I'm sure you all know by now, but we are home again! We had smooth flights and even landed in Des Moines 15 minutes ahead of schedule. This ended our 19 hour run in airports (or airplanes) on Monday, so it was a welcome ending to the trip!
I just wanted to thank you all again for all your support for this trip. It was truly an amazing experience and one that could not have happened without any of you and your support. Thanks for your cards, e-mails, and prayers...they were answered! I encourage you to take the time to talk with your "traveler", let them tell you about their experience in Nicaragua and encourage them to talk to others about their journey. Look at their pictures and enjoy the stories that they tell...I think you'd gain a lot from listening. Plus, we'd love to have you all come along next time ;-)
Thanks again, may God bless you and you have blessed us!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Time to come home...
Hi all-
Sorry I haven't updated recently, we've been very busy and without adequate internet connection.
We finished our work at the church in Chinendaga on Friday. We were supposed to play games with the kids and pray in the community on Friday, but because of the rain, we got an afternoon off to relax. Most of us took naps...
We returned to Managua on Saturday morning, and had a very busy day. We came back and got settled back in to the Hernandez house, ate lunch, and then left for the market. Everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoyed time to be able to shop...one of my favorite hobbies. Some of you may be the receipients of our many bargains ;-) We also went to a natural reserve where we were able to see birds in the rainforest and monkeys in the trees. It was really amazing to see God's intricate design in all creation! Then we were able to eat at a traditional Nica restaurant. It was GREAT!!!
Today we went to church at ICF which is held at the NCA campus, so we were also able to see NCA and look around at the school. It was good for the people that have never been there, puts a picture with a thought. Then, we went on a tour of the city of Managua and got a lot of historical information on the country...I'm not sure how much we retained but it was interesting! Then, we went for lunch at Tip Top, one of my personal favorites...very good chicken and french fries, a small taste of the North American food we've been missing!
We're all packing up our suitcases and trying to find room for all the stuff we bought and relaxing the rest of the day before out LONG day in airports tomorrow. It's a bittersweet feeling to be heading home, I would stay longer but it will be nice to get back to the norm of my life. I can't speak for everyone, but I would say the trip has been a success with a lot of growth in each one of us. It's always exciting to hear everyone's point of view when we get together in the next few weeks to realize what we took from the trip. It has been a great experience, one that will not be forgotten...
Some specific prayer requests:
~Safety in traveling tomorrow. Pray that flights stay as scheduled and that we don't have any trouble getting back to Iowa safely.
~Continue to pray for the people in Nicaragua. It's still difficult to see the poverty and sadness of this beautiful country...
~That God would reveal ways that we can each continue to support Nicaragua in the ways that He calls us to.
Thanks to you all for following the trip, we have been so blessed by your comments on the blog, e-mails and prayers!
Dios te bendiga!
(God bless you!)
Sorry I haven't updated recently, we've been very busy and without adequate internet connection.
We finished our work at the church in Chinendaga on Friday. We were supposed to play games with the kids and pray in the community on Friday, but because of the rain, we got an afternoon off to relax. Most of us took naps...
We returned to Managua on Saturday morning, and had a very busy day. We came back and got settled back in to the Hernandez house, ate lunch, and then left for the market. Everyone seemed to have a good time and enjoyed time to be able to shop...one of my favorite hobbies. Some of you may be the receipients of our many bargains ;-) We also went to a natural reserve where we were able to see birds in the rainforest and monkeys in the trees. It was really amazing to see God's intricate design in all creation! Then we were able to eat at a traditional Nica restaurant. It was GREAT!!!
Today we went to church at ICF which is held at the NCA campus, so we were also able to see NCA and look around at the school. It was good for the people that have never been there, puts a picture with a thought. Then, we went on a tour of the city of Managua and got a lot of historical information on the country...I'm not sure how much we retained but it was interesting! Then, we went for lunch at Tip Top, one of my personal favorites...very good chicken and french fries, a small taste of the North American food we've been missing!
