In honor of my Lord and Savior: Another blessed week in Nicaragua

God blessed Pablo and I with another great week to serve him and to enjoy this beautiful country. At the beginning of this past week we were able to take a struggling young man to spend a couple months in a drug rehab center in San Marco. Praise God this young man had the humility at the age of 18 to recognize his struggle and be willing to allow for help. Keep the San Marco drug/alcohol rehab center in your prayers as they help dozens of addicted Nicaraguans get back on their feet with the help of developing a relationship with God and disciplined habits.

We again were able to spend two days serving food to kids and adults on the streets, as well as to many people at a separate trash dump than we normally serve at. It was good to be able to see the smiles on some new faces, as they weren't expecting anything of the sort. The dump we normally serve at was vacant, allowing us the chance to serve elsewhere for the day. There's a particular kid, named Carlos, we've been able to meet up with and give food to multiple times over the last couple months. He spends most of his time begging at a local gas station next to the main highway. Not everyone is always appreciative when we bring them food or offer to pray for them, but this kid is a different story all together. He's always excited to see us and to allow us to pray for him. He mentioned to us recently that many of his little friends put a lot of pressure on him to sniff glue with them, but that he hasn't done it. Of course we gave him the obvious affirmation that, at age 11 (or any for that matter), he made the right choice. I've spent much time praying for Carlos, as I would encourage anyone reading to do the same. His little sister often begs with him, and I just pray that the Lord gives him the self discipline to avoid a life of addiction and to be a positive influence to his sister.

We took the long motorcycle ride to Matiguas to visit the drug rehab center we've been visiting the last month or so. Along with sharing a message from God's word and spending some time in worship with the 60 or so people packed in the room, we stopped at the local bakery to bring them all sorts of delicious looking gluten that I can't eat haha. I've mentioned it before, but talk about a room of soft-(or maybe more likely broken) hearted people. There were four women and the rest men, all whom showed great excitement at our visit, were attentive as we spoke, and very thankful for the food and drinks. Although it's not the reason I do it, I can't tell you how fulfilling it is to be appreciated by these people, and even more importantly that they respond so positively to the word we speak from the bible. Many are eager to renew or begin a relationship with Jesus, allowing us the opportunity to pray for several individuals. I'm praying and hoping that the door will open these next couple weeks for us to baptize some of these individuals, baptizing symbolizing the death to our old lives and the resurrection to a new life of hope in Christ. Freedom and renewal are greatly desired among these people who have lived most of their lives enslaved to different addictions.

Our time in El Delirio this week was once again spent with the kids, as there are only a few adults left in the village during the working hours of coffee season. We brought up our friend Pancho, who's 18, to come and help us with the kids. One thing that took me a while to gather, but makes much since is that a majority of Nicaraguans don't get the privilege of leaving their hometown very often, if at all. Another of Pancho's friends was giving Pancho a hard time the other day because when he was asked to travel to Managua, he said that he couldn't because he didn't have a passport (Managua being the capitol of Nicaragua about a two hour drive from Matagalpa). I'm always glad to be able to bring different people along to serve with us. We enjoyed another good time with the kids and I have some new pictures of them all posted below.

Saturday classes in Tres M and Monday/Tuesday classes in Lucidia Mantilla continue to go steady. We've lost a couple students in all of our classes, making it necessary to combine two classes in our Saturday session in Tres M. It actually turned out to work really well as the kids tend to be more attentive and active when there are more than just a few students. I guess the gringo makes them feel a little uncomfortable when we're in a small group setting. All of the classes are in the middle of learning a variety of verbs, a long subject to teach. Lord willing, they will retain some of that.

The talks of the water project continue to be back and forth. Marvin, Tres M's community leader, has been inactive the last week or so, as his usual caretaker is out of town. We are planning to get a new letter sent to the City Hall that Pablo and I may stand before a board and explain everything thoroughly.

Anyone wanting to help financially in any of these ministries is welcome to donate through the donation link on the sidebar or by sending checks to the Laurel, Mt church of Christ earmarked for this Nicaragua ministry. A big thanks to all those who continue to support prayerfully and financially! God bless!