Spending time with the youth

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Marisol talking with the youth

This last week we had a visit from a family that lives in Managua. Robert brought his family out so that he could help with a paint job on the roof of the church, and at the same time Marisol, his wife, was able to reach out to the local youth girls. She has a passion for reaching youth and today we went out to visit some girls who had not shown much interest in furthering their walk with Christ. At first they each expressed desire to follow, but at the same time seemed kind of ashamed to commit to following Him 100%. Towards the end Marisol prayed with each of them. She gave them a push in the Lord, encouraging them to move forward in Christ and not be stagnant. It was a really good time with them, and each of them received her advice, Thank you Jesus.

- Angela

Real love is God’s love

Since Nubia is not here, I get to teach the girls tonight during youth center. The theme of the entire study is Christian Courtship or Noviazgo Cristiano. Tonight’s topic is “Obsessed with Love”. It’s an important topic, especially for the young girls today. They, being at that age, 15 and older, are curious about dating and boys, etc. Not to mention some are already experienced. I think they get impatient to have someone ‘love’ them and can be deceived easily, falling for whomever. So, the point of these studies is to teach them what real love is and isn’t. We want for the girls grow into godly young women who are confident in God’s love towards them first, and then trust patiently that He will provide for them in His time. I always feel especially protective of the girls because I know what they go through being influenced by the world and its pressures, and I know how much God wants to preserve them and love them. So far, the studies have been a blessing. The girls are always in tuned (of course!) and they always have questions which means they want to know what is right. God is at work, and He will bring the fruit.

Youth Night

Just finishing up youth center with a couple of older girls. Nubia is teaching the girls about Christian courtship. Without a doubt, it is one topic that the girls relate to. They are so young, and we know the temptations they face daily. They of course desire affection from guys, and are curious about relationships with them. One thing we constantly remind them of is their worth in the Lord because, when they know that they are loved and chosen as God's daughters, they wont seek that love in relationships that will leave them disappointed. Since it is very common here to see 12, 13, and 14 year old girls who are moms, teaching the girls about purity is really important.  So, we encourage the girls to open up to us without fear or reserve when they need to talk about boys and dating and all that those things entail. When they know that they can seek council without fear of being judged or criticized, they will be more likely to make better decisions. It has always been on my heart to council young girls about waiting on God for the person He has for them. In my  own  life, looking back on all  the  time I had been astray from God, I see where He protected me from certain guys and decisions that would have destroyed my life, because he had a better plan for me. If I had it my way, i wouldn't be where i am today. That makes me all the more eager to tell these girls how God already has their life planned out, if they would just trust Him and wait. We know that God is going to continue His work of love in each of the girls' lives. They already like this study, so we expect to see fruit!

Bible college!

Hi all!
I was really happy the other day when Greg told me about the Bible college starting up. I didn't remember until later, that that same morning I had been in prayer telling God how I want to grow to know Him and His word more. One verse in particular has ministered to me a lot. It is Proverb 19:2 "It is not good for a soul to be without knowledge..." I realize that there is so much to learn about God's word, who He is, and how He works. Since Pastor Leon is not here to teach as before, I didn't imagine the opportunity to take the courses would be possible any time soon, but here it is! I'm excited for this challenge, and I'm thankful for how God has used technology to provide for us. I think of how other missionaries in history had to rely upon regular mail to obtain any sort of educational material and/or letters from home. Sometimes it would take months for them to receive them. And here we are today with learning material readily available online, all the way out here in the mission field. I know that God has a purpose for taking these courses and I know that I will needed them for work that He has prepared for me in the future.

-Love and blessings to you all in Jesus!

All Things New

I am an adventurous person. I love the outdoors, and honestly, I don’t mind getting dirty. I love new experiences.  Earlier this week, a group of us went to Diego’s house, who is a brother here in the church. He lives in San Juan, which is about a 10-15 minute drive from the facility. The place where he lives is beautiful. After we had eaten lunch, he and his family wanted to take us up to a farm where his brother in law lives. His brother in law met us at Diego’s house first and he had his horse with him.  Gabriela knows that I have always wanted to ride a horse, so she suggested to them that I ride it the whole way up to the farm. I was up for it, but a little nervous at the same time (I’ve never ridden one). But, on I got anyway, deciding not to be afraid. I rode the entire way, about a 30 minute travel. We went through this open farmland, and the weather was perfect. The sun was shining bright, and it was so beautiful and open outside. On the way to the farm, I couldn’t help but think of this life that God has given me. Being in a different land, speaking a different language and ministering to Nicaraguans was never, ever a life I saw myself living, especially as I think of the life I lived before Jesus. Only God could have given this to me.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

I have seen this scripture come alive in my own life.  My old life is gone, and my life now is new and has purpose in Jesus. On the way back from the farm, instead of going on horseback, we all (about 10 of us) rode back on a small cart being pulled by oxen. That was another wild experience. I loved it! I am grateful for this life and I am so grateful for God’s faithfulness in taking care of us as we minister here. I love how He shows us that He is near.

