Before and After

It's amazing to me the way that pictures tell a story. Just simply looking at a picture can evoke a flood of memories causing us to say "hey, do you remember when?" or "wow look how different we looked." Pictures can also show us how far we've come. Taking a picture of a building project there's a sense of accomplishment to be able to look at the moments that are captured from start to finish. Overall, it's just something that I love! I love to be able to look back and re-live those memories and lately that's what I've been doing.

I've been looking over my pictures and I know it doesn't come as a surprise to anyone that they have been of Nicaragua. What started this whole endeavor was realizing how much these precious babies (who aren't babies anymore) from Bethel have grown!! Comparing the pictures I couldn't help but think about how much life has happened between this pictures and the immeasurable blessing I've received to be a part of this "life happening." The relationships that have deepened...even the voices of these boys have deepened lol...the kids that were once small enough to fit in my lap I'm now looking up to!

It's been more than just the kids that have changed. Since Vision Nicaragua has been working alongside the people of Bethel there has been major structural differences too. We used to stay in the Leon a nearby city that's about 30 min. away from Bethel. But God provided this piece of land several years ago. Our initial intention was to use this piece of land to be able to create micro-buisnesses that would be self-sustaining and help provide other avenues of employment instead of the sugar cane fields. It's been nothing short of amazing to see how God has used this Mission Center which we thought would just be for housing our groups. Nicaraguan churches are now bringing their church groups and having retreats and we're not only able to house our teams but we are partnering with other US teams and they are able to bring their teams to stay as well.

Now on to the lovely before and after pics....

Check out this picture of the church in Bethel (at least 10+ years ago)

Now... in 2011 here is what the church in Bethel looks like

Isn't that amazing?! So much has changed from that church that was just made of sticks and tin. Now, it's an actual sound structure...it's painted...and has beautiful plants growing around it.

Here's some more before and after pictures.....

My sweet little family I stay with in Bethel. 2007 is on the left and 2010 is on the right.

Mission Center Property 2007

Now in 2011

Michele

2006 & 2011

(photo on the right by Dan Squire)

My sweet little brother Tony! Love this boy! He was 9 yrs. old when I first stayed with his family and the pic. on the right was 2010. He's taller than me now and is growing into such a strong young man whose heart for the Lord is so precious!

Here's little Jairo...not so little anymore.

Josue....love this boy!

Kareli...probably the spunkiest lil girl I've ever met! I love her energetic spirit and her sweet little personality.

I just can't explain the thankfulness I have when I look at all of these pictures! It is such a story of God's faithfulness provision and just abundant joy! Although I can't show pictures of my heart I'm so grateful and humbled in how he's walked through life with me as I've been given the upmost privilege of serving alongside the community of Bethel. There have been major ways that God has impacted my heart and grown me personally through going to Nicaragua.

My first trip I was amazed at how strongly I could feel his presence in a place that has so little...I've seen how worship is not just something we do on Sunday morning...it's a lifestyle that these people so vividly live out. It was here that I feel in love with God's Word...when I first felt that I truly heard God speak to me directly! This past summer I was reminded of how dearly he loves me and loves me in the way that I can trust him with my whole heart. I can loosen my grip on my plans that I have for my life....in realizing that my life is not my own! That I am bought with the precious blood of his son and that in resting in that I more eagerly let go of control and in an act of worship present my life as a sacrifice!

So, I wrap all of this up to say that God has blessed me richly through the faces of the people you see on this blog and it's the common love of the Lord that binds all of it together. It's a testimony of what he's able to do and I think it's a natural response in looking back over this pictures to give him thanks for what he's done and what he's going to do!

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Philippians 1:6

Be Strong and Courageous

I've been wanting to start writing this blog since I've been here, but there's been so much processing going on within my heart that it's taken until now to be able to write it all out.

I can best sum up my first 2 weeks here in saying that it's been time that the Lord has used to work on Lauren! Before I came I knew there were some areas in my heart that I was not allowing God to take control over, but something I've noticed is when I open myself up to the Lord taking inventory on my heart there are things I never knew that I was holding on to on top of what I was aware of. One of my memory verses recently has been Philippians 2:13...

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him."

This verse has been my prayer since I've been here....my time here started with 24 wonderful team members from my church and I'm so thankful for the time I had here with them. Their 10 days flew by!

These are people who know me well and know my heart and where I've been so their advice is always welcomed. But, once they left the words of encouragement and what God was showing me in scripture started coming together and my time with the Lord has been so rich!

