GreaThings Info

One thing that I have come to enjoy about Facebook, is finding so many blogs out there that are dedicated to the inspiration of the Christian. Just this week I became aware of GreaThings. Started in 2007, it has become a tradition that happens each November for two weeks before Thanksgiving. Starting November 8th through November 22nd, I have decided to give it a whirl. For any of you who would like to know more about this challenge, check out  Great Things and Great Things 2012 Schedule.

Each day I will add the new post to the list below!

GreaThings 2012

Nov. 08 – Great memories & moments you’re thankful for this year
Nov. 09 – The "R" Blessings
Nov. 10 - Scriptural Blessings!
Nov. 11 - "E" is for...
Nov. 12 - Answered Prayers
Nov. 13 - Lyric that has been a blessing 
Nov. 14 - "L" is for...
Nov. 15-20 - Catch Up..
Nov. 21 - Inspired by whom

My hearts cries

Oh, how I miss all these little ones! The Lord only knows where they are tonight! I was reminded of a song...

He was 10 years old when his parents separated and left him in the cold. Walking the streets all alone, he had no place to call his home.Many tears he cried at night, trying to make it on his own.

What about the children all around the world, whose hearts are broken by mean words spoken? What about the children, who were searching for love? God loves His children, as His tears fall from above.

She had big blue eyes, but a broken spirit. She was sick of listening to all the lies. She ran away at 15, far from home. This was a cool place when you are alone. Many tears she cried at night, wishing that she wasn't alone.

What about the children all around the world, whose hearts are broken by mean words spoken? What about the children, who were searching for love? God loves His children, as His tears fall from above.

When it's raining, think about the children!

After spending 2 years with these little ones, they all will have special places in my heart. Thinking about them and praying for them that God will grant protection and safety to them.

A Busy Summer....

 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Matthew 24:27

Hello to you all,

I know it has been so long since many of you have heard from me. If I am correct, the last one you all received was in May. Oh how time has flown since then. But in all honesty, I have had a great summer, God has been good, and I am blessed (some things that I am reminded of from day to day). 

My summer took off in a running start. I finished Math and English classes in May 9th, giving a few weeks break before Christine Weaver and I flew to Missouri to visit Audrey. It had been a trip long talked about and became one long-awaited for. We flew out of Philadelphia, Friday June 1st at 5.55am and arrived in Columbia, MO at 10.05am. It was great to see a familiar face waiting for us there. The time we spent with her flew by. She had put a lovely quilt into a frame, so we helped her quilt it. The quilt was jungle-themed and her borders colors looked great. I hadn’t quilted in so long, but we had (at least I did) some awesome time and fun around this quilt. It appeared to be a king-size quilt and we had it nearly done till we left on Tuesday, June 5th. Audrey did text me that night or the next day and tell me that she had finished quilting it. We spent Saturday afternoon doing some sightseeing and seeing some beautiful areas of Missouri and surrounding areas. We drove to Cantril, IA and Memphis, MO. The time by the lake was so peaceful and relaxing. To top of the day, we went to Colton’s Steak House and Grill. Absolutely loved the place! Sunday we spent some time with folks from Cornerstone. If I remember correctly, we went to Javin and Sheila Martin’s for lunch, spent the afternoon strolling through a nearby cemetery, and then spent the evening hanging out with the youth at a pond. It was so great to spend time with Audrey and Christine

 During my short summer break, I offered to take my three youngest siblings away for a fun day. We started a little early for little children, but we had a great day. We started the day out at 7.30am at Verdant View Farm. We did a farm tour, where they could try to milk a cow, bottle-feed a calf and many other farm many other fun things. From there, we went to the Railroad Museum, which they all enjoyed very much. Miranda was awe-struck when she saw all the “big” trains. In taking the one picture of her beside the train, I did not realize how big it was until I actually looked at it later on my computer. From the Railroad museum, we then finished out our day at the Choo-Choo Barn, which I believe was the highlight of their day. Till we headed home, we had some little people that were very sleepy, some of which fell asleep as we drove home.

