Thursday, June 29, 2017
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Nicaragua travel update
We have landed safely in DC! We are going to load up onto the bus and head back to Williamsburg shortly. Text Nicaparent to 41411 for eta text updates
Nicaragua travel update
we have boarded the plane in Houston and leaving the terminal. Everything is on time and looking great! We will let you know when we arrive in DC.
Nicaragua Trip Update
We have landed safely in Houston and everything still looks on time for the next flight.
Nicaragua Flight Update
The Nicaragua team is awaiting their flight at the Managua Airport. The first leg of the trip home has been delayed about 35 minutes due to late inbound aircraft arrival coming into Nicaragua. We will let you know when the team boards their flight to Houston!
Nicaragua Day #8 - 6.27.17
Today we had a full day at our debrief site (Apoyo Resort) in order to take a lot of quality time to process our experiences and continue to connect as a team. Our day began with a team breakfast overlooking the lagoon which was a picturesque way to get things rolling. We followed breakfast with our first small group time of the day in which we continued to re-visit our character Paul. In Acts 9:4-9 we see how God forces Paul to struggle in the unknown after his encounter which has been a good model for our own struggle on this trip. Our ideas of the world, God, and ourselves have been challenged throughout this trip and at times we had to live in the unknown of what this means for us and our lives. Following our small groups the entire group took 45 minutes of alone time to just be still, pray, journal, and process on your own with God. Since we do so many things together on this trip we found that some alone time was extremely valuable in understanding what God was teaching us individually.
After our morning of processing things we ate lunch down at the lagoon before getting to spend a few hours enjoying the refreshing and beautiful lagoon. The resort has a floating dock which was a fun location for the team to play in the lagoon together. It was encouraging to watch our team all hangout together and to see everyone feel included. Serving together throughout this week has helped develop friendships throughout our team that will hopefully carry back into Williamsburg. The entire afternoon was devoted to free time up until we had dinner at 6pm.
Following dinner we grabbed our bibles, trip booklets, and flashlights to walk to our location for Porch Time. It's a beautiful overlook that a friend we have gotten to know over the years let's us use. His name is Armando and he'll turn 70 this October, and his joy to see us and serve us is always humbling. At Porch Time we dove right in to singing some songs of praise and Luke shared about how Paul was told to get up and be baptized and wash away his sins and call on the name of the Lord in Acts 22. He was asked, "What are you waiting for?" and similarly, Jesus is asking us that question. What are we waiting for when we hesitate to give our lives to Jesus, when He gave His life for us? Small groups wrestled with this question and many others tonight. We entered Nicaragua with a "struggle" to leave behind our lives in America, but we will now enter America with a similar struggle to see and seek God as much as we have this past week. There will be temptations to return to our old lives, distractions to prevent us from spending quality time with Jesus, and a limited accountability/motivation from not having 30 of your friends around all the time. As we head to bed, please keep this team in your prayers both for safe travel tomorrow and for the true and ultimate safety we have in Jesus, that we would always be with Him, knowing He is always near us.
Our flight tomorrow is still scheduled for 12:20pm (Nicaragua time) and so we will keep you updated with our progress throughout the day tomorrow. If you aren't on the text list and would like to receive updated ETA texts then just text the word NICAPARENT to 41411.
After our morning of processing things we ate lunch down at the lagoon before getting to spend a few hours enjoying the refreshing and beautiful lagoon. The resort has a floating dock which was a fun location for the team to play in the lagoon together. It was encouraging to watch our team all hangout together and to see everyone feel included. Serving together throughout this week has helped develop friendships throughout our team that will hopefully carry back into Williamsburg. The entire afternoon was devoted to free time up until we had dinner at 6pm.
Following dinner we grabbed our bibles, trip booklets, and flashlights to walk to our location for Porch Time. It's a beautiful overlook that a friend we have gotten to know over the years let's us use. His name is Armando and he'll turn 70 this October, and his joy to see us and serve us is always humbling. At Porch Time we dove right in to singing some songs of praise and Luke shared about how Paul was told to get up and be baptized and wash away his sins and call on the name of the Lord in Acts 22. He was asked, "What are you waiting for?" and similarly, Jesus is asking us that question. What are we waiting for when we hesitate to give our lives to Jesus, when He gave His life for us? Small groups wrestled with this question and many others tonight. We entered Nicaragua with a "struggle" to leave behind our lives in America, but we will now enter America with a similar struggle to see and seek God as much as we have this past week. There will be temptations to return to our old lives, distractions to prevent us from spending quality time with Jesus, and a limited accountability/motivation from not having 30 of your friends around all the time. As we head to bed, please keep this team in your prayers both for safe travel tomorrow and for the true and ultimate safety we have in Jesus, that we would always be with Him, knowing He is always near us.
