FUN thursDAY and NIGHT

we were in Candelaria almsot all day...Tommy, Linda, and Oscar had a meeting from 1-3 with Pastor Jose and his wife Bonita...during this time Scarleth and I were working on our project of getting all the kids full names (first, second, 2 last names) they use both parents last names...along with age.

This is to make attendance for both Sunday School and Friday night youth...as Scarleth got the names i was taking headshots for the future excel document of faces, names, age, and more information soon...we got a lot of that done past 2 days...but some kids arent always there during the week with school and work, so this list will probably continue to grow..Praise God for that!

After this Tommy had his usual W/Th/F 3-5 leadership meeting with the 12 pastors and Scarleth and Linda talked with small business goat owners and gardeners while I setup the laptop and projectors for our 6 o'clock movie...I finished that and played outside as it cooled off up until 6..baseball and duck duck goose mostly.

We had announced Sunday that we would have a movie Thursday night at 6..but the turn out wasnt many at 6...we waited to 6:30 to start it and it was darker so both projectors showed up better...Tommy's projector, NewSong's rather, is brand new and very powerful, the picture is much brighter than mine because 1-I need a new bulb and 2-his is just newer and better-more lumens etc...but it was nice having both because by 7 we had over 150 people there

We showed Bee Movie, Dreamworks newest computer animated movie...completely in Spanish with no subtitiles...so Tommy, Linda, and I kinda just watched and caught the gist of the movie, but everyone else loved it..There might have been 200 there by the end I'm not really sure, but we ran out of chairs, benches, and tables so people were standing and sittin on the 18 inch wall cement across the back of the church

We want to do these more often..especially when I get more of my DVDs here...most of them are in English with Spanish subtitles but not everyone here can read nor would they want to if i can find good movies in Spanish audio

Tommorrow will be busy as well...going out abotu 12:30 with activties all day followed by youth Friday night...2nd week of this..and Tommy and I will both be teaching ATTITUDE along with praise band, games, video and picture highlights from this past week.

Project Leo is going, but I am hoping for some support...It took $400 to get him to Dominican Republic and then another $100 today for him to get is Visa changed to 5-10 years rather than the 60 day he had...he thinks he might be back as early as 3 weeks..so i will be getting him back as well...if you feel led to help Project Leo ..PLEASE tag checks to project leo! He has been working for 3 months for free with the baseball team, and we need him back so bad to continue helping those boys with baseball, discpline, and their walk with Christ!

To read the full project click here: http://www.makemsmile.info/projects.htm

Saturday our first 2 people come as part of our 25 people in 60 days..Paul and Benjamin Rexroth- father and son from midwest USA i want to say Missouri...they plan to help with construction, music, youth and I am sure much more!

To see the calendar for our upcoming 2 months click here: http://www.makemsmile.info/calendar.htm

Love you all and sorry i have been too busy to update everyday, might be just twice a week for a while, but I LOVE AND MISS U ALL and will do my best to keep u up to date with us here

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!
DIEGO

Back in Leon

had a great 2 day at San Juan Del Sor beach...4 hour trip south of Leon and just above Costa Rica border

on the way there we stopped in messiah and by a place where a volcano had imploded

water was very cold..but i enjoyed it up to my waist anyways both days...this morning we took a boat ride about 35 mintues out and around to see other beaches..it was really pretty

the drive there and back wasnt bad and the seafood dinner, omelet breakfast, and ice cream snacks were all great

tired tonight bout to head to bed...

please pray for the coming week that will be very busy and starting this saturday our grops begin for the next 2 months more or less nonstop

getting prepared for friday night youth group as well

Love u all,
Diego

GREAT FIRST YOUTH

we had 85 people at our first night...when Linda and i went to get soft drinks and chips/cookies she said i was getting to much, but it was ok becasue we could use them next week...turns out we didnt have quite enuf but it was ok...we were thinking about 50

Oscar got a taxi to run grrups in from and back to Santa Matilda and La Isla. They really enjoyed ti and we asked if they want to continue coming..they said they would love to come back every week.

I am using the first wire i got to cover food and taxi service...the food was 26 and the taxi was 21...this will be a weekly expense but i feel that the youth is my primary focus at this point and we will need a little more food and drink next time..so more or less $55 a week will go to friday night youth group...thanks to all that have already contributed to this fund.

