New Years commitments

"Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He went up to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets, all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord, to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant." -2 Kings 23:1-3

In light of the new year, many people create new goals for themselves, renew old commitments, and make promises in regards to the future of their relationships. Nothing new. The same goals and commitments were made 2636 years ago as well. Although if you look carefully into it, there may be a great difference between the ones we are making for the year 2014 and the commitment Josiah and the Israelites made a few millenniums ago. Firstly, the covenant Josiah and the nation of Judah renewed to the Lord was in light of their mistakes, their hypocrisy and their unfaithfulness. But, just as Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, they would not have been convicted of their unfaithfulness had it not been for the Law of the Lord. Josiah insisted upon the renewal of a whole hearted commitment to God because he had read the Holy word of God. And because of Josiah's humility shown in performing the inconvenient task of submitting to the Lord, as the king of a great nation, the prophesied Israelite exile to Babylon was not to occur until after his death.

Now while Josiah's "new year's resolution" was completed and proved to be wise, I would venture to say that the majority of the new year's resolutions this year will either fail or be completed only to be proved meaningless. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 10:12, "We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise." If when creating goals for this upcoming year, we compare ourselves with what occurred in our lives in previous years, we are setting ourselves up for failure. To compare imperfection to imperfection will always prove futile. In order to set goals that prove to be beneficial, and complete them, we must create them based on a higher standard than our own, in light of our own imperfection. Just as an owner's manual is written by the creator of the car and not by the driver of the car, we must learn to listen to the instructions of our own Creator, in the word of God. This year I encourage you to make God's plans your plans instead of adding to the same sloppy standards we've failed to perfect since childhood.

"Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did, with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with the Law of Moses." -2 Kings 23:25

12/17 Nicaragua update

This will be my last blog post for a while, as I will be flying back to Montana Wednesday to spend Christmas with the family. What a blessed three months it has been here, for me, and hopefully for all those effected by this ministry! These three months have been well worth my time, and I can't thank everyone enough that has supported our work.

Although we were unable to find a Santa outfit for me to wear to El Delirio Friday, it was a great experience. We settled for a Santa Claus pinata, much to the satisfaction of the 90 or so kids that showed up. It was a great joy to see the smiles on the faces of all those children and their parents as they enjoyed collecting candy, cookies, pop, and a little gift for each one of them. It's been very edifying to get to spend time with these children, who most certainly don't get the attention that the average child does. Although a childhood shouldn't be determined by the amount of gifts or things received, it is a great importance in the heart of a child to feel wanted. Many of these kids are without fathers or come from broken families, added to the fact that they live with the minimal physical necessities. As you look through the pictures I posted below, I would encourage you to pray for the lives of these families in El Delirio.

We also got the opportunity to travel to the drug rehab center in Mataguas again last week to visit those who are living and working there. I've experienced the satisfaction of kids eagerly awaiting our arrival to spend time with them, but it's an entirely different feeling when adults, who I don't yet know by name, are filled with great excitement at our appearance. It was another blessed time to be able to share God's word with these people... and some snacks, rice and beans. I'm looking forward to continue to get to spend some time with those living there, encouraging them as they rehab from different addictions.

 kids lining up to get snacks and presents

 everyone going crazy when the candy hit the floor

...and we fed a little monkey on the ride home

12/12 Nicaragua update

I just saw a truck drive over top another truck, head on, twenty feet in front of me. Praise God, somehow no one was hurt or killed! If those types of situations don't make you think about eternity I don't know what will. Scripture says our life is but a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow, and it couldn't be more true. While the average lifespan is right around 70 years who's to say I'm gonna live past tomorrow? And if I don't, then what follows? In our ministry here in Nicaragua, Pablo and I try to keep this eternal mindset as we are blessed to aid many in need.

"God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what he has done from beginning to end." -Ecclesiastes 3:11

In light of this pressing eternal need each of us has, God's word continually stresses blessing others in physical need. Tuesday we were able to bring a special meal to those at the trash dump. As we have typically been serving rice, beans, cheese, and tortilla, we prepared 101 plates of chicken with some cooked vegetables and a salad. It made me smile to see how excited everyone got as we pulled up to the dump and Pablo announced that we had a brought them a special meal of chicken for the holiday season. It's just crazy to me that something so simple could excite so many people. I've been able to eat chicken (or any other meat I've wanted) all of my life, so I quite honestly don't get too excited when someone offers me a plate of chicken. Then again I've never dug through a trash dump or gone weeks without showering. You can imagine the smell that the dump creates, so when there's an aroma of actual food it gets exciting for a lot of these people. Granted there are always some people who are less appreciative than others, but that doesn't take away from the smiles simple acts of service produce on so many faces.