I've been reading in Joshua which is one of my most favorite books in the Bible! I read it for the first time 3yrs. ago when I was here after I graduated college and that was the summer that I can truly say I fell in LOVE with Jesus! In wanting to celebrate that and rekindle my love for him I decided to walk through it with him once more (and I'm sure not the last ) to revisit what it was about his character I learned and how he pursued me into a deeper relationship with him!

I can identify with the Israelites so well because of their ups and downs they experience in their walk with the Lord. That have def. been moments and times when I forget who is God and I start following my own game plan.

So, I began reading and in Joshua 1 is where God calls Joshua to lead the Israelities into the land God had promised them (hence why it's called the "Promised Land"). This is after Moses has just died and Joshua was his assistant. What strikes me in this passage are the strong commands that God gives to Joshua, BUT not one command is not followed by a promise!

COMMAND v.2 "...the time has come for you to lead..to the land I am giving them"

PROMISE v.3. " I promise you..wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you."

COMMAND v.4 "from the Negev willderness...(and a lot other places that are listed as where he will conquer)

PROMISE v.5 "No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or adandon you."

There's more than that but WOW...a lot of strong things he's calling Joshua to do but noting does he command without promising his presence to be with him. He promises him that he WILL NOT FAIL him or abandon him. No person can ever promise that to us! Read Joshua 1 it's incredible how God pours all of this into Joshua and then Joshua shares all these commands and promises with the Israelites!

I share of all this to say while I've been in Nicaragua these first 2 weeks I've been in my own personal Joshua 1. It's been filled with God calling me to step out to "be strong and courageous" in giving him FULL control of the areas that I know he wants to mold! All of which have been followed by him promising to step with me...to make me more like him and give me the "desire and the power to do what pleases him."

These next 2 weeks I feel will be like the second part of Joshua 1...now I get to better pour into the lives of these precious people (in a more authentic and intentional way) to encourage them and remind them on what God promises for all of us. Which in reality they already know so well....but we can all use encouragement! There are several youth in Bethel that we have planned little "dates" throughout the next 2 weeks. One of which stayed here at the project with Matheson and I last night and she is going through some significant transition in her life and it's amazing to see how over the past several days what God has been teaching me is aplicable to her situation (just how Joshua was able to share with the Israelites). I'm so thankful for those opportunities that God puts together here...the feeling of knowing you're in the exact place you need to be!!

Purpose, Promise, Prayer

Deuteronomy 4:7 "What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him?"

It's hard to believe that in only 4 days from today I will have been home a month from Nicaragua. That's so hard to believe! Today I decided to take most of the morning/afternoon and have some much needed quiet time. A date with my Savior if you will! Ever since I've been home I've been repeatedly reminded of the fast-paced culture we live in and to be quiet honest it's really a shame. I was really becoming quite accustomed to the Nicaraguan way of living which is so much more laid back and not run off of a

schedule and watch. But, that is the way life is here and I've realized that even though I don't so much care for this hustle-bustle way of life....if everything else in my day has to be structured I have to be just as intentional about spending time with my Lord. Thus the coffee date : )

I'm really not much of a reader. In fact I'm really talented in the area of picking a really

great book, start it and never finish it. However, I'm trying to work on this and actual finish a book for once. The book of choice at the moment is "Breakthrough Prayer" by Jim Cymbala. This book was recommended by my dear traveling buddy Matheson. She read it this summer while we were in Nicaragua. I kept hearing all of this great stuff from her that she'd share that she was reading and I have thus decided to read it for myself.

Basically this book is as Jim puts it: "aimed at more than outlining the

important biblical principle of seeking Gods's help. It is also about what I call

the lost prayers of scripture-the things we rarely pray for even though God has promised them

to all his children."

The chapter I read today is entitled "Breakthrough Promises." It's interested how the Lord works because this past week I've been trying to work on praying every morning on my way to work. This past week I found myself praying " Lord, I know you want to hear about everything in our lives, but sometimes I find myself being really timid when it comes to asking you for certain things." That very morning I read when I pulled in the parking lot at school out of The Daily Light. This nifty little book of scripture for everyday (check it out it's worth it). Anyways, the last verse for that morning was Hebrews 4:16 " So, let us come boldly to the throne of our glorious God..." Ok well Lord I guess that answers my question. All of that I started reading my book Breakthrough Prayer today...on my little coffee date and one of the topics Jim Cymbala hit on was how "The Lord is not some distant Creator who set the world in motion and then proceeded to ignore it. He is the "Hearer of Prayer" who made costly provision so that his people might 'approach the throne of grace with confidence.' There's that verse again. So, apparently God is trying to teach me "Lauren, come boldly to my throne." The more I thought about that it made me realize...hey, this is not like walking into your bosses office...this is my Dad!! This is my heavenly Father who drops everything just to hear me!

