Back on my feet
I felt back to full energy yesterday, which is a good thing, because Coburn's whole team is sick. Coburn, his wife Melissa, Kaite and Hallie all came down with some type of cold/nausea thing that put them on their backs. This could be really bad because they have a larger team showing up today (Thursday) and I'm not certain how they will get everything done if all four of them are sick. I would imagine that some of Coburn's family will jump in to help. They all seem to be tightly integrated at times. Please pray for them today!
The upper room
I just want to say again how much I LOVE spending each morning up here with my coffee, Bible and iPad. It's great for me to think thrpough the past day and process everything God has done. I hope you all feel more a part of what has gone on down here through these journals too.
Breakfast
I love the fact that I can come down here, eat like a horse, drink Coke, and still lose weight. I guess that's what happens when you exercise a lot every day. ;-) Yummy scrambled eggs today with fruit, toast and juice. The whole team always seems ravenous in the morning. It's kinda funny.
Back at Imagine Ministries (the school in Los Braisiles)
Today was a bit different since the gardening was mostly done. A few of the team members spent the morning finishing up some of the gardening and planting. We were able to get some good dirt and put it on top of the gardens we had already dug. It's funny, almost the entire city of Managua and surrouding area is volcanic soil which 'should' be good for growing anything. The problem is that aroud people's houses the dirt has been packed down so hard and swept every day (yes, they sweep the dirt every day) that it is almost like concrete. You have to realize and imagine what it would be like if they didn't do this. Loose dirt, dust, a rain shower and the whole country would turn into a mud puddle. Sweeping the dirt keeps the dust down. The dir being packed down so hard causes teh rain to run off faster and create less of a mess. That being said, packed dirt, for years and years, deprives the soil of nutrients. It ends up being this white, chalky dirt with very little to give. So - we found some good dirt. :-) PUtting a bit on top, and teams following up after with more when needed, should help the seeds grow well. It really is amazing that we finished so much of the manual labor so fast down here this week with such a small team. Thinking back, it's my personal opinion that God had a lot of other plans for us that I now see have come to fruition. A LOT more time with the kids. A LOT more time to hear and get to know their stories. A LOT more time to be 'a part' of the ministry and come alongside Coburn here. I see teh soccer court we finished last year and my heart jumps, but His will isn't always to do these big things. I think this year was much more of a 'connecting' year. Corburn's ministry is going to grow and change a lot over the next few years. I really think this year was a time for us, as BEP, to see, be a part of and come along side him with this work in a closer way.
sweeping
You have to understand, I really don't like cleaning. I feel like things are never actually 'clean', so it's never really done and, personally, I like being with people, so cleaning puts me away from what I really like to do. :-) But - I found my favorite thing about this week so far. Sweeping. Seriously. No, I don't have a burnign desire to go back home and sweep now though. Let me explain. We finished the gardens. We've played with kids a TON. We've done skits. We've sang songs. We've handed out dresses. It's amazing, but we have done almost everything we set out to do in the first 3-4 days of being here. And then we were done!?! Well, here was the cool part for me. I asked Coburn, "What can I do tomorrow to help you?" His answer? "Sweep off teh shelves in the tool room and sweep up the floor as well." OK, at first my heart sank. I really do hate sweeping. And, the thought of being in a room, by myself, massive amounts of dust - just sweeping - didn't really appeal to me - at first. But, the change in my heart started to happen almost immediately. I actually began to look forward to getting there and sweeping! The change was that I felt like I was truly 'helping' him and the ministry. Yes, everything else we were doing was part of his (His?) ministry and Coburn loved it, but sweeping that room outwas helping him. And helping him helped the teachers. And helping the teachers and workers helped the kids. I know this all souds so simple on paper, and many of you may be thinking "aw, isn't that sweet that he wants to clean (that ain't hard!)" ;-), but this was bigger than that. I guess I should also explain that it took about 100 sweeps in one spot to actually move the dirt in there. I should also say that every time I swept 2/3 of the dust came back over where I just swept due to a breeze. ;-) Anyway, it might not seem like a big deal, but God did good stuff with me and that broom yesterday. :-)
names
One of the things I charged the team with this week was to come away with specific names of people. Workers, kids, etc, it didn't matter as long as they made connections. It's been great to hear the names and how each of us has connected to people this week. So, here are my names.
Tito - our wonderful "player" that we met last year. I'll type up more on Tito later, but I feel like God must have something for that boy. I see the struggle and the desire for him to do good despite a tough situation that he is in.
Victor - Tito's brother. Victor is tough, hard and "plays the game". He tried to get stuff from people and who knows where it goes from there. I had a long talk with he and Tito this week. They have both been given numerous chances at the school. I'd ask you to seriously consider taking Tito and Victor as a daily prayer item. They need it.
Esaul - the sweetest little boy down here. Always has a smile. Always gives an answer to a question. My prayer is that God protects him and is heart as he grows.
