Dios es Bueno, Todo el Tiempo

This week Pastor Emmanuel has been teaching us to say God is good, all the time in spanish and we respond, "all the time, God is good".  It is especially fun to watch Lori try and say it as she is almost always a word or two behind.  Each morning we begin by repeating this phrase back and forth to each other.  It is amazing to see how even phrases we use in America are popular here, reinforcing that we aren't as far apart as we always try to imagine we are.

Friday was our last day with the children and we were so sad to see them go, but also excited for all that their mothers, sisters, aunts, and grandmothers have made in the sewing classes.  Some of the children came to the church wearing the dresses and shorts that the women had made earlier in the week.  In this picture, the little boy and youngest girl are wearing shorts that were made earlier in the week.  The oldest girl is wearing the dress and matching headband her mother made Monday.

Bible school was bittersweet time as we made necklaces with the children and talked about the good samaritan.  Each of the children pay attention when the lesson is being given.  We are beginning to know them all by name.  It is especially moving to see so many of our team comfortable engaging with the people despite the language barrier.  On the first day with the children, there was an awkwardness that surrounded approaching the people and attempting a language we didn't understand.  It has been most humbling to find that the people want to communicate with us as much as we want to speak with them.  They are more than willing to help us learn and graciously look over our mistakes.

CJ brought his spanish-english dictionary on Friday and spoke for a while with a group of boys who passed by and were not initially part of our project.  They paused en route outside the church gate and the next time we looked over, CJ had all the boys inside the gate and they were teaching each other with the dictionary how to speak to one another.  God can always make a way when there seems to be no way.

Each morning we get up, eat breakfast and climb into our spacious mystery machine and drive to the Buen Samaratino (Good Samaritan) Church.  Remember the lovely mystery machine from Scooby Doo?  That is what our maroon van looks like each morning when it pulls up to the curb.  Full of promise for the days adventures, we actually fit.....perhaps I should say squeeze 22 people onto this van.  Packed tighter than a jar of pickles we don't really worry about seat belts because, well, there aren't any.  This would perhaps not be as scary if the people here observed turn laws but everyone seems to turn with the spirit......meaning you turn and pray to the Lord that there's no one else who decided to turn from an opposite direction.  Our mystery machine comes equipped with courtesy seats so that we actually sit 4 to a row instead of merely 3. It also has the best air conditioning around.........when the windows are open and we are moving that is.  We took a picture on the first day to show all of you at home what exactly traveling in style looks like in Managua..........

Today marks our halfway point in the mission.  Each  morning when we arrive at the church, Pastor Emmanuel leads us in praise and worship while his son Humberto plays the guitar.  Pastor Emmanuel gives us a brief thought or two on various passages of the bible and then JD takes over and leads all of us in adult bible study.  This week he has been preaching on John Wesley's three simple rules.  Yesterday was rule number 1: Do No Harm.  While JD preaches, our translator Rigoberto gives the sermon in Spanish for all the community that has come.  Today we heard about the second rule: Do Good.  JD did a very good job and was conscientious to include examples of well known Nicaraguans to help draw the community more fully into the lesson.  At the end, Lori was invited to speak since every aspect of this mission has been her idea and has been in her prayers.  JD closed the service by blessing the sewing machines that the women will use for the next year.

Bible School had just as many children today as yesterday.  We sang many songs and made God's Eyes for a craft.  The children learned the 10 commandments as Andy announced like a game show host and 10 women played the part of Vana White.  Undeniably, the best part of the day is the free time we spend with the children and their families at the end of each afternoon.  The girls grow especially close to all of us and desire to make friends with everyone they meet.  Each one has the face of God.  

Our devotion for the evening was centered around judgements.  Who is the leaper in our society?  Homeless, illegal immigrants, muslims community.......who do we fail to see with the eyes of christ?  Are we the leapers?  In America we have so much and there is undeniably a push to be the best or have the best?  Does this make our hearts clean or just cloud our purpose here on earth?  Sometimes I feel that the women who make our lunch each day with one stove and one pot might laugh to enter an American kitchen. 


