You said, ask and I'll give the nations to you, Oh Lord, that's the cry of our hearts...

Tuesday was our final day of VBS. We had the opportunity to share the gospel using salvation bracelets and were able to leave each child with the gift of a wooden cross necklace. The teachers and our wonderful translators jumped in to make sure that this precious message was conveyed to each student. Though we only had two short days with them, the kids at this school will always have a special place in our hearts. If you want to change the future of a country, you must reach the hearts of the children and it was truly an amazing and humbling experience for us to have the opportunity to be involved.
We spent the evening exploring the largest mall in Nicaragua, which was very similar to malls in America. Apparently the concept of a mall is universal. Later that evening some of the youth and young adults from the church came over to enjoy pizza and games as we said goodbye on our final night.
4am on Wednesday morning a very sleepy group of Americans were at the airport in Managua to say our final goodbyes to Pastor Andy and begin our long journey home. It was a wonderful trip and we were all blessed by the ways that Pastor Andy and Diane Large and the members of their church opened up their hearts and their lives and allowed us to participate in their mission to reach the lost souls in Nicaragua. We are so grateful to serve a God who is not limited by geographic location or language, but is powerful to do all things.

People, Prices, Purple Pitayas, and.... NINJA!!!

Today started out with a melodious wake up song by Lindy Leger at 5:52 AM. After eating a delicious breakfast prepared by Diane, we went to the school to prepare for a day of Vacation Bible School. The moment the kids walked in the door, I could tell it was going to be very special...and hectic. The excitement was pouring out of the children as they high fived us when they walked through the doors. With the worship and hand motions to the songs, the kids were pumped for a day of fun learning. After worship, we divided the children into specific age groups to give them the best learning experience available. Within only an hour, we could see the willingness to learn about God open up. At the end of the day, the children had experienced crafts, games, and had learned more about the Bible.

Next came the exiting trip to the open air market of Nicaragua. Although both crowded and overwhelming, we all managed to come away with several purchases ranging from jewelry and a hammock to bicycle tires and a cutting board. Everyone had fun.

Finally, we came home to a nice home-cooked meal of hot dogs and purple pitayas, which is a juicy fruit. During these meals, we come to know each other more and more as we converse about our day. Once finished eating, a handful of us participated in an exhilirating game of Ninja, which left hand prints on many. To end the night, Bill Little gave a very heart-warming devotion that left us inspired to further our realationship with God.

Thoughout this entire day, there were many moments that have affected us. Playing with the children and conversing with them in the little Spanish that we know were significant. Also, we enjoyed teaching the children and getting to know them as well as each other. We are looking forward to another fun day of VBS! By the way, the three Emilys and Lauren wrote this. :) Goodnight!

Jesus is God's transformer... optimus prime :)

well, today was a glorious day in God's house! we were blessed to worship with pastor andy's congregation... we did our best to sing foreign words to familiar tunes *some of us decided to create a multilingual worship experience* i don't think "to God be the glory" has ever been more beautiful :) curt did an awesome job preaching the Word (see the above title, i added the last part) andy described the message as applicable truth in a peaceful voice. he challenged us to persue God's work on wherever it may be, however it may conflict with our current comforts- something we all needed to hear! after the service, three of the young people were baptized in the school pool- that was an amazing experience. i think we somtimes forget the joy that accompanies our own public entrance into this awesome faith and service of our Lord. it was clearly evident today on the faces of those dunked in the clam, rainy waters of that swimming pool. each new family member was raised into new life to hear a unified acapella version of "i have decided to follow Jesus." smiles couldn't be drowned by the wet-season rains...



dianne finally settled down in the kitchen and allowed us to eat cereal for breakfast *i don't see how anyone can cook for 19 people on a consistant basis- God bless the duggars* lunch was a true treat at a local steak house: number one, because the brazil/ivory coast game was being broadcast :) *totally a handball on goal #2, ps* and number two, the food was PHENOMENAL! salads, steak, potatoes, rice, beans, and cokes out of glass bottles... amazingness! full bellies, torrential down-pour, and warm weather made for excellent siesta settings. most of us fell into that trap without a fight.

