I just got finished watching the movie Facing the Giants for the first time, and if you haven't seen it, I would recommend it. The message really spoke to me about having faith when things seem impossible. "For with God, nothing is impossible." However, this a not a movie review blog, so I want to explain what's going on and why this is so important to me right now.
I've explained in my previous blog that there have been a lot of trials that are testing our faith and the faith of the community, El Paraiso. The lady that has cervical cancer has been in the hospital since yesterday, awaiting her hysterectomy, but the doctor hasn't even seen her yet. The earliest she might have the surgery is Friday. Her kids, which are around 12 and 10 years old, are back home with her husband, but I don't think he really sticks around much. Her niece is cooking for the kids, and her sisters were in the house just for today. I stopped by to check on her kids when we were in the community today, and her 12 year old daughter, Daniela, started crying on me. She feels alone, and she's worried about her mom. I didn't know what else to do for her except love, assure her that her mom was in good hands, and make sure she was getting fed.
The young man who has kidney failure is still alive and suffering. According to his cousin, he could hardly breathe on Saturday. We've asked to go visit him and pray for his family, but his aunt and cousin (whom live in El Paraiso) tell us that it's a half an hour walk from the community in the mud and through a river to get to his house.
Our pastor, Juan Pablo Pineda, showed up ready to go to El Paraiso even though he had spent the whole night vomiting. He might have a kidney stone but needs an ultrasound to make sure.
Not only are there physical giants, but we are facing some spiritual giants. The attendance for some of our classes have decreased or the students haven't been able to attend every time, as is required of the class. We don't understand why they haven't been coming since all of the classes are free and provide training for them to have future jobs. I have also been discouraged a little in my devotion time with the ladies. Some days, I can't tell if I am reaching them or not.
Luis, our friends Karla and Yeral, Tamara's boys Daniel, Caleb, and Josh, and I are going out to El Paraiso this Friday to start youth activities. I can already feel the enemy trying to meddle with us and trying to discourage us from this job. The youth in El Paraiso are so hard to get to and reach.
Luis and I have felt the spiritual struggle in our own lives. Without explaining too much of what's personal, we're are being strengthened in our faith. It's tempting for us at times to just get a normal full time job or try to go back to the US. It's hard not to worry too much when we have a little girl to be responsible for in just a few months.
However, God has proved and showed us through His Word and different messages and circumstances that nothing is impossible for Him. We have to stand firm on His promises such as in Joshua 1:5, "I will never leave you or forsake you." and in Matthew 6:33,"Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Jesus assures us in Matthew 17:20 that if we "have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
I wish I could have this faith; I am grasping to obtain it. I know in my head these things, but sometimes I fight with the doubt in my heart. I think it's when we face what we call "reason" and concluding with what we see daily. We see and we know people that die from cancer or kidney diseases, even at early ages. We see and know personally people that have had many opportunities to give their lives over to Christ and still refuse Him. We see and know that most of this world lives in poverty and don't have food to feed their children. It's hard to have faith when you reason with the so called "facts."
However, today I heard a story of a miracle that reminds me once again that even still nothing is possible with God. Francisco, a man who works with David on the building project in El Paraiso, has a three year old grandson in whom they found a tumor on his eye about a month ago. The doctors at the children's hospital in Managua determined it to be Retinoblastoma, a rapidly developing cancer that forms in the retina. They were going to take his eye out completely on Wednesday, but right before the surgery, a doctor that had never seen him before stopped the procedure and wanted to do further testing. When they went back to do testing today, they could not find any cancer in his eye! Tamara, her family, and many other people had been praying for God to work a miracle in this little boy's life, and He did!
Nothing is impossible for God. Facing the Giants might just be a movie, but I am going to believe that God can work miracles in my life and in others lives. I am going to trust that God is going to change El Paraiso inside out and that out of that community will rise up a generation of faithful followers that will be lights to all of Nicaragua. I am going to believe that those who are sick will not only receive physical healing but most importantly spiritual healing. And last of all, I trust in God's provision for my life, my husband's life, and my baby's life. Will you believe with me?
