Another glorious day here at Casa Bernabe in Nicaragua. It was another day filled with amazing opportunities to worship in the face of Jesus. Again, everywhere we go, God is always with us and has truly made His presence felt thus far in our trip.
This morning we got the amazing opportunity to worship the Lord at Verbo Church in Managua. We awoke and had a great breakfast before wishing the seniors farewell for the day. They have left Casa for the evening to go to Madagulpa and distribute the last of the "School Pax" that we brought down here for the kids. We wish them the best. The worship service this morning was fantastic!! We started off with worship that was, as always, phenomenal. That led to the service which was made extra special because they had a translator there for us. The students were able to take in the message and enjoy every word that was said.
Following the service, we traveled back to the orphanage for the special opportunity to have lunch with the children of the orphanage. This was a special time to continue building the relationships that we have steadily established over the last week. Getting to know these kids has brought so much joy to the team, and the personal experience to sit down and have lunch with them is amazing. However, the bonding experience did not end there.
This afternoon we had the opportunity to go to a local sports complex run by international missionaries. We had several different activities going on in which the children could participate. There were a couple of basketball courts, a soccer field, and volleyball court. On top of that, there was a bracelet and necklace making station that the children could enjoy, as well as a station for the girls (and some guys) to have their fingernails painted. It was such a joyous day to bring happiness into these kids lives and get them away from the orphanage for an afternoon. Our team did such a great job of helping make this day come together, and if it were not for them this day would not have gone as smoothly as it has.
It has only been 6 days, but with the way our team has adapted and worked together, it feels like we've been here for a month. We have a few days left and I know that God has wonderful things in store for us as we continue on this beautiful journey. Once again, we ask for your continued prayers and support as we finish our trip. Check in tomorrow for an update. God bless!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Senior Trip to Madagulpa - School Packs
Today the seniors and their leaders, and part of the staff departed from Casa Bernabe and headed three hours north of Managua to a northern city called Madagulpa. We departed from Casa with one school bus filled with seniors and nearly 350 school packs to distribute when we got there. Today was a monumental day. For the first time ever, the Chapel has forged a partnership with Mira Ministries, of which the Chapel's very own - Steve Hooge - has a special relationship. His sister and brother-in-law run Mira Ministries, which is a ministry that provides school uniform vouchers and packs of school supplies to children not enrolled in school so that they can have the opportunity to attend school.
We left Casa at 9 AM and drove to another orphanage called El Canyon (because it is located at the base of a large canyon) and worshiped with the community there for Sunday service. We were asked, ad hoc, to preform songs at the church and the entire team sang a set of worship songs. After that, we hit the road for Madagulpa. It was a long trip into the mountains and very green part of Nicaragua! We arrived around 3 PM and checked-in to a beautiful hotel on top of a mountain.
We arrived a church to hundreds of Nicaraguans praising the Lord. Again, everything was very spontaneous! We led four songs to the congregation. Travis gave a sermon on the fly. And what we thought would be a 30 minute church service turned into a 2.5 hour worship experience! After the service, 75 children who are not in school were given 2 vouchers. One for them, and one for a friend who also was not in school. 150 kids and their parents received school packs and uniform vouchers. Then we threw a party in their honor. It was an amazing experience. Thank you to all the Chapel families who helped fill school packs! They have been a huge blessing to many children!
We finished the night off with some famous Nicaraguan fast food, called Tip Top! Now we are in the hotel having our nightly porch time processing everything from the day. The team is doing great, feel great, and healthy! Keep praying!
We left Casa at 9 AM and drove to another orphanage called El Canyon (because it is located at the base of a large canyon) and worshiped with the community there for Sunday service. We were asked, ad hoc, to preform songs at the church and the entire team sang a set of worship songs. After that, we hit the road for Madagulpa. It was a long trip into the mountains and very green part of Nicaragua! We arrived around 3 PM and checked-in to a beautiful hotel on top of a mountain.
We arrived a church to hundreds of Nicaraguans praising the Lord. Again, everything was very spontaneous! We led four songs to the congregation. Travis gave a sermon on the fly. And what we thought would be a 30 minute church service turned into a 2.5 hour worship experience! After the service, 75 children who are not in school were given 2 vouchers. One for them, and one for a friend who also was not in school. 150 kids and their parents received school packs and uniform vouchers. Then we threw a party in their honor. It was an amazing experience. Thank you to all the Chapel families who helped fill school packs! They have been a huge blessing to many children!
We finished the night off with some famous Nicaraguan fast food, called Tip Top! Now we are in the hotel having our nightly porch time processing everything from the day. The team is doing great, feel great, and healthy! Keep praying!
