So what are the results of the scouting trip to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua? Well, great connections with the missionaries and the local people. I also found some housing and Spanish tutoring options, and got a more realistic idea of the funds necessary to live and serve down here.
Based on the information gathered on the trip, I had to revise my budget of what needs to be raised to go for 2 years. Under this new budget I now need to raise just under $3,200/month for 2 years. This week I had some nice talks with a few pastors and mission committee members from other churches. While their churches are not in a position to take on new missionaries right now, I appreciated their heart for missions, their encouragement to me, and the practice of sharing about the work in Nicaragua.
God is not limited in how He can provide the necessary funds. I have already been blown away by individuals and families who have started giving: total strangers, people who don't have a job, other people in full-time ministry, and families with children (& all the expenses that go with raising a family). In each case, these people have a heart for missions and felt God wanted them to get involved in some way. Their love for God, their trust, and their love for other people groups inspire me!
The second week back was my church's annual children's VBS week (a Bible-adventure day camp). I had the joy of helping one of my dearest friends with the 2 & 3 year-olds group. We had 8 precious little girls in our class and it was a privilege to do songs and Bible stories with them and let them explore the fun of the outdoors on the playground. As the week progressed, it was special to see the girls grow in learning to share and show kindness to others.
Each year at VBS all the classes have a competition to collect pennies for a special program or missionary. Well, this year I was blown away to learn that the proceeds from this year's competition will go towards my ministry in Nicaragua. Our church may not be very big, but the young people and their families (and I suspect a few anonymous individuals as well) have big, generous hearts. It was awesome to see the kids' and teens' excitement about missions and specifically about Nicaragua. Each day I had fun sharing pictures and talking a little about Nicaragua with the entire group.
It was cool to be part of opening these young people's minds and hearts to the country, culture, and people of Nicaragua and about missions generally. Who knows what exciting plans God may have for some of these young people in the future?! Perhaps hearing about what God is getting me involved in, will stick in their minds and perhaps some day God might use it as He steers them into their life work.
This past week was filled with editing all my pictures from Nicaragua, helping family members struggling with illness, making phone calls about support raising, and also job hunting.