Everyone is home and ready to tell their stories! We finished debriefing, and ended on a strong note. Everyone really has some great stuff that God did in their heart that they are taking home with them.
Don't forget about the carry-in lunch July 5th at NLF after the service that morning! You'll hear some in depth stories there as well.
One last time...thanks for all your prayers!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Back in the States
We made it safely back to chicago! We're at the hotel and will be doing some debreifing tonight and tomorrow morning. See you all soon!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Rain or Shine
I said yesterday that rain or shine God was going to do some great stuff today, and that couldn’t have been more true. It rained almost all day again today, but God showed up in a huge way anywas. He blew us all away. I would say that today was the most IMPACTing day of the trip. And it was so big that I’m going to make you wait until we get home to hear about it! We experienced everything from Holy Spirit empowered prayer, to being led by clear and specific visions, to even ministering to local prostitutes. It was phenomenal. On July 5, after the Sunday morning service at NLF we will be having an all church carry in lunch where we (and the first ever NLF Global Impact Kenya team) will be sharing in-depth what God did on our trip. Make sure you are there! But feel free to ask us individual when you see us in the coming days.
We have to get up in about 4 hours to go to the airport to fly back to the states. Then we’ll be in Houston for about a 3 hour layover before we fly into Chicago. We’ll do some in depth debriefing as a team Monday night and Tuesday. Then we’ll be home around 7pm Tuesday evening!
Thanks again for all your prayers. God is good! And it has been a great trip. I’m looking forward to God doing even greater things in our ministry back home. And there it won’t just be us...it’ll be through you too. :)
We have to get up in about 4 hours to go to the airport to fly back to the states. Then we’ll be in Houston for about a 3 hour layover before we fly into Chicago. We’ll do some in depth debriefing as a team Monday night and Tuesday. Then we’ll be home around 7pm Tuesday evening!
Thanks again for all your prayers. God is good! And it has been a great trip. I’m looking forward to God doing even greater things in our ministry back home. And there it won’t just be us...it’ll be through you too. :)
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Our Plan vs God's Plan....God Wins
Today was one of those days where we had a plan and God had a different plan. We’ve been anticipating this day all week because we’ve been building relationships with kids all over the community with the hope of culminating our efforts in this one day. In case you’re just getting into the blog or need your memory refreshed, we had planned a big kids party today where we were going to play games, have lots of fun, and in several creative ways teach them about God. We had prepared 10 different stations where we had activities, games, and a lesson about God at each station. Then we had planned to feed all the kids lunch and continue the festivities into the afternoon.
We’ll...that was our plan. But it didn’t happen today. We started the morning by bringing the kids in and decoration La Quinta where the party was going to take place. We blew up hundreds of balloons, and got everything ready. We expected 250 kids but 300+ showed up. Which was great! We started having fun, and playing random games just to get all the kids comfortable. But our plans changed when the rain came. We were told when we first arrived in Nicaragua that it is the rainy season here, and that we should expect one day at least with lots of rain. That day was today. In fact, even as I write here at night it is absolutely pouring out (and drew just got pushed into a waterfall of rain).
When it started to rain we brought all the kids into the church and we had some backup plans for in there. But coincidently the power was out today (not uncommon in 3rd world countries), which ruined our indoor plans. After a while the rain died down a little and we tried going back outside and get into our stations, but after a few minutes it started raining even harder. So we went back inside and waited. Then it was time for lunch. We made the food, but we didn’t have enough for the like 400 people that showed up. So we (the Americans) ended up not eating and ended the early afternoon wet, dirty, hungry, and a little disappointed.
We got some needed rest in the afternoon and ended up going to a church service at a different church this evening. During debrief tonight we did have a powerful thought. I challenge the New Life students to begin to ask a simple but important question: “Lord, what are you trying to say to me?” When things don’t go our why we often get frustrated (sometimes even at God himself), and we can dwell on what “might have happened” or what “could have been.” But ultimately God’s will is best, God’s timing is perfect, and God’s goodness never ends. So maybe the best question when things don’t go our way is, “God, what are you trying to teach me?” This question was particularly powerful for us tonight because we only have one day left of the trip, and we need to start seriously thinking about what God is trying to do in our lives; not just today but through this entire trip. I think the students left tonight challenged and ready to make the most of their last day.
Tomorrow will be a long day, and rain or shine we are going to have a great opportunity to connect with God in a powerful way. After church in the morning we are going to Ask The Lord (ATL). That means we are going to leave the schedule open and spend time seriously asking God to lead us in what he wants us to do. It always proves to be a powerful time for students to see just how sovereign God is. Pray for God to work powerfully!
