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.