September Highlights (Photo Blog)

    Because
this a our first month after all of our summer teams finished their time here,
this has been a month of really being able to dive into new ministries that we
have been dreaming of for the past couple of months. The result has been so
much new life springing up in the mission this month.

     Diego
has had a dream for some time to start a computer lab here on the church
property. September marked the opening of New Song’s Information Center. This
small computer lab is enabling the pastors to use new Biblical resources that
they did not have access to before and has provided the youth with an
opportunity to complete research projects for school and to keep in touch with
short-term teams that have returned to the States. Hopefully this ministry will
continue to grow to include computer classes.

    Also,
sports ministry has been growing by leaps and bounds this month! Someone from
City Hall came and plowed our field, which has opened up new playable space on
our property and has made it possible for multiple teams to play or practice
simultaneously. We now have a children’s baseball team, a youth softball team,
and a young men’s soccer team that practice and play on our church’s field. I
love looking out in the field everyday and seeing close to a hundred kids
playing actual and pick-up games of soccer, baseball, and softball. These
ministries are bringing new people to the church property and providing
discipleship opportunities.

     Along
the same lines, we have begun other opportunities to increase exercise and
healthy living. A couple of the guys here have started offering karate classes
to some of the teenage guys on Thursday mornings. They also invited Linda to
come and teach 20-30 minutes of yoga during the karate classes to strengthen
their cores. It’s hilarious to me to watch all of these young teenage guys TRY
to keep up with Linda during the yoga time! You can tell they are not
accustomed to doing stretching, balance, and toning exercises. I’m excited to
see the mission have an opportunity to teach healthier living to these
teenagers.

    Our
clinic is continuing to grow. This month we added the services of a gynecologist
one day per week. Also, this week we were able (thanks to donated funds) offer
free dental cleanings and check-ups to our children and teenagers who are an
active part of our church. We were also able to offer a special 3-day dental
clinic for students from a school in Bethel (one of the neighboring villages)
and a clinic in the marketplace of Chichigalpa. The Lord is redirecting some of
our clinic efforts to include more of a focus on education, preventative
medicine, nutrition, and natural medicine. I am excited to see how the Lord is
going to work as we return to the original vision of the clinic.

    The end of this month we were blessed to have a short-term team from North Gate Baptist Church working with us. This team was really special to me because my parents were a part of the team and I was able to spend the week working with them and with their church. The women were visiting and praying in homes in the community during the mornings and then putting together children’s programs with games, Bible stories, song, and puppets in Candelaria and our outreach villages. The men worked with many of the young Nicaraguan men to build a stage for our church. 

     Of
course, my favorite part of ministry here is always my time with my teenagers
teaching Bible studies, loving them, and really discipling individual youth.
This month we have stepped into some new themes of teaching. We had been
teaching series first of “Who is God?” and second on “Who am I in Christ?”. Now
we are moving into a new series “How Can We Walk with God in Practical Ways?”
We are focusing really practical ways that they can apply the Word of God to
their lives and relationships. We have also been doing a small group Bible
study on the book of Romans. I’m really excited about the way that the Lord is
moving during this time.

Bonus Photos:

Here are some random funny or special moments from September that are unrelated to actual ministry. 

 I was really blessed to be able to reconnect with some of my World Race community during the first weekend of September. My World Race sister, Krystle was getting married in Phoenix and so six of us girls made the trip out west to celebrate with her and Kevin. It was a huge blessing to be at their wedding and so clearly see the Lord’s hand in their marriage. Also, I loved getting the chance to spend the weekend with my lovely World Race sisters! It is such a unique community that I love dearly and have missed so much!! It was an incredible weekend filled with laughter, coffee dates, good conversation, and prayer. 

    Andres, one of my youth, has little baby rabbits at his house. They are so cute! One day I was able to go and see the bunnies. I’m really not an animal person, but one little brown rabbit was so calm and sweet. It was defiitely my favorite! So, Yahaira and Andres decided to name the rabbit Smith. This picture is Kerri and me with some of the baby rabbits. Kerri is serving here with us in Nicaragua for 3 months. And yes, the baby rabbits are just hopping around on my bed. 

    During the short-term trip for my parent’s church, my mom was able to celebrate her birthday here in Nicaragua. I was really hoping that she would be able to experience some of the classic Nica birthday traditions. One of these traditions is to have an egg cracked on your head. Thanks to Rosita my mom was able to have 5 eggs cracked on her head throughout the course of the afternoon. It’s a very smelly, but entertaining birthday tradition. And I must say, my momma handled it really well. Of course she also got to experience the Nicaraguan hug line (a much nicer birthday tradition) where everyone in the church comes up and gives you wonderful Nicaraguan hugs.

    My beautiful friend Rosita and I are constantly joking around together. One of my favorite parts of our friendship are our crazy hugs. Every time I hug Rosita we give each other the tightest hugs possible and pull each other around until inevitably one of us (usually me) is thrown to the ground. Seriously I love it!! Well, in the last couple of weeks passing hurricanes have brought almost incessant rains which has created giant mud puddles. Rosita’s new favorite thing to do is hug me and then throw me to the ground in the middle of one of these giant mud puddles. Yes it’s dirty and I end up with mud literally dripping from my hair, clothes, etc. However, I must admit that I really do love the mud hugs! It’s really hilarious! And the best part of all is watching the stunned silent faces of all the onlookers waiting to see how I am going to react. I really wish I had a picture of their faces. Maybe next time…