October ’12 Highlights (Photo Blog)

    This has been a month filled with babies (which, of course, fills my heart with joy)! We had two new babies born in our church family within the last couple of months. Ilana Shaddai and Jose Daniel.
    I went to Connie's house one afternoon to visit her and meet her new daughter, Ilana Shaddai (Holding Ilana- pictured right). I loved getting to visit with this precious baby girl and her family. I love getting to hold sweet babies from my community in my arms as I pray over their lives. It's one of my favorite things to do!
    I know that I won't get to spend much time with Ilana because she and her mom are currently living in another village, but I was thankful for my afternoon visiting with them.

    I was also so excited to welcome, Jose Daniel Machado Garcia, to the world (Holding Jose Daniel- pictured left)! I have been anxiously awaiting his arrival. Jose is the Paula and Sergio's son. He was born on Saturday,  October 13th.
    I was particularly excited to meet this little guy because of my relationship with Paula. She has been like my younger sister here in Nicaragua. The Lord has allowed me to speak into her life often and we have formed a really deep friendship over the last couple of years. To read more of Paula's story, read: When the Spirit Shows Up, God's Merciful Thwarting, and On the Path to Healing. 
   I have been watching the Lord move in both Paula and Sergio's lives and relationship. They married earlier this year and just welcomed their first child into their family. I couldn't wait to celebrate alongside them. I wanted to be there with Paula in the hospital, but was not able. Thankfully, I was able to be at her house the very first day that little Jose was home from the hospital. I spent the afternoon holding him in my arms, kissing his forehead, praying over his life, and talking and laughing with the entire family. It was such a sweet time of celebration together! I also love knowing that Jose was born into a family that really loves him and treats him like such a treasure.

    One of our big projects this month as a mission has been launching our new website newsongnica.org. We are really excited about our new website and the way in which it reflects all the life at New Song! Usually through my blog posts and sharing, people hear mostly about our work with children and teenagers since those are my areas of ministry, but working on this website really shows all that New Song is doing here in NW Nicaragua. There is so much happening in Candelaria and in our outreach villages. A big THANK YOU to JimBob "Diego" Norman for doing all of our website design! Check out New Song Mission's new website.

    This month our church started home groups. Currently we have three home groups meeting in different sections of Candelaria. We hope to eventually have home groups covering all sectors of Candelaria. Our church desires to find deeper intimacy and community as a congregation and we hope that these home groups will really help to develop that intimacy. I love my home group (pictured left during a home group meeting)! I love that my home group encompasses people of all ages and situations in life. Group members range in age from 12-60. I have so enjoyed studying the Word together, discussing life and the Kingdom, talking about how we can meet one anothers' needs as a community, and praying together. We have already seen people come to know Christ through these home groups. I can't wait to see how the Lord is going to bless this new part of our church's ministry! To read more about this ministry, read: Loosening the Chains.

This month the Lord has connected my heart with two BEAUTIFUL girls, Juanita and Jessica (pictured below right). I know that the Lord is intertwining our lives and I can't wait to see where this is all going to lead. (To read more on this story, read: Lives Intertwined by the Holy Spirit and Shattered Lives & Redeeming Love) Please be praying for these lovely girls are they are seeking healing and restoration. Also pray for them as they will be transitioning to a new home next month. I know that this is the best situation for them at this time, but it will be hard to leave the only family they know and come to live with family that they only recently met. The Lord is moving in their lives and I know that He has such big plans for these girls.

    I went to visit my land to pray over the future Abide home. While I was there, I saw that an animal has broken through part of my fence. I really want to learn how to take care of my own land. So, I asked Tim if he would help me repair my fence. I dug the hole for the post, cut the barbed wire, and hammered in the stables to repair it (fixing my fence- pictured left). I know it's a small thing, but I felt so accomplished. It was the first time that I felt like a legitimate land owner. Because my New Song family built my fence while I was stateside, this was the first real work that I've done on my own land. Next, I want to learn how to machete-cut my own grass. That should be a fun adventure with some of my Nica youth!

    October 28th sweet Katalin Adaya celebrated her first birthday (pictured right on her birthday). I just adore this little girl! I have absolutely loved getting to be a part of her life in this first year. I am really thankful that the Lord has allowed me to build such a strong relationship with Jasmina and that Jasmina has invited me to have such a big role in her daughter's life. When Jasmina was pregnant, she asked me to name her baby. I chose Katalin Adaya which means pure jewel of God. And she is!
    This girl is just precious! I love her so much. I love her like she's my own daughter. Often times I wish that she was.
   I have spent countless hours at her home holding her, playing with her, and praying over her life. I believe that the Lord has such beautiful plans for her life; I cannot wait to be a part of it. I pray that she will come to know the Lord and walk with Him in truth and purity. I pray that she will fall in love with Him and break the cycle of violence in her family.

   To read more about my relationship with Katalin and her momma, read:
1. Protecting Innocence (Part 2)

2. When Life is Hard, There is Hope (Part 4)

3. My Journey: Seeking Serenity

   I am so thankful for this first year that I have had with Katalin Adaya and I cannot wait for what the Lord has in store for this little girl's life!

    I spent one day biking all around Chichigalpa with Jovanny for English classes, home visits with my sponsored kids, and buying provisions for one of our needy families. I love our biking adventures! Every week as we bike to Nuevo Amanecer for our English class, we cross through rice fields, past volcanos, and through the river (pictured left). One day we biked to Quitanca to visit some of my sponsors kids, back to Nuevo Amanecer to teach English, back to Quitanca to visit another one of my sponsored students, back to Candelaria and then all over the village looking for shoes and food provisions for one of our needy families. I am really thankful for my bike as a means of transportation!

    At the end of the month, two of our youth were baptized. I was so excited to celebrate alongside Paola and Taylor as they made this decision. Paola has grown up as an active part of the church. She has been debating for several months about whether or not she was ready to give her whole life to the Lord. She finally made the decision to follow the Lord and decided to be baptized (Paola's baptism- pictured right). Taylor is new to our youth group. He came to know the Lord through his participation in one of our home groups three weeks ago. He has become an active part of our church and youth group and then was baptized. I love to see how our church continues to grow!! 

    My favorite part of the month is the fact that it's just been life as usual. We haven't had any teams here this month or special events. I know that may make it sound like a boring month, but it's not at all. I love when things always slow down in the fall because it gives me a lot of time to just dive into my relationships and go deeper in discipleship with my loves here.
    I have spent so much time this month hanging out with my Sunday school loves, youth, and neighbors (pictured left with a few of my Sunday school loves: Dayana, Aliana, and Gissell). I have spent the majority of my time in people's homes, talking about life, praying over one another, offering advice, and loving people. I enjoy having special events and short-term teams, but I also just LOVE the time when we are able to have just normal life in the village.

*Residency & Long-term dream update: I finally was able to get all of my papers translated. I just need to get all of my paperwork notarized and then it will be ready to file. I'm going to Leon sometime this week so that I can hopefully finish my land paperwork. Our contractor still has my floor plans and is working on getting my estimates done. My website is under construction and should be up and soon as my 501c3 paperwork is finished. Things are moving forward, but everything takes more time than I think that it will. Keep praying for favor in this whole process.