#23 New Places, New People, Birthdays, Visitors

    "What shall we then say to these things "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

    As I spent the last couple days thinking and working with different people, the above verse came to my mind quite often. If we have God on our side, there is nothing that Satan can do to separate us from the God & His love. If we purpose in our heart that nothing will be able to separate us from our Lord, there is nothing Satan can do. When Satan attacks us and tries to get us to fall, we need to do just what our precious Savior did there in the wilderness - "Get thee hence Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Satan is doing all he can to win us to his life of bondage, but we all can have victory if we only turn to God and give our lives wholly to Him. I just leave this as a challenge to each of you. Give your lives wholly to the service of our Lord.

    The above picture is of the water surrounding the island that Johanna grew up on. We had the privilege of driving past and seeing from afar the farm that Johanna grew up on. The farm was situated on  a small island and it just reminded me of a place that would be perfect for a get-away retreat. You can't see in the above picture, but there were men out fishing.

    

 Mari Luz (Johanna's sister)    

         

Johanna's youngest sister(I do not know her name)

 

    We took Johanna and the boys to El Cua to get the birth certificate for Yeral-her middle son. We left around 6:00 on Friday the 10th and headed north towards Jinotega. The farther north we went, the cooler the climate and more then once, I wished that I had at least grabbed a sweater. We arrived in Jinotega around 8:00-8:30. Johanna wanted to stop in visit her sisters (pictured above - the one in the pink is Mari Luz and the one is the white is Johanna's younger sister; however I don’t remember her name) so we headed out of Jinotega; Johanna trying to direct us the right way. We arrived in San Rafael del Norte and we decided to stop and ask directions. Here we had missed a turn back pretty far so some police said they would show us a road that would be a shortcut. This road wound up, down, and around mountains and it seemed like we were back in the sticks. After driving for 1-1/2 hours, things started to look familiar and we soon found ourselves in the house of Johanna's sisters. We spent 1-1/2 hours with Mari Luz. She served us each a cup of coffee and a piece of bread. We left her house around 12:30 and headed for El Cua. Once again we wound up, down, and around the mountains, seeming to me like we were going farther back in and away from civilization. We stopped several times to make sure that the road we were on was the road headed to El Cua. We arrived in El Cua and were surprised to find a very nice town, almost like Malpaisillo. The roads were done in paver blocks. We found the Alcaldia (the place she needed to go for the papers) and Johanna went in while we walked up the street and found something to drink. When we arrived back at the truck, we found out that we needed to wait till 4:00 for the paper, so Randy and the boys took off exploring the town.

  

Laura & Hans on the bridge @ the river          

  

   Yeral, Wilbur, Juancito y Johanna

 

They came across a nice river so we all went down to the water and Johanna left her boys go swimming for a while. At 4:00 we had the paper and were headed out of El Cua. We left a different way then we came. After we made one turn, Johanna thought it might have been a wrong turn; however I had seen a sign for La Dalia on the road that we were on. We decided to continue on the road and after a while we came to an intersection and memories started flooding my head. If we would make a left-hand turn, the road would take us to Waslala, so I told Randy that we were on the right road, headed for La Dalia and Matagalpa. From then on, I lost tack of time. We stopped in Matagalpa for supper and kept heading for La Palmerita/El Terrero. I was never so glad to see my bed that night. However I had a wonderful day and enjoyed seeing others parts of Nicaragua.

        

Noilyn - age 8

 

     Featured Girl: Virginia and I had a little visitor the other Sunday afternoon. Noilyn asked if she could come home with us after church and spend the afternoon at our house. We had both decided to do some visiting that afternoon, but we told her she could come. She was all excited and could hardly wait to go, but not before her mother gave her all kinds of strict instructions and told her to obey. In the afternoon, we sat down and made some magnets using those little beads that you iron once you are done. She just loved doing them and made 3. When it was time to get ready for church, Virginia raided her stack of girls' clothing and found one of Janae's dresses that Esther had left here. It was a little short but fit pretty good. I then combed her hair in 2 pigtails. It reminded me of getting my sisters ready for church. On the way to church, she kept saying to me  "Si mi mama no viene a la iglesia, voy a su casa otra vez." (if my mother doesn't come to church, I am going to your house again) She had all kinds of reasons why her mother might not be able to come to church that night - maybe  she couldn't find anyone to guard the chickens, maybe she was too tired to carry Lester or maybe Lester was sick...the list went on and on. Much to her dismay, her mother was at church when we got there. I had a great time with her and I hope she enjoyed it as well. I think she did 

       

          Happy Birthday  Juan, Rosibel & Lucia

    The neighbors came up one Wednesday night to hang out after church. Virginia was decorating several cakes for the next day and she decided to decorate a cake for the neighbors that had birthdays in the August & September. So we had a feast of chocolate cake afterward. I spent several hours that evening typing a research report for Alicia. It was getting later and I noticed that she still had several pages to type so I offered to do it for her, so she would be done for school in the morning. It took a little but we soon had it done. It was great to hang out with Lucia again. Lucia is the one in the red shirt. She is Rosibel & Ramon's sister, however she lives in Managua and comes to visit every now then.

