Tarrying in Rivas then walking on to La Finca Maria de Jesus, Nicaragua

back to Our Walk of Faith

Sunday, September 16th

We went to church this morning at the Primera Iglesia Nazareno. (1st Nazarene Church...apparently there are 6 in the area!) During Sunday school, the teacher encouraged us to pray for our own families...to seek God ourselves and to ask others to pray...don't just ask others to pray for us! After church, we were talking to several people, and Pedro and Berta came to invite us to visit the hospital that afternoon. We wrote down directions to get to their house and agreed to meet them later.

We ate a quick bite and started looking for Pedro and Berta's house. When we got there, Berta was waiting outside for us. We prayed together and then left to meet a couple of other brothers and sisters at the hospital. Petronila (in the green dress suit) teamed up with another brother and sister while Berta (burgundy shirt), Daly (melon shirt), Chris and I worked together. The hospital was really different from any we've ever been in when we were in the US. You have to bring your own sheets, go to the pharmacy and buy your own medicine that the doctors prescribe. There are very few private or even semi-private rooms and even less with air conditioning. (We did visit one private room, so we know they exist.) Instead there are wards...5-7 patients per room grouped by what's wrong with them...there's no curtain to section off even a little private space. Not such great conditions for the patients, but wonderful circumstances in which to share the Gospel. We all had a role. Chris prayed and interceded as I shared the Gospel using the Evangecube and Daly followed up with a portion of her testimony and prayed with those who wanted to receive Christ as their Savior. Berta talked to people individually who seemed more resistant to what we shared. Then we went around to each bed and prayed for physical healing for each of the patients! God is amazing...we shared in 3 wards and 2 private rooms and nearly ever patient and many of the relatives accepted Christ!!! We were so pumped up!! We left our e-mail address with a lot of the patients and asked them to e-mail when they were better...trusting and believing that God is going to touch each one of them! So if we hear from any of them, we'll let you know. We enjoyed visiting the hospital sooo much that, Berta invited us to stay at her house that night and go back again on Monday! Wahoo! We're so excited to see what happens tomorrow!

After church that evening, we had the opportunity to meet Jenifer and Pedro Luis (two of Pedro and Berta's children) We talked with Jenifer and Noel (her boyfriend) for quite some time...Berta wanted us to share the Gospel with them, but they told us that they weren't ready. Noel left, and we continued to talk with Jenifer. She's got a lot of really big decisions to make pretty soon! Please pray for her...she knows that Jesus has the answers, but she's trying to do it alone right now.

Here are a few of the patients we visited with...

a) José Guillermo & Marta Karina b) Doris & Marianela

Juan









These are the names of the others if you'd like to pray for their continued growth in Christ and that they would find a Bible-believing church to attend...

• José Guillermo and his wife, Marta Karina (She did not accept Christ.)
• Pedro José
• wreck on a school bus about a week ago...16 teens were injured...we met these 3 girls and their families...they all are still really swollen and cut up along with multiple breaks and fractures...
• Elvira José
• Endi Carrió
• Ericka
• Aura-diabetes in danger of losing her foot
• Cristiani-fractured leg/foot
• Yecelin-spinal problems and an obstacle that is hindering her Christian walk
• José Luis-broken arm
• Jacinto-broken arm
• Jaime-broken leg
• Juan-double amputee...pray for his health
• Tomas (and his wife, Mari)-pins in his leg
• Alan Rios-broken arm
• Doris (and her daughter Marianela)-double amputee...pray for her health
  

Monday, September 17th
This morning, we were able to talk to little Jenifer....we met her mom, Amanda, and her last night as well...they are living with Pedro and Berta until Amanda can find a place for them to live on their own. Jenifer is absolutely precious...our heart goes out to her because her dad left her mom and they just moved to a new town. She's far away from the rest of her family. She stays with Berta and the housekeeper, Rosalinda, most of the day. Please pray that God will protect her little heart and that He will constantly send people into her life to show her authentic love! Her mom is a believer, so we are also praying that she'll raise Jenifer in church so that she can know the love of her Heavenly Father!

