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.

2/06/10

Today was the best day so far. I woke up this morning feeling a lot better, and decided to join Ashley’s dance class. It was great to get to know the youth a little better. After going through introductions with the youth the night before, I feel like I am already beginning to be able to talk with them a lot better. I may not always understand what they are saying, but I am definitely listening. After that I spent some time with my Bible, and checking e-mails. This was definitely uplifting. I had some inspiring e-mails to read, and some uplifting verses that were exactly what I needed. God is so good, and has truly given me strength when I have asked. I can see His greatness all around me. Then we had lunch and our group met with Tommy and Linda (they are like mom and dad to the whole groupJ). We worshipped and shared. It was great to hear how everyone was doing, and to see how pleased Tommy and Linda were to have everyone here. After coming out of amazing community at Campbell, I am definitely not lacking in community here! We are going to push and grow each other so much, and I look forward to being a part of that. Then I got to play some ball!! This made me so happy. I threw the ball around then we took some grounders. I definitely felt right at home doing this, and I think they were pretty impressed with my skill level hahah. It will be my little secret that I’m not really that good. Overall it was just a great day in trusting the Lord, and seeing how much He comes through when I truly trust Him. The yoke is certainly easy. All we have to do is give our burdens to Him. God is good. I love all you guys, and miss you tons!!! Thanks for the prayers. They are definitely felt.

Santo, Santo, Santo

God is so holy, and He is so good to bring me here.

I have been in Nicaragua for four days now. We finally made it after several delays at the airport. It has been a little exhausting, adn my body has definitely felt the changes. However, I knwo that God is going to push me and grow me like He never has before.

Here is what I ahve been up to for the past four days (at least for the most part). I miss all of you guys and am so thankful for all of your prayers.

Mon (2/1): We finally got to Managua around 8 or 9. Tommy picked us up from the airport and drove us to Leon. Once we got to Leon we met the whole group (except for Ashley and Jake). We sat around Tommy and Linda's for a little while talking and praying. It is so exciting to think that God has placed all of us here together at this time. We are all excited to see how God is going to move among us, and among the community.

Tues (2/2): The next morning we explored Leon a little bit, and met a lady named Sheryl. She has a home in Leon where she takes in kids that are suffering physically. It was encouraging to see her great faith, and desire to see these children healthy. Then after lunch we drove to Candelaria!!! We were finally here, adn immediately I was introduced to tons of people. I spent most of the day just meeting people and spending time with the kids. That night before dinner we went around the community and visited a few homes. We spent a lot of time with the Vega family. Their home just burned down, and now 14 of them are livign in a very small home. However, these kids were just as happy as ever. What a blessing it was to visit them. After dinner we had a time of worship with our group. We are so excited to see a community be built among us, and to see the effects this has on the outside community. I already feel that we all have a special love for each other, and desire to see one another seeking God's will.

Wed(2/3): I spent most of the day outside with the kids getting to know them. Then Diego (one of the missionaries) asked me to say a little something at the youth service that night. So, I went to get prepared. I sat inside and opened my Bible and notes. I jotted down a few things when this boy was standing in the doorway. I recognized because I had met him the night before when we visited the Vega family. I asked him if he wanted to read with me thinking he would say no and then go play, but I was wrong. He said yes, so I brought my Bible outside and asked him what his favorite scriptures were. He told me Revelation, and I was like yes!! I love Revelation, especially Revelation 4. So, we read the chapter and together talked about how beautiful and great Christ was. I let him read on his own for a little while, and he quickly found more scripture that he like- Psalm 23. It was so moving to see a young boy, who is living with so little to be thankful for a beautiful God. He truly felt loved by God, and understood all that Christ had given him. I definitely need to spend more time just thanking God for all that He has given me. He is certainly holy and I am blessed.

Thurs (2/4): We finally got power in our house and were able to move in. We spent most of the day getting things organized and moving in. That night we had a church service...they have church Wed, Thurs, Fri, and Sat here! Yes!!! Ashley's (one of the long-term missionaries) dance class presented a few dances at the beginning of the service. It was really great, andn the kids were so happy up there dancing. Then Tommy gave a message on how great God is. Sometimes we make Him out to be so much smaller than He really is, and limit ourselves. It was definitely good for me to here because I had felt a little overwhelmed here. I just wanted to do everything right at the beginning. I wanted to learn Spanish right away, get to know all the people right away, and get involved with a ministry right away. I was trying too hard, and not trusting God enough. God is so great and I forgot all of that as I began to feel overwhelmed. Pray for me that I will seek God's guidance in all that I do, and pray for His strength and His will.

Fri (2/5): Today we had a women's Bible study in the morning. We found some Spanish copies of Captivitating, and several of us had copies in English. It went really well, and I am excited to see that grow. Hopefully this can be a time where women of the community can come together and trust each other. They can trust each other and feel safe to share. Look foward to some new updates from this Bible study in the future!