This is our blog about where we are now and how the Lord has prepared us for such a time as this. We are so excited for what is ahead of us. This path is not a surprise to the Lord at all, he goes before us and prepares the way. At this time we are heading out to language school for two weeks in Nicaragua. Please pray for us as we prepare for the months to come. I have felt very anxious at times, not fully knowing the language and also going to a country unknown. I know that what the Lord calls us to he will equip us also, but we must lean not upon our own understanding but in ALL our ways acknowledge that he is Lord and his ways are much better than ours. I have dreamed of this day since I was in college. My major in college was missions, who knew that it would happen more than 20 years later. Through many mistakes and turmoils, a lot caused from my own selfish desires, have not held me back from the amazing plan that God has. There is not a day that goes by that he doesn't call us back to his amazing Love and forgiveness. This same grace the Lord has shown to me and my family, we want to share with others. Our life is to testify of all that Jesus Christ has done in our life and the life of many others. Today as we write this, our hearts are humbled and in complete awe of such love the father has lavished on us. I am praying that as you read these weekly blog posts you will be blessed as well. Please keep praying and also following us as we post photos and share our journey with you. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for many of your prayers and support spiritually. Steve and I want to thank so many of you for loving us and keeping us accountable. We may have moments of discouragement with the language but nothing that the almighty God cannot see us through. We love you all and can't wait to see what's ahead. Please pray for us as because at this moment we do not have a home in Nagarote. Talk about walking by faith and not by sight. Trust and obey, for there is no other way.
Bible verse for today;
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Basketball Tryouts 1/25/2016
The town of Nagarote, I am told has about 25,000 people. I think it is the 13th or 14th biggest town/city in Nicaragua. I am told there is only one other white person from America living here. A lady from the Jehovah Witness Church. They also dress up in suits and go door to door here as well.
So if anyone speaks a little bit of English, they come up to talk to us. It is a great way to meet people and tell them about our church here and share about the Lord.
The other day I was at the deli(pulperia) recharging my phone and a guy who is from Nicaragua but lives a lot in the US, started talking with us. He just arrived that morning and is here for a couple of months. He runs a basketball league here in Nagarote. He helps fix up the basketball court here, and helps to provide the youth with proper sneakers.
There is also an actual adult league here. Different towns play each other. He is a coach of one of teams. He told me his team is the best and they are a dynasty. In the next couple of weeks they are going to start practicing. I told him I would love to play, but he told me I probably wouldn't be good enough to be on his team. I tried to tell him I play a lot and could help out his team. He said he would give me a tryout. After talking a little more, he said I could be on a team from a church that needs a little help.
So I hope this week, I can pass the tryout for the basketball team.
I told our friends here about the basketball league. They want to see me play and said I should be good because I am very tall. I have never been called very tall in my life. The daughter of our friends likes to play basketball and has tried to start a team at their high school, but they do not have anyone to coach them. They told me most of the high schools here, have a basketball team and they play other towns. In September, I'm going to probably coach their team.
God is good, even though I never prayed for the opportunity to play basketball here. He knows the desires of our hearts and has opened a door for something I love to do.
So if anyone speaks a little bit of English, they come up to talk to us. It is a great way to meet people and tell them about our church here and share about the Lord.
The other day I was at the deli(pulperia) recharging my phone and a guy who is from Nicaragua but lives a lot in the US, started talking with us. He just arrived that morning and is here for a couple of months. He runs a basketball league here in Nagarote. He helps fix up the basketball court here, and helps to provide the youth with proper sneakers.
There is also an actual adult league here. Different towns play each other. He is a coach of one of teams. He told me his team is the best and they are a dynasty. In the next couple of weeks they are going to start practicing. I told him I would love to play, but he told me I probably wouldn't be good enough to be on his team. I tried to tell him I play a lot and could help out his team. He said he would give me a tryout. After talking a little more, he said I could be on a team from a church that needs a little help.
