Experiencing God Personally

Friday, April 30th all the missionaries, 2 worship leaders, a translator, and 9 youth left Candelaria to go to a quite place. Lisa, Jacob, Ashley, Diego, and I had been planning a retreat for the youth for a while now. We decided from the beginning that we could only bring the youth that were truly serious about knowing Christ more. So, we started a new Bible study in which we were reading through the book of John, and we began praying. If the kids came to 5 out of 8 of these Bible studies then they would be able to come on the retreat. We prayed and prayed asking God to bring the ones that were ready. God answered our prayer!

He chose 9 kids specifically to go on this retreat, and I knew they were ready to hear God's voice. As we left for the retreat I knew God was going to do some amazing things, but I seriously underestimated His power (don't we always do that)! From the moment we got to the beach these kids were free. They were free to worship God in whatever way they wanted, free to spend time with Him without any distractions from friends and family back at home, free to tell God exactly how they felt, and free to truly experience the presence of God. It was absolutely beautiful. By the time we headed home these kids couldn't stop smiling, and they weren't smiling because they had fun at the beach. They were smiling because they had tasted a little bit of God's presence and they liked it! Our purpose for this retreat was so that the kids had an opportunity to step outside of their daily life, and truly experience God more personally. Now we are beginning to see the fruit of this experience!

Thank you to my home church, Idlewild Baptist, who helped support the retreat financially. You guys played a huge role in what God is doing in these kids lives. Also, thanks to everyone who was praying for us and continues to pray. I can certainly feel God's blessings pouring down upon me.

Softball

As you all know, I received some softball equipment a couple of weeks ago, and now I am excited to share with you guys how this will be used!!

I have grownup around sports, and absolutely love playing softball. What I love more than playing softball is teaching softball. Now I gert to teach it in Spanish! Starting May 11th I am holding 2 softball clinics. May 11th through the 15th I will be teaching the young girls in the church under the age of 14. I am excited about this because it will be a fun time to bond with some of the younger girls and teach them something new.

The following week, May 18th through the 22nd, I will be teaching the youth (14 and older). Please be praying for this week; I will be inviting a lot of girls from the community outside of the church. I really hope to see the church leadership minister to these girls and their families.

After a full week of teaching softball to the youth we will start to form a team. My plan is to hold practices twice a week. Unfortunately I will not be here when they start playing games, but I want to get them well prepared before I leave. You also better believe that I will be keeping track of my girls and that "vamos a ganar!" (We are going to win!!)

Also the leaders of the church a starting up a new men's softball team. They have wanted to start this team for a while, but never had the equipment to start it.

Please be praying for all these activities going on. Pray that God will use them to bring new families into the church and new member into the Kingdom of God. Also, prayerfully consider sponsoring a team or the NewSong Mission Nicaragua sports ministry. If we had two people sponsoring this ministry for $20/month this would be plenty to cover registration fees, umpires, and uniforms.

I am so blessed to be able to use the talents God has given me to glorify His kingdom, and I get to play softball while doing it!

God is good! All the time!

I can't tell you how good God has been to this mission recently. In the past several months there has been a lot of pruning going on. We have been getting rid of the weeds that have been trying to kill this mission, and it certainly hurt to go through this pruning process. However, we knew it had to be done, and now we are beginning to see the good fruit.

One area that needed pruning was in our kitchen staff. We have a beautiful new lady, Rosa, working in our kitchen and she is absolutely amazing. She has been an absolute blessing to the long-term missionaries here. She has truly been serving us through the Spirit that lives in her, and we get a glimpse of God every time we walk into the kitchen. She is always serving us however we need, and she does it with a smile and a song! Thank you Jesus, what a blessing she is to us.

