Day 8 - Thursday - Serving at Taellor's House, Dedication and Church

What a blessing it has been for me to experience Nicaragua with my family and friends.  As the week has progressed and we have poured our energy into the construction projects, VBS, drama performances, Bible studies and more….those friends have now become FAMILY.  The gifts that each of them bring to the team vary in so many ways.  And seeing how God has made each of us so perfectly different is an amazing blessing.  I have found so much joy in the little things and my continual gratitude for all the men and women who serve us gringos behind the scenes.  Not having to cook for the last seven days J has made doing dishes for them at the end of the night a blessing to be able to give back.  I don’t know about you, but dishes usually are the last thing I get joy from.  Eddy, our bus driver, has been fantastic.  I’m not sure why anybody would want to drive here, especially a bus.  He has a continual smile, never seems frustrated, and is probably the only one who does NOT honk his horn at all the crazy drivers.

As Amber and I have prayed each night for the team and different employees at Project Hope, God has been faithful to answer the prayer in so many ways.

Today was the first day that our team did not split into two teams.  Having everyone together made the day seem like a blessing in itself. 

 

We started our day walking up to Taellor’s House which is a school in memory of Taellor, Travis and Tami’s daughter.  Women are able to drop of their children while they work or learn a trade in exchange for child care and donated hours to the project.  What a blessing!

 When you're too little to run fast during "Duck, Duck, Goose",

you get carried!

Silly songs are fun for everyone

 

We had the opportunity to sing songs, play games, make bracelets and share a Bible story.   Watching my own kiddos interact with these children touched my heart (and my eyes). You can read more about Taellor's House on the Project H.O.P.E. website at http://www.pjhope.org/home

 Later we loaded up on the bus and were off to our next adventure. 

We dedicated Pastor Patricia’s home, left household gifts and headed to VBS, which is always an adventure with all the children.  They love to run….so “Q” spent a lot of time running to the bus and back with a pack of kiddos following him.  McKinlee fit right in, loving on all the children and making a connection with all the girls her age.   The girls and older ladies loved to touch her long blonde hair and requested for her to wear it down, they poured out love to her by giving her jewelry. 

 

We had prepared 100 crafts for VBS but even that wasn’t enough,

so we had to hurriedly cut about 20 more pieces of yarn.

 

Everyone was invited back for the church service to hear the World of God by both Pastor Patricia and Mr. Goede. We again performed our Chains drama that brings all eyes and mouths wide open.   

What I have noticed here in Nicaragua is the vast differences between the three services we have been a part of.  God is so good for us to be able to witness the energy that the Nica people pour into worship.  We may feel uncomfortable with different ways of worship; however we are serving the same God.  My continual prayer will be for the word of God to be accurately taught to all nations, churches, pastors, and congregations.  May we learn to find joy in our differences and seek to love Him more?

-Kristi

 

 

 

Thurday's Post coming Friday morning

Because we got back to base so late tonight, today's activities and pictures will be posted tomorrow (Friday) morning. Please check back then!

Day 7 - Wednesday - House #2 Finished

“You mess with the bull, you get the horns.”

It was nice to see Pastor Patricia’s house completed today. After the many setbacks we had on the first day I was not sure that we were going to be able to complete the house in three days like we had planned. But Team Two worked hard yesterday and was able to finish the roof and all of the blocks, so all that left us was the siding. We were able to make short work of that and finished the house before lunch.

Quinton making concrete the Nica way

Amber and Joanna

The "Sun Team" finished the house today

The ride back to the church

We could have probably finished the house a lot sooner but we had about ten four-legged distractions out in the field. At first our interactions with them were innocent enough. But then it became obvious that our buddies did not have harmless intentions. It started out with Quinton and Joanna trying to put their hats on a bull calf, but he was too shy for them to get close enough. Then Quinton tried it on another more curious yearling, causing both cows run to the other pasture. A few minutes later after the cows became comfortable with us again they wandered back over to where we were working. Quinton again went after the yearling bull, managing to throw his hat around one of the bull’s horns. I however had my sights set on another bull. This one was the largest  (besides the one chained to the largest tree on the property) and was probably three times the size of the yearling. As I began approaching him it was clear that he was avoiding me, but that did not deter me. Eventually he and I were face to face. I began to walk towards him with my arm extended and as I reached to place that hat on his head, he decided that he had had enough and that it was time for me to get out of his way. I was quick enough to grab his sharp horns and push his head off its course and scramble to safety.