So I hope this week, I can pass the tryout for the basketball team.
I told our friends here about the basketball league. They want to see me play and said I should be good because I am very tall. I have never been called very tall in my life. The daughter of our friends likes to play basketball and has tried to start a team at their high school, but they do not have anyone to coach them. They told me most of the high schools here, have a basketball team and they play other towns. In September, I'm going to probably coach their team.
God is good, even though I never prayed for the opportunity to play basketball here. He knows the desires of our hearts and has opened a door for something I love to do.
The Food 1/27/2016
The Food
When I think of Spanish Food, I always think of Taco Bell. Tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, Tostitos, salsa. Basically, I thought it was going to be like Taco Bell but homemade.
Everything I mentioned is Mexican food. This type of food is a foreign as Chinese food here. Central American food is rice and red beans. They never have salsa with any meal. Believe or not its hard to find or buy black beans in the store. Every single meal I have eaten here as rice and red beans with it.
I love my coffee. I have a coffee maker and make coffee every morning here with Costa Rican coffee, very good. However, there is not a single coffee shop here. Definitely a little different. We are used to a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, deli around every corner.
Looking back, I think I ate too much Chinese food and pizza. Crystal and I, try to find ingredients from home and try to eat American when we cook ourselves. Italian, Mexican, etc. There's a pizza vendor, in one of the parks. He's never open, but I want to check out. Our friends say it was horrible, but we'll see. I hear there is a Chinese food restaurant in the capital. Next time there, I want to check it out.
So I would say getting used to rice and beans all the time is taking a little bit getting used to.
BUT, BESIDES THE FOOD WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT HERE!!!!!!!
When I think of Spanish Food, I always think of Taco Bell. Tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, Tostitos, salsa. Basically, I thought it was going to be like Taco Bell but homemade.
Everything I mentioned is Mexican food. This type of food is a foreign as Chinese food here. Central American food is rice and red beans. They never have salsa with any meal. Believe or not its hard to find or buy black beans in the store. Every single meal I have eaten here as rice and red beans with it.
I love my coffee. I have a coffee maker and make coffee every morning here with Costa Rican coffee, very good. However, there is not a single coffee shop here. Definitely a little different. We are used to a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, 7-11, deli around every corner.
Looking back, I think I ate too much Chinese food and pizza. Crystal and I, try to find ingredients from home and try to eat American when we cook ourselves. Italian, Mexican, etc. There's a pizza vendor, in one of the parks. He's never open, but I want to check out. Our friends say it was horrible, but we'll see. I hear there is a Chinese food restaurant in the capital. Next time there, I want to check it out.
So I would say getting used to rice and beans all the time is taking a little bit getting used to.
BUT, BESIDES THE FOOD WE ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT HERE!!!!!!!
Sunday, January 24, 2016
We're Home
We’re Home!!
Our driver dropped us off at Price Mart(Costco) in
Managua, where Milo and Raquel picked us up, but first we went shopping at
Price Mart, as our town of Nagarote does not have many of the items our
beautiful city does not have. i.e tomato sauce, etc (Milo and Raquel Seravalli are a young
couple from Costa Rica, who came to Nagarote to start their ministry here two
years ago. If any of you remember this
is where Kristine interned here two years ago. Milo and Raquel worked with her and made her feel welcome they
spent so much time encouraging her in the Lord and teaching what it means to be
a missionary. Our time in Nagarote will
be assisting Milo and Raquel with their ministry. They are here in Nagarote alone and could
really us the help with the children and youth group as the church is
growing. .
Nagarote is a
small city located one hour away from the capital of Managua. It is an extremely hot part of Nicaragua with
temperatures easily reaching 95 degrees every afternoon. Most of the town stops from 12 to 2 and most
businesses close down for those couple of hours. It is even to hot here for the people to do
anything. However the mornings and
evenings are very nice. The town is very poor and I am told most of the
families survive on 500 dollars a month.