    Yes well, I shall close before I bore you all. Thank you for your prayers. Have a great weekend and serve God with all your heart!

 

Committed to Him, Andrea

#22 Fresh Corn, Good-bye, New Animals....

This post was an email update that was sent out during my time spent in Nicaragua from 2009 to 2011. I started posting them here when some of my friends who had not received them, wanted to see and hear about the work there: Post One of Nicaraguan Updates.

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

    As I spent some time this past month stamping "La Antorcha de Verdad" (a Spanish tract/book that is printed in Costa Rica) and "Para Ti" ( Spanish "Just for You" printed by Christian Light Publications) many times the above verse came to my mind. We may not know the impact that one of these tracts has made in the life of a person until we reach eternity. As I read the story in the above pictured Antorcha,  I was deeply challenged. It had 3 small stories about people that were delayed and resulted in innocent people dying. It left the challenge that many people today fail simply because they do not do what is necessary in the correct time. But what is so sad is that many die without the hope of going to heaven, because they did not repent nor looked for God in time. Are we willing to put aside some time to stamp tracts, prepare tracts to mail, go with our congregation to pass out tracts in a nearby city? Or we going to delay because today my friends want to hang out? I just leave this challenge that you. Do not delay...Listen to God and obey His command.

    We have said good-bye to Davy Schlabach, our business administrator this month. He is headed back to the States to prepare for his wedding. We had a farewell supper the Sunday before he left. We wanted to take a picture of all the guys together. As we were deciding where to take the picture, a drunk fellow walked up and wanted to be on the picture(guy in the back corner with arms crossed) Nathan Miller (in the back in blue shirt and glasses) and his wife-Angie along with their daughter, Gloria have come to us from Nebraska to be the business administrator. Please pray for them as they study the language and take over their responsibilities, as well as they adjust to the climate and culture here.

    Featured Lady: Maria Ester lives just down the road from us with her husband Juan Ramon and 2 sons, Jose and Adiel. She is always so willing to show us how to make Nicaraguan foods. She came one day and showed us how to make Chicken Soup-Nicaragua Style. It is a very good soup. One day I stopped in to visit her and found her husband cutting corn off the cob, so I asked her what they were planning to do. She said that they planning to make tamales. I asked her if I may come down and learn how to make them. So I went down in the afternoon to help her make them. For those of you who do not not know what tamales are, I will try to explain. You take fresh-picked corn (and it is not sweet corn!) and cut it off the cob. You then grind it through the corn grinder. After you grind it, you can add some cuajara (Cuajara is a very well-know cheese here in Nicaragua. You take fresh milk and put part of a rennet tablet in and let it set till it separates. You then pour off the whey and squeeze it dry and add salt and it is ready to eat.) Back to tamales - You take a 2 leaves of corn husk and put the corn mixture in it. Then you can either add a sweet mixture of cinnamon & cuajara or meat mixture or just leave it plain. You then fold the leaves over so that it is all covered and put it in a pot of boiling water. You let them steam for several hours. They are best right out of the kettle! I really enjoyed my lesson and would love to try it myself sometime. After we finished the tamales, she had me cut up the cuajara she had made and mix in the salt. I enjoyed the time that I could spend with her and learn how to make Nicaraguan foods.

       

    We had quite an interesting Friday night. It was our scheduled night for youth night. However it started raining at 10:00 Friday morning and rained most of the day...sometimes quite heavily. Randy received a call around lunch, asking him to go to La Palmerita and pick up an older lady and take her to Malpaisillo to the clinic as she was sick. The staff arrived from Leon around 2:00. We decided to cancel the youth night as it was still raining and was getting harder to get into La Palmerita. Randy called around 6:30 and said that he is stuck and the truck won't start so the guys headed out to help him. They ended up pulling the truck back to the house and later pulled it to Leon. While the men tried to fix the truck, we women learned how to play "Get Hooked." It is a fishing game and a lot of fun.

