Today, we closed out our staff meeting with prayer. We stood around Mario and prayed for God’s direction in his life, for him to be aware of that direction and for our group to be unified. It was a pretty powerful moment. And I couldn’t help but think of previous staff meetings at our jobs in the States. Prayer was never a part of it. I enjoyed my work and the people I worked with, but this is different. I’m encouraged by the people I work with because I can pray with them. Because we all know God is in control, not us. Because we can be unified, because Christ is in us.

Part of our responsibilities here include teaching and discipling the AIM teams that come through. These are typically single Americans in their late teens and early twenties. Until May, we have a team with us of three guys and four girls. The girls have been walking through Spiritual Maturity, and each week we have a list of journaling prompts. I’m going to start posting them each week because I think they might be useful for other people.

This week our study focused on Jacob and his relationship with God. God is described as the “God of Jacob,” which is pretty amazing when you consider the character of Jacob. His legacy without God would have been horrible. He was a cheating weasel of a man. The book pointed out that he was in his 70’s by the time God touched his hip at Peniel. Our prompts focus on the idea of legacies and name changes in the Bible.

• What is your family legacy? How do they interact? What are traditions? Describe the good and bad.
• What do you want your legacy to be? Describe in detail. Everything from what you want people to remember you by, to family traditions you would like to see change or continue with your family.
• Many times in the Bible, God changes names of people he calls to belong to him. Define your name. Ask God to reveal the true meaning of your name. Ask him for a new name, one that symbolizes your relationship with him.

A friend of ours went through a troubling time in her life. Through it, God gave her a new name. She now wears it permanently as a tattoo on her hand. A visual reminder of who God has created her to be.

Last night was spent on our front porch watching fireworks with our roommates. After midnight struck all of the neighbors went around and gave each other hugs and blessings for the year to come. It beautiful and today I am filled with gratitude to have been given the opportunity to experience it.

El Basurero is the city dump of Granada. Mario (one of our local ministry partners) heads up a group that goes once a week with lunch to talk and pray with the people that work at the dump. Around 30 families come everyday to dig through the city’s discarded trash and salvage what they can to recycle and sell. The average adult worker here makes around $2 a day. That’s $2 a day to feed, clothe and provide shelter for their family.

Through our supporters and some extra donations, we were able to provide over 30 bags of toiletries for the families. We went down the day before Christmas Eve with toys and pinatas for the kiddos and bags of food and toiletries for the adults. It was an amazing day and such a blessing to be able to be there.

Here’s a couple of videos from the day:

You can check out some pictures from El Basurero by clicking here.

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.

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.

[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:

[¡Que suave!]

[I was stabbed by my lucky machete...]

[Ezequiel stabbing Trevor]

[Ezequil's new girlfriend - a piñata at El Basurero]

Here we are, two thirds of the way through December, with the November update still a draft in my inbox. I’m giving myself a mulligan and posting a HUGE update. Grab a cup of Joe (preferably this brand) and settle in for a long read.

TEAM UPDATES

The past two months have been full of teams coming and going, four community dinners and parties at our house (in one week!) and multiple visitors, including a visit from the AIM founder Seth Barnes Sr. He spent a few days encouraging our group and guiding us into a long term vision for our base here in Granada. Frank’s parents and nephew also flew down for a week of fun in the sun. It was quite a change for them, as Birmingham dealt with frigid temperatures. While most of our friends and family bundled up in the States, we spent the week visiting a few ministries here in town and climbing Mombacho. It was a huge blessing for Frank and I as we had a chance to catch up on our family and our church in Birmingham. We were able to hear from them first hand what is happening in our home church and were encouraged by their outside perspective of our life here in Granada. They also were witnesses to our first illegal police encounter, as Frank and I tried to get out of a traffic ticket without understanding the crime (there was none) or why the police thought it would be ok to charge us $75 for said crime. Through our superior negotiation skills (translation: losing our tempers with each other and the police officer) we whittled the charge down to $10.

Ruth, Annie, Jessalyn, Kayla (not pictured)

Earlier this month, we said goodbye to a great team of AIM girls. They arrived three weeks after us and over the course of their time here in Granada, we all became very close. It was hard to say goodbye, knowing we probably won’t see them together as a group, but knowing that their lives have been changed because of their time here. A million and one inside jokes left with them, but thankfully live on in Facebook.

Before the girls left, Frank and I went with Jessalyn to visit the child she sponsors through Compassion International. This was my first experience visiting a sponsored child, and it was AWESOME. We had a chance to talk to the teachers and pastors who teach the children of this community, and when Angie walked in, Jessalyn let out a squeal of happiness. I started crying, thinking of how incredible it was to see Angie and her community. For those of you who sponsor children, I hope you get a chance to see where your finances go. Because of Jessalyn’s sponsorship, Angie has received medical care, two meals a day, schooling, supplies, and her family has benefited from the relationship with the church who sponsors the car. The pastor and his staff were so warm and inviting, happy to show what God has done in that community. The visit was great because of a second reason, the Church at Brookhills (our home church) had just sent a huge gift of money to the CI program in India, so seeing first hand how the organization worked and knowing that our friends and church are sponsoring children was very moving.