What is Christmas anyhow? It's the celebration of the birth of Jesus right? In celebration of the holiday which remembers the most generous man to walk the earth, I would encourage all those reading not to make this holiday season about you. I've spent many holidays in my life with great expectation of what people would get me and how people would treat me, as if the holiday was a celebration of my life. This year let's not forget the opportunities available to us to serve those around us, especially those less fortunate,  in a special way, in honor of Jesus, who did it first.

I can't thank all of the supporters of this ministry enough for all the encouragement, love, prayers, and financial aid! I am greatly blessed to be on the serving end of such great generosity of so many. To anyone reading who would like to help financially, there is a donation button on the right side of the page available. You all are welcome to email or comment with any questions or thoughts in regards to this ministry, ike2307@hotmail.com. Thanks and God bless!

Below are some pictures of many we serve at the trash dump.

Christmas in El Delirio

It's coffee season in Nicaragua, so there weren't many folks around in El Delirio when we showed up to spend some time sharing the bible with them last Friday. But there are always plenty of kids! We spent Friday afternoon coloring pictures with crayons with the kids and singing a couple songs Pablo taught them in Spanish. After sharing cookies and drinks with all of them, we were able to talk to one of the community leaders about getting a census of kids in the community. We're hoping to be able to bring presents to the kids next week, before I leave back to the states for Christmas. There are around 50 kids in the community, so the total cost is gonna be at least $200 to get gifts there from Matagalpa. Given that I'm the only white person around, Pablo wants me to dress up as Santa when we go. I'm kinda hoping we can't find a costume, but if we can you'll be seeing some ridiculous pictures next week.

If anyone would like to help in providing gifts for these kids, whether contributing towards the goal of $200 or in addition for extra little things the families would appreciate, there is a donation link on the right sidebar or checks can be made to the Laurel Church of Christ, 714 E 5 St Laurel, MT. Thank you for all who continue to pray and support this ministry! God bless!

 This is the little guy we were able to buy a coat for last Friday

 Most the other Jesuses had purple hair haha

Drug rehab visit

"Jesus said to them, 'Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you.'" -Matthew 21:31

The above passage had to have been a real slap in the face to the religious leaders that Jesus was talking to. In the context Jesus was telling them this because the prostitutes and tax collectors had come to repent for their mistakes, while those in religious authorities maintained an aire of self righteousness. The reason I bring up this passage is because it came to mind today as Pablo and I spent time at a drug rehab center here in Nicaragua today. We took about a 2 hour motorcycle ride out to this little town to visit those at the drug rehab center. Unable to carry much on the bike, we brought some New Testament bibles to give out. Upon our arrival we spent some time singing worship songs with those there, and then Pablo and I both spoke a word of encouragement from the bible. I don't know what it is about being at a drug and alcohol rehab center, but there is something legitimate about the people there and how they worship. I stood among 36 men and one woman who praised and worshipped God with lifted hands, in a manner that was real. It's a lot like when someone tells you "I forgive you" or "I love you". It's pretty easy to tell whether or not they mean it. Regardless of what they say, you can tell by how they say it. Well these people mean it. They've seen both ends of the spectrum, and thus have a great appreciation for the freedom there is in a life with Jesus Christ.

"Two people owed money to a certain money lender. One owed him 500 denarii, and the other 50. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love more?" -Luke7:41-42

Whether or not those at the drug rehab center owe a "greater debt" than I, in regards to the sin in their lives, I do not know. What I do know is that their desire for the the Lord is real and legitimate. I myself have never been addicted to drugs, never murdered, or stolen. In the same light I was born with two loving parents into a blessed family, in a blessed country, with wise parental instruction all of my years of childhood. I do not know what it's like to grow up without parents. I don't know what it's like to beg on the streets. And I certainly don't know what it's like to be so lost and lonely as to seek the "comfort" of drugs and alcohol daily. To see people who have struggled with those circumstances fall into the arms of a loving Savior by way of a Christ based drug rehabilitation center is what I picture when I think of the ministry Jesus led while on this earth. Jesus pursued, and pursues, the lost and the broken because many of us who are neither lost nor broken wouldn't give him the time of day if he did. May we pray for humble hearts to hear the gentle words of our Lord when he's come to save us from a broken world.