Last night and probably from now on, with a few changes to what they like better, we do games and contests, dance offs, schrades, other ice breakers from 6:30-7:30..at 7:30 i will show videos and pictures of things around the villages from the previous week...and some other fun things on the computer...7:50 worship

Our praise band is Tommy on drums, Herman and Nidia's dad on guitar, Daniel on keybaord and vocals, and 4 youth girls singing as well...Alfredo and Rigaberto run the sound board, and Scarleth and I run the powerpoint...i think Alex and Rigaberto are very interested in the powerpoint and other computer things...and i hope others will want to learn because int he future computer school is my ultimate goal...right now the band (Daniel and Nidia/Hermans dad only know the 5 songs we did last night) but we are starrtin Sunday afternoon practice of new songs as quickly as Scarleth and I get the powerpoint lyrics translated to Spanish.

Worship is abotu 20 mins and the youth is waving colorful flags singing dancing clapping along..very alive and great!

We follow the worship by opening in prayer, then a lesson...last night i spoke on teamwork and discipline with Scarleth translating...Then around 8:30 we asked them to get into groups of 7 and talk with each other personally for about 8 minutes and then have one person in each group pray for the rest of their group...Then I closed in prayer as a whole and we enjoyed snacks and drinks and broke down the front.

It was great, but it was our first time and we will learn from it and adjust in our youth leades meeting sunday at 12..it is myself sccarleth and 10 of our most involved youth (Joses daughters, Bismark, Saul, Alfredo, Rigaberto, Tommy husband of Maryuri)

Leaving now to be back there from 11-3 today...youth soccer game for myself and Linda is teaching a dance class...hope you all have a great day..i will add soem youth photos soon and it will have a lot more content on the .info website soon

Have a GREAT weekend!

Diego

GOOD THURSDAY

I spent a lot of time today choosing songs for our praise & worship, among other things for our first youth group tomorrow night.

We got a call from Manangua saying that they were bringing a trcuk load of Tomym and Linda's personal things and a lot of bulding supplies that has been stuck in customs for months. They said they would leave around 2 and be here by 5, then that shcnaged to leave around 3, then 4, then 5...the truck left about 5:30 and go tto Leon around 7:30...it was not everything we need, but ti is a start so we Thank God for that. They have been jerked aorund about getting this stuff for a very long time and now it is starting to come to them, finally.

Tommy held his leadership of 12 pastors meeting again today...it is every Wed/Thurs/Fri from 3-5...i go with him during that time to play with the kids who have morning school...so far they do not know that we are coming every Wed/Thurs/Fri...so when we get there i walk around the village for about 20 mins and our group grows from me to me and 2 more, then 5 more, then usually within 10 mintues we have a good 15 person group of kids ages 3-15...and head to the church

Within30 mins more kids start showing up, i think they go to find their friends at each others houses and when they find out we are at the church playing they get a group and come...by 5 we usually have 20-25 kids

There we play kick ball or baseball or soccer or throw frisbees...just giving them something to do than sit in the house, and be around me and other kids...today i had about 15 shirts packed in my backpack so we played a game with the frisbees to win shirts...they stood at home plate and i got to move aorund the infield...one at a time they got to try and throw, and if it landed within 3 steps of me in any direction they get to pick a shirt...if it is a bad throw they get in the back of the line

When somone wins a shirt they must then help me collect throws and watch/cheer for the other kids, so that they cant rack up on shirts...the game seemed to work well, and i told the kids we can play it more on wed/thurs/fridays..i also told them that i come at 3 on wednesdays thursdays and fridays...so maybe they will begin to show up without spending the first 20 mins gathering..not that i mind but we will have more playing time

Tonight i spent a long time preparing powerpoints for our youth group...i slected 5 songs and put lyrics into slides with large print in spanish and small english print below...i also made a photo story with pictures of all the youth from my trip in january...and another powerpoint with pictures from my first week back this trip...and the optical illusion of Jesus's face

I am preparing my lesson on teamwork/discipline...we plan to have our first 30 mins with fun and games...then 30 mins of projector things..videos picture shows..praise and worship...followed by the lesson and small group prayer and full congregation prayer...one final song and then snacks and fellowship

click this for the praise songs ppt file:

http://makemsmile.info/PRAISE.ppt

right click and choose Save Target As....to see the photostory 16 MB:


http://makemsmile.info/022208video.wmv

Please pray that our first youth group goes very well in hopes the group will grow and be a great ministry here for the hardest group to get at chruch 15-25 years old..

