Well, this past week has just flown by! The team FBC Rogers AR left this morning on a 6am flight. We left the team house at 2:30am for the 2 hour drive to the airport. Hugs all around and then they disappeared into the building. They made it home fine this evening. We had a good week and I'm very happy with the blessings that God bestowed on us and the people of León and the surrounding areas.
We spoke, performed and gave testimonies in 13 churches, did VBS in 8 neighborhoods, provided feedings in 3 areas, provided materials for and helped lay cement blocks at one church, and tried to get a little relaxation and fun time in the last week. It's been action packed and we had great travel mercies and overall health. God took very good care of us.
After dropping the team at the airport, we took a van to get the A/C worked on. The guy agreed to meet us at 5:00am. Wow. German, Danilo, Manuel and I went to an On the Run for a breakfast sandwich and coffee combo. (I usually don't drink coffee, but I enjoyed this!). Manuel's wife and son met us and we had a great visit. We went back for the van and sat around and talked until it was ready.
I was so tired after only getting a couple of hours sleep at home (in my clothes), then about an hour off and on in the van. We needed to find somewhere to chill out while waiting for Beth's plane around noon, so we went to the parking lot at the mall and sat in the van and dozed off a little bit more. (I had packed my pillow!) We finally got into the mall when it opened about 10am. We sat at the food court where we could free wireless signal for German's new phone. He looks like a kid with a DS handheld game. About 11am we left for the airport. Beth's plane got in and then she had to wait to find her luggage. One of the pieces was ripped open and the other one was not found. It took quite a while to get squared away. And then we left for lunch. I sat in the first seat behind the driver, instead of the shotgun seat, so that I could put my swollen ankles up. I just got a little bit nauseas. Beth and I chatted a little bit and dozed a little bit. She had been traveling since 3:30am. Even German dozed in the front seat. We stopped by John and Vanessa's house to drop off some donated items from Beth's church. A quick hello and we were back on the road.
It was so good to get home. Mary had spent a relaxing day of doing a few loads of a million towels and sheets. She did get to work on her computer and check out facebook and read some. I'm sure she enjoyed it. She said she felt sorry for me when we all left this morning. If it hadn't been for the fact that this was my home church team, I would have probably stayed home. But I was glad to go with the team to say goodbye.
Beth got all settled in and went to bed. I grabbed a very much needed shower and changed my sheets. Mary and I ate some leftovers from the team meals and chatted a little bit. Then I just had to get my feet up. So I'm laying on the bed trying to stay awake long enough to type. It's not even 8pm here and I'm ready to call it a night.
It's been such a good week. And we got word on a couple of good teams to add to our schedule for the rest of the year. God is blessing Voice of Hope Ministry with many opportunities to share Jesus here in Nica. There are always struggles and challenges in the worldly realm of ministries, but being faithful to complete the work is the main thing. God will work all things out to His plans. He is faithful and sovereign.
I was just thinking earlier about the day that I met the Hulseys. It was at a Global Impact Celebration at FBC Rogers. I was in from NYC where I was serving with a church plant. I was placed next to the Hulseys in the missionary seating area and my heart was tweaked by the thought of possibly working with them in the future. At the time, I had no idea how much longer I would be in NYC. I remember when we were all on stage and then the congregation stood up and applauded for us. I was overcome with emotion and started crying. Sherry was a couple of steps in front of me and a little to the left. She happened to look back and I saw that she, too, was crying. I knew we had a connection then. It was a while before I came back to Rogers and really got to know them. God has worked it out for me to be a part of VOH ministry. I'm very humbled and honored to work with everyone with VOH. I'm glad that God had this in His plans for me.
I'm going to sign off for now and fall asleep listening to Spanish praise music and feeling the fans blowing over me and my clean sheets. Ahh, a little touch of Heaven.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Friday, 3/25 in Nicaragua
Fun Day for the team. We got up early and had poptarts (which I brought from the states) for breakfast. Some of the team had bought some snacks for breakfast last night. We left the house at 6:30am and picked up 3 translators and headed east.
It's about 3 hours to the Canopy Tour (zip line) near Granada. We got there and were set up immediately for the adventure. 3 of the team chose not to 'zip' and settled down at comfy tables and chairs on the porch outside the office to read and rest while waiting for the zippers. Mary, Michael and I walked along some of the trails to get pics from the ground while the team was zipping by. Manuel's wife and son met us there and brought Tres Leches Cake for the VOH people. I shared bites of mine with the team. They really liked it.
We all headed over to Narcy's restaurant for lunch. The group got various meals including pizza and stuff from Papa John's and chicken dishes from Narcy's chicken portion of the restaurant. It was yummy. They are notorious for taking forever to process the check and payment process. So we ordered by table and the translators determines each person's total (except for one obstinate table). The speeded up the process very much. We were out of there in record time and on our way to shop!!
We spent an hour at the Gringo Market and everyone seemed to find all they needed and wanted within that time frame. I picked up a few more bags of various designs (I use bags for everything!) and a few gifts as well as a couple of tops to keep here to wear to church.
After the market, we went to the volcano. The sulphur was horrendous! We were coughing like crazy. Some of us chose to get back in the vans while others went up the steps to the cross to take pictures. We then stopped at the museum at the entrance to the national park and walked through the exhibits and made good use of the 'facilities' before the long ride home.
It was a great day with no stress about meeting the schedule (to make sure we could fit it all in) and enough time for everything. Manuel was tickled to death all day long. We stopped at On the Run so that everyone could purchase their dinner and then we headed home.
After a quick team meeting, everyone broke up to shower, sign the wall, download pictures, pack suitcases. The team hit the sack about 9:30pm. The drivers went to bed about 8pm. Everyone will be back up in just a few short hours and I'm not sure I'm going to try to sleep or not. Maybe a little nap...
Anyway, it's been a great week working with this team from my home church of FBC Rogers. I am blessed to be able to serve here in Nica and be with friends from home at the same time.
God is good. Everywhere!!
It's about 3 hours to the Canopy Tour (zip line) near Granada. We got there and were set up immediately for the adventure. 3 of the team chose not to 'zip' and settled down at comfy tables and chairs on the porch outside the office to read and rest while waiting for the zippers. Mary, Michael and I walked along some of the trails to get pics from the ground while the team was zipping by. Manuel's wife and son met us there and brought Tres Leches Cake for the VOH people. I shared bites of mine with the team. They really liked it.
We all headed over to Narcy's restaurant for lunch. The group got various meals including pizza and stuff from Papa John's and chicken dishes from Narcy's chicken portion of the restaurant. It was yummy. They are notorious for taking forever to process the check and payment process. So we ordered by table and the translators determines each person's total (except for one obstinate table). The speeded up the process very much. We were out of there in record time and on our way to shop!!