We love the town because everyone is very friendly and welcoming. Surrounding the city of Nagarote is farms and
ranches, while most of the work here is simply local small businesses run out
of peoples home. To find better work,
people have to travel to Managua. The
city is laid out in blocks of many small homes.
To buy food or things, you need to find out where everything is in your
part of town as most things are sold from someone’s home and doesn’t have a
sign. It reminds me of Queens a little
bit, just that houses are much smaller, and the town is much smaller. There are many homes next to each other with
little gardens in the front. In the
evening everyone is outside hanging out.
There is a nice central park, with food and it is a nice place to walk
to and hang out and also it has Wi-Fi as we do not at the current moment. We can travel everywhere in our city with
bikes. If we want we can take a bixie( a
bike with seats in front of it for you to sit) It costs 7 cordabas or 25 cents
per person to go anywhere in the town.
We stayed at the Seravalli’s home for the first week
while we searched for a home. The second
night we were there a few families stopped by to welcome us back. We feel we already have a number of friends
in Nagarote and many people who have welcomed us to their homes. Milo and Raquel also have welcomed us into
their home and into their life. It is
very difficult to find a home, because the only way is to know someone or live
here and ask people. It was a little discouraging as the first week we could
not find a home we pray and prayed. I know my time is the Lords hands, so
patience is so important as you wait on the Lord, even when it seems to be
taking time. There were a few things I
had asked the Lord for and they weren’t huge things. 1. Was a porch to talk to
the people on the street and 2. For a house close to Milo and Raquel. I want to
remind you of something again, Gods timing for everything is perfect, and just
when you want to say Lord please can you just answer. He answers in ways beyond anything we could
have possibly even imagined.
At the same time
all of this is going on we are trying to adjust to the culture and pray that
the Lord will lead and guide us through this whole process. The first few days were very
frustrating. We both prayed every night
as we were feeling anxious. After 7
days, we suddenly had 3 very good options for a home, basically all in one day. For $250 per month we found a beautiful house
near central park. It has 5 bedrooms and
2 bathrooms, with 2 floors. It is one and half blocks from central park and it
has a kitchen with a refrigerator and stove, 2 actual beds with mattress’s,
rocking chairs and plastic chairs. It has my favorite color walls, my favorite
mop and all the things I didn’t even pray for.
It is such a blessing to have so much stuff already here, the Lord not
only shows up but as we wait he will do exceedingly, abundantly more than you
could ever ask for or imagine. For the
first three days the refrigerator and stove did not work, but hopefully soon it
can be fixed. We cooked our eggs in the
toaster oven. (not bad) The trouble is finding a person that can fix it and
then have him actually show up. We are
getting used to the pace of Nagarote which is slow and steady.
Our time here we will be assisting Milo and Raquel with
all their ministries. We have a youth
group, bible studies, regular church, personal discipleships and children’s ministry. We are
specifically going to be running the children’s ministry. We gave our first lesson on Joseph and his
coat of many colors did a craft and few games.
It is definitely intimidating speaking in Spanish, but we are both
trying to stay positive.
We found a wonderful academy in Nagarote that teaches
English. The owner speaks perfect
English and is going to teach us Spanish every morning for 2 hours. She is a wonderful lady that has become our
friend and is going to start to go to church with us, we see the Lord working
in her life also.
We have now gotten into a little bit of routine. Everything is at an extremely slow pace. Normal tasks take hours. It is something we are getting used to; I
think we will have problems adjusting back to the New York pace when we return
in a few months. We are getting to know
more and more people every day and are starting to establish real relationships
and inviting many to church and a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Milo and Raquel are leaving today for a wedding in Costa
Rica for 10 days. So we will be doing
everything on our own now. It is a
little bit scary, but we are confident we can do it, with the Lords help.
Even though we have no TV or internet, the days go by so
fast and feel we never stop. We can walk
to central park to get Wi-Fi as needed, but is very different from American,
where we are constantly using our phones. Already we feel Nagarote is our town
and where we belong.