Josue - Josue is new to the imagine ministry team. He is a new Christian (2 months) and is on cloud nine with his faith. It was an amazing blessing to hear his testimony and see him work and talk this week. More on Josue later.
Luis - Luis is one of the bedrock team memebrs of the ministry. He is the son of Lisette, the lady who runs the school. Luis always helps, always prays and is always available. He is becoming a man of God. Pray for him! Pray for his life, his walk and his future family. (he also has a wicked sense of sarcasm, maybe that is why he and I get along so well!) ;-)
There were many more, but these were my 'men'. Aks me when I get home and I'm certain I could fill an entire day with more info and stories. :-)
skits
Kim Strader really did an awesome job putting together a bunch of skits for us to do this week. Yesterday was "skit day". We must have done them at least four times throughout the day. IT's so cool to see how each person has been used this week. Actually, to that point, here are my thoughts. (please kjnow that each person has also done a TON more, this is just one thing for each person)
Kim Strader - the skit queen. Always helping us put it together, rounding us up to get it done. Very cool.
Samantha Strader - testimony girl. I'll say more later, but Sam got the opportunity to share her faith in a cool way. She's been a love bug with the kids all week.
Stacie Tucker - if you haven't seen Stacie on a mission trip then you can't imagine how hard someone could work. She always finds the work, is always drenched in sweat and gets things done in half the time that I could. Stacie leaves her legacy everywhere she goes.
Marianne Tucker - Marianne really got stretched this week. performing skits, physical labor, etc.. Her heart is with the kids every time they are aroud, but her own personal gifts came through in new, cool ways this year.
Joel Brandon - I'm not sure that I've seen anyone covered in more sweat this week than Joel. If anyone could give Stacie or the Dalby's a run for their money it might be Joel. It might very well be because of Joel that we got so much done so quickly! :-) His Spanish and desire to jump in with anything has been really cool.
Terry Brandon - my thinker of the week. I see Terry's wheels turning all day long. He might be working hard, helping to translate or loving kids, but his wheels are always turning. Looking to see what God is doing, what we are doing, how it can help (or not). I've appreciated his thoughts this week as we've talked.
Kim Stewart - Kim is another "machine". Doing crafts, gardening, gettign teh dresses out... Kim had a vision for what she felt God wanted her to do on this trip and she is faithfully working that out this week. And - God is blessing it!!! The fun that she has brought with the crafts for the kids has been really neat for me to be a part of.
Me - I'm trying to take deep breaths and do "whatever". Yeah, I love doing the music and the kids have been a blast to watch sing and smile. But, some of this tuff really is out of my own comfot zone and it's always good.
prayer sheet
Just really quick - we want to put together a sheet with faces, names and prayer requests for a bunch of the people down here so that otehrs at BEP can pray for them. If you don't see that sheet on the mission counter within the next few weeks please kick me. We'll get it done.
youth night
Coburn is starting a brand new partnership down here that is very important to him and the vision that God has given to him for this ministry. It involves working together, in a partnership, with one of the local churches. Last night we got to 'kick off' the first meeting between Coburn's ministry and their youth group. Remember Coburn was sick as a dog and didn't think he could make it. He was really distressed at the thought of getting this set up and then having to cancel. He asked if it would be possible for us to lead the night without him. Of course I said yes (I would ask the team later) ;-) Long story short, Coburn was well enough to show up, do introductions and a prayer - and then he crashed and went home. Our team continued with the help of Luis and Josue. We sang, prayed. had cookies and Coke and talked together. Toward the end, two really cool things happened. One, Samantha volunteered to give her testimony. Thids was the first time she had ever done this and, as usualy with this sort of thing, it was great, she was "through the roof excited" and I know God used it as it made one more connection between our group and theirs. Second, Josue, this new Christian young man, stepped up and prayed at the end of the night. Honestly, I couldn't hear what he was praying because I was behind him, but he must have prayed for five minutes straight and from the sounds coming frmo the other young people there (also praying) it must have been good. :-)
debrief
Our daily debrief was good. We each shared what God was talking to us in our devotionals and how we saw God through the day. It's fun to hear the different perspectives.
sleeping
I slept really well last night. It was cool and I was tired. I feel great today and look forward to going back. Thank you for your prayers!!
Daily prayer requests:
- that we don't run out of energy
- that everyone feels like we got enough time with the kids
- that this week becomes the "next step" in our connection here and that it isn't a a whole year before we come back (ask Terry) ;-)
- for Coburn's whole team and their health
- for Stacie - she started feeling sick yesterday and stayed back from the youth night. She is still stuffed up today, but says she is about an 8 out of 10 this morning. (I think she could use some prayer) ;-)
- for Coburn's intern Hallie. I think she leaves today to go back to the U.S. It's always hard to leave,especially when you have spent a good deal of time here. She has also been living IN Los Braisiles, so she is very clowse to Lisette, Luis and the kids. Pray that God protects her heart as she leaves.
OK - long journal day done. :-)
Nos vemos pronto!
Matt
No comments:
Post a Comment