2Nica2Serve: Day 6, Saturday, March 7 -

Courtyard at the compound

Today was a little emotional for some of us, while others were just happy to go along and help. We not only finished the house Team 2 was building, but we also gave gifts to both pastors, David and Juan Pavon.

Equipo 1 and Pastor Juan's family

Both pastors, along with their families, expressed how grateful they were for the help along with the gift given to them.

Mrs. Gossack spent many hours teaching English to Pastor Juan's granddaughter, Keyling.

They forged a very special relationship. Here Mrs. Gossack is leaving some special books.

On Pastor David’s house (Team 2), we finished the siding with wood, while some of us played with the children of the neighborhood.

Many games were played today including soccer (futbol), volleyball, baseball, and even just running around giving piggy-back rides.

The children are very energetic and never stop playing when they have the attention and people to play with. They absolutely love to tire us out quickly; constantly moving and finding different gams to play.

By the time we were finished with the house, the children weren’t even close to being done playing with us Gringos. Most of the children followed our bus to the church, or ran ahead of us.

Finally at Pastor David’s church, we saw Edwardo do some illusion tricks constantly repeating, “…but if you have faith…,” ending it with the accomplishment of the tricks.

Mr. Goede preached a message before the quinceañera group arrived

At some point, a quinceañera party group came to the church, waiting for Pastor David to give a birthday/quinceañera sermon.

(Quinceañera is a huge celebration of a girl’s 15^th birthday. It almost looks like a wedding with her in a very fancy special dress and about 20+ younger boy and girl attendants. It was very special to be a part of this authentic celebration. See more below.)

After the quinceañera sermon was over we performed the Sin Chair and Via De La Rosa dramas/skits.

The departure was hard for me, personally, because the children had such a rooted place in my heart, making it a tearful goodbye. Over all, today was another wonderful day in Nicaragua.

Buenos Noches,

Janae Malia Tormoehlen

Hey guys,

So today we started out by waking up and eating a great meal made by our awesome cooks. After breakfast we loaded the bus and headed off to finish the houses we have been working on this week. At the first site, the other team (Equipo 1) had finished their house, so we all met the pastor. He was very grateful for the addition to his previous house, along with the other repairs which were completed. We gave the pastor a Rubbermaid tub full of supplies which they can use in their village.

Pastor Juan and his family

We all prayed with them and said our goodbyes. This was very difficult for the pastor and his family along with some of our team members.

The family was overcome with gratitude

But, we all survived the moment and we loaded on the bus to visit the other team’s (Equipo 2) house. There, we completed the house by siding it and doing some touch-up work.

It turned out very well and the pastor was very happy that we came to his village and built a house for him. Before now, the pastor and his family were sleeping in the house of a member of the church. Now, the pastor has a brand new house of his own which he said will accommodate at least 7 people. This was a major blessing for him.

Equipo 2 and Pastor David's family

We also played with the kids a ton and they loved every moment. I, along with several others, also enjoyed playing with the kids. It’s great how children can brighten anyone’s day in such a small amount of time. Anyway, fun was had by all and it came time for us to say goodbye once again. This was harder for some because of the children.

We all got so attached and it was extremely hard for us to let go of them. Some couldn’t handle the fact that we would never see the children, which we played with, ever again. We brought them so much joy and happiness and we will always remember their faces.

We hope that our ministry to them will impact their lives for Christ. Many people in the villages were very devout Christians and raised their kids in the same way. After our goodbyes, we ate at the restaurant Pollos Narcy’s. We all had some very yummy pizza and loaded the bus.

Today was also the last day that Javier was our bus driver. It has been great getting to know him and his family. I hope God uses him in very special ways. He has been a great light for Christ and will continue to be a testimony for the world. This week has been great for us and we have accomplished so much. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

Have a great day,

~Nick Wass Jackson
(NicNic was Javier’s nickname for me)