Here are some pictures from the Dynamic Youth Bible Conference
and here are some pictures from a 3 day retreat we had awhile back
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
A wonderful time!
The Dynamic Youth Bible Conference went wonderfully. Thank you to those of you who were praying for the event. We had 102 youth present and 5 of them put their faith in Christ for their salvataion. Many others made decisions to committ themselves fully to God's work with their hopes set on working as missionaries, pastors, etc. The theme of the conference was Learn, Change, Act and it covered the lives of different Bible characters like Daniel, David, Nehemiah, Paul, along with others. We were encouarged to learn from them lives of faith and follow in their footsteps. It was geared towards youth but even us missionaries left feeling encouraged to apply these truths to our lives.
This past Friday we had a school retreat which I will write more about in my next post. Right now Jader and I are headed out to a place called Juigalpa. I will take pictures and also post pictures from the Conference and recent retreat. Thanks for keeping in touch and for thinking of us!
This past Friday we had a school retreat which I will write more about in my next post. Right now Jader and I are headed out to a place called Juigalpa. I will take pictures and also post pictures from the Conference and recent retreat. Thanks for keeping in touch and for thinking of us!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Dinamica Juvenil
Today is the first day of a three day Bible Conference called Dinamica Juvenil. It means Dynamic Youth in english. We're in a place called Skylark about an hour outside of Managua. We have 109 people total including missionaries and we're excited to be together and learning more from the Word. Please be praying for all the youth here and for us missionaries as well! :) That God would speak to our hearts and enable us to live more wholly for Him. The conference will end on Saturday and I plan to post many pictures!!! :) Thanks for reading and keeping up with us here in Nicaragua!!!
Saturday, June 27, 2009
pictures
These pictures are from a while back. We had a soccer marathon and I put up a few pictures, but Mayra gave me hers and they really capture the whole event from start to finish!
We had a girls slumber party with our Bible Club leaders. Here's a glimpse of the fun we were having!!!
We had a girls slumber party with our Bible Club leaders. Here's a glimpse of the fun we were having!!!
Busy Busy
I've been out of the blogosphere for quite some time now. We've had three very full weeks of ministry to local schools. I'm behind on emails, blogging, and the house is just now getting back into order! :) Sometimes in our minsitry there are weeks of mucy activity and then we have slower weeks of normal routine.
Here's what we did the past three weeks...The first of the three weeks we had a mini camp which lasted three days and two nights with Nejapa Christian Academy at a retreat center called Skylark.
The following week we had an American team come to help out and we hosted three all day youth retreats for a school called Boanerjes. We had a little over 200 youth during those three days. It was so neat to see God moving in their lives.
Lastly, this past week we had a retreat on Wednesday where over 150 youth attended and we had 25 youth volunteers working as "retreat staff." It's been wonderful to participate in these activities and get to know the youth. Also it's a great blessing to serve alongside others with like hearts as we plan and carry out these activities.
The youth learned what the Bible says about salvation through Christ, relationships between parents and children, godly frienships and sex. Many made important life decisions in response to what they learned. God is at work in the lives of Nicaraguan youth and I'm so thankful to be a part of it!
Here's what we did the past three weeks...The first of the three weeks we had a mini camp which lasted three days and two nights with Nejapa Christian Academy at a retreat center called Skylark.
The following week we had an American team come to help out and we hosted three all day youth retreats for a school called Boanerjes. We had a little over 200 youth during those three days. It was so neat to see God moving in their lives.
Lastly, this past week we had a retreat on Wednesday where over 150 youth attended and we had 25 youth volunteers working as "retreat staff." It's been wonderful to participate in these activities and get to know the youth. Also it's a great blessing to serve alongside others with like hearts as we plan and carry out these activities.
The youth learned what the Bible says about salvation through Christ, relationships between parents and children, godly frienships and sex. Many made important life decisions in response to what they learned. God is at work in the lives of Nicaraguan youth and I'm so thankful to be a part of it!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Not to us
Word of Life held three weeks of summer camp here in Nicaragua this past January. (summer here is in January) Our main ministry has been here in Managua, the capital, where we partner with different local churches. Well, Jader was able to get in touch with a pastor from a place called Santo Tomas and he invited the church's youth to the summer camp. They ended up bringing a large group of people from their church. They live three hours outside of Managua where it's more rural.
The group left camp as transformed people and enthusiastic for more. They asked to have a Word of Life Bible Club in their church. After consideration, it was decided to go ahead with the Club even though they are three hours outside of Managua. We are really involved with our clubs and the lives our the youth so it's a little different than what we've been doing but looked like an open door.
Several months have passed by since they received their Bible Club materials and the group of leaders have driven to Managua twice for large group trainings and then also for the football marathan. Apart from that we haven't had much personal contact with these leaders at all.
We traveled to Santo Toma for the first time, Jader, myself, and the Aguilar family, this past weekend and we were sweetly suprised by our time with the leaders. During a time of sharing they began to talk about how their WOL Quiet Time book has transformed their relationship with God. They have begun doing one on one discipleship times and one youth is discipling 6 others! Also, they have been evangelizing with friends and house to house. They recently baptized 12 people in a river.
They were sharing about how much Word of Life and the Bible club program has changed their lives and Guillermo, the Director of WOL Nicarauga, laughs and says to them (paraphrased) "Do you realize that this is one of the first times we've met in a personal setting? What has happened is that you guys personally made a decision to give God everything. Now you are reading His word everyday and desiring to live it out. We, WOL missionaries, haven't done a thing but, it's God doing a work in you all."
