Hello all!
I wanted to write you and share about my time in Nicaragua, and also
what the Lord has called me to. First, as some of you know I was in
Nicaragua for the summer of 2010, and during my time there the Lord
stretched me, grew me, and revealed passions for the lost and poverty
stricken. I want to introduce a couple of them to you.
is a child that has gone through so much in such a short lifetime. She
lives in the slums of Jinotepe with her mother, and two younger
siblings. She is eight years old and has a smile so bright that you
can’t help but smile back. Her father left when she was a baby to join a
gang, and they haven’t seen him ever again. She was forced to leave
school to take care of her younger siblings while her mother works in
the fields for the equivalent of $5 per day, which is enough to purchase
rice for one meal a day for the family. During my time there we taught
the mother skills, like how to make bracelets, and how to prepare bread
so she could sell them in the market. But more than trade skills she
learned about Christ and Annette learned about her heavenly father that
would never abandon her. The family is doing great, Annette is back in
school, and they are all very close to their new church family in
Nicaragua. And Annette’s smile has never been bigger!
Marlone
is twelve years old and has four younger siblings. Marlone is one of
the best big brothers I have ever seen. He teaches his younger brother
to play soccer every chance he gets, and plays hide and seek with his
sisters while his mother prepares dinner. Sounds like a happy family
right? Marlone and his family lived in a one room hut with sticks
holding up the roof, and the walls are trash bags. Marlone and his
father work in the coffee fields from dawn until the heat is too much to
handle for the young boy. Marlone’s family also takes care of his
grandmother that is seventy six years old, and has not been able to walk
in three years. Marlone,s younger sister is going deaf in both ears and
they couldn’t afford the surgery to help her. When I first talked with
Marlone’s father I asked him about God, and did he believe in him? He
replied “yes I know He is there, but he hates me, so I hate Him”
(translated of course). During my time I continued to go back every
other day to see my new family and talk with the father and mother about
Christ. The kids always beat me in soccer too… But I could tell more
and more that the father was different. One day he asked me to pray with
him. We helped Marlone’s family build solid walls, a solid roof, and an
oven that we built from bricks. But more than that the father accepted
Christ, and praised Him for all that had happened. Marlone now works for
their church taking water to the elderly, and the father is now reading
the Bible to his family every day. Through our fundraising efforts we
were able to get Maleah (deaf sister) her surgery, and she can now hear
95% out of one ear and 90% out of the other!
I was able to make this journey through an organization called Adventures in Missions. AIM
is a mission’s organization that sends out thousands of missionaries
nationally and internationally every year. In fact, since its birth in
1989, AIM has sent over 85,000 missionaries to the field. Many remain in
missions or ministry, many come back and start their own ministries and
organizations, and some join staff. Orphans are fed and introduced to
families, widows are cared for, sick are embraced, homes are built,
churches are planted, young people are saved from human trafficking and
the world is literally changed.
I plan to serve again with AIM for eleven months in eleven countries
spanning three continents to speak to the lost, feed the hungry, and
show God’s love to those who have never known it before. But to do these
things and much more I need your help. The trip will cost $15,500 for
food, board and travel expenses. You can also support me monthly with $5
to $50 to however much you feel led. I will be on the field for 11
months, so that would be a huge blessing to partner with you monthly.