The Awe Factor

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." -Romans 1:20

It's 9:08 here in Matagalpa, Nicaragua and never have I felt more blessed to have to walk outside to enter my bedroom. It's probably 70 degrees outside and there isn't a cloud in the sky. All I see are thousands of stars that never fail to leave me in awe. But why? Why is it that I can look up into the sky at night, see a bunch of little specks of light, and always be filled with a great amount of amazement? Why do I feel like leaving this sight to go to bed would be like leaving before the final scene of a good movie? There is no better answer than that I was created to be in awe of my Creator.

As it is now "dry season" in Nicaragua, there are fewer clouds and more clear skies come nighttime. Nearly every night as I brush my teeth outside my bedroom, I get the privilege to look up at the stars. By no coincidence I came across this passage of the bible the other day in Psalm 19, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." How true is that? Regardless of what language you speak, what country you're from, or your cultural background the stars of the sky, the mountaintops, a sunset or a sunrise will always speak to everyone from all walks of life.

God cannot be contained, described or disproven. He goes beyond any compliment that I could give him and the reality of his presence in creation says more in his favor than all the witty atheists in the world could speak against him. I have no need to defend the existence of my God with words when I can step outside and be in awe in a heartbeat. I am left with no option but to humbly praise my Creator.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?... Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" -Psalm 8

The hopelessness of circumstantial hope

At first when I took this picture I laughed because it almost appears as though the cartoon carrying tortillas in the background is fleeing the scene from a passed out drunk who just had his shoes stolen. Later I began to ponder the fact that it is a common sight to see a man passed out drunk on the streets of Matagalpa, Nicaragua. I probably see at least one a day. It is a sad sight to see someone in that state, but after seeing it so many times your heart kind of becomes calloused to the image. On many occasions I've talked with Pablo, my brother in Christ and roommate here in Nicaragua, about what we could do to help. Given the great number of people who struggle with alcoholism, and the difficulty of turning such a life around, there seems to be little to be done to help. We also serve people in the community of Matagalpa who are addicted to sniffing glue. Now when I say glue, I'm not talking about Elmers, but rather something like rubber cement mixed with gasoline. I've seen the effects of this "high" and it's damaging. The saddest part of the matter is that the majority of those who sniff glue are the ones that aren't in a position to buy alcohol, youths. Well surely there's something I can do to help a 15 year old who's addicted to glue? But again given the great numbers who struggle with the issue, there seems to be little to be done. So what about the young boys no older than 5 who are surviving by digging through the trash dump? (And I say boys because drug and alcohol addiction is greater problem among males. There are plenty of 3 year old girls digging through the trash to survive as well.) What is the example set for a young boy, let's say the age of 5, who survives in the dump? Well most of them are without fathers, so the male example in their lives are those who are high on glue and addicted to alcohol. Do you see what I'm getting at with this cycle? Drug and alcohol addiction is real, here and throughout the world, and it doesn't start with a 40 year old who all of a sudden wants to be an addict. It begins with how kids are influenced by those around them.

There are a couple of rehab centers out of town that we could take people to, but it would require each individual to be sponsored for around $100/month. This is a tremendous opportunity to help an individual begin a new life apart from drugs and alcohol. I wish I had great amounts of money to help all of these people, but I do not. But what I do have, I have been blessed with the chance to freely give. And that is the good news of Jesus Christ. When we go to the trash dump and the streets to serve meals every week we talk about hope. We talk about a hope that is eternal and transcends the hardships of the here and now. Part of sharing that eternal hope is, as Jesus did, meeting the physical needs of the here and now. I ask for the prayers of those reading that Jesus will change the lives of many, and that Pablo and I will be able to serve in a manner that brings to light the real hope of Christ.

El Delirio Pictures

 It was requested that we bring a little sweater for this guy. I think he looks pretty good in the onesy but we can probably help him out.

 We've been able to have someone help us out by coloring and playing with the kids while we teach and speak with the adults on Fridays in Delirio.

 Everyone lining up to get cookies and a drink after a discipleship class.

