WOW

domingo
On Sunday we went to church. It was a very large church with 3 services. They even had head sets for us to wear during the sermon with and English translator. It was very cool! After church we headed back to the house for lunch then we went to an orphanage. At the orphanage we held babies and played with toddlers. Then we took 11 older children who live in the orphanage out to dinner and to play. Most of the orphans are boy's because the Nicaraguan culture does not respect the men as much as women as providers for a family. It was a great time to show love.

lunes
Monday was are most eye opening day. We visited La Churreca (the dump). 3000 people live on this huge landfill. As you drive through the landfill you notice the roads that lead all around the miles and miles of dump. Homes are plotted everywhere and there are children, dogs, and cattle rummaging through garbage. Among the devastation there is a school that has been built. This place is a haven within the dump. It holds 300 children as students and offers hope to so many. We got the opportunity to play with the children and serve them lunch. It was such an amazing experience. We saw God's love all around and we felt a peace at the school. It was a "wow " day!

Pictures and words are just not enough...but GOD is!

martes/miércoles

We spent these two days doing construction at Villa Esperanza. The Villa is a property that is being developed to bring at risk girls from the dump to a place that can bring them hope and encourage them to find jobs and lives off the landfill. We worked along side a construction team that is working quickly to get phase one of the villa done by march. We helped move dirt and cinder blocks. The last day we were there we shared candy bars with the construction workers (chocolate bars are hard to find and expensive). The last picture is of the men on their break. We worked extremely hard and quickly knowing that we only had two days to give.

jueves (Thanksgiving)

For Thanksgiving they took us out to see more of Nicaragua. We went to Mumbacho( an active volocano) and we went to a Zip line course. We had a blast! There were 14 rides on the course. The forest was beautiful and the view was amazing. After Zip - Lining we went and had lunch in Catarina and then onto shopping at a local market. The day eneded with dinner at a nice restaurant. It was a great way to spend Thanksgiving!

viernes
Our last day was spent in La Churreca. We watched the kids put on a reading performance displaying their new ability to read! We then took the oldest (at risk ) girls out for a day of fun! We took them to a swimming pool and had lunch out with them. In the end we gave each of them a gift bag full of special girl goodies. It was a great closing to a week that impacted each of us in differnt ways.

We're Here!

We are finally here! This has been an absolutely amazing trip so far. God's provision has been absolutely undeniable throughout this entire process and it's never been more clear than today.

Today was our first day here in Managua and though it was a "restful" day we did a lot. We went to church, then we went to an orphanage to visit some kids. Once we were done there we took 11 of the kids with us to the mall (which was one of the fanciest malls I have ever been to)and let them ride some of the rides there and walked around with them. Then we went to Tip Top for some "pollo" with them. It was amazing to see how much joy they got out of our time with them. Not nearly as much as we did from them.

There are some photos below of some of our adventures from today. Please leave us a comment and let us know you're keeping updated. More to come later...

Packing Party

As our trip quickly approaches we are busy getting ready to leave for the mission we have so long prepared for. On Sunday we had a "packing party" with our team memebers. Everyone brought one suitcase that we filled with supplies for Nicaragua. We filled the suitcases with hygiene products, christmas gifts, clothing, school supplies, soccer balls, and many other items. 13 suitcases were filled and ready to be emptied. Here are a few pictures of our party.

Updated Post

Well, it's been nearly 6 weeks since the last post to update everyone on the upcoming trip to Nicaragua, we are sorry for that but as you can imagine, there has been a lot to do, posting was put on the back burner.

We leave in 3 1/2 days and the team could not be more excited. This past Sunday 11-11-07 we had our "Packing Party" where the entire team got together and we packed 14 suitcases with ALL of the items which were either donated or given to us to bring. We have some photos we will post of the party but they will come later. Seriously, this party could not have gone better, Wendy hosted the party and Niki and Austin were in charge. It was organized and well thought out, thank you guys for your hard work!

Now, we are coming down to the wire and it's every man (or woman) for themselves. We are all busy packing clothes, snacks, additional gifts, $, and all kinds of other goodies; trying to make sure we aren't over the weight limit or our bags aren't too big. It's a wonderful time of excitement, nerves and faith; trusting that God will do what He wants with us and not let ourselves get in the way.

After many requests we have decided that we will post blog updates while we are gone, the pastor's house has internet (wireless) so we are hoping to do that on a daily basis. So, we hope you check it out.

Look for the pictures of the packing party and for updates next week. We leave on SATURDAY!!!!

Leave a post and let us know you are following the happenings.

KPTV Fox News

So, most people are aware that there were two teams of people, from Southlake, who were going to Managua in August.  Well KPTV went with them and did a series this past week about the work being done there.  The response has been amazing.  God has blessed this work and we are privileged to be a small part of it all.  

Click here to check out the series from KPTV.

Count the Cost

Hey Everyone,

So, today there was a pretty good sermon by Kip talking about commitments (Click here to listen).  We have all made a commitment to going on this trip and we will keep it.  One thing that Kip mentioned was that God asks us to "Count the Cost".  

In Luke 14:28 Jesus says, "Don't begin until you count the cost."  We have put a lot of work into this past weekend getting ready and putting on this garage sale.  At times it has seemed as though it might not be worth all the hassle.  I know, for me, I was thinking that it was a lot of work for not getting much out of it.  This morning I was reminded that EVERYTHING we are doing is for the people of "La Chureca" and that every moment we spend working towards helping them is worth it.

We have committed to this mission God has given us and it is costing us time, energy, and money but the cost is nothing compared to the incredible mission God has allowed us to be a part of.  Praise God for what He is doing and my prayer is that all of us keep focused on what He has called us to.