We spent an hour at the Gringo Market and everyone seemed to find all they needed and wanted within that time frame. I picked up a few more bags of various designs (I use bags for everything!) and a few gifts as well as a couple of tops to keep here to wear to church.
After the market, we went to the volcano. The sulphur was horrendous! We were coughing like crazy. Some of us chose to get back in the vans while others went up the steps to the cross to take pictures. We then stopped at the museum at the entrance to the national park and walked through the exhibits and made good use of the 'facilities' before the long ride home.
It was a great day with no stress about meeting the schedule (to make sure we could fit it all in) and enough time for everything. Manuel was tickled to death all day long. We stopped at On the Run so that everyone could purchase their dinner and then we headed home.
After a quick team meeting, everyone broke up to shower, sign the wall, download pictures, pack suitcases. The team hit the sack about 9:30pm. The drivers went to bed about 8pm. Everyone will be back up in just a few short hours and I'm not sure I'm going to try to sleep or not. Maybe a little nap...
Anyway, it's been a great week working with this team from my home church of FBC Rogers. I am blessed to be able to serve here in Nica and be with friends from home at the same time.
God is good. Everywhere!!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, 3/24 in Nicaragua
Ok, I'm back to being really tired again. But that's okay. We had a full day and many blessings.
We went to a site for VBS this morning and found out that one of the church members had died and the congregation would be going to the family's home tonight. German offered to change our plans, but they wanted us to come to their service anyway. While getting all the details, we were invited to a courtyard of someone's home and given wonderful fruit to eat. Very hospitable, and Yummy!
The VBS went well and the team had a great time with the kids. The street witnessing team was fruitful, too. I really enjoyed the Pastora. She is so friendly and we had a good connection from the start. We did the usual story, crafts, games, music and snacks. Jennifer shared with the women gathered, who were all Christians, and enjoyed hearing about Jennifer's testimony and life as a Christian woman in the US. Rydder came up with some great Bible trivia questions, for which, the prizes were the acrylic tags that Jerry had made, which said Jesús te Ama and Jesús Vive. I got to talk to a young man for a while (all in Spanish) and learned about where he lives, works, his family, etc. It turns out that he is a cook at the cool restaurant that Mary, German and I visited back in December. We've all made some neat connections this week.
Our next stop was Las Quimeras. The kids were all down the road at the school getting vaccinations for the first 1/2 hour, so we went out inviting kids to the VBS and doing street witnessing. Some of the team had come over earlier and started helping lay the blocks for the church building. We had a good time of VBS and sharing. It was a lot of fun. I met Sergio, who is the new Pastor of the church. He took over for Pastor Miguel who was going to be moving to Costa Rica. We were very blessed to be involved in purchasing the helping to lay the blocks. I'm sure the workers were glad when we left them alone to work more efficiently, but it was very special to be a part of that little church.
We got home for lunch, a quick team meeting and the last day of beach time for the team. I almost got a nap in, but alas, duty called in the form of team members needing Ms Vickie for various things. I did get to lay on the bed for about 20 minutes, so that was appreciated. I had the chance to call my sister Pam and she is feeling better all the time. I'm so thankful for that.
We went back to both VBS locations this evening for church services. I loved Pastora Patricia's words and her singing voice. We had church outside on the concrete slab where we had done VBS this morning. It's also where the neighborhood kids play games and such. At the beginning of our service, we had someone chase a ball across the front of the area. We also had various dogs walking through. Lights were attached to tree branches and a sound system was set up. It was nice worship and our drama keeps on getting better.
After service, we high-tailed it to On the Run to meet the other van and for all the team members to say goodbye to the translators. That's usually a hard thing to do for some people. I'm glad that I'm able to look at it like I'm living in Nic and just visiting the US when I leave. :)
We got back to the house and had dinner and a little bit of share time. We're getting up early in the morning to leave at 6:30am for the zip line, lunch, shopping and volcano. It will be a packed day, but it will be fun.
It's hard to believe the week is almost over, but I say that with every team. God blesses us with lots of work to do and people to see. It's always good serving with the teams. Especially, this one from my home church.
I'm falling asleep between sentences, so I'm signing off for tonight. God is so faithful. I love Him so.
We went to a site for VBS this morning and found out that one of the church members had died and the congregation would be going to the family's home tonight. German offered to change our plans, but they wanted us to come to their service anyway. While getting all the details, we were invited to a courtyard of someone's home and given wonderful fruit to eat. Very hospitable, and Yummy!
The VBS went well and the team had a great time with the kids. The street witnessing team was fruitful, too. I really enjoyed the Pastora. She is so friendly and we had a good connection from the start. We did the usual story, crafts, games, music and snacks. Jennifer shared with the women gathered, who were all Christians, and enjoyed hearing about Jennifer's testimony and life as a Christian woman in the US. Rydder came up with some great Bible trivia questions, for which, the prizes were the acrylic tags that Jerry had made, which said Jesús te Ama and Jesús Vive. I got to talk to a young man for a while (all in Spanish) and learned about where he lives, works, his family, etc. It turns out that he is a cook at the cool restaurant that Mary, German and I visited back in December. We've all made some neat connections this week.
Our next stop was Las Quimeras. The kids were all down the road at the school getting vaccinations for the first 1/2 hour, so we went out inviting kids to the VBS and doing street witnessing. Some of the team had come over earlier and started helping lay the blocks for the church building. We had a good time of VBS and sharing. It was a lot of fun. I met Sergio, who is the new Pastor of the church. He took over for Pastor Miguel who was going to be moving to Costa Rica. We were very blessed to be involved in purchasing the helping to lay the blocks. I'm sure the workers were glad when we left them alone to work more efficiently, but it was very special to be a part of that little church.
We got home for lunch, a quick team meeting and the last day of beach time for the team. I almost got a nap in, but alas, duty called in the form of team members needing Ms Vickie for various things. I did get to lay on the bed for about 20 minutes, so that was appreciated. I had the chance to call my sister Pam and she is feeling better all the time. I'm so thankful for that.
We went back to both VBS locations this evening for church services. I loved Pastora Patricia's words and her singing voice. We had church outside on the concrete slab where we had done VBS this morning. It's also where the neighborhood kids play games and such. At the beginning of our service, we had someone chase a ball across the front of the area. We also had various dogs walking through. Lights were attached to tree branches and a sound system was set up. It was nice worship and our drama keeps on getting better.
After service, we high-tailed it to On the Run to meet the other van and for all the team members to say goodbye to the translators. That's usually a hard thing to do for some people. I'm glad that I'm able to look at it like I'm living in Nic and just visiting the US when I leave. :)
We got back to the house and had dinner and a little bit of share time. We're getting up early in the morning to leave at 6:30am for the zip line, lunch, shopping and volcano. It will be a packed day, but it will be fun.
It's hard to believe the week is almost over, but I say that with every team. God blesses us with lots of work to do and people to see. It's always good serving with the teams. Especially, this one from my home church.
I'm falling asleep between sentences, so I'm signing off for tonight. God is so faithful. I love Him so.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Wednesday, 3/23 in Nicaragua
What a difference a day makes! This time yesterday I was so exhausted that I couldn't hardly type. And this morning, I had a poptart for breakfast because I was too tired to make instant oatmeal. :( But, today's schedule was easier by just an hour hear and an hour there, and it really made a difference in stamina. God is faithful to refresh these bodies that He created.
We went to La Padrera (near the Sewer Ponds) for VBS. We haven't been there much, but we did do a Fiesta there in December. There is no church to work with, so we set up in the dusty street on the corner. This is a very poor neighborhood that is rich in harvest. We did the VBS stories, crafts, music and games, then gave out snacks and candy. Some of our team went street witnessing. It was really hot and dusty. That's just how it is in the dry season.
Next we went just down the road a little ways to the Sewer Ponds neighborhood (Monte Horeb), one of my favorites. Two of the team members have been here before. Stacie was here last March when things looked just like now. Kearsten was here in July during the rainy season. Kearsten actually got to spend 2 days at the Sewer Ponds, but didn't recognize it at all, because of the difference since it's the dry season. She was amazed. She did recognize some of the people, though.
We did VBS there and then handed out food to the community. It was great to be the ones working on giving it out. Our cooks daughter prepared the rice dish in big pots outside here at the house all morning. One of the vans came back to the house to pick it up during the VBS and we served the food out of the van. There was also drinks and cookies and candy. Everyone was fed and we had some left over to offer seconds to a few people. It was a good time of serving.
We got back home about an hour before lunch (we eat around 1:30), so we had a quick team meeting and ate and then everyone got some extra 'down' time. Many went out to the beach again. Only gringos are on the beach in the middle of the day. :) I, for one, stretched out on my bed and did some computer work and posted a few pics on facebook. I never took a nap, but it sure felt good to put these heat-swollen ankles up for a while.
We had an early dinner and then headed for town to take a drive up to El Sapote. We wanted the team to see the water well system that was provided by FBC Rogers Youth last year. The main road into the town was shut down for repair, and the only other way in is to take a very long detour through town, down the highway, through some fields and then to the neighborhood. It would take much longer than we had time for before church. Soooo, plan B was to go to Eskimo for ice cream again. The team cheered at this news. We enjoyed our surprise snack and headed off to our two church locations.
I was blessed to visit Iglesia Mi Redentor with the drama team again. I did get a little teary, but not as much tonight. The drama team did a great job again. I'm so proud of them. John, Abby, Mariano, Jerry, Rebekah, Grace and Laura - You ROCK!!! The church applauded when Jesus overcame the sin to restore Abby's life. With the music, it makes a powerful moment. Speaking of the music, we use an iPod and usually a church will have a cable to plug it into their sound system (if they have one). This church didn't have a cable, so we had taken my little travel iPod speaker and it worked wonders with the microphone. Thank You Lord for blessing me with this wonderful item.
Abby gave the message, using the props for a visual presentation that her dad uses, too. She was a little nervous, but the ice was broken when her translator, Jaasiel, accidentally started repeating the English into English. It was a funny moment and Abby said that she instantly felt the nerves go away and was ready to speak. She did an excellent job. The music tonight was great and I have most of the songs on my iPod. I love listening to Spanish praise music. At the end of the service, Jerry asked the Pastor if we could pray for any of the congregation who had prayer needs. Some people of all ages came forward with various requests for healing, safety, etc. One little girl asked for happiness. Laura has a hilarious story about praying with this girl. Ask her to tell it to you when you see her at FBCR. I was blessed to pray with a lady, named Josepa, who was ill and was asking for healing. I prayed with her entirely in Spanish. I know my grammar was not perfect, but I'm sure God forgave me for that. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, so I know He cleaned up my language limitations. Josepa was in tears as we blessed the name of our Creator and Healer. We prayed together this special night and I know we will rejoice together in Heaven some day.
Since the churches were between the house and León, we got to get home fairly early (before 9pm). It was nice to sit around and rest and chat. Mary made one last run to the grocery store for tomorrow's meals. Everyone was ready for bed by 10pm and we will all rest well tonight.
While at the Sewer Ponds neighborhood today, I got to see some familiar faces and marvel at how the kids are growing up. I hope we get to see them a lot this summer, too. Dariela and her family were there. I got to get my picture taken with them. Kearsten got to hold her last summer and she can't believe how much she has grown. I now have 3 different pictures of her over the last year to see her progress. She will be 1 year old on April 20. I told her mom and dad that I would pray for her especially on that day. What a sweet connection.
I also got to see another sweet girl again. I can't remember her name, but she is special. She has Downs Syndrome. I got to get my picture taken with her. I made sure that Becca Janes got to see that picture. God has planted these precious lives all around His world to bring sunlight into those places.
It's almost 11pm here, and if I sign off now, I might get a little over 5 hours sleep tonight. So I'll say goodnight and sweet dreams and pray God's blessings all over Nicaragua, León, Voice of Hope ministries, the FBCR team and everyone praying for us while serving this week. God is faithful. He has much to teach us. And He is worthy of our best efforts to glorify Him. I'm so thankful for the opportunities.
We went to La Padrera (near the Sewer Ponds) for VBS. We haven't been there much, but we did do a Fiesta there in December. There is no church to work with, so we set up in the dusty street on the corner. This is a very poor neighborhood that is rich in harvest. We did the VBS stories, crafts, music and games, then gave out snacks and candy. Some of our team went street witnessing. It was really hot and dusty. That's just how it is in the dry season.
Next we went just down the road a little ways to the Sewer Ponds neighborhood (Monte Horeb), one of my favorites. Two of the team members have been here before. Stacie was here last March when things looked just like now. Kearsten was here in July during the rainy season. Kearsten actually got to spend 2 days at the Sewer Ponds, but didn't recognize it at all, because of the difference since it's the dry season. She was amazed. She did recognize some of the people, though.
We did VBS there and then handed out food to the community. It was great to be the ones working on giving it out. Our cooks daughter prepared the rice dish in big pots outside here at the house all morning. One of the vans came back to the house to pick it up during the VBS and we served the food out of the van. There was also drinks and cookies and candy. Everyone was fed and we had some left over to offer seconds to a few people. It was a good time of serving.
We got back home about an hour before lunch (we eat around 1:30), so we had a quick team meeting and ate and then everyone got some extra 'down' time. Many went out to the beach again. Only gringos are on the beach in the middle of the day. :) I, for one, stretched out on my bed and did some computer work and posted a few pics on facebook. I never took a nap, but it sure felt good to put these heat-swollen ankles up for a while.