Trevor, Amber, Jessica, Tom, Val, Liana, Garret and Seth.

We also said hello to a new group of missionaries who will be here until May. Part of the NOVUS Project, and led by Seth Barnes Jr., they are full of creative ideas for things to do here in Granada. Along with small groups, we are in the process of planning several major projects including an organic garden to be used as a model for gardening in poorer communities, a group that reaches out to sex workers and a creative arts group for women. Each project is focused on creating income and skills for Nicaraguans, while building relationship and making disciples. We are all really excited to see what happens in January, when most of the planning will be done and the projects launch.

Joe and Julie.

Our final goodbye was to Joe and Julie, a newlywed couple who become our traveling buddies. They were in Granada for two months working with the teams and in the charity hospital. They were an unexpected addition to our team. We really enjoyed traveling and clowning around with them.

MINISTRY UPDATES

Frank started a Recovery Group called “Solo Por Hoy,” named after the AA and NA curriculum called “Just For Today.” Each Thursday at 8:00am, a group of roughly 20 men meet and talk about their struggles with sobriety. Frank has been able to put into use everything he learned at The Foundry while going through the recovery process. He comes home from the class each week energized and full of hope for these men. We hope to expand the days we offer the group, as Nicaraguan men offer to lead.  It is so cool to see the changes in Frank, as he becomes the leader he was created to be.

My cushy desk job is officially no more. I have the flip flop tan and dirty fingernails to prove it. Twice a week I come home with hands covered in varnish residue (the tacky varnish quickly collects dirt) and am now adding gardening to the list of activities that keep me out of our office and in the dirt. We’re also planning out a group for women based on building relationships and the creative arts. We’ll be creating art, baking, sewing, budgeting and everything else that goes into running a successful household.

Unfortunately, the women are left in charge of not only their families but generating income as their husbands and boyfriends leave Nicaragua for better jobs, or struggle through addictions. Pray for us as we plan out a few micro-businesses that will help recovering addicts and women who need income. Our group is filled with creative ideas, we just need God’s guidance as we start and plan a better future for the people in Granada.

I’ve also built a relationship with a young woman named Natalia. She operates as a translator for the women’s study and has started taking on a more active role as a leader. I’m excited to see what happens with this relationship!

Please pray for us to continue to develop relationships and make contributions here that would create lasting change. Pray that we would pour our time into those things that will last long after we are gone from Granada.

CULTURE UPDATES

Let’s just say we made it through most of December. We live on one of the busiest streets, and December is the loudest month in Granada. The statues of Mary have meandered down our street, the bands have played at midnight and four a.m., the parades have been held, and fireworks have gone off for eight hours straight. This may sound like it would be interesting, and it is. For the first week. By the second week, we were a little frazzled.

We love all of you!

Frank and Rebekah

My parents and our nephew left this morning after coming to Granada and spending a week with us. It was an incredible time to catch up, laugh and play together.

We took them on a whirlwind tour of Granada and the surrounding areas. From active volcanoes, markets, beautiful lookouts, an island boat tour (with MONKEYS), swimming at the laguna (aka – a giant swimming hole in the top of an old volcano) to watching them become friends with our wonderful roommates, their time (although it seemed too short) with us was very refreshing.

In addition to site seeing, we also introduced them to some of the ministries that we are involved with. We tagged along with our friends as they handed out new work boots to the dozens of people that work in the city dump just outside of Granada.

While here my parents had the amazing opportunity (thanks also to some big hearts back home) to not only bless a family that we work with and also send a guy to rehab with a bag of toiletries – but leave funding for future needs that we come across.

Their visit was full of adventure to say the least. From getting lost in a town with a 12 foot tree in the trunk of a Toyota Yaris to getting pulled over by the cops and getting hustled for $10 (or $5 if Bekah had her way) we had a blast learning the ins and outs of new journeys with our loved ones in the car with us. Now to get some rest…

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.

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

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]

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.”

We sing this song on Sundays and I’ve rediscovered my love for this simplest of hymns. It’s full of Adoration, something I often struggle with, and puts my focus on God and his amazing strength.

My Jesus, my Savior
Lord there is none like you.
All of my days, I want to praise
The wonders of your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship you.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing.
Power and majesty, Praise to our King.
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of your name.

I sing for joy at the work of your hands,
Forever I’ll love you forever I’ll stand.
Nothing compares to the promises I have in you.

I started a new small group that met this morning. We are calling it a recovery group because it is geared towards people who are struggling with addictions – specifically drugs and alcohol. It is set up to run sort of like an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. About 15 guys showed up this morning. We started by reading the 12 steps and then I shared the full version of my story. I know it’s hard for people who only know the “clean Frank” to see or know how messed up my life truly was before Christ. I was excited to share this with the guys. When I finished we went around the table and everyone had a chance to introduce themselves and share whatever was on their heart. We ended the meeting by reading Just For Today. It was a great morning to say the least.

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