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Not for our glory but His

“…But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

What I love about God, is that with Him, there is rest. I can’t tell you how easy it is for me to dwell on how much I fail. Seriously. I even fail in the little things….common sense things that I shouldn’t. When it comes to accomplishing God’s purposes for my life and walking in His will, I am glad that it is Him that does the work, teaching me step by step. In scripture, many of the people that God used were, from a human perspective, inadequate. Look at the disciples…some of them were uneducated. Moses had a speech problem. Jeremiah thought he was way too young to answer God’s call. Gideon’s clan was the weakest in Manasseh, and he was the least in his family. He was even afraid and hiding out from the Midianites in the winepress. Even at that, the Angel of the Lord called Gideon a “mighty warrior”. God sees us differently. He used all of these people in mighty ways, doing the unthinkable with them. In looking back on my life, I trust more and more that God is, and I see that it has never been me and my strength that has accomplished anything, it has been God’s. As we minister, I know that God is faithful to accomplish His will in and through us, and we don’t have to be highly qualified to be used by Him. This way, it is Him that gets all of the glory.

A New Experience

Yesterday, I was invited by our neighbor, Tamara, to go to her house and help her kill her chickens.  I had told her that I wanted to learn how to do it, so she invited me so that she could teach me. After, she showed me how to prepare it and how to take out all of the insides. I killed two, and she killed eight! After, she made a big pot of chicken soup, or Albóndigas as they call it.  I was kind of nervous about the whole thing because I have never killed an animal.  Also, you can’t approach it in a timid way. Tamara told me to do it “sin miedo” which means “without fear”, that way you don’t just injure the animal and let if suffer. In the states, we can buy our chickens already prepared and ready to cook. Here, it’s different. While the people still can just buy their meat from Pali, the local grocery store, many of them raise their own animals and kill them themselves. After we finished killing the chickens and we were taking out the feathers, I was realizing the intensity of the whole process behind being able to eat a chicken. It’s hard work. It is so easy to go to the grocery store and buy a chicken already prepared.  For that, I really appreciate that experience. It’s these experiences that I love because what is a way of life for the Nicaraguans would seem something out of the ordinary for us Americans. I also love that the Nicaraguans are willing to teach us their way of doing things. Tamara took time out for me and taught me how to do something that I otherwise would never have learned or even desired to learn.

Not for our glory but His

“…But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

What I love about God, is that with Him, there is rest. I can’t tell you how easy it is for me to dwell on how much I fail. Seriously. I even fail in the little things….common sense things that I shouldn’t. When it comes to accomplishing God’s purposes for my life and walking in His will, I am glad that it is Him that does the work, teaching me step by step. In scripture, many of the people that God used were, from a human perspective, inadequate. Look at the disciples…some of them were uneducated. Moses had a speech problem. Jeremiah thought he was way too young to answer God’s call. Gideon’s clan was the weakest in Manasseh, and he was the least in his family. He was even afraid and hiding out from the Midianites in the winepress. Even at that, the Angel of the Lord called Gideon a “mighty warrior”. God sees us differently. He used all of these people in mighty ways, doing the unthinkable with them. In looking back on my life, I trust more and more that God is, and I see that it has never been me and my strength that has accomplished anything, it has been God’s. As we minister, I know that God is faithful to accomplish His will in and through us, and we don’t have to be highly qualified to be used by Him. This way, it is Him that gets all of the glory.

 

Abba

Yesterday, Sunday, we celebrated Father’s Day here. My own dad passed away quite a few years ago, so for me this day is tough. But, I do know one thing; many of the kids here that we minister to either have a dad that works very far away or that has passed away, so I can empathize with them. Being so young, they need a protector and a strong leader in their home. They don’t have that, so they need to know that God wants to be that for them. As I have walked with the Lord, one thing that I ask Him all the time is to help me see and understand Him not only as my God, but also as my Dad. To help me see His fatherly love and caring protection towards me manifested in my life. I know that these kids need that, they long for it. One thing that I want for them is to truly know God as their Father. They don’t have a clue as to how much they are loved by Him. You can typically see which kids suffer the most. It is usually the most rebellious ones that don’t have a healthy family unit in the home. If they could just know how much God loves them.  All throughout His word, He expresses His heart and protection towards the fatherless. Psalm 68:5 says “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation”. He is mighty on their behalf and His eyes are always on them. The fatherless have a special place in the heart of God. My prayer is that they would grow to know that and that God would keep them hidden in Him.