We're all packing up our suitcases and trying to find room for all the stuff we bought and relaxing the rest of the day before out LONG day in airports tomorrow. It's a bittersweet feeling to be heading home, I would stay longer but it will be nice to get back to the norm of my life. I can't speak for everyone, but I would say the trip has been a success with a lot of growth in each one of us. It's always exciting to hear everyone's point of view when we get together in the next few weeks to realize what we took from the trip. It has been a great experience, one that will not be forgotten...
Some specific prayer requests:
~Safety in traveling tomorrow. Pray that flights stay as scheduled and that we don't have any trouble getting back to Iowa safely.
~Continue to pray for the people in Nicaragua. It's still difficult to see the poverty and sadness of this beautiful country...
~That God would reveal ways that we can each continue to support Nicaragua in the ways that He calls us to.
Thanks to you all for following the trip, we have been so blessed by your comments on the blog, e-mails and prayers!
Dios te bendiga!
(God bless you!)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
We found internet...
Buenas Dias from Chinandega, Nicaragua! The church we are working at has a computer here today, so I thought I would send a quick update to you all. We got to Chinandega yesterday and worked on painting at the church yesterday and today. The church we are working at is called Amore Viviante and they just completed the building earlier this week, just in time for us to paint. We´ve sanded down the fence to get the rust off and are doing the finishing touches this afternoon. We´ve also painted the 2 large walls and will finish this tomorrow morning.
We are staying in a hostel downtown Chinandega, it´s a very nice place! Last night we got a true taste of the storms in Nica, it poured for over an hour and got PITCH black, it was a cool experience.
We´ll work in the church tomorrow and then spend the afternoon with the youth. Saturday morning we´ll pack up and go back to Managua for our last weekend. We´ll spend more time doing 2 of my favorite things...shopping and laying at the beach AGAIN!!!
Thanks for all your support and prayers, we´ve had a great week so far and can only hope that the rest of the week continues to go well. Here are a few things to pray for specifically...
-Claude and Raven as they fly back to the States tomorrow. Pray for smooth flights and safe travel for them to Grand Rapids on Sunday.
-Continued health and safety for the rest of the team, everyone has adjusted pretty well to the Nica food!
-As we close our time here, that we may reflect the faithfulness and goodness of our amazing God and to open our eyes to the MANY blessings we have!
Thanks guys, you´re awesome!
We are staying in a hostel downtown Chinandega, it´s a very nice place! Last night we got a true taste of the storms in Nica, it poured for over an hour and got PITCH black, it was a cool experience.
We´ll work in the church tomorrow and then spend the afternoon with the youth. Saturday morning we´ll pack up and go back to Managua for our last weekend. We´ll spend more time doing 2 of my favorite things...shopping and laying at the beach AGAIN!!!
Thanks for all your support and prayers, we´ve had a great week so far and can only hope that the rest of the week continues to go well. Here are a few things to pray for specifically...
-Claude and Raven as they fly back to the States tomorrow. Pray for smooth flights and safe travel for them to Grand Rapids on Sunday.
-Continued health and safety for the rest of the team, everyone has adjusted pretty well to the Nica food!
-As we close our time here, that we may reflect the faithfulness and goodness of our amazing God and to open our eyes to the MANY blessings we have!
Thanks guys, you´re awesome!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Hitting the Road....
Well, now this time I'm the only one up!! This sleep thing can be difficult to figure out, but obviously only for me since I'm the only one not sleeping...a big nap will be in order for all of us when we get home!!
We're heading out to Chinandega today where we will be working with an organization called Amore Viviante (my pathetic translation abilities tell me that it means "love alive"). Honestly, we really don't know much about it, but Alma told us last night that we'll be doing a lot of painting. We will also have the opportunity to go out in the community and pray with the people of Chinandega. We are stopping the the Nehemiah Center this morning for a quick tour and then also stopping at a blacksmith shop run by a North American couple to do some more shopping, something we've discovered a few of us like to do on this trip ;-)
We also had the opportunity to go to Joel and Jeannie Huyser's last night. It was great to see where they live, they have a beautiful home! We got some good American food, followed by our Nica delight...eskimo! I can only speak for myself, but I believe that everyone had a great time!