It was so clear, the work of God in the lives of these youth. Their desire to love Him and express His love to others was strongly evident, and it was so encouraging to see God at work in such a way that we clearly had nothing to do with it.
I was telling Jader how honored I feel to be able to participate in what God is doing and in this case more than anything, just be a spectator and joyfully thank Him for how He works in the lives of humans because He loves us and want to be known and worshiped.
I'll keep you updated on the Santo Tomas happenings and post pictures of Santo Tomas youth soon! Thanks for reading and praying!
Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1
The group left camp as transformed people and enthusiastic for more. They asked to have a Word of Life Bible Club in their church. After consideration, it was decided to go ahead with the Club even though they are three hours outside of Managua. We are really involved with our clubs and the lives our the youth so it's a little different than what we've been doing but looked like an open door.
Several months have passed by since they received their Bible Club materials and the group of leaders have driven to Managua twice for large group trainings and then also for the football marathan. Apart from that we haven't had much personal contact with these leaders at all.
We traveled to Santo Toma for the first time, Jader, myself, and the Aguilar family, this past weekend and we were sweetly suprised by our time with the leaders. During a time of sharing they began to talk about how their WOL Quiet Time book has transformed their relationship with God. They have begun doing one on one discipleship times and one youth is discipling 6 others! Also, they have been evangelizing with friends and house to house. They recently baptized 12 people in a river.
They were sharing about how much Word of Life and the Bible club program has changed their lives and Guillermo, the Director of WOL Nicarauga, laughs and says to them (paraphrased) "Do you realize that this is one of the first times we've met in a personal setting? What has happened is that you guys personally made a decision to give God everything. Now you are reading His word everyday and desiring to live it out. We, WOL missionaries, haven't done a thing but, it's God doing a work in you all."
It was so clear, the work of God in the lives of these youth. Their desire to love Him and express His love to others was strongly evident, and it was so encouraging to see God at work in such a way that we clearly had nothing to do with it.
I was telling Jader how honored I feel to be able to participate in what God is doing and in this case more than anything, just be a spectator and joyfully thank Him for how He works in the lives of humans because He loves us and want to be known and worshiped.
I'll keep you updated on the Santo Tomas happenings and post pictures of Santo Tomas youth soon! Thanks for reading and praying!
Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name goes all the glory
for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Path of the Wise
I really enjoy the book of Proverbs! I like how it's so practical. Jader and I read a chapter of Proverbs every night and talk about it together. It's great because there are 31 Proverbs and 30 to 31 days in every month so we read the proverb according to the day's date. Tonight we'll be reading Proverbs 27. There are two common paths that God lays out in the book of Proverbs. The path of the wise and the path of the fool. Here's "today's" proverb if you'd like to check it out!
Proverbs 27
1 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
since you don’t know what the day will bring.
2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
a stranger, not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.
4 Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood,
but jealousy is even more dangerous.
5 An open rebuke
is better than hidden love!
6 Wounds from a sincere friend
are better than many kisses from an enemy.
7 A person who is full refuses honey,
but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.
8 A person who strays from home
is like a bird that strays from its nest.
9 The heartfelt counsel of a friend
is as sweet as perfume and incense.
10 Never abandon a friend—
either yours or your father’s.
When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance.
It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.
11 Be wise, my child,[a] and make my heart glad.
Then I will be able to answer my critics.
12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
13 Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.[b]
14 A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning
will be taken as a curse!
15 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
as constant dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
or trying to hold something with greased hands.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.
18 As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.
19 As a face is reflected in water,
so the heart reflects the real person.
20 Just as Death and Destruction[c] are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied.
21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but a person is tested by being praised.[d]
22 You cannot separate fools from their foolishness,
even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.
23 Know the state of your flocks,
and put your heart into caring for your herds,
24 for riches don’t last forever,
and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
25 After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears
and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
26 your sheep will provide wool for clothing,
and your goats will provide the price of a field.
27 And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself,
your family, and your servant girls.
Proverbs 27
1 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
since you don’t know what the day will bring.
2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
a stranger, not your own lips.
3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.
4 Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood,
but jealousy is even more dangerous.
5 An open rebuke
is better than hidden love!
6 Wounds from a sincere friend
are better than many kisses from an enemy.
7 A person who is full refuses honey,
but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.
8 A person who strays from home
is like a bird that strays from its nest.
9 The heartfelt counsel of a friend
is as sweet as perfume and incense.
10 Never abandon a friend—
either yours or your father’s.
When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance.
It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.
11 Be wise, my child,[a] and make my heart glad.
Then I will be able to answer my critics.
12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
13 Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.[b]
14 A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning
will be taken as a curse!
15 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
as constant dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
or trying to hold something with greased hands.
17 As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.
18 As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.
19 As a face is reflected in water,
so the heart reflects the real person.
20 Just as Death and Destruction[c] are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied.
21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but a person is tested by being praised.[d]
22 You cannot separate fools from their foolishness,
even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.
23 Know the state of your flocks,
and put your heart into caring for your herds,
24 for riches don’t last forever,
and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
25 After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears
and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
26 your sheep will provide wool for clothing,
and your goats will provide the price of a field.
27 And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself,
your family, and your servant girls.
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