Our flight tomorrow is still scheduled for 12:20pm (Nicaragua time) and so we will keep you updated with our progress throughout the day tomorrow. If you aren't on the text list and would like to receive updated ETA texts then just text the word NICAPARENT to 41411.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Nicaragua Day #7 - 6.26.17
Today was our final day in Leon and so we were able to go do a little sight-seeing in the morning after breakfast. We visited the local cathedral in Leon to get a little taste of the history of the city. It is a huge stone building that is open for tours inside and on the roof. We chose to go up on the roof so that we could see out over the whole city and get a top-down view of the surrounding area. It was a gorgeous view with the mountains in the background as we looked out over the city. After the tour, our group visited the market located right in front of the cathedral to look for some local souvenirs and experience a little taste of Nicaragua culture in these open air market shops.
After our quick tour, the team loaded up the bus with all of our stuff, said goodbye to our hotel, and headed to the church in Leon for one last chance to help at the feeding center. It was inspiring to watch our team just jump immediately into all of the duties needed to feed the kids: washing hands, serving plates, scooping rice, washing dishes, and drying dishes. It is hard to believe that a group of teenagers are joyfully washing dishes! Only God could instill that in them. After we finished serving it was time to say our goodbyes and load up the bus. It was hard to say goodbye to these kids that we had developed relationships with over the past week knowing that we may never get to see them again, but we will be forever grateful for how they have changed our lives.
Next, we had a long bus ride to our debrief site located at Laguna de Apoyo, which is south of Managua. It is a local resort that we use as an opportunity to take a lot of intentional time to ask questions, remember moments, and wrestle with the lessons God has been teaching us. Once we arrived it was time for dinner and our first debrief small group time. We re-visited the character we studied leading up to the trip, Paul, as a guide to think through the change in perspective that our time here has brought to us. It is wonderful to watch everyone talk about not just what they gave to Nicaragua, but also what Nicaragua gave to them.
Please continue to pray for our time here over the next day as we continue to process our experience!
After our quick tour, the team loaded up the bus with all of our stuff, said goodbye to our hotel, and headed to the church in Leon for one last chance to help at the feeding center. It was inspiring to watch our team just jump immediately into all of the duties needed to feed the kids: washing hands, serving plates, scooping rice, washing dishes, and drying dishes. It is hard to believe that a group of teenagers are joyfully washing dishes! Only God could instill that in them. After we finished serving it was time to say our goodbyes and load up the bus. It was hard to say goodbye to these kids that we had developed relationships with over the past week knowing that we may never get to see them again, but we will be forever grateful for how they have changed our lives.
Next, we had a long bus ride to our debrief site located at Laguna de Apoyo, which is south of Managua. It is a local resort that we use as an opportunity to take a lot of intentional time to ask questions, remember moments, and wrestle with the lessons God has been teaching us. Once we arrived it was time for dinner and our first debrief small group time. We re-visited the character we studied leading up to the trip, Paul, as a guide to think through the change in perspective that our time here has brought to us. It is wonderful to watch everyone talk about not just what they gave to Nicaragua, but also what Nicaragua gave to them.
Please continue to pray for our time here over the next day as we continue to process our experience!
Nicaragua Day #6 - 6.25.17
We spent a little extra time at the hotel this morning because the church service at the church in Leon did not start until 10am. After putting on our church clothes we headed to Leon to worship together with our friends in Nicaragua. We were impressed by the idea that people in Williamsburg and people in Nicaragua could be worshipping the same God at the same time in different languages. In addition, our team noticed how the lack of projectors, fancy lights, or comfortable chairs did not impact the authenticity of the worship and praise to God one bit. The spiritual fervor and passion of the pastor were a true testament to the work of God in this place and it was an honor to be a part of it. After church we loaded up our bus to head to Posaltega for lunch and another soccer tournament.
There were three Posaltega teams, one Leon team, and one American team in the guys division. In the girls division there was just one American team and one Posaltega team. Everyone was excited for another opportunity to try and get our first American win ever in a Nicaraguan soccer tournament. Our guys put in a great effort with many great opportunities to score, but were unable to get on the board losing 2-0 in their opening match. However, it was a special moment to watch one of the Posaltega teams win the tournament with matching Jamestown high school jerseys that were donated a few years ago. In the girls division we had the most exciting match ever played here in Nicaragua. After going down 2-0 in the first half our girls made a huge come back to tie it up 2-2 in the second half. Since it was a tie the game went into PK's in which the Nicaraguan team ended up winning on their last shot. This was by far the greatest showing any of our American teams have ever had down here in Nicaragua and so our team walked away excited and proud of their effort. However, beyond the excitement of the games it was our final day in Posaltega and so our team took advantage of every opportunity to spend time with the kids that we have gotten to know over the week.