We may not be able to post until the weekend, the internet connection in Chinandega is unclear, but I'm thinking it's not very good. We will post if we have the opportunity, but don't be alarmed if nothing comes until Saturday or Sunday.
Thanks for all your support, encouragement, and prayers. We have been so blessed on this trip thus far, and can only trust that God will provide for the last half. A few things to pray for...
~The people of Nicaragua. It is heartbreaking to see these living conditions and you begin to wonder why we are so blessed and they are living in such poverty. It's been eye opening to the team, but pray that we can be effective where we are at in showing them the hope of Jesus Christ.
~Health for team members. There are a few sicklings, pray that they would begin to feel better again soon!!
~Joel and Jeannie Huyser. They do amazing work here, and they are such blessings to the people of Nica and to our team. They left for the States today, pray that God will keep them safe and that He will bless their travels as they seek support and update their supporters on their work here in Nica.
I gave the team the cards from our prayer partners, it's a great reminder of how you are blessing us. Thanks for your thoughts, cards, prayers, and support, you're amazing!! Keep the prayers coming, we're loving them!
We're heading out to Chinandega today where we will be working with an organization called Amore Viviante (my pathetic translation abilities tell me that it means "love alive"). Honestly, we really don't know much about it, but Alma told us last night that we'll be doing a lot of painting. We will also have the opportunity to go out in the community and pray with the people of Chinandega. We are stopping the the Nehemiah Center this morning for a quick tour and then also stopping at a blacksmith shop run by a North American couple to do some more shopping, something we've discovered a few of us like to do on this trip ;-)
We also had the opportunity to go to Joel and Jeannie Huyser's last night. It was great to see where they live, they have a beautiful home! We got some good American food, followed by our Nica delight...eskimo! I can only speak for myself, but I believe that everyone had a great time!
We may not be able to post until the weekend, the internet connection in Chinandega is unclear, but I'm thinking it's not very good. We will post if we have the opportunity, but don't be alarmed if nothing comes until Saturday or Sunday.
Thanks for all your support, encouragement, and prayers. We have been so blessed on this trip thus far, and can only trust that God will provide for the last half. A few things to pray for...
~The people of Nicaragua. It is heartbreaking to see these living conditions and you begin to wonder why we are so blessed and they are living in such poverty. It's been eye opening to the team, but pray that we can be effective where we are at in showing them the hope of Jesus Christ.
~Health for team members. There are a few sicklings, pray that they would begin to feel better again soon!!
~Joel and Jeannie Huyser. They do amazing work here, and they are such blessings to the people of Nica and to our team. They left for the States today, pray that God will keep them safe and that He will bless their travels as they seek support and update their supporters on their work here in Nica.
I gave the team the cards from our prayer partners, it's a great reminder of how you are blessing us. Thanks for your thoughts, cards, prayers, and support, you're amazing!! Keep the prayers coming, we're loving them!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tesoros de Dios
Hello Everyone! This is Danielle stepping in for the blog write up!
Yesterday (Monday) was a very rewarding day. We worked at Tesoros de Dios, a school specializing in children with disibilities. The actual translation of Tesoros de Dios is "Treasures of God." While we were at the school, we found this title to be very fitting. Most of the children can walk, they can not talk, and most of them are really behind there other peers....but they are happy. Across the faces were smiles, and behind every smile was laughter. It was a true blessing to see there genuine happiness.
While the children are taken care of by the Tesoros de Dios staff, the mothers head upstairs for their time with Jeanie Huyser. Jeanie leads a Bible study, but she also is willing to talk to the women one on one, similar to being their counselor. Jeanie also takes time to pray with each of the women.
