Memory Monday

Life here is not exactly routine but is becoming more normal. Most days aren't completely jammed with stories to  "write home about." So I'm going to try something new: Memory Monday's. I'll share moments from the last week and verses that have given me strength and encouragement. Hope I'm able to keep up with this  :)

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

Nereyda and I shelling roasted cacao beans.
"This is something all Nicaraguans do."
The crushed beans makes a weak chocolate milk sort of drink... I love it!

Zachary, the 10-year-old on the right, is now taller than me!
We marked the date on the calendar!

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. 

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; 

I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

The One Child Matters children in Apanas
praying before their lunch.

Caryn and I being silly overlooking the volcano.
(PhotoCred: Thanks Beth!)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Trust fall. Seeing this beautiful girl open up and
trust her new friends was a powerful image.

“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, 

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace 

shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10

We hiked to the cross one Sunday morning and
shared a breakfast of bagels and M&Ms...
Wilson asked me how many years old the bread was!!
It's a different kind of hard bread for them!

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25

Maggie Lou is a beautiful friend!
I love spending time with her!

Carlos is my Nicaraguan little brother (hermanito).
He's 15 years old and a complete goofball,
but when he wants to share it, he has such a caring soul!

You keep him in perfect peace
 whose mind is stayed on you, because he 

trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is 

an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3-4

These four teens (12-14 years old) graduated from one of the English
school's in town. They've been studying for 3 years and presented a final paper
to all their teachers, another translator (also a graduate of the same school) and
two North American's (Caryn and I). It was a really special day for them
and fun to hear how much they have learned.

Some days you just need to go get ice cream
and laugh when it gets on your nose.

Answer me quickly, O Lord! My spirit fails! Hide not your face from me, 
lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, 
for to you I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:7-8

Beth is such a wonderful friend and family member!
She came down for a week and we got to sort medicine,
learn about water filters, help build a church, climb to the cross,
take selfie's at a volcano and just watch a movie!
It was perfect. Thank you for the memories, Bethie! 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Saturday night the youth group meets for their own time of worship. Just like in the States, life happens and plans can change very quickly. Our leaders were held up with other things so I walked into the church and said, "Okay. What do we want to do? Go home or share time together?" No one wanted to leave. Carlos (my hermanito, top right) first said, "Well, I'm one of the only baptized ones, do I have to give the lesson?" "Only if you want to," I replied. He said yes. I asked one of the other boys who often leads singing if he wanted to select a few songs, "No. I want to pray. Ask Kevin [his brother] to sing." "Deal." "Hey Kevin, want to sing?" "YES!! Give me the song book please!" About this time Carlos is second guessing the lesson, "Colette. No. I don't know what to talk about..." "Well do you have a favorite verse or book? Let's start there." "No. I just don't feel able to do this." Kevin chimes in, "I'll preach. Carlos, you sing." "Okay. Yes. Yes." We prayed and sung then Kevin got up. He was more than a little nervous, which is totally valid when he only had 5 minutes to prepare. He was figuring out where to stand and how he was going to hold his Bible, seeming a little lost, when he looked up and announced, "Jesus, sat down when he taught. If he can, I sure will." "Someone pass me that chair, please!" We all giggled as Kevin continued with minimal shaking.

And what do you know. We had a beautiful time of worship! I sat in the circle with them SO incredibly proud of these teens. For their willingness to say. For their enthusiasm to lead and participate. For being able to witness their growth. God is so good!

Campamento con los Jóvenes

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. 
But pity anyone who falls
 and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Ecclesiastes 4 was our theme for camp with the youth group. We learned about how to be a friend, why we need friends, where do we find friends, how to be more than best friends with God. It was a lot to take in over 3 days! As any volunteer has experienced, you don’t always participate in the same way the teens do when you’re missing one activity preparing for the next. So my top ten from camp is probably a little different from their list.

10. The camp was just beautiful! Freezing the first day because of rain, but those mountains and plants were a testament to their creator!

9. Food. While 3 Nica meals a day definitely involved more rice than my normal diet, I was good!

8. Drama. The teens and a few of our volunteers put on a drama to go with the lessons. While my part was a fail (remember I don’t really speak Spanish), the other actors did a wonderful job!

7. Silly games. The laughter and smiles and “OH MAN!” moments were hilarious.

6. Talent show night. The group was broken down into 4 small groups for discussion and activities. One activity was a talent show that turned into a talent skit. Seeing a couple of our really quiet kids jump out of their shell was stellar.

5. Elements course. The camp had a rock climbing wall, a zip-line, a tight-rope walk and a few other low element activities. Watching the teens experience those activities and seeing how they began trusting and encouraging others was so encouraging!

4. Six friends came from visiting congregations to help and lead the lessons. Their leadership and friendship was an incredible blessing. We would have been struggling without them!

