Clothes, Prepositions and Past Tense

Lessons for this week featured clothes (1st grade), prepositions (2nd grade) and simple past tense verbs (3rd grade.) This week also featured me driving to school and teaching by myself. We decided to give Stephen's ankle one more week of rest. He was able to drive on Wednesday when he went to band practice so I think he's sufficiently recovered to go back to class with me next week.

Last night was the informational meeting about the new quilting ministry. Proverbs 31:10 and 13 are our theme verses. Over 25 women were there to hear Ena describe the purpose for the new ministry. Ena translated as I showed them two small sample quilts. We distributed the supply list and answered lots of questions. There are two sessions: Thursday mornings (9:30 to 11:30) and Saturday morning (9:30 to 11:30.) We will meet every other week so that they can get their "homework" completed in between the class meetings. Roxana will be sharing the devotion at the Thursday class and Reiny at the Saturday class. Right now there are 14 women signed up for each session. Classes begin on May 5 and May 7. Please pray for this new ministry.

Christ is Risen

Christ is risen indeed. Happy Resurrection Day to all!

Today I send you link to two songs that celebrate all that our Savior did for us!

Kari Job, Gateway Worship, O the Blood--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSqxTQqBAXE&playnext=1&list=PL87024293376E1C80


Matt Maher, Christ is Risen--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-EzVteRq1k



Enjoy the day with your family!

Great Week in Managua

Is the trip home always faster? We left Managua at 3:20 a.m. and pulled into our driveway at 3:15 p.m. Twelve hours sounds like a lot, but when you consider it took almost 16 hours to get there, we made really good time! The lines at the borders were short and we were able to sail right through.

Everything about the week was awesome. We worked with a team from the Charlotte, North Carolina area and a team from Murrels Inlet (close to Myrtle Beach), South Carolina. Not only were the teams great individually, they were great together. In spite of the really hot weather conditions, they were such faithful workers. Yesterday's worship and devotion time was awesome with testimonies from gringos, Salvadorans and Nicaraguans.

Please pray for the followup visits that will continue over the next few weeks. Brasil Aguirre is staying for another month to begin discipling the new believers. The team members were sad to leave, but excited to be headed home. Please pray for them as they share their experiences with their church family.

Rise and Shine

Leaving for El Salvador at 3:00 a.m. in the morning. Caravan of one yellow school bus and 3 vans. Pray for a smooth, safe trip and short lines at the borders.

Bittersweet night as we said goodbye to new friends from North and South Carolina and "old" friends from Nicaragua.

Kids Club Pictures

Here's a selection of pictures of Kids Clubs for the last three days. There were 4 stations: Bible verse, Bible story, games, refreshments/puppets.

Visiting the neighborhood

We have had Kids Clubs the last three days, but not today and tomorrow. Almost everyone in the country is on vacation Thursday and Friday of Holy Week, so most people will be home during the day. We will be going door to door inviting them to the evening campaign and sharing one-on-one.

The last three days the gringos have had heard from Steve and Jeff about the ministry here in Central America. The Salvadorans didn't join us because they went ahead to the neighbor to set up the Kids Club. Today and tomorrow we are having devotions together.

Please pray that we finish strong!

Kids Club Today

We held our first Kids Club today on the baseball field one of the neighborhoods near the church in Managua. There are 4 stations--Bible study, Bible verse, games and refreshments/puppets. More than 70 kids participated today. They each left with a copy of the Bible verse (John 3:16) and a bead bracelet with the 5 colors that tell the story of salvation.

Tonight we returned to the same neighborhood for an evangelistic campaign. The kids on the inflatable were pretty wild--especially the boys. The movie, drama and gospel message were well attended. There were many professions of faith made tonight. Please pray for the follow-up team who will visit the new Christians tomorrow night.

Stephen is getting around pretty well. His ankle is still swelling some during the day, but by morning it is near normal size. He's been visiting the pool a couple of times a day which seems to help.

More from Managua, including pictures, later in the week.

15 Hours to Managua

Every trip is an adventure. Jeff and Paula picked us up at 4:10 a.m. yesterday; we met everyone at church, loaded up the bus and the van and left San Salvador about 5:15 a.m. As we arrived at the El Salvador border (at 9:15) Jeff said, "I'd guess that it will take us at least an hour here." Well, he couldn't have been more wrong this time. The line stretched all the way around the building; and we were in it for 2 1/2 hours! It was after noon when we pulled away. A short drive across the bridge to stop at the northern Honduras border--about 1/2 an hour there.

A three hour or so drive through Honduras took us to the south border by 3:30. Thankfully, it is easier to leave a country so it was a short stop. Another short drive to the Nicaragua side where there was another line, It was almost 5:00 p.m. when we were finally able to start the last (5 hours) leg of the trip.