Not only does he want to hear my prayers he wants to answer them too! He has a heaven full of blessings he wants to pour on me...if I only ask him. Why have I not been asking?! I spent this summer watching him do some pretty incredible things and seeing him bringing his Word to life in the lives of a room full of women and our small group Bible study of young girls...why? Because I prayed for that! Why am I surprised when I call on him that he answers??

In Jeremiah, chapter 29 the ever so popular verse is found "for I know the plans I have for you says the Lord..." Most people could recite this verse word for word I think. I look over that

verse a lot of times because it is so often used and that's bad on my part, but today I saw it differently. Jim Cymbala shares this insight in his book...so I cannot take credit for any of the following lol.

In Jeremiah 29:10-14 is where God is sharing the plans that he has for his people that have been exiled to Babylon. It's here where God states that he has a plan and a purpose for the people of Jerusalem that have been exiled. That at the end of 70 years he is going to bring them back from exile.

"This is what the LORD says: "When 70 yrs. are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD., "plans to to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will see me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile." (Jeremiah 29:10-14)

Jim Cymbala raised the question in his book:

"Will the people seek God and be answered by him before or after he fulfills his promise to bring them back from captivity? The Israelites were to pray before the promised return from exile. The Lord would keep his word to them after they fervently prayed for his promise to be fulfilled. Many of us fail to call on God because we don't understand the need to pray about something God has already promised to do. Though we acknowledge that God has plans for us and that his promises reflect his grace and mercy, we don't realize that he wants us to petition him the very things he has promised! It's in response to our prayers that God accomplishes his purpose, demonstrating once again that he is a "Hearer of Prayer."

(Cymbala pg.79)

I cannot tell you how different this passage in Jeremiah looks to me know. What is there in my life that I feel God has promised to me, but I haven't been praying for him to accomplish it therefore I have yet to see him answer it? I hope this makes sense. This summer I have desperately been praying about how God is going to use me in the lives of the pe

ople in Nicaragua as well as in the lives of the people around me here in the States. My heart's desire is to live a life that reflects him and in turn causes them to want to follow after him. I feel the Lord has a greater purpose for my life than the one I'm living day-to-day, and I've been confused and frustrated why I'm not experiencing that. Well, I recently heard the quote that "Being still and doing nothing are not the same thing." Ps. 46:10 for those of you who know me has been a theme verse for me for quite some time. However, I feel as if I'm starting to realize that I'm frustrated being still, because I've not been

fervently praying for God to fulfill what I felt is his purpose in my life. And yeah..I've prayed...but not FERVENTLY! Just casual "hoping" prayer....not the kind of praying that is confidently approaching the throne of my Daddy!

This picture I think is a great representation of how we can approach our heavenly Father.

"Prayer is not some kind of heavenly lottery. Nor does the Bible counsel us to pray with an "I hope this will work" kind of attitude. Instead, we are told that prayer brings us before the throne of grace as children seeking the help of their heavenly Father. That's the heart of breakthrough successful prayer- the bold confidence that we are talking to the Father who delights to supply our needs."

(Cymbala, pg. 83)

So, much like the Israelites I'm finding myself learning that God does indeed have a purpose for my life that he has promised for me and that through prayer I can see God accomplish through my life.

"We need to realize that the promises that overflow our Bibles will overflow into our own lives as we appropriate then through prayer. But doesn't this gracious plan involving our cooperation with God detract from his glory? It doesn't for three reasons: God made the plan; God made the promise; and only God can answer prayer!" (Cymbala, pg. 82)

Pretty exciting stuff don'tcha think?!

Heros and Holas (Waves)

I've been sitting here for several minutes right now trying to figure out where in the world to try and start to update on what's been going on here. I've been learning so many different things many of which I feel like I've just scratched the surface of and when I get home I'll continue building on what God's been teaching me.

Since I last posted an update Lindsay and her brother Nicky returned home and in the same day my sister Lyndsey came and visted. It's hard to believe that her time here has already come and gone.

