Nicaragua
Ministry summary:
For the first half of February, I partnered with Cicrin, a home for children from unsafe or extremely poor family situations on the island Ometepe. We helped tidy up the area, played with the kids and did construction on the local school to prepare for its expansion. For the second half of the month, my parents joined me for the Parent Vision Trip in Granada, Nicaragua. We partnered with the organization, REAP, where they work to bring the gospel to the local people by connecting on their level. We served a meal to the workers at the dump, went prayer walking and visited women in prison. Most importantly, PVT was a chance for me to see how the Lord is working in my parents lives and for them to experience how the Lord is working in mine.
Adventure Highlights:
* Swam at a natural water reserve that comes from under a volcano
* Boarded down the active volcano, Cierra Negro (and my parents surprised me at the bottom where they had just boarded down an hour before)
* Visited an the active volcano Mysaya and saw the bubbling lava
* Swam in the lake of a volcano’s crater
What God taught me:
This month, God gave me an abundance of time to spend in His word. I studied several books, verse by verse, and saw what He was teaching through them with a new perspective. I learned more of God’s nature through his kindness and sternness, what it means to stay connected to the vine, wisdom and fear of the Lord, rejoicing in all situations, and living out the gospel.
Costa Rica
Ministry Summary:
This month we partnered with the organization called, Conexion. We ran field days at several schools as a way to get the organization into the school. They will in the future run programs focused on the gospel and encouraging kids to stay in school. We also gave presentations to students, kindergarten through university, about our travels the past 7 months with different cultures, songs, and experiences. We helped in the community by painting a house and a church. Once a week, we helped set up and run a worship concert (I helped lead in Spanish one night) and talks on bible study, prayer and fasting. We also went on 2 medical expeditions, one in San Jose and one in Talamonca, a more Indiginous part of Costa Rica. During the weekends there was free medical, dental, and eye care given as well as free haircuts and donated clothes. We hosted children, youth and family programming including a worship concert. The whole weekend is run out of the local church in hopes of plugging people into that community. Our hosts this month made us feel like we were part of their family. They were a complete blessing and breath of fresh air.
Adventure Highlights:
* Zip lining through the jungle
* Exploring the Catholic church that every devout Catholic will takes a pilgrimage to once a year, walking the last 3 miles on their knees, to worship a “sacred rock”
* Cheered at some nation soccer games: USA vs. El Salvador and Costa Rica vs. Panama
What God taught me:
God taught me to stay steadfast in His love. Life doesn’t have to move at 100 miles an hour but He has designed us to live a restful and fulfilled life. He showed me to live a pure, joy filled, adventurous life.
Thank you all so much for your prayers! They are very much needed and appreciated now more than ever. As the months go on, I am getting more tired and exhausted and learning to rely on the Lord for His supernatural strength. I know God has prepared us for whatever may come and we are so excited to finish the race strong. We leave for Jamaica tomorrow morning!
Sending so much love and prayers to you all!,
Kimmy