We went back to visit the hospital with Berta and Daly in the early afternoon. Doing much the same as yesterday...and let me tell you God was moving!! Nearly every patient and every relative prayed to accept Christ in the 2 wards that we were able to visit! It was awesome!!

Here are some pictures of those we met...

a) David & Darling b) Yajaira (with her new Bible!)












Here's how you can pray for them...

• (David) & Darling-she was 2 months pregnant and lost the baby today
• Cecilia-4 months pregnant in danger of a miscarriage
• Vicki-cyst on her right breast...she doesn't know if it's benign or malignent
• Francisca-her health and for strength
• Yajaira-2 months pregnant in danger of a miscarriage...her husband, Ronis, is working away from home right now
• Jaquelin-2 months pregnant in danger of a miscarriage...her husband, Zamir, is working in Costa Rica right now...they are having marital problems and problems with the in-laws
  

Each time we prayed with a patient and she accepted the Lord, we asked if she had a Bible. Both Darling and Yajaira told us that they didn't. We went with Daly to see if we could find a good Bible for them, but the one Christian bookstore that she knew of was closed...looks like we will be here on Tuesday...we need to find Bibles!!!

From there, Daly invited us to speak on her radio show. We were running a little late, so we took a "carro" (my first time ever in a horse drawn carriage) over to the Poder in Cristo station. (Power in Christ radio station) We really enjoyed sharing testimony with her listeners! Chris and I decided to walk Daly home since it was dark out. When we got there, her pastor, Rafael, and her brother-in-law, Carlos, were waiting outside for her. Chris and I ended up sharing testimony quite some time with them and with Daly's husband, Walter, once he got home! It was really awesome because we are all really like minded about the things of the Lord. We had dinner together, and they invited us to film our testimony so that they could share it with teens in their church and at other outreaches for teens. Pretty crazy...but if God can use us in any way to be an encouragement for young people, we are available and willing to help!

Tuesday, September 18th
We played with Jenifer again this morning, and then headed out to find the Bibles. At the 3rd bookstore, we finally found a Bible in Spanish that is simple to read and understand. So we went to the hospital...first we ran into Cecilia...she was feeling better today, and she was with her husband, Pedro. I asked if she had shared the decision that she made the day before to accept Christ with her husband. She hadn't, so I asked if I could share with him. He ended up praying to receive Jesus too!! The Holy Spirit is at work!! From there, we went to find David and Darling, but she had been released already. (Thankfully, Daly wrote down everyone's home address so that they could make follow-up visits with them...we'll be able to find them!) Then we went to visit with Yajaira...she was in much better spirits today...her blood pressure had gone down significantly, so she was pretty happy! She was also really excited to receive the Bible!

So we found David and Darling's house...please pray for them...they are both so young--21 and 17--and they didn't marry. They are living with David's mom right now. David doesn't have work right now, so he's thinking of going to Costa Rica to find a job. Darling is actually from Managua, so she doesn't know very many people in Rivas...it's a messy situation! But they both accepted Christ, so we will begin believing that He is going to make changes!!

After lunch, Daly came to pick us up...Renán, her brother-in-law, was driving...then we picked up Mayling (Pastor Rafael's daughter) who was going to do the filming for us. Renán also found the location for us to use to film the video. He planned to use one ranch, but when we saw the Hacienda Ganadería Nahualapa, we all thought it was the perfect place. They have huge Brahmann bulls. Here's Chris with Coronel...





he's won several prizes in Central America...he weighs a mere 2,200 pounds!!! The owner's son, Danilo, runs the entire ranch for his dad. He was so nice...he let us use the house and showed us around!! He was really listening when Chris and I were sharing testimony of the walk. They are trying to sell the ranch to buy a larger one...and he's got his eye on the one he wants. The owners of that ranch called and asked him to come out to see it, but he told them that he couldn't come right then. They'd have to wait a bit. That is God! (We didn't find any of this out until later by the way.) After we finished sharing about the journey, Daly wanted to film us sharing the Gospel with the Evangecube. She suggested that we show it to Renán and Danilo. We did, and they both prayed the prayer to accept Christ.