It was so great to have her here! She's the first person from my family to come and be apart of my life/heart here in Nicaragua. That means a lot ya know? When you get to share something so special with the people you are close to. While she was here she was able to meet the people I've been telling her about for the last 6 years and they were so excited to meet her.

One of the most memorable things that we did while she was here was take her to Corinto which is a nearby beach. Many of you have heard me talk about Yahira before....she is 24 yrs. old and I've become very close to her and her family over the years. Before Lyndsey got here they told me they wanted to do something special with her and so to the BEACH WE WENT!!

It amazes me how personal God is and how he uses even the little things we do in our day to day lives to explain his Word. I usually refer to myself as a visual learner, so maybe that's one reason he does this for me...to make sure I get it.

Well, all of that to say he used our trip to the beach to illustrate something that he's begun to teach me. One driving force behind the Lord leading me here this summer was with the desire to live life alongside the people here....day by day. In doing so I didn't really think about what all that could entail. Once you start to do that you realize the reality that people live in and how we don't live in an ideal world. It says in Isaiah 45:18 "...He made this world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos..."

The past several days however, there has been several situations that have left me feeling helpless, frustrated and slightly chaotic. It's made me question "God, how can you use me here when some of these problems are so much bigger than I am." I think that's exactly where he wants me to be actually. Because when we run out of ideas of how to "fix" things then we finally learn to depend on him and ask him for wisdom. I started reading James this week and it immediately reminded me of our trip to the beach. In James 1:5-6 is says

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind."

I'd like to share a little bit of what I've needed wisdom for.....

Wednesday night I finally got to spend more time with my adoptive family in Bethel. When I got there my "Mom" told me she needed to talk to me . So, we went to the back of the house and she started just breaking down and told me that her husband left her. Sadly enough this is not all that uncommon for her. I've been staying with their family for a number of years now and he's rarely there. He has a history of leaving for a number of days and then come back for 2 or 3 and then leave again. What made it different this time was that he finally admited it was for another woman and took his belongings with him when he left.

I sat there and listened to her share about how her heart has been breaking for herself, her marriage and her 2 children. One of which is having her 21st birthday this weekend. "If you need wisdom...ok God now is most defintely that time...I need it." We had a really great talk but there's so many layers to this situation and my heart just absolutely breaks for this family.

Accompanied with the sadness it also really angered me at the same time at the reminder of how Satan is such a deceiver and how he is lying to this father/husband that there is fufillment outside of the family that God has given him. It's incredible to think how believing his lies can destroy families. So, with this situation alone I'm learning how walking alongside people like Christ did involves both the good and the bad. This is not just a story this is their lives...if it was a story we'd be waiting for the superhero to come in at just the right time and save the day all in 30 minutes including commercials. But ya know...God is that...he is our HERO and it's times like these where we need to call on him! Calling on him in faith...not wavering but knowing that the God we are calling on "his arm is not too weak to save, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call." Isaiah 59:1. Please continue to keep this family in your prayers and I'd love for you to join me in my pray for wisdom in how God may want to use me for this family. Praise God that we do have a HERO in his son Jesus Christ.

This song is one of my favs. right now and it's gaining more significance the longer I'm here. It's by Trip Lee and it's called "Hero" Check in out at www.reachrecords.com/b2w. Hit the play button to hear the song.

Step By Step

Cerro Negro

This is a picture of Cerro Negro one of the active volcanoes in Nicaragua. The group from Bent Creek Baptist left July 2nd which left Matheson, Lindsay, Nick, and myself as the remaining family of 4. As I'm writing this Lindsay and her brother Nicky are already back home (they headed out July 9th), but this experience was one worth recapping.

Before I left for Nicaragua I was spending time with my beloved mentor and friend Patty Dorn. She shared a verse with me that I've heard countless times growing up, but she explained it in such a way that brought with it a whole new meaning for me.

Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path."

The statement Patty made was "If there wasn't darkness you wouldn't need a lamp. A lamp or think of a flashlight is used to give you just enough light to make the next step you need to take." The more I'm here the more I realize how God has designed life to be lived step by step.

This was personified through our hike up Cerro Negro. Lindsay, Josue, and I were lagging behind as we were taking time to take a ton of pictures. We could look ahead and see the rest of our group as they were bookin' it up this volcano and as we continued on the trail we saw their footprints. Lindsay has a fear or heights, but she noticed that it was easier once she placed her feet in the footprints of those who'd gone before us to get up the volcano. I thought that was a pretty good idea and decided to do the same and when I began to do so I placed my foot in someone elses footprint and my food immediately slipped. So, I began to make my own new footprints as well.