We pulled into the hotel about 9:15 p.m. just glad to get out of the vehicle. Stephen's ankle was swollen, but not hurting. There were no regular rooms available on the ground floor, but after Jeff told them about his ankle, they provided a "junior suite" on the ground floor for last night (same price.) A regular room is opening up for Sunday and the rest of the week.

Please pray for the team the week--we will be conducting Kids Clubs during the day and holding evangelistic campaigns in the evening.

Recovering

Stephen's ankle is improving. There is not as much swelling and the bruising seems to have reached it's maximum. He's started ankle strengthening exercises that he got from David, our "son" from Costa Rica, who is doing his clinicals in physical therapy. He wears an ankle wrap with his tennis shoes when he walks. Last night he took a stroll down our street.

We've decided to go to Managua--his ankle will continue to improve while we are there. We just couldn't imagine sitting at home next week! Please pray for safety for the teams--from North Carolina, South Carolina, San Salvador and Nicaragua.

The last month has been quite a journey--you can find our April newsletter posted in the Pages section of this blog.

Three Days on the Couch

Well, he made his three days on the couch (almost to the minute) and now he's up walking. He has on his tennis shoes and he's "limping" around the house.

He has a bad case of cabin fever so I may have to show him how I can drive!

We have to make a final decision about going to Managua by noon on Friday . . . . keep praying and we will keep everyone posted.

2nd Day on the Couch

Today is Stephen's second day on the couch . . . . he's not doing too bad with it. The swelling and bruising are more evident today, but that's to be expected, I guess.

Jeff and Paula fly in tonight--we were supposed to pick them up, but now someone else is going to get them. Jeff knows of a place here that sells medical supplies/stuff so we may try to go get Stephen one of those really attractive blue, flat, velcro shoes. It will be the best way for him to start walking again. We're up in the air on Managua; actually, nobody thinks it is a good idea, but Stephen still wants to go. We need to make the decision by Thursday so they can cancel our hotel reservations 48 hours before we arrive. Even if he could walk, I can't imagine him being comfortable on the 10+ hour ride over there.

I stayed home today, but will probably drive to school by myself tomorrow. We have school Wednesday and Thursday this week, but are off all next week for Holy Week (Easter break.) If we don't go to Managua, he can take it easy for another whole week.

Well, that's the update for today. Thanks for your prayers--they are very much appreciated!

Quiet Day

Stephen is being a very good patient . . . he has hardly moved from the couch all day. I'm sure it will get more difficult to keep him in his place over the next two or three days.

I drove to the pharmacy this morning (first time driving by myself) and everything went fine. I went in the middle of the morning so the traffic wouldn't be too bad.

I will not be teaching tomorrow as Stephen is not able to fend for himself here at home. I will make the decision about Wednesday tomorrow afternoon. The doctor said no use of his foot for three days which will be Thursday, so we will see.

We will be making the decision about whether or not to go on the mission trip to Managua by the end of the week. We are scheduled to leave on the bus on Saturday morning.

Trials and Obstacles

We left home at 2:15 to meet the team going to the new church plant in Nueva Concepcion. We normally take the bus from Vida Nueva, but it is being repaired. So, Jose Benitz drove the blue van and we took our pickup (4 people in the cab and 4 in the truck bed.) We arrived Nueva Concepcion about 4:00 p.m. Stephen has been going to the local park and playing basketball with a group of older boys from the neighborhood. He took his basketball and headed to the park about 4:10. I was helping set up the children's classroom when Pablo came to find me and said Stephen was hurt. I got in the truck with Pablo and Kenneth and Jona jumped in the back. At the park, Stephen was sitting up but was very pale. The basketball/soccer court has about a 4 inch step down all the way around it. He was chasing down the basket ball and didn't notice the step down. His ankle slipped off the edge and he fell down and rolled. From what they describe, he sat up and grabbed his ankle and then shortly thereafter passed out and hit his head on the concrete.

We helped him in to the truck and brought him back to the church. They "rigged up" a hammock for him to lay in and elevate his ankle. Diego went for gatorade and Kevin went in search of ice. He was pretty out of it, but he did know what day it was, who the president was (he said Mickey Mouse) and where he was. We were trying to decide if he should go to the hospital and get an x-ray or wait until morning. Jorge called Dr. Contreras (our pastor's brother) and asked his opinion. He recommended that we proceed to the hospital and have his head and his ankle checked. Of course, Stephen couldn't walk, let alone drive and, even though, I know how to drive a stick, I haven't practiced driving our big pickup. It is about an hour back to San Salvador and then, of course, neither one of us knew the way to the hospital. Carolina, one of our great translators, drove the truck for us. We made it to the hospital about 7:30. They were able to get him right in and take him upstairs for x-rays (ankle and head) within half an hour. Praise the Lord nothing is broken. All of the pain in his ankle is soft tissue damage. They immobilized it and told him to stay completely off of it for 3 days; limited use for 2 weeks (no driving.) I paid the bill ($80) and we took his prescriptions and headed home.

