Update #5

A Su Nombre! GLORIA!

Thanks to all of you, we have safely returned from our visit to Apawas. Truly as Pastor Gomez put it, it was a Mission Extreme. We really appreciate all of your prayers for our trip because we really needed it. Even from the get go, our bus was delayed almost an hour because two buses were blocking the road. It turns out that two buses slightly nudged each other, but the delay was caused by the drivers refusing to move their buses out of the way. However, after police and local involvement, we were on our way to Apawas. And we were very lucky to have 6 brothers from Mount Olives come on this trip with us. The team leader and our favorite Nicaraguan grandpa Hermano (Brother) Sergio made sure that we were well taken care of.

The traveling was pretty harsh. Imagine one of those Blue Bird school buses elementary kids ride to school. Then add about 90 adults and some kids (max occupancy being 71). No A/C. But despite how rough the traveling conditions were, all of us were challenged to rethink a lot of the comforts that we have back in the states. For many people, this is how they travel everyday, for hours and hours at a time. Many didn’t have enough money to pay for the whole ride and were at the mercy of the bus attendant to take them to their destination. Needless to say, we realized how fortunate many of us were to own or have easy access to a car.

After two 5+ hour bus rides, we arrived in San Pedro where we were greeted by Hermano Orlando Torres from the Living Water church. After a quick bite to eat, we all purchased a pair of the local favorite footwear—rubber boots—and quickly loaded what would float us downstream an hour and a half to Apawas. These long and narrow boats barely fit our whole team. Any sudden movement would’ve emptied us all into the river.

Battling through many harsh waves, we soon floated into a makeshift dock. We were in Apawas. A long staircase led us up to a town that looked like it just came out of an old western movie, with wood boarded buildings and people riding on horses. It is mostly a farming community with many who own small convenience stores. The hottest selling item is Coca Cola. Electricity is available for the whole community only between 6 and 9 PM, so their days start very early and end early as well. It’s a very peaceful community. Most get their work done in the morning and then spend the rest of the afternoon chitchatting with friends and neighbors. Their main water source is a river that runs alongside the town. This is where they bathe, wash clothes, and even gather water for cooking and cleaning. It was so much fun running around the river with the neighborhood kids, jumping and floating down the river.

We had the opportunities to love on the kids through VBS. Many of the kids were very shy and even a bit fearful—many of them witness spousal and even experience abuse themselves. Many of the struggle with their self-esteem and accepting love from others. However, truly the love of Christ tears down all walls. Even in the short two days that we spent with them, we saw a transformation in the countenance of these kids.

More than anything, we were all so blessed by Pastor Robin. Having moved from the city to pastor this church in Apawas, he had to give up many of the comforts that he had in the city. However, being certain of God’s calling upon his life, he is serving the Lord faithfully and passionately in Apawas. We were challenged by the purity of worship that he offered to the Lord. Dancing and jumping, we saw a man almost double our age undignified before men because he knew that God was worthy. It was evident that he had such a humble servant heart as he was often first to start setting up chairs or sound equipment for service. As we walked through the streets of Apawas, you can tell he had the respect and love of the community, even those who don’t come to church. We are so privileged to have met Pastor Robin during this trip and will continue to pray for his ministry.

We are winding our time down here in Nicaragua. We can’t believe it’s already been almost three weeks since we left the states. And although only a couple more days are left here, we are fighting for every second that we have here, taking every opportunity given just to bless one more person. At the same time, all of us can’t wait to come back to you all and share many of the stories and testimonies of how God is moving in Nicaragua. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

To Him be the glory.

Update #4

Hola amigos!

Thanks for your continued prayers and thoughts of us. Today, we are sending an update on some of the things that have been going on the past couples of days.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Apawas, a small, rural community where a church plant from P.Gomez’s church resides. P.Gomez refers to this trip as Mission Extreme! We will be leaving at 2:45 AM, traveling to Managua with six other companions from Mount Olives Church. We will then catch at 4:00 AM bus to another bus station couple cities down. We will then take a bus that leaves at 9:00 AM headed towards San Pedro. After purchasing a few much needed supplies, all sixteen of us will hop into a boat for a 3-4 hour ride to Apawas. We are hoping to arrive at our destination by 6:00 PM, but as we have realized in our other travels here, ETAs (estimated times of arrival) are very, VERY flexible.

Amidst our preparations for Apawas, God has taught our team a very valuable lesson. We’ve actually been running into a lot of difficulties getting everything worked out for our trip—problems securing transportation to San Pedro, inability to get in contact with P.Robin (the pastor of the church in Apawas), possible inclement weather conditions, etc. P.Gomez last night sat us down to give us an update on the plans. He was sharing that he would feel terrible if he had done something late or incorrectly that was the cause of many of these conflicts, but he expressed that he had done everything on time for this trip, and yet they are experiencing these issues. With sincerity and humility, P.Gomez was wondering if perhaps this trip wasn’t God’s will. He was wondering if God had other plans for us. Therefore, instead of trying to run ourselves ragged trying to find other ways to get to Apawas, he called the church pastors, elders, deacons, as well as the Mission Extreme team to a time of prayer and fasting. So we did.

Last night, reminded by Isaiah 62:6, our team placed watchmen on towers all night, seeking the Lord. Taking one hour shifts, the team lifted up prayers, not necessarily asking the Lord to send us to Apawas, but rather asking the Lord to reveal His will to us so that we can be obedient. Praying all night, we gathered together with the others this morning to pray. One of the brothers who will be leading the team, Brother Sergio, shared some great news. He was able to get a hold of P.Robin this morning at 7 AM—the very same hour we ended our all night prayer—and that all the plans have been set for us to go. I think all of us we were ready to accept whatever God had planned for us. And by His grace, we are able to go and visit our brothers and sisters in Apawas. Gloria a Dios!

It is times like this that we are reminded of Proverbs 16:9 – The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. We have learned that no matter how good our plans may be, that unless they are the plans of God, nothing can happen. We pray that all of you can learn and apply this lesson in your personally lives.

We will update you again with many stories and testimonies from Apawas. In the meantime, please keep in prayer the following topics:

1. Pray for traveling mercies (as you can tell from the details above)
2. Pray for health and protection. The conditions in Apawas are a bit rougher than it is here in El Crucero. Especially with water, we must be very careful with what we are exposed to.
3. Pray for Pastor Gomez. Last night, before prayer meeting, P.Gomez had spent about two hours in the hospital. He had eaten a soup for lunch that had shrimp in it. He is severely allergic to shrimp. By midday, his face started to swell up. His wife called an ambulance and had him taken to the hospital. The doctor said had he been 30 minutes late, the results could have been fatal. With much gratitude and praise for His grace and mercy, P.Gomez led us in a passionate time of prayer. We ask that our brothers and sisters raise up watchtowers of prayer of P.Gomez and his ministry here.

Update #3: (08Jul10)

Aloha family and friends! (Oops, wrong country) ☺

Same team! Those are the couple of words that have been running through my head ever since we’ve been here. Even though there have been funny moments with the language barrier, being able to play soccer together and serve together has really shown us that we truly are one team: one family. In the words of Pastor Gomez, we want to not only know people’s names and faces, but know their homes, their lives, their stories.

On Wednesday, the Jovenes of Mount Olives took us out to explore the country a little more. We visited an active volcano (there was a lot of coughing at the top), went to another church for lunch, and visited a beautiful lake, where a couple of the students rode horses… and I was on a donkey. Before moving on, I just wanted to say how blessed I was by the other church that prepared lunch for us. They prepared lunch for 40 of us with one phone call and two days notice. They’ve never even met us! But they were so welcoming and loving: it truly shows that people here believe in the universal church, that we are all children of the same God, our Father.

As I mentioned before, this week is dedicated to VBS (Vacation Bible School). Everyday from 1400-1700, we meet with about 140-150 children from the ages of 3-13. We start out the days by singing songs and teaching motions. Then, we move on to stations (of which there are four). The VBS kids play games, eat snacks, learn dances to songs, and make crafts. After we wear them down a little, we meet back together to review the songs and motions before they go home. Although draining, it is very exciting to see changes in these kids in such short time. Oh, the power of beginning and ending our work in prayer.

What God has shown me these past few days has been amazing. I see that the team is faithfully enduring through physical tiredness – and even sickness (mild stomach problems) – working through language barriers, and really trying to build one another up. They are doing such a great job and I don’t think they will comprehend how proud of them I am. We’ve witnessed some of the kids returning from a day’s worth of VBS completely changed: no longer timid or withdrawn, but enthusiastic and excited to learn about God.

Tonight, we will be celebrating the women of Mount Olives (and our 3 JCA women) with a special service. They will be receiving manicures, massages, and eating a delicious dinner that the brothers will prepare. We expect about 40-50 women to be there with us.

Prayer Requests:
1. There haven’t been any major illnesses. Please continue to pray for physical protection.
2. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Be ready in and out of season.” P. Josh will be preaching his 2nd and 3rd unexpected sermon this weekend. Please pray for him to be used powerfully. I will also be preaching again this Sunday. Please pray for us.
3. Saturday night, our team will combine with the Jovenes to host an evangelistic event. Please pray that our love for each other will represent Christ’s love for us.

Update #2 - Buenos Dias!

Thank you for your prayers! This weekend was absolutely amazing! Ever since we got here, we have been doing outreach – mainly playing soccer and talking, playing with the kids while watching on the sidelines.

Saturday was very much spent still getting situated. After a morning of breakfast, devotionals, and relaxation, we played more futból in the afternoon. We went to the same field as Friday but no one was there, so we walked 10 minutes to a different field. When we got there we saw a bunch of teenage boys playing soccer in mud mud mud. It had rained the night before and the dirt field was covered with water. A few of our team boys played with the Nicaraguans, and because they didn’t have any cleats, there were more than a couple slips into the mud.

On Saturday evening, there was a service with the jóvenes. It is sort of like their version of JCA’s Quest (although it is pretty different, it is a night for their jóvenes to come together and worship). We’re having a great and blessing time getting to know the youth.