After the soccer tournament we all headed back to Leon for dinner before heading to our hotel for porch time. Tonight, Luke introduced the idea of the "secret of the poor" from Luke 12:13-21 in which Jesus says that our life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions. We have seen that although the Nicaraguan people lack a lot of possessions, they are extremely rich in relationships. Since they have very few possessions to focus on they are forced to focus on each other. This ends up leading to a deep concern for each other and a joy every time they are together. In addition, the Nicaragua people are very rich in their relationship with God because they have a deep trust that God will provide for their needs and that God is worthy of praise no matter what their circumstances are. This was a great topic to dig into in small groups and begin to unpack what it looks like to embrace this secret in our own lives that are filled with lots of possessions.
Tomorrow is our final day at the feeding center and so check back tomorrow for another update.
There were three Posaltega teams, one Leon team, and one American team in the guys division. In the girls division there was just one American team and one Posaltega team. Everyone was excited for another opportunity to try and get our first American win ever in a Nicaraguan soccer tournament. Our guys put in a great effort with many great opportunities to score, but were unable to get on the board losing 2-0 in their opening match. However, it was a special moment to watch one of the Posaltega teams win the tournament with matching Jamestown high school jerseys that were donated a few years ago. In the girls division we had the most exciting match ever played here in Nicaragua. After going down 2-0 in the first half our girls made a huge come back to tie it up 2-2 in the second half. Since it was a tie the game went into PK's in which the Nicaraguan team ended up winning on their last shot. This was by far the greatest showing any of our American teams have ever had down here in Nicaragua and so our team walked away excited and proud of their effort. However, beyond the excitement of the games it was our final day in Posaltega and so our team took advantage of every opportunity to spend time with the kids that we have gotten to know over the week.
After the soccer tournament we all headed back to Leon for dinner before heading to our hotel for porch time. Tonight, Luke introduced the idea of the "secret of the poor" from Luke 12:13-21 in which Jesus says that our life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions. We have seen that although the Nicaraguan people lack a lot of possessions, they are extremely rich in relationships. Since they have very few possessions to focus on they are forced to focus on each other. This ends up leading to a deep concern for each other and a joy every time they are together. In addition, the Nicaragua people are very rich in their relationship with God because they have a deep trust that God will provide for their needs and that God is worthy of praise no matter what their circumstances are. This was a great topic to dig into in small groups and begin to unpack what it looks like to embrace this secret in our own lives that are filled with lots of possessions.
Tomorrow is our final day at the feeding center and so check back tomorrow for another update.
Sunday, June 25, 2017
Video from Nicaragua
For those interested in a less choppy version of the video we showed this morning at the prayer meeting, here is the link! Enjoy! https://vimeo.com/223030060
Nicaragua Day #5 - 06.24.17
We've enjoyed our stay here so far at Hotel Europa, and have really enjoyed their hospitality in serving breakfast. Mornings have proven a great time for fellowship and devotionals; it's been great to have that time to get ready for our day. After applying sunscreen, we made our way for Leon to pick up the church staff and leaders on our way to the beach (we also had the Posoltega church staff and leaders following behind us in a separate truck)! We wanted to celebrate and thank them for their service and faithfulness to their communities, so it was wonderful to be able to spend that time together and give them a mini "vacation" away from work. At the beach we had a few team building games - a round of charades, a relay race where you had to sweep a ball down the beach with a broom, and a race to fill a bucket with water from the ocean using articles of clothing to soak up and squeeze out the water. There were three teams, and each team ended up winning a round. Despite the language barrier, everyone's face was excited and enthusiastic to win!
After the games, we split up in to some time of leisure. Some swam and enjoyed the refreshing water, others played soccer, some passed a frisbee, and even some grabbed a ball, a bat, and some gloves and had a little batting/fielding practice on the beach - turns out our bus driver down here has a mean curve ball! We were able to eat lunch together, provided once more by our wonderful friend in Leon, Gabriel, and his team. His service has been filled with joy and an eagerness to please us which have been a humbling model of both gratitude and faithfulness.
Following our time at the beach, we had just a few minutes at the hotel to get changed and head back to Leon for our first soccer tournament. Different from our previous time spent in Leon where we've served and played with younger kids at the church, this was an opportunity to engage some of the older kids in the community, and some who probably don't actively attend Verbo Leon or know Jesus Christ. There were five teams in the tournament, and while our team effectively claimed last place, the championship game featured a tying goal in the closing minutes, and it came down to penalty kicks to determine the winner! At our attempt of a "closing ceremony," Luke shared a little about who we are, where we're from, and why we're here - and more importantly, he invited everyone to come to church tomorrow morning to worship with us as we celebrate who Jesus is, where He's from, and why He came here. We're hopeful to see some of our competitors in the morning, and maybe they'll be wearing their championship medals!