Day 5: Sleeping and Sliding
Today was another great day in which the Lord truly blessed the students of WCC. He continues to shower us with His never-ending love, which he hopes we continue pouring out to the children of the orphanage.
This morning, we built in some down time for the students to get some rest. However, there was always stuff going on, and the orphanage had a large screen showing one of the World Cup soccer games, so the students were invited to share that moment with the kids. Those who didn't enjoy that went into VeraCruz where they continued to build relationships with the people there.
This afternoon was something to behold. We took all the children of the Casa Bernabe orphanage as well as they El Canyon orphanage to the local water park that featured several slides, play areas, and and children's areas. It was such a blessed time to see the joy on the children's faces as they got to run around the water park. So often we take for granted the fun times to be had in our own backyards, and it was just great to share this experience with the kids.
The night became really special when we welcomed a guest speaker to porch time. Eddy Morales, who is the international director for OrphanNetwork, shared with us tonight. Eddy is so encouraging in everything he does, and his talk tonight really showed us what God has in store for us if we just take his queue and follow. He challenged us not to "have stink" in our lives. He told us that we must pour ourselves out so that Christ may fill us back up again. He encouraged us to not stay stagnant in our walks, but to at all times be looking to grow. My favorite thing he said was that "God wants to use you and make a difference in your life, so that you can make a difference in a kids life!" Speaking from 1 Kings 8:27 and 1 Corinthians 3:16-19, Eddy got his point across.
Another truly wonderful day in the books. We look forward to what Christ has in store for us as we go to church tomorrow. As always, your prayers are encouraged as we continue on this journey. Have a great Sunday, and God bless!
This morning, we built in some down time for the students to get some rest. However, there was always stuff going on, and the orphanage had a large screen showing one of the World Cup soccer games, so the students were invited to share that moment with the kids. Those who didn't enjoy that went into VeraCruz where they continued to build relationships with the people there.
This afternoon was something to behold. We took all the children of the Casa Bernabe orphanage as well as they El Canyon orphanage to the local water park that featured several slides, play areas, and and children's areas. It was such a blessed time to see the joy on the children's faces as they got to run around the water park. So often we take for granted the fun times to be had in our own backyards, and it was just great to share this experience with the kids.
The night became really special when we welcomed a guest speaker to porch time. Eddy Morales, who is the international director for OrphanNetwork, shared with us tonight. Eddy is so encouraging in everything he does, and his talk tonight really showed us what God has in store for us if we just take his queue and follow. He challenged us not to "have stink" in our lives. He told us that we must pour ourselves out so that Christ may fill us back up again. He encouraged us to not stay stagnant in our walks, but to at all times be looking to grow. My favorite thing he said was that "God wants to use you and make a difference in your life, so that you can make a difference in a kids life!" Speaking from 1 Kings 8:27 and 1 Corinthians 3:16-19, Eddy got his point across.
Another truly wonderful day in the books. We look forward to what Christ has in store for us as we go to church tomorrow. As always, your prayers are encouraged as we continue on this journey. Have a great Sunday, and God bless!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Day 4: A Human Jungle Gym
We can not stress enough the wonders that God continues to do through our work in Nicaragua. It was another fun-filled day for us in this beautiful country and God has continued to bless each and every one of us.
In the morning, a group of 30-35 went and painted the posada, which is the older boys living quarters. People were climbing on ladders to get the ceiling, getting on their knees to paint the trim, and just painting as high up the wall as their two feet would allow them. It was a great time of bonding for the team, and we were even able to interact with the boys who were there. Around the time we were finishing up, a soccer game broke out so there was another way to have fun besides painting.
After finishing painting we immediately left Nueva Vida as one large group, where Group 2 consisting of the Juniors and Sophomore guys were able share in the wonderful experiences that Group 1 had been encountering each of the previous 2 days. At Nueva Vida we ate a delicious lunch and then headed out to each of the 5 different feeding centers to put on a miniature Vacation Bible School for the children there. Travis stressed that this included 5 steps, which are as follows: hang out/play with the children, a relay-race game (where we blew up balloons for the kids and they ran a certain length and popped the balloon not using their hands or feet and then ran back and tagged the next person), music (we sang and did the motions to the classic "Waves of Mercy"), preach (we had 1 student at each location share what having Jesus in their life meant to them), and, finally, prayer (where we had a different student close the day out in prayer). It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of. Each member of our team turned themselves into a human jungle gym for the kids to play on, and in a lot of cases, several kids to play on. What a beautiful thing to watch this team bring these children joy.
After a tasty shishkabob dinner, several of the kids from Casa came to our Rancho and led us in a time of praise and worship. We were clapping and singing as if there were no language barrier. It was so great to see the band here at the orphanage play for us, and I just hope that our participation brought them as much joy as they did us. They even sang a few songs in English! It was a wonderful time capped off by a talk from the man who runs the orphanage. He spoke from Psalm 119 and from 1 Peter and how we can use those two passages to really advance our lives by just following what the Word has us do.
To finish the night we had another wonderful porch time capped off by Alexis sharing with us from Job and 1 Corinthians. We have had such a joyous time here in Nicaragua and we hope that it only continues to get better. Once again, we ask for your continued prayers as we go on this wonderful journey God has led us on. Check back tomorrow as we update you on our trip to the local water park! God bless!
In the morning, a group of 30-35 went and painted the posada, which is the older boys living quarters. People were climbing on ladders to get the ceiling, getting on their knees to paint the trim, and just painting as high up the wall as their two feet would allow them. It was a great time of bonding for the team, and we were even able to interact with the boys who were there. Around the time we were finishing up, a soccer game broke out so there was another way to have fun besides painting.
After finishing painting we immediately left Nueva Vida as one large group, where Group 2 consisting of the Juniors and Sophomore guys were able share in the wonderful experiences that Group 1 had been encountering each of the previous 2 days. At Nueva Vida we ate a delicious lunch and then headed out to each of the 5 different feeding centers to put on a miniature Vacation Bible School for the children there. Travis stressed that this included 5 steps, which are as follows: hang out/play with the children, a relay-race game (where we blew up balloons for the kids and they ran a certain length and popped the balloon not using their hands or feet and then ran back and tagged the next person), music (we sang and did the motions to the classic "Waves of Mercy"), preach (we had 1 student at each location share what having Jesus in their life meant to them), and, finally, prayer (where we had a different student close the day out in prayer). It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of. Each member of our team turned themselves into a human jungle gym for the kids to play on, and in a lot of cases, several kids to play on. What a beautiful thing to watch this team bring these children joy.
After a tasty shishkabob dinner, several of the kids from Casa came to our Rancho and led us in a time of praise and worship. We were clapping and singing as if there were no language barrier. It was so great to see the band here at the orphanage play for us, and I just hope that our participation brought them as much joy as they did us. They even sang a few songs in English! It was a wonderful time capped off by a talk from the man who runs the orphanage. He spoke from Psalm 119 and from 1 Peter and how we can use those two passages to really advance our lives by just following what the Word has us do.
To finish the night we had another wonderful porch time capped off by Alexis sharing with us from Job and 1 Corinthians. We have had such a joyous time here in Nicaragua and we hope that it only continues to get better. Once again, we ask for your continued prayers as we go on this wonderful journey God has led us on. Check back tomorrow as we update you on our trip to the local water park! God bless!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Day 3: At Your Service
God has continued to bless this trip by presenting us with another day full of wonderful opportunities to serve Him. We have finished up our second full day of work, and once again you can truly see the face of Jesus in all that we do here.
Once again, our Senior group along with the Sophomore girls went to Nueva Vida to continue to serve the needy at the hurricane refugee camp. What made this event so special was that the kids were so ready, eager, and experienced to serve that today they jumped right into the tasks they had ahead of them. Upon arrival, each student willingly threw themselves into service without having to be asked or told what to do. But the most special part was that the students were able to continue building relationships that they had started to build the day before. To be able to go back and continue sharing the love of Christ with these children was such a beautiful thing, and I know each and every kid enjoyed this special day to go back and continue building relationships with this wonderful group of children. To finish off the day, Andrew Cordasco and Nathaniel Darling played an impromptu worship session at the church, with the language barrier being no problem. Once again, you can see the face of Jesus everywhere you look, and the day at Nueva Vida with these great kids and the relationship building time that was had, the present of God was surely felt.
The Juniors and Sophomore guys continued several work projects that were began the day before. One group finished painting one of the rooms at Casa that was in much need of painting. It is in these times that teamwork is a must, and with each person sacrificing themselves to paint one area, you could truly see the team-bonding experience that this trip brings out. Another group went to the El Canyon orphanage and painted there, but the real fun began when they were able to play with the kids there and start building relationships of their own with the children, much like Group 1 has been doing at Nueva Vida. The third group went back into VeraCruz to continue helping the church in their construction efforts. Several of the guys were able to help the people go pick up 400 cinder blocks that will eventually be the walls. Once they got back, they had to move all 400 blocks off the truck and into the storage area that they will be kept in until a later time. Once again, the theme of this task was teamwork, and our team was able to come together like they had been in Nicaragua for a month.
In the afternoon, the day was further brightened by the distribution of 150 "School Pax" to the children in Veracruz. To see the excitement on their face as they opened their box of school supplies is something I wish every person associated with the Chapel could have witnessed. Again, we can not thank you enough for your contributions in terms of the "School Pax." Before the distribution there was fun shared by the breaking of 2 pinatas where the kids had a great time wrestling around for the candy.
Finally, to finish day, we came to Verbo Church to throw the children of the Casa Bernabe orphanage a birthday party in honor of all of the children. We gave out toys or backpacks to each kid after enjoying a night of playing in a moonwalk, an inflatable jousting pit, and music that we could all enjoy. This was a special night for the kids, and for us to have a small part in bringing joy to their lives was so special to each person here.
It was a very busy day, but one that was filled with great things and a lot of fun. Once again, to have the smallest impact in these kids lives truly shows the face of Jesus and the work that God is doing down here. We have another special day planned for tomorrow, and we look forward to sharing those experiences with you tomorrow night. We ask for you continued prayers on this journey. Thank you and God bless!
Once again, our Senior group along with the Sophomore girls went to Nueva Vida to continue to serve the needy at the hurricane refugee camp. What made this event so special was that the kids were so ready, eager, and experienced to serve that today they jumped right into the tasks they had ahead of them. Upon arrival, each student willingly threw themselves into service without having to be asked or told what to do. But the most special part was that the students were able to continue building relationships that they had started to build the day before. To be able to go back and continue sharing the love of Christ with these children was such a beautiful thing, and I know each and every kid enjoyed this special day to go back and continue building relationships with this wonderful group of children. To finish off the day, Andrew Cordasco and Nathaniel Darling played an impromptu worship session at the church, with the language barrier being no problem. Once again, you can see the face of Jesus everywhere you look, and the day at Nueva Vida with these great kids and the relationship building time that was had, the present of God was surely felt.
The Juniors and Sophomore guys continued several work projects that were began the day before. One group finished painting one of the rooms at Casa that was in much need of painting. It is in these times that teamwork is a must, and with each person sacrificing themselves to paint one area, you could truly see the team-bonding experience that this trip brings out. Another group went to the El Canyon orphanage and painted there, but the real fun began when they were able to play with the kids there and start building relationships of their own with the children, much like Group 1 has been doing at Nueva Vida. The third group went back into VeraCruz to continue helping the church in their construction efforts. Several of the guys were able to help the people go pick up 400 cinder blocks that will eventually be the walls. Once they got back, they had to move all 400 blocks off the truck and into the storage area that they will be kept in until a later time. Once again, the theme of this task was teamwork, and our team was able to come together like they had been in Nicaragua for a month.
In the afternoon, the day was further brightened by the distribution of 150 "School Pax" to the children in Veracruz. To see the excitement on their face as they opened their box of school supplies is something I wish every person associated with the Chapel could have witnessed. Again, we can not thank you enough for your contributions in terms of the "School Pax." Before the distribution there was fun shared by the breaking of 2 pinatas where the kids had a great time wrestling around for the candy.
Finally, to finish day, we came to Verbo Church to throw the children of the Casa Bernabe orphanage a birthday party in honor of all of the children. We gave out toys or backpacks to each kid after enjoying a night of playing in a moonwalk, an inflatable jousting pit, and music that we could all enjoy. This was a special night for the kids, and for us to have a small part in bringing joy to their lives was so special to each person here.
It was a very busy day, but one that was filled with great things and a lot of fun. Once again, to have the smallest impact in these kids lives truly shows the face of Jesus and the work that God is doing down here. We have another special day planned for tomorrow, and we look forward to sharing those experiences with you tomorrow night. We ask for you continued prayers on this journey. Thank you and God bless!
Day 2: The Real Fun Begins
Today we started lending a hand to the people of Nicaragua. It was such a wonderful day filled with many exciting tasks. We split our group of 81 students and 17 leaders into two teams with one team comprised of the entire senior class with the sophomore girls and the other team the entire junior class with the sophomore guys.
The Seniors and Sophomore girls went to Nueva Vida this morning lend a hand in serving the children lunch. Nueva Vida is a hurricane refugee camp where people were displaced to following a hurricane in the late 1990's. It is a place where God really shows himself daily. There are 5 food distribution centers that a local church operates to feed the hungry children of the camp. Our group was turned into waiters and waitresses for this day and helped meet each and every child's needs as they served them their food. After eating lunch themselves, our group played with several of the kids from the refugee camp at the local church that hosted this morning's events. After leaving the camp, the group came back to Casa and packed up all 450 "School Pax" that our church so graciously donated. We can not thank you enough, again, for these donations as they are such a worthy cause. We are very excited about the upcoming distribution of the "School Pax" to the local children.