          

    We have made some new additions to the animals on this farm. Randy bought a horse and her colt last month from a man in La Palmerita. Her name is Chinga and she loves to run. I have had some very interesting rides. I used her several times to get to and from La Palmerita as it is quite muddy right now due to the rain. Last Thursday I bought a horse myself. I bought her from Angel & Mariana - Ramon's parents. I have rode her several times and I am quite impressed with her. Her name is Beulah. On Tuesday I bought a saddle for her and did a little riding yesterday. I can't wait to ride her on Saturday when I go to La Palmerita. Right now it is so much easier to get to La Palmerita on horse because of the mud. I have been able to go and do a lot more visiting. I have been enjoying the ride out.

    Just pray for us as we continue to strive to share God's Word and answer many questions. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Without you, this work would not be possible. May God's name be honored and glorified.

 

 

    In Christian Love, Andrea

#21 Girls' Day, Planting, Feliz cumpleaños

This post was an email update that was sent out during my time spent in Nicaragua from 2009 to 2011. I started posting them here when some of my friends who had not received them, wanted to see and hear about the work there: Post One of Nicaraguan Updates.

    Each time I go to the ocean, I am reminded of the power that our Lord possesses. As the waves crash upon the sand and the water rushes back out to the sea, I often think of our powerful Lord. He has the power to take a life, to give a life...the list could go on and on. He had the power to destroy each and everyone of us because of our sins, but He was willing to send His Son to this earth to die for us and save each of us.  As I see different people here trying to understand the plan of salvation and as they count the cost, I just stop to thank Him for working in my life as well as each life here in Nicaragua. Each day I am blessed by learning something new or being challenged by someone who I spent some time with. Sometimes He takes a young mother who has very little material possession to challenge me or a young girl who lives with her parents to remind me of the power that He has. May we always stop to thank Him for His love and power.

Karen & Denise at Barco de Oro Restaurant

     The other Thursday 8/5, Karen & Denise invited me to come spend the day with them in Leon. In the morning while Karen studied and Denise went to the dentist, I wrote my last update I sent. For lunch, we went to a small restaurant that sells quesillos. Quesillos are a native Nicaraguan food. They are made with a corn tortilla, cheese, and a type of cream sauce with onions. This was the first time that I had quesillos in Leon; however while Karen & I attended language school in Estelí a couple times and I really learned to like them. From there we went to the beach for the afternoon. It was quite a warm day. We spent about 2 hours there. We then went to Barco de Oro for supper. This was the first time that I had been to this restaurant. It is a restaurant set along the bay; however the water was low and was out pretty far. The breeze coming off the water was wonderful and we had a good time together. I had Chicken wings with salad, rice, and potatoes. Thank you girls for the great time!

    From left to right (Juancito, Melvin, Wilbur, Yeral, Yorbin) 

    We spent a Sunday afternoon visiting different families in La Palmerita. We stopped in to visit with Johanna and her boys. The children of La Palmerita have come up with some of the cutest games to play. One I have seen several times is with a bike rim. They have a stick and they try to keep the rim rolling. These boys decided to paint their faces that day. They got the black stuff for their faces from the kettles setting on the stove. It was soot from the kettles sitting on the wood fire. They looked so hilarious! Some of them got sticks and were hobbling around like old men. I even ended up with some on my face, compliments of the boys. They also, of course, like to ride our bikes when we come to the house. Usually till we leave, our bikes are nice and muddy, due to the rainy season here in Nicaragua. Each of these boys come to church Sunday and Wednesday and are in our children's class. The boys in the above picture are from 2 different families. Juancito, Yeral & Wilbur are Johana's boys. Melvin & Yorbin are Lidia's boys. At the current time, we have a Bible study with Lidia and Johana.

     It is time to plant crops here in Nicaragua. All the tractor guys are kept quite busy right now. They are trying to plant as much as they possibly can before the next rain comes. Everytime it rains, they need to wait for the field to dry off and around here the mud is a very sticky mud. (I went to La Palmerita Saturday morning and had to carry/push my bike, because it had rained the night before and was very muddy.) The men in the above picture are young guys from La Palmerita and are helping to plant corn in the field in front of Johana's house. They each have a container full of corn and plant it as the tractor drives through the field. Randy is hoping to get the field planted here at the house, but so far it hasn't dried off enough. Hopefully it will soon dry so he can get it planted before it is too late.

