We started our month with a little 4th of July celebration at our new house. We had a cookout with our 
long-term staff, summer interns, and short-term teams (pictured right). Brandon spent the afternoon machete cutting our grass and building a fire pit. We borrowed a grill from our neighbors and had burgers and grilled chicken. We also had fruit salad, corn, beans, ribs, mac & cheese, and brownies. It was a delicious feast! We loved sitting around in the backyard sporting our red, white, and blue, talking and laughing together. I just love our 
little family here and loved having a chance to celebrate with them! (pictured left) Unfortunately we weren't able to find fireworks, but we were able to find some marshmallows to roast over the fire after dinner. I'm am so thankful for this little family that I am a part of! We had such a great time hanging out and finding a reason to celebrate! I just love this life with these lovely folks!
We have been so blessed to have my lovely friend Lindsay back in Nicaragua with us this month! It's been such a gift to my heart! Linds and I came to Nicaragua on the same day and she has since
become one of my best friends in the entire world (Linds, Cadence and I pictured right). I loved having several weeks with her this month and the two of us were even able to sneak away for a weekend together at the beach… our favorite Nica tradition! It's been wonderful to minister with her and then to have time together to just laugh and catch up before she sets off on her next big adventure: starting law school in Miami. I'm so thankful that the Lord crossed our paths here in Nica and that we had a few weeks together this month!
My parents were able to come and visit me in Nicaragua this month (pictured left eating papusas in 
the park). This is the first time that they have been able to come since September '10. We had a week together for them to come and see my life here and how much it has grown and changed in the past couple of years. I loved getting to show them my land, introduce them to my little loves in the different villages, and for them to see what my daily life looks like. It was also wonderful just to have time with my parents! Oh, and the highlight for me was taking an entire afternoon out with my sweet girls. I really wanted to have a family 
day with my parents and my girls. It meant so much to me for them to get to know one another and begin to build a relationship (all of us pictured right). We took the girls out to lunch, to play in the park, and mom and dad brought them some gifts so that they could spend some time spoiling their new grandkids. It was such a sweet afternoon and such a gift to my heart!
New Song was blessed to have some amazing teams and visitors here during this month. Summer 
is always are crazy time and a revolving door of visitors here at New Song. This summer was really unique because we've had so many more individuals and families that are coming and considering working with us long-term. I believe that the Lord is sending a new wave of people to come and work with us! We were also blessed to have a couple of great teams from Boone and Charlotte, NC. These folks did some amazing work in our communities and were huge blessings 
to our staff (pictured above left praying over the Abide land with some of our teams and visitors). The team from Charlotte was able to pour into our outreach churches so much as they led worship, taught music, and led children's programs in our outreach villages (pictured right some of the Santa Matilde kids with their dolls from the children's program- picture by Cadence Snyder). I loved seeing the blessings that these teams brought this summer. They brought such life to New Song!
This month I was able to help with our tutoring program in Santa Matilde. I love getting to tutor the 
kids! I've been wanting to do more tutoring, but of course, I am only able to help if I've finished visiting all the kids that I need to follow-up with that day. My first priority has to be home visits and check-ins with each of our sponsored kids. This month I was able to work with a couple of our third grade girls, Veronica and Loaidis, practicing their mul
tiplication tables (pictured above left). It was fun making multiplication flashcards and practicing their mental math. It almost made me feel like I was teaching in the classroom again! It was hilarious just watching the faces of the girls. Sometimes they were really enjoying all that they were learning, but other times they just looked like math is the worst thing I could ask them to do (pictured right). Oh, how I have missed walking through this with students! I am really thankful that we are now able to offer tutoring to students who are struggling in their classes like Veronica and Loaidis.
Our English classes in La Isla are up and running! We now have English classes in all of our 
outreach villages. I had turned English classes over to Jovanny and Cadence. They are teaching our classes in Nuevo Amanecer and Santa Matilde. In La Isla, classes needed to be held on Saturdays and that is the day that Jovanny is in university. So, Cadence and I are teaching this class together (pictured left- teaching in La Isla). I am really enjoying teaching alongside Cadence. The group in La Isla is wonderful! They are intelligent and engaged. They catch on to new concepts quickly and really want to learn. We have been having a great time biking out to that village each Saturday and teaching this incredible group of kids.
On July 10th we have the pleasure to celebrate both Gema and Rosita's birthdays. I love these two 
beautiful women with all of my heart and am excited to celebrate their lives and who they are becoming (Rosita and Gema pictured right). These two women are just incredible! They are two of the youth that are closest to my heart. We were having a huge youth event with the team from Charlotte on the night of their birthdays. We had planned a special surprise for the girls…. in Nicaragua there is a tradition to crack eggs on people's heads for their birthdays. Cadence found something online where you could drain an egg 
and then fill it with glitter. We were so excited about this little surprise. Unfortunately Rosita was late and missed our glitter eggs, but it was great (cracking glitter eggs on Amanda and Gema pictured left). The girls were covered in glitter and it took about a week to wash it all out of their hair. Watch the video here: Glitter Egg Video. I told Gema that as long as she still had glitter in her hair we still had to celebrate her birthday. I also was able to write them each a letter speaking truth over their hearts and calling forth the greatness that I see in them. These girls are incredible and I love getting to celebrate their lives!
This month has been an incredible time to see the Lord really moving in our church and in the life of 
our youth! Tommy has been preaching about really laying down your life and surrendering fully to the Lord and the leading of His Spirit. The Lord has been moving in our church! I love to see Him really capture people's hearts. There have been several invitations this last month for people to really JUMP into the river of God and be carried by the current of His Spirit. Several people (including Gato pictured above right) have made decisions this month to really take that leap of faith. To read two such stories, read: Salta and Salta Part 2.
I love to see the Spirit really working among our youth and to see the ones who are wholeheartedly walking with Him! Kenia is one of the youth that I became close to my very first time in Nicaragua on 
the World Race in 2008. She is an incredible woman of God who has such an anointing of the Spirit and a strong calling on her life to bring redemption and transformation to her village. I was able to spend some time this month really speaking truth into her life and praying over this anointing on her. I'm excited to start brainstorming with Kenia some ways to begin bringing transformation and restoration to families and in the ways that women to viewed and treated within this area. I believe that the Lord is about to move in some new powerful ways and I am excited to partner with my beautiful sister, Kenia, to hear from Him and move in His leading.
Toward the end of the month, we took one of our days off to go and climb Volcan Telica. This one has been on my to-do list for awhile. Cadence, Emily, Carolyn, Brianna and I went on this little 
adventure together (pictured right in front of the Telica crater). We had a great time climbing up to the crater, eating dinner at the top of the volcano, and then hiking over to the crater in hopes to see lava. However, it started pouring rain at the top. It was FREEZING! Because of the rain we couldn't see the lava, but we did lay our heads over the edge of the crater and listen to the lava river below. It was such a great adventure!
This month we, unfortunately, have to say adios for now to my brother Brandon Cobb (photo by Kaitlyn Suter, One Light Media). He has 
been here working with New Song for a year and is now headed stateside, but planning to fundraise in order to return and continue his work with us for another extended period. I am so thankful for this incredible man of God to work along side of and call my brother. I love worshiping together and when he comes to me for big sister advice. Brandon has done an incredible job working with Haille to build a worship program here in Candelaria. I have seen the Lord bring his heart to life in so many ways and lead him deeper in what it means to be a worship leader. We love you B! It won't be the same here without you… come home soon!