"Look for the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the miracles he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced." Psalm 105:4-5. Let us remember and trust in His miracles, but let us not forget to seek His face first and not His hand. When we truly seek God for who He is, we get the greatest blessing of knowing Him. Then, after that, we can see the blessing of seeing His power work in our lives.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
New Beginnings in Paradise
So I am trying really hard to keep up with this blog! It just so happens that a lot of things have been going on, too, so it makes it easier to come up with things to write. Also, I think I just need an outlet for some of my thoughts and reflections.
Luis and I are about to embark on a new journey with the ministry in El Paraiso. Starting this Friday, we are going to be going out every Friday afternoon to lead youth activities! This is so exciting to me because I have been wanting to do something like this since I first arrived in El Paraiso. Now it seems like the time to begin, and I am so ready to see what God is going to do!
Most of the community is made up of youth (youth here is 15-30). About half of those youth already have children of their own; most of them have "partners" cause they haven't been legally married yet. It seems like most of the young men get involved with alcohol, drugs, or some form of gang at a young age mostly because they have nothing else to do. The most exciting thing that happens in the community is monthly cock fighting events. Most people don't have jobs because there aren't jobs other than working out in the fields for probably about $1-$2 a day. So I say that some of these youth start going down the wrong path at an early age just to do something. Hopefully, having a weekly youth activity will help them to focus on something else and lead them to the One who gives an abundant life.
I feel so blessed to be apart of the work God is doing in El Paraiso. It is a blessing to see the progress that has been made through Tamara's efforts with the sewing class and setting up the beauty class and carpentry class. It's a blessing to see a group of 20-50 kids every Sunday and tell them a story they have never heard before from the Bible. It's a blessing to build relationships with the people and to be apart of their lives.
The hardest part about it all is sharing in their struggles, and yet it's a blessing as well. We have seen a lot of sickness in the community. Right now, one of our women, who is about 31 years old, is suffering from cervical cancer and is having a hysterectomy this Monday. She is the provider for her house and works daily making food and selling it, even when she is sick. A couple of weeks ago, she got robbed of all the money she had, but she bounced back and is still on the go. Her family hasn't been very supportive of her, and a friend will probably watch her kids while she goes to the hospital by herself on Monday.
Another woman, who is about in her 50's, is the community leader's wife. Tamara took her for an ultrasound of her thyroid a few weeks ago and found that she has about 5 nodules on her thyroid. She was supposed to go for a biopsy tomorrow, but we are going to have to reschedule. Her nephew, who is only 31, suffers from chronic kidney disease and was on dialysis at a hospital. Last week, they sent him home to die, only expecting him to live four days. Tomorrow is the fourth day.
A young 18 year old girl is about 16 weeks pregnant and has severe morning sickness. She cannot keep anything down and has had to have several IVs. Thankfully the baby is okay, but she only weighs about 95 pounds and keeps losing weight.
One of the men that has been attending our church has been suffering from what to me would be a nightmare. He got bit on the leg by some sort of fly that laid eggs in the wound. After the eggs hatched, the larvae began to eat away his leg. He has to forcefully squeeze them out!
These are just a few cases that we know of in the community. All of these people depend on centralized health care because they cannot afford good, private healthcare for themselves. Tamara and the ministry has been helping them the best that she can.
The hardest part about living here is always seeing need and never being able to fully meet that need. You can pay for someone to go to the doctor, but that doesn't mean they'll get better or that you'll be able to pay for surgery or medicine or ensure that they get the best service. You can get someone food that is hungry, but that food will be used up and they'll be hungry again. You can give or lend someone money, but sooner or later (and often sooner) they'll come back asking for more. Physical needs are almost never fully met.
Luke chapter 6:20-22 says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."
No one, especially the poor, really thinks of the poor and hungry as being blessed. No one equivocates suffering with blessing. But the reality is that if you never have been poor, never have known hunger, never have known pain and suffering, you never have really learned how to trust in God as if your life depends on it. When you don't know where the next meal will come from to feed your children, you get down on your hands and knees and beg God to provide. When you don't have any money or a cure to treat a medical problem, God is your only physician. Why is this such a blessing? Luke 6:23 says, "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven." The true reality is that this life is a mist compared to eternity. The only thing that will count in our lives is how much faith we put in Christ.
