This month I celebrated 7 YEARS of life and ministry here in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua! I’m so thankful for this life I get to lead. (Photo montage from the last 7 years) It’s been beautiful, heartbreaking, stretching, and abundant! I’m so incredibly thankful.
This month with school starting for the new year, we also kicked off our youth group Bible study for the new year. We love our youth! They have such big hearts and we are beginning to see them really grow in their faith. This year we are switching between two types of teaching. Every other week we are studying the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan teaching our teens about the unconditional love of God and then giving them time in His presence to hear more from Him. On the alternating weeks, we are playing games and doing group discussions on life topics and how to practically live out their Christianity.
I started a new thing this year in our Santa Matilde tutoring. Rather than tutoring a specific grade level, I am leading a reading group with students from 4th-9th grade. I absolutely love it!!! We are reading “Esperanza Renace” (or Esperanza Rising in English) and so far it’s been great. This is such a beautiful story of overcoming obstacles, holding fast to hope, and starting anew without fear. I think that it’s a story that my kids can relate to well and will speak some really beautiful truths over their hearts. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to increase their reading fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and reading skills. I love everything about this weekly time with them!
This month we had Ceci and her son, Maika, visiting with us for two weeks. Ceci is considering coming and working with our sponsorship program. We enjoyed them both during their two weeks. Ceci was helpful with our field trip and tutoring students in both Candelaria and Santa Matilde. They are now back in the States praying and processing their time in Nicaragua and trying to decide if they want to make the commitment to work with us long-term. Please pray for Ceci in this decision making process. It would be a huge answer to prayer for a new sponsorship worker.
This month we had a couple of beach days with our staff and visitors. It’s not very often that we travel as an entire group and it was fun to spend the day together at this beautiful beach!
Without Limits took our first field trip of the school year taking our 6th & 7th graders on a history tour of Leon (pictured above in front of Calvario Church). We had a wonderful time! It was so fun to see our students enjoy new experiences, learn about their nation’s history, and explore the beauty of Leon. We visited several churches, museums, and climbed to the roof of both the cathedral and the Revolutionary War museum to take in gorgeous views of the city. I’m excited to incorporate more field trips with our students throughout the year.
My contractor and his team are back at work at the Abide Home putting on the finishing touches to the Abide Home. This will complete the last of our construction until it’s time to build furniture and move in. It’s amazing to see how the Lord has been so faithful in this dream! Please continue to pray for me and for Abide in this next year as those transitions come to fruition.
