Laura Overs - Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another 1 Peter 4:8

What I'm Learning...

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It brings me joy to share the ministries I am a part of with you supporters, but the Lord is revealing Himself to me by other means as well. Outside of specific ministries, here are other areas that the Lord is working in my heart through and what I am learning in those areas.

In my quiet time- Currently I am going through the book of Matthew with a fresh look. I have heard each story in Matthew more time then I can count, but I am actively seeking a new understanding in each verse. Several stories and verses have touched me in new ways. For how many times I have heard the story of Jesus' birth, it fell on me with a new significance. It struck me that God spoke to Joseph three times through dreams. I love how the Lord choses to speak, and I am amazed by Joseph's obedience. I long and pray to hear the Lord's voice clearly in my life, so by reading of the many times God spoke through a dream, I am extra-attentive to my own dreams now. I regularly counted my dreams as nonsense and spoke of them for amusement, but I believe God still does speak to His people, and that he can do so by whatever means He so desires. With that said, I have started tracking down my dreams, however crazy they seem and I am praying for an interpretation of them. If God is speaking to me, I had better be listening!

In personal prayer time- I have turned into a frequent visitor in our House of Prayer. I wish everyone could experience the Holy Spirit in those 4 walls (no roof) the way myself and my teammates have. The Lord is alive in that place and I cannot get enough. Though my prayer time, a word that keeps echoing within me is "Abandonment." After prayer for this resounding word, God's message to me is clear: Abandon yourself, surrender to Me. Though I long to glorify God with every fiber of my being, my own self gets in the way often. God pours mercy and patience upon me as I am learning how to truly abandon myself and love Him completely. Prayer time has been huge in my learning to lose my selfish ways and to seek Him alone. The Hillsong lyrics sing within me, "Rid me of myself, I belong to You. O lead me, lead me to the cross."

From my team- What a blessing my team has been, and how I have neglected raving about them. As our time here shortens, I realize how much I will miss every brother and sister from my team that I have grown to love over these past nine months. In a recent team meeting, we heard wise words from our fearless leader, Seth Barnes Jr., encouraging us to not grow tired even though our time here is winding down. Seth said, "Tomorrow is not guaranteed and yesterday is already gone. All you have is right now." How that stuck with me. I remind myself daily that all I have is today to live to the fullest. To pour into each relationship, to love the Lord with my all, to enjoy each breath, today is the day. Many other wise words have come from my teammates, but those words from Seth run through my mind daily.

I pray that the Lord is speaking to you also in the various areas of your life. Let's stay attentive to His voice so to make the most of each blessed moment we have on this earth!

Oscar Gutirrez's Story

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

My dear friend Oscar Gutirrez, has grown up in a world of soccer, partying, and girls. His life has been changed through the ministry of Vida Joven (VJ - In English, Young Life). Now soccer provides a way for him to invite kids to VJ, where he is preparing to be a leader while continuing his education in the university that he withdrew from three years ago. This is his story...

Before VJ, before I knew anything about it, my life was completely dedicated to partying. I toyed with the emotions of girls and smoked regularly. When I started partying, I was not necessarily smoking and involved in many vices, but the more I got into that lifestyle; my life was certainly spiraling downward. I got into marijuana a few times. This whole scene lasted about eight months. Looking back, I felt like my life didn't have any meaning.

In September of 2008, I met a girl. When I met her, she didn't tell me anything about VJ. She was hanging out with a couple of other girls who wanted us to go to VJ's club, so I went with them. In the club, we watched a video about a guy named Nick, who should have been incapacitated, but functioned very well considering his circumstances. I saw in this video that nothing was impossible.

Shortly thereafter I had the opportunity to go to my first VJ sports camp. At the camp they took us to a labyrinth and taught us about listening to God's voice. I tried it out, but it was very difficult for me to hear Him. The camp was good because, while they were somewhat restrictive, but they were not legalistic. VJ made me not want to do the things I had been doing.

Following this I was invited on another VJ camp. When we were there, we had a time of worshiping God. Something moved me to tears during the singing. I was closing my eyes, and when I opened them, I looked down at the floor and I saw the face of Jesus. I sobbed uncontrollably as I felt the Lord calling me. I felt him intimately; I knew then that he cared for me. This motivated me to give my testimony about my life and what I was still doing to the others that were with me. They were people from my city that knew me or knew of me before. Before I started talking, I didn't feel like I'd have the words to speak because I was embarrassed, but my heart compelled me. I wanted to express that yes, I can change and others can too.

My next camp was a follow-up camp. There we went on a walk of faith. They blind-folded us and had us walk around. It reminded me of Catholic tradition we do here in Granada in which they blind-fold a statue of Jesus and parade around the street carrying him on their shoulders. They do this a lot the day before his death. It's called a Procession of Silence. The idea is that Jesus is walking through the crowd - the world, but he's blind to it, he is not of it. During this walk we were put through a barrage of tests.

In one of the tests they had me grab onto a rope and to imagine two worlds - this world and the one Jesus calls us to. The devil started speaking to me then, reminding me things of my past. I remember a moment when my past was all I could focus on. I felt pretty confused and I cried because I did not know what to do. I felt very alone. But I kept walking and tried to focus on God's voice alone. Then he spoke to me. He told me He is the way and the truth and the life. After this, the things that the enemy was saying to me did not matter at all. As I continued walking, I felt closer and closer to God. Later, we were given the opportunity to go to the labyrinth again and invited into intimacy with the Lord. This moved me a lot. I felt great meaning and purpose in this relationship I was introduced to. It was one of the most impacting experiences of my life.

By the fourth camp I was playing soccer and stepping into leadership. I felt incredibly incapable and ill prepared, but every time we had a meeting or I was pushed into something, God gave me the words to say to the youth there. These kids were into drugs and after a number of activities. We encouraged them to cry and let their emotions out. I said then, "Lord, I want you to change these kids' lives. I know that they need you and I know that you're the only one who can touch their hearts. You're the only one who can change them."

When we got back, I followed up with these kids. I saw that they truly desired God and this brought me great joy. True joy. It brought meaning into my life.

VJ is very close to my heart. It introduced me to Jesus and taught me how to move forward in my life. I know that because it has changed my life, it will continue to change others as well, and I want to be a part of it. I love that sports can still be a part of my life and I can actually use it to reach out to other kids. Now, I am focused on other kids and it had given me a direction and meaning. I'm moving forward. I am available and want to be available for the kids at VJ. We have a vision to change their lives and facilitate an encounter with the Lord. I am really excited about VJ. I love it! I want to continue moving forward to be a great leader for them. I believe in this vision; it changed my life and it will continue to change lives.

Vida Joven is not funded by Young Life in the states, but has to raise money to run here in Granada. Our team is putting on a 5K Fun Run to raise money for Vida Joven, Granada. The run takes place April 25^th, please hold it in your prayers. We still have a lot of work to do, but we work in joy because this will be an impactful event. If you feel it in your heart to contribute to Vida Joven, you can do so by going to

https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&tuid=257360

Once you are on the web page, you:

1. In the drop down menu select "Support A World Race Project"

2. In the Project box that appears, type in: Nicaragua Kids Camp Fun Run

3. Follow the donation process through.

I pray you all had a blessed Easter, and rejoice! He is risen!