After the tournament, we ate dinner in Leon and came back to the hotel for Porch Time. Luke spoke from Romans and addressed why there is suffering in the world and we learned that selfishness always leads to suffering. Fortunately, we know sacrifice leads to hope, and we see that in Jesus' sacrifice for us. Small groups discussed what it means to be made in the image of God, what it means to govern the world as humans who are selfish at times, and how we've seen that selfishness lead to suffering, both in Nicaragua on this trip and in our own lives. They're really engaging these big questions, and we would value your prayer as our week comes closer and closer to its end. With all there is to process, we know who to look to as our Guide. Pray God continues to guide us and move in and through us throughout this week!
After the games, we split up in to some time of leisure. Some swam and enjoyed the refreshing water, others played soccer, some passed a frisbee, and even some grabbed a ball, a bat, and some gloves and had a little batting/fielding practice on the beach - turns out our bus driver down here has a mean curve ball! We were able to eat lunch together, provided once more by our wonderful friend in Leon, Gabriel, and his team. His service has been filled with joy and an eagerness to please us which have been a humbling model of both gratitude and faithfulness.
Following our time at the beach, we had just a few minutes at the hotel to get changed and head back to Leon for our first soccer tournament. Different from our previous time spent in Leon where we've served and played with younger kids at the church, this was an opportunity to engage some of the older kids in the community, and some who probably don't actively attend Verbo Leon or know Jesus Christ. There were five teams in the tournament, and while our team effectively claimed last place, the championship game featured a tying goal in the closing minutes, and it came down to penalty kicks to determine the winner! At our attempt of a "closing ceremony," Luke shared a little about who we are, where we're from, and why we're here - and more importantly, he invited everyone to come to church tomorrow morning to worship with us as we celebrate who Jesus is, where He's from, and why He came here. We're hopeful to see some of our competitors in the morning, and maybe they'll be wearing their championship medals!
After the tournament, we ate dinner in Leon and came back to the hotel for Porch Time. Luke spoke from Romans and addressed why there is suffering in the world and we learned that selfishness always leads to suffering. Fortunately, we know sacrifice leads to hope, and we see that in Jesus' sacrifice for us. Small groups discussed what it means to be made in the image of God, what it means to govern the world as humans who are selfish at times, and how we've seen that selfishness lead to suffering, both in Nicaragua on this trip and in our own lives. They're really engaging these big questions, and we would value your prayer as our week comes closer and closer to its end. With all there is to process, we know who to look to as our Guide. Pray God continues to guide us and move in and through us throughout this week!
Saturday, June 24, 2017
Nicaragua Day #4 - 6.23.17
Today was the final day that our team split up into two groups between Posaltega and Leon. After another delicious breakfast of pancakes and fresh fruit the Leon team got dropped off first and then the Posaltega group headed out to their site.
In Leon, the team split into two groups to walk around the community with the Pastor and his wife to visit homes and talk to them about God. Both groups were deeply moved by the stories they heard from the families and the opportunities they had to pray for them and hand out bibles. It truly was only the presence of Jesus in the two groups that gave them the courage to share their faith with strangers and ask them about their own faith in Jesus. After the walks around the community the Leon team once again gave the church's lunch team a nice break by washing dishes, cooking, and plating food. This has been a true blessing for the women who normally serve the food because they spend so much time every day preparing the same foods and washing the same dishes for all of the kids. After lunch the Leon team prepared for an afternoon of fun. It started with an exciting balloon pop game where every kid tied an inflated balloon to their ankle and tried to pop everyone else's balloon before their own got popped. After the fun balloon game the Leon team finished the afternoon with every kids' favorite thing, a pinata. There was a pinata for the little kids and one for the older kids with lots of candy for all.
The Posaltega team began there morning by just taking some time to relationally connect with some of the older kids at the church. They circled up with the Nicaraguan kids and everyone went around and shared some things about who they are and what they are hoping to do in the future. It was a great moment for our team to help instill the idea that there is hope for the future for all of the Nicaraguan kids as they talked about their dreams. After getting to know the Posaltega kids the team helped prepare lunch for all of the kids and then served it to them. It truly has been a blessing to watch the team think first about others and their needs before thinking about their own hunger or desires. After lunch the Posaltega team did the VBS day #2 lesson that the Leon team had done the previous day. Tommy finished the study of Noah and the kids were given half a coffee filter to draw on them with different colors to represent the rainbow that God created after he helped Noah get off the ark and re-establish himself in the Earth. The hope is that the kids would take the rainbow home and look at it as a reminder that God remembers them and cares for them. Similar to Leon, the Posaltega team ended their time with pinatas that provided a great celebration to a great couple of days of VBS lessons. It truly was a great day filled with joy-filled moments that the team will hopefully remember forever.