                           

     Angel Antonio is Ramon's brother. Just to refresh your memory, Ramon was the first & only young guy to become a member at the La Palmerita congregation. He lives with his parents just down from our house. His brother Angel Antonio & wife America have been living with Ramon & his parents for about a month now. Angel has been coming to church lately and America has also been there several times. Right now Alexa is a sick little girl. I just miss the little girl she was just last week. Whenever she saw me, she wanted me to hold her. Mariana (Ramon's mother) & Rosibel came up Sunday afternoon and Alexa wouldn't let me hold her. She just cried. She started with a cold. The doctors are saying she has bronchitis and bronchial pneumonia. Just pray for the family as they take care of her and also for her parents that they would see their need for Christ in their lives.

    The little girl with the piñata is Hector & Iris's little girl, Amy. She turned a year-old last week and they had a party for her Saturday night. Seeing Amy reminds me a lot of all that has happened in the past year. She was just this tiny baby when I got here and now she turned a year-old. Continue to pray for Hector & Iris, her parents. Hector has not been to church lately and has just got a job about 20 minutes away, but will only be coming home twice a week. Just pray that he would see his need for a deeper relationship with the Lord and the need to go to church and be in the presence of brothers & sisters in the faith. Pray for Iris that she would see her need of Christ in her life.

     FEATURE MOTHER: The young lady above is Sineida. She is 25 and has 2 children. The oldest is a boy and his name is Junior. He is 4. The baby is 10 months old and her name is Michelle. Last week I went to visit her and I found her at her sister's house doing the laundry for her sister. Sineida came faithfully to the revival meetings and has come several times since. As I was sitting there visiting, she asked me "Is it better to be poor, needing to work for the money for your food? Or is it better to be with money?" Before I was able to say, she said "Manuel (the father of her children) & I decided it is better to be poor, because then you are reminded to rely on God for your needs." She barely knew how to read and she has been teaching herself to read, using the Bible. On Thursday Sineida & her sister came to my house for the day. We had a great time together. Just pray for her & also for me as I relate to her and spend time with her from time to time. She is such an encouragement to me in so many ways. She also has been a great help to me with my Spanish. She will correct me when I say things wrong. I am glad that she is kind enough to try & help me learn Spanish better.

Thank you all for your prayers!

I would love to hear from you!

Blessings to you, Andrea

#20 Falling Rock, Truck Problems, Nature Lessons...

This post was an email update that was sent out during my time spent in Nicaragua from 2009 to 2011. I started posting them here when some of my friends who had not received them, wanted to see and hear about the work there: Post One of Nicaraguan Updates.

     And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? Revelation 6:15-17

    As we traveled to Waslala the other week with the WATER students, we came upon the fallen rock above. There was a dirt path going around this rock as it had fallen and covered the road. As I looked at that rock, the above Scripture passage came to mind and I thought of those that the passage talks about. When Christ returns, will you rise up to meet Him or will you cry for the rocks to cover you? Each one of you know the answer to the above question. I just pray that you might think seriously about it. His coming is drawing nigh...Are you ready?

    One of the usual things that we do when the WATER students are here is to take them on a 3-day trip to Waslala. Waslala is about 6-1/2 hours northeast of Leon. Those of us from El Terrero met the Leon staff around 8:30 on Tuesday the 20th in Malpaisillo. We then began our trip headed towards Waslala. The first part of the trip went rather well and we stopped for lunch in La Dalia around 12:00. From there on we had gravel roads to Waslala. Our first stop after lunch was to check out the rattling noise from the back of the truck. The guys determined that problem to something with the brakes. We then continued on, only to be stopped a little later to tie the tarp down due to the approaching storm. As the guys got out to put the tarp down, they heard a hissing sound from under the hood. The radiator was getting hot, so now the search for water. We found water and took care of that problem as good as we could, only to realize that the rear tire was flat. As the guys were changing the tire, it started to rain. We finally got back on the road and stopped one more time to put more water in the truck before we got to Waslala. We arrived in Waslala around 4:00 instead of the prospective 2:30-3:00. But praise to the Lord, we arrived safely. Wednesday morning the guys took the truck to the mechanic shop in Waslala to get fixed. However, that was not the end of our truck problems. When we wanted to leave Thursday morning, the truck would not start! We tried pushing it several times, but to no avail, so we called the mechanic. He arrived sometime around 11:00 and quickly got the truck running. By 11:15 we were on the road headed for Leon. We stopped once to grab a bite to eat, and then kept going. Praise God! We had no major truck issues on the way home and arrived in Leon with about an hour to spare before church.