God of this Universe Loves Me!

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Lord poured joy into the Children's barrio ministry Monday. I believe it was the best week we have had yet. Here is a rundown of what happened, I pray to have the words to express the delight it brought to my heart and God's as well.

We had about 25 kids come this week and a few parents came with their infants to watch the program. We started out as always with a Nica friend, Carlos, leading children's songs on the guitar. The songs had the kids dancing around, jumping up and down, clapping and singing at the top of their lungs. All this excitement was at 9:15 in the morning. The first game we played was a water balloon toss. Water balloons are always a blast, and it seemed to me that the kids do not see water balloons often.

Our story for the day was the parable of the lost sheep found in Luke. We told the story then had the kids act it out, costumes and all. The Pharisees wore oversized dress shirts and the sheep wore white t-shirts on with socks on their hands. The shepherd used a broom as his staff. The kids get wound up and really excited when we bring out whatever costumes we can scrape up to work with for the story. The kids then acted out the story as we read it. It was goofy, but still got the story across.

After the play we played telephone with bible verses; Deuteronomy 6:5, "Love the LORD your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength," and John 15:12 "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." Again, telephone is such a common game in the states but the children played enthusiastically, that I do not think they had played before. It was comical to watch yet beneficial for the kids to hear the first two commandments.

For the first time during this ministry, I gave the message this week. Maybe not word for word, but here is the message:

Repeat after me, "GOD OF THIS UNIVERSE LOVES ME!" (the kids screamed it) Wow, God created the trees, the lake, flowers, animals yet He is in love with us! Our story today was about a shepherd and his sheep. How many sheep where there? (They scream 100) Yes, and what did the shepherd do when one sheep was lost? (They say, He looks for him and finds him!) Absolutely, this story is a picture of how Jesus loves us. He personally knows us and loves us dearly. When we are surrounded by 100 or 1000 people, Jesus stil knows each one of our hearts specifically. He rejoices with us when we are happy, and as we learned last week (we did the story of the Good Samaritan) Jesus is compassionate when we are in trouble. His sole purpose in creating us is to loves us intimately. Because of this great love, let us love God the best we can. We love Him by praising Him to the fullest of our ability, by praying in all circumstances and by loving each other as we were commanded to. We are going to practice these things in a minute but let us say again, "GOD OF THIS UNIVERSE LOVES ME!" (We screamed this again and cheered)

Then as usual we separated into two groups to pray. My friend Caleb leads the older kids in prayer and I lead the younger group. On Monday we prayed in the two groups, then had the younger kids circled around the older kids and repeated a prayer over the older kids. Then in return our younger group sat in a circle and the older group, ages 8-10 laid hands on each person and prayed aloud for them. The faith of innocent children astounds me, I long for childlike faith. They prayed briefly, yet sincerely and it amazed me to see the boldness in each child to pray aloud. I feel so blessed to have been a part of that prayer time.

Our friend Carlos closed our program in worship songs. During this time we encouraged the kids to sincerely praise God as He deserves. For such young kids, I am astonished by their expression of praise during this time. Kids will jump up and down in excitement, or close their eyes in awe, and even lift their hands in praise. The Lord is glorified through that time always.

After the program was over, we stayed to clean up. We ended up playing around for another 20 minutes or so. The beautiful kids long for love, hugs, attention and we find joy in pouring love on them.

Overall our prayers for the barrio children's ministry were thoroughly answered through a very fruitful time of ministry Monday morning. Thank you all so much for ongoing prayers and support. It is my delight to share with you the Lord's work in this place.

"May mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance." Jude 2

Nicaraguan House of Prayer

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Here is a short video about the House of Prayer that the team started this semester. I encourage you to take the time to watch the video and please keep this ministry in your prayers! We can expect God to do might things through 24/7 prayer!

Psalm 45:17

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As I have mentioned before, two teammates and I started a children's program and community prayer meetings in the barrio. Though we invite the youth ages 15 and up to Vida Joven, it came to our attention that we have not effectively addressed the 10-15 year old age group. In an effort to share the gospel to this crucial group of kids, a vision came to our ministry group. We envisioned sharing a powerful dryme with the community, giving a testimony, then sharing the gospel and closing in worship. So that is what we did last Thursday.

We had talked about this event for the youth at our prayer meeting, and we prayed over it. So last Thursday night we went to the barrio, unsure if 5 kids would come to the event or 50. To our surprise, the house were this took place was filled with as many people as could fit. People were outside the house in the street and through the doorway to be part of the event! Wow! I was overjoyed because several of the kids from our soccer team came to the event too. We started our doing the dryme, where I play one of two demons. Great. It is a powerful story of a girl being attacked by two demons. The innocent girl becomes unable to escape. Then Jesus comes to her rescue, and just as he is taking her hand, the demons come and crucify Jesus. After an emotional scene, Jesus defeats death and saves the girl. It is a beautiful story, and one we can all relate to. We shared the dryme with the group of kids, and then my friend Caleb gave an awesome message to further clarify the dryme and to share the gospel message. My friend Joe gave his powerful testimony to the group next. We closed in worship and invited anyone to come up for prayer.

I am struggling now writing out what happened that night because it does no justice to how powerful of an evening it truly was. The Lord had brought His children from the poorest areas and let his love be known to each of them. The faces of the youth there were coming alive, as if they were soaking in every word spoken. There is a hunger for light within the community, especially that age group, and I feel like the light was just shining from the inside of the house to the street were people were crowded to hear the Word. Let all the glory be to God for the opportunity to share of His love that beautiful evening.

Last Saturday through yesterday, our team had the week off for spring break! I traveled to Tamarindo, Costa Rica for the week with 4 friends from the team. The week consisted of relaxing on the beach, watching the sunset over the pacific, going on an ATV tour through Costa Rica, lots of laughing, eating, reading and swimming. All the sudden in turned into a book worm as I read Captivating by Staci and John Eldridge. I strongly recommend for every woman to read Captivating. The week in Tamarindo was a well needed break for sure. With a refreshed spirit, I am eager for ministries this week. It came to my attention that I only have two months left here. Please keep this time in your prayers that we may have a dynamic final two months.

I Can Not Stay Quiet!

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

From excitement and business of having my cousins Jodi and Dario visiting Granada last Saturday, I was unable to post this blog. Sorry for my dereliction, but with joy and praise to our Father, I share this message with you today: JESUS HEALS.