We have many personal stories we would like to tell, but
for now, just wanted to give an overview of where we are at.
FYI: We don't have a washing machine, so I wash my clothes in a Pila. I am actually liking it.
Sunday, January 17, 2016
Last few days of San Juan Del Sur (1/9-12)
1/9-1/12 - San Juan del Sur
After being in San Juan del Sur a few days, we have gotten into a nice routine. We study Spanish every morning from 8 to 12. We have breakfast before and lunch afterwards and get to speak to the family and get to know them.
After Spanish, we usually walk around town or do something like go to the beach. A couple of times we went to a very nice hotel called Pelican Eyes. Its on the top of the hill of the town and has a beautiful view of the town and harbor. Per person if you spend $15 worth of food at their restaurant you can use their pool all day. Its a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the town. A couple of other times we went to our favorite beach Playa Hermosa and would go surfing. One time on the way home from the beach, we got a flat tire. Of course we did not have the proper tools to change, it took about an hour and half, but we got home eventually.
The other night we treated the family we were staying with to dinner. We were able to walk around town. They showed us the big catholic church in the center of town, very beautiful, as well as the Assembly of God church. It is a very big church in San Juan del Sur. (We were unable to attend a service because we only found out about it towards the end of our stay). On Sunday we attended a small church across the street of where we were staying. Jesus of Nazarene church. It was a very nice service and all the people were extremely nice to us.
We ate at a local restaurant, La Lancha(the boat), the owner catches the fish in the morning and then serves for dinner. We had lobster, shrimp, fish for 8 people for only $40, a great deal. We had a great time with the family.
The last night we were in San Juan del Sur, we stayed out a little bit later and ate at a Indian restaurant. When we arrived back around 7:30pm at our hostel (with our bellies full), we here surprise, this was the family giving us a going away surprise party. They set up a barbecue and a table full of food and wine, the whole family was there. We were very touched that they took the time to cook yummy steak. They had music playing in the back and they keep telling us thank you for everything, it was so sweet. The aunt who is the owner of the hostile is going to visit the US this summer and she will stay with us. We both thought it was funny that we had a huge meal and then had to eat another huge meal. (The suffering problems of missionary work)
We left on Wednesday 1/13 to go to Managua(2.5 hours trip) to meet our friends from Nagarote where they will be picking us up. The taxi driver, primarily only spoke in Spanish which was good practice for us. We both had a great conversation with him,and we were able to talk about the Lord. This man was very open and had a beautiful heart, he is sad for many children that they don't feel that purity is important. He told us very sad stories of things that are happening in the country side outside of San Juan Del sur. Please pray for us as our hearts were sad to hear these stories.
We really had a great time in San Juan del Sur, it is a special place, with lots of people searching for happiness. The town of San Juan del Sur is unique to Nicaragua as it is a tourist based town, with people from all over the world, with many people speaking English. Every single person we met from town either locals or people visiting from different parts of the world were so nice. Everyone seems to go out of their way to be friendly and to get to know you.
However, many people here say the are on a journey. Or they are here for the experience. The experience here is incredible. However, most of them seem to be all searching for something for what they will call a journey. We am saddened that they are seeking the journey or experience and what they are missing is the greatest experience of all, Jesus Christ.
It makes us sad but at the same time remembering that no matter where we are, we are to share the Love of Jesus Christ all over the world. There are many people who are truly lost and do not know what they are looking for. It gives us both strength and excitement to be able to tell people about the greatest experience they will ever find and that everything they are searching for has already been completed for them. The word of God says:
Matthew 11:28
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
Pelican Eyes Hotel
Playa Hermosa surging beach.
The beautiful family of San Juan Del Sur(Our Friends)
Playa hermosa
La Lancha resturant
Broken Tire an experience for sure!
The tire on the roof stuck up their with a chain and no Key!