We were about 5 minutes from the hospital sitting at a red light when a small van rear-ended us. Stephen almost jumped out of the truck to see the damage, but I convinced him to stay inside for a bit. It didn't look bad, so we just exchanged information and headed home.

We're now at home, he's on the couch and Carolina is spending the night with us. The two of us will make our way to the pharmacy in the morning and then her dad will come pick her up.

Please pray for Stephen's injury to heal quickly--we are supposed to leave for Managua next Saturday. Please pray for me as I will now be the one driving the truck all over town and probably will go to school by myself next week.

We are so thankful for great friends who helped us tonight and are praying here in El Salvador. Thank you for joining us in prayer wherever you are.

I will update everyone in a few days.

Mission Trip to Managua

We will be leaving for Managua, Nicaragua, very early in the morning on Saturday, April 16, to meet a team of 40 people from churches in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. During Semana Santa or Holy Week (precedes Easter Sunday) all of the schools and many businesses are closed for vacation. In the mornings, we will be conducting daily Kid's Clubs (mini VBS) in neighborhoods throughout the city; we will be holding regular evangelical campaigns in the evening. There are 30+ translators who will be going along to provide support for the US team.

It's very hot in Managua in April, so please pray for everyone on the team. Dehydration is always an issue in this kind of weather.

In addition, Brasil Aguirre (Kevin and Kenneth's dad) left for Managua this morning. He will be helping Pastor Felix with discipleship before the trip and then stay after the trip to help with followup. He will be gone for five weeks. Please pray for Brasil's safety and health; also pray for the family (Esmerelda, Kevin and Kenneth) for whom 5 weeks will be a very long time.

The Cards are Here!

Yesterday Stephen and I found our way (by ourselves) to the Immigration Office to pick up our residency cards. We "thought" we were just going to run in, go to the window and pick them up--sounds like a plan, but it's never that simple. Instead, it's wait in line to get a number, take your number (48) and go to the "waiting room" where you hear them calling the next number (28), and begin the wait for your turn.

Stephen spent the time pacing and practicing the tract, Gran Pregunta, in Spanish--patience has never been one of his strong suits. All I know is that you can get a lot of practice while waiting! I should be used to the fact that waiting is part of the process, but somehow I always seem to forget to bring reading material with me.

Now for the good news--after 50 minutes it was our turn and a couple of minutes later we had the cards in hand. They are provisional cards that expire at the end of June. We're not sure what happens in the next 90 days, but at some point before they expire, we should receive permanent (good for 9 more months) cards. It is necessary to renew the card each year, but, according to Jeff and Paula, the process is not as involved or as expensive.

It's hard to believe we have been here 10 months! God is faithful and his timing is perfect! Thank you for praying for our ministry here!

Aventura! Adventure!

We went on our first solo (without Jeff and Paula) yesterday and drove to the coast to visit several of the surfing beaches. Our son, Jon, is going to visit in June so we are trying to find our way to some places that we think he might enjoy when he's here. Stephen spent quite a bit of time last week looking for beaches that we could visit and which weren't miles and miles away from our house. In the US it's easy to "just head south," but it's much more difficult to do here. Thanks to a good friend (Brasil) who knows his way around San Salvador and a Google map we printed before we left, we found our way down CA-4 to La Libertad and then to the small towns and beaches in El Tunco, La Paz and La Sunzal.

The sand is made up of volcanic ash and is very, very hot. It's not a good idea to wear flipflops unless you plan to walk along the edge of the water. Stephen had on his tennis shoes and told me his feet were fine! The beaches are famous for their surf breaks so there were surfers everywhere (in the water and out.) We definitely raised the median age on the beaches. We walked through a couple of the boutique hotels. Now before your imagination gets going . . . think, El Salvador boutique, not Santa Barbara, CA or Padre Island, TX boutique. Okay, they are rooms with a bed, fan and a hammack hanging on the porch!

On our way back we drove through Zaragoza where Stephen located one of the 3 or 4 golf courses in the country. As you might expect the directions on the web were very sketchy! We did manage to find two upscale neighborhoods along the way as well as a small town that had 9 speed bumps in about 1/4 of a mile. We called the golf course and found out that the number rings to a sales office in San Salvador. There was an English speaker who told us that the neighborhood and the golf course are private, but that we could make an appointment to see them both. So . . . it didn't really matter that we didn't locate it as they wouldn't have let us enter without an appointment.

Next time we're heading to the town of Nahuizalco--one of the areas where skilled artisans build rustic furniture.