Sunday was our official ministry kick-off. Mount of Olives has a carnival-type event for the kids twice a year. So all the kids involved in Sunday school every Sunday came and were able to win prizes with talents. We had our first performance: our chair skit for the kids. The kids loved seeing the colorful balloons and posters and they absolutely loved the candy and prizes.

Sunday afternoon was the Tourneo de Futból!!!! There were 8 teams competing against each other. The mission team was split up into random teams. We got to connect with new people from El Crucero. Getting to interact with the Nicaraguans from El Crucero has been definitely eye-opening. Our first night here, P. Gomez gave us some background info on the church members of Mount Olives, just for us to take into mind the context and the people of our ministry. He informed us of the prevalence of dysfunctional families and the prevalence of child abuse. El Crucero is a more rural part of Nicaragua, therefore a little more traditional, patriarchal society. The men of Nicaragua have been known to be absent in their families and mostly, it is the women having to work and raise the children by themselves. With overworked mothers, the kids miss out on the attention that they need from their parents. It has led to low self-esteem and lives in a misguided direction. Our soccer ministry is to specifically reach out to the kids who don’t have a Godly community to help them and love them. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity to reach out to these very same teens. P. Gomez has been reaching out to a specific group of boys in the area for about 6 months. There are about 50-60 teens near the location of the church but of those, there are about 25 who don’t come out to church. As a result of the soccer tournament, the specific group of boys came out to church for the first time yesterday. There were at least 14 of them. It was extremely touching and blessing to witness P. Gomez’s heart for the youth, to witness his heart being so moved by the evident work of God right before our eyes.

P. Nate’s Sunday sermon was on Luke 15: the story of the prodigal son. It was so fitting for the boys that were there for the first time. P. Nate spoke about God’s relentless pursuit of us, never giving up on us, even with all our baggage. God has truly been moving in small and big ways. We pray that our ministry here isn’t so much about what we think we have to offer for the people, what we think we can teach the people, but sincerely we pray that our ministry here will solely be the overflow of God’s love in us for the people of Nicaragua. We want to be able to discern what the people need, and what God wants us to do for His people.

So please pray for:

1. Our ministry to truly be out of the overflow of the Spirit.

2. This week. We will be doing VBS for about 100-150 children everyday. We are hoping for the children to really experience the love of Christ, but we are also hoping to use this as an avenue to get their parents to come and experience the same love.

3. The partnership in the Gospel with the jovenes at Mount Olives. We want to be like one family as we reach out to the people of El Crucero.

Hola from Nicaragua!

Thanks to all your prayers and thoughts, we have arrived safely here in Nicaragua. As soon as we landed in Managua, we were pleased to be greeted by some very familiar faces – Sarah and Pastor Gomez (as well as a new friend Luis). Since that moment, the people here at Mount Olives Church in El Crucero have greeted us with much love and hospitality. An hour drive from the airport, we were greeted by a big crowd that had decorated and prepared the church for us. Many of them shared from hearts their excitement for our visit, and they even prepared a dance for us. Their eagerness to welcome us made us feel as if we had actually come home from a long trip.

We are all taking strides toward making this place our home for the next three weeks. We are so blessed to have our own beds. And the weather here has been so nice. A cool, gentle breeze wakes us up in the morning and puts us to bed. The occasional rain shower to cool things down is also a great plus. We have been greatly blessed by Senora Argentina who works so hard to cook us delicious meals everyday. Needless to say, none of us have found it hard to be a happy member of the clean-plate club.

Most of the time so far has been dedicated to one passion of the people here – futbol! Whether enjoying the world cup matches with folks here or going out to the neighborhood and rubbing shoulders with some of youth, we’ve enjoyed our fair share of futbol here. Seeing a big group of non-Nicaraguans playing in the dirt fields definitely drew a crowd. We split up into two teams and integrated with many of the students who were playing on the fields. Despite the language barrier, we soon were speaking the common language of futbol. Recognizing one another by shirt color and basic facial features, we were able to give-and-go up and down the dirt field. For most of us, our awkward ball handling was no match to the oh-so-natural finesse of the youth here, but nevertheless, their welcoming spirits made the game very enjoyable. Sarah shared with our team how a simple game of futbol could be transformed into a powerful tool for ministry. She led us to a group of young men who played with us and invited them to a soccer league that we will be hosting with the Mount Olives Church, and just like that, we had invited 8 people to an event where the gospel could be shared.

We are already learning so much from the trip and can’t wait for what the Lord has in store for us. Please continue to remember us in your prayers. A few specifics are…

1. Continued prayer as we transition into living life here.

2. Our first Sunday service with the congregation of Mount Olives will be tomorrow. Please pray for the ministry that will go on during the morning Sunday school and evening Worship service.

3. Pray for our partnership with the youth at Mount Olives. There are a handful of youth leaders who plan and prepare much of the ministry that occurs here. Please pray for knitting of hearts and spirits so that we may effectively love and serve the people around us.