After being in San Juan del Sur a few days, we have gotten into a nice routine. We study Spanish every morning from 8 to 12. We have breakfast before and lunch afterwards and get to speak to the family and get to know them.
After Spanish, we usually walk around town or do something like go to the beach. A couple of times we went to a very nice hotel called Pelican Eyes. Its on the top of the hill of the town and has a beautiful view of the town and harbor. Per person if you spend $15 worth of food at their restaurant you can use their pool all day. Its a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the town. A couple of other times we went to our favorite beach Playa Hermosa and would go surfing. One time on the way home from the beach, we got a flat tire. Of course we did not have the proper tools to change, it took about an hour and half, but we got home eventually.
The other night we treated the family we were staying with to dinner. We were able to walk around town. They showed us the big catholic church in the center of town, very beautiful, as well as the Assembly of God church. It is a very big church in San Juan del Sur. (We were unable to attend a service because we only found out about it towards the end of our stay). On Sunday we attended a small church across the street of where we were staying. Jesus of Nazarene church. It was a very nice service and all the people were extremely nice to us.
We ate at a local restaurant, La Lancha(the boat), the owner catches the fish in the morning and then serves for dinner. We had lobster, shrimp, fish for 8 people for only $40, a great deal. We had a great time with the family.
The last night we were in San Juan del Sur, we stayed out a little bit later and ate at a Indian restaurant. When we arrived back around 7:30pm at our hostel (with our bellies full), we here surprise, this was the family giving us a going away surprise party. They set up a barbecue and a table full of food and wine, the whole family was there. We were very touched that they took the time to cook yummy steak. They had music playing in the back and they keep telling us thank you for everything, it was so sweet. The aunt who is the owner of the hostile is going to visit the US this summer and she will stay with us. We both thought it was funny that we had a huge meal and then had to eat another huge meal. (The suffering problems of missionary work)
We left on Wednesday 1/13 to go to Managua(2.5 hours trip) to meet our friends from Nagarote where they will be picking us up. The taxi driver, primarily only spoke in Spanish which was good practice for us. We both had a great conversation with him,and we were able to talk about the Lord. This man was very open and had a beautiful heart, he is sad for many children that they don't feel that purity is important. He told us very sad stories of things that are happening in the country side outside of San Juan Del sur. Please pray for us as our hearts were sad to hear these stories.
We really had a great time in San Juan del Sur, it is a special place, with lots of people searching for happiness. The town of San Juan del Sur is unique to Nicaragua as it is a tourist based town, with people from all over the world, with many people speaking English. Every single person we met from town either locals or people visiting from different parts of the world were so nice. Everyone seems to go out of their way to be friendly and to get to know you.
However, many people here say the are on a journey. Or they are here for the experience. The experience here is incredible. However, most of them seem to be all searching for something for what they will call a journey. We am saddened that they are seeking the journey or experience and what they are missing is the greatest experience of all, Jesus Christ.
It makes us sad but at the same time remembering that no matter where we are, we are to share the Love of Jesus Christ all over the world. There are many people who are truly lost and do not know what they are looking for. It gives us both strength and excitement to be able to tell people about the greatest experience they will ever find and that everything they are searching for has already been completed for them. The word of God says:
Matthew 11:28
Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
The Bird I talked to every morning.(Crystal)
Thursday, January 14, 2016
DAY 3 NICARAGUA
Day 3 Nicaragua
Today Steve and I studied Spanish for 4 hours, which by the
way is our normal routine in the mornings with our teacher. After our studies on Friday we decided to
take a break and head to the beach, which by the way is a blessing in San Juan
Del Sur. If you remember we are here for
about a week taking extra classes in Spanish before we head off to our town.
This place we are at now is about 4 hours from the town we will be living in
which is called Nagarote. The
weather here is very hot, typically about 90 degrees, which is amazing
especially to be so close to the beach and to have trade winds. So it is nice to be able to get cool and head
off to the beach. We got a ride from a
local surf shop called “One Love”, the drive in a truck which is a shared ride with
other people and takes about 20 minutes.