We have also done some pruning as far as the projects going on. Linda has felt led to drop some of the projects, but just this past week God provided us with a huge blessing. We had four guys come down here to begin raising funds for our kitchen. As soon as I saw these guys praying with Linda I knew God was going to do some mighty work on their hearts. I never imagined how big of an impact it would be (don't we always think of God's power as smaller than it really is). They have already gone home, booked another flight, and started raising funds to begin construction on the bakery. They have also already down-sized their cars and condos in order to personally help out!!! GOD IS GOOD!...ALL THE TIME!!!

A third way we have seen the fruit of the pruning is in the worship here at Canto Nuevo. Some pruning had to be done, and someone new was hired to lead worship, Charlie. Charlie is definitely a man of God walking in the Spirit, and when he leads worship the church feels the Spirit moving. This has been such a good thing for the church as well as the Americans here.

One funny way God has shown the fruits of the pruning is with a baby "torro". We have been going through a stressful process of trying to get rid of the goats, and all the while we had this cow that was supposedly "pregnant". It felt like it was never going to have that baby and it finally did! Por fin!! I thought Linda was going to burst with excitement. Of course the kids immediately named it "Tommy Torro", because it definitely looks just like Tommy haha.

God is good! All the time!! I remember saying this all the time growing up in church. My minister of music (who is a ball of ex citement and joy for the Lord) would always shout "God is good!" and we would recite "All the time!" It is is so true. God is good all the time. He is good to us during the pruning, when it hurts the most. And He is good to us when we see the fruit, as we can rejoice in what God is doing. And guys, He is doing so much here! I am so blessed to be a part of it.

Psalm 52:9- " I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, your name is good."

"Thank you God for always being there. Lord, sometimes we don't understand why things happen the way they do, but God you know. And through Your scriptures I trust that you are always working towards my/our/the missions good (Romans 8:28-"And we know that all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to your purpose."). I have freedom in knowing that You have already designed a plan for this mission and for my life. Thank you God. You are good!"

Estoy Emotional!!

"Estas emotional!" (which means you are excited) is all I heard all day yesterday, and I definitely was. After dealing with some unpleasant things going on back at home, Friday morning was a breath of refreshment.

A group of four guys from Florida arrived on the property early Friday morning. They are here to shoot a fund-raising video for our house. They really have a desire to raise the funds to see the kitchen and bakery completely finished. It is always great when we have new people coming in, but these guys were especially exciting for me because they brought all my softball equipment. As soon as I introduced myself, I asked if I could see all the stuff. I was ecstatic!!! So many people from back home were willing to give, and now I am going to be able to start a softball ministry while I am here.

My idea is to hold two separate clinics where I will be inviting girls not only from the church, but also from the community. These clinics will probably last 5 days, and I will be teaching them softball as well as getting an opportunity to bring the word to them. One big part of this ministry is getting new people on the property, and involved with the church. I also have a strong desire to see some of the girls that I am playing with to help out with the clinics.

Lastly, this equipment will also help start an adult softball team for the church. They have been wanting to for a long time, but always only had baseball equipment. As you know, equipment is very expensive and these people have nothing. Now they have the opportunity to get this started as well!

Thanks to everyone who helped get the equipment here. I want to say a special thank you to Coach Peterson, Coach Fagala, my dad, and the youth at Idlewild Baptist. I know that all of you guys really participated, and you have really blessed the people here. As I was going through all the equipment and writing the church's name on everything, I was moved by the names already written on these gloves. They were all names of people I know, and I was just blessed to see people at home wanting to serve God here in Nicaragua. God is using something as simple as mailing an old glove to Nicaragua to change lives. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

Matthew 25:40- "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

Sold-Out for Christ

It has been almost two years since God first called me to full-time missions, and I can’t tell you how much He has drastically changed my life since then. After being here in Nicaragua for so long it has started to feel like home, and I began to forget what Christ had brought me out of. He brought me out of a life where I was only halfheartedly serving Christ to a life where I am completely sold-out for Him. God changed me, and I am only here today because of Him. God has reminded me of this, and also reminded me that I have to continue to completely surrender everything to Him.

