A MONTH ALREADY

I cant believe it is already March 14..our youth group met for the 4th time and it went great...I spoke on love...Our theme has been friendship for the past 4 meetings. We had 16 youth from Santa Matilde and 16 from la Isla and around 110 total last night. Just a month ago we had 4 from La Isla and 6 from Santa Matilde with totals around 80-85.

For about the last 30 mintues of daylight 6:00-6:30 we had a big volleyabll game of about 18 vs. 18 boys and girls that was alot fo fun...we had a rap contest during our ice breaker...Kervin from Candelaria, Jesse from Santa Matilde, and I all took turns freestyling christian rap songs. The crowd loved it..I showed some soccer freestyling videos that i found online of some guys doing some crazy soccer trick juggling and dribbling along with the photos and videos of the past week here.

We are still having a great worship time too, so our first hour and a half goes great, but calming them down to listen and focus on our real reason there, the lesson, is still a challenge..We are trying new ways to be more interactive and hoping that soon they will listen more closely to our lessons. We are learning that love is patient ourselves.

Tommy and Linda went to Managua to get their daughter, Melissa and 2 of her friends that will be here for a week doing 2 days of vacation and the rest working in the villages with sports, construction, dental clinic, kids, dance, whatever.

Hoping for a fun Saturday with all of them while Linda and Melissa lead dance and the rest of us play with kids.

Diego

Garden Well & Bodega Lights

A man from Okalahoma in Nicaragua digging wells and he did one for Newsong for free, the labor and all the supplies. What a blessing! His name is Mickey Moore, a businessman who is with Rotary International who spends 3 months a year down here serving the poor. This was the 103 well that he has dug. He donated the electric pump. May God bless him and the Rotary Club for their service. The people here are rejoicing as it was a hard job to water the garden! The pump well will still be used for drinking and the church, but this electric pump supplies the garden with an 80 meter hose.

While they were working on that Alfredo and I put more lights in the storage area...We added 2 light switches one for the 4 bulbs in the bodega and the other to keep 3 bulbs on at night around the outside. Ariel helped again and 2 more 15 year old bos helped some, and watched. To me the interest of those young boys to learn the skill is as rewarding as getting the lights up for the gardeners, sewers, and others that use the bodega.

We also stopped by Chichigalpa to see Pastor Gilberto. Kevin Bacon was with us and his church, Steele Creek in Charlotte is who paid for the roof on his church about a year ago. He had seen pictures but was happy to get some pictures and videos to take back to his church and interview Gilberto, and the joy of seeing it all in real life.

On the way home we sat at a stand still about halfway home because a sugar cane truck flipped on its side. We were back from the accident at least 1000 meters and traffic was stopped in both directions for at least an hour. We did make it back and i worked on some things for Friday night youth group.

Tommy and Linda are taking the Bacons back to the airport and then picking up their daughter and 2 friends so it will be on Scarleth, Oscar, Leo, and I to do all the youth stuff...and we will be using public transportation.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Diego

Candelaria and Leon Movie Night

Our full team of 6 (Leo is back) went to Candelaria from about 2-5:15 and Kevin and Janna Bacon as well...Tommy had his leadership meeting with Kevin and Oscar while Linda and Janna started organizing trunks for the Medical/Dental Clinic coming up this Monday the17th! I worked more on Linda's laptop putting their finances into PowerChurch and Scarleth worked on some contacts for adding a 2nd well with an electric pump for the garden. Leo was supposed to have baseball practice but only 2-3 kids showed up for some reason..they will start back Friday with him and Felipe 3 days a week 2-4 pm.

The dental clinic will not be complete by this monday for the first clinic but it is coming along..they have all the interior walls smoothed and about half of the exterior walls done..i hope to have a photostory and video ready soon to show that progress to you all espcially Mama Jane and Big Dad since they sent a big check for it last month.