As I have shared before, since the start of the second semester, I have had a hunger for knowledge and application of the spiritual gifts. Desiring to understand healing specifically, I read parts of the Jack Deer book, Surprised by the Holy Spirit. (You should read it if you have not, it is powerful) The book describes why God heals, and why at times He chooses not to. Now this is all assuming that we agree God can and does still work miracles today. After you finish reading the blog, I pray you will see that indeed He does. The more I read God's word and study His ways, I realize that God does not run by formulas. We can study, read and compile the best' or right' way to heal, but God simply asks for our faith and confidence in His power. (Eph. 3:12) With this said, let me share with you the miracles God has shown me first hand over these past few weeks.

Three weeks ago I went door to door in the Barrio with a local pastor and my leader Seth Bowen Barnes Jr. We introduced ourselves to the families and told them about the several programs that started in the community. We shared the gospel and asked if the family desired prayer. There were a few ladies I prayed healing over, but today as I was in the Barrio for a children's program I stopped by one particular woman's house to see how she was. This lady had an issue with her stomach. She experienced constant pain and thought it may be a tumor. A few weeks ago I laid my hands on her stomach. By the power of the Holy Spirit, I saw her today with a smile she said "I have no more pain! Gloria a Dios!"

In the same barrio, last week at our prayer meeting, a sister, Sonya shared that she does not have the money for a necessary heart surgery. As she explained it, she used to be a gordita (heavy set lady) but she is unable to eat and now is a flakita. (Skinny lady) To say the least, she looked unhealthy. Sonya said she had not eaten in the past week. After our prayer meeting I approached her with my brothers Mario and Caleb, and asked if we could pray for healing. She said that she had been prayed over before and has faith that God will heal her. Never the less, we laid hands on this little lady and confidently asked for Holy Spirit power to heal her. After the prayer tears were streaming from her eyes and she said she had felt a tingling feeling up and down her body as we prayed. Then when we were saying good-bye, she turned to us and smiled, saying, "I feel like a new woman!" Praise the Lord. Yesterday at our prayer meeting she was gleaming as she said, "I have been eating all week, I am better!" Let the truth be told-God heals.

Ok sorry if this is getting redundant, God is healing! I can not stay quiet! This story might be my favorite. On our ATL three weeks ago, through a series of events, we met a man at a fruit stand whose pregnant wife was ill. The 5 of us on my ATL team went to the man's house to pray for his wife, Elsa. When we saw Elsa, she had bumps that looked like the worst acne imaginable all over her face, arms and legs. Just looking at her made my skin feel irritated. She tried to treat it but had no success and was concerned for her baby. We shared the story in Matthew of the sick woman to whom Jesus says, "Take heart daughter, your faith has healed you." Knowing the only one who could heal this lady was Christ himself, we talked with her and her husband about healing and assured them that it was only through faith. With that knowledge, we prayed over the lady. My impatient self wanted to command healing and open my eyes to see her skin flawless. However, she just had tears streaming down her face, still covered in sores. Without losing faith, we promised to return the following Friday, expecting a miracle. Do you want to guess how this story ends? The next Friday my friends visited her to find her skin clear. Wow! No more sores and a family with a renewed faith in Jesus. How incredible is the God we serve. Wow.

God's ways are so funny sometimes. Just read how this story goes. I was with my friend and we were searching for Choco-bananas. We went to the best choco-banana stand in town: they did not have any bananas. Then we went to the cheapest choco-banana stand: they were closed. So we went to the "all else fails" choco-banana stand, and they were not making choco bananas anymore. I asked into this and it turns out the lady who makes the bananas is getting old and therefore her body is continuously soar and ill. It turns out she had shooting pain in her arms and issues with her stomach too. Out of compassion we told the lady that we are Christians and we believe God has the power to heal. We asked if we could pray healing over woman. So with open arms they invited my friend and me into their house. So with laying hands, we asked for healing over the choco-banana lady. (I wish I could remember her name) Sure enough, I passed her on the street today and she is back to making choco bananas because her arm no longer hurts. She was full of joy and excitement to tell me of the miracle. How beautiful.

I hope that you choose not to treat these stories with contempt, but see that God desires to reveal His power to his dearly loved children. I am convinced that Jesus is alive and moving in this world today. Jesus said "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things that these." (John 14:12) I encourage you reading this to HAVE FAITH! and prepare to be amazed.

"In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence" Eph. 3:12

El Hogar de los Ancianos

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Every Wednesday and Thursday I work at the nursing home here in Granada. This particular home is for seniors who were abandoned by their families or fro those in a tough financial situation. Before I go into some fun stories of the nursing home, let me paint a picture of this particular home.

Unlike nursing homes in the states, no one has individual rooms. There are two huge rooms, one for men and one for women, lined with beds. There are about 30 beds in each room. The bathrooms are not handicap accessible. There are little stalls that the seniors use with out any complaints. To be quite honest, the people at this nursing home are in pretty good shape compared to the people I worked with at Homewood. People here do not have the money for medication to stay alive when their bodies are shutting down. For that reason, they die sooner, and are healthier while alive. All of that to say, most of the people are fairly independent.

In the middle of the facility there is a courtyard, it is very open. Birds are flying around, cats eat spilled food and flies are everywhere. At times I just cringe because of the safely violations all over the place. To name a few:

-A frail man was walking barefoot on a just mopped floor.

-No one is around when the residents eat meals. They could easily choke!

-Pretty much everyone has a wheel chair that is too big or too small for them. They are either squeezed in or sliding out of the chairs.

-When someone is sliding out of their chair, the nursing assistants tie a piece of fabric in a knot around them!

- No beds have side rails

No one sees an issue with these. Oh my, I just cringe and do what I can to watch out for the old folks.

My role at the nursing home is solely a volunteer. I was given free range by the Nuns who work there to take on whatever I feel necessary. So I usually spend an hour serving the workers by cleaning, then I visit with the residents until lunch time. I help serve lunch and feed a lady. Then until two, usually get involved in more discussions, card games, chess, nail painting or make-up applying.

On Wednesday a youth group from a local church came in with guitars, a key board and an array of percussion instruments. The group played for about 45 minutes, which turned into an all out dance party with the seniors. It was a blast. We were clapping and singing along with the songs and everyone had a smile on. The group finished by playing the Nica version of the chicken dance, which is called El Pollo. My friend Annie and I danced El Pollo with the men in wheel chairs and with the hopping ladies.We are bringing a guitar this week to keep sharing in the happiness of music.

Yesterday I talked with two men who are devout Catholics. We had an interesting hour and a half discussion about the contrast between Catholicism and Evangelism. I believe by the end of the conversation we both understood each other better and came to the glorious conclusion that we both serve a powerful and all-loving God.

Overall the Nursing home has been a joy to me. I am meeting sweet and unique people every day and I love the relationships being built.

I would like to ask you to please pray for protection, physically and spiritually for my group. God's name is being exalted in Granada and the devil is just seething. We have encountered some strong attacks from the enemy this past week. So please pray for Satan to have no hold of us and for God to continue revealing His power in this place.

Side note- as I am writing this the boys in my group are slaughtering then butchering a goat for our Valentines Day present. With that lovely picture in your head, Feliz Dia del Amor y la Amistad!

What god is so great as our God?