Once our team joined back together we freshened up and went back to the church for dinner. Since today is Father's Day in Nicaragua we prepared a surprise party for the Pastor of the church who is a father of three kids and a spiritual father for many more in the community. We had a mariachi band that came to play and cake/ice cream for the pastor and the other Nicaraguans that joined to celebrate from the community. It was such a beautiful site seeing our team and members of the Nicaraguan team mingle together and celebrate. To close our evening we all gathered back at the hotel for porch time. Tommy spoke about the importance of faithfulness and how it is more important to focus on our own faithfulness than it is to let a desire for some specific fruitfulness drive our actions. Following Tommy's talk we finished our evening in small groups where we had the opportunity to start thinking about the impact this trip is having on us and what true faithfulness in God looks like.
Tomorrow we are headed to the beach and so check back for another update tomorrow!
In Leon, the team split into two groups to walk around the community with the Pastor and his wife to visit homes and talk to them about God. Both groups were deeply moved by the stories they heard from the families and the opportunities they had to pray for them and hand out bibles. It truly was only the presence of Jesus in the two groups that gave them the courage to share their faith with strangers and ask them about their own faith in Jesus. After the walks around the community the Leon team once again gave the church's lunch team a nice break by washing dishes, cooking, and plating food. This has been a true blessing for the women who normally serve the food because they spend so much time every day preparing the same foods and washing the same dishes for all of the kids. After lunch the Leon team prepared for an afternoon of fun. It started with an exciting balloon pop game where every kid tied an inflated balloon to their ankle and tried to pop everyone else's balloon before their own got popped. After the fun balloon game the Leon team finished the afternoon with every kids' favorite thing, a pinata. There was a pinata for the little kids and one for the older kids with lots of candy for all.
The Posaltega team began there morning by just taking some time to relationally connect with some of the older kids at the church. They circled up with the Nicaraguan kids and everyone went around and shared some things about who they are and what they are hoping to do in the future. It was a great moment for our team to help instill the idea that there is hope for the future for all of the Nicaraguan kids as they talked about their dreams. After getting to know the Posaltega kids the team helped prepare lunch for all of the kids and then served it to them. It truly has been a blessing to watch the team think first about others and their needs before thinking about their own hunger or desires. After lunch the Posaltega team did the VBS day #2 lesson that the Leon team had done the previous day. Tommy finished the study of Noah and the kids were given half a coffee filter to draw on them with different colors to represent the rainbow that God created after he helped Noah get off the ark and re-establish himself in the Earth. The hope is that the kids would take the rainbow home and look at it as a reminder that God remembers them and cares for them. Similar to Leon, the Posaltega team ended their time with pinatas that provided a great celebration to a great couple of days of VBS lessons. It truly was a great day filled with joy-filled moments that the team will hopefully remember forever.
Once our team joined back together we freshened up and went back to the church for dinner. Since today is Father's Day in Nicaragua we prepared a surprise party for the Pastor of the church who is a father of three kids and a spiritual father for many more in the community. We had a mariachi band that came to play and cake/ice cream for the pastor and the other Nicaraguans that joined to celebrate from the community. It was such a beautiful site seeing our team and members of the Nicaraguan team mingle together and celebrate. To close our evening we all gathered back at the hotel for porch time. Tommy spoke about the importance of faithfulness and how it is more important to focus on our own faithfulness than it is to let a desire for some specific fruitfulness drive our actions. Following Tommy's talk we finished our evening in small groups where we had the opportunity to start thinking about the impact this trip is having on us and what true faithfulness in God looks like.
Tomorrow we are headed to the beach and so check back for another update tomorrow!
Friday, June 23, 2017
Nicaragua Day #3 - 6.22.17
After another delicious breakfast at our hotel, our team split into two groups to serve in Leon and another community called Posaltega. Both places have churches that run feeding centers for the local kids in the community and are connected through a Pastor named Chepe that has served in both churches.
The group that stayed in Leon spent the morning doing a cleaning project at the local school that is right next to the church. They spent a couple hours picking up trash, cutting back some long grass, and sweeping all of the floors. Pastor Jose Luis at Verbo Leon would love to see a stronger connection develop between the church and school, so this was a great way to start building the relationship between the two of them. After cleaning the school, the group headed back to the church to help prepare lunch for the kids that come each day to be fed. The group was cutting melons, cleaning plates, and making rice to serve to the kids. It was inspirational to watch the Leon group not care about how hot the kitchen felt or how tight the space was, but instead do whatever it took to serve the kids that came that day. After eating their own lunch, the team transitioned to part two of the Noah vbs lesson they had started the previous day. Luke talked about how in the midst of all the rain that covered the Earth, God remembered Noah and the animals. God stopped the rain and provided for them so that they could carry God's vision into the world once again. After the brief lesson all of the kids participated in a rainbow craft (since God established the rainbow in the Noah story) so that each of them could take home a rainbow that will hopefully remind them that God wants to help us when we are willing to cry out to him in the midst of struggles in our life. Finally, the team finished their day at Leon by playing soccer with the kids and pouring out a lot of love and care to those kids.