The cost is about $10.00 per person for the ride and about $10.00 to
rent a surf board (sounds like a great missionary life) well it is. So we left around 1pm in the back of a pick-up
truck which is to say the least very interesting and at the same time extremely
dangerous" if we were to get into an accident."
Normally when you ride in the back of the truck you talk to the people
and tell them about yourself and you ask them questions about their life. One thing about this city (San Juan Del Sur)
that is unique to all other cities in Nicaragua is that mostly everyone speaks
English. It’s a big tourist location, its very beautiful and cheap. So this makes it much easier for
Steve and I to talk to people as we are still learning to speak Spanish
fluently. As we head out we start to
talk to a middle aged man who in his near 50’s, he is a grey haired and is
fairly thin (can you picture this) he is here alone to surf and travel. If I remember correctly he is from Washington
D.C, and his name is John. Also there is
a young girl who is also traveling (she is not with John), her name is Racheal
and she about 23 years old and she is from Germany. Our conversation starts with why we are here, Steve
and I answer that we are here to learn Spanish and then go to our city here in
Nicaragua (Nagarote) to help our friends with their church. We told him we are Christians and that we
sold our business at home to obey the call the Lord has placed on our lives. As
we talk to John and Racheal (Racheal is quietly listening to our whole
conversation), we find out that John was what I would call a radical Christian
(as he told us also). John has attended many
conferences and many churches, many different kinds of churches, but from what
he told us these churches and pastor conferences had many different things happening. These weren’t your regular church services as
he told us, but many people were being slain in the spirit and speaking in
tongues. Steve and I were like wow
that’s really awesome John!
As John continued to
tell us he no longer believes in one God, he believes in many, but the most important
one is the god that is inside himself and the power of himself. Basically the power is in yourself to do
anything you want. Steve and I both
calmly asked John many questions and John asked us many questions as well. Once important thing that John asked us is “if
we believe the entire bible for a literal translation” and also if we have
faith in God that he created all things.
If you are reading this and you wonder what our answer is, it is always
yes, we believe every part of the bible was God breathed and is inspired by
God. We believe that when you read the
word of God, there is power in it to change our lives. If you don’t believe me I challenge you to
pick it up and read it for yourself and ask the Lord to help you understand it
much better. Anyway back to John and
Racheal, John asked us another question; he asked us straight up if we believe that
people that do not believe in or accept Jesus Christ into their heart are going
to Hell. Our answer is the bible says:
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that
whoever believes in him shall have eternal life. I
guess this didn’t make John or Racheal very happy, Racheal said “So I guess I
am going to hell”, we replied that this is what the word of God says. John
was starting to get very angry with Steve and I, why you ask? John
didn’t like any of these answers, he was so mad that we believe in one God and
that Jesus Christ died for us and that he is all powerful and knows every part
of each one of us. This was challenging
but at the same time this is the whole purpose we are here. When you are unsure of an answer it is always
good to pray and ask the Lord for wisdom.
The power of prayer always amazes me. So we talked to them both the whole drive, we
asked John if he still believed that Jesus died on the cross for forgiveness of
sins, he thought for a couple minutes and replied very angrily “Yes I guess I still believe that”. Ahhh a starting point to come back to a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I want you to know that when we arrived at the beach Racheal and I talked
about life and the power of the bible and how Jesus loved her no matter what
she has gone through. We talked about
Jesus coming back one day for all of us and that if she lives to the end of
Jesus’s return, she will have to make a choice.
Racheal told me that she has never heard of any of this. It amazes me that someone from Germany has
never heard about the great return of our Lord Jesus Christ. I told her I would
pray for her and that I know life in general is hard and that I wanted her to
be award of all of this. This was the end where we all parted ways to hang out
on the beach. John went his way and Racheal went her
way. We prayed a lot for them, a lot for
all of Racheal’s pain, but mostly for John who felt mad, angry and
confused. At the end of the day we all
had to take the truck back to our city.