Sat, 7 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Every blog seems to start out like this, but what can I say? God is answering prayers. With all the glory to God, I will joyfully share with you our first week of barrio ministry.

After several meetings and prayer time with Luz del Mundo, the church in the barrio, we started the Children's program Monday morning. Joe, Caleb and I planned out songs, a bible story and interactive play to go with it, a few games and a message for the kids. For this ministry we do not want the focus to be on games, but for the children to genuinly come into a relationship with Christ, and for the Holy Spirit power to be among the community. With it being the first week, we planned for 15 kids, completely unsure of what to expect.

The three of us walked up to the church building along with our translator Natalia at nine Monday morning. From the building there was so much noise. We assumed that something else was going on inside and that we would have to wait for it to end, then the kids program could start. Upon walking in, we saw 60+ kids, new borns to nine year olds, jumping and screaming in excitement. We were shocked and a bit overwhelmed, but we did our best to adapt. It ended up being a blast and the kids were especially into the bible story and goofy games. The pastor and his wife invited us to come back to do the same program for the youth aged kids that night. We came back that afternoon and changed the program a bit so we could have more time to get to know the people in the community. Overall it was a blessed day of ministry.

Tuesday morning we felt it necessary to go door to door to introduce ourselves to the community, to inform them of what we are doing here and to personally invite them to the programs and church. We went in two small groups. I went with my leader Seth Bowen Barnes Jr. and the pastor in the barrio, Migel Angel. Some of the people we interacted with were Evangelicals, some Catholics, some non-believers too. They all welcomed us and thanked us for what we are doing the in the community. We ended each conversation by asking if we could pray for the person or family. Most people wanted prayer for a family member, or their economic situation, but we were blessed with the oppertunity to pray for phyical healing over a few ladies. By faith, I am convinced that Jesus will heal.

Later on Tuesday we met with Luz del Mundo to pray for specific needs of the community. 20 people or so from the community came to pray. It was a beautiful thing to see the community arise and take a stand in prayer. God answers our prayers in huge ways so once again, we can expect miracles. And an added blessing, I got to hold a one month old baby girl for the 2 hour prayer meeting. Does life get any better?! I am just in awe of the response we have gotten from the community. They are eager to see a change and actively seeking God for that change. It is a dangerous place and full of sin, but we are fighting the battle with Christ on our side. God has great plans and we are seeking to obey Him fully as they unfold.

"Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With Your mighty arm you redeemed your people." Psalm 77:14-15

I Love Serving Our Father*

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What an exciting week! After diligent prayer, my ministries started off wonderfully this week. Here is an overview of each ministry. Let me tell you, I am so excited about how God is working though each it is hard to type!

Barrio Ministry- My friend Joe Carter was given a vision from God for this ministry. He envisioned himself, me and our friend Caleb along with our translator Natalia ministering to a local barrio. Barrios are very poor communities. Most houses in the barrio are made from branches of palm trees, maybe limited cement and with tin roofs. The adults in the community are kind and hard working. Supporting a family is a challenge for most families, therefore the children in the community do not get as much attention as they deserve. Joe envisioned the four of us coming a few times a week to sing worship songs with the children, to teach them bible stories, to share the gospel, then to bring joy though games and activities. We do not want to just come in as a temporary light to the community, but to provide the community with a lasting change. We have met several times with the church in the barrio to make this ministry a partnership so it will carry on once we leave in May. We shared with them Joe's vision and the pastor's wife was moved to tears. As she put it, this vision was a direct answer to prayer. Praise God! With the church, we are going to be praying together every Tuesday afternoon for 2 hours, then Monday and Tuesday mornings we will have the children's ministry. God's hand is orchestrating this, so we can expect miracles! We seek comfort from Luke 10:21,

"At that time Jesus, full of Joy though the Holy Spirit said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure." "

Hogar de Ancianos- Myself and two teammates are helping at a local Nursing Home two days a week. This particular home is free for the residents. It is for people from low income backgrounds or for people who were abandoned by their families. Right now it looks like myself and my teammates have free range to help in anyway we would like to in the nursing home. For the two days this week, I took time to get to know the residents. Talking to the residents resulted in great conversations about God, a few Spanish lessons, some singing, a chess game (I was crushed by a 90 year old) and a few new card games. It's funny how God prepared me without my even knowing it. From the CNA certification I got last year at CTC, I now am able to care for the seniors here in Nicaragua. I find so much wisdom and joy though senior citizens, I am eager to see what God has planned this ministry.

Children's Ministry- As I previously blogged about, our trash-pick up last semester turned into a children's ministry. Since we really got to know and evangelize to the children who came, we are continuing this ministry Wednesday afternoons. So far it is off to a good start, we had about 20 enthusiastic and energetic kids come this week. It is always a blast.

Friday ATL- ATLs (Ask the Lord) in the past have been fruitful. Though it is out of my character, I love having no plan at all and just letting the Lord alone guide my day. Our ATL on Friday resulted me and 3 other teammates playing praise music with our guitars in central park. We talked to a guy, Antonio, and ended up taking him out to lunch and sharing the gospel with him. It is discouraging sometimes to pray and pray then only reached out to one person. In a moment of discouragement, my friend JD Russell spoke words of truth. He said, "Hey, one is enough." God delights in seeing his beloved children actively serving Him, and if we can share his love with one person, God smiles on that.

Soccer teams!- I am playing one day a week on the Vida Joven girls soccer team. It is not a competitive team, but I joined to build relationships with the girls in Granada. Also, Los Cachorros are looking good. (That is the younger team we coach) We had a scrimmage this morning and our first official game of this new season starts next Saturday.

That sums it up for the ministries at the moment. Please hold these in your prayers. I am anxious to see our Savior win hearts this semester.

Oh and should we say go Cardinals or Steelers? I'm pretty neutral. No one here cares about the super bowl, but I'm eager for the big game.

Hope Does Not Disappoint Us

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A running theme of this week has been Hope. Here are a couple stories of the true hope God has revealed to His dearly loved children this week. I apologize ahead of time for the scattered nature of this blog. Have grace with me and my random thoughts.

Last week I blogged about a man I was privileged to share the gospel with, Patrick. Patrick came to our worship service Sunday morning. The message Sunday was from Luke 15 where Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. Patrick said for the first time after hearing that message, he could understand the bible and identify with it. After the service Patrick talked with Charles Kaye, a full time missionary here in Granada. On Wednesday Patrick enrolled in a Christian rehab center called Pinniel. He is living there now and for the foreseeable future. When I first met with Patrick, he cried of desperation and at one point in our conversation he got on his knees and begged for help of any kind. What a cry we all experience! The complete brokenness of this world comes to all of us, and our only hope is in our Savior Jesus Christ. In your prayer time please give Jesus an extra shout of praise for revealing His hope to Patrick.

On Tuesday we had meeting after meeting about the ministries we are going to be involved in this semester. There is too much to say about the plans God is putting together for our team, but let me just say that God is going to do big things this semester. Our hopes and visions are becoming a reality and that is only through the power of Christ. I will blog more about these ministries as they get in action. It's going to be good.