hope all is well with all of you

Diego

Good Meeting here and Good Day in Candelaria

found out this morning in our weekly meeting of the Leon team..(tommy linda myself leo oscar scarleth) that we are going to have a very busy next 2 months

The months of March and April are filling up fast! We actually only have 5 days from March 1- April 19 without at least one group here and a few times where they overlap. There will be 23 people minimum here from the states in those 7-8 weeks..some groups as small as 2 and others as large as 5+. This is wonderful we are very excited for the weeks to come, but we will be very very busy and we hope and pray all goes well.

We also disccussed days off, because Tommy knows that without a day or 2 a week it is too easy to get strung out or burnt out and lose our focus...We are making our Mondays a day off for everyon whether a team is here or not..if a team is here they will use Monday as their fun day and can do any tourist thing they want. We can then choose any other day Tues-Sat to take off.

This coming Monday Scarleth a friend of hers and I are taking Leo early (4 am) to fly out of Managua and then driving on to San Jaun del Sur..the beach...fro all day Monday and Tuesday.

Other things today were some fellowship and leadership meetings in Cadelaria as well as myself playing baseball and passing out vitamins. Leo called me the pharmacist because i handed out probably 30 bags of 10 daily childrens chewables as well as 2-100 packs to 2 large families. The baseball was fun and my spanish as well as learning names are coming along.

Tonight i have added some more to the official webpage http://www.makemsmile.info/ about half of the links down the left are hot "clickable" now..the content on each page is no where near finished but u can get the idea...

Please look at PROJECTS CALENDAR PRAYER because project Leo is there and the groups coming in and prayer requests respectively...

Also...from about 8:15-11 Central we enjoyed a beautiful Lunar eclipse..i took a series of pictures for about 45 mins i guess that u can see below..i know Boone was cloudy and other friends missed it so i hope u enjoy...it was much oranger and pretty than the pics show..but still cool



heading back to Candelaria tommorrow, hope all is well with each of you

Love, Diego

Room coming along

this morning i finished watching "The Natural" with Yader before he had to get ready for school...cant believe i had not seen that movie til now but we both enjoyed

this morning i got my website up..only 2 pages are up so far but the setup is what requires the most time:

http://www.makemsmile.info/

i also changed my bed to face long ways and it gives me so much more room when entering the room..it is also better for my monitor to be up on the desk and the speakers to sit on top the bathroom walls

Now there is room for a couch and the projector will take up more or less the entire largest wall over my bed...i think Yader and Maria are going to be impressed and hopefully we will have time to watch a movie tonight

this picture was taken at 2 pm..with the door open and a lot of sunlight coming through the windows, at night it is a great picture.

I found some very cheaper silverware, and dishes this afternoon in Leon within a block of my place...also got some mayo, lettuce, and tomato at the market for making sandwiches in my room.

I helped Yager with some of his English homework and then he told me he needed to watch "The Pursuit of Happyness" with Will Smith by Friday for a class discussion. He invited 2 of his friends, Anner and Jorge as well...we all enjoyed the movie very much...i had seen it once before, but it was the first time for all 3 of them.

Tonight i have added more to my website and finished setting up my room for the time being...if you go to the "Projects" on the left you can read about Project Leo and i will be adding more pictures and detailed information that i have collected as soon as i find time.

www.makemsmile.info/projects.htm

heading to tommy and linda's in the morning for our weekly wednesday Leon team meeting, lunch, and then an afternoon in the villages..very eager to see the kids but also very happy to have had these 2 days in Leon to get familiar with stores and setup websites and other contact etc

Love you all..dos dedos, (dos dedos means 2 fingers in Spanish..as in peace...i am working to have it catch on with all my kids here)

Diego

Day of CatchUp

today Tommy and Linda were wanting some time to catch up, and relax and be together because of all the back to back teams etc, so i too had a day to catch up

My 3rd and final bag got here around 3 PM so thank God and thank all of you for praying for it, nothing wa damaged in all 3 bags and i have been setting up my room today