We had an early dinner and then headed for town to take a drive up to El Sapote. We wanted the team to see the water well system that was provided by FBC Rogers Youth last year. The main road into the town was shut down for repair, and the only other way in is to take a very long detour through town, down the highway, through some fields and then to the neighborhood. It would take much longer than we had time for before church. Soooo, plan B was to go to Eskimo for ice cream again. The team cheered at this news. We enjoyed our surprise snack and headed off to our two church locations.
I was blessed to visit Iglesia Mi Redentor with the drama team again. I did get a little teary, but not as much tonight. The drama team did a great job again. I'm so proud of them. John, Abby, Mariano, Jerry, Rebekah, Grace and Laura - You ROCK!!! The church applauded when Jesus overcame the sin to restore Abby's life. With the music, it makes a powerful moment. Speaking of the music, we use an iPod and usually a church will have a cable to plug it into their sound system (if they have one). This church didn't have a cable, so we had taken my little travel iPod speaker and it worked wonders with the microphone. Thank You Lord for blessing me with this wonderful item.
Abby gave the message, using the props for a visual presentation that her dad uses, too. She was a little nervous, but the ice was broken when her translator, Jaasiel, accidentally started repeating the English into English. It was a funny moment and Abby said that she instantly felt the nerves go away and was ready to speak. She did an excellent job. The music tonight was great and I have most of the songs on my iPod. I love listening to Spanish praise music. At the end of the service, Jerry asked the Pastor if we could pray for any of the congregation who had prayer needs. Some people of all ages came forward with various requests for healing, safety, etc. One little girl asked for happiness. Laura has a hilarious story about praying with this girl. Ask her to tell it to you when you see her at FBCR. I was blessed to pray with a lady, named Josepa, who was ill and was asking for healing. I prayed with her entirely in Spanish. I know my grammar was not perfect, but I'm sure God forgave me for that. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, so I know He cleaned up my language limitations. Josepa was in tears as we blessed the name of our Creator and Healer. We prayed together this special night and I know we will rejoice together in Heaven some day.
Since the churches were between the house and León, we got to get home fairly early (before 9pm). It was nice to sit around and rest and chat. Mary made one last run to the grocery store for tomorrow's meals. Everyone was ready for bed by 10pm and we will all rest well tonight.
While at the Sewer Ponds neighborhood today, I got to see some familiar faces and marvel at how the kids are growing up. I hope we get to see them a lot this summer, too. Dariela and her family were there. I got to get my picture taken with them. Kearsten got to hold her last summer and she can't believe how much she has grown. I now have 3 different pictures of her over the last year to see her progress. She will be 1 year old on April 20. I told her mom and dad that I would pray for her especially on that day. What a sweet connection.
I also got to see another sweet girl again. I can't remember her name, but she is special. She has Downs Syndrome. I got to get my picture taken with her. I made sure that Becca Janes got to see that picture. God has planted these precious lives all around His world to bring sunlight into those places.
It's almost 11pm here, and if I sign off now, I might get a little over 5 hours sleep tonight. So I'll say goodnight and sweet dreams and pray God's blessings all over Nicaragua, León, Voice of Hope ministries, the FBCR team and everyone praying for us while serving this week. God is faithful. He has much to teach us. And He is worthy of our best efforts to glorify Him. I'm so thankful for the opportunities.
Tuesday, 3/22 in Nicaragua
Another early day. I knew the team would be sleeping hard after the night of celebrating with Rose of Sharon church, and would be hard to get going. I decided to give them a little help waking up. I have the songs from last night at church on my iPod and I plugged it into my little speaker and turned it on full blast at 5:30. (keep in mind that breakfast is at 6 and we leave at 6:30, so something drastic was in order lol) I got a few mean looks and heard some groans, but it did the trick and the team got up and got ready. Sherree and Jennifer knew I was going to do it, but it was a surprise for the rest of the team. I think they have finally forgiven me.
After breakfast and loading the van we took off to pick up translators and have our last bathroom stop at OTR. We had told everyone that we really needed to get on the road quick, as we had a ways to drive today. We asked that they just use the bathroom and not buy anything unless they really needed to. (the checkout service is very slow and I didn't want to waste time in line). Mary repeated the instructions to her van and then German reminded them again. Wouldn't you know it, a few people, who shall remain nameless, ordered muffins and such. In their defense, they thought that the process would be like in the states. BUT, we who live here know about the slow service and therefore had asked that this process was avoided. The culprits have repented and been forgiven, and I think everyone is learning that there is a reason behind our requests. Of course, after all that, German ordered a breakfast sandwich and coffee and was the last one on the bus. But he was punished when he was trying to share his breakfast in with Mary in the van (I think he was kissing up) and he ended up dropping part of it and then spilling his coffee on Mary. I guess she got the punishment... Anyway, it was an interesting morning and we hadn't even gotten out of town yet.
The first stop was at Pastor Yader's church in a forgotten neighborhood. It is a little area and most of the kids were in school, but we had over 20 kids (whose parents had kept them home from school to come to VBS. school here is not mandatory like in the states) and another 20 teens and adults come. We got to do the VBS inside the building which was great since we were in the shade. Having a smaller group meant that more of our team could go out street witnessing, which was perfect for this location. The kids absolutely loved the VBS. John and the girls do a great job of leading music with the funny songs. They kids listened intently to the Bible stories and know most of them. Everyone loved making the tambourines. It's amazing how much 'music' they make when you have 20+ of them rattling at the same time. I loved seeing the laughing faces of the kids and parents. This neighborhood doesn't get visitors. They were soooo thankful that we would care enough to come at all and to invest time and energy in them. We left craft supplies for the kids who were in school. The Pastor will make sure that they get to make their own things. We didn't want them to be left out. While the kids were doing games outside, I was blessed to share my heart with some ladies. I noticed some older teen boys hanging around watching everything going on. I gave them snacks when we passed them out. I asked them to come inside to the shade, but they preferred to stay outside. When John was through with leading music, I asked him to come out to speak with them. (They would relate to him much more than me!) He had a good talk with them and passed out New Testaments. I haven't had the chance to ask about decisions, but I know he planted some good seeds. He spoke with them a long time. We had to jump on vans to get to the next place. So we were off like a herd of turtles...
At the next church, which was more in town, we met with Pastor Oscar from Todopoderoso church and his people. They are instrumental in this church plant. They always do a great job of decorating the location with balloons and having a piñata and lots of their membership to help us. We ended up with a lot of kids who enjoyed all the VBS activities. We were inside a medium size building so it was a little cooler. There was room to have group jump rope fun with the kids as they arrived. We also got the chance do more street witnessing. The team is doing really well adapting to the different locations and limitations and challenges of each site. We got to help with the feeding. Which means we get to help pass out the food that very hard workers have spent hours preparing. They are thankful to us for the money to provide the food. We are thankful to them for preparing it. We are all thankful to God for allowing the blessing. I love it when we can have feedings.