We’ll...that was our plan. But it didn’t happen today. We started the morning by bringing the kids in and decoration La Quinta where the party was going to take place. We blew up hundreds of balloons, and got everything ready. We expected 250 kids but 300+ showed up. Which was great! We started having fun, and playing random games just to get all the kids comfortable. But our plans changed when the rain came. We were told when we first arrived in Nicaragua that it is the rainy season here, and that we should expect one day at least with lots of rain. That day was today. In fact, even as I write here at night it is absolutely pouring out (and drew just got pushed into a waterfall of rain).
When it started to rain we brought all the kids into the church and we had some backup plans for in there. But coincidently the power was out today (not uncommon in 3rd world countries), which ruined our indoor plans. After a while the rain died down a little and we tried going back outside and get into our stations, but after a few minutes it started raining even harder. So we went back inside and waited. Then it was time for lunch. We made the food, but we didn’t have enough for the like 400 people that showed up. So we (the Americans) ended up not eating and ended the early afternoon wet, dirty, hungry, and a little disappointed.
We got some needed rest in the afternoon and ended up going to a church service at a different church this evening. During debrief tonight we did have a powerful thought. I challenge the New Life students to begin to ask a simple but important question: “Lord, what are you trying to say to me?” When things don’t go our why we often get frustrated (sometimes even at God himself), and we can dwell on what “might have happened” or what “could have been.” But ultimately God’s will is best, God’s timing is perfect, and God’s goodness never ends. So maybe the best question when things don’t go our way is, “God, what are you trying to teach me?” This question was particularly powerful for us tonight because we only have one day left of the trip, and we need to start seriously thinking about what God is trying to do in our lives; not just today but through this entire trip. I think the students left tonight challenged and ready to make the most of their last day.
Tomorrow will be a long day, and rain or shine we are going to have a great opportunity to connect with God in a powerful way. After church in the morning we are going to Ask The Lord (ATL). That means we are going to leave the schedule open and spend time seriously asking God to lead us in what he wants us to do. It always proves to be a powerful time for students to see just how sovereign God is. Pray for God to work powerfully!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Volcan Mombacho
Today was our free day as a team, and what an adventure we had. Most of the day has been very relaxed, but in the late morning and afternoon we got to see a whole new side of Nicaragua. First we drove about an hour away to do some shopping. In Nicaragua different towns specialize in different trades. So we had to go to a couple of different places.
After shopping we went to a place called Mombacho. Mombacho is one of Nicaragua’s 40 Volcanoes (and one of the 9 that are still active!). We’ve seen this volcano on a daily basis because in the distance it towers over the town where we are doing ministry. At Mombacho the group split in two. One group got to go on a bus tour to the top of the volcano. Paige and Donna were in this group, and from what I hear they did a lot of walking but saw some cool sights. The second group was for the thrill seekers. Myself, Jake, Kevin, and Drew (along with a few others from the other team) went on what was called a “canopy tour.” This involved an hour ride up the back of the volcano into thick Nicaraguan jungle to a place where 17 zip lines took us through the treetops of the jungle. The ride was incredibly bumpy and tough to endure, but the football field length zip lines were well worth it. The “canopy tour” ended by each of us repelling down from a 50ft high platform at almost freefall speeds. No one who went regretted the experience.
That’s pretty much all there is to report about today. We’ve had a good amount of down time which I hope will leave us ready to tackle the challenges that are ahead in the next two days. Pray that God will empower us for incredible IMPACT here in Nicaragua!
After shopping we went to a place called Mombacho. Mombacho is one of Nicaragua’s 40 Volcanoes (and one of the 9 that are still active!). We’ve seen this volcano on a daily basis because in the distance it towers over the town where we are doing ministry. At Mombacho the group split in two. One group got to go on a bus tour to the top of the volcano. Paige and Donna were in this group, and from what I hear they did a lot of walking but saw some cool sights. The second group was for the thrill seekers. Myself, Jake, Kevin, and Drew (along with a few others from the other team) went on what was called a “canopy tour.” This involved an hour ride up the back of the volcano into thick Nicaraguan jungle to a place where 17 zip lines took us through the treetops of the jungle. The ride was incredibly bumpy and tough to endure, but the football field length zip lines were well worth it. The “canopy tour” ended by each of us repelling down from a 50ft high platform at almost freefall speeds. No one who went regretted the experience.
That’s pretty much all there is to report about today. We’ve had a good amount of down time which I hope will leave us ready to tackle the challenges that are ahead in the next two days. Pray that God will empower us for incredible IMPACT here in Nicaragua!
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