The Posaltega team was greeted very warmly upon their arrival this morning. The pastor there was so grateful for our coming and encouraged us multiple times to make ourselves at home. We then split up in to three small groups to walk through the community there. Moving from house to house, students were encouraged to share how they met Jesus, as well as offer a bible to the individual they were addressing. It was humbling to hear the prayer requests of the people we met. Despite their poverty, their prayers were not for physical luxuries or conveniences, but rather for family, unity, health, and work. Afterwards we came back to the church and played with the kids for a little bit before lunch. We assisted in serving lunch, carrying the children's cups and bowls on trays from their tables to the kitchen and back. The team mentioned being inspired by the kitchen workers, who cooked food for all of those kids and then still prepared a meal for us following. After lunch the kids participated in a classroom activity practicing math, and then we had the chance to share about Noah and the ark. Much like the lesson we gave in Leon yesterday, we shared about how our choices have consequences and how God does desire what is best for us. We'll get to finish the story tomorrow! After the lesson, we handed out snacks to the kids while they went home for the day, and then we boarded the bus and made our way back to Leon to pick up the rest of our team there.
After both groups finished we all met back up for dinner and an evening porch time gathering where we had some great laughs and worshipful moments. Luke talked about the meaning of incarnational ministry and what it really means to see Jesus in the flesh. He used Matthew 25 to talk about the reality that when we serve "the least of these" in the world that we are actually serving Jesus and then he used Colossians 1:27 to talk about the mysterious truth that Jesus can live in us. Following the talk the groups split up into their small groups to continue to process the idea of encountering Jesus in the flesh and actually being Jesus to other people.
We will be splitting up between the two feeding centers again tomorrow so check back for another update tomorrow.
The group that stayed in Leon spent the morning doing a cleaning project at the local school that is right next to the church. They spent a couple hours picking up trash, cutting back some long grass, and sweeping all of the floors. Pastor Jose Luis at Verbo Leon would love to see a stronger connection develop between the church and school, so this was a great way to start building the relationship between the two of them. After cleaning the school, the group headed back to the church to help prepare lunch for the kids that come each day to be fed. The group was cutting melons, cleaning plates, and making rice to serve to the kids. It was inspirational to watch the Leon group not care about how hot the kitchen felt or how tight the space was, but instead do whatever it took to serve the kids that came that day. After eating their own lunch, the team transitioned to part two of the Noah vbs lesson they had started the previous day. Luke talked about how in the midst of all the rain that covered the Earth, God remembered Noah and the animals. God stopped the rain and provided for them so that they could carry God's vision into the world once again. After the brief lesson all of the kids participated in a rainbow craft (since God established the rainbow in the Noah story) so that each of them could take home a rainbow that will hopefully remind them that God wants to help us when we are willing to cry out to him in the midst of struggles in our life. Finally, the team finished their day at Leon by playing soccer with the kids and pouring out a lot of love and care to those kids.
The Posaltega team was greeted very warmly upon their arrival this morning. The pastor there was so grateful for our coming and encouraged us multiple times to make ourselves at home. We then split up in to three small groups to walk through the community there. Moving from house to house, students were encouraged to share how they met Jesus, as well as offer a bible to the individual they were addressing. It was humbling to hear the prayer requests of the people we met. Despite their poverty, their prayers were not for physical luxuries or conveniences, but rather for family, unity, health, and work. Afterwards we came back to the church and played with the kids for a little bit before lunch. We assisted in serving lunch, carrying the children's cups and bowls on trays from their tables to the kitchen and back. The team mentioned being inspired by the kitchen workers, who cooked food for all of those kids and then still prepared a meal for us following. After lunch the kids participated in a classroom activity practicing math, and then we had the chance to share about Noah and the ark. Much like the lesson we gave in Leon yesterday, we shared about how our choices have consequences and how God does desire what is best for us. We'll get to finish the story tomorrow! After the lesson, we handed out snacks to the kids while they went home for the day, and then we boarded the bus and made our way back to Leon to pick up the rest of our team there.