In Managua there is a trash dump where 200 families live. Wednesday we had the opportunity to spend the day there. It is going to be hard to put into words all that God revealed through the community and life at the dump, but bear with me as I attempt.

As we drove into the dump we were overwhelmed by the foul aroma of burning rubber. The air in the dump was thick and dirty. When a breeze came in ash and smoke rose and got in our eyes. By the end of the few hours in the dump my clothes had a tint of black and I had a headache from all the smoke. The average life expectancy of people who live there is 40-50 years old due to the damage done to lungs breathing in polluted air for a lifetime. Everywhere throughout the community fires were smoldering. The streets we walked and drove on were just paths cleared of trash. Families live in shelters composed of garbage they found. Families earn their living by sifting through mounds of trash to find anything of value. We walked up one of the several mountains of trash where fires were going on, and fathers were diligently searching for trash that would be useful for to their families. There is a school and clinic in the community built and run by mission organizations such as Love, Light and Melody and others.

The seemingly poorest of poor in this community are just normal people though. The children and adults we met were joyful, content and dignified. The children wanted to be loved and played with, the adults were friendly and conversational as anywhere else. It is as if they did not even know they were living in absolute garbage. Isn't this a picture of our lives? We live surrounded by garbage; corrupted media, skewed morals, excessive possessions, confused politics, the garbage gets piled up more and more each day. Yet we treat all this trash with contempt. We accept it and live in it. The community who lives in a trash dump is a mirror image of our lives more than anything else. Here is the catch, just like the people who live at the trash dump, WE HAVE HOPE! Through the blood of Jesus Christ we are not going to forever be stuck in our trash dump lives. Our Savior promised to come back to earth and He will take His own to spend eternity with Him. Praise God for that! He does not leave us out here to dry, but met us right here on earth. Feeling every temptation and taking on all our pain, Christ died so we are now redeemed and have hope for a better life- a life with Jesus Christ. He is our hope! Can I get an AMEN? (I've always wanted to say something that I could ask for an AMEN after)

"Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts." Romans 5:5

Please continue to hold me in your prayers. Christ is definitely doing a work in me and the fires of revival are being lit within this city. If there are specific prayer requests any one reading this has, please e-mail me at Lauraovers@comcast.net. I desire a 2 way relationship with all you who support me and I apologize for being neglectful in that so far. May the God of heaven and earth bring you hope this week and forever more.

To Your Name Be the Glory!

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Wow, were prayers answered! I am a little giddy right now and maybe blushing a little bit when I think of how loved I am by God that He has answered prayers! Since our team has been praying at night in our IHOP (international house of prayer) and we are seeing Christs undeinable guidance everyday.

My constant prayer is for more oppertunites to share the Gospel. God showed His might by answering this prayer on numerous occations this week. First, our one on one fellowship time Monday, my friend Joe Carter and I decided to pray and seek God for what he wanted us to do with our time. After eating and talking for a bit, we stopped at a hotel lobby to get a drink. There God had a plan for us awaiting. We met 41 year old child of God named Patrick. As Patrick put it, he felt as though he was dangling from a freying rope and is on his last string. Patrick expressed desperation and a desire for direction in his life. He felt his prayers were unanswered and that if there was a God, that God was not on his side. Through a hour and a half converstion, Joe and I shared the freedom of Christ and blessing of Salvation with Patrick. We prayed with Patrick and exchanged e-mails so to keep in contact, however Patrick at that time did not turn His life over to Christ. Since Monday, Joe has recieved e-mails from Patrick and contacted him too. Today we met up with Patrick at central park and reconnected with him for a bit. Patrick is planning on coming to our Sunday morning worship service tomorrow. Praise God! I can not wait to see what God has in store for Patrick.

Also, on an ATL the next day, myself and two team mates met a dear mother with her two children. Her daughter, Corazon, just had surgery on her stomach and they were in need of money and food. We shared with them the healing power of Jesus, and we prayed over the baby as I held her in my arms. We ended up buying food for the family and sharing with them the food that lasts, that is Jesus.

It is a constant prayer of mine to desire what God desires out of me. With that being said, I am learning more about spiritual gifts as outlined in Corinthians 12. It hits me hard that Paul starts out saying, Now about spiritual gifts; do not be ignorant. (v.1) In an effort not to be ignorant, I have found myself unable to put down the Jack Deere book, Suprised By the Power of the Spirit. Through this book I am learning about the prevelance of Gods healing power in this day and age, and also how to posess a spiritual gift. Right now I am listening to Gods voice so I can understand my spiritual gift and use it for His glory.

Thank for you keeping me in your prayers. I am feeling Gods presence greatly these days. All glory honor and praise be to God our Father.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness. Psalm 115:1

Back in Action

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

After a enjoyable and restful Christmas break, I am safely back in Granada. It was refreshing to eat home-style cooking, to visit with friends and family, and to not be sweating though out the day, but I am overjoyed to be back.

The past few days have been spent getting situated at our new house and getting reacquainted with friends in Granada and friends on the team. Our house is at the AIM base, El Puente. I still share a room with 2 awesome girls but have the luxury of my own bed. At El Puente there is an acre of land from which we are clearing out sticks, rocks, trash and unusable fruit so the land will be more usable. Our hope is to be able to run around the yard barefoot someday without stepping on used needles (we found five!) Its a work in progress but so far I am pleased with our new house and I love that it is located right next to the soccer field.

That is what is going on here on the surface. We will begin our individual ministries this coming week, and what particular ministry that will be is still a mystery to me. This semester I have the freedom to plug-in to whichever ministry I feel called to. Right now I am praying for God's guidance to assure me of where He wants to use me in Granada. God answers prayer, I am more sure of this now than ever. For the past two nights I have spent hours in prayer with a small number of the members on my team. He has spoken words of comfort to the minds of my teammates and shown us His healing power. He longs for intimacy with us and for oppertunities to show us His great power. With that in mind I would encourage you to spend some sincere time in prayer to God. Tell Him how awesome He is, or maybe repent for the sins you are holding on to. Pray for all the things in life you are uncertain of, HE WILL show you the way. Christ longs to be our best friend and is definitely our most Faithful companion. Let Him show you His might though prayer. And if you could pray for guidance for me in this coming semester, I have every confidence that God will show His plan to me in a radical way.

"Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. " -James 5:13-16

Hot Chocolate Anyone?

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We just wrapped up a beautiful and renewing week at the island of Ometepe. Our week consisted of getting to know the children who live at the orphanage, Cicrin. With our new friends we played soccer, hung out in hammoks, watched the sun set, swam in Lake Nicaragua, hiked the volcano Maderas, relaxed around a campfire and worshiped together at their Sunday church service. It broke my heart to say good-bye to such amazing new brothers and sisters in Christ after just one week together, but it is my hope and prayer to keep in touch with them and for our team to visit Ometepe at some point second semester.

