Day 8

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."

Another day in Nicaragua, boy this goes by way to fast. Not to much to report for today except that we just continued working on the church, and we are preparing tomorrow for the last bit of the floor to be placed in. Everybody is worn out but it is so rewarding to see what we are accomplishing together. Please be in prayer for everyone continually for strength. A cool thing that happened today was when the kids wanted to start helping us with the work. I had the honor of teaching them how to paint and they were naturals at it. Continue praying for us.

Lunes

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth."

What a marvelous time here in Nicaragua, I am hoping that all who are reading this will be joining us on our next adventure. Today we finally got to start working on the church, which was quite rewarding but to say the least we are all tired. We got a lot of dirt moved, and a lot of painting done. It is so awesome to see the church coming together and to see how once this was just a vision, but now God is bringing it together. It has been my dream ever since the first time I came to Nicaragua to see Manuel have a church. I remember walking through the barrios and seeing the place where they met, and having to meet in the open air. I know it has always been difficult for them not knowing one week or another if they would be able to meet due to the rain and what not. But now thanks be to God that we are able to see the church being built.

An awesome thing that happened the other day was that we got all the shoes passed out to the kids and to see their faces light up over some new shoes, we can all learn something from that. We also purchased rice for the families. Ruth, Manuel's daughter, is so burdened for the families and the kids of Nicaragua. Ruth is in the same situation as they are, but out of the goodness of her heart, she gave some money in order to help with the rice. It broke my heart to see someone who gives sacrificially when she isn't even sure if her family has enough food to make it through the week. Talk about sacrifice and it provoked within me a need for repentance of my selfishness and my lack of sacrifice in my life. Another cool thing that happened was that after we handed all the rice out, we had probably ten or so extra bags left over. We got in the back of the truck and rode around the streets and passed out the rice to just random people. To see them show so much gratitude for three pounds of rice was a blessing for us. It reminds me so much of what James talks about.

Hopefully I will continue to give some updates. Please be in prayer for us as we work for strength and a desire to serve these people. Continue praying for the people and hopefully we will raise enough money to finish the church as soon as possible. Pray for these people and what God will do through the church being built. Thanks for taking time to read this and I love you all. Nos vemos.

Spanish Word of the Day: Mapache, which means raccoon.

2011

"Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

What a quick year this was. But what a year of God's faithfulness. There hasn't been a lot going on today, except for the beach. It was also pretty sweet to get into the ocean on New Year's Day. We are all really anxious about getting started working on the church. Tomorrow we get to go to Manuel's church for service. We are also going to hand out the rice to the families and the shoes for the kids. Please be in prayer for the families and their receptivity to the Gospel. But there is a lot of work to be done with the roof going up. We are hoping that we will be able to do a lot of work, so we are getting a welder to come in for the roof. Their will be a lot more updates later on but until then be in prayer for us all.

4

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire."

Day number four was once again incredible. It is always a blessing to know that we have so many people back in the US praying for us. We definitely need it. We went back to the barrio with the kids again today and took a couple of soccer balls to them. It was fun playing with the kids but the Gringos won! (Keep in mind these kids are probably 7-10 years old!) But it was also pretty awesome to see the roof being delivered to the work site. It came in a couple of beams and tin for the roof. Hopefully after the weekend, we can begin working. We are just unable because they had to wait for more money in order to purchase the materials.

Later on we took a truck ride over to William Perez's house. He is the head honcho for building the church. He made us lunch. It was fish (barracuda, catfish, and one no one knew) and crab soup. It was very good. But other than that we didn't do much else. We just finished eating pizza and now are relaxing. Continue to pray for us.

Our Needs: Prayer for the church and the barrio, we only lack 6,000 to finish it completely and we would love to get it done before the rainy season, so they can begin to meet inside, out of the rain. Prayer for us. There is also a situation going on here with other parties, pray that it can be resolved and ultimately Christ will be glorified.

Dia numero tres

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Words cannot describe the glory of our Lord Jesus. Just to catch a glimpse of his glory is remarkable. We had a wonderful day, after all of the traveling issues had been resolved. It is good to be back in the swing of things here in Nicaragua. It is also amazing to see what God is doing with these people, and how these people are actually blessing us. Everyone is amazed at what God is doing.

Today we all got some rest and had breakfast together. We got to share what was going on and kind of talk about our plans for the coming days. It was nice also to see many of our friends again from Nicaragua. After that we spent most of the day in the barrio where the church is located. The church has about twelve feet of walls up and the entry way is beginning to take its form. It is awesome to see how much progress has taken place. The most amazing part is that we are only around 5 or $6,000 away from completely finishing the church. Playing with the kids is always something that no matter what is going wrong will make things better. They jumped in our arms, tried to learn English, and also asked for new sandals. We are hoping to get a lot done with the kids. Even after just one day of being with the kids, everyone's heart is for them. We are also hoping to get rice and beans for the community in order to help the families out. There are thirty families in the barrio of the church. A lot is on the table but pray for us to not get bogged down in it but rather get nothing but pure joy from it. Pray for these families and that the Gospel will change them, for that is our ultimate purpose in building this church and pouring our lives into the people of the barrio. Above all else, pray that the Gospel will be advanced to all peoples.

Until next time...

The Time Is Near

Well once again the time is approaching to head back home to Nicaragua. The relationships that were built will last a lifetime and even beyond that. I thank God for each and everyone of them and what they mean to me. There is so much that is in store as we approach the time to go back. There is a lot to do in the states but its just not the same when I'm not there. I am ready to get back to say the least.

There is a lot of work that is to be done down there. We have already sent money down for the builders to begin working again on the church. We had to stop building while we were not there due to the fact that we did not have enough funds. Our setup right now is to go twice a year and while we are in the States, we are trying to raise enough money to finish the church but we only have enough to send it right before we come down. We have about $15,000 left to finish the church completely. Right now the church just got the floors finished and hopefully we will be able to put the roof on while we are down there through the new year. After that, our hope is that the church can start meeting there. What an exciting time this is!

To all who are reading this please be in prayer for us as we travel down, not necessarily for safety but however God would use us best. Pray that the Gospel will be advanced first and foremost. Pray that we will be able to share the gospel with many, and that God will prepare the hearts of those who we will come into contact with. Also pray for the families there and that we can meet some of their needs. Also, pray for us that we will have clean hearts and nothing in our way to detract us from our relationship with Christ. Thank you all for your support.

14 de Junio

So as I was sitting here tonight, I was thinking of how amazing this trip has been so far. But one thing that I want to mention, and want to talk on is why am I doing this?

The answer is simple it isn't for me or any other man but solely for Christ. About three years ago my life changed. I met God. I had lived as I thought a genuinely decent life but something was missing. My heart was yearning for something else. Something not of this world. Someone introduced me to the God-Man, Jesus Christ. He can get lost in all of our attempts such as church, and our daily lives. But when I met Him, I had a purpose in life, I have personal communion with God. And I came down here to share that message with those who don't have that communion with God through Jesus Christ. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.And through Christ we can become the righteousness of God. Maybe someone that doesn't know Christ will read this or maybe those who are reading will pray for those that we can share with. Grace and peace to you all from our Lord Jesus Christ.