Strange and Unusual yet All Under Control

This last week a team came in with some friends from Texas. I was excited to see them and have a few days to work with them before I get back to teaching. Friday morning, Halle took the group out on a tour of downtown Managua while I went to the airport to pick up the last team member.

While the group was at a historical place called Parque de la Paz (Peace Park) a group of youth attempted to rob the group. Upon seeing the thieves surrounding them the team split up and started yelling and screaming for help. Several girls from the team started running away as they were running Sarah tripped and fell into an empty fountain cutting her leg. With one of the thieves behind her he saw Sarah's blood and ran away. The thieves got away with only 1 camera when all was said and done. Though the group was a little tramatized God had been gracious in granting them peace and time to process through what had happened.

So today as I was playing the events of the past few days over in my head I realized that it was Sarah's blood that ultimately scared the thieves away. Often times when we think and pray for God's protection over our lives we think in terms of events like this one not happening at all and there being no accidents or harsh words etc. However we know that God's ways are not our ways. God used Sarah's blood to save her from further injury and theft. Thinking to myself today about the power of not only human blood to save a life or take a life but the blood of a mighty Savior that was shed for us and has given us new life. The very blood that makes the enemy cringe and flee is the blood that covers us as we submit our lifes and service to the Lord.

While we would have liked for this event to have never happened we know and recognize that God was always in control and His mighty blood protected, shielded and will heal Sarah's wounds. Please pray for Sarah's quick recovery. She is all stitched up and is planning to travel back with the team on Saturday. Due to the area where she had to be stitched up her leg has to be kept inmobile and that will make traveling a bit of a challenge so we pray for comfortable travel and on time flights so that she can get home safely.

He is not slow in keeping His promises

Six years ago while working with short term team at Iglesia Bautista Hebron in Managua I stayed with a lovely woman named Amanda. She was a older woman who had been widowed. We spent the week sharing stories about our families, dreams and struggles in life. Amanda shared about her desire to have her son come back home and re-dedicate his life to the Lord. She asked the three of us who were staying with her to pray for her son to return.

Since that summer when I stayed with Amanda I have not seen or talked to her but as the Lord brought her and her son to mind I prayed for them both. When I have visited her church I have looked for her and wondered how things were going. Just a few weeks ago I saw Amanda again. She greeted me with a gigantic hug and was so excited to share wonderful news with me. Her son has not only come back home but has come back to the Lord. He is happily serving in the church by playing the keyboard with the worship team. Amanda was bubbling over with excitement to have her son home and to know that he is now serving the Lord. He has been back in the church for over a year now. He has a beautiful wife and son. There is lots of happiness, rejoicing and laughter that now fill Amanda's house.

Abundant Blessings

One year ago yesterday my truck was totaled in an accident on the South Highway while a friend was driving. Thankfully no one was injured and the only real damage was to my truck. While many things have happened since that day one thing is for sure God has always been in control of the situation. His hand has been over every last detail from the sale of what was left of the truck to the miraculous blessing of a new more reliable truck.

The OLD

Over and over again the Lord has show his sovereignty in this time in my life. I have learned to trust Him more, watch his amazing provision come through many different people and situations. Today I give thanks that our great God sometimes takes away the things that are OK so that he can give us something better.

The New

What a wonderful reminder of His abundant blessings in my life.

Hand in Hand

Bethel Christian Church in San Francisco, CA sent down a team of 8 wonderful people to serve in Nicaragua. The week was packed with lots of activity and many new found friendships.

Each day was packed with church services, children's ministry, house to house visits for the after school program, home groups and family time. This team was unique because all but two of them were fluent in Spanish. This helped tremendously because most of the team was able to communicate really well with their new Nica families. It also made the work load lighter for Fabricio and I as we were leading the team. ;-)


Rachael H. and I were blessed to be with a wonderful family. I first met this family 6 years ago when I was working in Nicaragua as a volunteer for the summer. They are a super sweet family that I have come to love dearly. They have taken me in truly as part of the family. Jorge and Nifa asked me if they could call me when they go on family trips to the beach or wherever. Of course I said YES!

