, some tranquil, some strong, some building strength, some forceful, some helpful and giving, some dangerous and taking away. Always changing.
I need to remember all moments of my life and cherish the things that bring me joy and peace and comfort. Place them in my mind's eye and in my heart to remember for always. I also need to remember how forceful life can be and how helpless I can feel on my own.
And to remember that God is more powerful than anything in my life and that He is with me always. Through tranquil waters or crashing waves. He's there.
Just a few thoughts from my walk this morning. Had to jot them down or I would forget. Thank You Lord for giving me emotions and thoughts. And thank You for Your Love.
I somewhat enjoyed the walk on the beach since I could be out in the fresh air and sunshine. I didn't enjoy that the sand is soft and it's very difficult to walk. Also, the beach is eroding so much that it's not possible to walk along the surf on flat beach like before. How sad.
I was looking out at the ocean and thinking of things this morning. There were clouds way in the distance (to the west) and I thought about how they could effect our weather today. The sea looked calm along the horizon and then as it came closer to the shore the waves and surf became very powerful. Fishing boats were out past the breaking waves doing their thing. A seagull was flying along the breaking waves to see if there was any fish snacks churching in the waves. Then there were the waves curling and crashing and coming on shore all foamy and unpredictable. Taking away bits of shoreline and changing the landscape at will. Each part of the ocean has it's own characteristics, but it's all part of the same ocean.
It reminds me of our lives. So many different parts that are all connected to each other. Some parts are calm, some tranquil, some strong, some building strength, some forceful, some helpful and giving, some dangerous and taking away. Always changing.
I need to remember all moments of my life and cherish the things that bring me joy and peace and comfort. Place them in my mind's eye and in my heart to remember for always. I also need to remember how forceful life can be and how helpless I can feel on my own.
And to remember that God is more powerful than anything in my life and that He is with me always. Through tranquil waters or crashing waves. He's there.
Just a few thoughts from my walk this morning. Had to jot them down or I would forget. Thank You Lord for giving me emotions and thoughts. And thank You for Your Love.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011 Nicaragua
Wednesday night and the week is half over already! The next team comes in on Saturday. (a few guys come in on Friday night) Just another day and a half of resting and prepping for the next 3 weeks of teams back to back.
I’ve been walking 4.5 miles each morning that we don’t have a team and it’s not raining. I’ve got a blister inside a blister on my left heel. I didn’t even notice it except that for 2 days it kind of felt like I might have had a bit of sand rubbing my heel. I’m not sure I should walk in the morning if it’s still big, but I hate to miss a day unless I have to. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Today, I walked and then worked on moving the giveaway clothing upstairs so that I can keep it sorted and add to it this next week. Then I worked on burning cds for Mary and Haley. The cds will also be used to download onto Manuel’s iPod. I have lots of Spanish praise music on my computer and would like to get even more. It’s all I listen to. I love it and I hope by listening to it exclusively, it will help me learn more Spanish.
After a quick lunch of leftovers, I took a shower and rested for a couple of hours on my bed. It was heavenly! I dozed off for about a half hour, but the rest of the time I read my Kindle. I love that thing! So many books at my fingertips!
We all left the house about 3pm and met up with German and some Pastors/laypersons from Country Club church, who are trying to minister to a very rural area and start a new church. We were way out in the boonies. It was funny that every so often we would stop and pick up some more people. We filled the van. It was nice to hear their passion to reach this community. We are praying and discussing how VOH could be involved with them.
We had also gone by the proposed land for the new church plant near the sewer ponds. That is going to be a very awesome project. We are very attached to the people there. I’m excited about the future that God has planned for that area and the people.
We stopped and looked at a possible location for the VOH ministry to move to. It would be perfect for us and all the details seem to be God ordained. I’m so excited! We’ll see how things work out. More on that in the future!
We ran by Eskimo for an ice cream supper. I was just going to get a plain cone, but I saw that the ‘mini banana’ treat has a new type of plastic bowl. I had to get one so I could bring the bowl home! We made a bathroom stop and then went to service at Country Club church. Mike preached and it was very good. The Pastor there has a very good voice and I loved it when he led the closing medley of songs. German and his family joined us for church and German translated for Mike. I love to hear Mike preach and Mary especially loves it!