 This summer, my sister and I taught the nursery summer Bible School class. Most of the young children I had in my Bible School Class are the same children that I have in my Sunday morning class. All of the little ones look forward to the final night, so they can each have their helium-filled balloon to let loose in the sky with a precious Gospel message attached to it. I really enjoy teaching these precious little bundles, but I realized that I can not do everything, especially now with school and work. I decided that I will say “no” for the next Sunday School year and allow someone else to influence these precious bundles. I know one little person that will not be totally impressed-my sister Miranda. She thinks it is jut the coolest thing to have her sister teach her class

 This summer our family had several medical related issues; 3 to be exact. The first one was when Miranda fell off the gator and broke her collar bone. She was in a brace for 4 weeks. About a week after she broke her collar bone, Wesley burnt his arm while helping Jordan’s boss with some clean-up. Wesley had been doing yard work for Jordan’s boss and a pole barn crew was there building a new pole. In doing some clean-up that night, one of the fellows threw an aerosol can on the fire and Wesley did not know that. He took some trash to the fire and had just turned, when the can flashed, resulting in 2nd and 3rd degree burns (3rd degree are the little white spots on the picture to the right in the center row) We took him to a Joe Wenger lady in Frysville that had been trained to treat burns with B & W ointment and burdock leaves. Within a week, the burnt skin was off and was pink underneath. Within a month after this happened, he had no scars and you barely could tell that he had been burnt. The final medical issue occurred to my dad. He twisted his knee while on the roof and tore cartilage in his knee. He had to have surgery and was off work for a week. Mom says that’s enough now

 

 Our family had the opportunity to do an old-fashioned scrapple making demonstration at Shirktown Threshing. The whole family thoroughly enjoyed the day making scrapple, seeing the old tractors and many other things. We had a constant flow of people all day and had only 6 pans of scrapple left from the 80 we made. It was definitely different to make scrapple in the middle of the summer, but we had so much fun. It is awesome to be able to work together as a family and just have a great time together. We all unanimously agreed that scrapple tastes better cooked over a wood fire!

 God has brought a new opportunity to me in relation to nursing field. I have been asked to provide night care for an older woman who has a brain tumor and has been given approximately 6 months to live. I have agreed to do 2 twelve-hour night shifts for the family. The shift is from 8pm to 8am on Sunday nights and Tuesday nights. This will provide several opportunities for me: quiet study time, experience taking care of cancer patient, amidst various other things.

My fall classes start Monday, August 20th and I am looking forward to them. I do really enjoy studying and I am always am glad for a break, but I do miss it while I have breaks.

I thought it was high time to keep you all informed!

Have a great day in the Lord!

Serving a risen Savior, AJ

Overdue News!

Hello to all of you! Time has sped by and it has been several months since many have heard from me. I must admit that it has been way too long, so I decided to attempt to get one out this week. 

God truly has been good and I felt the prayers of many as I started my first semester of college. As I began to study, I realized how much I did enjoy studying. Both classes went fairly well and I felt that I was able to adjust quite well to a school schedule. Of course, night school did cut out some family time, but my family was understanding(even the brothers, that were always telling me that they did all the work while I sat on my computer). I am officially finished with the Spring semester and have a month break before I start on Summer classes. 

My father and brothers have been doing some work around our home. I don't recall when the siding was replaced(while I lived in Nicaragua or when??) They just recently bought stone for the front of the house. They spent several evenings laying the stone. It looks so nice and I can hardly remember what it originally looked like. He also bought pavers and laid them on the floor of the side porch. In the near future, we are planning to add a piece on. The house is just getting smaller with all the bigger children.

I plan to fly to Missouri next weekend to visit my friend Audrey. She moved out there with her sister last fall and has been enjoying it very much. I also plan to teach VBS this summer with my sister, Wendy. June 18th, I start my summer classes and they go until August 9th. I have a week and half break before I then start my fall classes. I am hoping to start as a Patient Care Assist this fall as well to get me into the hospital and get some experience.

We have sold all out little puppies. They were so cute, but were getting bigger and naughtier :)

     

We had a mother/daughter tea at church with a gorgeous, yummy fruit basket and rice & beans for the hot food. The ladies on the committee asked the Guatemelan lady, Miriam to make a meal. I was in my glory!

We as young people are headed to the cabin this weekend. Well actually the rest of the youth are already there. My sister had to work till 9pm so we are leaving as soon as she gets home. It is about 2-1/2 hrs drive, so I have a long night ahead of me. I have begun to drink my coffee, because I know she is tired from working almost 10hrs today in receiving (she works at Weaver's store in Fivepointville and they received a large shipment today)

I would love to hear from some of you when you have a spare moment!

Blessings to you all!