We got in the vans for the sort of long drive back to León. Part of the people in our van fell asleep and we took the usual pictures of the sleepers. It's a tradition with us to catch snoozing people on film. :) We stopped at La Unión to drop off the translators. Mary and German kept a few people with them to help buy food for the feeding on Wednesday and also some groceries for the team meals. I went with the other van to get crema and queso for our lunch on Wednesday and to pick up some ice. Then we made it home to enjoy lunch. Everyone was so tired and I think the trip to the beach was a quick one and everyone rested a little more this afternoon. Sherree got a good nap and I laid down for about 90 minutes and slept maybe 45.
We had a team meeting before heading out for church. Everyone is experiencing God's hand in the work this week. I love to hear them share about it.
We went to 2 different churches with 2 different experiences. One church service didn't last very long, but was good. The church I went to with my half of the group was wonderful. You could feel the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit as soon as we walked in. The Pastor was very nice. The church was so thankful for us to come and share with them. They were minus a keyboard player and Jeremy, one of our translators (who happens to be the worship pastor at his church) stepped in. The worship leader at the church was very talented and the songs were ones I knew and love.
I spoke a little about Voice of Hope Ministries and the team. They kids did the drama again and it brought tears to my eyes again. The church loved it to. It is so simple and powerful. And it shows how Jesus took on so much to protect us from sin. He is so precious!
Grace and Bethany both gave their testimonies and Mariano gave his testimony and then the message. All were very heartfelt and genuine and honoring to God.
When we were leaving, they gave us a bag of mangos. Yum! We are sharing them with the team for breakfast. We finished up at the church about 9:15 and headed towards home. We dropped off the translators near their homes on the way. It was close to 10 when we got home. The other team had been home for a couple of hours. It was good for them to get some down time. Our van was engrossed in some riddles and guessing games with the translators. Some of them were pretty hard to figure out. Rydder had some good trivia questions about people in the Bible. Jeremy set up his scenario right before leaving the van. The team came home and part of them worked diligently to figure out the answer to it. They are proud to be able to tell him today that they figured it out. We have a great time with our translators. I'm glad to be able for the team to interact with them when we are traveling.
I don't have totals of salvations yet. They are being kept track of, but I just haven't had the time to find out for myself. I'll post that info later. What matters most is that God is working, people are being saved, encouraged, fed and blessed. And God is being Glorified!!
After breakfast and loading the van we took off to pick up translators and have our last bathroom stop at OTR. We had told everyone that we really needed to get on the road quick, as we had a ways to drive today. We asked that they just use the bathroom and not buy anything unless they really needed to. (the checkout service is very slow and I didn't want to waste time in line). Mary repeated the instructions to her van and then German reminded them again. Wouldn't you know it, a few people, who shall remain nameless, ordered muffins and such. In their defense, they thought that the process would be like in the states. BUT, we who live here know about the slow service and therefore had asked that this process was avoided. The culprits have repented and been forgiven, and I think everyone is learning that there is a reason behind our requests. Of course, after all that, German ordered a breakfast sandwich and coffee and was the last one on the bus. But he was punished when he was trying to share his breakfast in with Mary in the van (I think he was kissing up) and he ended up dropping part of it and then spilling his coffee on Mary. I guess she got the punishment... Anyway, it was an interesting morning and we hadn't even gotten out of town yet.
The first stop was at Pastor Yader's church in a forgotten neighborhood. It is a little area and most of the kids were in school, but we had over 20 kids (whose parents had kept them home from school to come to VBS. school here is not mandatory like in the states) and another 20 teens and adults come. We got to do the VBS inside the building which was great since we were in the shade. Having a smaller group meant that more of our team could go out street witnessing, which was perfect for this location. The kids absolutely loved the VBS. John and the girls do a great job of leading music with the funny songs. They kids listened intently to the Bible stories and know most of them. Everyone loved making the tambourines. It's amazing how much 'music' they make when you have 20+ of them rattling at the same time. I loved seeing the laughing faces of the kids and parents. This neighborhood doesn't get visitors. They were soooo thankful that we would care enough to come at all and to invest time and energy in them. We left craft supplies for the kids who were in school. The Pastor will make sure that they get to make their own things. We didn't want them to be left out. While the kids were doing games outside, I was blessed to share my heart with some ladies. I noticed some older teen boys hanging around watching everything going on. I gave them snacks when we passed them out. I asked them to come inside to the shade, but they preferred to stay outside. When John was through with leading music, I asked him to come out to speak with them. (They would relate to him much more than me!) He had a good talk with them and passed out New Testaments. I haven't had the chance to ask about decisions, but I know he planted some good seeds. He spoke with them a long time. We had to jump on vans to get to the next place. So we were off like a herd of turtles...
At the next church, which was more in town, we met with Pastor Oscar from Todopoderoso church and his people. They are instrumental in this church plant. They always do a great job of decorating the location with balloons and having a piñata and lots of their membership to help us. We ended up with a lot of kids who enjoyed all the VBS activities. We were inside a medium size building so it was a little cooler. There was room to have group jump rope fun with the kids as they arrived. We also got the chance do more street witnessing. The team is doing really well adapting to the different locations and limitations and challenges of each site. We got to help with the feeding. Which means we get to help pass out the food that very hard workers have spent hours preparing. They are thankful to us for the money to provide the food. We are thankful to them for preparing it. We are all thankful to God for allowing the blessing. I love it when we can have feedings.
We got in the vans for the sort of long drive back to León. Part of the people in our van fell asleep and we took the usual pictures of the sleepers. It's a tradition with us to catch snoozing people on film. :) We stopped at La Unión to drop off the translators. Mary and German kept a few people with them to help buy food for the feeding on Wednesday and also some groceries for the team meals. I went with the other van to get crema and queso for our lunch on Wednesday and to pick up some ice. Then we made it home to enjoy lunch. Everyone was so tired and I think the trip to the beach was a quick one and everyone rested a little more this afternoon. Sherree got a good nap and I laid down for about 90 minutes and slept maybe 45.
We had a team meeting before heading out for church. Everyone is experiencing God's hand in the work this week. I love to hear them share about it.
We went to 2 different churches with 2 different experiences. One church service didn't last very long, but was good. The church I went to with my half of the group was wonderful. You could feel the sweet presence of the Holy Spirit as soon as we walked in. The Pastor was very nice. The church was so thankful for us to come and share with them. They were minus a keyboard player and Jeremy, one of our translators (who happens to be the worship pastor at his church) stepped in. The worship leader at the church was very talented and the songs were ones I knew and love.