Last night at devotions, each member of the team had to say one good thing that happened today. One of the team members spoke up and said she enjoyed seeing how devoted the mothers were, how devoted Jeanie was, and how devoted the staff was. And all around was true, genuine love. Love that had no strings attached.
As I thought this over last night while in bed, I was completely humbled. These mothers (or fathers) are often single parents caring for their special needs child. But that doesn't bring them down. They are positive, uplifting and very involved in their child's day to day needs. They embrace their child's disability. They are constantly smothering their child with love. They are an excellent example of how Jesus loved.
While the team was at Tesoros de Dios several things were being done. Some painted the overhang of the building. Others helped lead crafts for the women and fathers who came. And some helped the kids with their activities and their therapy.
Today (Tuesday) we are heading back to work at Tesoros de Dios. We will be doing many of the things we did yesterday. The team is excited and ready to serve!
As I close this blog there are a few prayer requests that I'd like to ask all of you reading this to specifically pray for:
~For continued health and strength for the team.
~For the children of Tesoros de Dios. Pray that they will be blessed and that they will not get sick. The children are easily succeptible to sickness.
~For the mothers and fathers that come. Pray that they will be blessed and will continue to have strength to care for their child. Pray that they will continue to grow in the Spirit through Jeanie's Bible studies.
~For the team. I know I mentioned us earlier, but pray that we will serve with eyes wide open, arms wide open, and hearts wide open.
Thank you to EVERYONE who is praying us through this journey. We have been blessed beyond measures! There is no way we would get through this journey without prayer. Thank you for taking part in this adventure.
Thanks so much for reading this! Blessings to you all!
Danielle Franje
Yesterday (Monday) was a very rewarding day. We worked at Tesoros de Dios, a school specializing in children with disibilities. The actual translation of Tesoros de Dios is "Treasures of God." While we were at the school, we found this title to be very fitting. Most of the children can walk, they can not talk, and most of them are really behind there other peers....but they are happy. Across the faces were smiles, and behind every smile was laughter. It was a true blessing to see there genuine happiness.
While the children are taken care of by the Tesoros de Dios staff, the mothers head upstairs for their time with Jeanie Huyser. Jeanie leads a Bible study, but she also is willing to talk to the women one on one, similar to being their counselor. Jeanie also takes time to pray with each of the women.
Last night at devotions, each member of the team had to say one good thing that happened today. One of the team members spoke up and said she enjoyed seeing how devoted the mothers were, how devoted Jeanie was, and how devoted the staff was. And all around was true, genuine love. Love that had no strings attached.
As I thought this over last night while in bed, I was completely humbled. These mothers (or fathers) are often single parents caring for their special needs child. But that doesn't bring them down. They are positive, uplifting and very involved in their child's day to day needs. They embrace their child's disability. They are constantly smothering their child with love. They are an excellent example of how Jesus loved.
While the team was at Tesoros de Dios several things were being done. Some painted the overhang of the building. Others helped lead crafts for the women and fathers who came. And some helped the kids with their activities and their therapy.
Today (Tuesday) we are heading back to work at Tesoros de Dios. We will be doing many of the things we did yesterday. The team is excited and ready to serve!
As I close this blog there are a few prayer requests that I'd like to ask all of you reading this to specifically pray for:
~For continued health and strength for the team.
~For the children of Tesoros de Dios. Pray that they will be blessed and that they will not get sick. The children are easily succeptible to sickness.
~For the mothers and fathers that come. Pray that they will be blessed and will continue to have strength to care for their child. Pray that they will continue to grow in the Spirit through Jeanie's Bible studies.
~For the team. I know I mentioned us earlier, but pray that we will serve with eyes wide open, arms wide open, and hearts wide open.
Thank you to EVERYONE who is praying us through this journey. We have been blessed beyond measures! There is no way we would get through this journey without prayer. Thank you for taking part in this adventure.
Thanks so much for reading this! Blessings to you all!
Danielle Franje
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Life is a beach...
Well, everyone else is in bed, but I just realized that we didn't send out an update today...
