Only on a Mission Trip

So in my line of work I see a lot of people come to Nicaragua for the first time. They are amazed at so many things and often times have lots of questions. They are faced with a language barrier, cultural differences and lots of new foods to try. Gumby is known as a pretty flexible guy right! So we have a Gumby Award that is given each day to team members who show flexibility.

Well with the Emmanuel Team a week and a half ago Gumby went on a little adventure. There was some pranking that went on during the week between the boys and the girls. Watch the video all the way through and you'll see who won. :-)

So I know that some of you have been waiting on an update from the court ruling on the accident. On Wednesday we went to the police station and in true nica form we were joined by about 15 other people who had appointments at the same time. As we waited I had the opportunity to chat with a few other people I knew in line that had been hit in accidents recently. Finally, we made it to the front of the line and the verdict was given. Jason was declared at fault for the accident. He has decided to continue on with the appeals process. Until the final verdict is rendered I can't do anything more with my truck to find out how much the damage is going to cost to fix.
It is all a waiting game now. It has been hard this week to face all the work that I have to do in the midst of now many more time consuming things to add to the list. God is gracious and He has surrounded me with good friends here who have been so understanding, offered me rides, let me cry on their shoulder and give me lots of hugs. Pray with me for God's provision in all of this as I wait. My my actions and my responses reflect the love of my Savior.

Close Call

I just got back from a great week with a youth team from Omaha, Nebraska. I have lots of stories and funny things to share and I hope to have time to write them up for you this next week.

Last night we had a very close call to having a really bad accident. Lori had a flat tire so a friend borrowed my truck to go up and help her out. On the way he had an accident and ran into a big truck that had no tail lights. Below are some pictures. Basically the truck is out of commission until we get the final police ruling on Wednesday. Praise the Lord NO one was hurt and everyone was able to walk away safely. The damage to the other truck was minimal.
Please pray for me as I deal with all that this involves. Currently I am feeling overwhelmed and in need of the Father's strength to get through this one. I appreciate your prayers for wisdom and God's provision for another vehicle soon.

Saying Good-Bye

The end of June has come and our lease is up at our old house today. I will be happy to have the back and forth stuff between two houses over. Although part of me is sad that I am leaving for good the house that I have lived in for 3 years. That is the longest I have ever lived in one place. Happily though we brought over some of the plants that Aimee and I planted almost three years ago. The soil at our new house is better and I hope that our plantains and sweet oranges will grow a little faster. I’m thinking about starting a small garden with a few other vegetables to see what will happen.

Dreams Becoming Reality

6 years ago when I first started coming to Nicaragua my dream was to someday do teacher training for Nicaraguan teachers. This last week part of that dream became a reality. For the past week I have been with Mosaic church from Charlotte, NC in San Rafael del Sur making my dream a reality. A team of teachers and a construction crew stepped onto the campus of New Jerusalem Christian School and did some amazing things. Each afternoon teachers from 4 different schools took part in workshops that were designed to be as interactive and engaging as possible. Nicaraguan teachers learned how to use some new math manipulatives that many of them had never seen before. They also saw some creative ideas for teaching map skills and even read some Big Books in Spanish during the Literacy class. All in all the teachers were delighted to see some new things and share ideas among themselves. This team has opened the door for many more BIG things to happen. I look forward to seeing God at work in teachers in various ways in the near future. Here is a link to some pictures from the week.
http://picasaweb.google.com/careyinnicaragua/MosaicChurchTeam

Lights on Lights off

We moved out of our old house almost one month ago. Just a few days after we moved out the power went off in the house. At first we thought that it was just the normal power cuts to the sector that we often experienced. Once we realized that it was just our house and that it was not getting better we called the power company. They said they'd send someone out. Long story short with many, many phone calls and visits to the power company and over two weeks later we called a private electrician. Pablo was amazing. He fixed the whole problem including a trip to the market to buy the right cable in less than an hour. Pablo did tell me that it was no wonder we had no power the cable from the transformer to the meter had been cut and patched several times and was in bad shape. Thanks a million Pablo for turning our lights on again. Now the guests who are staying in our house can eat their dinner in the light. :-)

Class of 2008

Last week I had a glorious opportunity to visit my family in Texas. I had the honor of attending my youngest sister's graduation from High School. This was the first time in I don't know how long that my entire family mom, dad, brothers and sisters were all together in one place. It was such a nice time. We mostly hung out and shot the breeze. My lil sis Bethany even helped me pick out a brides maid dress for a friend's wedding later this year. Family is such a precious gift and all too often taken for granted. I love my family.