"What is this for?" they would ask.
"Oh, that's a pressure cooker.......it cooks food," we'd respond.
"And this?" they'd continue.
"That's a crock pot........it cooks food too," we'd explain.
"And this?"
"That's a microwave.....it cooks FOOD," we'd elaborate feeling a little exasperated that they didn't seem to understand what all these devices in the kitchen were for.
"So does this work?" they'd say pointing to the stove.
"Yes, the oven works fine." we'd say, probably looking at them like they were crazy for not understanding at this point in the conversation.


But who is truly the one who fails to understand?  Perhaps it is us for not realizing at times how much we have, and that what we have clutters our life and makes it difficult to store up our treasures in heaven.  Perhaps we are strange for 'needing' so much to be happy- for thinking that 4 kitchen apparatuses which perform the same task are necessary.  I find it ironic that we go on mission to be closer to God.  I believe sometimes we lose sight of his face in the clutter of materialism we surround ourselves in.  Essentially, we at heart recognize that happiness and closeness with God is not found in what we own but what we give of ourselves to others.

Siesta: Every day, Any Way

Nicaragua runs on what some call "banana time".  You may plan all you want but in the end you will leave and accomplish tasks when the spirit moves.  This means all that you do is approached with a mindset of flexibility.  There is ample time each day to enjoy each other's company and fellowship.  There is also time to siesta (nap).  Every day, any way you can it is good to fit a little rest into your routine.  Alejandro is a two year old boy who has been attending our bible school each day.  He comes early so his mother can take advantage of the sewing classes in the morning.  Even he finds time to siesta.........

We had twice as many women present for the sewing classes today.  As word reaches people of what we are doing, more and more come to learn.  The women patterned and sewed a dress today.  They are always attentive and willing to learn.  It is such a blessing to continue to watch Delphine, Ann, and Sandra instruct the women and complete new projects each day.  While the women sew, our local knitting expert, Monisha, has been teaching Miranda, Connie and Farah to knit.  Likewise, Steve has been teaching Lacey, Teranne, and Barbara how to crochet.  While the women sew, the other half of our team enjoys the fellowship of our knitting circle.  It is a blessing to see how each person contributes to the group.  

Bible School also saw increased numbers, so many we had trouble fitting them all around the tables we  had set up.  More and more children come with their friends everyday.  We taught them how to make a star out of string for the story of the Magi.  The children were extremely animated and taught us how to sing Jesus Loves the Little Children, Father Abraham, and the Monkey Song with hand motions.  We all were able to participate and they love to see us try and speak their language (even if we do butcher it).  We ended the afternoon in free time where girls had their fingernails painted by Connie, Farah, Lacey, and Lauren.  Teranne braided three heads of hair in french braids while Steve made balloon animals for all the boys and CJ created beats with the boys on the Djembe (drum).  

After leaving for the day, our group went home to prepare to go out to eat.  Our Pink Ladies all showed up for dinner looking lovely and inadvertently matching.  Barbara tends to be our ring leader with her pink sunglasses.  We ate wonderful food and enjoyed the music provided by a lone man and his guitar on the front porch of the restaurant.  When he started playing La Bamba, of course the whole table erupted into song and started dancing in our seats.  Then Lacey requested the Macarena and a few of us found ourselves dancing out on the floor.  I'm sure all who saw us were thinking, "Those crazy Americans!"  Even Charlie's Angels showed up!  All in all, we had more laughs and enjoyment from just being with each other than ever before on this trip.  

God continues to move in the hearts of the people of Nicaragua and in the hearts of our team.  Today helped us grow closer to each other and to learn more about each other.  I know that God has placed each member of our team here for a reason.  There doesn't seem to be any situation that we don't have a person gifted to help or instruct.  We feel so blessed and it is evident that God has been preparing this team for the betterment of his kingdom for a long time.  As a team, we stand amazed at his majesty and glory in his presence.  

Comparte!

"Wait wait wait!""Share......hold it...stopo...share....ahhhhhhhhh!  ANDY!!!!!!!! (our best translator) "How do you say share?"

"Comparte" Andy said.

We had just dumped a whole box of flower foam stickers in the middle of a group for 15 kids in the craft room.  They attacked the pile of stickers like ants to a chocolate chip cookie.  In our panic to make sure the kids didn't knock each other out, our broken spanglish did nothing to phase the ensuing chaos in front of us.  Eventually the dust settled and we were able to help the kids finish their prayer boxes (las cajes de oracion) we made for crafts at the children's VBS again today.  We ended our time with the children by singing songs together in spanish and blowing bubbles.  

Our day began with JD (pastor at New Hope UMC in OKC) leading an adult bible study over the evolution of Methodism and John Wesley.  After the bible study, we pulled out the sewing machines and Delphine, Sandra, and Ann taught the women how to pattern and sew a pair of drawstring shorts and a hand bag.  The women left very proud and excited about what they had learned.  All team members were amazed that even though a communication barrier exists, it doesn't seem to keep us from accomplishing tasks together as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Each day, we are learn a little more and the people are both paciente (patient) and amable (kind) with us as we grow.  

Most of our day was spent with the children and I would be remiss if I didn't tell you they are the best part of the day.  Their smiles and eagerness to interact with you is heartwarming.  One child shared with us that she is currently waiting on her mom to be able to afford the right shoes for her to go to school.  There are so many people who struggle here but to interact with them, you would think that they are the most blessed people in the world. They are so excited to see us manana a los dos (tomorrow at 2).  We exchanged hugs and excited goodbyes as we left each other.  

Tomorrow will have so much in store for us as we grow closer together in fellowship with each other and God.  Today was filled with so many opportunities to learn about each other and the people we are serving.  God is truly moving in awesome ways.  

Kabaam!

Our team arrived safely in Nicaragua today around lunch.  We were so excited to see the people and meet with the leaders from the church we will be working in this week.  Our team left from OKC and Tulsa this morning at 6 am and we were all enthusiastic about the opportunity to have our lives changed by what God has in store for us this week.

After checking in and eating a delicious lunch at our hotel, Casa San Juan, we were able to sit down and speak with Pastor Francisco and Pastor Rosa from Villa Roma Church.  Both leaders were enthusiastic as Lori, Luisa, Andy, Lacey, Teranne, Lauren, JD, and Cindy sat down in community with them and our VIM Coordinator Rigoberto.  We discussed the coming events for the week and how we plan to be in partnership with the people of Villa Roma Church in the future.  Lori had a fun moment discussing the purchase of gas to help prepare our lunch tomorrow.  Our translator said, "Petro" and Lori said,"oh no, no Kabaam!" while she spread her hands out wide.

Tomorrow through Thursday, our group will begin each day with JD leading an adult bible study.  We will then host a sewing class for women in the community to learn how to make a dress, shorts, and a purse.  Our seamstresses Delphine, Sandy, and Ann will be teaching the classes with the help of our translators.  Each afternoon after lunch we will host a two hour VBS coordinated by Luisa and carried out with the help of other team members.  We will end with a one hour free time spent with the children before returning to our hotel.

God is truly blessing our time together in Nicaragua.  Continue to pray for our team as we meet more members of the Managua community tomorrow and continue to further the kingdom of God.

Thanks for Tuning-In

I was driving down May Ave. today talking to God.  I had just finished a difficult conversation with a friend who is going through a rough time in a relationship and I was preparing to pray for her.  I began by thanking God for all of the ways that he has blessed my life.  When I began praying for my friend, it made me think of another friend who was also having a difficult time, and then that turned into a friend who has loved ones in the hospital, and then I remembered that I have loved ones in the hospital......  The list just went on and on, and I thought to myself, "Wow, there are a lot of people hurting this week God!"  

God answered, "Hello!  Just tuning in down there?  There are people hurting all the time!"

"But I know so many personally!  I mean it's really tough down here right now!  What happened?" I responded.

"The people around you have been hurting for a while.  You think your life is stressful but you haven't been dealing with any of this.  And, uh, I've been here the entire time too by the way.  It's nice to hear from you, you should slow down and do this more often,"  God admonished.  

Talk about a come-to-Jesus moment!  I find it so easy to get caught up in the business of my own life that I sometimes forget to see everything else going on around me.  Ever get caught up in telling yourself, "I'll do that next week.....when I'm not so busy."  Only next week comes and guess what- your busy again.  The one thing I have learned in the last year is that LIFE IS BUSY.  There won't ever be a time when things don't feel crazy and chaotic.  Even vacations feel like marathons of adventures piled into a tiny period of space.  

I encourage everyone to take a moment this week to be still.  I know I will.  And I'm also hoping I hold onto that for when we actually make it to Nicaragua next week.  Prayers for safe travels!  See ya'll soon!

Praying Up and Heading Out!

The Nicaragua team met on Saturday to fellowship and discuss the upcoming mission at the beginning of August.  We were so blessed to have Cindy Miller's grandkids join us for the meeting!  Lori updated the group the 10 sewing machines have been purchased (four-throttle and six-electric) and are ready for use in Managua.  We have also had a very generous donation of 25 sewing kits that will be used during the classes.  The classes will center around teaching the women how to make a dress, shorts, and a bag.  

Very encouraged about the ways God is consistently answering prayer to meet the needs of this mission, Lori shared that she is constantly amazed at the gifts and talents that are coming together from various different sources.  In addition to a continued influx of financial support, a man from Pennsylvania has worked with our group to provide refurbished Mac computers to aid in the mission effort of the Managua community in learning, tracking, and managing the efforts of the women's co-op as they learn to use the sewing machines.  

Lori wanted to remind all team members:

• to make sure they get the appropriate shots as recommended by their personal physicians and the Health Department
• to wear their green team shirts the first day when traveling
• to check on Delta Regulations for travel concerning passport i.d. and baggage http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/checked/size_weight_restrictions/index.jsp

Thank you all for your continue prayers and support of the Nicaragua Mission Team.  The following is a list of team members we ask you to pray for over the coming weeks:

Leslie Ann Browning
Monisha Caffey
Lauren Coffman
Patricia Decastro
Lori Foster
Sandra Goodson
Clinton Harris
Andy Henson
Delphine Jewell
Miranda Luster
Luisa Medina
Cindy Miller
Constance Mix
Lacey Moore
Farah Shaukat
J.D. Ward
Teranne Williams
Steve Zink
Barbara Zink

Acceptance over Evaluation

This week I visited Lori at her office and asked for suggestions of books I should read or look into before traveling with the team to Nicaragua in August.  She handed me a book by Duane Elmer entitled Cross Cultural Servanthood.  Today I was reading through chapter two which deals with Acceptance of others:

Social research says that the most frequent response Americans make to a situation is to evaluate what they just saw or heard as right or wrong, good or bad.  Usually the standard for such judgements is how similar or dissimilar it is to me and my beliefs.  We often use ourselves as the norm by which to measure others.  If they measure up, we accept them; if not, we try to change them (one form of rejection) or distance ourselves from them (another form of rejection).

Elmer had given a very powerful example of the challenges he had experienced in accepting others earlier in the chapter.  While teaching at a Christian College in Chicago, Elmer and his friend, Mark, would walk the streets at night to observe the community around them and learn their mission field.  Elmer records the following:

Walking with Mark one night, I noticed a lady at the corner ahead.  She was scantily clad.  I turned to him and said in a voice the lady would not hear, "Is she a prostitute?"  He paused; I remember thinking, Why the pause?  It's obvious.  Then he said firmly, "No!  That is not a prostitute.  That is a person... in prostitution."  His profound statement affects me to this day.  

