#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

#16 Girls' Class, Sunday Night Church......

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.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

    As I was looking through my pictures of the last 2 weeks, I came across these 2 pictures. As I looked at them a thought came to mind as to what each tractor represents. The top tractor is preparing the soil for planting and the bottom tractor is gathering in the harvest. As we interact with people from day to day, are we doing things that is preparing the soil of the heart to receive the Word of God and allow it to be planted and take root in their lives? I just want to leave that as challenge to each of you. Are your actions helping or hindering the preparation of the heart soil? As I then looked at the other tractor with its load of fresh hay bales it made me think of a verse on John 4 - "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." What are we doing about the harvest that is before us? Are we willing to be a worker in the kingdom of the Lord?

    The first girls' class is past in the next one will be on Saturday. I am anxious to have another class and to see how many girls will show up. I want to make sure I go to each girls' house tomorrow and remind them that there is a class on Saturday. The first class I only had 2 girls - Sindy & Katerin. Both are girls that I know very well. The class went very well and they said it was easy to understand. I was hoping I hadn't picked anything to hard for them. I am using parts of  Brenda Weaver's book - Daughters of Eve & Daughters of God. I translate what I am going to use and thanks to Jason, he helps me correct the way things need to be said or revise things so they sound better. I have them memorizing Psalms 139. I give them 2 verses a week as we have class every other week. For a craft, I have them embroidering a verse with a border on a piece of white fabric. Once they are done, we will sew a back on it and make it a pillow.

    Please keep Hector, our neighbor man, in your prayers. Some of you may remember him from previous emails. In January, he responded to the Savior's call. However here of late he has not been attending church much at all. He has only come to one Bible study. Just join us in praying that he might realize his need for fellowship with the brothers and sisters of the church, as well as the need to learn more about God and many other blessings from the the Bible.

    Johanna is planning to be baptized on the 20th of June and I am so happy for her as she has seen her need to take this step. Continue to pray for her as she continues to look for work to supply for her and her 3 boys. Just pray that God would give her strength for each and every day. They often don't have more than tortillas w/ salt to eat. At times she finds a washing job and sometimes the boys help tend cows after school. However each moment I spend with her is an encouragement to me and challenges me.

    The other day is was in my bedroom studying for a lesson, when all of sudden I heard some strange noises. At first I couldn't tell where they were coming from until I looked out my bedroom window. Nick and Hans were just having a time of it, playing with stone and spare pipes. The chickens and turkeys love to scratch in the dirt right under my window and they have it all soft. It was also shaded yet as the sun had not yet reached it. It never ceases to amaze me where I might find the boys next.

    Today we had an interesting time watching the calf-chasing as they tried to load the 5 calves. They had one or two loaded when one of the calves ran threw the fence into the back yard and then ran over past the banana trees and ran through the fence there. Then the one black calf took off toward the back of the field, went through several fences and ended up in the other field with the other calf. The guys then got in the truck and tried rounding them up in the big field. but didn't have too much success. They finally got them back into the feeding area and got them loaded.

    These 3 young children live on 3rd Street in La Palmerita. Their parents' names are Carlos & Lydia. The children's names are Yoselyn, Yubelki, and Elbin. They might come to church for a few Sundays in a row and then they don't come for a while. Whenever we go past there house walking, biking, or in the truck, they often come running and hollering our names. Just pray that we might be able to reach out to them and that they might want to come to class.

    On the 9th, we had our Sunday evening service; however this was unlike any Sunday service I was ever at. For the first time since I have been here, we had Sunday night church at 6:00 instead of 4:00. We took a small generator along and hung 2 bulbs from the ceiling. Church was very well attended by people of La Palmerita, as well as the beetles. There were big beetles, little beetles, medium beetles, micro-small beetles. Several times I almost swallowed a bug  It is an experience I shall never forget.

    Till you receive my next email, Lord willing, Jason's parents will have been here for a visit and Mike & Esther will be in our presence. Thank you to both couples for their willingness to come and stay here with us in El Tererro while Randy & Laura fly home to visit family. It will great to both of them once again. The last time I saw them was at my commissioning service in August. Also Krista will have left the team and Joel Heatwole will have arrived to join the single staff of Leon. I plan to fly to the States for a week on June 17th. I look forward to seeing each and every one of my family and friends.

    Yes well, I think I will draw to a close. I leave you with a challenge - What are you doing in the fields of God today?? Are you sowing seed?? Are you gathering the harvest. God's blessing to each of you as you serve Him this week!

From El Tererro, Nicaragua: Andrea

#15 LP Vaccination Day, Birthday Party, Staff Trip...

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. You can access the entire list here.

    Greetings to all of you from El Tererro, where the grass is turning green and the plants are starting to look nice since the last rains that the Lord blessed us with. We have been blessed with several very nice rains in the last week. As it was raining, the thought came to my mind - that of how the dry, parched ground received the rain. I pray that our lives as Christians are not dry and parched, but that it is ever open to receive the Word of the Lord and then as we interact with other people that our witness/testimony may be as rain to their dry, parched soul. 

                       

On Friday the 23rd, Virginia & I spent the morning in La Palmerita. We took the nurses from the clinic along as it was time for vaccinations in La Palmerita. I enjoyed the morning very well, as I was able to visit it with many friends. It was great to see all the children that came and their mothers as well. I also got to see some new babies. it was interesting watching all the expressions when children and adults received their vaccinations. The above picture is of the children coming home from school. One of the boys on Center Street takes his cart to from school. Their classes end around 12:00, so after the cartload went past, there was soon a number of people at the rancho as mothers were bringing all their children. I was glad I got the opportunity to go along. On Sunday morning, we then took the nurses to El Tererro #3 to spend the morning vaccinating there.

                                                                    

On Saturday afternoon the 24th, we were invited to La Palmerita for the birthday party of Banessa. She turned a year-old. The people for the Evangelical Church in Techunami had a small service before they served us the birthday meal. While they were singing, they left the children hit the piñata. I was kept quite busy snapping pictures of family and friends. The young girl that I had featured in my last email one of the older sisters of Banessa. When we placed the cake in front of her, she had so much fun touching it. It was so cute.

FEATURED MOTHER!!

The young lady pictured at the top right is Alba. She lives on the bottom half of 1st Street. She came from a nice size family. She is 17 years old and just had a baby boy. She does not come to church regularly, but some of her siblings come from time to time. I talk to her from time to time and desire to get to know her better. Please join me in praying for her!

This past Sunday afternoon till Tuesday afternoon we spent our time at Selva Negra as a staff trip. I enjoyed the time, especially the time that we spent each morning in the chapel singing. On Monday some of us climbed to the top of Selva Negra. I am so glad I did it, but wow it was a hard climb. Coming down you just slid in the mud. I was very muddy till I got to the bottom. I enjoyed being able to spend time with the staff and get to know every one better.

       

Blessings to each of you as you serve in your field! If you think of it, I will be starting a young girls' class this weekend. Keep each of us in your prayers. The girls as they come that their hearts might be open and me as I strive to portray God's Word to them clearly.

Until the next time, Andrea