It's funny that El Paraiso means "Paradise." No one would probably think of it that way. While we hope and the ministry hopes to help improve quality of living in the community, I would like to think that these people are really just heading on the road to the Paradise Jesus describes in Luke 23:43. That one day we would all be people of Paradise, a community in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Please pray and keep praying for El Paraiso, the people mentioned in this blog, and the projects we are doing. Please pray for Tamara's family, the pastor Juan Pablo and his family, and Luis and I as we minister together. Pray that we would be able to stand firm and not let Satan get in our way as he often tries to. Pray for me and Luis as our faith is being tested as well with trusting in God's provision.
Thank you for reading. I hope you are richly blessed in Christ Jesus.
Luis and I are about to embark on a new journey with the ministry in El Paraiso. Starting this Friday, we are going to be going out every Friday afternoon to lead youth activities! This is so exciting to me because I have been wanting to do something like this since I first arrived in El Paraiso. Now it seems like the time to begin, and I am so ready to see what God is going to do!
Most of the community is made up of youth (youth here is 15-30). About half of those youth already have children of their own; most of them have "partners" cause they haven't been legally married yet. It seems like most of the young men get involved with alcohol, drugs, or some form of gang at a young age mostly because they have nothing else to do. The most exciting thing that happens in the community is monthly cock fighting events. Most people don't have jobs because there aren't jobs other than working out in the fields for probably about $1-$2 a day. So I say that some of these youth start going down the wrong path at an early age just to do something. Hopefully, having a weekly youth activity will help them to focus on something else and lead them to the One who gives an abundant life.
I feel so blessed to be apart of the work God is doing in El Paraiso. It is a blessing to see the progress that has been made through Tamara's efforts with the sewing class and setting up the beauty class and carpentry class. It's a blessing to see a group of 20-50 kids every Sunday and tell them a story they have never heard before from the Bible. It's a blessing to build relationships with the people and to be apart of their lives.
The hardest part about it all is sharing in their struggles, and yet it's a blessing as well. We have seen a lot of sickness in the community. Right now, one of our women, who is about 31 years old, is suffering from cervical cancer and is having a hysterectomy this Monday. She is the provider for her house and works daily making food and selling it, even when she is sick. A couple of weeks ago, she got robbed of all the money she had, but she bounced back and is still on the go. Her family hasn't been very supportive of her, and a friend will probably watch her kids while she goes to the hospital by herself on Monday.
Another woman, who is about in her 50's, is the community leader's wife. Tamara took her for an ultrasound of her thyroid a few weeks ago and found that she has about 5 nodules on her thyroid. She was supposed to go for a biopsy tomorrow, but we are going to have to reschedule. Her nephew, who is only 31, suffers from chronic kidney disease and was on dialysis at a hospital. Last week, they sent him home to die, only expecting him to live four days. Tomorrow is the fourth day.
A young 18 year old girl is about 16 weeks pregnant and has severe morning sickness. She cannot keep anything down and has had to have several IVs. Thankfully the baby is okay, but she only weighs about 95 pounds and keeps losing weight.
One of the men that has been attending our church has been suffering from what to me would be a nightmare. He got bit on the leg by some sort of fly that laid eggs in the wound. After the eggs hatched, the larvae began to eat away his leg. He has to forcefully squeeze them out!
These are just a few cases that we know of in the community. All of these people depend on centralized health care because they cannot afford good, private healthcare for themselves. Tamara and the ministry has been helping them the best that she can.
The hardest part about living here is always seeing need and never being able to fully meet that need. You can pay for someone to go to the doctor, but that doesn't mean they'll get better or that you'll be able to pay for surgery or medicine or ensure that they get the best service. You can get someone food that is hungry, but that food will be used up and they'll be hungry again. You can give or lend someone money, but sooner or later (and often sooner) they'll come back asking for more. Physical needs are almost never fully met.
Luke chapter 6:20-22 says, "Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man."
No one, especially the poor, really thinks of the poor and hungry as being blessed. No one equivocates suffering with blessing. But the reality is that if you never have been poor, never have known hunger, never have known pain and suffering, you never have really learned how to trust in God as if your life depends on it. When you don't know where the next meal will come from to feed your children, you get down on your hands and knees and beg God to provide. When you don't have any money or a cure to treat a medical problem, God is your only physician. Why is this such a blessing? Luke 6:23 says, "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven." The true reality is that this life is a mist compared to eternity. The only thing that will count in our lives is how much faith we put in Christ.