 

I guess I had just not had enough, because the next time he came near the house, I was at it again. This time, however, I decided to try a different strategy. I approached him at a slight angle this time, so if the opportunity presented itself and I had mustered up enough stupidity, I could try to throw a leg over him. But before I could do that, the bull flipped his head around and gored me right below the shoulder. Thankfully, they were able to get me to the best hospital in Nicaragua, where they gave some antibiotics for the wound and set my broken arm. No, no, no, I’m just kidding! I’m fine. (This paragraph is not true – just a joke!)

VBS was insane today. We had about 70-80 kids, over twice the number of kids we had yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised if the number were to double tomorrow.

A full house for VBS

Craig and Kristi were Eduardo's "puppets"

It is encouraging to see the kids telling their friends about the gringos and inviting them to VBS. Also, I saw a lot more teenagers than usual attend today. Other than that today was pretty uneventful.

Vale

  


Today was a nice hot day of walking up and down the street talking and telling people about the VBS that was going to be happening that afternoon.  Clearly, it was successful because there was almost double the amount of kids today than yesterday.  Some of our group had the opportunity to go and talk to the kids in the school which was amazing.  Normally the school would not be allowed to let people in to talk about Christ since it is a public school, but because the principle is a believer she let us talk to all the classes.  We went to every classroom, which was only four rooms and told them why we were here and what we were doing.   When we walked in the room, the kids’ faces lit up.  Not every Nicaraguan kid gets to see a group of Montanan gringos every day.  We continued walking through the streets, talking and inviting people, as well as helping the translators with their pronunciation and trying to get Tim to roll his “r’s”

At the VBS, there were tons of kids and they were so excited to play the games and they absolutely loved the balloon animals and shapes we made.  It was so hot that the balloons kept popping throughout the afternoon. We finally had to just say “no mas” (no more) or we could’ve been blowing up balloons for another hour.

Such beautiful little faces



All went smoothly until the table with our water and Gatorade collapsed, but other than that it was amazing to see how happy the children were.  

On the way home, we were following a large truck carrying a backhoe. It stuck up so high that it snagged a power line that crossed the road. Thankfully, we weren’t going very fast because Eddy (our bus driver) had to stop very quickly when the power line dropped way down low in our lane. Those who were riding in the front of the bus saw it and heard the two big pops of electricity. After several minutes of waiting for the traffic policeman to decide what he wanted to do, we were able to back up and get into the other lane and pass under the line and continue home.

-Macy

 This morning Konnor and I went out to houses near the church to invite people to VBS and the service on Thursday evening.  The last house that we shared at had about 6 women and many children in the family.  Konnor shared about the upcoming events and then Patricia asked me to pray for the family.  We prayed for God to provide and guide for their family, that God would give them a desire to know Him and that they would come to know Jesus Christ.  

After we left, our translator, Eduardo, talked with Patricia, the pastor of the church, and she told him that two of the ladies in that house were witches.  Patricia has been teaching one of the daughters in the house about Jesus.  She said that when we started to pray, one of the witches tried to rebuke us to keep us from praying, but that she literally could not speak up.  This sure reminds us how the power of Jesus Christ, Who is in us, is greater than he who is in the world.

Thank you for your prayers for our team as we see daily how God is protecting us and guiding us and leading us on this trip.

Gerry

Day 6 - Tuesday - Heart Challenges

Today goes down in the top 10 of dirtiest days of my life. Our team (team B) spent the day working on our second house of the trip.

The street to the new building site.

You can see why we're so dirty when the wind blows.

Covered in several millimeters of dust that could have doubled for sunscreen, and a perpetual flow of sweat from every nook and cranny, our team along with several Nicas were able to make quite a bit of progress in one day and team A will likely be able to finish everything up tomorrow.

 Finishing up the roof

 

 Mckinlee

By our American standards, these “houses” would be best described as a small barn, maybe big enough to board two horses, yet to the pastors here they are the culmination and answer to years of prayer.

When we were building the first house I viewed it simply as an activity that was scheduled for us to do while were on this mission trip. Upon completion of the first house yesterday, we all met with the pastor and his family to pray with him and welcome them into their new house.  The pastor’s wife, who had yet to have spoken to us during the three days that we were working alongside her and her family, expressed her gratitude for us in tears and told us how she had prayed for this “dream house” for over thirty years. Hearing her say those words and seeing the impact that it is on her life is something that I cannot describe. Seeing how these past several days of work can change the lives of an entire family for years to come and provide an answer to prayer is incredibly impactful and makes every second of discomfort more than worth it.  