I spoke a little about Voice of Hope Ministries and the team. They kids did the drama again and it brought tears to my eyes again. The church loved it to. It is so simple and powerful. And it shows how Jesus took on so much to protect us from sin. He is so precious!
Grace and Bethany both gave their testimonies and Mariano gave his testimony and then the message. All were very heartfelt and genuine and honoring to God.
When we were leaving, they gave us a bag of mangos. Yum! We are sharing them with the team for breakfast. We finished up at the church about 9:15 and headed towards home. We dropped off the translators near their homes on the way. It was close to 10 when we got home. The other team had been home for a couple of hours. It was good for them to get some down time. Our van was engrossed in some riddles and guessing games with the translators. Some of them were pretty hard to figure out. Rydder had some good trivia questions about people in the Bible. Jeremy set up his scenario right before leaving the van. The team came home and part of them worked diligently to figure out the answer to it. They are proud to be able to tell him today that they figured it out. We have a great time with our translators. I'm glad to be able for the team to interact with them when we are traveling.
I don't have totals of salvations yet. They are being kept track of, but I just haven't had the time to find out for myself. I'll post that info later. What matters most is that God is working, people are being saved, encouraged, fed and blessed. And God is being Glorified!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Monday, 3/21 in Nicaragua
This morning started off early again. 6am breakfast. 6:30am leave for the stoplight in León to pick up the translators. The team was slow moving this morning, but everyone was ready for our first day of VBS and feedings.
When we picked up the translators, it gave us the chance to introduce them to the team. We all scrunched into the 2 vans with the VBS tubs and a giant cooler to hold the drinks and ice for the kids’ snacks. We stopped at On the Run for the last bathroom break for until noon, and for drinks for the translators and any snacks the team wanted to take with them.
We got to our ministry area and the roads are too bad for the vans, so we walked about a half mile to the little school in the neighborhood. We made a few adjustments to our plans and enjoyed our first VBS event.
We had music (with action songs) for the whole group. John Doss did a wonderful job playing the new guitar the team bought for VOH ministries. A bunch of the team demonstrated the actions for the songs. Everyone had a wonderful time.
Then we split into 2 groups, Bible Story time and Crafts. The team did a good job on these sessions. Then we switched the kids so they could do the opposite sessions. We ran out of time for games, but we did get to present to the school some Frisbees and a couple of soccer balls for the neighborhood kids to play with.
Some quick distribution of cookies, drinks and candy, and we were on our way walking back to the vans, which were able to get a little closer on a different road. We were missing Ms Mary, Stacie and Oscar, who were still street witnessing. The other street witness groups had come back by now. We finally saw the 3 coming out of the trees and heading our way. On the road back to the highway, there was a couple inclines that the vans would not be able to make with a load like ours, so we got out and walked for a bit. Then we got back in the vans and hit the highway.
We did the second VBS at Posoltega and worked along side the Todopoderoso church. I just love this church. We had an excellent time there. They had the area ready with balloons on trees and a piñata and tables for the food and a sound system. Everyone went out (our team + translator + people from the Todopoderoso church) to gather kids to the area. Then when we started the VBS sessions, 3 groups of street witnesses went out. Everything went very smoothly. We had another great time sharing Jesus.
There was a mango tree on the site, and some of us got the blessing of eating them right off of the tree. Oh my! How good!
There were so many fun and funny things that happened today, but I can’t remember them at the moment. God has really blessed us today.
We helped with the feeding and even got to try some of the food today. It was delicious! We were very honored and blessed that we could provide the money for the food and work with the hard workers who prepared it. It’s so great to serve together with God’s workers all across the world. We have a common bond that no one without Christ could really understand. And we’ll all be together in Heaven one day. I wonder if we will get the chance to remember the times we worked together. Hmmm.
We made it back to On the Run for a much needed bathroom break (after 5 hours) and some sodas and snacks for the teams. Then we got home and had lunch. We Kirstie did a nice devotion and we had a quick team meeting. Then everyone went their own ways to the beach or to nap (or in my case, to take care of some computer work and emails).
We had some issues with the water this afternoon and the line for showers was building as the water was drizzling and stopping all together. We never did figure out what was going on, but everyone finally got showered and ready for church.
We left at 4:30pm to meet at the stoplight at 5 to pick up a few of the translators. Then we headed to the park to sightsee a little of the old buildings and to look at the vendors’ wares. I bought a few more woven zipper bags that I love. One is just perfect to hold my Kindle. We walked around a mural and listened to Rydder explain the meaning and history of Nicaragua and León. Then we trotted a block over to have some Eskimo ice cream. It was yummy. It took about 30 minutes to get everyone their ice cream, but we had time to enjoy sitting in the open restaurant with the breeze flowing through.
We made it to Rose of Sharon church on time, which means we were early, and we listened to the band tune up. This is a great band and I love to hear them play. People kept arriving. Then we say a group of North Americans (we kind of stick out, you know) and saw that it was a missionary that we often run into at the church. He had a group from Fort Smith AR of all places! Our group met their group before the service started. We listened, sang, danced and worshiped together with the help of the wonderful band. Our team did the drama/creative movement thing again tonight and it brought tears to my eyes again. What a beautiful expression of what God does in our life. One of the other NAs sang a song which moved us and all the NAs ended up standing and raising our hands as we sang the words we know so well, He Is Mighty To Save. Then John Doss gave his testimony, which was very good and meaningful to many. There was a moving testimony by a girl on the other NA team. Then the Youth Pastor of the Fort Smith church gave the message. We had the chance to pray for people with special requests for prayer. It was a privilege to pray with Mariano, whom I’ve come to admire and respect very much. More wonderful music by the band, lots of dancing and singing and handclapping. Even a little jaunt around the room for the hearty people. (this was a Youth service, after all!) The kids had a great time worshiping together up front. After the service the two NA teams got to chat a little with each other. We finally got our team out the door and to the vans.
A couple of cute things happened tonight at church. One was that a little girl, may 2 years old or so, came up by Jaasiel and me and was dancing and clapping to the music. She was adorable! She saw the construction hat that German was using for his motorcycle helmet. (I was keeping it safe by my chair.) The little girl picked up the hat and handed it to me. Then she picked up my Bible bag which was a little heavier, and then she picked up the small backpack I take to church. She noticed how heavy it was and her little mouth made a cute ‘o’ expression. So cute. She picked up the hat again and I put it on her head. We did this a couple of times and then she walked back to her mom with the hat on. German was sitting a couple of rows back and snagged the hat. She was such a cutie!
Another funny thing was during the music at the end of the service, when the youth was mostly up front dancing and worshiping, it looked like a concert and a mosh pit. I had just said this to Jennifer when we saw that someone was holding up a toddler and it looked like they were going to start handing him back. This made us laugh. Of course, the person kept a hold of the child and there was not danger. It was just funny to see it.