Little Believers

This morning I went to the school to give class, and on my way out I was stopped by a little girl that visits us frequently at the church here.  She and her family are also our neighbors and her sister and cousins have been part of the youth group here for years. Her name is Hermayoni and she is 4 yrs old. She was on her way home at the same time that she saw me walking out so she came up to me and said “I’m going with you!”  So, she held my hand and we walked home together. As we started walking, she told me of how her teacher taught her today about God. “My teacher told us that God created the birds. She said that God loves all of the kids”. I told her that was true and that God loves her. So we kept walking and she kept talking about Him and asking questions. She would say “Verdad que Dios creo el sol y la luna?” which means “Isn’t it true that God created the sun and the moon?”  I was so blessed because this little girl has gone through some stuff in her home that a little one at that age shouldn’t have to. I have seen her be badly treated, physically, and badly talked to by family…she’s only 4. I had been praying for Hermayoni and her sister Rebecca because they are two young girls that really need love. So, to hear her little voice talk about how she knows that God loves her and that He is our Creator just melted my heart. I know God is with her and I know seeds are being planted in her little heart. It wasn’t that she just said all of these things; it was the fact that she couldn’t stop talking about it. I don’t think I talked much in the 15 minutes that it took us to get home. She would get quiet, and then she would ask me another question about Him. God was on her heart and mind. Psalm 8:2 says “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, You have ordained strength…” Even His little ones know who He is.

Being Holy because God is holy

I just finished reading a book called C.H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership, by Steve Miller. It is a really good book! It encourages spiritual growth and growth in spiritual leadership which are things that we should desire, especially if we want to win others for Jesus. What we can’t do without is maintaining a close, personal relationship with the Lord and absolute dependence on Him and the work of the Holy Spirit for everything….especially ministry success. One chapter really ministered to me. It is on holiness. If we want others to see God in us, then what they need to see from us is a holy life. If we, being His ministers, are not pursuing holiness, then we can’t expect those that we minister to, to pursue holiness either. Many people think of holiness as being dull, strict, or boring, but holiness is actually a really beautiful thing when it is genuine. Here is one quote from Spurgeon:

“The serene, silent beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world, next to the might of the Spirit of God.”

Abiding in the Lord

Pastor Carlos had mentioned to us about a young lady who he knows from the market place, who needed to be encouraged in the faith. She had expressed to him about wanting to visit our church, but hadn’t yet. He encouraged us to reach out to her any time that we would be passing through in the market. So just a few days ago as I was walking back home from the hospital, I was passing by the store where he told us that she worked at and stopped in to meet her. We had a nice talk for about thirty minutes or so. Her name is Julisa. She opened up about struggles in her walk. She has had a hard time staying faithful in her personal relationship with God, but she wants to really follow Him. She has been going through some tough trials, and knows that He is trying to get her attention. Thankfully, she seemed to be confident in His ability to get her through them. It is just a matter of her being constant, and being in fellowship with Him.  I got to share my own struggles and weaknesses with her. What is hard for her is not having support in her spiritual walk, not having someone help her up when she falls. She said that in the churches that she has visited, she didn’t get that. There was no fellowship no encouragement or closeness, it was just cold. So I invited her to come out to church this Sunday, and I am praying that she comes and that she feels comfortable and welcomed. Aside from coming to church, I did encourage her to stay in constant communication with the Lord; in the word and in prayer. She knows that giving Him her time is important. Pray that she finds rest in the Lord, and that she would be consistent.

Ministering in the schools

The school ministry started up this past week. Right now the kids are learning about the Trinity. While some kids can name the three persons of God, they didn’t understand that it is still one God. So, in the story that I read to them, we compared the trinity to apples J

The apple has three parts: skin, pulp, and core w/seeds. Three different parts and purposes, but still one apple. It’s the same with God. Three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but still only one true God.

They were a little puzzled at times. For instance when I asked if they remembered what some of the fruits of the Spirit were….they shouted “apples!” So, it took for me to clarify a few times, but the class was still blessed, and they still understood the main point of the Holy Trinity.

-Angela

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