Last night i found out that my mom found about $35 in change from a jar i had filled when i cleaned out my jeep and also just spare change in my room..she got that into my credit card account and I took Scarleth, Oscar, and Leo out for pizza and a movie last night while the Gables and Bacons met up with Alex and Marcela.

We showed Bee Movie in Candelaria with Tommy and my projectors 2 weeks ago but this was my first Nicaragua theater movie. Hollywood Pizza is built into the theater so we enjoyed that and then saw the 9PM ColverField. It came out to the states Jan 18 but was new here this week. Tickets are 1.85 US and it was English audio with Spanish subtitles. I enjoyed the experience but the movie was horrible...All i knew about it was the cover art and i thought it was about a terroist attack on NYC, but it is like War of the Worlds or something alien/monster really dumb. The filming is all with a handheld camera like Blair Witch or something unsteady running etc.

We will go back again sometime when a movie comes out that we have first looked up the plot and know will be worth seeing, but the pizza was really good and being with the gang was fun.

Headed back to Candelaria today for Tommy's leadership meeting and hoping to add 3 lights around the exterior of the storage shed, Pastor Jose didnt have supplies ready yesterday but said we would today.

Hoping to get more stuff on .info site and photostories other videos sent soon, but I know it wont be til weekend at earliest because i have to prepare for youth group tonight and Friday morning.

CHECK THIS OUT!!!

i was looking at where ppl have read my blog linked in from the appfan.com blog also had this on it http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/home/index.html#jtvContent?contentID=1203 watch at the 10 second mark..very cool...that is filmed i believe in the convocation center near basketball team weight room..but im sure it has to do with the win at michigan football pass it on to others im sure they will enjoy that and it might be on TV now that march madness is starting up love u all

JB

Fun and Productive day at Beach

Scarleth Leo and I went to Playa Roca by bus from around 12-7 yesterday...had lunch there and then came back to Leon for dinner
We had Linda's laptop and Scarleth's laptop and got a lot of things coming along...I have all my donations in excel with all my receipts etc up to this point..I am halfway done doing the same for NewSong in a program called PowerChurch that Atlanta City Church uses...after i catch them up to date with it I will train Oscar on it and he will take over NewSong's

Scarleth and I got more of our headshots labeled and our names for Candelaria attendance sheets in order...we started this only 3 weeks ago and each week more kids are there on Sundays so our list has gone from 150 to 180 to 216 boys and girls under age 18..we are working to get it into excel with headshots and age birthday etc etc as time goes on.

The waves were as big as ever yesterday...I have been there 4 times now and there is no comparison to how strong it was yesterday..water was coming up to within 15 yards of the restuarants and waves were breaking over the rocks where most people stand and watch the sunset...We walked back to where it connects to the river and there was no seperation, the waves we reforming all the way across to the houses on other side of the river.

I found some pretty cool shells and caught a decent size hermit crab..i played with him for bout 10 minutes and then let Leo and Scarleth see him..I was going to get a box of sand etc and bring him back to my room as a pet, but Leo took him to wash him off and he just jumped out and buried himself the deepest in about 1 second..I was a little bummed but maybe I'll find another.

We have staff meeting today and I am planning to add 2 more lights at the chuch...at the front and rear entrances of the storage room doors, and then move the switch that does those lights out of the church to the storage room...I hope a couple of my power guys are there to help and others are willing to learn.

Still behind on getting more on my .info site but I needed to get the finanaces and attendance things done with Scarleth first.

Day in Tonala

With Tommy and Linda vacationing with the Bacons: Oscar, Scarleth, Leo, and I all had a free day so we went about an hour and a 45 min drive north to Tonala...it is a small community where they tried to do a youth group thing from last august-december but 3.5 hours driving every Sunday was too much for the amount of kids they had showing up. I got to see the El Ranchon where they held services.

Daniel, head worship leader of NewSong, and Jahida, huge help with youth and kids, met us in Chenadega and made the trip as well...We had to take a taxi to the Leon bus stop, bus to Chenadega, taxi to another bus stop in Chenadega, then bus up to Tonala..then the reverse order home. It was a lot of switching but a very fun experience.