We got back to the house tonight and had hamburgers and chips for dinner about 9:30pm. Everyone hit the bed by 10:30 (except for me, of course). Someone was going to be using the USB thing for internet, so I decided to just type this up in a word document (so I wouldn’t forget anything) and post it tomorrow.
I’m good and tired, not exhausted, but I know that the 5 hours of sleep for tonight won’t be near enough. But God will get us all through the long days and give us rest in the afternoons as we need it.
I praise Him for all He has created. All He allows us to do in His name. I thank Him for the wonderful fellow Christians here in Nica and for the relationships we enjoy with each other.
I pray that everyone will get the rest they need tonight and will feel refreshed tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the blessings that He has in store for us. He is every faithful.
When we picked up the translators, it gave us the chance to introduce them to the team. We all scrunched into the 2 vans with the VBS tubs and a giant cooler to hold the drinks and ice for the kids’ snacks. We stopped at On the Run for the last bathroom break for until noon, and for drinks for the translators and any snacks the team wanted to take with them.
We got to our ministry area and the roads are too bad for the vans, so we walked about a half mile to the little school in the neighborhood. We made a few adjustments to our plans and enjoyed our first VBS event.
We had music (with action songs) for the whole group. John Doss did a wonderful job playing the new guitar the team bought for VOH ministries. A bunch of the team demonstrated the actions for the songs. Everyone had a wonderful time.
Then we split into 2 groups, Bible Story time and Crafts. The team did a good job on these sessions. Then we switched the kids so they could do the opposite sessions. We ran out of time for games, but we did get to present to the school some Frisbees and a couple of soccer balls for the neighborhood kids to play with.
Some quick distribution of cookies, drinks and candy, and we were on our way walking back to the vans, which were able to get a little closer on a different road. We were missing Ms Mary, Stacie and Oscar, who were still street witnessing. The other street witness groups had come back by now. We finally saw the 3 coming out of the trees and heading our way. On the road back to the highway, there was a couple inclines that the vans would not be able to make with a load like ours, so we got out and walked for a bit. Then we got back in the vans and hit the highway.
We did the second VBS at Posoltega and worked along side the Todopoderoso church. I just love this church. We had an excellent time there. They had the area ready with balloons on trees and a piñata and tables for the food and a sound system. Everyone went out (our team + translator + people from the Todopoderoso church) to gather kids to the area. Then when we started the VBS sessions, 3 groups of street witnesses went out. Everything went very smoothly. We had another great time sharing Jesus.
There was a mango tree on the site, and some of us got the blessing of eating them right off of the tree. Oh my! How good!
There were so many fun and funny things that happened today, but I can’t remember them at the moment. God has really blessed us today.
We helped with the feeding and even got to try some of the food today. It was delicious! We were very honored and blessed that we could provide the money for the food and work with the hard workers who prepared it. It’s so great to serve together with God’s workers all across the world. We have a common bond that no one without Christ could really understand. And we’ll all be together in Heaven one day. I wonder if we will get the chance to remember the times we worked together. Hmmm.
We made it back to On the Run for a much needed bathroom break (after 5 hours) and some sodas and snacks for the teams. Then we got home and had lunch. We Kirstie did a nice devotion and we had a quick team meeting. Then everyone went their own ways to the beach or to nap (or in my case, to take care of some computer work and emails).
We had some issues with the water this afternoon and the line for showers was building as the water was drizzling and stopping all together. We never did figure out what was going on, but everyone finally got showered and ready for church.
We left at 4:30pm to meet at the stoplight at 5 to pick up a few of the translators. Then we headed to the park to sightsee a little of the old buildings and to look at the vendors’ wares. I bought a few more woven zipper bags that I love. One is just perfect to hold my Kindle. We walked around a mural and listened to Rydder explain the meaning and history of Nicaragua and León. Then we trotted a block over to have some Eskimo ice cream. It was yummy. It took about 30 minutes to get everyone their ice cream, but we had time to enjoy sitting in the open restaurant with the breeze flowing through.
We made it to Rose of Sharon church on time, which means we were early, and we listened to the band tune up. This is a great band and I love to hear them play. People kept arriving. Then we say a group of North Americans (we kind of stick out, you know) and saw that it was a missionary that we often run into at the church. He had a group from Fort Smith AR of all places! Our group met their group before the service started. We listened, sang, danced and worshiped together with the help of the wonderful band. Our team did the drama/creative movement thing again tonight and it brought tears to my eyes again. What a beautiful expression of what God does in our life. One of the other NAs sang a song which moved us and all the NAs ended up standing and raising our hands as we sang the words we know so well, He Is Mighty To Save. Then John Doss gave his testimony, which was very good and meaningful to many. There was a moving testimony by a girl on the other NA team. Then the Youth Pastor of the Fort Smith church gave the message. We had the chance to pray for people with special requests for prayer. It was a privilege to pray with Mariano, whom I’ve come to admire and respect very much. More wonderful music by the band, lots of dancing and singing and handclapping. Even a little jaunt around the room for the hearty people. (this was a Youth service, after all!) The kids had a great time worshiping together up front. After the service the two NA teams got to chat a little with each other. We finally got our team out the door and to the vans.
A couple of cute things happened tonight at church. One was that a little girl, may 2 years old or so, came up by Jaasiel and me and was dancing and clapping to the music. She was adorable! She saw the construction hat that German was using for his motorcycle helmet. (I was keeping it safe by my chair.) The little girl picked up the hat and handed it to me. Then she picked up my Bible bag which was a little heavier, and then she picked up the small backpack I take to church. She noticed how heavy it was and her little mouth made a cute ‘o’ expression. So cute. She picked up the hat again and I put it on her head. We did this a couple of times and then she walked back to her mom with the hat on. German was sitting a couple of rows back and snagged the hat. She was such a cutie!
Another funny thing was during the music at the end of the service, when the youth was mostly up front dancing and worshiping, it looked like a concert and a mosh pit. I had just said this to Jennifer when we saw that someone was holding up a toddler and it looked like they were going to start handing him back. This made us laugh. Of course, the person kept a hold of the child and there was not danger. It was just funny to see it.
We got back to the house tonight and had hamburgers and chips for dinner about 9:30pm. Everyone hit the bed by 10:30 (except for me, of course). Someone was going to be using the USB thing for internet, so I decided to just type this up in a word document (so I wouldn’t forget anything) and post it tomorrow.
I’m good and tired, not exhausted, but I know that the 5 hours of sleep for tonight won’t be near enough. But God will get us all through the long days and give us rest in the afternoons as we need it.
I praise Him for all He has created. All He allows us to do in His name. I thank Him for the wonderful fellow Christians here in Nica and for the relationships we enjoy with each other.