3. Saying goodnight. It doesn’t matter what country you’re in, the first few minutes after lights out are a hilarious blessing. All the girls in my room had to say goodnight to everyone specifically and if I didn’t jump in right away I got called out too. Processing the day and giggling with them was a joy.

2. Singing. I love the way Nicaraguans sing! And we got to learn new songs!

1. Seeing new friendships and connections made in the group! I just smiled our last afternoon watching the boys, who hadn’t talked before camp, play baseball together. And our last morning at breakfast the girl’s table was so full because they kept squeezing just one more in.

We started with a piñata! Inside was candy and 4 puzzles
with each piece having a person's name to form their small groups.

Group 3!

Worship time!

Illustration of how Christ carries all our burdens.
Carlos went around the room and collected Bibles, notebooks,
bags and a chair. We struggle with those things; Jesus carried all our sin!

Each group was given spaghetti noodles and seven minutes
to see who could build the tallest structure! 

Felipe ready to lead our afternoon game time!

Passing the orange using your neck not your hands. Classic.

They had a water bottle on one end and empty bottles at the other.
Transfer all the water using straws. It was kinda gross,
as you can see on Mrs. Martha's face, but so fantastic!

Water balloon toss. The fastest team to go down and
back with all 4 of their balloons won. I love this picture of Emanuel.
He's one of the newest boys to our group!

Our group for the elements course

Saidi wanted to trust them... but instead of intentionally falling back,
she actually fell, and they caught her for real! 

Mayling crossed the tight-rope bridge. She was terrified at the beginning and
the whole way through. But that prideful smile on her face when she finished was worth it!!

Jarlenis and Gema. Two precious girls that I love!!

Laughs, smiles and serious faces. Never know what you'll get.

Hands down, the trip was a success. God is alive and moving in this group! I am honored to see them grow and to be there with them! Please be praying for the leaders as we are continually reevaluating what we are teaching them and how we can best point them to Jesus. Pray for the jóvenes (teens) that they continue to thirst for righteousness and God’s truth. Please pray that the can be strong examples for their parents, most of whom do not go to church. I am praying God give you opportunities to see His glory and be involved in His works too!

Adios. See you next time!
Marvin Taylor is one of the most polite young men in the group.
He's just a wonderful shining light!

It's a Little Different Here

Welcome back to the land of...

-pressure-less showers (sometimes cold too)

-lots of indoor bugs

-skinnnnny cows

-daily rain

-no AC

-sketchy internet 

-wonderful gillo pinto (the Nica rice and beans dish)

-white piña 

-no refills 

-not flushing toilet paper

-grocery shelves that aren’t fully stocked

-constant horns

-singing con fuerza (strength)

-no rush

-recharging phone minutes

-power outages

-cockroaches and rats (less with our rodent patrol around)

-lots of "I have absolutely no idea what you're saying"

These are some of the differences I encountered my first 24 hours back in Nicaragua. Most days I love life here. It's definitely different than life in the States but change is good. However, I'll admit when I have to go to 3 different stores to find Coke Zero, I'm known to be a little frustrated. If my mind is in the right place, I instantly start making a list of things that made me smile in the last hour. After that life is better!

I try to embrace the reminder that things aren’t quite as easy because this is Earth, and life is not supposed to be perfect, easy or comfortable. Heaven is home. Heaven is where God intended us to be. The city we live in now has nothing compared to the joys and splendor of Heaven.

If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. Hebrews 11:15-16

God is showing us glimpses of His splendor and His works… daily! I can’t wait to share more of them with you. Praying we all desire His country more than anything else. 

I love my life

It’s true. I love my life. Not in the blasphemous way that I would turn away from God to keep my life. But in the completely-in-awe of how He continues to let me be involved in His work.

So. Lets catch up on the work that’s going on around Jinotega…

The Casa Materna ministry is growing! We now have two in Jinotega with the newest one being dedicated to women who have some sort of complication or long term problem with their pregnancy. Since they are staying at this one longer, the ladies are going to be continuing deeper Bible studies with personal prayer time hoping to build stronger relationships with the women who are there. They still visit some of the Casas outside of Jinotega too.

Very blurry picture of the whole cooking crew. 
These ladies are a joy to be around.

Nereyda, Estella and I laughing in the back of the truck 
on the way home from Yali.

Groupo de jóvenes (youth group) Oh how I’ve missed them. They are growing, and they are hungry. Oh how I’m praising God daily for that! Last week, a church about an hour away, had a lock-in and invited us to join. It was definitely an experience, a little overwhelming for some of our new teens, but they enjoyed it and learned from it. We are planning for a retreat in October. Lots of exciting ideas and possibilities come with these events. Please pray that we are continually pointing these souls to Jesus.

Some of us in the back of the truck.
We definitely had more last week on the way to the lock-in. 