I got to meet a few people they knew from their outreach there, and we had a big soup lunch at one ladies house...Pastor Cristino comes to Candelaria Wed-Fri for Tommy's leadership meetings and is the pastor there on staff with NewSong..we looked for him and a few other people but their homes were empty.

Scarleth, Leo, and I are headed back to Playa Roca tomorrow, the closest beach to Leon, and we will be back to the villages Wednesday when the Gables and Bacons get back to Leon. Scarleth and I will catch up on our attendance sheets, book library, and personal finances on laptops at the beach and Oscar will be handling NewSong finances from Leon.

Hoping to get more of my .info website updated tomorrow night as well..think about you all often and thanks to the most recent donations i was emailled last week, and they will come through by week's end.

Lonnnnng Sunday

we were in Candelaria from 10-9 today..childrens service, and adult service..now that Tommy is preaching Sunday nights this is how Sundays will be...he finished chapter 1 of 1st John tonight with a great sermon on getting out of the darkness and staying in the light...i ran powerpoint for the worship songs and then 5 bible verses during preaching.

At the end we did some celbration songs and some goodbye songs for Tommy and his family who will be moving to Ohio Wednesday.. everyone is excited for them but their were a lot of tears especially from girlfriends and wives of the young men leaving...We will not be back in Candelaria til Wednesday afternoon, so this was our last time seeing them until they return for a visit.

I am going with Scarleth and Oscar tomorrow to a place bout 45 mins north of Candelaria, 1 hour 45 mins from Leon..we will take a bus or 2 to get there and visit with some of their old friends from when Tommy and Linda were trying to do a youth group thing there weekly a few months back..I will be out fo Leon from 8-4 more or less tomorrow.

Tomorrow evening I will get to update more of my.info website and help train Oscar to use PowerChurch..a program we got from Atlanta to keep up with finances and do reports etc..I have already started 2-3 other projects since Leo and can't wait to share more of that soon.

Tommy and Linda will be with Kevin and Janna Bacon until lunchtime Wednesday so I will do a halfday of vacation tomorrow then catch up on some contatcs and work..then Tuesday a possible half day at beach and half day of more catching up.

Airport and Concert Saturday

We got the Rexroths to the airport to fly out around 1 and then the Bacons landed and got through customs etc about 1:30..Tommy and Linda went with the Bacons, Kevin and Janna, to Granada for some tourist stuff. They are long tiem friends from Charlotte and will spend 2.5 days just visiting with the Gables and siteseeing Monday-Wed afternoon so Oscar, Scarleth, and I get some time off.

Scarleth and I stayed at the airport trying to get Leo in by 7:30 but Copa Air loves to mess things up and he will not be coming until today around the same time..i will believe it when he lands..I'll update more about Copa and Leo's difficulties later.

Scarleth and I came back to Leon and saw my first Nica concert last night...it was a group of 3 guys called El Comando Tiburon..they are from Panama and have a Reggaeton style music...it is a form of urban music very popular in Latin America and getting popular in the states...Reggaeton blends Jamaican music influences of reggae and dancehall with hiphop..they will rap in both Spanish and English and have since called the lyrics Spanglish.

I didn't know any of their original songs, but they did some covers that I knew almsot every word to, and other songs that i recognized but can't say I really knew...It was a lot of fun and was packed..lots of age groups there..probably some as young as 8 up to people in their 40s...we paid for general admission tickets $5 US and made our way up to the 3rd row.

We are headed to Candelaria all day..childrens morning service and Tommy preaching tonight with soccer and games in between.

Please pray for Leo to get here tonight, the baseball team is losing some of its discipline and Scarleth and I are sick of Copa Air, we just can't wait to get him here and be done with them.

Hope all is well in the states...eastern time is now 2 hours ahead of me...they do not observe DST here

Diego