Archive for the ‘Solo Por Hoy’ Category

Jul
16th

July Update

Posted in: Newsletter, Solo Por Hoy | 4 Comments »

It’s been a while since our last update and a lot has happened so here we go!

Solo Por HoyShortly after arriving, we started a small group (Solo Por Hoy) for people that struggle with addiction. The group has not only blessed me but many people from the community now have a place to come and share their struggles and victories with each other and receive encouragement and prayer. The group has multiplied and now meets 4 times a week! Recently we were lead to implement some of the material from Celebrate Recovery into the program. We sent out an update and within 4 days all the material was purchased! We are putting together a solid curriculum for the leaders to follow long after we leave Nicaragua.

The Ambassador GirlsRebekah had the opportunity to lead a group of 9 high school-aged girls on a 4 week mission trip (Ambassador) here in Nicaragua. The trip was through the same organization that we work with – Adventures in Missions. Her time began with a week of training to get familiar with the program and then they spent two weeks working in the community in Granada and then two more weeks working at an orphanage (CICRIN) in Ometepe. The girls had a great time and Bekah did an amazing job leading the girls to get the most out of their experience. She just got back yesterday so she is still processing everything (which means waking up at midnight because her brain doesn’t shut off while it processes). You can find out more about their time in Ometepe here.

TivoMy nephew (Treyson) has been here for the past 6 weeks during his summer break from school. It’s been so great for me to have him around all the time and to see his smiling face in the mornings. Lots of Ramen, picos and grama has been consumed and I have seen God work in Treyson’s heart during his time here. He was always up for going out and serving the people in the community and never complained. I pray that this summer changes his life forever and that he sees that the world is much bigger than America and that God is working everywhere!

MassielLastly, my parents have been here for the past week and they felt led to come here and do a Hearts in Hands project for a needy family. When we began to pray about who, we immediately knew it would be Massiel and her family. During the past week, we built a concrete retaining wall along with some concrete steps that lead to her house. We also did some other minor improvements. My dad had the opportunity to give Massiel a Bible (she has never owned one). It’s been an amazing week and we have been blessed to have my parents here with us!

Pray for Massiel and her family. Pray that the leaders that God has raised up for Solo Por Hoy to stay strong. Pray for El Puente and the short term teams that are here this summer. Lastly, we are on the homestretch of our time here so please pray that we finish strong and that God would continue to use us and change us. It’s been such an amazing year!

Jun
12th

Celebrate Recovery Materials Needed

Posted in: Community, Fundraising, Solo Por Hoy | 1 Comment »

We are going to begin to implement some of the curriculum from Celebrate Recovery into our teachings at Solo Por Hoy. If you would like to help us with this, we have created a wish list at Amazon. Click here to view the wish list.

Celebrate Recovery

We are very grateful for and humbled by your continued prayers and financial support during our almost 10 months here. It is so encouraging to know that we have people back home who believe in us and in our God. Thank you!

Jun
10th

James 1:2-4

Posted in: Discipleship, Lessons, Solo Por Hoy | No Comments »

A couple of weeks ago in Solo Por Hoy, we started to walk through the book of James verse by verse (click here to see last weeks’ lesson).

Jesus tempted in the wilderness for 40 days
[image source]

This week we walked through verses 1:2-4. Here’s what we learned:

Verse one is an introduction and James is telling his readers who he is and who he serves and he is also sharing who the letter is written to. Tonight we’re going to move on to the next passage.

Read verse 2

Some of you may be asking yourselves, “Count it joy when I meet trials and temptations? What? Aren’t those hard things to go through? Why should I be joyful during a trial?”

Read verse 3 for the answer

It says that when our faith is tested that the outcome or result will be steadfastness. Does anyone know what the word steadfastness means? It means: firm and dependable, unchanging.

Ok so now we know that steadfastness is the result of resisting during times of trials and temptations. Now let’s read about steadfastness.

