Returning to Home....Changed.

As I sit here in the comfort of my North American home, I reflect on the adventure that just happened. A few thoughts come to my mind. Glen Pitts from Barrie, Ontario spoke on Thursday morning and said that "We have now experienced most of the world. This is the way most of the world lives." Why was I born in Canada? How can I use my resources more wisely to love others the way that Jesus did? Thanks Glen for speaking, I think we all need to join the rhino race :-)

Thursday afternoon, Gary Robinson, CEO of 3Fold Ministries, shared his vision for the Skylark Centre. The Skylark Centre is about People, Projects and Programs. What's next? Will be driven by need, Opportunity and Provision. In February, they are having a team of 28 medical people to serve the Nicaraguan people. They hope to impact 1600 lives through health checkups. Gary's vision is for this to become a regular occurrence - 6 medical teams coming throughout the year. This Centre is well planned and runs like a well oiled machine.

It was wonderful meeting everyone from all over Southwestern Ontario, Moosonee and Nova Scotia so far away from Canada. I loved the music and the evening chats. It was an honour to be involved in the conference and to learn from so many gifted people. Jason and I pray that God will give us the opportunity to visit again!

An Impact

Our time here is coming to a close. My thought of the people will forever remain in my mind. When we first came here, life seemed so chaotic. But after being here for a while, life doesn´t seem so chaotic. Walking throught the community, we had the opportunity to see poverty. A country full of political, civil and economic oppression. But yet, the people still greet you with ola and smiles. So the question needs to be asked.......what is it they have, that we don't? Maybe it is not so much about us helping them, but rather them helping us. Or maybe there is no us and them. Maybe it should be JUST US. We are in this together. Missions is not defined by race, colour, sociality, economics, politics or education. It is defind by love. It is defined by Jesus. We are all missionaries. Lets show it by our love.

On Tuesday, I presented a monologue for the first time in my life. I was a little bit nervous at first but then I got into the story and the message was conveyed the way God wanted it to be :-) It was a story about a woman that was going to a church, however, her life was not perfect. The people in the church would gossip about her, however, she knew that Jesus had forgiven her past and that He loved her unconditionally.

Bruxy Cavey from The Meeting House in Oakville, Ontario spoke in the morning and afternoon session. He is definitely a gift from God and is brilliant in the way he presents a simple message.

Before the afternoon session began, Jason and Dave presented The Potter´s drama. This drama challenges you to listen to God and go outside of your comfort zone for Him. Way to go Jason and Dave on an excellent presentation!

On Wednesday, we participated in more sessions with Bruxy Cavey. In the morning, Jason and Pete presented a drama called Outcasts. This play talks about a prisoner and a leper where they feel they can no longer be a part of society. However, Jesus reaches out to them even though they have been neglected. Jesus still loves them! Thank you Jason and Pete for relaying this message.

Then in the afternoon, we had the opportunity to go on a Canopy Tour. Yes, swinging from tree to tree like a monkey :-) Well, not exactly swinging, more like suspended from a cable. It was an amazing feeling and I took some fabulous pictures.

Blankets and Parachutes

Monday is the first day of the conference we´ve come to serve at. Our first dramas. Pete has decided we will start with an easy one - a powerpoint show with two people reading about an encounter between a mission visitor and a local, and a pink blanket. However a computer failure loses us the powerpoint, and we have to start unexpectedly with Jason and Samantha´s humourous piece about a first parachute jump. Their drama debut. It goes perfectly and is well received. During the morning Pete puts a new powerpoint together and we do it in the afternoon.

The speaker today is Galo Vasquez; he is Ecuadorian and has done mission work in twelve cities in eleven countries. One of these was Barrie, Ontario, where he married his Canadian wife. He is inspiring about the potential for the evangelical church in Central America. He is so knowledgeable about the area, and has seen so many huge things happen here.

Written by Dave.

The Sights and Sounds of Nicaragua

On Sunday, we had the opportunity to go on a day trip. It started with a drive to Masaya to see a volcano. We hiked around the park and took in the beautiful scenery and ate lunch in the park. From Masaya we travelled to the local market. This market was for the tourists, very clean and lots of souvenirs to choose from. Then, off to Granada (the oldest city in North Amercia) to take a boat tour. On the boat tour we saw homes that were on islands surrounded by volcanos. While in Granada we visited the town square. Each town in Nicaragua has a town square that is a meeting place for the local people. The square always has a Roman Catholic church, a bank and a government building. For supper we ate at a local restuarant. The food was excellent! This restaurant was built by the Spanish and used to be a family´s home. The restuarant´s architecture displayed it´s history. Sunday was a day of learning about the Nicaraguan sights, cultural needs and building relationships with our team. We are in this together!!!!!

written by Samantha

Will Graham and 600 pastors

Saturday we were privileged to be part of a free conference for Nicaraguan pastors, hosted by the Billy Graham foundation. Our day started at 6am when the worship band arrived and began practicing. It certainly drowned out the roosters.

By eight the first of the pastors were starting to arrive. Many of them had brought families too. They arrived in clumps as buses from various places came in. By nine it was clear that the 400-500 estimate was too low, and we set to work putting out more chairs. Eventually we think about six hundred came.

The day started at nine-thirty with worship - lively and enthusiastic. Nobody needs to be invited to stand or clap here. Then there were two Spanish speakers, then more worship - then after two straight hours a short break. Then Will Graham was introduced, to massive cheers. He spoke about the heart of an evangelist, and was received with huge enthusiasm and joy. Everybody was so happy just to be there. At one-thirty he was finished, and everybody lined up for lunch. By two-thirty the last in line was served, and people started heading home.

It was clear that something very big had happened for the people of Nicaragua, and for us as well. There is no doubting their enthusiasm for Jesus and for spreading his message.

Written by David

We're Here!!!

We're now all here. Jason and Samantha and Dave all arrived yesterday, with no trouble. Today we went on a tour of the Skylark Centre and also visited the little community it´s next to. We visited the school - eight concrete block rooms - and met the teachers; there are thirty pre-schoolers in one tiny room. The teacher told us that they have twelve pencils and 25 sheets of paper for the entire year. They also need toys for the girls at the school. This afternoon (after a short siesta in the hammocks) we went to market in Jinotepe (the nearest town). The worship team bought notebooks to give to another local school. School is free, but the kids have to bring notebooks or they can´t attend. Twelve hundred notebooks cost three hundred dollars - donated by a primary school in Sarnia.

It´s about thirty degrees here (sorry those of you in Ontario). The vegetation is so green and lush. We enjoyed mandarins right off the tree, and have been eating local pineapple.