First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time to read the blog, it's means so much to get a message when we are so far from home. Your prayers and support mean so much to us!!
We started the day by going to Alma's church VERBO. It was a great experience, quite different than the pews at Faith CRC. It's always intersting to me how they sing the songs there, often times I know the song so I just sing the English words while I'm being surrounded by the rest of the congregation singing in Spanish. An awesome experience to know that we serve the same God, and despite what I think, he DOES understand all of us, even though we speak in different languages ;-)
Then we headed to Los Cardones, a beach resort on the Pacific Ocean. We had an excellent lunch and a fun afternoon of collecting sea shells and wading in to the salty ocean water. We headed back to the Hernandez house for a delcious supper, including...you guessed it, rice and beans!! The house is a beautiful home with servant-hearted people to take good care of us all!!
Tomorrow we are heading to Tesoros de Dios to work with the mothers and the kids, so I think everyone is looking forward to that. Amy and I also have an amazing opportunity tomorrow. Some friends of ours and Amy and I sponser a child to have a Christian education at NCA Nejapa and we get the chance to meet her tommorrow. She is a beautiful little 9 year-old named Julissa and she's in 3rd grand this year. I'm VERY excited to be able to do this, and see this beautiful little girl who's now a part of our lives.
Everyone is feeling well, tired but doing well. I'm oficially the only one up now...
THANKS again for your support and prayers, it's amazing to be a part of such a wonderful circle of family and friends.
Blessings to you all!! Keep praying!!
Pray specifically for:
~Julissa and tbe other children who are fortunate to receive a Christian education. Unfortunatly, most children in Nicaragua are not that lucky.
~Continued health and strength for the team.
~The parents of the children at Tesoros de Dios. Caring for a child with a disability is a very demanding task, especially when they do not have many resources in Nica to support the parents.
First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time to read the blog, it's means so much to get a message when we are so far from home. Your prayers and support mean so much to us!!
We started the day by going to Alma's church VERBO. It was a great experience, quite different than the pews at Faith CRC. It's always intersting to me how they sing the songs there, often times I know the song so I just sing the English words while I'm being surrounded by the rest of the congregation singing in Spanish. An awesome experience to know that we serve the same God, and despite what I think, he DOES understand all of us, even though we speak in different languages ;-)
Then we headed to Los Cardones, a beach resort on the Pacific Ocean. We had an excellent lunch and a fun afternoon of collecting sea shells and wading in to the salty ocean water. We headed back to the Hernandez house for a delcious supper, including...you guessed it, rice and beans!! The house is a beautiful home with servant-hearted people to take good care of us all!!
Tomorrow we are heading to Tesoros de Dios to work with the mothers and the kids, so I think everyone is looking forward to that. Amy and I also have an amazing opportunity tomorrow. Some friends of ours and Amy and I sponser a child to have a Christian education at NCA Nejapa and we get the chance to meet her tommorrow. She is a beautiful little 9 year-old named Julissa and she's in 3rd grand this year. I'm VERY excited to be able to do this, and see this beautiful little girl who's now a part of our lives.
Everyone is feeling well, tired but doing well. I'm oficially the only one up now...
THANKS again for your support and prayers, it's amazing to be a part of such a wonderful circle of family and friends.
Blessings to you all!! Keep praying!!
Pray specifically for:
~Julissa and tbe other children who are fortunate to receive a Christian education. Unfortunatly, most children in Nicaragua are not that lucky.
~Continued health and strength for the team.
~The parents of the children at Tesoros de Dios. Caring for a child with a disability is a very demanding task, especially when they do not have many resources in Nica to support the parents.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
We made it...
Hello all!
This is Amy! I stole the computer from Angie and I am going to make this a little bit more interesting...
We arrived in Managua, Niceragua last night about 6:30. We made it through the airports and customs with almost no trouble. One of the suitcases was missing, but it was a suitcase that had some supplies, so no one is without thier personal belongings:) We were all very tired when we arrived at our guest house so we did devotions and then headed to bed.