Once we turned the camera off, we asked them if they were serious. Danilo was absolutely serious! AND Renán truly wanted to rededicate his life to the Lord! (Renán even shared testimony with us after he took us home!) Praise God! We weren't even supposed to film there and then Danilo was supposed to leave in the middle and go see about the other ranch! God's plan...God's timing...it blows my mind!!

By the way, Ganadería Nahualapa is located right on Lake Nicaragua...the largest lake in central America and the 2nd largest in the Americas right behind Lake Titicaca in Bolivia/Peru! It's really pretty...here are the volanoes that you can see from the shore...they form an island about 10 miles off the shore where we were standing!









Wednesday, September 19th
Today we went to find some more Bibles...we had to find a new store because we bought the only 2 they had at the other store yesterday, but God provided 2 more!! We took one over to Walter and Daly's house because Walter was going to work on Danilo's Hacienda that afternoon. While we were there, both Walter and Daly shared how they came to know the Lord. God has truly restored their lives!!! The other Bible...well, I wasn't sure why we needed it, but I wanted to have an extra Bible with us...trusting that God was going to put someone in our path to give it to!

Then we went to look for a coloring book and crayons for Jenifer...she was soooo excited to get them! She wanted us to color a picture with her, so Chris and I both sat down to color!! We also met Pedro Luis's girlfriend...Jenifer talked her into coloring a bit as well!!







Tonight we went to the house church that meets at Walter and Daly's house. We worshipped the Lord through song and then Chris and I shared testimony of the walk. Chris decided to share the underwear story. (If I forgot to tell you about it...well, send me an e-mail and I'll tell you what happened.) I didn't want to translate it, but I did...everyone got a kick out of it! Oh well! God provides in mysterious ways! We said our good-byes to Walter, Daly, Pastor Rafael and the church family. We knew that Thursday morning it was time to leave.

Thursday, September 20th
Time to walk...well, in the morning we played with Jenifer just a little more before we headed out. Then we said our good-byes to the family!! The first family that we've stayed with since El Salvador! It was wonderful!!

We walked about 6 miles and ate lunch at a place just beside Lake Nicaragua...we were even closer to the volcanoes!! It was a beautiful day. The Lord gave us shelter from the rain twice in the morning...once underneath a tree and another time at a bus stop.


We continued walking after lunch...honestly it was a really tough decision for me because there was no way for us to make it to the next town unless God intervened and we ate lunch at the restaurant of a hotel. I know that we walk by faith and not by sight though, so I knew in my heart that I could trust God to provide!

We met up with Alberto, a cyclist from Argentina, about 3 miles later. He was headed north...his destination is Mexico...he had trouble at the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. He was really nice and told us to search out the fire department anytime we couldn't find a place to stay.







On we walked...it was getting really dark...we weren't getting near a town, no one had stopped to talk to us, nothing...we weren't really sure what to do...we were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by huge ranches...all we saw most of the afternoon were cows. When it was almost completely impossible to see anything else, I saw a guy riding a horse. I asked if we were close to a town or somewhere we could stay the night. He told us that we were still 3.5 miles from town, but we could stay at his house! We couldn't believe it! At the last second, God opened the door for us to stay with a COWBOY named Omar! Even more interesting...his wife, Sandra just left to go back to her mom's house. They've only been married 2 years. So we were able to pray with Omar and talk to him about Jesus. He's been going to church, but he isn't ready to make a decision. We asked him if he had a Bible, and he explained that Sandra had taken his Bible when she left. God showed us the person who needed the Bible a lot quicker than I thought!! Praise the Lord!







An aside...pray for Nicaragua...they are in an energy crisis right now. In the hours of high electricity usage, they are turning off the power in a large part of the country. (For 5-7 hours at the time.) When this happens, they can't get water either because the pumps to bring the water to homes are operated on electricity. The government is saying that they are going to have the situation straightened out by November...it's been an issue for a long time, but it's never been this severe until this past February.

Well...we are headed out tomorrow...we think that we'll make it to Costa Rica...we are only 7 miles from the border!! We'll have to see what God has in store for tomorrow! May God bless you and keep you! We miss y'all a ton! As you seek the Lord, ask him to use you as His own hand, feet, and mouth in your community! We love you!!