Hijos del Rey (Children of the King) continues to thrive as well. The whole church came together the last Sunday in August to “showcase” what these children have been learning. They sang their songs, preformed their dramas and then we had a short devotional before serving supper for the children, their families and the church-- talk about a lot of rice! It was such a treat to see the church come together like that. The youth group stepped up by cleaning and preparing the building, each family bought part of the meal brought it to the church, the ladies class cooked all the food, our preachers spoke and prayed for all the families present… It was special. We are hoping to do this every 5^th Sunday. You can see a video HERE from that night. Praying God leads this program as we love on His children, His hijos. 

The coloring center has the Bible story on one side
and the picture on the other. 

A couple of friends have started a baseball team. Most of the boys are from Hijos del Rey or the boys whose family works in the market right around the mission. They practice twice a week and have games on Saturday. While they are not the best players, they are precious investments. Oh my. Pray for patience for the coaches and willing hearts for the players as they all learn more about the game and life.

The kids warming up before their game last week.

This week, a group of Texas Tech nursing students and faculty came to serve. I haven’t had many opportunities to work with the medical groups because I’ve been with the church groups at that time. But this week I did. It was awesome. These ladies came with open hearts and eyes willing to serve, learn and roll with the challenges. I can’t tell you all they did; however, I can tell you how they encouraged me. Their sweet spirits and enthusiastic attitude made them a pleasure to work with! I had the opportunity to visit 3 of our schools with them to perform wellness screenings. I even got to help translate a little. There are still so many things I don’t know about Spanish, but it was uber encouraging for me to be able to help someone else understand these children. It was also a cool taste of what it will be like when I know more and won’t need to keep asking the real translators how to say something every 5 minutes. 

Seriously awesome ladies. 

Their last afternoon, after seeing all the primary students (about 150)
they shared their bubbles and made everyone smile.

There are so many other good works happening around this city and country. I’ll keep sharing as I keep learning. Thank you. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your support. Thank you for sharing your excitement about Jesus’ love. Thank you for showing interest in Nicaragua. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to love my life!

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 

John 12:25-26

Hogar. Home.

As defined by...

-Mom: the place where your MOMMA is

-Webster: the place (such as a house or apartment) where a person lives

-Me: a place I feel welcomed and loved, where I do not normally need a GPS

In the short span of 9 days, I will have been to all five of my homes. Last weekend I was in Birmingham, Alabama. Riverchase Church of Christ gave me the opportunity to intern with Scott Pruitt and their youth group in 2012, and it’s felt like home since day one. Such a loving congregation and a stellar group of teens who are hungry to learn and serve their master. Visiting the friends who have become family is always a spirit booster for me. Seeing how the teens are growing into young adults is just a special honor to watch. I am so thankful to be welcomed there.

Because of these smiling faces and sweet hearts, I am rich.

I left Birmingham to return to Fayetteville, Tennessee. During middle school and high school if you asked me for my favorite place in the world, without hesitation, I would have replied with Fayetteville. Gran and Grandad’s farm is just comforting and peaceful. With them, it’s a place full of love, laughter and great memories. So spending the majority of the last 8 weeks there was a pleasure. I do know the route to the post office, hardware store, local farmers market and most importantly Hardee’s!

So much time spent in that white barn.

Mom, Dad, Bridge and I took a road trip to Searcy, Arkansas for 24 hours last week. Well technically it was a move for Bridge. She started her freshman year at Harding today! Searcy holds a special place in my heart because I spent 4 ½ years calling those dorms home. I learned from everyone around me and grew as God showed me to new thoughts and dreams.  Some of my best friends and favorite people are now watching out for my baby sister. That is home. Where your family is loved.

Frozen Delight. We love it.

A quick 3 days in Atlanta to say, “Hi and Bye!” to so many friends this weekend was home #4. From birth to high school graduation, all but two years were spent in Gwinnett County. While I do need directional reminders occasionally, I definitely know my way around and my brain turns to autopilot too often. While Atlanta (Grayson especially) is constantly changing, it is definitely home. It’s where I learned to walk, ride a bike, drive and do many other things not related to transportation.

Today, prayerfully, I will return to Jinotega. My other home. My current home. A place where I always look out of place and, to be honest, I feel out of place sometimes. But it’s a totally different culture, what do you expect?! Nevertheless, Jinotega is a place where I continually feel welcomed and loved. I can get to my friend’s houses and the grocery stores without a map. Success. And those mountains... Oh. They just feel right.

I’ve heard it said, “Home is where the heart is.” Well here’s the deal… My heart is spread all over. I try, incredibly hard, to be present right where I am; knowing that I long to hear how things are going with the other parts of my heart all at the same time. Thankfully, God is omnipresent and omnipotent. He made me. He knows how to comfort me and when to push me. He provides specific people to hold and care for the loved ones that my heart reaches but my arms can’t. He alone is capable. So I trust Him to hold all the pieces of my heart until they reunite in their eternal home, Heaven.