When I saw this woman, I saw a prostitute. When Mark saw her, he saw a human being.

What do you think Jesus would have seen?

What made the difference in our perceptions?  I tended to categorize people-homeless, drunk, drug addict, prostitute, pimp, panhandler- then I would know how to treat them:  respectable vocation brings respect; disrespectful vocation brings disrespect.  I decided who to accept not by the fact that they were made in the image of God but by the kind of life they were living.  Mark, however, saw the image of God in everyone in spite of their activity.   

I would love to tell you I don't do this- that I don't pass a homeless person on the side of the road and see their circumstance before I see them.  I want to tell you that I don't evaluate people based on the way they speak.  I would sincerely love to tell you that I have never fostered feelings of superiority when I see someone wearing ill-fitting clothes with leathery skin holding onto a half-lit cigarette at the bus stop.  But the truth is I've done all of that and harbored all of these thoughts.  If you were to ask me if I thought myself better than any of these people, I would tell you no.  The truth is rather that I look at all of these people and I thank God for what I have.  But what I realized today is that many times I'm saying, "God thank you that I am not that person. Thank you that I don't look like that, live like that." I am not praying to thank God for the blessings in my life but rather for allowing me not to be that person. I realized that I don't accept the people I see on a daily basis in my community who struggle and are different from myself.  I am as much in need of a savior as anyone.  It is something we all share: we are unified in need of grace, forgiveness and the mercy God gives us all.  

Reaping What You 'Sew'

Our mission will be concentrated on three projects: an Adult Bible study, a sewing project and a mission Bible school for the children.  The sewing project purpose is to teach sewing skills to young women, mostly young mothers who can then use these skills to better provide for their families.  This first mission (August 2011) will concentrate on teaching very basic skills to women and with each mission (I plan to return for several years, same time frame, first week in August) a new skill set will be added.  The groundwork will be laid for the 2012 mission and beyond!  We have been very blessed to have several financial donors for this project. Thank you, thank you, thank you! We will be able to purchase several sewing machines, the fabric and notions in Managua.  After talking with Pastors Francisco and Omar of the Nicaraguan Methodist Church, the team will teach women how to make a dress for a little girl,  shorts, and a bag. Thanks go out to Delphine for all her research and hard work for the dress.

I am so humbled by this mission.  For years I have heard the phrase "let go, and let God," but have never really been in a place to see it happen.  Probably a control issue, an ego issue- maybe both.  The way all the pieces are coming together, the way the team has formed, and the way the donations have been provided is absolutely a lesson in “letting go, and letting God.”  It has forced me to sit back and watch as God continues to amaze!  I have been in prayer for this mission since last August when I returned from a mission to Nicaragua and I knew I was being called to go back.  It sounds so cliché that it is “a God thing”, but that is all I can say in complete amazement- this is absolutely a GOD THING!!!!  I am humbled by what is happening!


Lori

Nicaragua Connection Kick-Off

Last week I had the pleasure to attend the Nicaragua Connection in Pittsburg Pennsylvania.  I love being part of a connectional church where people and ideas all come together for the greater good.  It was a opportunity to meet people who all have connections and desire to be in ministry with the Nicaragua Methodist Church.  We met with Pastors Francisco and Omar from Managua Nicaragua who shared with us their hopes, dreams and plans for the Methodist church in Nicaragua.  This is a very young church with really big plans, big needs and huge hearts for Jesus Christ.  It was wonderful to speak with Pastors Francisco and Omar about our specific mission in August.  They are so thankful and grateful for the Adult Bible Study, the Sewing project and the Mission Bible School for the Children.  We even laid the groundwork for 2012 mission!  It is such a blessing to be a part of this mission and watch how God is using all of us to do wonderful ministry with our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua!

Hope this is what you had in mind.  If not just let me know.  Thanks again for all that you are doing I am just so humbled by the response of this mission!

Lori