Many of you know that I was very anxious about coming on this trip. In all honesty, not much of me wanted to come at all. My main motivation was obedience and my attitude was one of endurance rather than that of giving or excitement. I cannot say that my attitude has completely turned around and that I am ready to move my small family to Nicaragua, but I can say with absolute confidence that God is softening my heart through these people and children. Please pray alongside me that I would continue to want to be molded by God. In the past two years I have been built up in my own pride by my accomplishments and surrounded myself with comforts and pleasures and have feared if I say , “God, you can do whatever you want with my life”, they may be taken away. Again, this fear is not gone but God is working on my heart, and I want to want to be molded by God in whatever ways He has.
 

Tim, after a day in the sun and wind

 

Love and miss all the family – from those at New Beginnings to those in California.

-Tim

 

There are a few things in life that tend to “get on my nerves.” One of them is people on their cellphones in checkout lines and another is “door to door” salesmen. Both can seem to be an invasion of space and a little too forward for the majority of people.

Tricia's team

Amber's team

However, I have come to see much blessing in being faithful to seek out those who are lost in what we would sometimes see as a very “forward and uncomfortable” fashion.

Today was my third round on the evangelism team and I am falling more and more in love with trusting God’s hand and leading as I interact with the people of Nicaragua in their homes. In my journal I have tried to capture in words the “look” of Nicaraguan homes, but I confess I fall terribly short. While walking into a Nica home I guess you could say they are a Technicolor hodge-podge held together with barbed wire, black tarp and a lot of love. I have been humbled to enter these broken down homes where I have been offered their best chair and glass of Coca-Cola. It has been special to be given a tour of their family via worn and faded pictures on their walls that they display with such pride.

Even though the main objective of our evangelism walk is simply to invite kids to Bible club in the afternoon, you would be surprised at how many families are thirsty for an encouraging word and a time of prayer…Even from a stranger from Montana like me!

I was especially touched today by a young woman named Gabriella who lived at the end of the street I was evangelizing on today. Not long into our conversation her eyes began to well up with tears as she said to me that she feels so far from Jesus. She cried that she has not been to church in a long time and she is afraid that it is too late to get close to Him again.

I shared with her that God Himself has the very hairs on her head numbered and that God doesn’t have a calendar with a due date or a wrist watch that runs out of time for those that are still seeking Him. She cried again and we prayed together. We prayed that her heart would be at peace as she finds rest in the one true God who made her and then sent His one and only Son to die for her. She held my hands and said that she had been praying that God would send someone into her life to help her with her loneliness and to remind her that He cares for her.

I was in awe that God brought me from nearly 4,000 miles away knowing that I would be in this very time and place to speak to Gabriella. Please pray for her! She is so lonely and needy for the love of God to be known in a real way. Pray that she will get plugged into one of the nearby Bible churches where she can make friends with women who know and love the Lord. I could not help but think of Mordecai’s words to Esther when he simply stated, “For such a time as this.” All too often we miss a blessing and an intentional opportunity to impact someone because we look over the hand of God that has brought us somewhere for a specific time and a perfect purpose. I am reminded once again not to take lightly the timing of people and circumstances that fill our lives. All are far too perfectly crafted by the Potter to take for granted.

Bible club today was a HUGE blessing (as always)! After every Bible club I want to grab the whole bunch of kiddos and take them home with me! They are the most grateful, enthusiastic and friendly group I have ever known. They love to share hugs, high-fives and foot races with you every chance they get. In a place where there is very little, every expression of kindness and compassion is so well received. There are countless moments that I will simply ponder in my heart because words just can’t do the experience justice!

 

Though I have been covered with dust, sweat and bug bites from head to toe, I would do it again in a heartbeat just to invest with these kids and their families just a little bit longer! God has been so good and I feel ever changed for having had this chance to play a small role in “kingdom building” in Nicaragua. Thank you for all your prayers! They have held us in big and small ways!

-Tricia

Cutting up firewood

 

Our newest "facilities"

Day 5 - Monday - "Be Fluid"

Today, we are off to a new week filled with excitement and anticipation.  Most are tired but show little of that in their outward appearance as the joy of the Lord is taking hold of our attitudes.  As we gather each morning it is as we are growing more each day in the Lord. I hope and pray that this is a transformation of each one’s heart towards His people and the work He has for us. 