I also walked around a few blocks so i know where i can get bread, peanut butter honey, water, etc for eating at my own place

i rode with Scarleth and a man named Mike from Boston out to Candelaria breifly this afternoon just to deliver some money for feeding goats and pigs and see a little bit of baseball practice

tonight i have been working on my coming soon website makemsmile.info and been in touch with a lot of friends and family via email and AIM...i have enjoyed that very much

i got my projector in and i invited Yader, 16 and Maria, 14 to watch a movie in my room...they are the adopted children of Dona Leticia whose house i am renting a room in...Yader loves baseball and we wacthed the Natural in english with spanish subtitles...they have school in the morning so we only saw the first 3rd of the movie (2 hrs 15 mins total)

we will watch the rest when we can, and they are very excited that i have some movies here and want to bring their blank CDs over in the morning to burn some CDs from my music library

all is well and i thank God for a nice day to settle down, rest, setup room and websites, and keep in touch with everyone back home..So glad to have my 3rd bag which is about 70% gifts for people here

i think Tommy and Linda are taking most of tomo off too so i will be hanging with Yader and Maria and maybe getting together with Scarleth to work on the adopt a family project and the sunday school attendance excel sheets

hope everyone had a great Presidents day and ill be in touch more tomo night

1st SUNDAY SERVICE

today we went to Candelaria for the childrens service from 10-12 and it went great

the sewing ladies were honored and the 3 young men that put in the lights and fans

linda did the service talking about giving back to the church

people need to know that when they are given sports teams, sewing classes, electric work, etc for pleasure and money that they need to also give back to the church with time, work, and money

the garden needs water so i am trying to work on making the youth age boys 15-25 do it, without being asked..now they onyl do it when im there doing it with them but it needs it sometimes in the mornings and weekdays that we are doing other things

scarleth and i had a meeting with 10 youth group leaders from 12-2 about this comign friday night for ourfirst youth night...it will continue you every friday from 7-9 and i am the primary leader for that, along with scarleth translating and MCing

we are getting the front wall of the church painted bright white so that newsongs and my personal projectors can be used for movies, videos, powerpoints, karaoke, etc etc and the youth are excited

i guess that is more or less it for right n0w...please pray for my 3rd bag to come in tommorrow and then scarleth and i will viist Candelaria by bus in the afternoon because Tommy and Linda are taking some much needed day(s) off.

Computer, 2 of 3 luggage makes it to Leon!!

2 of my 3 were brought to me around 2 pm today central time...the airport taxi got them here 2 hours to Leon..and they found the 3rd in houston it should come in monday...THANK GOD for that..i appreciate all your concern and prayer for that

this is from my computer..internet is workin decently on wireless here...but the walls are thick thick concrete so i migth run my own line if need be

love u all and i will send pics etc once i get more stuff setup..and my empty walled (jail cell) becomes more of a room

tommy and linda wanted all of today off and most of tommorrow as well posibily half of monday due to so many groups back to back to back..so my stuff could not have come at a better time..for me to setup and also use my own communtication instead of thiers

all is well and very excited to be going out with oscar scarleth and leo tonight to "the disco" as oscar calls it..dancing saturday nights...

and tommoroow i have a 2 hour meeting with daniel, pastor of music/worship, oscar, scarleth, etc about the friday night 7-9 youth group ages 15-25 that tommy is going to start and i will play a major role in

i am working on my first big task

its called project Leo and i will be putting that on my newly purchased

MakemSmile.info

that i hope to start bulding this weekend and have online worldwide monday

i will have more info there very soon..please have a great weekend and get back to me when u can..miss u all but loving this very much

Diego

My Pad

the place i have been supplied with is more or less a hostel, and i can do something else once i get more settled but i think i am going to like this as a permanent home...$60 a month with electricity, internet, running water, and full size bed

it is enough room for me and also small enough to not have wasted space...there are probably around 15 rooms on my, lower level and a large room full of bunk beds upstairs. The front entrance is locked and has people up front for security...there are 2 TVs and a phone in the "lobby area"

i am in the back, away from the road so there is hardly any noise at night, and the other 2 rooms around me are rented by Mike and Maria, 1 for them to live in, and 1 used as an office and kitchen.

here are a few pics of my room, without the 190 pounds of luggage i am waiting on.. the 2-70 lb pieces are in Managua and continental is working to find my final 50 lb bag (between raleigh and california we think) Thank God! When all 3 are in Managua-they will drive them the 2 hours to me in Leon, probably by Monday at the latest

hope you all have a great weekend and thank you so much for your prayers and emails thus far, continue to pray for my 3rd bag and just getting settled over the weekend