We continued on our journey and after we had been hiking for quite some time Lindsay turned around and said "Lauren! Look how far we've come!" It was true...when we turned around it was so evident the heights that we were at and it was making the trek worth it. Once we got to the top of the volcano it was even more incredible to look around and see God's creation and to be reminded of how big he is and how little I am. Yet he is interested in all the little steps that it took me to get to the top of Cerro Negro.

What a beautiful picture of life! There are people who've walked before me and the footprints they leave have aided me in knowing the Lord more or even to be able to get through a "steep" time in my life much like the trail on the volcano. Then there are those people in my life who I've followed their steps which have caused me to stumble and I'm reminded how God has a special purpose, plan and path for my life and that instead of following their steps and trying to mirror their walk that I need to follow after God and he'll take me to heights that I've never seen before. I looked back over a verse that I read probably a week ago and I'm just now catching how God was preparing me to hear his voice through this experience. There are actually several verses.

Deut. 28:1-2 "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all is commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.

Psalm 32: 8 "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. "





My "goal" for this summer has been to be able to walk away at the end of it knowing what God wants me to do with my life. I've been praying if whether or not his will is for me to do trip planning for Vision Nicaragua full time or if I'm just to continue serving the way I have been. The more I've been here the more I feel like I have no idea haha, but this experience helped me to realize that what God requires of me is to let him lead. He is totally in control and I have to remind myself that often...especially here. I do think that he speaks to us in big picture ways, much like looking at the enormity of a volcano and then realizing it takes the step by step journey to get to know him more and to fully experience his presence. In the meantime I'm finding peace in walking with just enough light for the moment and begining to learn that

"And now, Lauren what does the Lord require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. " Deut. 10:12

Dame tus Ojos Quiero Ver (Give me your eyes I want to see)

Have you ever prayed for something and prayed so specifically that when God answers your prayers with the same attention to details you're almost shocked? That's exactly what he did with the Women's Conference this past week.

Orignally, I shared with you all that I thought that God was moving us to have the Women's Conference with another village. Well, as is very common things change constantly when you are here in Nicaragua.

One of the first days I spoke to Mario, who is our project manager/our hands and feet here in Nicaragua about how we were thinking about inviting another village instead of Bethel. He had a look like "oh no" on his face and told me that the women of Bethel had been planning on us having it with them. So, I instantly knew that there was know way that we could tell these ladies "no."

My friend Lindsay and I have been working on this conference literally for months. The title was "Mesa para Dos" or "Table for Two" based on Rev.3:20

"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice

and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends."

The whole purpose was centered around telling these ladies how much God loves them and wants to spend intimate time with them. This was illustrated the first afternoon where I shared from John 12. Where God spent an itimate time with Lazarus' family. Especially with Mary when she poured out everything she at his feet. She did this in an act of worship and for his (Christ's) impending death, but we also see where she ran to his feet in John 11:32 when she just lost her brother. Mary ran to him out of her anquish and pain and then later to worship him. I love this picture in scripture about how God recieved her exactly how she was in both situations. He was exactly what she needed and he just wanted to spend time with her. He wants the same for us as well.

Thus the theme of this conference. The second day we showed the ladies how just like Mary they too can share intimate moments with God. He wants to speak to each of them personally. He is afterall a personal God! Day 2 then was teaching a method of how to read your Bible that Anne Graham Lotz teaches. There is nothing magical about this method and it is not dependent on someone else it simply shows you how to read your Bible to hear his voice..

Each day we started off with some ice breakers where the winner received a door prizes. It was some fun to see these womens have fun and enjoy being kids. Their favorites I would say were the balloon toss and musical chairs. They are ruthless when it comes to musical chairs haha.

The first day we had 35 women and we told them that the next afteroon we were going to share with them how they too can have those intimate moments with God daily...and to come back tomorrow, bring their Bible and if they didn't have a Bible bring a friend.

Day 2 we had 50 women PRAISE GOD!!! We started off again with some ice breakers and then with worship. This day we had the chairs around round tables and at each table we had them a pen, notebook, and laminated bookmark with a ribbon that explained the steps we were going to teach so they could take it home with them.

Also, just to show you how God's hand was on this Jazmina a young girl from Bethel lead worship for us and knew nothing on the topic that we'd be teaching. The song she lead the ladies in worship was "Dame tus Ojos" The whole song is asking God to give us his eyes so that we can see and to give us his words. In essence it was asking God to make us like him. It was incredible just how the Lord worked through that song. It was a great theme song for the time we had with these ladies.