We got home and had a snack of peanut butter sandwiches. Then off to bed to blog, catch up on emails and facebook on my phone and get ready for bed. I may have to walk on the beach in the morning (barefoot) if I can’t wear my tennies. We’ll see. Anyway, I’m going to have a great sleep!
God is blessing the ministry so much. It’s an exciting time to be here working with VOH. I am so blessed.
I’ve been walking 4.5 miles each morning that we don’t have a team and it’s not raining. I’ve got a blister inside a blister on my left heel. I didn’t even notice it except that for 2 days it kind of felt like I might have had a bit of sand rubbing my heel. I’m not sure I should walk in the morning if it’s still big, but I hate to miss a day unless I have to. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.
Today, I walked and then worked on moving the giveaway clothing upstairs so that I can keep it sorted and add to it this next week. Then I worked on burning cds for Mary and Haley. The cds will also be used to download onto Manuel’s iPod. I have lots of Spanish praise music on my computer and would like to get even more. It’s all I listen to. I love it and I hope by listening to it exclusively, it will help me learn more Spanish.
After a quick lunch of leftovers, I took a shower and rested for a couple of hours on my bed. It was heavenly! I dozed off for about a half hour, but the rest of the time I read my Kindle. I love that thing! So many books at my fingertips!
We all left the house about 3pm and met up with German and some Pastors/laypersons from Country Club church, who are trying to minister to a very rural area and start a new church. We were way out in the boonies. It was funny that every so often we would stop and pick up some more people. We filled the van. It was nice to hear their passion to reach this community. We are praying and discussing how VOH could be involved with them.
We had also gone by the proposed land for the new church plant near the sewer ponds. That is going to be a very awesome project. We are very attached to the people there. I’m excited about the future that God has planned for that area and the people.
We stopped and looked at a possible location for the VOH ministry to move to. It would be perfect for us and all the details seem to be God ordained. I’m so excited! We’ll see how things work out. More on that in the future!
We ran by Eskimo for an ice cream supper. I was just going to get a plain cone, but I saw that the ‘mini banana’ treat has a new type of plastic bowl. I had to get one so I could bring the bowl home! We made a bathroom stop and then went to service at Country Club church. Mike preached and it was very good. The Pastor there has a very good voice and I loved it when he led the closing medley of songs. German and his family joined us for church and German translated for Mike. I love to hear Mike preach and Mary especially loves it!
We got home and had a snack of peanut butter sandwiches. Then off to bed to blog, catch up on emails and facebook on my phone and get ready for bed. I may have to walk on the beach in the morning (barefoot) if I can’t wear my tennies. We’ll see. Anyway, I’m going to have a great sleep!
God is blessing the ministry so much. It’s an exciting time to be here working with VOH. I am so blessed.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011 Nicaragua
A lovely evening. Sitting on my bed with the laptop and catching up on facebook and other things. Ready for a good night's sleep.
Yesterday, we ended up going to church in the evening to a different one than planned. It was nice. Mike preached a good message. It was nice to be in a small church. The people were precious.
Yesterday morning, I worked on my Bible Study for hours. I was a little behind. I'm still working diligently on it. It's hard to keep up when we have a team here. I also went on a 4.5 mile walk. I'm so thankful to be back in my routine, at least until the next team comes!
This morning, I went on my walk and a dog actually ran into me. He was trying to avoid a vehicle coming down the road and ran smack dab into my legs. I almost fell over. At least he fared better than the dog that ran into our van on Saturday morning. Splat! Actually, the van didn't fare all that well either, considering some things got broken underneath from the impact.
I had to dodge a few cows on the sidewalk again. They have such good manners. I took a few pics with my phone as I was walking my usual route. It's so very interesting and I am starting to take it for granted. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm in Nicaragua most of the time. So blessed.
I stayed back at the house today while everyone went into town for some shopping and groceries. Saturnino, our guard, was in town with his wife at the clinic most of the day. I stayed home to guard the house and to chill. I have a lovely time of Bible reading and then working on a crossword book. I needed the self-imposed 'time out'. Later, the gang got back home and we went for dinner at Suyapa restaurant. I love the grilled fish and veggies! Yum!
Tomorrow, I plan to walk in the morning again. (Haley is planning on walking with me, but she doesn't always get up) Then Haley and I are going to catch the bus into town for some running around and shopping. It will be our only chance to do so, and she's looking forward to the bus experience. It should be fun! Hope it doesn't rain!