Love and miss you ALL!! -Diego

Safe Arrival!

i have made it to Nicaragua safely

i had many delays and close calls during/between flights

0 of my 3 bags are here as of yet

please pray that all of my luggage makes it to me soon

LOVE you all and will be adding more soon, especially when my computer arrives

Jim Bob "Diego" Norman

February Updates from Linda Gable

an email I and other staff members received this weekend from Linda

What a marvelous life-giving time we have experienced with Jeremiah and Renie Parra!!! Everyone here feels injected with love, energy and a spiritual lift from the exchange of the live of God in their visit. We thank God for the visits and ministry from friends with us here in Nicaragua. We hope that you can open this attachment in which you can hear from the Parras themselves. We have been amazed as God has been impacting those who come here so strongly that they want to come more or even relocate. This is Jeremiah's future hope. He is from Bogata, Columbia and was the first person Tommy lead to Christ many years ago. He was am great help interpreting and working alongside of us. He and Renie poured out love, gifts of bibles and heartfelt prayers everywhere they went. Their hearts are bonded to the family of God here and the people here cried to see them leave.

Preston and Sandra rented a house here as they want to come more often to begin an industrial school. The young men who he taught electrical skills to last week installed 10 new fans in the church structure by themselves this week!


Jim Bob Norman (Diego here) will be moving to help us on the 14th. We are dancing about this gift to us from God! He is incredible with the youth and super techo skilled. I think God saw me drowning and sent him to save me!!! (Linda) Take a look at this article about

him.http://www.mountaintimes.com/columns/0000_lifetimes.php3


We thank God for the 340 school packages that He provided for the 3 churches that are growing in new Christians which means more students. What a whirlwind week we had, shopping in the open market, distributing the supplies, dealing with the confusion of wrong sizes, mistakes and re-shopping! WHEW!!!! Finally, everyone is in school and happy!! Next year we will have a better method. We are doing a lot of living and learning here, but God always wins! Please pray about joining us in this venture to see the youth here educated in public schools and trade schools. For $35.00 a month you can change the destiny of a entire family through education. Checks can be mailed to ACC 3355 Old Jonesboro Rd. Fairburn. Ga. 30213. Soon you will also be able to adopt and pay on-line.


Tommy's Leadership Training and Equipping Class with 12 leaders is awesome. The men are eating it with a spoon! They don't mess around but they apply what they are taught that week. What a joy for him. He is in his element.


We gave out Bibles to each family and asked them to read a chapter of Proverbs a day for wisdom. The baseball team was also there to receive their uniforms and shoes and be commissioned as our official team. We are using the athletic leagues to reach the youth for Christ so most of these boys did not have a relationship with Jesus. I was surprised as they all were asking me for a Bible. I met with them and explained the good news of God love and forgiveness to each of them and His desire for a relationship with them. When I asked them who wanted to accept this gift they all shot their hands up!!! What a joy!!! Oscar lead them in a prayer and now we have the coach and young men discipling them each practice. YAHOO!!! I sent a picture of them to you. Please pray for many people, especially young people to be connected to God in

reality and begin new lives. That is why we are here!


The medical/dental clinic has a roof on it and the workers will be able to continue as we have have received all but $6,000.00 to complete the construction. Praise God and thank you all.


The garden is putting out radishes, beets, and cucumbers currently. Soon, more than 300 cabbages will be ready and what looks like a million green peppers along with many other fruits and vegetables. I get in that garden and jump around. The workers laugh at me but I don't care, I can't help it as it is a 5 year dream coming true! We had a problem as the dry season requires us to water the garden and the city will not let us use the community water so the 5 workers were dying as they tried to carry water by hand 2 times a day and water over 1 acre. Now, all of the baseball team is helping in the morning to water the fields and others who are benefiting from our programs and classes are watering in the PM. The whole church is bringing their compost to help and it has become a church family ownership. None of this was planned ahead time. This is the way God works here, a problem presents an opportunity for greater community.


We are on our way back to the airport to pick up Drew and Mari Miles from Vero Beach Fl. They have been a huge help in fund raising for the small business projects. We are happy to show them what is happening with the funds that they raised and more that anything enjoy our time together seeing what God will do this next week.


We love you all and are so appreciative for such a team that is ever growing by the hand of God! Love, Tommy and Linda