Saturday Catch-up

I am spending today to get all of my online things, and other tasks around Leon complete. We will be back in the village tomorrow afternoon and evening when Pedro begins his 5 week mini series for Adult Sunday night church.

No School & Youth Group

With the kids out of school again today baseball attendance was high and Leo ran a long practice. I got the truck lined up to pickup people from La Isla and Santa Matilde an hour earlier to come and play soccer, volleyball, and basketball before it got dark.

Yasmina and Brenda wore their new shirts and 5 new boys came from La Isla for their first Friday night. We had 2 new people from Santa Matilde and 4 from Candelaria.

After the outdoor game time, we had an opening prayer and Scarleth led some funny games. She did some silly icebreakers and got more of the kids meeting people outside their small comfort zone of 2-3 kids.

Pedro shared from 1 Timothy and spoke on characteristics of young adults. The kids had great attention and he had a lot of fun and jokes mixed in to keep them tentative. The night went very well and more kids are getting comfortable sitting closer to the front instead of on the walls in the very back.

May Already!?!

Can't believe we are already in May. May 1 is actually Labor Day in Nicaragua so Leon is dead. Traffic is almost nothing, and only a few busses are even running today. There is no school for the kids today or tomorrow for a 4 day weekend. We went out for baseball and the numbers were much higher with all the boys who normally have afternoon class ready for practice. After Scarleth shared a Bible story and I got attendance, we went to visit in La Isla.

Three girls we really like from youth group are the Lira Mendoza sisters. Glenda turned 17 mid April and Yasmina 19 last Friday. Maria will be 21 May 31st. The 2 younger sisters are in afternoon class, so I only see them on Fridays with for 2 hours with 100 other people. I got them some birthday shirts and wanted to spend the afternoon visiting, plus record their interviews for Friday night. Scarleth got to spend some time talking with their mom, Rosa, about how things are going in church and Sunday school.

12 year old Rosa from Candelaria who always helps us setting up the church and other things rode out with us. She spent a good hour climbing trees and collecting Mangos from their yard.

Larry to the Village

Oscar and I got up early and met at the Gables house to have a conference call with Linda and Susan in Atlanta. We worked about 2 hours learning more about the PowerChurch software and asking Susan questions, to have a better feel of finances.

In the afternoon, Larry went with Scarleth, Leo, and I to Candelaria. Leo had baseball practice and Larry got to see Pastor Jose and a few others that he hasn't seen in over a year.

Larry is here on his 21st trip in the past 6 years. He has been in Candelaria to see a lot of the original buildings, sports fields, and basically every project that has happened until this year. The dental clinic was new for him, and the lights/fans in the main church. He enjoyed getting to see the new well and the green garden.

I got to go visit with Evenling and Alejandra for dinner and watch Aladdin tonight. I also got to meet their uncle, Juan, who is 25 years old.

TUESDAY OFF

With the Colons long days teaching the Target, and then the final week of getting things lined up for the Gables trip, we have hardly found a minute to rest. I got to sleep in Tuesday and just try and catchup some of my own things around Leon. I got some time to talk with Larry and hangout at Marcela's house.

I got 2 full garbage bags of clothes, toys, books, etc that I had wanted to bring and donate in February and did not have room. My mom got it all to Larry and he brought it to me. I spent some time cleaning up my room and then organizing the gifts for age group and clothing size.

Working Hard to See Gables Off

From sun up until Freddy drove them to the airport at 9 PM, we worked to see the Gables off and make sure everything is in order for May.

I worked all day finishing and burning both of Linda's DVDs, Pastor Tommy's spiritual side of NewSong DVD, and a collaboration DVD of Tim's 5 weeks here with pictures and videos.

Oscar and Linda worked on all the finance things for 2008 for Linda to take and discuss with Susan at ACC.

Gables Last Day in Village

Linda and I worked more all morning on getting the first DVD done, and started on the 2nd for a group of men from Holland that have done a lot in Masayah, Nicaragua who we are hoping to have help us with expenses of the dental clinic.

We went out for Sunday afternoon and the evening service. Pastor Pedro and his wife Maria joined us so that Tommy could introduce them and put him in charge of Sunday nights for the month of May. It was Maria's first time in the village, and she and Pedro enjoyed meeting people there.

Tommy countinued his teaching from 1 John and then the end of the service was about 20 minutes of goodbyes, hugs, pictures, etc. The Gables do not leave until late Monday night, but they will be in Leon all of tomorrow, so the people in Candelaria will not see them for almost 40 days.

Saturday Church Meeting

Linda and I spent the morning putting more of our video reports together. A DVD we will be sharing with their friends and family when they get back to the states.