#43 ¡Adiós! El Terrero

    "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."Hebrews 11:13

As I think back over the last 2 years, the above verse came to my mind. We are constantly reminded that we are strangers and pilgrims here in this earth. The "strangers & pilgrims" concept has become clearer in my mind as I spent the last 2 years here in Nicaragua. When I arrived, I felt very much like a stranger - as time moved along, I soon felt more comfortable here, but as I now look at the past 2 years, I once again remember that I am just passing through. The 2 years that I have spent here are full of so many wonderful memories and many stretching, growing experiences. I thank the Lord for the opportunity that I had to serve Him here.

In the last couple weeks, I have been saying so many good-byes and trying to spend "precious memories" with all my friends. One of the hardest thing for me was to say "good-bye" to all the friends that I met over the past years.  One afternoon the 3 young ladies (Lanita, Carmen, Krista) that have arrived to fill the positions here in Nicaragua went out with me to Café Rosita. It was great to spend time with them and to connect with them. I wish them the Lord´s blessing as they serve Him here in Nicaragua.

(Laura, Doña Enma, Sindy, Jesenia, Jorlenis,Christine, Megan & myself - along with the little boy)
Laura decided to invite one of the ladies from La Palmerita along with her daughters out to her house for supper one night. We decided to do a "soup & salad" supper. I attempted to make bread bowls for the soup. They didn't turn out too bad, considering that it was a "first" for me. It was a great experience for them, as well as for us. It was also a great way to spend time with them and make memories.

Then about a week later, Enma invited us all out to her house for lunch. She served us large plates of chicken soup. It was so good and we all had a wonderful time.

Last week we planned a "farewell" party out at the church and invited the ladies and children to come out on Tuesday afternoon. We did some singing and I shared a short devotional - another "first". Afterward Laura and Christine took care of the children's activities. They had a large ice chest of water balloons that all the children just loved. They then played soccer and kickball. Krista and Lanita helped me sew together a bunch of simple purses. We gave them a small piece of fabric of a contrasting color and allowed them to sew these scraps on the purse. The ladies all seemed to enjoy it and it was wonderful to spend time with each of these ladies.
As I spent time with all my friends and started saying "good-byes" it didn't seem like reality. As last week continued to draw to a close, reality starting sinking in. However there were a couple more "firsts" that the came into my life.

I got the privilege to kill several tarantulas- Keith killed the one on the porch and I killed 2 that came marching into my house like they owned it.

On Monday as I was preparing to leave, one of the neighbors arrived and wondered if someone would be able to go La Paz Centro - a town about 40 minutes away. Keith wasn't able to go, as he had twisted his ankle yesterday, so I said I could do the run. The neighbor hadn't told me what I needed to do, but we headed out.  We went through La Paz and about 10 minutes out of the town, I realized what I was getting in for. The neighbor's Jeep left him set and he needed someone to pull him home. Not only did we have to pull the Jeep, but also the trailer that had a large bull on it. Talk about having a "stretching" experience. I had never before pulled a vehicle, but I guess sometime needed to be the "first". I was never so glad to see my home, but I was grateful to have Ramon in the truck with me to tell me when to shift down and such things...that needed to be taken into consideration when pulling a vehicle.

Little Owen getting weighed at the clinic.


Little boy with a "big" lunch


Lanita with "Beulah", giving Ava a ride.

I want to take this time to thank each of you all for your prayers as I served the Lord here in Nicaragua in the last 2 years. Without your prayers, the work here would have seen so much harder. May God richly bless you all for your encouragement to me and the work here. Please continue to lift the work here in Nicaragua to the throne of grace.

Lord willing, I will be flying out of Managua at 1:00pm and arriving at BWI at 11:40pm.

Thank you once again! Andrea

PS. I will continue to send small updates once I return to PA. If you would like to stay on my email list, please let me know. Thank you!

#42 When life gives you mud puddles....

 For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:
the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

As I looked at this verse and did a little background study on it, Isaiah is talking to the Jews concerning their captivity in Babylon. However if we take this verse to another aspect, we could compare it to the feelings and relief that wash over a soul that has made a commitment to our Lord. They have been freed from their "bondage" of sin. They can go out with joy and a feeling of peace, being relieved of their baggage of sin and having their life cleansed with the blood of Jesus Christ. May your lives be filled with the joy and peace that only comes from a life cleansed in the blood of our precious Savior.