Before getting on the bus John came to Steve shook his hand and said all
in good fun, and asked Steve if he would you like to come fishing with him
tomorrow. Oh my gosh I can’t tell you
how crazy this is , John was literally angry with Steve and I, almost like he
wanted to argue with us, but we didn’t argue at all. We just stated what we know to be true and
that is the word of God. John
apologized to us and just was so different when he came back to us, Racheal was
just cute and hugged me when she said goodbye.
Today still I am praying for these beautiful people. We are here for this reason and I am sure
there will be many more encounters and we are so excited to be here and to focus
on the purpose of our life.
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
1st Day - 01/06/2015
We left our house at around 2am to head out to JFK airport. it was such a blessing to have Kristine and Ben wake up early to drive us. Ben Tuttle is our youngest daughters boyfriend. I praise God for our amazing children and their boyfriends who love the Lord. As we arrived at the airport and we were nervous to head to a new country but excited as well to obey the call. We checked in 4 huge pieces of luggage, three being all the crafts for the children in the church. I am so thankful for the lady that checked us in as she let each suitcase go through even though they weighted a little more than they were supposed to. Again knowing that the Lord goes before us to prepare the way.
We were both able to sleep on the flight to Panama and it was smooth and peaceful. We then had a short layover and arrived at Managua, Nicaragua around 2pm it was a long day but God is always faithful. Upon our arrival we were picked up by a taxi driver from the school we are attending he was holding a sign with our names, which is always refreshing to know that your not going with someone and getting kidnapped. lol The drive to San Juan Del Sur took about 2 and half hours, during these two and half hours we both sleep as we were extremely tired from such a long day. We arrived at our school around 4:30pm we meet our teacher and the mother of the hostel. The place we are staying is very simple but clean and nice. The place we are staying in is called a hostel, if you are not familiar with a hostel it is a place where you sleep usually one or two nights and you share with other people that are in the same situation. It is very cheap also.
Our Spanish teacher and the school are located directly in the hostile. It is actually so nice here because it is really close to the beach, only three blocks. Once we were checked in we took a short walk to the beach.
Now the good news!!!! Our teachers name is Christian and he spends about 4-5 hours with us each day to teach us and talk to us. He is a great teacher and after all is very sensitive to us both, we are already learning a lot about the language and how to adapt to the culture. We also forced ourselves to get to know the family and they opened up and speak with us a lot. Already we are feeling more comfortable speaking and understanding Spanish and most of all to rely on what is true and will never change, (that is our my feelings)lol, but that is the Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and always and he will never leave us or forsake us. When you spend time praying and seeking the word of God, you find rest and peace for your life.
We were both able to sleep on the flight to Panama and it was smooth and peaceful. We then had a short layover and arrived at Managua, Nicaragua around 2pm it was a long day but God is always faithful. Upon our arrival we were picked up by a taxi driver from the school we are attending he was holding a sign with our names, which is always refreshing to know that your not going with someone and getting kidnapped. lol The drive to San Juan Del Sur took about 2 and half hours, during these two and half hours we both sleep as we were extremely tired from such a long day. We arrived at our school around 4:30pm we meet our teacher and the mother of the hostel. The place we are staying is very simple but clean and nice. The place we are staying in is called a hostel, if you are not familiar with a hostel it is a place where you sleep usually one or two nights and you share with other people that are in the same situation. It is very cheap also.
Our Spanish teacher and the school are located directly in the hostile. It is actually so nice here because it is really close to the beach, only three blocks. Once we were checked in we took a short walk to the beach.
