Greetings Team!
It is hard to
believe that our time in Nicaragua has now come and gone. As always,
there is much anticipation for our week in Santa Maria, and there is sadness
when it’s done. I am sure, like me, you are once again enjoying warm
showers, clean feet, the ability to throw toilet paper in the toilet, water
from a tap, trash in cans vs. the street and air conditioning. Still, I
know for me, and for many of you, your hearts remain with our friends in Santa
Maria. God has truly blessed us, and He truly blessed our ministry in
Nicaragua this year. First and foremost, we give glory to our Father in
Heaven, who provided and met our needs this trip.
I also want to take a minute to truly thank each and every
team member this year. I am always amazed how God brings us together to
participate in His work, and how enjoyable it is for us to do. I am
thankful that each of you were called, and each of you responded to that
call. The ways in which each of you had an impact are too numerous to
write, but know that you did. Know that many were encouraged, many were
called to deeper faith in Christ, and many seeds were planted. We had 161
kids the final day of Bible camp. It was not an accident. You
continue to show the love of Christ. I want to give special thanks to the
team for the mime idea and development. This was a great addition to the
trip this year. I know it was something that touched us all. I look
forward to us sharing it with our congregation in the near future.
I am sure that many of you are now also reflecting on what
this trip taught you individually and for the future of the mission. I
encourage you to write those thoughts down. We will be holding a debrief
meeting in the next several weeks. Of course, feel free to email me your
thoughts as they come along. I want to challenge each of us to see how we
can expand our ministry during the year, and bring more St. John’s members into
the “team.” Most importantly, please continue to pray for our friends in
Santa Maria. The situation there remains ever challenging in so many
ways. Some of these situations we heard and saw, many more we didn’t.
For those of you following on this Blog, thanks for your interest in our work, thanks for your prayers, and thanks for your support. It is a great blessing to know we have such great support for this ministry.
For those of you following on this Blog, thanks for your interest in our work, thanks for your prayers, and thanks for your support. It is a great blessing to know we have such great support for this ministry.
As always, I was humbled to serve as the leader for this
trip. To have such a great team makes the job so much easier, and allows
us all to focus on the ministry. Finally, on behalf of myself, St. John’s
and Mark, well done, and thanks for your good works!
Growing the Kingdom together!
Chris
