Lights, Camera, Action

Marcos Chavez, from Vida Nueva, was the official photographer and videographer for the Managua trip.  Here's the short video that he did for church last Sunday.  Watch carefully and you'll see Stephen in the middle of a group of boys.  The boys came to the evening campaign and asked if the gringo named "Steve" was here this year.  Unbelievably they remember Stephen talking and playing cards with them from our campaign in their neighborhood two years ago.  Here's the video:

On Thursday our apartment was the site of a video recording session.  It was a full house with three of the video guys from the church and then four of us from the women's ministry.  We made a video that featured four different parts of women's ministry:  single moms, small groups, prayer ministry and Hilo, Aguja y Biblia.  Each of us had about 30 seconds to highlight our ministry and issue an invitation for others to join us.  Not sure when it will be ready, but I'll try to remember to post it here, unless, of course, I'm totally embarrassed by my performance.  

Managua Campaign Wrap Up

Wednesday morning after Kid's Club all of the gringos were able to visit Plaza Sandino, home to Managua’s most recognised landmark, a solemn silhouette of national hero Augusto Sandino, who was killed in 1933 in an ambush after a meeting with the Nicaraguan president. The silhouette stands at the lip of Volcán Tiscapa’s crater lake and affords excellent view of Managua. It was a great location for a group picture!

On Thursday night after the  family festival we had a time of "good-byes" to the North Carolina team who was flying out very early Friday morning. 

 After the festival on Friday night we had a time of "good-byes+ to the Arkansas team.  There were a fair amount of tears and hugs as the teams prepare to return to their normal lives in the states.  The most exciting thing was to hear that there were 588 professions of faith during the week.  It's such a blessing to be a part of the work here in Central America.

Nicaragua Campaign--Days 1 and 2

We spent last week in Nicaragua for a campaign with our two church sites in Managua.  Unfortunately, the Internet at the hotel was wolefully lacking so I wasn't able to keep the blog updated.  I managed my daily upload of pictures but only if I did it after midnight or before 6:00 a.m.  The delay might have been due to the fact that there were 37 team members at the hotel and every one of them had at least one device (some had a phone and a computer) they wanted to connect.  

We flew over on Saturday morning--the flight is only 45 minutes!  Pastor Felix and his son were there to pick us up.  They took us to the hotel and our room was ready!  Our friend, Misha, rode the bus over with the Salvadorans, but stayed in the hotel.  The three of us walked to the mall for lunch.

Before the Saturday evening campaign in the Villa Venezuela neighborhood we paired up the translators and the team from North Carolina.  The rest of the team did not arrive until after the campaign.  Even with only 18 people, the team was able to go out and talk to many people in the neighborhood, share the gospel at the door and invite them to the family festival.

  
One of the new things we have added to our family festival is a group dance activity.  This holds everyone's attention after the kid's games are over and the second time through, people from the crowd are invited to join us.  Right on the heels of the dance is the drama and then the gospel presentation.  There were 35 professions of faith on Saturday evening.

Sunday morning we all worshipped together with the Bolonia church, at their new location.  They were able to rent the auditorium in the Chamber of Commerce building; there's also a large parking lot.

Half of the team, 14 from First Baptist, Van Buren, Arkansas, were "newbies," there were 12 high school/college kids and two adults.  Even though they were new, they were excited about sharing the gospel so on Sunday night the entire team of 37 shared one-on-one before the family festival.  

 Another 30 people asked Jesus to save them!  Pastor Felix and Pastor Rodrigo are excited about the response to the gospel!  Follow-up started the next day!

Mother's Day in Managua

I flew to Nicaragua on Friday afternoon and Rodrigo and Miriam picked me up at the airport. Miriam and I spent the evening practicing the lesson, finishing the decorations and making last minute plans for the first-ever women's event at Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, Managua, Campus Los Robles.

We were up early Saturday morning--the event started at 9:30 a.m.  Miriam was so nervous, but everything was perfect.  There were 23 women in attendance (a great start for the first event) and the morning went very well.  They listened and took notes and made it easy for me to share with them.  

Saturday afternoon I went to Felix and Dinora's house so Lorena (their daughter) and I could practice for the event at their campus.  We left the house at 8:00 a.m. Sunday morning and took everything we needed for the day.  After the morning service we had a quick lunch and then set up the room for the 3:00 pm event.

There were a little over 50 women at the event.  The decorations, food and time of worship were awesome.  Lorena did a great job translating everything I said--I added quite a bit as I went along.  I pray that something I shared would make a difference in their lives and in their children's lives.

Two days at home

The taxi picked us up at 1:30 a.m. Saturday  morning to take us to the bus station in Managua for our 3:00 a.m. departure to San Salvador.  The trip was almost twelve hours.  We were pretty tired by the time we got home; even so, I made a quick trip to the grocery store so we could eat at home.  After eating at the food court or in the hotel restaurant for eight days, we were ready to eat at home.