Now the good news!!!! Our teachers name is Christian and he spends about 4-5 hours with us each day to teach us and talk to us. He is a great teacher and after all is very sensitive to us both, we are already learning a lot about the language and how to adapt to the culture. We also forced ourselves to get to know the family and they opened up and speak with us a lot. Already we are feeling more comfortable speaking and understanding Spanish and most of all to rely on what is true and will never change, (that is our my feelings)lol, but that is the Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and always and he will never leave us or forsake us. When you spend time praying and seeking the word of God, you find rest and peace for your life.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Jan. 6,7 2016 - 1st 2 days in Nicaragua
We left our house at around 2am to head out to JFK airport. It was such a blessing to have Kristine and Ben wake up early to drive us. Ben Tuttle is our youngest daughter's boyfriend. I praise God for our amazing children and their boyfriends who love the Lord. As we arrived at the airport we were nervous to head to a new country but excited as well to obey the call of the Lord. We checked in 4 huge pieces of luggage, three being all the crafts for the children in the church. I am so thankful for the lady that checked us in as she let each suitcase go through even though they weighed a little more than they were supposed to. Again knowing that the Lord goes before us to prepare the way.
We were both able to sleep on the flight to Panama and it was smooth and peaceful. We then had a short layover and arrived at Managua, Nicaragua around 2pm; it was a long day but God is always faithful. Upon our arrival we were picked up by a taxi driver from the school we are attending, he was holding a sign with our names, which is always refreshing to know that your not going with someone and getting kidnapped. lol The drive to San Juan Del Sur took about 2 and half hours, during these two and half hours we both slept as we were extremely tired from such a long day. We arrived at our school around 4:30pm and we meet our teacher and the mother of the hostel. The place we are staying is very simple but clean and nice. The place we are staying in is called a hostel, if you are not familiar with a hostel it is a place where you sleep usually one or two nights and you share with other people that are in the same situation. It is very cheap also.
Our Spanish teacher and the school are located directly in the hostel. It is actually so nice here because it is really close to the beach, only three blocks away. Once we were checked in we took a short walk to the beach.
Now the good news!!!! Our teacher's name is Christian and he spends about 4-5 hours with us each day to teach us and talk to us. He is a great teacher and after all is very sensitive to us both, we are already learning a lot about the language and how to adapt to the culture. We also forced ourselves to get to know the family and they opened up and speak with us a lot. Already we are feeling more comfortable speaking and understanding Spanish and most of all to rely on what is true and that will never change But one thing I know to be true is that Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever and he will never leave us or forsake us. When you spend time praying and seeking the word of God, you find rest and peace for your life.
This is where we study for classes in the hallway.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
San Juan Del Sur Language School 01/06/2016
This is our blog about where we are now and how the Lord has prepared us for such a time as this. We are so excited for what is ahead of us. This path is not a surprise to the Lord at all, he goes before us and prepares the way. At this time we are heading out to language school for two weeks in Nicaragua. Please pray for us as we prepare for the months to come. I have felt very anxious at times, not fully knowing the language and also going to a country unknown. I know that what the Lord calls us to he will equip us also, but we must lean not upon our own understanding but in ALL our ways acknowledge that he is Lord and his ways are much better than ours. I have dreamed of this day since I was in college. My major in college was missions, who knew that it would happen more than 20 years later. Through many mistakes and turmoils, a lot caused from my own selfish desires, have not held me back from the amazing plan that God has. There is not a day that goes by that he doesn't call us back to his amazing Love and forgiveness. This same grace the Lord has shown to me and my family, we want to share with others. Our life is to testify of all that Jesus Christ has done in our life and the life of many others. Today as we write this, our hearts are humbled and in complete awe of such love the father has lavished on us. I am praying that as you read these weekly blog posts you will be blessed as well. Please keep praying and also following us as we post photos and share our journey with you. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for many of your prayers and support spiritually. Steve and I want to thank so many of you for loving us and keeping us accountable. We may have moments of discouragement with the language but nothing that the almighty God cannot see us through. We love you all and can't wait to see what's ahead. Please pray for us as because at this moment we do not have a home in Nagarote. Talk about walking by faith and not by sight. Trust and obey, for there is no other way.
Bible verse for today;
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Bible verse for today;
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
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