It’s been another wonderful day here in sunny Leon,
Nicaragua! After starting our morning off with breakfast and devotions, the
team loaded up the bus to head back to our work sites. Half of the group spent
their day at Verbo Church in Leon, while the other half of the team returned to
Las Chacaras to partner with Pastor Ricardo again.
The group at Verbo Church spent the morning doing two
community service projects alongside kids from the community. Part of the group
walked around the neighborhood, picking up trash and beautifying the area in
the hopes of communicating God’s love and care for the people in the town. The
second part of this group got to paint the outside of a school building, again
helping to instill pride and value in both the community and in the educational
system. It was exciting to get to work beside children of all ages and to see
the cultural gaps melt away as Nicaraguans and Americans became co-laborers for
the sake of our same Lord and Savior. After this team served lunch to the kids
back at the church, they spent the afternoon teaching a VBS for children in the
area, as well as leading a discipleship training session for many of the older
kids who are leaders within the children’s program. Not only was God’s Word
being taught in a fun and effective way, but our team was able to share from
their MidWeek leading experience and provide valuable insights for the
Nicaraguans on how to help make disciples and communicate God’s love for us
all. It was truly a moving afternoon at Verbo Leon!
Meanwhile, a short way away, the second half of the team
took the morning to engage 20 pastors and their families in a Flannel Graph
Training Session. A Flannel Graph is essentially a tool for pastors to teach
gospel stories to children (and adults, too!) using a large board and many,
many pictures printed on felt. Before the trip, several members of the team had
come in for additional training on how to use these Flannel Graphs, and they
stepped up to the plate in an incredible way today, leading and training all
those pastors on how to use this tool so that they can bring it back to their
own churches. ORPHANetwork will be providing each attending pastor with his own
Flannel Graph, allowing them to utilize this method of teaching to further the
gospel in many remote parts of Nicaragua. After serving lunch to the children
at Las Chacaras, the group spent the afternoon leading a nutrition and hygiene
training for all the kids. The children listened attentively as they learned
about the importance of washing their hands, brushing their teeth, and engaging
in other important hygiene practices.
After the hygiene training session, the Characas group
picked up the team at Verbo Leon, and we all headed to the beach for a quick dip
in the Pacific Ocean before dinner. At Porch Time tonight, Hawley spoke to the
group about Incarnational Ministry . . . how Jesus’ light not only shines in
and through us as we put ourselves between the hurt of the world and His love,
but how Jesus’ light is also already present in the faces of those we have come
to serve. After Porch Time, we split up into small groups to discuss the days’
events and all that God has been revealing to us so far.
As the groups return to these two serving sites tomorrow,
please continue to pray for God to use us in powerful ways. Please specifically
pray for the youth outreach event happening at Verbo Leon tomorrow night – that
we would be able to really partner with the local church here to plant seeds
that will grow and produce good fruit.
