Starting 2009

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE LAST WEEKS POSTS!

Greetings from Nicaragua and Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a good holiday season with family and friends regardless of America's current financial situation. I had a different holiday season, but it was very enjoyable. I spent December 24th and 25th with families of my co-workers, and the 31st in the park with a lot of the youth group.

I missed not being able to spend this time with my family, but 5 members will be here the first week of February. 5 friends are coming with them making a group of 10, and room for 1000 pounds of donations. If you have anything that you think we can use here, please be in touch with me so that they can pack it and bring down January 31, 2009.

First I want to say thank God that we finished 2008 with some much needed and unexpected donations. With Christmas and America in such financial trouble, the mission was really struggling the last 10 weeks of the year, and we were afraid we would never catch up. But God is so faithful, and we want to praise him for providing everything we needed in literally the last 3 days of 2008 to get us even. We are ready to push-off that strong finish and accelerate through 2009, in a year that our mission team feels is going to be an amazing season of growth for our mission here and God’s Kingdom as a whole in Northwest Nicaragua.

I find it very hard to believe that tomorrow is the 1-year anniversary of when I put foot on this beautiful country for the first time, Jan. 10th, 2008, not knowing what God had ahead of me. In this year, I have learned a lot and hopefully taught something as well. I have made many new friends, of all ages and backgrounds, and would not want to be anywhere else.
In 2009, I am really focusing on serving New Song Mission Nicaragua with the youth, 15-25 year olds. I am also overseeing the Adopt-a-Family project, and the further education of the young people. School will start back here on February 3rd, for ages 3-18, and the trade school and college classes begin in March.

I am praying for, and asking for each of you to pray for, helping these people in their education. The Adopt-a-Family program is for helping children ages 3-18 in preschool-high school with their most basic school needs. For $35.00 a month you can help an entire family cover their uniform, shoes, school supplies, and any health issues that keep them out of classes. This can be paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or yearly; whatever is easiest for you. It can also be withdrawn online, so there is no pressure on you to remember each month. To learn more about this please view the promotion video here: http://vimeo.com/2436461 or see the families here: http://www.newsongmissionnicaragua.com/adoptafamily/

The further education program is for the kids that have graduated from high school and want to study in trade schools or universities. We currently have 5 young adults studying in areas including: Agricultural, Accounting, English, and Psychology. We have 10 others that are hoping to get sponsored with interests in Business, Computer Skills, English, Mechanics, and Welding.
Depending on which trade school or university sponsorship with transportation ranges from $30.00-$100.00 a month. To learn more about this please view the promotion video here: http://vimeo.com/2434042 or email me at: jimbobnorman@gmail.com

In these programs, as well as all of our programs, the sponsorship is much more than just sending money monthly. Building relationships with these children and their families, keeping contact with them thru emails, or even making visits are recommended. Keeping them motivated to become more than the generations behind them and helping them beat the oppression of poverty is our ultimate goal while teaching them real love and Christian community.

Other personal projects I have for the beginning of 2009, are raising money to complete the youth house, and the church building. I need internet on the land to keep contact with the states and to hopefully soon, allow adopted children to make more contact with their American sponsors. I want to see more groups making short term mission trips here to start building relationships with these people and seeing how they live. All of these goals can be seen in the promotion videos as well here: http://vimeo.com/user1005962/videos/sort:oldest/format:detail
There are 12 different chapters, with the mentioned goals above in the videos titled: Pastors, Youth, and US Teams.

If you are feeling led to help us in any way please visit us online at http://www.newsongmissionnicaragua.com/, you can login there and pay easily with credit card, or you can send a check to:
New Song Mission Nicaragua
3355 Old Jonesboro Road
Fairburn GA, 30213

Please memo your check, or choose from the pull down menu online, for how you want it to be used, and remember all donations are tax-exempt. If you are sending monthly towards a project or pastors salary, PLEASE get these in the mail by the 20th of each month or done online by the 24th of each month, as it takes a few days to go through Atlanta and wired to us in time to do payrolls the 1st of every month. We cannot distribute any money out that we do not have, and wait for the wire the following month, so getting things before the 1st is very important.

To keep up with things here on a day-to-day basis, please visit my blog at: http://makemsmile.blogspot.com/ ...as of now I usually update weekly, but God willing I will have internet this month in the village where I can update every night.

Thanks for your interest in partnering with us in 2009 to see God’s Kingdom grow here in Northwest Nicaragua. I hope to see some of you here this year. May God bless you and yours this year regardless of the hard times America is facing. I love and miss you all!

In Christ,
James “Jim Bob / Diego” Norman
Make ‘em Smile & New Song Mission Nicaragua
John 15:13