Archive for the ‘Community’ Category

Apr
27th

Goodbyes…

Posted in: Bekah, Community | No Comments »

In two weeks, ten members of our group here are heading home. We’re so excited for them to leave. Most have plans for future travel (Haiti, Israel, England and Spain), and others start university, and a few more are still trying to figure out what they want to do in life. It’s going to be hard saying goodbye to these friends, but I know that the future is really shiny for these happy people.

In the meantime, we took a group trip up to Matagalpa and went crazy! We had a blast laughing and making inappropriate jokes. Talking about future plans. Drinking a lot of coffee and having one big trip together before they leave.

Tom, Trevor, Amber, Liana, Jessica and Garrett

Heather, Seth, Frank, Bekah

Abominable Snowman meets Abominable Frank

Wood sprites

I’ve typed and re-typed paragraphs about these kids. But I can’t quite put into words how I feel about them. They’ve have matured, and they have matured us. We learned what it means to have seven adult children. Our home is randomly used for internet, sleep overs, baking and chatting. From a person who misses her big loud family, this has been God’s way of giving me back that noise I sometimes crave.

Novas team, we’ll miss you and can’t wait to see you again.

Apr
6th

Lunes a La Casa de Oracion

Posted in: Community, Discipleship, Frank | 1 Comment »

It was a beautiful night out at the Prayer House for the first Monday night Solo Por Hoy meeting. This night is lead by a fellow recovering addict who really has a heart for people that are struggling with addiction. He styled the night a little differently and it was great to be a part of it. We started with some general guidelines and then had a time for musical worship lead by one of my favorite people – Lester.

House of Prayer

During the time of the group when we allow for people to share, one of the brothers shared how he had offended Lester in his past and through tears he apologized to him. They met in the middle of the room and embraced each other as Lester forgave him. It was beautiful. I leaned over to Mario and said “that’s what this is all about”. Reconciliation. Restoration. Forgiveness.

That’s when it hit me. God is at work in these meetings. God is moving in the hearts of addicts in this little corner of the world and I get to be a part of this. It’s truly a beautiful experience.

Mar
26th

Dos Mas!

Posted in: Community, Discipleship, Frank | 2 Comments »

I have some great news to report – there is a good possibility that by this time next week there will be two more Solo Por Hoys meeting each week. When we started Solo Por Hoy my prayer was that it would multiply and that some Nicaraguans would step up and lead other meetings with the goal of having one that met every day of the week.

3 days down – 4 to go!

Dec
24th

Meet Ezequiel

Posted in: Community, Frank | 1 Comment »

Let me start by saying this is one of the craziest people you will ever meet in your life. I mean crazy. But this guy loves Jesus and the joy that comes from God is very evident in his life.

Abrahan Ezequiel Dias Mora

Meet Abrahan Ezequiel Dias Mora (and yes it is common for people to have four names here) or simply Ezequiel. He lives here in Granada a couple of blocks from the mission base, El Puente. Ezequiel is always around helping, joining in ministries, making people laugh, and is such a joy to be around. His most famous phrase is “JESUS LOVE YOU!” yelled in English as loud as he can.

Ezequiel Annie and Jessalyn
[Annie, Ezequiel and Jessalyn]

To be honest when I first met Ezequiel I was a bit hesitant about him, thinking “I’m not sure about this one” but he quickly won me over. He is very eager to learn and after the holidays I am going to be tutoring him in basic computer knowledge. He is also in the process of raising support to go on a mission trip for four weeks to a remote area in Northeast Nicaragua. If you feel lead to support Ezequiel, please get in touch with us and we can help you connect with him.

Enjoy these photos of the man himself:

Abrahan Ezequiel Dias Mora
[¡Que suave!]

Abrahan Ezequiel Dias Mora
[I was stabbed by my lucky machete...]

Abrahan Ezequiel Dias Mora and Trevor Perla
[Ezequiel stabbing Trevor]

Abrahan Ezequiel Dias Mora
[Ezequil's new girlfriend - a piñata at El Basurero]

Ezequiel

Nov
24th

La Chureca

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Friday we visited La Chureca, (a place infamous enough to coin the name THE Dump) the city dump of Managua. In and around the dump there is a community of about 800 people that live and work in the dump. The workers dig through the trash day in and day out, collecting valuables from what the city discards so that they can feed their families.

Managua City Dump

The dump is enormous and there is constant smoke from burning trash that fills your lungs as you breath. For many, this is life.

Managua City Dump

We had the opportunity to meet Daniel from Love, Light and Melody and walk around the community and meet some of the families that they work with.

We are committed to becoming experts on the life and culture inside the city trash dump in Managua, Nicaragua. Our goal is to identify and meet the immediate physical needs, raise awareness about trash dump communities, and fight social injustice. We use music and the arts to rebuild, restore, and bring healing to communities ravaged by extreme poverty. [taken from their website]

Managua City Dump

Among many other things, Love Light and Melody love the people of the community and this was evident as we walked around and talked with Daniel. One thing that Daniel said that has stuck with me: “The fact that people are digging through trash is a result of the kingdom of this world. We are praying for full restoration in their lives. We are praying for God’s kingdom to come.”

Managua City Dump

Managua City Dump

Nov
15th

8:30am Worship

Posted in: Bekah, Community | No Comments »

Our church meets the first and third Sunday of every month under a huge tree. There’s about 40 people in total, a healthy mix of Gringos and Nicas, recovering addicts and families, men and women, adults and children. The musical worship is pretty lively, involving a lot of offbeat clapping and shouting by our worship leader, Osiris. Today, we even had a little rap session during the last song.

Today, it felt like I was part of the community instead of just a visitor. This is happening a lot more lately. Life here is turning into our normal. It’s normal to have clothes stiff from the clothesline. It’s normal to drink grama out of a plastic bag. It’s normal to leave leftovers on our porch step for the dogs. It’s normal to walk most places. It’s normal to buy our vegetables and fruit in the market. It’s normal to have roommates.

I’m happy for normal. I’m happy not to feel overwhelmed, and to feel like God has given us direction here. We’re starting to develop classes and curriculum for small groups, and implementing everything we’ve learned at Brookhills. I can feel Christ changing us, and it is good.

Oct
26th

Community

Posted in: Community, Frank | No Comments »

About a year and a half ago while we still lived in Birmingham, God began to show us what true community looked liked. The friends we made and the things we shared helped us to look beyond ourselves to a deeper understanding of what that looks like day to day. When the time came for us to board a plane and head to Nicaragua, it was tough to leave our community. Just before we left, there was a new baby added to the group – Ethan (mascot #2) and we will miss watching him grow up like we had the opportunity to with Josiah (mascot #1). It was tough to think (and still is) about how much we would miss.

But thanks to God – he has blessed us with an amazing community also here in Granada. The most beautiful part of our community here is the diversity of it. The community is made up not only of Nicaraguans from all walks of life but also Gringos (NOTE: if you have white skin you are a Gringo) from all walks of life. It has been a true glimpse of the body of Christ, serving and loving one another and through that infecting the community around them with the Gospel.

(more…)

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