It's funny that El Paraiso means "Paradise." No one would probably think of it that way. While we hope and the ministry hopes to help improve quality of living in the community, I would like to think that these people are really just heading on the road to the Paradise Jesus describes in Luke 23:43. That one day we would all be people of Paradise, a community in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Please pray and keep praying for El Paraiso, the people mentioned in this blog, and the projects we are doing. Please pray for Tamara's family, the pastor Juan Pablo and his family, and Luis and I as we minister together. Pray that we would be able to stand firm and not let Satan get in our way as he often tries to. Pray for me and Luis as our faith is being tested as well with trusting in God's provision.
Thank you for reading. I hope you are richly blessed in Christ Jesus.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Let's Catch Up
Wow! I can't believe it's been 5 months since I've written on here! Sorry, faithful readers for not keeping you up to date! But you may have heard things have changed a lot since I last wrote, and it's been a little crazy!
So the last time I wrote I might have mentioned that I decided to quit my job teaching at the University. I felt like it was too much for me at the time, and I really felt like it was God telling me to leave. Well, it just so happened that around that same time is when I got pregnant. Of course, I didn't plan it. Luis and I wanted to wait till we had been married for three years, not just a month! However, God had better plans. About a year ago, I learned that I had cysts on my ovaries and endometriosis, but God has cleaned me of that and put a baby girl in there! I know that God gave her to me to bring me healing and joy and to bless my life in many ways.
At the end of May and part of June, I had the opportunity to translate for some mission groups that came down. I was still teaching English twice a week to kids at another ministry, El Ayudante, and going out to El Paraiso three times a week. Nevertheless, I had to take a break from all of that the end of June when morning sickness hit me hard. They really shouldn't call it morning sickness; it was more like all day sickness! And with the heat and different smells here in Nicaragua, it was hard to stay hydrated and keep food down. Thankfully, I made through it, and it all stopped at the beginning of the fourth month! But there was a couple of months that I couldn't hardly do anything.
The timing probably couldn't have been better for me to go to the US the end of July and most of August. Since I couldn't really do much in my condition, it was good to take a break from Nicaragua for a month. Fortunately, Luis was granted a 10 year tourist visa, and he went with me to the US for the first time!!! We had a wonderful time in Tennessee, and a day in Miami, visiting my family and friends. Luis loved Tennessee so much that he didn't want to leave! He loved the beauty of the mountains and that people didn't throw their trash in the streets like they do here! We also had an opportunity to share at my home church, FBC Clinton, and my grandfather's church, Middlecreek Baptist, about what God has been doing in El Paraiso, It was such a blessing to us to share and get the response in prayers and support as we did!
So we came back to Nicaragua end of August, and it has been a whirlwind! Thankfully, I was able to go back to work teaching at El Ayudante and helping in El Paraiso. Luis started teaching guitar classes to youth at our church on Saturdays, and I decided a few weeks later that I would teach how to read music! It's been a lot of fun and so rewarding to see the smiles on their faces when they understand and can clap out a rhythm!
Everything keeps growing in El Paraiso. We are still going out Sundays to do children's church and regular service. Our little congregation has grown thanks to what God is doing and the efforts of our pastor Juan Pablo Pineda! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we still go out to teach sewing classes, but cosmetology and carpentry classes have been added. After the classes, we have a devotional or the pastor teaches a discipleship class. It's been really neat to see how God is working and growing! I am hoping we get more opportunities to reach out to these people and disciple them in the word.
Luis and I have made some changes. We were fortunate to find another house that is a lot bigger (4 bedrooms and 2 baths!), a lot cooler and quieter, closer to his family and our church, and not too much more than what we were paying! This past Monday we moved in and have been getting adjusted. I really like it a lot better than our little house, and I am excited about the opportunities that we will have to minister to others in this house. We are thinking about having small groups or other Bible studies; I'll keep you posted on what happens!
God has been so good to us, and I am so thankful to Him. Sometimes, it's hard to not let the voice of the world get in the way that tells me that I'm not doing enough, that we don't have enough, that we need to get normal jobs or move back to the US so we can get by. But God has been so good to remind me that He is in the one in control, that He is at work and preparing us for something bigger. He has placed godly people in our lives that keep telling us that God has a big ministry for us and to not get discouraged. We are learning to trust Him with our every step, which is a hard lesson, but the best one anyone could ever learn.