we spent the rest of the afternoon driving through the neighborhoods of managua and santo domingo on a prayer drive- kinda like a prayer walk, but better because we had a/c and a roof over our heads in the rain... worse because sometimes our bus driver forgot that we didn't have seat belts on when he rounded curves or flew over speed bumps at 60 mph. some have heard of the shocking contrast between the rich and poor neighboring each other, but it is a shocker to see it for miles and miles... concrete walls and iron gates encased the elite in protected fortresses while shacks of rotten wood and scrap metal braced themselves against trees and abandoned cars in an effort to provide shelter to their inhabitants. "neighbors" is one of the topics of our vbs sessions in the next two days... please pray that we can help these kids understand neighbors for what they are, who they are, what they look like, how we are all the same... it will be a challenge to break the stereotypes.


in other news: there is a loud game of spoons at one of the kitchen tables, our nightly serenade on the veranda, and the old foggies attempting to get some shut eye... vbs starts tomorrow! please pray for open hearts for the kids and teachers serving as translators. pray that we are effective in our words and deeds in sharing the love of Christ with these precious children that they may share it with their parents/friends/extended families... this nation in ripe with hearts ready and willing to serve our awesome Savior!

this old foggie is turning in! thanks for your love, prayers, and support!

ps, this is not jim... he doesn't even know what a blog is :)

"Persons of foreign lands uniting in faith"

This morning started off with a delicious breakfast by Mrs. Large. She sure does know how to cook. It has been such a blessing to stay in their home and we cannot thank them enough for the hospitality they have shown us during our stay here.

Today was our day to be tourists. After breakfast we traveled to one of the many active volcanoes in Nicaragua- Masayo. Some of the pictures that follow are of the cross that was at the summit and the smoke that was coming out of the volcano. The scenary was breathtaking! We also visited a museum at the volcano; all the artifacts and bits of information in it were really cool.

After our visit to Masayo we ventured to a zipline course in the forest for a bit of fun. As you can see by the picture, there was no age limit. Haha, even Bill Little (71) did the zipline with us! Everyone had a blast and really enjoyed seeing some of the Nicaraguan forest and wildlife.

Next we took a bus ride through the city of Granada to lake Nicaragua- the largest lake in Central America. We had lunch on the boat during our tour of the lake. It was really awesome to see all the islands within the lake and to observe some of the wildlife on the islands (one island had 5 monkeys that have lived on the island for about 9 years).

Afer all of our tourist adventures we came back to the house for our siesta. At about 5 o'clock we went back to the church. The young adults and teenagers within our group joined the church's university group while the adults continued some of the construction work in the basement of the church.

Meeting with the university group this evening and joining them in their Bible study was really awesome. Just seeing that no matter the language or cultural differences and barriers that may exist between us, we can all unite in the Word and join in a time of fellowship. The group was very welcoming and enjoyed having us join them. The Bible study was lead by some guys named Peter, Adolpho, and Abel. They did a great job. I can tell just by observing their group tonight that they are rooted in the Word and I believe their group is going to grow. It was such a blessing to join them tonight. It was amazing to see how the Word truly unites persons of foreign lands!

Day One continued

After our afternoon siestas, we returned to the school to finish what we had started. Some of us cleaned and organized rooms, some of us painted and constructed partitions for the nursery room and the rest of us finished painting the front door to the building. Almost the entire time we worked, it rained outside. Thankfully, we had shelter!

When we returned from our work, Diane had a delicious authentic Nicaraguan beans and rice dinner waiting for us. For desert, we had flan cheesecake. Yummy!

Shortly after dinner, Curt lead us in a short devotion and prayer time on the Large's veranda overlooking the city. It was the perfect end to our day spent working for the Lord!

Buenas noches!