I pray that everyone will get the rest they need tonight and will feel refreshed tomorrow. I can’t wait to see the blessings that He has in store for us. He is every faithful.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Sunday, 3/20 in Nicaragua
What a great day of Worship.
We were scheduled to visit and speak at 2 churches this morning and 2 churches this evening. We got a call a couple of days ago to add a church to the schedule, so we started the day thinking we would have 5 for the day. One group went to Rose of Sharon church and the other went to a new (to us) church. While waiting for the service to start, the Pastor asked German if he could 'share us' with another small church plant. We asked if anyone else wanted to 'preach' at the surprise church. Mariano stepped right up and volunteered. 5 of us, plus German went to the little church and had a great time of worship. Laura and Malorie shared their testimonies and Mariano gave a message. I spoke on behalf of VOH. They called me Pastor Vickie. They also asked at the end if I would come forward to pray over their music leader for his birthday. They also asked if we could come to another church plant at 5pm, but we were already spread between 3 churches with 2 vans, so we couldn't accommodate that request on this trip. They were very impressed with Mariano, Laura and Malorie. They think they are a great example to the youth of Nicaragua and also to adults. We enjoyed spending the morning worshiping with them.
We got back to the house before the other 2 teams and got changed for the afternoon. By then the other van came home and we enjoyed some yummy grilled chicken, rice, beans, slaw and tortilla. Then the team went out to play on the beach a little while. A few of the team helped me unpack the ministry supplies that they brought down. The VBS teams got their stuff ready for the week. A few people took naps. 2 fell asleep on the tile floor in the middle of everyone coming and going. They were really tired!!!
We got ready for evening church and did relays to get everyone where they were supposed to be going. At the Iglesia de Dios de San Felipe, where I went, Katie gave the message and Joe gave his testimony. I was blessed to speak on behalf of Voice of Hope Ministries. Everyone in the congregation was glad we came and was thankful for the work that the team is going to do this week.
We finished first (since our church started earlier), so we went over to Todopoderoso church and joined in their worship. The VBS story team has a great drama/interpretive movement thing that brought me to tears. I was so proud of them! The church erupted in applause (for God) when they were through. It was impressive. God was really working through them!
I have been loving the worship music and especially getting to see old friends at the churches. My heart is truly here. Jeremy came and gave me a huge hug. He also calls me his 'second Mom'. He and his wife Kelly are such an exciting and sweet couple! God is going to use them tremendously! Jeremy said they have missed me while I'm gone from Nica and not to do that again! I wish I could live here full time. I really feel that God is leading me to that someday soon. Pastor Oscar and his wife both gave me big hugs. She told me that I am family to them. So sweet. Sometimes people say those things in your life, but there is such a warmth to these relationships that I can feel the Holy Spirit in them. I am truly blessed.
A girl named Celeste asked that I pray for her. I had Mariano come over to speak to her and translate for me. He ministered to her and also told her what I said. Then we prayed for her. Please lift up Celeste in your prayers.
We made it home and had sandwiches and chips for dinner. The team played around for a while and then everyone turned in at 10pm. We have to be ready to leave by 6:30am tomorrow. Which means that everyone will need to be ready to go before they eat breakfast at 6am.
It will be interesting to see how our 1 shot VBS events go. We'll play it by ear. God knows His plans and we will be ready for what He asks us to do. I think it will be a lot of fun. We will definitely use our flexibility muscles tomorrow! As long as HE is glorified, that is what matters!!!
Time to call it a night. Bendiciones a todos, en el nomber de Christo Jesus.
We were scheduled to visit and speak at 2 churches this morning and 2 churches this evening. We got a call a couple of days ago to add a church to the schedule, so we started the day thinking we would have 5 for the day. One group went to Rose of Sharon church and the other went to a new (to us) church. While waiting for the service to start, the Pastor asked German if he could 'share us' with another small church plant. We asked if anyone else wanted to 'preach' at the surprise church. Mariano stepped right up and volunteered. 5 of us, plus German went to the little church and had a great time of worship. Laura and Malorie shared their testimonies and Mariano gave a message. I spoke on behalf of VOH. They called me Pastor Vickie. They also asked at the end if I would come forward to pray over their music leader for his birthday. They also asked if we could come to another church plant at 5pm, but we were already spread between 3 churches with 2 vans, so we couldn't accommodate that request on this trip. They were very impressed with Mariano, Laura and Malorie. They think they are a great example to the youth of Nicaragua and also to adults. We enjoyed spending the morning worshiping with them.
We got back to the house before the other 2 teams and got changed for the afternoon. By then the other van came home and we enjoyed some yummy grilled chicken, rice, beans, slaw and tortilla. Then the team went out to play on the beach a little while. A few of the team helped me unpack the ministry supplies that they brought down. The VBS teams got their stuff ready for the week. A few people took naps. 2 fell asleep on the tile floor in the middle of everyone coming and going. They were really tired!!!
We got ready for evening church and did relays to get everyone where they were supposed to be going. At the Iglesia de Dios de San Felipe, where I went, Katie gave the message and Joe gave his testimony. I was blessed to speak on behalf of Voice of Hope Ministries. Everyone in the congregation was glad we came and was thankful for the work that the team is going to do this week.
We finished first (since our church started earlier), so we went over to Todopoderoso church and joined in their worship. The VBS story team has a great drama/interpretive movement thing that brought me to tears. I was so proud of them! The church erupted in applause (for God) when they were through. It was impressive. God was really working through them!
I have been loving the worship music and especially getting to see old friends at the churches. My heart is truly here. Jeremy came and gave me a huge hug. He also calls me his 'second Mom'. He and his wife Kelly are such an exciting and sweet couple! God is going to use them tremendously! Jeremy said they have missed me while I'm gone from Nica and not to do that again! I wish I could live here full time. I really feel that God is leading me to that someday soon. Pastor Oscar and his wife both gave me big hugs. She told me that I am family to them. So sweet. Sometimes people say those things in your life, but there is such a warmth to these relationships that I can feel the Holy Spirit in them. I am truly blessed.
A girl named Celeste asked that I pray for her. I had Mariano come over to speak to her and translate for me. He ministered to her and also told her what I said. Then we prayed for her. Please lift up Celeste in your prayers.
We made it home and had sandwiches and chips for dinner. The team played around for a while and then everyone turned in at 10pm. We have to be ready to leave by 6:30am tomorrow. Which means that everyone will need to be ready to go before they eat breakfast at 6am.
It will be interesting to see how our 1 shot VBS events go. We'll play it by ear. God knows His plans and we will be ready for what He asks us to do. I think it will be a lot of fun. We will definitely use our flexibility muscles tomorrow! As long as HE is glorified, that is what matters!!!
Time to call it a night. Bendiciones a todos, en el nomber de Christo Jesus.
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