After both groups finished we all met back up for dinner and an evening porch time gathering where we had some great laughs and worshipful moments. Luke talked about the meaning of incarnational ministry and what it really means to see Jesus in the flesh. He used Matthew 25 to talk about the reality that when we serve "the least of these" in the world that we are actually serving Jesus and then he used Colossians 1:27 to talk about the mysterious truth that Jesus can live in us. Following the talk the groups split up into their small groups to continue to process the idea of encountering Jesus in the flesh and actually being Jesus to other people.
We will be splitting up between the two feeding centers again tomorrow so check back for another update tomorrow.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Nicaragua Day #2 - 06.21.17
The team caught up on much needed rest and woke up to an excellent breakfast at Hotel Europa this morning. After applying sunscreen and bugspray and filling up our water bottles, we headed out for Verbo Leon, the site we'll be spending most of our time this week. Once there, Pastor Jose Louis walked us around the community. We learned that their community is called "The Poets" because each neighborhood is named after one. Following our walking tour, we played soccer in the neighboring field, tossed frisbees and gave piggy back rides until lunch.
It was amazing to see how many kids this feeding center serves. Throughout the walking tour, it didn't appear that very many kids lived in the area, but well over 100 kids were fed lunch. It was great to see our Chapel students assisting them in washing their hands and serving meals from the kitchen.
We ate lunch after the kids and were impressed and blessed by the hospitality of our hosts.
After lunch we had the opportunity to teach a bible lesson. Luke shared the story of Noah's ark, with the lesson that God does care about our actions, and that they do have consequences. Following the lesson we crafted an origami ark that would help us remember the story and God's faithfulness to us. We distributed a snack and made our way back to the field for some relay races in two-by-two fashion, just like how the animals arrived at Noah's ark. Not long after that we came back to the hotel for showers and a little rest, and then had dinner back at Verbo Leon before our first Porch Time.
Porch Time is our nightly gathering to reflect on the day which we kicked off by sharing funny moments under the header "Remember That Time...," and identifying Christ in moments under the header "I Saw Jesus..." Many of the funny moments featured some embarrassing defeats on the soccer field, but there were also many moments where kids saw Jesus at work in each other. Then we sang a few songs of worship to our Lord and then Luke shared from Luke 10, where Jesus sends out the 72. Jesus instructed them to "leave it all behind," to take nothing with them as they go from town to town. We were challenged to process what we've left behind, and encouraged to engage what's directly before us while we're here.
Breaking in to small groups afterwards, we asked what has surprised students most about Nicaragua, and what stood out as the greatest need. Many answered with a surprise to the amount of trash, road conditions, and wild animals. Still, others were surprised to see how grateful the kids we played with were. They mentioned how little complaining they heard and how resilient they were despite having so little. It's exciting to see how these kids in Nicaragua may be giving us a glimpse of what joy looks like, and helping us identify where it comes from. Please be in continued prayer that this time is intentional and that Jesus opens our eyes to what He wants show us.
It was amazing to see how many kids this feeding center serves. Throughout the walking tour, it didn't appear that very many kids lived in the area, but well over 100 kids were fed lunch. It was great to see our Chapel students assisting them in washing their hands and serving meals from the kitchen.
We ate lunch after the kids and were impressed and blessed by the hospitality of our hosts.
After lunch we had the opportunity to teach a bible lesson. Luke shared the story of Noah's ark, with the lesson that God does care about our actions, and that they do have consequences. Following the lesson we crafted an origami ark that would help us remember the story and God's faithfulness to us. We distributed a snack and made our way back to the field for some relay races in two-by-two fashion, just like how the animals arrived at Noah's ark. Not long after that we came back to the hotel for showers and a little rest, and then had dinner back at Verbo Leon before our first Porch Time.
Porch Time is our nightly gathering to reflect on the day which we kicked off by sharing funny moments under the header "Remember That Time...," and identifying Christ in moments under the header "I Saw Jesus..." Many of the funny moments featured some embarrassing defeats on the soccer field, but there were also many moments where kids saw Jesus at work in each other. Then we sang a few songs of worship to our Lord and then Luke shared from Luke 10, where Jesus sends out the 72. Jesus instructed them to "leave it all behind," to take nothing with them as they go from town to town. We were challenged to process what we've left behind, and encouraged to engage what's directly before us while we're here.
Breaking in to small groups afterwards, we asked what has surprised students most about Nicaragua, and what stood out as the greatest need. Many answered with a surprise to the amount of trash, road conditions, and wild animals. Still, others were surprised to see how grateful the kids we played with were. They mentioned how little complaining they heard and how resilient they were despite having so little. It's exciting to see how these kids in Nicaragua may be giving us a glimpse of what joy looks like, and helping us identify where it comes from. Please be in continued prayer that this time is intentional and that Jesus opens our eyes to what He wants show us.