The Juniors and Sophomore guys had a very busy, but fulfilling day. This group was separated into three groups so that we could multi-task things that needed to be done. One group helped organize the storage center where all of the donations go. They were able to separate the clothes into different categories in the storage center so that it is much easier to pinpoint exactly what is needed when entering. This will help if a child tears his or her pants or shirt and another one is needed, and they are quickly able to locate exactly where that item is. Another group helped finish painting the computer lab where there had been some lead paint on the walls. We were able to clean it up and really make the room look nice. Greg Mills highlighted the day after painting the ceiling and coming back with paint all over himself; very funny. The last group went into VeraCruz and to the local church to help dig the foundation for the new Sunday School rooms they are planning to install in the back of the church. Also, we started setting up the re-bar that will help stabilize the walls of these new classrooms. Some of the group then went into the city and visited with the families and had a great time playing with the children in the city. It was very hot outside today and we were making sure that each person was staying properly hydrated. All in all, these three groups worked very hard.
Today was such a great day. Many wonderful things were accomplished, and through it all there was no denying the presence of Jesus in all that we did. We ask for your continued prayers as we complete this wonderful journey God has led us all on. We will be back tomorrow night for another update, but until then, God bless!
The Seniors and Sophomore girls went to Nueva Vida this morning lend a hand in serving the children lunch. Nueva Vida is a hurricane refugee camp where people were displaced to following a hurricane in the late 1990's. It is a place where God really shows himself daily. There are 5 food distribution centers that a local church operates to feed the hungry children of the camp. Our group was turned into waiters and waitresses for this day and helped meet each and every child's needs as they served them their food. After eating lunch themselves, our group played with several of the kids from the refugee camp at the local church that hosted this morning's events. After leaving the camp, the group came back to Casa and packed up all 450 "School Pax" that our church so graciously donated. We can not thank you enough, again, for these donations as they are such a worthy cause. We are very excited about the upcoming distribution of the "School Pax" to the local children.
The Juniors and Sophomore guys had a very busy, but fulfilling day. This group was separated into three groups so that we could multi-task things that needed to be done. One group helped organize the storage center where all of the donations go. They were able to separate the clothes into different categories in the storage center so that it is much easier to pinpoint exactly what is needed when entering. This will help if a child tears his or her pants or shirt and another one is needed, and they are quickly able to locate exactly where that item is. Another group helped finish painting the computer lab where there had been some lead paint on the walls. We were able to clean it up and really make the room look nice. Greg Mills highlighted the day after painting the ceiling and coming back with paint all over himself; very funny. The last group went into VeraCruz and to the local church to help dig the foundation for the new Sunday School rooms they are planning to install in the back of the church. Also, we started setting up the re-bar that will help stabilize the walls of these new classrooms. Some of the group then went into the city and visited with the families and had a great time playing with the children in the city. It was very hot outside today and we were making sure that each person was staying properly hydrated. All in all, these three groups worked very hard.
Today was such a great day. Many wonderful things were accomplished, and through it all there was no denying the presence of Jesus in all that we did. We ask for your continued prayers as we complete this wonderful journey God has led us all on. We will be back tomorrow night for another update, but until then, God bless!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Day 1: The Adventure Continues
The Sophomores and Juniors have arrived safely in the Managua airport and are currently on route to the orphanage. Praise God for a day of safe travels and for already showing up in some incredible ways.
While the younger group traveled, the seniors spent the afternoon at a local pool with some kids from the El Canyon orphanage. It was incredible to see our team, even after such a long day of travel, pour their lives and their hearts out to these kids. The seniors also enjoyed a brief time of bible study after dinner before getting some much-needed down time.
Once the sophomores and juniors eat dinner, we will all head to bed for a good night's rest before embarking on tomorrow's adventures. Please pray for continued safety, good health, and that God would continue to reveal Himself in ordinary and extraordinary ways.
While the younger group traveled, the seniors spent the afternoon at a local pool with some kids from the El Canyon orphanage. It was incredible to see our team, even after such a long day of travel, pour their lives and their hearts out to these kids. The seniors also enjoyed a brief time of bible study after dinner before getting some much-needed down time.
Once the sophomores and juniors eat dinner, we will all head to bed for a good night's rest before embarking on tomorrow's adventures. Please pray for continued safety, good health, and that God would continue to reveal Himself in ordinary and extraordinary ways.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)