Our identity

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" -2 Corinthians 5:17

Marvin is a community leader in Tres M, Nicaragua, where we teach English classes and have raised funds to begin a water project. I've mentioned Marvin before in one of my previous posts, a man who became physically handicapped in a Nicaraguan war years ago and now has limited mobility, to say the least. Pablo and I were able to stop by Thursday to check on him and bring his family some food. Every time we see him he's grateful to see us and he always seems to be in good spirits. I'd love to take a picture of him to better share with you his physical condition but I have not found an appropriate time. (I have a fear that everyone's always thinking, "there's that white kid pulling his phone out to take pictures of us again, c'mon.") Anyhow, when greeting Marvin we shake his elbow because he doesn't have nerve function up to his hand on either arm. The last several weeks he has been bed ridden from different intestinal surgeries. So we have visited him in his home. He shared with us that he just had yet another surgery. Keep in mind that as we were talking we were absolutely covered by mosquitoes. Pablo and I were swatting our arms and legs every other second as we listened to the content words of a man without hands to swipe the bugs from landing on his face. Nevertheless Marvin shared with us his appreciation for our teaching the kids in the community, the different happenings of the town, and numerous things he had planned to do. What a selfless example he is. It's humbling to see a man who is barely capable of movement spend his life in leadership and servitude to a people far more physically capable than himself.

As I laid in bed Thursday night, I thought of Marvin. I thought of the great emphasis society puts on looks, of how important self image seems to be. I've often wished that it were possible to meet the woman I'm going to marry by seeing her personality before I was ever physically attracted. I began to question whether my personality would change if I were obese, if I were crippled, or I was diseased. Is who I am dependent on what I look like? Is what  I think about people dependent on social status? How productive could my life really be if I were in a wheelchair for the rest of my days? None of these attributes should matter as much as they do to me. What good is it to be a Christian if I don't truly believe 2 Corinthians 5:17? And by believe I mean for my life to reflect that belief.

This isn't the first time I've had these thoughts, but they deserve my attention. This summer, as I lived in Alabama, I was privileged to hear the story of Katherine and Jay Wolfe, which is posted on youtube and their website, "hope heals". Jay is the son of the pastor of the church I was a member of this summer, who married Katherine several years ago. To make a long story short, Katherine was a very physically beautiful woman, who suffered the trial of a brain tumor. Against all odds she survived and now uses a cane to get around. Over 90% of couples divorce when a terminal illness occurs, and Jay's faithfulness to Katherine has been a powerful testimony. The reality of this story hit me hard, to think how temporary our "image" is, the very image we spend hours a day in attempt to beautify. The beauty of 2 Corinthians 5:17 is that regardless of physical appearance, we can be made beautiful in Christ. If I am going to continue to call myself a Christian, who I am cannot be determined based on anything apart from who I am in Jesus.

I'm thankful for people like Marvin and Katherine, who have experienced undesired physical hardship, only to become more beautiful beings because of it.

Jesus Heals

"Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, 'Look at us!' So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. Then Peter said, 'Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk'. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God." -Acts 3:2-8

In an earlier blog I talked about a family we were able to feed that spends the evenings digging through a small garbage dump in town. We were able to help feed them last week and again today. Last week, as we talked and prayed with them, the mother requested that we pray for her son, Wilmer, who was in bed at home with a bad fever and had been sick for a while. The majority of the people we help feed are shy in response, not asking many questions or making many requests. This woman asking us to pray for her child wasn't a small matter. It was obvious that she was distressed about the health of her kid. We gladly prayed for this family, more specifically for Wilmer, and gave them all dinner for the evening. Before we left Pablo looked at Wilmer's mom and said to her, "In the name of Jesus, Wilmer is healed." Now I don't speak great Spanish, but I understood what Pablo said and I could tell that he meant it.

Pablo's been wanting to head back to the little dump to bring some food and check on the family for the past week, but we weren't able to until today. We pulled up to the little dump today and everyone came out to greet us. The mother we had spoke with last week was so excited to tell Pablo that when they went home the evening we prayed for Wilmer, they found Wilmer dressed and leaving their house to go to church. He said he felt great! Call it what you will but Jesus healed that kid. We saw him today and he was all smiles. It's difficult to kick a bad fever, much less a bad fever while on a diet of garbage, literally garbage. And if Nica kids are anything like American kids, they know how to drag out the sick days to get nursed a little by the family. But no, this kid wasn't just better, he was going to church.

After another time of talk and prayer we gave the family meals and drove off. Driving away Pablo said something like, "I told you Jesus healed that kid". Yes you did brother, and yes he did.