Rachael and Ninfa had an instant connection as they are both hairdressers. Here's Rachael giving Ninfa a haircut. They had some very special times together during the week. Although I would have to say that the most wonderful part about the whole week was seeing our 19 year old "brother" Giovanni be excited about sharing his new faith with others during one of the outreaches. He had just accepted the Lord the night before we arrived at their house.

Pastor Arturo was a wonderful pastor to work with at Iglesia Bautista Hebron. He has great vision for his church and is a faithful servant of the Lord. We greatly enjoyed working with him.

Little Bit of This and That

In the midst of a busy summer my family has decided it is the year to get married. :-) In May it was my little brother and in June it was my Mom.

I traveled to Colorado for a quick week to see my family and take part in my mom's wedding to Mike. It was a themed wedding that took place in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs with a beautiful view of Pikes Peak behind them. While it was wonderful to share in this special time with my Mom it was hard to say good-bye to my siblings again. While there are so many wonderful things about living and serving in Nicaragua I would have to say the one of the hardest is being far away from family.

Carylla, Don, Mom, Bethany and Marnie

Father's day was also special for me too this year because I got to spend it with my Dad. This was the first time in maybe 8 years that we were in the same country and state. We had a big BBQ with the family and it was wonderful.

Now I'm off to work with another team here in Nicaragua. I'll be back on the 7th. Please pray for safety, connections with Nicaraguans, energy and a meaningful time for all.

Laughter does a Heart Good

From Seacoast 20 somethings 2009

Now the Seacoast 20 Somethings team has come and gone! They were a lively group of 11. We loaded up the bus and headed out to work with Iglesia Estrella de Belen in Villa El Carmen. The team stayed with wonderful host families. The evenings were filled with lots of broken Spanish, English and lots of laughter. Many team members brought down games like Jenga and UNO to play with their families at night. This was a hoot! Our house was up late laughing many nights as we tried not to wake the baby while building the Jenga tower.

The team was involved in lots of different ministry during the week. Soccer games in the community, VBS program, house visits, church services, youth games, soccer tournaments etc. As we went through the schedule laid out for the week I was reminded that laughter is a universal language! Infants, adults, youth and the elderly all love to laugh. We all do it in differnt ways but there is something so freeing about a good hearty laugh. Laughter is a bond that can unite people across lanugage barriers, economic differences, cultural differences and disabilities.

From Seacoast 20 somethings 2009

Allison is a sweet little 4 year old who has Downs Syndrome. While one might think that there is not a lot that could bring laughter to such a difficult situation as her quite the contrary is actually true. She lives life in its simplist form. She jumps with glee at the sight of bubbles being blown into the air and water balloons.

From Seacoast 20 somethings 2009

From Seacoast 20 somethings 2009

Loose Screws

New Things Learned!
Car trouble inevitably follows me wherever I go and whatever vehicle I seem to be driving. Thankfully I seem to learn a lot about cars in the process and get to see God work in incredible ways.

On Tuesday I took my truck to Jason, a missionary mechanic to replace the clutch that was going out. There was a little bit of a time crunch because the truck is needed Friday to go out to the boonies for a medical outreach. Jason assured me that he could get the truck done no problem by Friday at noon. Wednesday night I was babysitting Jason's two kids and he told me that he was having a lot of trouble getting some bolts loose. He spent 4 hours working on them and in the process broke a few tools. He assured me that they had a plan and that he was still going to get it done in time and not to worry. I wasn't worried but did submit the need to the Lord in prayer.

I shared the situation with the staff at Christ for the City and we all prayed about it on Thursday. Jason told me today that he went in on Thursday morning and was able to get the bolts loose in about 20 minutes. God loosened the screws and allowed Jason to get the job done. It is impressive to see the details that our God attends to in each of our lives. Jason told me that he was worried that things were not going to go back together very easily. Today as I picked up the truck Jason shared that everything went back together really easily. Praise the Lord for His mighty hand over the screws, mechanics, tools and people in His service.

A little side note. The tools that broke were under warranty in Canada and will be replaced too!

Please pray for the medical outreach this weekend and for the Seacoast 20's team that is coming in on Sunday. Nathan and I will be gone with them all week. It's going to be a fun and adventurous week.

From blog photos

Here are some of our summer interns loading up the truck for the medical outreach

From blog photos