The second wave of our “summer tsunami” of short-term mission teams starts today with the arrival of the youth team from Kirk of the Hills Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Carey will lead that team along with Alcides and Paola. They will serve in Rivas, Nicaragua doing children and youth ministry.
The medical mission team from Grace Church in Greenville, South Carolina arrives tomorrow. Mary and Amber will drive that team as they serve in Via El Carmen (about 20 miles outside of Managua). The sleeping conditions will be rough for the Grace gang (they’re sleeping in hammocks for four nights), so please pray for them next week!
Finally, Fabricio and I lead a youth team from good ol’ Seacoast Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC. We’ll be doing youth ministry in a beach community near Pochomil (including a community soccer tournament), then leading a retreat for Nicaraguan youth leaders in Ciudad Sandino. It should be a blast!
It goes without saying that the blog posts will be sparse over the next couple of weeks. But I promise to fill you in on all of the amazing things God accomplishes through these mission trips. Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Que Dios le bendiga. Hasta pronto!
With the “summer tsunami” of short-term missions, we’ve accumulated a pile of pictures. Be sure to check out the Flickr photo albums from the Emmanuel Youth Team, the Grace Youth Team, and the Mosaic Youth Team. Thanks for your prayers and support for CFCI-Nicaragua!
The “summer tsunami” of short-term mission teams continues in Nicaragua. We completed three youth teams in June and July. CFCI-Nicaragua hosts four more (two youth, two medical) in the next few weeks. Read about all that’s going on in Nicaragua –- including an article on why politics in Nicaragua makes the American campaign season look civilized –- in this edition of “Field Notes” (page 1, page 2).
Thank you for reading –- and thank you for supporting the ministry! Que Dios le bendiga.
[Note: If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter via email, please email me to let me know.]
Yesterday was the 29th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. Amber and I “celebrated” the occasion by going to the beach with friend and CFCI intern David. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the drive from our house to the beach is only 32 miles. And it was well worth the trip. A nice, relaxing day.
We understand that in many other parts of the country, rallies and counter-rallies were taking place. Here’s a write-up on the anniversary holidday from vianica.com:
The 29th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution is celebrated in different parts of the country through activities of cultural and politically propagandistic nature. The revolution brought an end to the dictatorial dynasty of the Somoza family on July 19, 1979.
The ruling party, the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), led by incumbent president Daniel Ortega, organized celebrations in several cities. They are currently preparing for the main event, which will take place tomorrow afternoon, on Saturday, July 19, on the Juan Pablo II square, located in the old center of Managua.
Another massive event will take place in Leon, and is organized by the dissident and opposing party: the Movimiento Renovador Sandinista (MRS).
Despite the heavy political connotation that these celebrations have assumed in recent years, the anniversary of the revolution is celebrated by a large part of the national population, regardless of their support for one party or another.
We’re taking advantage of our last weekend before “wave two” of the “summer tsunami” (of short-term mission teams). Relaxing at home, dinner and game night this evening.
Check out our newsletter tomorrow for more news from Nicaragua!
Just to prove that the Emmanuel Fellowship team didn’t goof off the whole time they were in Nicaragua, Episode 008 of Missions Minded Videos shows what the mission really was about: serving the First Baptist Church of Diriamba and providing a fun, Jesus-focused vacation Bible school for the kids there.
I finished this video just in time for our “debriefing meeting” with the church families in Diriamba. They’re going to love laughing at their “chele friends” — and enjoy remembering the fun times had by all! I hope you enjoy the video too.
The team from Emmanuel Fellowship wrapped up an amazing ten days of ministry in Nicaragua over the weekend. Once again, we have some great stories and videos to share (in addition to “Gumby!”). But for starters, here’s a monton (mountain) of pictures!
James Bond is “007″. It’s entirely appropriate that Episode 007 of Missions Minded Videos is a top-secret, under cover, covert operation. No lives were risked making this video, but lots of laughs ensued!
In this episode, the men of the Emmanuel Fellowship short-term mission (myself included) play a prank on the ladies of the team. (In response to several other escalating pranks, I might add!)
“A Day With Gumby” has a shocking, surprise ending, so be sure to watch it all the way through. You can watch on YouTube or download the iPod-compatible version below.
[Note: I'll have some other (more important) news, notes, pictures, and videos from the Emmanuel mission trip later today and/or this week.]
It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m hanging out at the mall with Amber.
I’m supposed to be with the short-term mission team from Emmanuel Fellowship.
So why am I playing hooky?
Because we have the best ministry director in the world!
Alcides is filling in for me this weekend to give me some rest in between teams. I’ll join the team in Diriamba on Monday — refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to go — thanks to our awesome “jefesito” (little boss)!
That’s all the blogging I’m going to do today (or the rest of the week, for that matter). I need to get back to relaxing while I have the chance!