We have just come through several days of revival meetings and I have been blessed and challenged by the messages. The first couple nights I didn't get too much out of the message due to trying to keep rowdy children sitting quietly. Albert & Miriam Struhbar and their family, as well as Miriam's sister Johana came to share the Word with us. Albert & Miriam are from Kusilí, Nicaragua. Kusili is beyond Waslala. It was a blessing to spend time with another Christian family and fellowship together. It definitely was a good experience for some of us women, as Miriam only speaks Spanish. But it was good for us and I even learned some new words :) The attendance was pretty good each night and someone new showed up almost every night.

*Playing Golf with the neighbor girls


*My mud-splattered friends and I

The picture above has quite the story! I decided to do something special for the young girls from my girls' class, so we invited them out to the "farm" for a sleepover. We decided to do it this past Friday night, as the guys had went camping. I told them I would come pick them up around 5:30pm and take them back to the house. I went out to LP to pick each of them up. It had been raining most of the afternoon and I was kinda worried about getting into LP. I couldn't figure out how to lock in the hubs, but the road didn't seem bad when I entered LP, so I wasn't too worried anymore. I picked up all the girls and headed back out the way I had come. To make a long story short, we arrived at the mud hole I feared the worst and as we entered the truck so nicely slid to the side and got stuck ;( The girls all jumped out and said they would push. They pushed me front...they pushed me back....front....back....front....back... We thought we were getting somewhere then it would slide the other way and we were stuck...again. We tried calling Leonardo, but their one phone was turned off and as I dialed the 2nd number, I lost cellphone service and was not able to find it again. Alvarado came along and tried to help us as well, but we just weren't having much luck. Finally I asked him if he would be willing to bike out to Don Pedro and see if there was a tractor available to come and pull us out. He left and it started pouring and there was nowhere for all these wet, muddy girls to take refuge, so we huddled together. I knew Laura would be getting worried, but there was no way to contact her, because I couldn't seem to find cellphone service. The girls said "let's try pushing one more time" So back into the truck I climbed all muddy and wet, and we tried but to no avail. And as the story goes, our knight in a blue raincoat arrived on his white horse......He looked at us and kinda grinned, but asked if there was somewhere to tie a rope. He doubled up his 3/4" rope  and hooked it on the front of the truck.....and then tied it to the horse's TAIL!!! The girls all lined up along the back of the truck and when he said "ya" they pushed...I slowly left out the clutch and the horse pulled us.......right out of that mud puddle! I think everyone cheered. We unhooked the rope and the horse and his rider rode off into the dark night and this "gringa" and her group of girls praised the Lord and jumped onto and into the truck and headed for the house. As we were arriving we met Laura  walking towards us. She had decided to go to the neighbors to see if they would be willing to take her to LP, as she was sure we were stuck. We arrived home an hour late...tired, wet, hungry, but thankful. The next day the girls washed the truck after breakfast. We all had a great time together and made many great memories!

*Magdalena, Lanita Hess, and Deynaire


*Mireyda, myself, Deynaire, and Katherin


*Krista Bowman and Yaritza


*Cleaning the truck after its thrilling experience

The pictures above were just a few of the many pictures that I have from the sleepover that i had with the girls. 



On Saturday we were invited to the birthday party of Amy, the daughter of Hector & Iris. I was reminded once again why I don't like Nicaraguan birthday parties. They always play loud, beating music. Amy is pictured above with her father and a great-uncle. Hector and Iris used to live just down the farm lane, but have moved out to another farm where he is working.

Since the beginning of the month, three young ladies have joined the staff here in Nicaragua. Lanita Hess-PA and Krista Bowman-VA will be moving into the El Terrero house once they finish language school and Carmen Diem-SC will be moving into the girls' house in Leon. Please pray for these young ladies as they adjust to the culture, climate, and language here. Krista and Lanita are both pictured in this email.

Also pray for me as I prepare to leave and move back to PA. I fly out of Nicaragua on September 13th at 1:00PM. 

Until later, God bless! Andrea

#41 Time is Flying By

The winds of change still blow through history's pages. Each day reveals a world that's not the same. Thrones and powers rise and fall.
Bondage reigns then freedom calls, but for every generation Calvary still remains.

The Cross still stands - an invitation to the lost; a reminder of the cost we will never owe again.
The Cross still stands as a token of God's grace. Love's masterpiece will never be erased; the Cross still stands.
Written by Daryl Petersheim & sung by Garment of Praise

As I stood on the beach the other night and looked out across the water seeing the force that God has put in the ocean and seeing this cross standing there, remaining strong against the force of the water; I was reminded of the Cross that still stands for all of the world. That Cross has stood firm for more than 2000 years, even amidst many people's attempt to remove it and its influences from this world. If the Lord tarries yet a while longer, we as Christians know that the Cross will still remain strong. What are we doing to share the the blessing of this "cross"with those who we meet from day to day? With our eyes fixed on this Cross and the Savior who died for us on this Cross, we will be victorious.