Tomorrow is the big day- I am coming home! I fly from Managua to Panama City (a bit out of the way right?) and then from Panama to DC. If all goes well I should be home by midnight. Excitement and eagerness are overwhelming me at the moment. I can not wait to see you all over the break. There is so much to be said about these past three months that is hard to communicate through blogs, so I look forward to telling stories over hot chocolate and cookies :)

Its Begining to Look Alot Like Christmas

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Its the Christmas season already! Can you believe it? The other day our team went to a mall in Managua to have out visas renewed. As we were leaving the mall to return to a 90 degree, blue sky day with palm trees in the distance, we heard the song Its Begining to Look Alot Like Christmas. Nicaragua does not look like any Christmas Ive ever seen before thats for sure.

Everyday for the past week there has been a Procession de La Virgen Mara.(A parade for the Virgin Mary) Thursday the Parade came through our street. The celebration was comparable to the 4th of July, complete with fireworks, cotton candy, candy apples and families and friends celebrating together. A large float of the Virgin Mary surrounded by a band traveled through out the city. It was a fun night and a new kind of celebration for the coming King.

Though the Christmas season is exciting, it means that we are going home soon (December 19th) so our ministries are winding down. Our team is going to an island called Omatepe on the 9th for a week to work at an orphanage. So this week concluded our ESL class, our Childrens Ministry, the trash pick up and our soccer team until we return from Christmas break. From these ministries we built solid relationships and planted seeds within the hearts of our new friends. Through conversations, songs, dramas and actions we have told the gospel numerous times, now it is up to God to draw their hearts towards Him.

As it is on my heart today, I would like to have the Muse and Meehan families lifted up in prayer today especially. Today is the two year mark from when Dustin and Courtney were taken up to heaven after the tragic car accident.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support. Jesus te ama!

Bring on the Solitude

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In the book our group is studying, The Celebration of Discipline, we just finished the chapter on Solitude. In this day and age with cell phones always within reach and Ipods blasting our ears with music and the many other distractions filling our day, its rare to find silence. In the study of the discipline of solitude, I found how important solitude was for Jesus. Before Jesus fed the 5000, He and his diciples, Withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida(Luke 9:10) Later on it says that Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called Mount of Olives(Luke 21:37) The Mount of Olives is the same place where Jesus prayed before he was sentenced to death. Jesus did not take solitude lightly, but He embraced it. With every desire to live as Christ did, this past Friday our team spent the day on a bluff, the beautiful mountain side that overlooks Granada. (Where I am in my blog photo) We packed a picnic lunch, brought our journals and bibles, and marveled in Gods presence for the afternoon.

Its hard for me to put into words the beauty that God showed me that day. With his remarkable creation all around me and the truthful words of Psalm 104 running through my mind, I felt a new closeness with my Savior and my Best Friend. Psalm 104 describes Gods power and sovereignty over all creation. Sometimes the thought of the vast expances leaves me feeling small. However shortly after this minute feeling overcame me, I was lead to 2 Corinthians 12:9 which says,

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness

Reading this passage was somewhat of a revelation for me. Paul continues to say in verse 10,

For when I am weak, then I am strong

What comfort I find these verses. God simply tells us that He alone is enough for us. He wants us to surrender. He is anxious to provide for us, if only we make ourselves weak so then He can be strong. This message spoke right to my heart. Im not sure if I can quite put into words what God taught me through solitude. I just pray that we can recognize how much God has to say to each and every one of us, if only we be still.
I hope Thanksgiving was a blessing to all of you. My Thanksgiving in Nicaragua was unlike any I have experienced before, but definitely a great day. My friend Annie gives a great depiction of the wild day in her blog, so feel free to check it out. http://anna-marievalenziano.myadventures.org/?filename=thanksgiving-nica-styles

Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

During Team Timeon Mondays and Wednesdays, we are often asked the question of how we feel emotionally, spiritually and physically. With a brief description of each of these three states, you can have a nice overview of each person. So I am going to run through how this past week was for me emotionally, spiritually and physically.

Emotionally- With Thanksgiving on Thurday and Christmas around the corner, I was missing home a bit this week. I longed to be in my own bed and to see the brilliant fall colors in Frederick. On the other hand, I enjoyed the beauty of Nicaragua too. The bright sun every morning and cool breeze that comes this time of year is heavenly. I took some time to read the bible and just soak in the beauty that is all around. Also, on our day off this week the team visited the lagouna. A Lagouna is a huge crater created by a volcano, which is then filled with water. It looked to me like a lake surrounded by mountains. At the lagoon we had time to rest and recharge after the always busy days this week.

Spritually- I am renewed this week. The fulltime missionary from AIM in Granada, Charles Kaye, taught our classes each day this week. On monday we talked about the armor of God and all of the defences we are given. Tuesday we talked about our weaknesses right now, the dirt in our lives that keeps us from being completely free. We read from Galations 5 and had to identify four sins in our lives that we were holding on to. Then we found 4 big rocks and with duct tape, wrote one sin on each rock. The rocks then went into our backpacks and we had to keep our backpacks with us at all times for the next 3 days. This included at soccer practice, while sleeping, everywhere, except the shower. This exercise made me conscious of the burden of sin and how much it inhibits ministry and fully living for Christ. Once again this week, looked like the crazy gringos with backpacks on all the time. Even in that, the backpacks lended themselves to good conversations with people we encountered. So Friday, we prayed and dwelled in the freedom Christ gives us through his death, and we got rid of the rocks. It was liberating and refreshing to physically feel that freedom Christ gives.

Physically- From the rocks, my back is a bit sore right now, and I actually developed a sweat gland infection too. I see this as a small price to pay for a good lesson learned. But physically this week I am alive and well. Some people on the team have gotten sick from the water here or unsanitary food, I have been fine though. I am a bit sun burned from the Lagouna but I do not mind.

I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving and fill up with turkey, stuffing and have an extra slice of pumpkin pie for me!

Jesus Me Ama

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Every Wednesday our team spends the afternoon ministry time cleaning up trash on the street where the AIM base, El Puente, is located. Thrash cans are not very common on Granada and even if they were, no one uses them. Therefore there is litter up and down every street. So Wednesdays our team attemps to bring to light this problem by picking up the litter for a few hours. In doing so, the kids who live on the street join in and we pick up trash and play together. For six weeks we have gotten to know these particular eight kids well. Though we begin and end the trash pick up with group prayer, God put in on my heart and the hearts of my teammates to further share His love with our new street friends.

After prayer and planning, we started a childrens ministry after the trash clean up. So Wednesday we told the kids who were helping clean up trash to go and get any cousins, friends, sibblings, whoever, and to meet at the soccer field (its on the same street) in 5 minutes. Believe it or not that is the best way to get kids there. Punctuality and scheduled activies just is not the way most people here function. Also, if the kids are not at school, there is not very much for them to do, so they are always willing to come out and play.