    I enjoyed our time spent in Waslala and was so glad to be able to spend some time with Pablo & Euni and their family. It was a very refreshing and renewing time for me. The girls rented a gym to play volleyball after we arrived Tuesday night. We played till 6:30 and then went to Pablo's for supper. After supper we all gathered around and sang for a while. It was so wonderful to sing with everyone and to learn a couple new songs. Wednesday we met for breakfast at 8:00. After breakfast Euni & I walked down to the store to buy some flour to make bread. Then several of us girls walked out to Janie's store to look at fabric. Around 10:30 we went for a hike. We walked through the stream up to a waterfall. We stopped along the way several times for Pablo to show us something. In the picture below he was showing us a bird's nest - I think a flycatcher, but don't remember. He gave us a little history about the nest and also how they make them. There were eggs in this nest which is rare for this time of year.

                       

     From there we continued upstream to the waterfall. I just love the outdoors and spending time surrounded by God's beauty. We spent some time in the water and also under the falls. The falls proved to be a great back massage. We then sat down and ate our lunch with the sounds of nature in our ears. Some of the people climbed to the top of the falls and took in some the beauty at the top of the falls. After lunch we hiked downstream, some of us falling into the water. Once we got back to Pablo's, some played volleyball before it was time to get ready for church that evening. They had Prayer Meeting at the Waslala church that evening. We sang for a while and Delmar had a devotional before we split up in small groups to pray. We had supper once we got to Pablo's and then we had several games going - Rook, Skip-bo, Dutch Blitz...Pablo's girls came up to Jacinto's house and spent the night with us. We sat around and talked for a while before heading off to bed. Thursday morning we met for breakfast at 7:30 and then we girls went to Naomi Lee's house before heading to the Waslala Market. We spent some time there before we headed back to Leon.

     On Friday the 23rd and Saturday the 24th, we staff along with the WATER students had a children's Bible school in Rota and in Leon at the guys' house. Friday afternoon found us in Rota. The class did not start till 2:45 instead of 2:00. This year our theme was "The Creation". For our first 2 stories, we used the flannel graph board and put on the cloth pieces as the story was read. However the flannel graph was forgotten on Friday so Jennifer used a whiteboard and drew for us. We then did half of the craft with the children. The craft was a book with 8 pages. It had a cover and and page for each day of the creation.  After doing some of the craft, we continued on with the next story - a question & answer type of story. The final story was done as a skit. It was the story of when Adam & Eve sinned. Everyone did their part so well. After the skit, the children could finish their craft and then they were dismissed. Saturday morning we repeated everything at the guys' house here in Leon. We also did the skit for the children of La Palmerita on Wednesday afternoon and for the Leon congregation on Thursday night.

    Monday the 26th found some of us staff, along with WATER students and the visitors, heading to Granada for the day. We left Leon around 6:30 with a full truck. The cab was full as well as the benches. We had someone also sitting on a bucket. We arrived in Granada around 9:30 and had a brunch at a restaurant there. The food was excellent. I had a BLT sandwich with some of the best bread on it. We then went on a boat ride around Granada and saw different islands. We got off at one of the islands to see and old fort. Alicia & I are sitting on the wall of the fort in the above picture. We stopped by "the monkey island" It is a small island that has a number of monkeys on it. We then went to the Masaya Tourist Market and the Masaya Volcano before stopping for supper at TGI Friday's. I had never been to Granada before but it just reminded me so much of being at the ocean with my grandparents. The boat ride reminded me of going fishing and clamming in Delaware. I had a wonderful day with everyone, but as usual after a busy day, I was ready to get home.

    On Tuesdays, Laura is now having classes with Lydia. Lydia responded to the invitation on the last night of our revival meetings in La Palmerita. She is young mother from 3rd Street. She has 3 boys - Yelder, Melvin, and Yorbin. Her oldest son Yelder has some mental issues, some due to the fact that he has the same dad as his mother. She has been living with the father of her youngest 2; however he is a drinker and has not been the nicest lately. Some nights she has been going to Johanna's to get away. During revivals she had told him that she might accept Christ and that they would need to separate. Please pray for her as she takes the steps necessary to serve Christ victoriously. She does not have an easy path ahead. Pray for us, especially for Laura, as she relates to her and answers questions that she may have.

    Thank you for all your prayers and support. They are felt each and every day. May God richly bless you for all that you do.

Serving our Risen Lord in Nicaragua, Andrea

#19 Fear Ye Not!

This post was an email update that was sent out during my time spent in Nicaragua from 2009 to 2011. I started posting them here when some of my friends who had not received them, wanted to see and hear about the work there: Post One of Nicaraguan Updates.

Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it? Jeremiah 5:22 

 

    I continue to enjoy each of the classes that I am teaching. Right now the attendance is somewhat smaller and so we have been just having one class of children on Wednesday and Sunday. Right now my class is studying through the life of the Israelites. I am one that struggles with coming up with craft ideas, but thank you to Christine Nolt, we had a very well-fitting craft for the lesson that we had on the 10 plagues. The children just loved making the frogs and one of the boys even has his craft pasted on the wall in his home. The lesson for today, 7/18, is about the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, so I took our empty cake mix boxes and cut them apart to make a river bed with walls. We are going to be gluing popsicle sticks on the bottom for the dry ground, as I am not sure were I could come up with dry sand as everything is wet around here. We are then going to use pipe cleaners to make little people. (Later - we made the Red Sea crossing this morning and I enjoyed it so much. I was afraid my class wouldn't go long enough and I would be finish before Timo was finished preaching. However, he was finished preaching before, my class was finished.)

    Girls' class last Saturday, 7/10, was attended well again. I had 4 girls and we had a very good class. I have now started a point system to hopefully motivate each of them to learn their memory verse, come to class on time, and bring their Bibles. We will see how it all goes. We also had a small birthday party for 2 of the girls, so we had cake and chips. I am anxious to have yet another class and to spend time with them and to learn more about each of them. I just pray that I might be a blessing in their lives and they might be able to see the love of God shining through me. They all are at the critical age and it is just my desire to be able to give them a ray of hope in the darkness of the evils of this world.

    Magdelena is one of the young girls who comes to my Saturday classes. She has several older and younger brothers and and an older sister. She lives on Center Street and will sometimes be a faithful attendee at the Sunday and Wednesday services and then it may go several weeks till you see her again. I have been trying to spend time with her when she is at church. So often when she sees me coming, she will take off running and giggling. Just pray for me as I try to relate to her, even though sometimes I wonder if she really knows that I do care.

    We now have our WATER student with us. Her name is Alicia King from Belleville, PA and it has been great getting to know her. Having her here has been a new experience and the first week, it took me a little to find enough to keep her busy. However the 2nd week flew by and as we step into the 3rd week, I have a feeling that one will go just as fast. She has been helping out so much with housework and baking cakes & bread. She also did most of the cutting and preparing for the craft that we will be doing with the children's Bible School this weekend in Rota and by the guys' house in Leon.

                               

    Rainy season is upon us here in El Terrero. We are being so blessed with rain and rain brings big mud puddles. This rainy season has brought me many first-time experiences. The first Monday after Alicia arrived we decided we were going to attempt to into La Palmerita. I had a number of pictures to pass out as well as medicine. We were able to get to the entrance, but we soon ended up pushing our bikes and soon our flip-flops came off as it was too hard to walk with them on. We were able to go up 3rd Street from the bottom, riding our bikes. We stopped in with Johanna and gave her a good laugh before heading on our way. We headed up Center Street and we had to wade through muddy water that came up well over our ankles. We gave some people some good laughs that day. When we returned home, there was no electricity so we resorted to the cow pila to wash up a little. It was a first-time experience for me as well as Alicia.

    Friday night coming home from revival meetings, we kinda got stuck in the mud. We all got out of the truck and tried pushing it. That was to no avail, so Richard went to look for a tractor. After several attempts, they got the truck out. The mud was very slippery and there were ruts almost knee-deep at some places. We girls then loaded on the back and Randy attempted to go through but in a different rut. We were almost stuck, but we girls started getting the truck rocking and we were able to get out of the muddy hole. The nest morning we got up at 5:00 to wash off all the mud in the truck. It still looks pretty clean as it has rained several times since Saturday. We had to go the long way around to get to church Sunday afternoon, as it had rained pretty heavy before church. Thanks be to our Lord, who protected as we drove to and from church for each night of revival meetings.

 

    A rainy season project is crocheting rugs. We ladies are taking all our worn-out dresses and cutting them in strips and Virginia has been crocheting rugs. This is a good activity to do if we are out of electricity and it is raining and we are stuck in the house. She has made 2 rugs from one of her old hammocks and also a rug from some of Laura's dresses. She is now working on a rug from my dresses. So many of our rugs have worn out and it will be nice to have some more here again.