The last month has flown by way too fast. The WATER students arrived on June 28 to spend the next 4 weeks with us. We received 4 students here at OBMM in Nicaragua. Here in El Tererro/La Palmerita area Levi Fisher from PA and Amy Freeman from Ontario spent the time with us. (They are picture on the right in the picture above) Ryan Skrivseth from SC and Kendra Horst from IN  (pictured to the left) stayed in Leon. For me, it was great to have a young lady in the house with me once again. And somehow it seems like unique situations always seem to find their way into your life when the WATER students are here. There were some minor truck issues - the exhaust come loose from the manifold and the windshield stop working. So for the next several days we drove around in a loud truck and cleared the windshield by attaching a rope to each wiper. It proved to be quite the experience and it took team work to keep the windshield clean amidst pouring rain.
                          
 We spent quite a bit of time in La Palmerita visiting people and just catching up on all their lives. One day we left the house at 9:00 and did not come home till 5:00. The main schedule for the day was to have the 3 regular Bible studies. Aside from that we wanted to do some visiting. During each class, Amy spent time with the children while I studied with the mother. We were able to visit a number of ladies that we hadn't seen for a while, which was so much of a blessing. We were also blessed by helping a young mother moved her meager belongings from one house to another. I was really touched after we had moved the things when the lady came to me with tears in her eyes and said "I can't pay you, but I know God will pay you" It was wonderful to be used of God in that way and to be able to minister to that family.
                          
Another special event we try to do each year with the WATER students is have a 1-day Vacation Bible School with the children in different communities. This year we decided to do it with the children of LA Palmerita and the ones from Delmar and Joel's neighborhood. This year for something different, the Leon staff planned the day in La Palmerita and the LP staff planned the day in Leon. The young people from Leon had a theme of "You Are Special" and they used Max Lucado's one storybook about Punchinello and his desire to have more and more. However the more he got, the more dissatisfied his became. As Eli told him, the Lord is also trying to tell each ones of us that we are special just as we are. We didn't really have a theme for our day, but it was also another great day. We acted out Zaccheus, Abraham and Isaac, and The Wise Man and the Foolish Man. There was a nice turnout at each location and we praise the Lord for the opportunity to share His love to those that came out to each activity.
We also took a trip to Waslala with the WATER students. I was looking forward to going, knowing that this will probably be the last time I would be able to go before I returned to the States in September. It proved to be a very memorable trip - one that won't easily be forgotten. There were a few of us that had been to Waslala before and knew the way or so we thought. To make a long story short, we made a wrong turn and drove for about an hour and half before we stopped and asked someone. However we were able to get some really beautiful pictures. Pablo's were not around this time, so we had the privilege of spending time with Alvino & Edna Miller and their family. 

They showed us around Waslala and took us out to Kusili. We stopped at Pablo's to see his snakes and monkeys. I had a little fellow, Zambo who insisted on following me around and hanging on me. We then headed out of town, stopping first at Marcos's house to see his brother-in-laws making "gelatinas." Marcos is Alvino's son that is married to Karla, a native Nicaraguan. They lived in Waslala but at the current time are in the States. His wife's family lives in their home there and continue to make "gelatina - jellos" to sell to the people in Waslala. From there we went to see Pablo's birds at the Laguna's place beside the Jicaral church. We then went out to Kusili to Steven & Daisy's for lunch. While we waited on lunch we went down to the river and rode on Timo's cable swing that he made to cross the river. We spent some time with Daisy before heading back to Waslala. On the way back, we stopped at Jonathan's and hiked back to the waterfall. It was quite an experience with me sitting in the mud more than once. Alvino also showed us the cocoa trees that Jonathan has there. He broke one open and showed it to us (pictured above). It was a great time and I enjoyed it so much. 

Just a little picture for you - I'm pleased to introduce you to a Nicaraguan dentist office. For less the $15, I was  able to have a tooth filled.

One of the few pictures that Amy and I have together.

Thank you for all your prayers! Andrea

PS: For those of you who may have wonder what happened to me and why you haven't heard lately. Well it is because my computer has been having issues and I have to borrow a computer to type emails.