Jackson Christian School is here!!!

The JCS group is here!!! They brought us some more things from friends and family, so Christmas came early again for us. The best gift they have brought is the singing. We love to listen to their voices as they lift praises to our God. Our devotional last night brought tears to Kim’s eyes. Ok, I admit I might have had a tear, but the sun was in my eyes, or maybe a piece of sand. Seriously, it has been a blessing and joy to share that time with them. It is great to see the positive spiritual impact on Kora and Jaden that the JCS group is having. Jaden will come up and ask to have a prayer or if we can sing this song or that. We love it! The best devotional was at the cross on the beach.

For my list of things I do not love… Claro tops the list right now. It is a phone, internet and TV company. We have been trying to get internet here for the last 3 weeks and they keep making up excuses of why they can’t do it (ie. The distance of the line is over 200 meters, all the lines are full, they can’t run a line across the street…..REALLY?) Apparently, Claro makes a lot of money and does not need any new business. Thankfully, Chris Brush went around with Summer and took pictures of the phone lines and showed the manager that what they were saying was not true. He said he will send a technician out tomorrow. (Sounds familiar) I am beginning to not like the word tomorrow.

By the way, the school is in need of more people to sponsor a child and we are beginning to raise the money needed for a high school. It would be great if you could ask your church or a church that you know of that is mission minded to schedule a time for David McCrary to come speak and present information about the school. There are many ways God is using the school here to end the cycle of poverty and teach the children principles that give eternal life. Besides paying for their education, sponsoring a child covers their uniform, and books. We also provide a meal (for some of the children this is their only meal for the day) and weekly bible lessons.  Check out the school website at www.nicaraguachristian.org  for more information on how you can help.

Another exciting event is a new preacher has been hired and he will begin holding worship services at the school the first weekend in April.  He has already had several Bible studies at the school and has gone into the nearby neighborhoods to meet the families.  He organized a great youth rally for young adults this past Saturday that was really inspiring and I am excited to see what great things God will use him and his family to accomplish.  

Thanks for your continued prayers, encouragement and support. 

Friends

I need to begin by apologizing to our gas man. It was not his skills (or the lack of) that was the culprit in the gas leaks, but a faulty gas line. So we went through another 100 lb gas tank and we are now on Al Gores most wanted list for air pollution (second on the list to himself).  

We are still waiting for the internet to be installed…. They are suppose to come tomorrow (you know how that goes).  Along with waiting for the internet people to come, we are also waiting for someone from the electric company to come and check our meter as our first electric bill was more than our mortgage payment in America.  So no more air conditioner in our house and all the clothes will be hung on the line.  Please don’t let this keep you from planning to visit.  Kim knows I will allow the air conditioner to be turned on and dryer to be used if we have company, so she is even more eager for visitors.

We had a great visit with our fellow Americans.  It was like Christmas….jars of peanut butter, sunscreen, tools, craft supplies, clothes and much more. Thanks to all who chipped in to bring us such joy!  A special thanks to John Bentley for making shelves for our pantry, kitchen and closets.  It’s so nice to have some place to put our clothes other than the dog kennels.

I preached my first sermon in Nicaragua a couple weeks ago.  My Spanish is now on a 2 year old level so I had to use a translator.  If you have never preached with a translator before, it’s quite an experience. You can only say a sentence or two at a time.  As it was being translated, I would be listening so intently that I would forget I was the one preaching or I would lose my train of thought.  It was enjoyable Sunday and we look forward to many more.

We have been blessed to meet many new people.  Many of our neighbors have children that attend our school.  We enjoy walking through their village and visiting with them.  These people have so little, yet will give you what they have.  We have been the recipients of mangos, flowers and popsicles.  The people here have such big hearts!  We have also met four American families who are serving as missionaries here in Nicaragua. The Cunningham’s have two daughters, a four year old and a one and a half year old.  They are working with Food for the Hungry in Chinendega and plan to be here 3 or more years.     Jeff and Kristin and their two children will be here a year and are working at El Ayudante.   Another family, with four children, moved here permanently and are providing meals for hundreds of people on a weekly basis.  Our newest friend has been here about a year an a half and has a vision to start a church, school and housing in her community.  God is doing something special in Nicaragua and we are honored to be a part of it.