La Basurera Ministry

"And God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come. I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind.'" -Genesis 9:12

This passage from Genesis was the first thing that came to mind when I took this picture while feeding people at the trash dump. I looked beyond the couple hundred yards of garbage and noticed how lush the land was behind, and the rainbow in the clouds beyond that. It just left me thinking that it doesn't matter where you are, God is there. We're in the poorest country in Central America with the poorest of the poor people, in the trash dump, and for all those desiring to notice his presence, God was still there. Try to explain rainbows all you want scientifically, but they don't make sense to me. Think about it. It's a group of distinguishable colors in the sky in the shape of a semicircle on the horizon. It's as if a child drew it in the sky. You may deny it, but everyone's amused by rainbows. My point being is that there for a second I wasn't in a trash dump. God's creation has a way of taking your mind away from where you really are in your life. Whether you're in beautiful Rocky Mountains or in a trash dump in Nicaragua God desires to reveal his presence to you.

Pictured below are many of those we were able to provide food for. Thank you to the many who support this ministry! For those of you who would like to help provide financial support, there is a donation link below. God bless!

 It never gets old to feed these people

Our truck bed full of 100 boxes of food

Give us this day our daily bread

"As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, 'This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.'
Jesus replied, 'They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.'
'We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,' they answered.'
'Bring them here to me,' he said."- Matthew 14:15-18

Monday morning at 7 AM we starting preparing rice and beans to take to the people who survive by digging through the trash dump. By noon we had prepared 38 plates of rice, beans, and tortillas. As Pablo and I pulled into the trash dump, we began to realize that there were far more people than we had plates of food for. I felt like the apostles, thinking "we have only 38 plates and there are over 100 people here." Although we didn't see our food provide meals for everyone there, we understand that Jesus is in  the results business more than we can ever be. There is no way for us to know that all the people we provided food for were even thankful, much less helped by our efforts. To provide food for 38 to ensure that one person's prayer is answered is completely worth it. As much as I hate the phrase "you can't help everybody", for myself and the apostles it is and was the truth. I can't help everybody, but Jesus can, and did. I will never begin to understand the way Jesus multiplies our efforts of service beyond what we can understand. We prayed for the food and the people we saw Monday, in faith that Jesus will take our five loaves and two fish and, in some way I wouldn't expect, feed five thousand.

So today we are preparing 100 plates of beans and rice to again take to the trash dump, hoping and praying that our efforts will be an encouragement and a blessing to those provided for. I would tend to think that one meal doesn't change a life, but I press on in thoughts that maybe my belief in Jesus today is a result of one of the 5000 people's belief in him when he miraculously provided just one meal.

Each plate of food costs between $0.25 and $0.50. For those of you who would like to support in providing food for these people, or any other project in this ministry, there is a donation link below. Thank you for all those who have and continue to provide help! God bless!

 hundreds of vultures eating from the trash along with these people

 Everyone lined up to get food

11/10 Nicaragua update

This past week, Pablo and I started teaching another English as a second language class. This new class we're teaching is in Lucidia, the neighborhood in Matagalpa where Pablo and I live. Lucidia is a poor neighborhood and we have a very diverse group of students, ages ranging from 10 to 37. It's a great opportunity for Pablo and I, as all the students are very eager to learn and have been requesting that we help them. We'll be teaching classes Monday and Tuesday evenings. We have 24 students that meet in a small church building where Pablo's parents help lead a small church family.

We continue our three classes in Tres M on Saturdays which are going well for the most part. Our second class, which is the group of younger students from ages 10 to 13, have struggled as of late. I'm gonna start bribing them with cookies or something to get them to study. Prayers are greatly appreciated for these students as we continue to work with them. There are around 71 students on the three class rosters, and between 50 and 60 consistently show up for class. We're hoping to start a Wednesday class specifically devoted to sharing the bible in a combination of Spanish and English.

Praise God the $2800 has been raised for the Tres M water project! Thank you to all who gave in support of this effort. Pablo and I met with Juan Carlos, one of the community leaders in charge of the water project, and he is speaking today with the community as well as the local city council. We're continuing to pray that everything will come together to begin work on providing water for the 50 or so families now that we have raised the requested funds.

Friday we headed up to El Delirio for our weekly discipleship class where we've started teaching the gospel of John. Unfortunately it down poured as we arrived, but around 60 people, including kids, still gathered into the small building to hear from God's word. It's always a blessing and a humbling experience to meet with this community. It's great to see the many kids that are in Delirio, and to see the childhood they have in comparison to what I had growing up certainly helps me to be more compassionate. I just love bringing them all cookies, drinks and food. It never gets old to give people something they wouldn't have otherwise.

Thank you to all who continually support this Nicaragua ministry! There is a donation link below for those who would like to help financially.

 Students from our class in Tres M pictured above and below

 Random picture of a sloth crossing the road at night

First people to show up to our class in El Delirio