We ended up having about 20+ kids. To start off we played hug tag which is a fun game we learned at Vida Joven. Then with all of the adorable kids sitting in a circle, I gave a brief, kid friendly message about how God wants to give us a hug beacuse he loves each one of us so very much. I also told them about praying and after we sang Jesus Te Ama(Jesus Loves Me) we all prayer together.

It was a precious and fun time and are going to continue this ministry. Me and the 2 other girls who planned this have some bigger plans to teach the kids more and to get more of the community involved.

I am forever amazed by Gods plans. We started with the intention of cleaning litter, and He forms it into sharing the Gospel with His children. This verse had been powerful to me this week:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful. I know that full well

-Psalm 139:14

And one more exciting thing to share- Our soccer team is going to the championships! Ole! We won our game last week 1-0 and now this week 2-0! We still havent been scored on either. It is a true underdog story beacuse we started out in last place and have progressed from there. Coaching is a really fun ministry for me and Im excited to see what will happen at championships.

Crea and Momba

Sat, 8 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Let me start off with an apology for neglecting to blog last week. I was sick from being overtired during the week and I used our internet time rest rather than blog... lo siento. But after a little rest, last Saturday night was amazing.

Our team went to a place called "Hogar Crea" for a community event. Before I extend on the night, let me give some background on Crea. Crea is a rehab program for men who struggle with drug addictions. Those living at Crea undergo a strict lifestyle until they complete the program. The guys from my team have bible studies twice a week with the men at Crea. Through the bible studies, many men have accepted Jesus Christ as their savior.

So last Saturday there was a big even to get the community involved with Crea. There were about 75 people there from the community and from local churches. The night started off with great worship music. Then the youth from another church, Torre Fuerte, put on a few drimes. (Drime, meaning drama-mime. It's a drama about Jesus done to music usually) Then our group did 2 drimes and I was the devil in one of them. Nice right? After the drimes, my friends on the team, Annie and Joe, shared their testimonies. It was a brave and bold move for both of them but God gave them the words and both their testimonies were powerful. Before the men from Crea spoke, we sang another worship song. We were worshiping in Spanish so I am not exactly sure of all the words, but the rhythm and message of this particular song were unmistakable. After about a minute of the song everyone was dancing around and a crazy Congo line got started ha ha. So everyone was joining the Congo and laughing until one of the ladies we know pretty well, Patricia, missed a step and fractured her ankle. Her husband was the person who organized the whole night, so when she hurt her ankle, he took her to the hospital and that pretty much ended the night. Despite the sad ending to a good night, it was still powerful to be among the community, and to see how we all contributed differently to bring God glory that night.

The next day, we had church in the morning, and then right after that we changed our clothes and headed to Mombacho! I am not sure if I have mentioned before about Mombacho, but it is a stagnant volcano here in Granada and we can see it from our front porch. It just looks like a mountain, but it is beautiful. We have all been itching to climb Mombacho or just go explore a little and finally on Sunday, our opportunity came. With leftover money from the World Race Team, we all went on a zip line tour in the canopies for free! It was so tranquil, the perfect day to zip around. We went from tree top to tree top, the view was incredible. We ended the tour, which consisted for 8-9 zip lines. However, to get down from the zip lines we were belayed down a 75 foot drop. The catch with the drop is that we had no control over how fast we would go down the rope, only the man at the bottom controlled that. He asked if we wanted to go fast medium or slow, but to his amusement he would decide how much the person going down could handle. Fully scared yet praying my heart out, the man belayed me down slowly and it was all ok. Overall I loved the zip lines and I hope to go again.

Thank you all for your ongoing prayers. I can feel them and I am so thankful.

Support

Sat, 8 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Thank you all for your contributions and ongoing support this year. I am so thankful for the amazing family and friends God has placed in my life. You are truly a blessing.

However when I left for Nicaragua in September I did not have 100% of my funds raised yet, which is permissible. As of now, I am still $2,200 short of the total amount I need to raise. So if you could lift this situation up in prayer I would really appreciate it and anything you can contribute would be a blessing. To contribute, you can click on the "Support Me" hyperlink on the left.

Highlight reel

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Wow, it's Saturday again?! This week flew by. I'm not exactly sure what to extend on, so here is just a little highlight reel of some fun times this week:

-Monday and Tuesday we taught English at a local orphanage, Sisters of Charity. The engligh class is going well and we are always amused to hear our students attempt to pronounce english words. My favorite word they mispronounce is "monday," it generally comes across like "Moon-dey." But they are learning and coming right along.

-Wednesday, again we picked up trash on a particular street. About ten kids join us everyweek to help clean the road. The clean up yields great conversations. Dispite the hot afternoon sun and stinky litter, I do enjoy our Wednesday trash pick up and enjoy the relationships being built through that.

-Wednesday night during out "team time" we put aside our normal discussion time and decided to do some worship instead. We prayed for the Holy Spirit to meet us during the time of worship, and He sure did. 3 songs into our worship time, we were all stunned to hear the pounding rain outside. Without hesitation, we looked at the pouring rain, took off our shoes (and for the boys, their shirts) and we ran around in the rain. We sang praise songs and just danced around like fools for Jesus in the rain. If it wasn't defined before, we are definitely the crazy gringos on our block.

-After a tiring soccer practice on Friday, (we played a full field scrimmage with only 5 people per team.. aka, alot of running) we had some extra time before lunch. With thoughts of home, the beautiful changing of seasons and delicious food that goes along with fall, my friend Caleb and I made apple crisp for the team. It was a good diversion from our normal cold cut sandwiches and chips, and the baked apple fragrance filled our house for a bit too. Everyone enjoyed it and it was my and Caleb's pleasure to serve our team in that way.

-Friday night was movie night again for the neighborhood kids. How much I really wanted to watch Shrek 2 in spanish, I ended up playing an hour long series of games with the younger kids. We played all sorts of crazy games I have never seen before. We had such a fun time and I look foreward to building a relationship with our adorable little neighbors.

-This morning, Saturday, we had our first real soccer game since last week was a forefit. I'd say our team dominated the game. We didn't put as many shots on goal as we should have, resulting in a 0-0 tie. We'll work on shooting more this week I guess.

Overall God is continuing to bless my time here in Granada. This week especially I felt alot of growth with Him through my quite times and during our teaching times in the mornings. I'm being stretched and pulled in a way that is helping me grow in Faith. Thank you for your prayers.

La Vida Joven y Futbol

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Last Sunday morning, myself and 4 other members of my team along with 5 Nica leaders of Vida Joven (Young Life) ventured to a beautiful overlook in the rural area of Granada. We went on the walk as a run through for the following week when the Vida Joven is taking the group of youth to the same place. We walked about 40 minutes to the base of the mountain and stopped to take a break then we played a few fun games, sang some worship songs and had a bible study. Once we were refreshed, we hiked about 30 more minutes to a big white cross and an amazing overlook. (see the picture) From from the cross, we could see all of Granada; Lake Granada, the mountains in the background and a blue partly cloudy sky. All I could think of was Psalm 36, "Your Love oh Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your fathfullness stretches to the sky. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice flows like the great deep" For a few minutes I stood in complete awe of God's indescrible creation. It was truly breath taking. From the overlook we did our touristy duty of taking pictures, we also enjoyed a picnic lunch and had another bible study. Before we hiked back home, we woshiped more and then prayed over Granada. Not only did the God's creation blow me away, but it was incredible how much our language barrier was not an issue all day. The Nicaraguan Vida Joven leaders have broken english and we have some developing spanish but never the less, we had solid conversations with each other. We worshiped and prayed to the same God together, a God who has brought us together dispite language and culture. It was an incredible day and I'm excited to go again next week with the youth from Vida Joven. I'm sure God will leave them amazed as I was.