Haley will be moving into another room tomorrow. She'll be close to Mary (who is a little scared here at the house at night) and we will all have our own rooms for a few nights. Then the team comes and Haley will bunk with the girls on the team, since it's her home church. I'll enjoy my room to myself for the first time. This will last about 10 days and then I'll share my room with Beth when she gets here. I'm looking forward to getting more settled in the room. Of course, after 10 days, I'll be packing my stuff up so that part of a large team can use the room. (We'll be staying with Mike and Sherry down the road.) I will enjoy the personal space for as long as I can, though.
I'm tired and ready for bed. Lots of things go through my mind each day to add to my blog, but when I sit down to write, I can't remember them all. oh well, maybe someday they will come back to me.
I'm so thankful to be here and serving with VOH. God is blessing me sooo much!
Yesterday, we ended up going to church in the evening to a different one than planned. It was nice. Mike preached a good message. It was nice to be in a small church. The people were precious.
Yesterday morning, I worked on my Bible Study for hours. I was a little behind. I'm still working diligently on it. It's hard to keep up when we have a team here. I also went on a 4.5 mile walk. I'm so thankful to be back in my routine, at least until the next team comes!
This morning, I went on my walk and a dog actually ran into me. He was trying to avoid a vehicle coming down the road and ran smack dab into my legs. I almost fell over. At least he fared better than the dog that ran into our van on Saturday morning. Splat! Actually, the van didn't fare all that well either, considering some things got broken underneath from the impact.
I had to dodge a few cows on the sidewalk again. They have such good manners. I took a few pics with my phone as I was walking my usual route. It's so very interesting and I am starting to take it for granted. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I'm in Nicaragua most of the time. So blessed.
I stayed back at the house today while everyone went into town for some shopping and groceries. Saturnino, our guard, was in town with his wife at the clinic most of the day. I stayed home to guard the house and to chill. I have a lovely time of Bible reading and then working on a crossword book. I needed the self-imposed 'time out'. Later, the gang got back home and we went for dinner at Suyapa restaurant. I love the grilled fish and veggies! Yum!
Tomorrow, I plan to walk in the morning again. (Haley is planning on walking with me, but she doesn't always get up) Then Haley and I are going to catch the bus into town for some running around and shopping. It will be our only chance to do so, and she's looking forward to the bus experience. It should be fun! Hope it doesn't rain!
Haley will be moving into another room tomorrow. She'll be close to Mary (who is a little scared here at the house at night) and we will all have our own rooms for a few nights. Then the team comes and Haley will bunk with the girls on the team, since it's her home church. I'll enjoy my room to myself for the first time. This will last about 10 days and then I'll share my room with Beth when she gets here. I'm looking forward to getting more settled in the room. Of course, after 10 days, I'll be packing my stuff up so that part of a large team can use the room. (We'll be staying with Mike and Sherry down the road.) I will enjoy the personal space for as long as I can, though.
I'm tired and ready for bed. Lots of things go through my mind each day to add to my blog, but when I sit down to write, I can't remember them all. oh well, maybe someday they will come back to me.
I'm so thankful to be here and serving with VOH. God is blessing me sooo much!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Saturday evening and I've been resting on my bed doing paperwork from the team expenses, doing a crossword book, messing with Facebook and just resting. It's been a good end to a great week.
This morning I rode into Managua with the team from Highland Baptist Church (New Iberia LA) so they could get on the plane to return home. We had an awesome week of ministry. While the team was getting their luggage off of the vans, I ran inside the terminal and found something that Ric was needing to purchase to take home. Mission accomplished in record time. The group all got checked in and whisked home to LA.
Mike, Manuelito, German and I returned to Poneloya in Chin-Chin (our little VOH van) after doing some errands. I had fun with Manuel in the second seat. He is always wanting to do pretend stuff and we did everything from Preach, Sing, fly a plane, drive a car, ride in an ambulance, lay in a hospital bed, work at an office, well, you get the picture. He's always a fun time!
The team had a wonderful Fun Day yesterday. We went to the Canopy Tour (zip line) near Masaya. Then we had lunch in Granada at our new favorite restaurant. Then we did a little shopping at Catarina. It rained on us while shopping, but no one seemed to mind too bad. We all got a few items and then headed home. We stopped in Managua at a very nice McDonalds for dinner. (a big hit). It was pouring rain most of the way home. The traffic was really bad going through Managua, but once we hit the open road, we made it fine. We got back to the team house about 9:30pm. Everyone packed and went to bed.
