Hola from Nicaragua! We are
really getting into the swing of things down here, and God is
showing up in some amazing ways. Here are a few updates from our second full day
of ministry:
Serving Group 1 (All Seniors; Led
by Craig) returned to Nueva Vida to continue building relationships with the
children there. After serving lunch to the kids at the feeding center, the
Chapel students led a VBS about the importance of kindness. Along with songs,
games, and a message, the children each drew a picture of what kindness looked
like in their own lives. The team was touched by the pictures the kids created and saw several representations of Jesus (both overt and subtle) in the artwork. After sharing hugs and goodbyes, Craig's team returned to Casa Bernabe later in
the afternoon to meet up with Serving Group 2, where they continued to pour out God's love by playing soccer and
making bracelets with the kids from the orphanage.
Serving Group 2 (Quinn/Dante’s
Junior Boys Small Group, Lindsey’s Junior Girls Small Group, All Sophomore Girls; Led by Luke) had an
eventful day doing a variety of work projects at the Casa Bernabe orphanage.
The team banned together to paint the kitchen and outer walls of the orphanage,
clean the ceiling tiles, and tidy up various facilities. While on the surface this may sound like a relatively easy task, the heat from the day combined with the heat from the cooking fires in the kitchen made it truly a labor of love (and sweat!). In the afternoon,
the team split up into four different groups to help with the Casa Bernabe
English classes. They had a blast helping the children improve their English
vocabulary and conversational skills! This group saw Jesus in Reagan, the English teacher at Casa, as he sacrifices other possible careers, most of which would be much higher paying, to use his gifts at Casa and empower others through education.
Serving Group 3 (Watts’ Junior Boys Small Group, Christine’s Junior Girls Small Group, All Sophomore Boys; Led by Lex) divided and
conquered at both the Verbo Sur feeding center and El Canyon orphanage. While many
children in the community attend the Verbo Sur church on Sunday mornings, their
parents often do not. Your children worked with their church on an outreach lunch to
the parents of these kids. Our team loved this opportunity to serve not just the children but their extended families in such a tangible way. All of the kids and their parents received a well-prepared meal, followed by a brief word from the youth director of the church. We are praying that these families are receptive of not just the church's hospitality, but of Christ Himself! The other part of the team was at El Canyon helping the children improve their English in a morning class; but, when class was over, an exciting game of soccer between the
Nicaraguans and Americans took place! The team reunited in the afternoon to bring some of the Verbo Sur children to a local pool to continue investing in those relationships begun at the feeding program. After saying goodbye to the kids and grabbing dinner, Lex's group went straight to ‘Porch Time’ at the
Casa Bernabe Team Center.
Craig presented a powerful message tonight, teaching us how to recognize Jesus alive in the world today. He used 2 Corinthians 4 as his
passage to illustrate the idea that our bodies are merely containers designed to hold
God’s presence. He concluded by challenging us to take Jesus’ words seriously,
that we must die to ourselves in order to allow Him to live through us.
Please continue to pray for good health, for safety, and for Christ to reveal Himself over and over again in the coming days. Because we really believe in the incredible power of prayer, we wanted to make you all aware of an opportunity coming up next week. Deacon of Student Ministries, Wrenn Holland, will be leading parents, family, and friends in a time of corporate prayer for the trip on Tuesday, June 26th at 7pm in Moog Hall. We will continue to send reminders via the blog and text messaging, but please put this date on your calendars. We are truly grateful for all of your support!
Please continue to pray for good health, for safety, and for Christ to reveal Himself over and over again in the coming days. Because we really believe in the incredible power of prayer, we wanted to make you all aware of an opportunity coming up next week. Deacon of Student Ministries, Wrenn Holland, will be leading parents, family, and friends in a time of corporate prayer for the trip on Tuesday, June 26th at 7pm in Moog Hall. We will continue to send reminders via the blog and text messaging, but please put this date on your calendars. We are truly grateful for all of your support!
¡Dios te bendiga!
The SM Staff Team