We thought that Sunday would be a quiet day, but realized that we needed to remove the four appliances from our old place before we left the country.  So, Gilma and William met us at Finca de Asturias at 8:00 a.m.  William, Francisco and Stephen loaded the frig and the stove in the pickup.  William's son, Willy, and his wife, Patty, were having a garage sale, so they dropped the appliances off at their house and then returned to pick up the washer and dryer.  Willy and Patty are going to try to sell them for us.  

In the afternoon we met with the owner of the house and he paid us for the improvements we made and the things we left in the house (3 ceiling fans, wooden blinds, lights, etc.)  We thought he would give us cash, but he wrote us a check instead.  So, tomorrow morning before we leave for the airport, we have to go to the bank to see if we can cash the check.  Hopefully, it won't take too much time--the bank opens at 9:00 and we have to leave for the airport at 10:30.  I know that sounds like plenty of time, but the lines at the banks are often very long.  

We're anxious to see family and friends in Kansas City for ten days and then travel to California to see our kids and grandkids.

Two Days in Managua

Ena and I left on the Platinum King Quality bus at 1:45 p.m. on Friday.  

About 12 hours later, we were settling in to our room at the Canizalez home in Managua, Nicaragua, and they were wonderful hosts.  

Saturday was a full and "very special" day.  Both Ena and I got manicures and pedicures at Bea's Salon.  Beatriz is a member of the church and our special day was her treat!  We also had lunch at the Hotel Intercontinental, courtesy of another family.  In the evening we set up the tables, chairs and decorated for the event.

Sunday was another whirlwind day.  Church first thing and then lunch at Rosti Pollos, leaving us with about an hour and half before we had to be at the event. 

 There were more than 40 women in attendance and it was amazing to hear their sweet voices singing praises to our great God.  Ena did an amazing job with her teaching about Mary and Martha from Luke 10.  

It was a great lesson for all us . . . . we need to keep our priorities in order and not be so busy that we, like Martha, could hear Jesus telling us that we need to choose the "best" thing like Mary did.

The night was a short one--we headed to the bus station at 2:00 a.m.!  Glad to be back home and sleep in my own bed!  

750 Beans in the Jar

Joseph came to Managua from North Carolina, leaving a wife and three darling little girls at home.  It was his third (at least) trip and we've had the pleasure to work with him all three times.  In order to help his girls understand why their dad is spending 8 days away from them, he and his wife came up with this idea.  A jar painted black is filled with beans.  Another jar (clear) is empty.  At the end of each day Joseph called home to tell the girls how many professions of faith were made . . . . and they moved the beans from the black jar (dead in their sin) to the clear jar (washed clean by the blood of Jesus.)  

We didn't get an update for the week before the team left, so I sent Joseph (and several others) the total.  This morning I got a FB message from Joseph which read, "750 beans in the jar!  Enjoyed serving along side Vida Nueva."

Praise the Lord for Joseph and the 40 others who invested a week sharing the gospel in Managua.  

Leaving Managua

We will be on the road at about 2:00 a.m. in the morning and should be at home by late afternoon.  

It was a great a week--more about that later!

Half way through the week

We've had a great week so far, averaging almost 100 professions of faith per day.  As usual, when we start seeing great fruit, we start having problems to solve.  On Monday evening, Pastor Felix's truck was broken into (in front of the restaurant where the Salvadorans were eating) and a couple of the girls had their documents taken.  One went to the Salvadoran consulate today to get a document which will allow her to go back to El Salvador without her official government ID.  Yesterday, after the morning door-to-door campaign, one of the buses broke down--some type of problem with the air brake system.  This morning several people start feeling bad and at least 5 of them stayed at the hotel.  Tonight we are starting the campaign early because the Catholic church in neighborhood where we are going is having a Holy Week procession and we don't want to be in conflict with them.  On a positive note, there haven't been any additional tremors since Monday.

Please pray for the earth to remain stable (no tremors), for the health of the team members and for the evangelistic work to continue.

A Perfect Cinnabon

Francisco is a young (23) friend from our church in Lourdes, and he is faithful to help at all of the campaigns, especially when it comes to helping Stephen roll up the inflatable.  He has also been great to ride with us and guide us to the right location when we're on a campaign in El Salvador.  

Each night during the March campaign he (and several others) would help roll up the inflatable at the end of the night and Stephen would encourage them to make "a cinnabon perfecta" (a perfect cinnabon), in other words to roll the inflatable up straight and tight.  After 2-3 nights of this, Francisco came to me and asked, "why does Stephen say to make a perfect cinnabon when we roll up the inflatable?"  Kind of cracked me up that Stephen was trying to provide him a word picture of the process, when, in reality, Francisco had no idea what he was talking about.  Have you ever tried to explain a cinnamon roll to someone who has never seen one?  Since there is a Cinnabon store in the MultiPlaza mall  in San Salvador, I think Stephen thought that the kids would understand; but Francisco had never been there.  

Yesterday, they took all of us gringos to one of the bigger malls here in Managua and we found a Cinnabon kiosk.  Here are the pictures we took to show Francisco:

We bought a Cinnabon classic and gave it to him before the campaign last night. He thought it was quite tasty and now completely understands what Stephen means when he says to roll up the inflatable "como un cinnabon perfecta."