“Thank you Jesus for reminding me of this. Thank you for your forgiveness and your grace. Thank you that you are always working and moving in my life. You are so good.”

God has not only been moving in my life, but He has also been doing some awesome things here. Last Sunday we saw our guard, Julio, get baptized. This mission has been praying for Julio for years now and this past week he asked Christ into his heart and now lives a new life!! He is not only our guard, but also our brother in Christ! Also, we will be taking the youth to a nearby lagoon where we will be doing baptisms. Please pray for the youth that are ready to be baptized.

We have begun a study on knowing God through the life of Jesus, and I am extremely excited about this! Tonight we will be teaching on how God is holy. Also, we challenged the youth to be reading the gospels in order to get to know Jesus for them. We are holding a separate small group study on the book of John. I also have been able to study different gospels with different individuals. These are probably my favorite parts of the day.

A door that God has also opened for me here in Nicaragua is working with something that I absolutely love… sports! I have been playing on a Nicaraguan team for about 2 weeks now, and they are actually going to begin practicing on the church’s property. My desire is to get to know these girls, and show them why I am here. I want to show them that Jesus is the most important thing to me, and hopefully bring some new faces into the church. I also have a ton of softball equipment coming on April 2^nd thanks to all of you guys! With all of this equipment coming, my heart is to host a softball clinic for the girls in Candelaria. Also, the church is now going to be able to start up an adult softball team with all the equipment. This means so much to me, because I know how God works through sports. I have seen it in my life, and in the life of my family. I have also seen God bring many families to my church at home through sports.

We still are without electricity on the property, but hopefully very soon we will be getting it. Please be in prayer for this. For the missions sake, and for my family's sake. We know that God is going to work through this situation, and we are praying that the community will take some responsibility and begin paying for their power bills. For more information on the current electricity problems and how it has affected the community take a look at Lisa Smith's blog at http://lisasmith.myadventures.org/?filename=when-simple-isnt-simple

Thank you for all your prayers and support. I am so blessed to see God's power through things He is doing here in Candelaria. I pray that my time spent here will be focused on His will, and that each and every day I am filled with His grace in order to pour out to the people here in Nicaragua. I pray also that I am also walking in the Spirit, and by His power. I love all of you, and miss you greatly.

Psalm 70:5- "Yet I am poor and needy, come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer, O Lord, do not delay."

A New Generation

Okay, I have so much to catch you guys up on, so this may be very long.

I left off Wednesday night where we had an amazing time in youth discipleship. We broke up into small groups during that time when one of the youth told me that she really wants to study the Bible with me. Diego had shared a story with the youth when I first got to Nicaragua about me studying the Bible in the car on the way to the airport with my sisters, and I think this struck something in her. So we have been reading in Mark (I finished Mark with my two sisters when I left). We read together every day at 4:00pm, and I have had some amazing time with her. It is hard to truly express what the scripture we are reading truly means to me in my broken Spanish, but I think she understands. I also make it a point everyday to ask her what is important to her in that passage. She always shares with me, and yesterday we even said a prayer together. I am excited to study the word with her, and hopefully with several other girls. I have such a thirst for the word of God, and I desire to see that in the people here.

Thursday night we had church service as normal, and Friday night we have a youth event. This was when the trouble began and I became more aware of some of the struggles these youth have. We went to the park Friday night, and a few of the youth took off without saying anything to us. They also lied to their parents, and said they were with us the whole time. This is not the safest place at night for youth to be off on their own, and the last thing we want is for one of them to get hurt. I learned a lot from the people that have been here for a while of the struggles these kids go through and the sins they are entangled in. I also, started to get a deeper desire to see this generation changed.