After worship Lindsay started to share the 3-Questions we call it from time to time. It's reading God's Word, looking for lessons and then taking those lessons and making applications from them. She used 1 Samuel 3 where the Lord speaks to Samuel. We then after explaining the method gave them Mark 6:30-35 to try on their own. We had tables set up this day so the women were working with each other digging through God's word together. Talk about amazing.

We circled the room asking if anyone had any questions, but these women GOT IT! It was incredible to see the lessons that they came up with and how quickly they did it. There were several women who couldn't read or write, but we told me hey no problem you can do this in your mind you don't have to write anything. After we circled around for couple minutes we went around the room and got the women to stand up and share their facts, lessons and applications. I'm telling you the whole 2 days was like I was physically present, but it was like I was standing back and watching God work in the hearts of these women. You could see the hunger for the Word in their eyes. It was incredible...gets me excited just thinking about it again!

As we were wrapping it up we told the ladies "know you are the teachers....you don't even need me and Lindsay...now that we've passed on to you what has been given to us you can pass it on to others." (2 Tim. 2:2)

We were about to pray and then a lady stood up and asked if she could come up and share something. This was the pastor of Bethel's wife (I was totally floored by this) she started thanking me and Lindsay for teaching them this and then said "this is the way we need to read the Bible...I've never read my Bible like this before." After she sat down another lady came up and said "I wish I would of came yesterday, because I obviously missed a blessing due to being lazy. But today I just couldn't not come and I'm so glad I did!"

God is moving people! It's amazing what happens when I got out of the way and let God do all the work. His word is ALIVE and POWERFUL! (Hebrews 4:12) Thank you all for your prayers! I'll be updating more soon : )

Here is a video of the women worshiping to the song "Dame Tus Ojos" that I mentioned earlier.

Home Sweet Home

Hello Everyone!
I apologize it's taken me forever to update everyone. I've been soaking up every minute with these fabulous people and haven't taken the time until now to sit and write.
As I'm writing this I'm sitting in the Mission Center with our team while listening to the rain fall on our tin roof.
We arrived Monday nightor really Tuesday morning at about 2:30 in the morning. We were greeted in Managua by about 10 or so smiling faces of people from the village of Bethel. To say that it was great would be an understatement. This has been the easiest transition that I've ever had. I honestly feel like I'm back home.
One big blessing is the other 16 people that I'm working with are amazing. We have been so cohesive as a group and it has been so wonderful to see God work on each ones heart.
The day before we visited a new village called El Ensayo. These people are living under plastic, sticks and have no electricity. We gave out beans and rice and are going to go back next week to do VBS with their children.
We also went to a Special Needs school which is only about 15 minutes away. I expected to be really emotional, but that was one place that I've laughed the most. There are several different classrooms and each classroom is centered around a different disability. One classroom is for preschoolers, blind students, kids with brain damage, and higher functioning disabilities as well. The kids that are in the higher functioning classroom learn life-skills and they also make pinatas. We bought 2 from them because we have 2 team members with Birthday's this week.
The weather has been incredible too! It has been uncharacteristically cooler than I've every experienced. We did have one very big storm the other night and we were without power for a while, but luckily we have a generator so we've been running off of that.
There are more highlights of this trip that I definitely share with each of you soon. But, this post is going to be forever long if I do that. So, to end on the highlights I must say that the other afternoon when I was going through the VBS stuff I ran across the water games hooplah. Which of course distracted me and I then initiated the most serious water fight EVER! It started with the gringos and then the Nicaraguans who work on the project got involved. It lasted 1 1/2 hours! Needless to say I was soaked.
Spiritually speaking I feel as if I'm taking a step at a time and trying to follow the Lord's leading as to what relationships he really wants we to invest in. One girl who has been on my heart for quite sometime is Elizabeth (16 yrs. old). Her Dad, Leandro died about a year and a 1/2 ago and she's been joining our group the last 2 days. She has not been super talkative which I'm not used to, but it's ok. She did start opening up yesterday and would mention her Dad periodically. She noticed my Bible Study book (Navigators) yesterday and started asking me about it. So, that was totally an answer to prayer because now she's going to start coming over to the Mission Center 2 days/week to do Bible Study together. Please pray that this relationship grows if this is who God is wanting me to invest in.
Thank you all so much for your prayers! I'll do a better job of updating soon!