Luis and I are planning to go back to the United States November 20-December 5. It will probably be the last time I get to visit until months after the baby comes (she's coming around February 17). I hope to get to see and visit as many people as I can during this time, and hopefully, there will be baby showers! (Keeping my fingers crossed!) Contact me if you want to see us! Until then, I will try to keep this blog up to date!
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26
So the last time I wrote I might have mentioned that I decided to quit my job teaching at the University. I felt like it was too much for me at the time, and I really felt like it was God telling me to leave. Well, it just so happened that around that same time is when I got pregnant. Of course, I didn't plan it. Luis and I wanted to wait till we had been married for three years, not just a month! However, God had better plans. About a year ago, I learned that I had cysts on my ovaries and endometriosis, but God has cleaned me of that and put a baby girl in there! I know that God gave her to me to bring me healing and joy and to bless my life in many ways.
At the end of May and part of June, I had the opportunity to translate for some mission groups that came down. I was still teaching English twice a week to kids at another ministry, El Ayudante, and going out to El Paraiso three times a week. Nevertheless, I had to take a break from all of that the end of June when morning sickness hit me hard. They really shouldn't call it morning sickness; it was more like all day sickness! And with the heat and different smells here in Nicaragua, it was hard to stay hydrated and keep food down. Thankfully, I made through it, and it all stopped at the beginning of the fourth month! But there was a couple of months that I couldn't hardly do anything.
The timing probably couldn't have been better for me to go to the US the end of July and most of August. Since I couldn't really do much in my condition, it was good to take a break from Nicaragua for a month. Fortunately, Luis was granted a 10 year tourist visa, and he went with me to the US for the first time!!! We had a wonderful time in Tennessee, and a day in Miami, visiting my family and friends. Luis loved Tennessee so much that he didn't want to leave! He loved the beauty of the mountains and that people didn't throw their trash in the streets like they do here! We also had an opportunity to share at my home church, FBC Clinton, and my grandfather's church, Middlecreek Baptist, about what God has been doing in El Paraiso, It was such a blessing to us to share and get the response in prayers and support as we did!
So we came back to Nicaragua end of August, and it has been a whirlwind! Thankfully, I was able to go back to work teaching at El Ayudante and helping in El Paraiso. Luis started teaching guitar classes to youth at our church on Saturdays, and I decided a few weeks later that I would teach how to read music! It's been a lot of fun and so rewarding to see the smiles on their faces when they understand and can clap out a rhythm!
Everything keeps growing in El Paraiso. We are still going out Sundays to do children's church and regular service. Our little congregation has grown thanks to what God is doing and the efforts of our pastor Juan Pablo Pineda! On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we still go out to teach sewing classes, but cosmetology and carpentry classes have been added. After the classes, we have a devotional or the pastor teaches a discipleship class. It's been really neat to see how God is working and growing! I am hoping we get more opportunities to reach out to these people and disciple them in the word.
Luis and I have made some changes. We were fortunate to find another house that is a lot bigger (4 bedrooms and 2 baths!), a lot cooler and quieter, closer to his family and our church, and not too much more than what we were paying! This past Monday we moved in and have been getting adjusted. I really like it a lot better than our little house, and I am excited about the opportunities that we will have to minister to others in this house. We are thinking about having small groups or other Bible studies; I'll keep you posted on what happens!
God has been so good to us, and I am so thankful to Him. Sometimes, it's hard to not let the voice of the world get in the way that tells me that I'm not doing enough, that we don't have enough, that we need to get normal jobs or move back to the US so we can get by. But God has been so good to remind me that He is in the one in control, that He is at work and preparing us for something bigger. He has placed godly people in our lives that keep telling us that God has a big ministry for us and to not get discouraged. We are learning to trust Him with our every step, which is a hard lesson, but the best one anyone could ever learn.
Luis and I are planning to go back to the United States November 20-December 5. It will probably be the last time I get to visit until months after the baby comes (she's coming around February 17). I hope to get to see and visit as many people as I can during this time, and hopefully, there will be baby showers! (Keeping my fingers crossed!) Contact me if you want to see us! Until then, I will try to keep this blog up to date!
"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26
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