This morning we had breakfast and then took some team pictures and then loaded up in the vans.
It has been such a pleasant week. This was a first time with us team and they accepted our requests for doing things 'our way'. They were mostly seasoned mission trippers, so they understand that the local ministry understands best how to effectively minister to the people in the area. That is a huge help for us when leading the teams.
I was blessed by the sweet spirits of the people on the team. I'm thankful and rejuvenated by having them here this week.
Time to hit the sack for tonight. We are going to the church at Puente Country Club tomorrow. It's a small church that we did a Fiesta and a Feeding at a few weeks ago. It will be fun to worship with them.
Going to bed a very blessed person! Thank You Lord for EVERYTHING!
This morning I rode into Managua with the team from Highland Baptist Church (New Iberia LA) so they could get on the plane to return home. We had an awesome week of ministry. While the team was getting their luggage off of the vans, I ran inside the terminal and found something that Ric was needing to purchase to take home. Mission accomplished in record time. The group all got checked in and whisked home to LA.
Mike, Manuelito, German and I returned to Poneloya in Chin-Chin (our little VOH van) after doing some errands. I had fun with Manuel in the second seat. He is always wanting to do pretend stuff and we did everything from Preach, Sing, fly a plane, drive a car, ride in an ambulance, lay in a hospital bed, work at an office, well, you get the picture. He's always a fun time!
The team had a wonderful Fun Day yesterday. We went to the Canopy Tour (zip line) near Masaya. Then we had lunch in Granada at our new favorite restaurant. Then we did a little shopping at Catarina. It rained on us while shopping, but no one seemed to mind too bad. We all got a few items and then headed home. We stopped in Managua at a very nice McDonalds for dinner. (a big hit). It was pouring rain most of the way home. The traffic was really bad going through Managua, but once we hit the open road, we made it fine. We got back to the team house about 9:30pm. Everyone packed and went to bed.
This morning we had breakfast and then took some team pictures and then loaded up in the vans.
It has been such a pleasant week. This was a first time with us team and they accepted our requests for doing things 'our way'. They were mostly seasoned mission trippers, so they understand that the local ministry understands best how to effectively minister to the people in the area. That is a huge help for us when leading the teams.
I was blessed by the sweet spirits of the people on the team. I'm thankful and rejuvenated by having them here this week.
Time to hit the sack for tonight. We are going to the church at Puente Country Club tomorrow. It's a small church that we did a Fiesta and a Feeding at a few weeks ago. It will be fun to worship with them.
Going to bed a very blessed person! Thank You Lord for EVERYTHING!
Thursday, June 30, 2011 Nicaragua
It’s the last ministry day with the team. We had 2 Fiestas in the morning and then went to the Las Quimeras church to start pouring a concrete floor. The kids saw our vans and started gathering. When school let out a little early this morning, they all came to see us, too. So we got out our Fiesta boxes and pulled together some games and candy to entertain the kids with.
The team has some good people for story and song resources. They came up with stuff to keep about 40 kids happy for a while. We gave out candy as they left. There were some teenage boys who came to see the North American girls. We had the North American teens witness to them on the sidelines.
Some of the guys worked on sifting dirt, mixing sand, dirt and concrete together to pour part of the floor in the church. We filled in an area as big as we could with the amount of cement that we had. It was hard, sweaty and rewarding work. I got to use a shovel for a short time, but mostly I just took pictures.
It is so wonderful to see that little church progressing. Ralph, who preached there last week, left some money to buy 5 chairs to add to the ones in the church. I might try to do the same. I love going out there.
It’s been weird this week as we travel from place to place. The team has done a great job of splitting into two groups for Fiestas. They end up getting on the vans in that way, so that leaves Chin-Chin, our little VOH van empty, except for Mike and Sherry and Manuelito until we pick up the translators. They all end up on a van to themselves. I miss riding with the translators. I miss getting to talk to them more.
The food this month has been so good. Sherry is supervising the cooks and they are making some great food for the teams. When it’s just us VOH people, Sherry had been cooking once a day for us. Not that they are in their own house down the street, I think we’re on our own. ☺ It will be a good time for me to get serious about doing my shakes for meals. I eat way too much food when the teams are here. It’s just hard to resist!