    One activity while the WATER students are here is to take them and climb Cerro Negro - a volcano between El Terrero and Leon. We met in Rota at 9:30 last Friday morning and a group of 7 of us headed to Cerro Negro. This year there were no guys along on WATER - just 2 girls. Alicia King is living with us in El Terrero and Jennifer Weaver from Bonners Ferry, ID (formerly from Lebanon County, Pa). We spent the morning climbing before heading to the beach for the afternoon. We finished the day with supper at a restaurant by the ocean. 

    This past weekend we were blessed with very challenging messages brought to us by Timo Schrock from the Kusili congregation in Waslala. I met several new people from La Palmerita at the meetings. The church house was filled up most every night. Just pray with us we relate with each of the people that came to the meetings as we strive to interact with them and answer questions they may have.

 

Jesus is coming soon!! Are you ready??

 

Blessings to you as you serve!

Committed to Him in Nicaragua, Andrea

#18 Class Time, cutting grass...

This post was an email update that was sent out during my time spent in Nicaragua from 2009 to 2011. I started posting them here when some of my friends who had not received them, wanted to see and hear about the work there: Post One of Nicaraguan Updates.

Home where we'll all be together again...home where our praise to the Lamb will never end...I'm going home, where I'll walk the streets of gold and never see a tear again...I'm going where all our dreams become reality...We'll soon be there, sitting round the tree of life, within the presence of our King...

As I was sitting here at my computer, thinking of how fast time has flown. It just seems like yesterday I had bought a ticket to fly home to visit my family. That time has come and gone and I am back in Nicaragua, spending time with those dear to my heart here. As I was thinking of the time I spent at home with my family, one of my favorite songs came to my mind. Home - talking about the heavenly home that is waiting each of us. A place where we will never say good-bye again! A place where we will not see a tear! As I listen to this song, it makes me homesick for HOME. It is my desire as I pass each day here, I might make an impact on someone's life and they might realize that HOME is also for them. Our time to go HOME is rapidly approaching. Are you...Am I ready for this day? I just want to leave this as a challenge to each of you.

              

    It has been raining quite a bit. The week before I flew home to my family we had several people from La Palmerita here to cut the grass. I forget exactly how many it took for them to cut the entire yard. Jaren & Jarell also had fun cutting the grass around the house. It gave them something to do when it was nice outside. Mike & Esther arrived June 3rd and left June 22nd. It was a blessing to have them here. With them also came Mike's sister, Melanie. It was great to get to know her. They stayed in Randy & Laura's house while Randy's were spending time in the States. While they were here, there were revivals in Leon. Philip Ebersole from Honduras was here as the evangelist. It was a blessing to be there and to be encouraged and challenged by each of his messages.

    While I was visiting my family in the States, our church here in La Palmerita had our 2nd baptism. Johanna, a young mother with 3 boys, is now a member of our congregation. She definitely does not have an easy life, but just pray for her as she desires to walk in the Lord and in His will for her. Right now her youngest son, Juancito, is not with her, as his father-Juan left to go work and took Juancito with him. I have been blessed getting to know her and she is a great inspiration as she she strives to serve the Lord in all that she does. She is the 2nd member to be added to our congregation here in La Palmerita.   

         

     It was great to get back and to teach each one of my classes. Saturday morning I had girls' class and had the largest attendance yet. Five young girls showed up, even though it had been raining several times that morning. I was blessed to have each of them here and to spend time with them, studying the Bible and also teaching them how to sew. Sunday morning, my Sunday School class was large as well. I had 8 boys and 1 girl. I wasn't sure what to expect as Virginia had said they had been pretty bad on Wednesday night. But praise the Lord, He hears and answers prayers. They were very well behaved and class went very well. They were enjoying class so much, our class went longer then the adult class!

     On Monday, Randy & Virginia took the baby pigs to Leon to try and sell them. They did rather well and sold all 6 of them to one person and were home before lunch. it seems just a little strange to only have 2 little pigs here any more. On the 5th we all went to Leon for the fasting service. When we returned, charlotte the mother pig was dead. We are not sure what exactly happened so we just have 2 small ones here any more.

    Ramon (the above picture) is the other member in our congregation. He celebrated his 21st birthday the beginning of June. He has been a member of the congregation for 2 years. He teaches reading classes in Rota 4 days a week as well as participates in church services.

    The month of July is looking pretty full. This evening we will be going to Managua to pickup the girls that are coming with SMBI's WATER program. We will also be having revival meetings in La Palmerita. Timo Schrock will be coming from Waslala as the evangelist. I just ask that you would lift him up in prayer and also pray for the community that the binds of Satan would be broken and the people would realize their need for a Saviour.