With the Gables taking the full month of May to visit family and friends and raise support in the states, we needed to have a meeting with pastors, people in small business, and other church leaders.

The Gables put together a full packet of how things need to run with them gone. They spoke about respecting Scarleth, Oscar, Leo, and myself in their absence. They also let the church know that Larry was going to be here to drive the team around and help with any emergencies.

The meeting took about an hour and a half and we addresses a lot of important topics, with times to answer questions and concerns. Of the 40 or so people there, everyone seemed ready to work together and keep things running as close to normal was we can during the Gables US trip.

Larry Sellers got to Leon this afternoon, and is resting after a day of travel at Marcela's house. I will get up with him tomorrow to get a lot of things he brought down that I could not pack in my original trip.

Colons Home, and Youth Night

This morning Tommy, Linda, and I sent the Colons in a taxi to the airport for their return back to SteeleCreek Charlotte, NC. They were unbelievable in their 4 days in the village. They both led the target 3 straight days for 3 hours each day, and Pastor Gilberto led the evening services on Sunday then Tuesday-Thursday. The congregation was really moved and we had around 10 professions of faith in the nights he spoke. Having a Spanish speaking pastor makes such a difference, and we are very thankful for all the Colons did here.

Scarleth and I ran youth group, and with Tommy under the weather we brought Pastor Pedro along to speak to the teenagers. He is a young pastor born in Leon, but has been living in Portland for years. He and his wife and 2 girls have just moved back to Leon because he has a call to start a church here. We met him when Pinnacle was here, and Tommy asked him to come along with us anytime he wanted, and we have hoped he would be available to speak on Fridays and Sundays during May when the Gables are in the states.

Scarleth and I started the night with a game we did at Montilemar with pictures, songs, soundbytes of different athletes, celebrities, presidents etc and the kids have to run to be the first in a chair then give the correct answer. They seemed to have a lot of fun with that and Daniel led some good worship.

Pedro spoke on making good decisions, and how what you do as a teenager makes a world of difference in the rest of your life. The kids had great attention, and once again we saw how much better a service is without the dead space time of speaking English and them waiting to hear it in Spanish. We are really excited for him to here and help us in May and hopefully more after.

THURSDAY TARGET

We went out to Candelaria around noon and stayed through the evening service. Pastor Gilberto had a group of over 25 men, and Maritza had the more or less the same amount of women for an afternoon class of the target day 2. The groups met for 3 hours.

Leo ran baseball practice, and is now taking time before practice to share some scripture and bible stories with the team, along with the required prayer before and after practice.

For the time that the Colons are here: Santa Matilde, La Isla, Tonola, and others in Chichigalpa are being trucked in for the evening service, so the chruch is packed with all ages. Pastor Gilberto led the evening service with Daniel leading worship. Yaihaira and Rigaberto had worship and shared bible stories with over 60 children.

WEDNESDAY TARGET

We went out around the sametime today for target day 2. The Colons had numbers of about 25 each again. Linda and Scarleth took the truck to Chinadega to look and price some tile for dental clinic flooring.

Leo ran baseball practice, and is now taking time before practice to share some scripture and bible stories with the team, along with the required prayer before and after practice.

The coolest part of this for me was the number of teenage boys not on the baseball team that were paying attention and interested that Leo, a 25 year old would share the Bible with them and not just older people or visitors from the US.

I got things setup for Daniel's worship in the laptop, as well as Pastor Gilberto's sermon notes and scriptures. I also did my best to keep the children entertained with a dry erase board because the baseball field was occupied for practice.

The numbers trucked in from surrounding villages filled the church again and Pastor Gilberto spoke on superstitions. The congregation enjoyed his sarcasm and upbeat service about some crazy superstitions people believe. Rigaberto and Griselda helped with nearly 40 children behind the pastors house sharing Bible stories.

TUESDAY TARGET

We went out to Candelaria around noon. Pastor Gilberto had a group of over 25 men, and Maritza had the more or less the same amount of women for an afternoon class of the target day 1. The groups met for 3 hours and shared testimonies and scripture.

In another corner of the church the newest members of the sewing class were meeting. A couple of women who finished the class in early February are now teaching new women. With 2 teachers the total people in the group varies from 10-12 women meeting 3 days a week. It is very exciting to see them growing and independent like the gardeners.

I worked on keeping kids playing outside and keeping the church quiet for the classes, and got things setup for the night service. For the time that the Colons are here: Santa Matilde, La Isla, Tonola, and others in Chichigalpa are being trucked in for the evening service, so the chruch is packed with all ages. Pastor Gilberto led the evening service with Daniel leading worship. Yaihaira and Rigaberto, after worship, shared bible stories with over 60 children.