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Nicaragua Day #1 - 6.20.17
After a smooth morning of travel from DC to Houston to Nicaragua, the team was able to take in their first sights, sounds, and smells of this new place. Upon arrival, we immediately visited a local church in Managua for lunch where we sat in their outside cafe for a delicious lunch of rice, chicken, plantains, and beef stew. One of our translators, Josias, gave us the history of Orphanetwork and its connection to the church we were eating at. It was great to hear how God's faithfulness over the years through ONET and its partners, like the Chapel, had developed and expanded to feeding centers and orphanages all over Nicaragua.
After lunch we loaded up on our bus and headed North to Leon and our hotel called Hotel Europa. It is going to be a comfortable place for us to come back and relax each night. We divided up our rooms and then headed over to the church here in Leon called Verbo Leon where we will be spending a lot of time helping their feeding center and teaching the kids some bible lessons. We had the opportunity to meet the pastor and eat dinner with some of the older kids from the community. It was really amazing to see our team immediately dive into playing with the kids, introducing themselves to anyone they could meet, and enjoying the local food.
Since we had a long day of travel our team went back to the hotel after dinner and relaxed before heading to bed early to get some extra rest in preparation for the full day tomorrow. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us the rest of this week and thank you for all your prayers throughout this week!
After lunch we loaded up on our bus and headed North to Leon and our hotel called Hotel Europa. It is going to be a comfortable place for us to come back and relax each night. We divided up our rooms and then headed over to the church here in Leon called Verbo Leon where we will be spending a lot of time helping their feeding center and teaching the kids some bible lessons. We had the opportunity to meet the pastor and eat dinner with some of the older kids from the community. It was really amazing to see our team immediately dive into playing with the kids, introducing themselves to anyone they could meet, and enjoying the local food.
Since we had a long day of travel our team went back to the hotel after dinner and relaxed before heading to bed early to get some extra rest in preparation for the full day tomorrow. We can't wait to see what God has in store for us the rest of this week and thank you for all your prayers throughout this week!
Nicaragua Update 6.20.17
The SM team has just landed safely at the Managua Airport (current time is 12 p.m. in Managua)! They will be heading to eat some lunch and then to the Orphan Network offices.
Nicaragua flight update 6.20.17
We have taken off from houston and headed to Managua! We will let you know when we land. Check the blog for updates during the trip at wccsmtrips.blogspot.com
Nicaragua trip update 6.20.17
We have landed at the Houston airport safely and everything appears to be on time. We will let you when we are about to depart for Nicaragua.
Nicaragua flight update 6.20.17
we have left D.C. On our way to Houston. Everything is on time and looking great. We will update you when we arrive in Houston.
Nicaragua Departure 6.20.17
Our team has left the Chapel and is headed to Reagan National for our flight. Just a reminder for parents to sign-up for text updates by texting NICAPARENT to 41411. Also, if you need to get a hold of Luke in Nicaragua then please contact Madeline on her cell phone at 757-645-7842. Below is our flight information if you want to check our flight status online. We are flying United Airlines.
-
Depart: Meet at the Chapel at 12:00am on Tuesday,
June 20th
o
Depart Reagan
National (DCA) at 5:45am on Tuesday,
June 20th on flight UA 551, arrive
Houston (IAH) at 7:50am;
o
Depart
Houston (IAH) at 9:20am on flight UA 1432, arrive Managua at 11:35am
-
Return: Pick up at
the Chapel at approx. 2:30am on Thursday, June 29th.
o
Depart Managua at 12:20pm on flight UA 1433,
arrive Houston (IAH) at 4:45pm
o
Depart Houston
(IAH) at 7:20pm on flight UA 1955, arrive at Regan National (DCA) at
11:26pm
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Norfolk Parent Meeting 6.13.17
The first half of our meeting was the parent meeting portion where Luke went over the vision for the trip and all of the logistics involved in it. The team will be staying at Spring Branch in Virginia Beach and serving three organizations in the Norfolk/VA Beach area: Union Mission Ministries, Consulate Health Care, and Park Place Child Life Center. In addition, Luke asked for everyone to sign-up for text updates by texting NORFOLKPARENT to 41411. For additional information you can review the PowerPoint slides that Luke used below.
Slides coming soon (power outage delayed the posting of these)
During the second half of our meeting the Norfolk team continued to study the character of Saul in Acts 9. Our theme phrase this year is "the beautiful struggle" which we took out of the transformative encounter that Saul had with God. God turned Saul's life into something beautiful, but God also forced Saul to struggle through a process of discovery before becoming the person God wanted him to be. So, we discussed how God may have us go through a process where we will struggle through some questions about who we are as we engage with some of the needs that people are facing down in Norfolk.
Our final team meeting will be on Thursday, July 13th from 6:30-8:30pm in Woodward Hall
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