Sunday was Valentine’s Day, but it was also Diego’s 2 year anniversary of living here!! It was a special day for sure. We had church service on Sunday night as usual, but we also had a special time set aside to thank Diego for his time here. Several Nicaraguans got up and spoke on what Diego meant to them. Then a slide show of his time here was played. It was also Kelly and Steve’s last night in Candelaria. So, after Steve preached the church all prayed over them and gave them hugs goodbye. They truly loved being here, and I can’t tell you how thankful our team was to have them here. I hope to see them again someday, and I know for sure if I am ever in Northern California I am stopping by.

After church a group of us went to the park. Valentine’s Day here is not only a day to celebrate relationships but a day to celebrate friendship, so we all got dressed up and went to the park. I guess that is how they celebrate Valentine’s Day…kind of seemed like a letdown to me haha.

Monday and Tuesdays are our days off here, so we spent all day Monday in Granada and climbing Mombacho. It was a great day! I loved Granada, and the view from Mombacho was gorgeous. I have some pictures on facebook, but really it doesn’t do it justice. We hiked around one of the small craters, and were reminded just how big God is. We stayed at a place out by the Lagoon that night and all morning Tuesday. The water was so blue there. I got so burnt once again, and everyone in Candelaria likes to call me and all the other gringos “tomato” when we are that red. It is how they show their affection. After dropping Kelly and Steve off at the hotel we finally made it back to our home in Candelaria. It felt so good to be back, and I was definitely ready for the week.

However, I never expected to get what I did on Wednesday night. Diego spoke to the kids on respect, and in return we got a lot of disrespect. I was hurt a little bit, but really I started to become aware through this experience. I started to become aware of how in need these kids are of Jesus Christ. I became aware that so many of them still have not fully encountered the love of Jesus Christ. This hurt me so badly, and I wanted more than ever to show all these kids how loving and how great our God is. I want to share with them what Christ has done for me, and how he has changed my life. I just want to shout it out that He is the best thing that has ever happened to me!!

Thanks to all of you guys for your prayers. I also, want to thank everyone who is helping with the softball equipment. If you have anything to give you can mail it to my parent's house. There is a group coming here in March, and my parents are going to get the equipment to them. Please be praying for our group, and for all of the youth here.

I love you guys and miss all of you guys.

Psalm 40:1-3
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.

Only my second week?!

The week has just gotten started, and it feels great to be back! I cannot believe I have only been here for a little over a week.

For the past few days we have had an amazing couple here from California helping our team out. Pastor Steve and his wife have been such an encouragement to all of us, and the people of Candelaria love them so much. Last Sunday night Steve preached on the beatitudes. He taught about steps we must take in this Christian walk.

Our team also got to spend some quality time with just the two of them at the beach on Monday. Then Tuesday night Steve and Kelly delivered a suitcase full of stuff to the Vega family. This was the family who lost their home to a fire. Construction has begun on the house and now the family has many things to fill their new home. The mother was just speechless when she opened the suitcase, and the kids were filled with so much excitement even though they really didn’t know exactly what everything was. These people loved them, and cared about them enough to bring them a suitcase full of stuff. That is all that mattered, and because of Steve and Kelly this family also felt the love of Christ through them. What a wonderful experience to be a part of! I can’t stop saying how blessed I am.

Wednesdays are our youth discipleship days, and Lisa brought something to the group this week. She spoke on your tongue, and how words can bring life or death. At the end we all broke up into groups of 4 or 5 and went around and just lifted each other up with our words. It was an amazing experience for our group, and it sounded like it went really well for the rest of the groups. I know for me that I heard a lot of things I did not expect to hear. We truly can bring life to someone with our words.

“Lord, I want to do this more. I want to bring life with my words. I want to encourage those around me, and show them what they really mean to me. I want to show them how I see you in them. I want to share when I see them reaching after you in one way or another. Lord I want to bring life with my words.”

Proverbs 18:21- “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

Also, I want to make a shoutout to my amazing team here in Nicaragua!! God has blessed me with such a great community.

Thank you for all your prayers. I miss you all.