Sherry is trying to get us all on a healthy path. She has her work cut out for her! I got to walk 4.5 miles yesterday, when I took my ‘required day off’. I hadn’t had the chance to walk for over a week. I really want to get into a routine of it. It’s easier when there is not a team here. Also, I think I will make more time when it’s a team that I don’t have a personal connection to. I’ll not want to spend so much time visiting with them. Then I’ll go ahead and walk early while they are having breakfast. Oh well, sitting on the van for so much traveling back and forth is not helping my backside, either!
It’s been very hot the last few days. Last evening, there was thunder and lightening for a while, but I don’t think it ever rained. We haven’t missed any ministry because of weather, so that’s nice. It’s hard to tell when it will stir up a rain. Winter here (summer in the US) is the rainy season, after all.
Next week we don’t have a team, so I’ll be getting stuff ready for the next week. Then the following week, VOH staff will do other ministry while the large team does their crusade. I’ll have to find out from German what our ministry will be so I can get ready.
A teacher from the Las Quimeras area school asked for a packet of school supplies for the school to use. I’ll make one up and have it ready for German to deliver on Monday. Mike wants to start having School Kits made up from stuff that each team brings down. We’ll have to work that into our correspondence. It will be a good thing.
I’m looking forward to all the changes, improvements and growth that we will be going through these next months. It’s so exciting so see how God is growing this ministry.
I’m so blessed to be a part of it. I love that God has called me to work in Nicaragua and to be a part of Voice of Hope Ministries and all the other things He is planning for me here in Nicaragua. How blessed am I???
The team has some good people for story and song resources. They came up with stuff to keep about 40 kids happy for a while. We gave out candy as they left. There were some teenage boys who came to see the North American girls. We had the North American teens witness to them on the sidelines.
Some of the guys worked on sifting dirt, mixing sand, dirt and concrete together to pour part of the floor in the church. We filled in an area as big as we could with the amount of cement that we had. It was hard, sweaty and rewarding work. I got to use a shovel for a short time, but mostly I just took pictures.
It is so wonderful to see that little church progressing. Ralph, who preached there last week, left some money to buy 5 chairs to add to the ones in the church. I might try to do the same. I love going out there.
It’s been weird this week as we travel from place to place. The team has done a great job of splitting into two groups for Fiestas. They end up getting on the vans in that way, so that leaves Chin-Chin, our little VOH van empty, except for Mike and Sherry and Manuelito until we pick up the translators. They all end up on a van to themselves. I miss riding with the translators. I miss getting to talk to them more.
The food this month has been so good. Sherry is supervising the cooks and they are making some great food for the teams. When it’s just us VOH people, Sherry had been cooking once a day for us. Not that they are in their own house down the street, I think we’re on our own. ☺ It will be a good time for me to get serious about doing my shakes for meals. I eat way too much food when the teams are here. It’s just hard to resist!
Sherry is trying to get us all on a healthy path. She has her work cut out for her! I got to walk 4.5 miles yesterday, when I took my ‘required day off’. I hadn’t had the chance to walk for over a week. I really want to get into a routine of it. It’s easier when there is not a team here. Also, I think I will make more time when it’s a team that I don’t have a personal connection to. I’ll not want to spend so much time visiting with them. Then I’ll go ahead and walk early while they are having breakfast. Oh well, sitting on the van for so much traveling back and forth is not helping my backside, either!
It’s been very hot the last few days. Last evening, there was thunder and lightening for a while, but I don’t think it ever rained. We haven’t missed any ministry because of weather, so that’s nice. It’s hard to tell when it will stir up a rain. Winter here (summer in the US) is the rainy season, after all.
Next week we don’t have a team, so I’ll be getting stuff ready for the next week. Then the following week, VOH staff will do other ministry while the large team does their crusade. I’ll have to find out from German what our ministry will be so I can get ready.
A teacher from the Las Quimeras area school asked for a packet of school supplies for the school to use. I’ll make one up and have it ready for German to deliver on Monday. Mike wants to start having School Kits made up from stuff that each team brings down. We’ll have to work that into our correspondence. It will be a good thing.
I’m looking forward to all the changes, improvements and growth that we will be going through these next months. It’s so exciting so see how God is growing this ministry.
I’m so blessed to be a part of it. I love that God has called me to work in Nicaragua and to be a part of Voice of Hope Ministries and all the other things He is planning for me here in Nicaragua. How blessed am I???
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