 

Blessings to you as you serve our Risen Lord, Andrea

#17 Rain, Mother's Day, Planting

This post was an email update that was sent out during my time spent in Nicaragua from 2009 to 2011. I started posting them here when some of my friends who had not received them, wanted to see and hear about the work there: Post One of Nicaraguan Updates.

 

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. (Psalm 121)

    The other day as I was biking into La Palmerita, I looked out across the land and my eyes came to rest on Volcano Momotombo. As it lay there on the horizon, I was once again reminded of it vastness and the power that is contained within the volcano. My mind was then drawn to our Holy Father and His  attributes - the power He contains in His hand. How often do we take for granted His power? The power: to heal a life, to take a life, to destroy a city...the list could go on and on. I know too often I tend to think on His kindness and mercy and feel to remember that He is also a powerful God that could take a life at any second. Am I...are you lifting your eyes to the hills from where our help comes? Are we relying in God for our strength and guidance?

Last week, on Monday morning we went to Johanna's shortly after 6:00 to plant watermelons in her field. We had Randy, Richard, Jason, and Roger were digging the holes and I was putting the fertilizer in the holes. Johanna and Virginia then planted the seeds. However after planting several rows we decided that it was too muddy and we would wait to plant the rest until Tuesday. Tuesday morning Virginia and I went back out to help. Roger, Jason, and I dug the holes. Johanna put in the fertilizer and Virginia planted the seeds. I was amazed at how fast it went. However when it started raining the seeds either drowned or washed away :(

    This past week we received an abundance of rain. It started raining heavy Tuesday night through Friday. Saturday through Monday it rained on and off.  Wednesday and Thursday we spent most of our days in the house or in the hammocks wrapped in blankets, reading, and sipping tea and soup. Wednesday morning Nick and Hans were playing the water until Hans fell and got all wet. We didn't have church on Wednesday evening due to the rain. Jason was going to take Randy's to CAM and pick up his parents. The only way he could get here from La Palmerita was on the horse. However through most of this storm we did not lose electricity. That was a blessing!

    Friday morning Jason brought Johanna from La Palmerita and she started baking cakes for Mother's Day. As soon as they were baked they went straight to the freezer to cool down so Virginia could decorate them. However as usual the morning of Mother's Day you always seem to have people coming and saying - "I need a cake for my mother. Can't you make me one?" We ended up making 7 cakes on Mother's Day.

    On Sunday afternoon we had a church activity at Campo Medico with those from Leon. We played several rounds of Frisbee Football together. I enjoyed playing as it had been a long time since I had played Frisbee Football. Afterward we all went back to the church and had supper. A big thank you to Karen, Denise, and Andrea for the the supper. It was great. We sat around and spent time talking and having fun before going our separate ways. It was a great time of fellowship and fun.

                                          

    On Monday morning we woke up to no electricity. Jason was planning to take his parents to Leon for the morning and Virginia was going along to spend time with Karen so I decided to ride along. I didn't have that much to do, but there wasn't that much I could do with no electricity and no water. When we got to Leon, I went and visited with Yolonda (She is an older lady and school teacher. She is a member of the Leon congregation.) I had a great time with her and time passed so rapidly. From there I stopped it with Andrea and ended up staying there and helping her with her laundry. I had a great time and enjoyed my morning. From there, we headed to Rota to show the town to Jason's parents. We spent time visiting with Juan and his wife there before heading back to El Tererro #1. However we were not able to get through the road into Malpaisillo as the road was washed out so we went around through some fields. However once we got onto the flats, we ended up having to stop as we had a problem with the 4-wheel drive. We spent quite a bit of time there till they got it fixed. But praise the Lord, we got back to the house all in one piece.

    Yesterday morning we spent time at the church cleaning as the floors were all covered with dried-on mud from the storm we had. Jason & Ramon had to pull all the water up by hand as the rope was stolen from the pump once again. Johanna and I worked in the Sunday school building and the others worked on the church floor. Both required a good deal of scrubbing. Johanna kept me busy carrying buckets of water for the floor. After we were finished, it sure looked better and smelled clean.

    This afternoon we are heading to Managua to take Jason's parents to CAM and to pick up Mike & Esther and their family at the airport. It was great having Jason's parents here and I enjoyed it very much. I got to know them better. Thank you for coming to visit and stay with us. Thank you to Mike's in advance for coming and living with us for the next several weeks. God bless both of you!

    My next email is due the week I fly home so I will try and send one once I am home. Blessings to all of you as continue walking with the Lord wherever He may lead in these next weeks.

Until the next time, Andrea