Today was a good example of a Nica day; it started out all good.  We made our way to pastor Jose’s house where team B was dropped to finish up construction. That was all good. (I will let Grace share for Team B)  We (team A)then went in the bus to the new construction site - or so we thought.  However, we found ourselves at pastor Jose’s church with no staff from Project Hope, with no clue what to do or where to go. But we knew we were not in the right place. “Be fluid” was beginning to become our saying for many of the bumps in the road.  Really, I was seeing it as an opportunity to see how God was stretching me and moving to trust His plan. 

So, while we waited for our situation to get straightened out, the family across the street invited us into their home.  We heard the testimony of this family: how they are all Christians; mom is a missionary to the drunk and drug addicted; father is two years in his walk of seeking after Christ’s will. He is raising the family as a construction worker, traveling far for his work. So the family has to be cared for as both parents are gone a lot.  This is such a norm of hardship here in Nicaragua; the difference here is God is the salvation as they go through suffering now.

Okay, so we have a plan now again:  load back up in the bus and head just down the road to the construction site.  Well, this term “just down the road” or “near” is relative in Nica terms!  After another substantial bus ride, we find ourselves on a dusty road with a few houses.  We found the usual sight - poles standing in the air and blocks in the ground for a foundation, a pile of sand and cinder blocks in a neat pile. 

We jumped into full action, hammering nails, backfilling foundation, moving blocks to the center of the house in preparation to start setting the first row of blocks on the foundation.  One problem though… no power to continue with roof construction. I guess a generator would have come in handy.  Welcome to construction in Nicaragua!  But it was time to pack up and head back to team B for lunch anyhow so this was all in God’s timing. It was all good.  I was thanking God because it was so hot and dry, no shade and we had very little water there. 

After lunch with Team B we gathered at pastor Jose’s house to pray with him in his new home.  This is always a special time with emotions of joy and sadness as we say goodbye to new friends. 

 

 Pastor Jose's wife shared her tearful gratitude for  this "dream" house

and how God had answered her prayers of many years.

 

We then loaded up again and headed back to pastor Jose’s church to do VBS with the kids.  This being our third day, it is  becoming a reunion of new found friends God has placed in our lives and hearts as we strive to serve and serve with an attitude to a holy God.  The Nicas make this so easy, though, with their smiles and hugs, young and old.  I was no more than 50 feet down the street we were entering and I had a baby girl reaching out to my arms to be held.  Such a beautiful place God has brought us to serve. Or are we being served? I’m not sure.

VBS was a blast! The kids were great,  parents were trusting and happy to share with us.  The little Nicas ran, and I mean literally ran our kids to exhaustion up and down the dirty streets. 

Pat with Nicole, Marciella and Salita 

 The kids were mesmerized with the Sin Chair drama

The girls show off their craftiness

After a break and some dinner at Tip-Top Pollo (like our Kentucky Fried Chicken), we found ourselves on another hunt to get back to the church again. You can see by now how this can get to be a little edgy for those of us that like to be on time and to those back seat drivers out there.  Remember “ be fluid”,  God is in control.

Back at the church again we found it nearly full for a sermon, music from the Gringos, and the Chains play. Though we were all somewhat nervous about performing,  it went very well, a performance that only God could orchestrate. Gerry shared a message from John with the crowd as well. 

Many lives will never be the same because Bozeman and Nicaragua came together in the dirt streets to share what God’s love and Good News have for them as we all live in Faith.

On a final note -  please continue to pray for the team to find the strength each day to physically and spiritually have the energy to serve Christ, and to search their hearts for what God has for them in the mission trip.  And also to see how He is refining them to further his kingdom now and after we get back to our normal lives.

Thank you and God bless every one of you. We can feel and see your prayers transforming the lives of Team New Beginning Bozeman as God is so faithful.

-Craig

 

 

Team B had less surprises today than team A. As we came together to complete the house for pastor Jose, it was moving. This was our last day with his family and the day they could finally call the house we were building their own home. It was a bitter sweet moment for the whole team as joined together to drop off our gifts to the pastor’s family  and pray with them. Hearing their family thank us and sharing how blessed they were, was very impactful. We were able to see how gracious and happy they were with something we view as so very little. It put into perspective what really matters in life and how we take what we have for granted. I am sure our whole team can agree that we all feel thankful for having this opportunity to be a part of their lives and see their love for God.

At the end of the day we attended pastor Jose’s church, took part in the worship and performed our Chains play for the second time. Again, the play went great and being able to hear the Nica’s worship was an experience to remember. They were so into the music and sang loud even though there was no background music. They were there to worship God and you could see that.

In the end, today was a great day. Despite the unexpected surprises, we all saw God working around us today.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support throughout this trip. We truly appreciate it and are so grateful for you. Please continue to pray for us as out trip is quickly coming to the end, that God will continue to work through us to the Nicas.

