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.