Medical mission team June 2011

We enjoyed having a medical mission team of 22 the week of June 6^th. The group saw approximately 1500 people in four days.  No one was turned away.  They were able to give away several wheelchairs including two for children with cerebral palsy.  I was busy most of the week running errands, as usual.  I had to take children vitamins and other medicines to Managua to be approved by the Health Department.  They confiscated a couple of the medicines that were not approved and apparently found me to be “difficult”.   I spent the rest of the week running here and there to get food and water for the mission team, rent chairs and a sound system for the evening gospel meetings. The gospel meetings were well attended and 25 people asked for the preacher to visit them in their home.  Hopefully the congregation that meets at the school will grow due to the outreach of the medical mission team.  Kim spent the week teaching classes on dehydration and malnutrition.  Did you know that malnutrition can cause diarrhea?  Kim and her interpreter had lots of fun stating these facts over and over and over again.  We were so blessed by the medical mission team, those we already knew and those we met for the first time.  Kora and Jaden really enjoyed the high school and college kids that were part of the team. Thanks for letting us be part of the team.  

Upcoming events:

• This week there is a team of 62 conducting a medical mission about 45 minutes from Leon.

• Sergio, the preacher, and I met with the parents of the 3^rd and 4^th graders to discuss beginning a soccer ministry.  The kids will meet twice a week to practice and we will begin practice with a devotional.  If you have any soccer cleats, shin guards or soccer balls that your children have outgrown, please take them to Campbell Street Church of Christ.

• The first week of July, there is a mission team coming to Leon to conduct Vacation Bible School. 

• There are 400 houses being built in the neighborhood beside us.  Hopefully, that will be 400 more families that will come to know Christ. 

Please commit to praying for each of these events.

Here are some pictures of the children at school. Although they have so little, they are so happy. Please continue to pray for them. God is at work in their lives and and in their hearts.

Kim and I have been trying to come up with new ideas to raise money for the school.  With the help of a friend, Yader, and permission from the school board, we have begun farming.  The land between the school and our house is currently not being used, so we used 3-4 acres to plant sesame seeds, watermelon and corn.  Hopefully, our harvest in August will provide $1000 or more to go toward a playground for the school.

We are getting excited about our upcoming visit to Tennessee.  We can’t wait to see family and friends, worship at Campbell St Church of Christ and enjoy American food!

Mother's Day in Nicaragua

May 31st  was Mother's Day in Nicaragua and I have to pay a little tribute to what I have witnessed over the last five months. Many of the families that live next to us do not have fathers. Several have left to find work in another country and only come home a few times a year, while others have simply chosen to leave.  The mothers are left to do everything. It is obvious that some of them are struggling, but most of these women just keep on going by taking care of family, work, and household. There is an inner strength that you can see in them. I realize that mothers being left to handle everything is not just an issue here in Nicaragua. I have witnessed over the years many women left to bear the responsibility of raising the children, working to pay the bills and take care of household duties. Although Mothers Day in the States has come and gone, we need to honor Mother's every day. Their inner strength and will to continue in the face of difficult situations is admirable. The school and Church both had special programs to honor all the mother's.  Mother's Day is a big celebration in Nicaragua and of course, Kim didn't mind celebrating Mother's Day twice this year! Unfortunatley for me, Father's Day is the same day in Nicaragua as it is in the states, so I only get one day of celebration.

We were blessed to have a visit from Andrea and Maggie Nash.  We took them to see many neat places and things in Nicaragua (volcano, rainforrest with monkeys, cathedrals, just to name a few) but if you ask them what their favorite thing was, they would say "the kids at the school".   Andrea asked lots of questions about the school and sponsoring a child.  When Kim explained to her that it was $30 a month for a child to attend school,  provide a uniform and school supplies and give them a meal, Andrea asked "Why am I not doing this?  Well, I am now"!  Andrea was able to pick from about 40 children that currently do not have sponsors. 



Andrea and Jose Ramon



 Look below at some of the kids who still need a sponsor.




Cristofer

 


Jonathan




Alexis




Emely




Ibis




Brisa Isabella

 

Scarlen


If you have $30  a month you can spare, call Christy Lovelace at 731 427-9511 and let her know.  $30 a month.........we spent that or more on one family meal at Don Panchos!

Sponsoring a child is one way you can help the mother's in Nicaragua.  Knowing that their children are receiving an excellent education, being fed a meal and learning about God gives these mothers peace of mind and hope for their childs' future.  In 6 months we will begin a new school year and have 35 or more new students that need sponsors.  Please prayfully consider this opportunity.