We are staying at the Hernandez guest house. It is a very nice place to stay and the Hernandez's are wonderful.
We all rolled out of bed this morning and had a great breakfast. Then we headed out to some markets to experience the wonderful Niceraguan shopping experience. Of course, we all found a few things... and we aren't done shopping yet.
Then we headed up Volcan Mombacho. It was a beautiful rainforest that we walked through. It was very hot and it was uphill most of the time, but we made it. Our God is an awesome God and we got to see that first hand today in the scenery. Some of us ( I think the crazy ones) decided to walk to down the mountain. Several near falls and 5 blisters later, we made it! We do not recommend trying this at home:)
Tonight we are just hanging and Angie is practicing her patience and teaching people a new card game:) Tommorrow, we head to church and then the beach. We will try to post daily.
Items to pray for:
~ the people of Niceragua: We saw a lot of poverty today. It was very eye opening for those of us that have never been here. Please pray for those families that are struggling. The political system is in an uproar and the people here are losing hope in what they believe in.
~ for the team. We are all experiencing many different experiences and emotions right now. We have half a team that has been here before and half of us have never been here. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to deal with these experiences. Also pray that no one gets sick and we all get good rest when we are here.
~ Thank God that we made it here so smoothly. We only had one delay and the time was made up in the flight! We need to go pick up the suitcase with the supplies, but otherwise, we have everything that we need.
Thank you so much for following our trip! It truly is amazing knowing that we have so many wonderful prayer warriors back home praying for our safety and the work we are doing.
P.S. I have been amazed at all the wonderful ways that God has been speaking to me during our first 2 days here. One Bible verse that I want to leave you with is this...
Ephesians 2:10: " For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." It is amazing that God already knows what is going to happen on our time here and we don't even know! GOD IS GOOD!!!
Amy
This is Amy! I stole the computer from Angie and I am going to make this a little bit more interesting...
We arrived in Managua, Niceragua last night about 6:30. We made it through the airports and customs with almost no trouble. One of the suitcases was missing, but it was a suitcase that had some supplies, so no one is without thier personal belongings:) We were all very tired when we arrived at our guest house so we did devotions and then headed to bed.
We are staying at the Hernandez guest house. It is a very nice place to stay and the Hernandez's are wonderful.
We all rolled out of bed this morning and had a great breakfast. Then we headed out to some markets to experience the wonderful Niceraguan shopping experience. Of course, we all found a few things... and we aren't done shopping yet.
Then we headed up Volcan Mombacho. It was a beautiful rainforest that we walked through. It was very hot and it was uphill most of the time, but we made it. Our God is an awesome God and we got to see that first hand today in the scenery. Some of us ( I think the crazy ones) decided to walk to down the mountain. Several near falls and 5 blisters later, we made it! We do not recommend trying this at home:)
Tonight we are just hanging and Angie is practicing her patience and teaching people a new card game:) Tommorrow, we head to church and then the beach. We will try to post daily.
Items to pray for:
~ the people of Niceragua: We saw a lot of poverty today. It was very eye opening for those of us that have never been here. Please pray for those families that are struggling. The political system is in an uproar and the people here are losing hope in what they believe in.
~ for the team. We are all experiencing many different experiences and emotions right now. We have half a team that has been here before and half of us have never been here. Please continue to pray for us as we continue to deal with these experiences. Also pray that no one gets sick and we all get good rest when we are here.
~ Thank God that we made it here so smoothly. We only had one delay and the time was made up in the flight! We need to go pick up the suitcase with the supplies, but otherwise, we have everything that we need.
Thank you so much for following our trip! It truly is amazing knowing that we have so many wonderful prayer warriors back home praying for our safety and the work we are doing.
P.S. I have been amazed at all the wonderful ways that God has been speaking to me during our first 2 days here. One Bible verse that I want to leave you with is this...
Ephesians 2:10: " For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." It is amazing that God already knows what is going to happen on our time here and we don't even know! GOD IS GOOD!!!
Amy
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