Read verse 4

Let steadfastness have its full effect – this means staying strong and firm during a trial so that we can see the results or the purpose that we are going through the trial. There is always a reason why we go through trials and temptations. They are not without purpose. God uses them for our good, to make us better, to teach us things.

If you were here last Friday, we learned that being tempted is not a sin – being in a trial is not a sin. It’s when we give in to the temptation or react in a negative way while in a trial – that’s we fall into sin.

So what James is telling us today is to stand firm against the temptation. By doing that, steadfastness will have its full effect which is what? You will be perfect and complete – lacking in nothing.

This reminds me of Jesus and how he resisted temptation for 40 days before he started his ministry. God rewarded him for this. I’ve always found it interesting that it seems that Jesus had to do this before he was able to start his ministry. It’s as if the power he needed for his ministry was found in or was the reward of his steadfastness during this time of temptation.

The same power that was in Jesus during this time is the same power that is alive and at work in those who follow and have faith in him today – right now.

Basically what James is sharing with us here is that trials and temptations are designed to produce spiritual maturity and should therefore be counted as joy.

Related posts:
James 1:1

May
31st

James 1:1

Posted in: Discipleship, Frank, Solo Por Hoy | 1 Comment »

Last week in Solo Por Hoy, we started to walk through the book of James verse by verse. I have felt the need to do this in my personal life for some time and thought it might also be helpful for some of the guys as well. As I prepared for this weeks’ lesson, I stopped after reading the first verse of chapter 1 where James mentions being a servant to God and to the Lord Jesus Christ.

True servanthood
[Image source]

I decided to dig into that a bit further today and this is the lesson that I will be sharing tonight:

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (James 1:1)

A servant is defined as a person who is working in the service of another. In another version (NASB) it uses the term “bondservant”. A bondservant is someone who is bound to another as a servant. It is a picture of the servants’ close ties with his master. He belongs to him. He is obligated to him and he wants to do his will. The will of the bondservant is consumed by the will of the master. A bondservant willingly devotes himself to his master. This is not a forced relationship. It was often a choice or an agreement.

Here in the first sentence of James’ letter we see him defining who he is. He is stating his status and that is that he is a servant or a bondservant of God. He is saying that he has fully surrendered to God and to his will. James understood that as a person who has been redeemed his life was no longer his own.

“…for you were bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

“You were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.” (1 Corinthians 7:23)

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for w many.” (Mark 10:45)

In Mark, we see James and Paul’s motivation for writing these verses. The one they followed – the one they were bondservants to – is stating that he came to serve, not to be served. James is saying that he is the property of his Lord, Jesus Christ – the one who when he was on earth was his half-brother. He doesn’t even mention this fact in the introduction of his letter. This dedication was important to James – more important than status or the opinions of others. If I was writing this letter I would have no doubt mentioned the fact that Jesus – the savior of the world, the son of God himself – was my half-brother.

Another reason James mentions this word – servant or bondservant – is to make the connection between his life before and after Christ. Before Christ, he was a slave to sin. But Christ reached into his life and rescued him from death and separation from God so now he had dedicated his life to Christ.

We are all servants to someone or something even if we don’t realize it. That someone or something either brings us life or brings us death. If we are not a servant to one, then we are a servant to the other. The questions James is presenting his readers are the same questions being presented to us – what are you a servant of and does this master bring you life or does it bring you death?

May
17th

Sólo Por Hoy (Just For Today) Readings

Posted in: Discipleship, Frank, Lessons, Solo Por Hoy | No Comments »

I thought it would be a good idea to share with you from time to time the readings and teachings that we use for Solo Por Hoy. Our readings been adapted from the Narcotics Anonymous website (and altered slightly). If you find the material interesting and/or if you are leading a group that is recovery focused, feel free to download and print the lessons and readings to use.

“How It Works” or “Cómo Funciona” is what we read at the beginning of our meetings:

“Just For Today” or “Sólo Por Hoy” is what we read at the end of our meetings: