April ’15 Highlights (Photo Blog)

    We were so blessed to have an incredible team of World Racers with us this month (pictured above minus Jared and Charis). I just love hosting WR teams. This team has been so fun and has brought so much life as they loved and ministered in our community. They have led worship with our youth, tutored and loved our kiddos, helped in the moringa fields and coached baseball. They have poured out their hearts and loved well. We are thankful for them. 

 

   One of my favorite moments of the month was a prayer time at the Abide land with these lovely ladies. We went one morning to declare the promises of God over this home and family. We wrote scriptures on the floors and prayed these promises over the land and children. It was a beautifully powerful time. One thing that I have loved is working with such a faithful, godly contractor. Manuel stopped all of the workers to pray with us over this home and family. 

 

    Cadence and I were able to take Junieth out for a girls’ day to celebrate with her before her wedding. I just love this girl! Over the last two years I have been able to be there for so many major moments in her life. We stood next to her at her quincenera, her high school graduation, and now her wedding day. We had a wonderful time talking to her about life and the things that are to come. 

 

   Because this month was so full with teams, I didn’t get nearly as much time as I would have liked with my sweet girl, Yubelkis. I did get to bring her to my house for a day. I loved taking her to the park, eating dinner together, and laying in the hammock reading children’s books. I love this girl so much! I’m thankful for any time that I can have to pour into her. 

 

April is the absolute hottest month of the year in Nicaragua! It’s pretty miserable here, but I do love seeing so many of our kiddos beating the heat playing in their inflatable pools. They are adorable. 

 

 

   I love working with our kids and seeing growth in them. One Sunday this month I had the chance to work one-on-one with Victor. He is really struggling in 1st grade. We were practicing forming his letters and then writing his name. When I first told him that we were going to write his name, he said, “No, I can’t do that.” But we worked together slowly letter by letter and he wrote his name all by himself. I loved seeing how proud he was of himself. 

 

    One of my favorite parts of having the World Racers here this month was being able to dive into worship with our youth. Many of these Racers speak Spanish and are incredible worship leaders. Cadence and I have wanted to start a focus on worship with these youth for awhile and this month became the perfect time. We have been teaching our youth what it means to enter into His Presence in worship and the Racers have taught and led them into the His Presence. It was really beautiful! I am anxious to see what the Lord is going to do in the lives of these teens as they learn to love worship. 

 

   On April 25th we had the blessing of being a part of Junieth and Edwin’s wedding. I loved being together and celebrating with them. Cadence, Haille, and I all were able to be at the house helping Junieth get ready for the big day. The wedding itself was so simple and sweet. I loved getting to stand with this lovely couple and support them as they become one. 

 

   This month I had the privilege to take several sponsors to meet their sponsored children. It is one of my absolute favorite things to do! I love the connections between sponsored families and their sponsors. These are such sweet, joyful moments! 

 

    I had the biggest blessing of ending the month working with these incredible folks from Northside Church (pictured above at the Abide home). I am so grateful for these incredible men and women of God who took a risk on me and became the first team to work directly with the Abide home. They helped to tile and paint the first floor of the home. They worked tirelessly at the Abide home and loved our community well. It was such a blessing to serve alongside them this week. Thanks to their hard work, we are now so close to completing the first floor of the home. We are still in need of more funds in order to complete the second floor of the home. If you would like to give towards the completion of the Abide home, you can do so through our website http://abideinlove.org