10-1-09 Updates!

Where do we begin....What a day it has been. We started off by doing a quick devotional and prayer time in the lobby of the hotel. Courtney shared 1 Peter 3:8 about love, compassion, and humility, which summed up the previous night's emotions and Pastor Mike shared from 2 Corinthians 5:11-21 about how we are Christ's ambassadors and how we are here solely because of the work God has done in each of our lives and in our hearts. We then left to our distribution in the city of Masaya. We unloaded and began to gather in a museum and began with some worship. Karla translated for us as their pastors talked about Jesus and the importance of being a good parent. They said it takes three things to make a good family: a mom, a dad, and God. Also, they talked about how the decisions that the parents make, affect the children and their futures. Pastor Mike also shared about the importance of first, loving God, and second, loving our neighbors. We then began to hand out the boxes to the children one-by-one. We waited until everyone had received their boxes and they opened them all at once. The looks on their faces were amazing. For a majority of the children, it was the first gift they have ever received. Each team member had a unique bond with a child, or parent.

The plan was to go straight to the orphanage after our morning distribution. However, we stopped at a small village just outside the town and realized a lot of the kids and families that lived there were families we met at the distribution. This allowed us to further continue our ministry to these families and kids. Two families that we especially connected with were more than willing to show us their "homes". Although most of us have bathrooms the size of these homes, they were so honored to invite us in. These houses varied in the way they were made from plastics, to aluminum/tin panels, and trash bags. One family in particular housed 5 people with 3 beds, actually...cots! For today, this was definitely the most eye opening experience, and emotion packed event. We got back into the van and a number of us reflected on the afternoon and were brought to tears because of the relationships we formed and the lives we touched.

We then arrived at the New Life Nicaragua orphanage and met its founder Christine. She explained that they carried 32 kids ranging from birth to six, with two boys at age 8. The orphanage takes in children removed by child services mainly as a result from malnutrition, as well as children who were simply abandoned. Although the kids were extremely stranger-anxious, they eventually responded to us and opened up. Adoptions are not an option in Nicaragua except through the Government, therefore, none of us came home with new children :(

Well that was our Thursday everyone! We hope you enjoyed reading about our day and we especially hope that you feel a little more a part of this trip. We encourage you to become "followers" on our blog and even more, post comments about what you think! We love you all and thank you so much for your prayers! Talk with you tomorrow!!!

Joe, Greg & Courtney, Sarah, Karla, & Pastor Mike

ps. Debra might have been slightly exhausted/sweaty because in her post, the little girl "Africa" is really named Kenya (A country of Africa) but close enough...We love you Debra :)

Kenya is the little girl wearing Greg's hat.