 

- Grace

Day 4 - Sunday - Church and Street Ministry

Today, my thoughts are (and have been) sandwiched between two passages, the first being: “Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Phil 1: 27)

Honestly, today was another day outside of my element: we performed one of our dramas in front of the church, did door-to-door evangelism and put on a VBS for the little children of Nicaragua. All things that are incredibly outside the comfort zone of my personality (and consequentially, not necessarily things that I’m going to be talking about today, but my home-boy, Quinton will). If I am being honest, these events are things that make me squirm and feel like throwing up: being the center of attention is next to have the noro-virus (for me) something I hope that I never have again. BUT if I am being honest, I have to be grateful for these moments of discomfort and awkwardness for a few reasons:  1) because they are GOOD exercises -  exercises that serve as a reminder that I can’t do everything (or most things) on my own, that in my weaknesses God is glorified and that I am a flawed being. If there’s one thing Nicaragua has been reminding me is that there are so many areas in which I fall short and many of these areas are unattractive and sinful: be it an unwilling attitude before a drama, a harsh word (or words), panic at the thought of having to actually vocalize my beliefs to a stranger, the nagging thought that “I haven’t prepared enough/don’t know enough to witness to anyone about my faith”,  the thought that “if we get lost on our way to church, we won’t have to stand in front of the church and do this drama and I’ll be free!”, or putting myself before others. But it has also been soooooo good in reminding me just how much I need the grace of God (and how easily I fall into a false view of myself) and in reinforcing the different roles of the Church body (Romans 12). I can’t even begin to vocalize how awesome Dore and Tricia are: watching the ease and gentle confidence that they have as they evangelize and interact with the children has left me encouraged, yearning for that ease and transparency and yet, so unbelievable grateful that each team member has a unique gift.

Which brings me to the second passage that has been on repeat (it’s a bit long, so bear with me):

“Now, for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge and in your knowledge, self-control and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness and in your godliness, brotherly kindness and in your brotherly kindness love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless  nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things you will never stumble. “(2 Peter 2:5-10)

Just a gentle, not so subtle reminder, of what our growth in Christ should look like. And a good konk on my head that if I am growing in self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love (among others) that these qualities render me useful, fruitful and bear witness that I haven’t forgotten the depth of the sins from which I have been saved.

Soooo if you only want to read a short summary of what I’m learning:  I thought I already loved the people I am serving with (and some I did ;)) but as I have been praying for team unity, God has answered my prayer and grown me in love for my team. I have grown in appreciation of the gifts that each person has brought, and is bringing to the table, which has made me love them even more.
-Joanna                                                                                       

 

Today our team went to the Petra Iglesia (Church) and it is much like many in the States.  This church was planted by the Cox family who moved back to the U.S. last fall and now have their kids enrolled at Heritage Christian School in Bozeman.

The team with Pastor Hamilton and family and an elder and his family.

Tricia and Amber with Pastor Hamilton's wife, Jill.

 

Tricia with Daniel, one of Isaiah Cox's friends.

(Tricia teaches Isaiah in a couple classes.)

Our team performed the Chains play there and it was nice to see that there were Elders at the church.

 After that Pastor Hamilton and his wife, Jill, treated us to pizza at a building near the church.

We came back to the compound and got ready for VBS. There we split into teams and went around the neighborhood asking people to come down to the statue on the side of the road where we were going to meet. There were about 30 kids and parents showed up later.  

 

We played dodge ball in the street, played with the parachute, made balloon animals and the little girls got their nails painted. Amber shared the gospel with the Evangi-cube and we did the Sin Chair drama.

Many people heard about the gospel today and we also got to minister to the locals playing soccer afterwards! The “gringo” team included me, Eli, Konnor, Vale, Tim and one “Nica” kid against some Nica men in the village. That was my favorite part of the week so far! (Oh, they beat us 2-0)

Tim is giving a soccer ball to the village men, just before our guys joined them in a game.

This week, my other favorite moment  was in VBS in Masaya where I was able to give a boy who is also my age (13) my “I love moose” hat. He was looking at it all afternoon and was really excited to have it!

I have had a changed heart to the Nica’s – they are very welcoming and nice and full of energy…and, they love touching your arm hair J

-Quinton

 Macy, knocking down a coconut.

 Mckinlee, trying to crack the coconut open

After a cool shower and dinner, we had a relaxing evening in preparation for the week ahead. We had our team meeting then watched the movie “Warroom” out in the cabana.