Another cool thing that started up this week is our soccer teams! Between myself and 3 other teammates, we are coaching a 15-18 year old team and a 10-12 year old team. I am working with the younger team mostly. We hold practices twice a week for the team, but any kids who want to practice come and play too. However, you may have seen that there is a tropical storm coming through Nicaragua, which made for extra fun practices! For both of our practices this week it all out poured. Reguarless we practiced dribbling, passing, shooting and we even made the kids do some sprints for being late. It was all in fun and we ended one of the practices in a game of slide tag. (Thats where you lay on your belly with a partner while 2 people run around playing tag, then the person who is being chased has to slide next a person laying down. The rain and mud makes slide tag all the more fun) We are going to be playing games on Saturdays also. I am really excited to get to know the kids more, they seem like bundles of energy and potentially really good players. We are praying as a team at the begining and end of practices and trying to be living examples of Christ's love for the kids. If you could just soak this soccer team in prayer, I would greatly appreciate it. With your prayers God will do great things through this coaching oppertunity. Thank you!

Everyday life

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In excitement for the ministry opportunities God had set before me in Nicaragua, I have neglected to blog about my current living conditions and my everyday life. I am living in a row house with the 11 girls on my team. The boys have a house of their own two blocks away. We live on somewhat of the outskirts of town, though almost everywhere we need to go is within walking distance. Our house is not big, but we have enough room. I share a bedroom with four other girls, and I share a bed with my friend Amy. Our kitchen has limited counter space, but we have a microwave, oven, sink, refrigerator and a newly purchased coffee maker :). Oh and the kitchen is complete with ants and mice...yikes. We take turns cooking dinner, but usually dinner is some kind of rice or noodles with veggies or chicken.

In the morning, I wake up around 7. After I get ready for the day and eat breakfast, I have an hour of quiet time from 8-9. During this time I journal, pray, listen to music and read the bible. After quiet time we head to El Puente (the AIM base) for our morning teachings. We just finished the book Victory Over Darkness and are now studying the book The Celebration of Discipline. This past week we had a local pastort, Pastor Garcia, come give a three day series on the book of Job. I found it very interesting and informative. After the teaching, we come back home for lunch, which is usually PB&J or a cold cut sandwich. From 1-5 we go to the particular ministry for the day. This past week we taught ESL (English as a Second Language) at an orphanage for 2 days, we worked at a daycare at the orphanage, picked up trash on the street where El Puente is and we did yard work at El Puente. After our ministry we come back home and have to do our chores. Then we have dinner. Our time after dinner is spent playing cards, relaxing, playing guitar, or playing outside with the neighborhood kids. We have the weekends off, except for one or two church services on Sundays.
Though this may sound bland since I explained it very cut and dry, I truly enjoy everyday here.

As a reminder, my address is

Laura Overs

In Care of Charles and Sarah Kaye

Apartado 123

Granada, Nicaragua

I love recieving mail and I will gladly write back anyone who sends me letters:)

Ask the Lord!

Sun, 5 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

For the past 2 Mondays, our team has spent the afternoons doing ATLs. ATL stands for Ask The Lord. For ATLs we split up into teams consisting of 4 or 5 people each. The purpose of an ATL is to really listen to what God is trying to tell us to do. We start off in silent prayer, and continue to pray until we have some guidance from God for our time. Sometimes, a team mate will have a vision while praying or hear a voice or just get a desire to go to a certain place. This past Monday, after 20 minutes of prayer, we had no real guidance for what to do. Our bellies were hungry so we thought maybe we could go and get some food. We had just read Acts and could envision Paul preaching in the center of town also. With this in mind, my team of 5 went to Central Park, which is about a 5 minute walk from our house.

A lonely looking man siting on a park bench caught our eye. The two boys in our group perused a conversation with him while myself and the other 2 girls on my team prayed for their conversation. The boys found that the man was hungry. So our team went to Tip Top, a chicken fast food restaurant, and ordered about 5 meals. With the food we went back to the man on the park bench. We gave him a chicken meal, and sat on the ground in front of him while we also ate our food. Without a doubt this caught the attention of several people in the park. Within a few minutes, we were surrounded by 15 people, who were also hungry. While some of us acted as hostesses (I am experienced haha) and gave away food, others shared the gospel with the people listening. We gave away 2 bibles as well. After the food was gone, and we had shared the Good News, we prayed with a few of the people remaining, then returned home. Through trust and obedience God blessed our day and the people we were able to minister too. I look forward to our next ATL and seek to hear God's voice everyday.

Michael y Nicalsi

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After two weeks here in Nicaragua, the most valuable lesson I have learned is that every aspect of Christian life is a ministry. For some reason I was under the impression that our "ministry time" was from 12-5, after our morning teaching and before dinner. God has much more impromptu timing than this. Here are some encounters of God's spontaneous use of his servants.

On Thursday afternoon our team went to El Puente, the AIM base here in Granada. It is about a 10 minute walk from our house and we go there often for our morning teachings. Thursday afternoon we went to El Puente solely to do yard work. Through I truly don't mind raking, weeding and playing with machetes, that was not God's plan for me as I had anticipated. Instead, a 14 year old boy named Michael and I struck up a friendship. He was at El Puente to receive guitar lessons from one of the men who work there. After kicking a soccer ball around for 20 minutes and exhausting all of my Spanish conversational skills, we started playing the guitar. I am eagerly learning to play the guitar and have mastered about 4 chords now. Michael played a few worship songs and we sang in Spanish. Then he taught me "Ven," or "Come, now is the time to worship." After we played the guitar for a while and I asked him if he would like to come to Young Life that night. Sure enough he came. My kind and understanding team was happy with the friendship struck between Michael and I that they did not even mind my lack of physical labor that day. Its great to be surrounded by a community of believers anxious to build relationships and lead others to Christ.

Yesterday was our day off. We had nothing at all scheduled, which was a blessing to have the chance to just chill. In an effort to relax, I went to watch the boys on our team play soccer with some Nica friends. I had no intentions of playing soccer or doing anything except sitting in the shade on the 100 degree day. However, when we got to the field there was this cute and energetic little boy that caught my eye. Nicalsi is 7 years old and just a bundle of energy. (His picture is on this page) He and I played soccer, baseball with a rock and stick and just about any game he could think of for an hour and a half while the soccer game was going on. Nicalsi didn't have any family at the park and only had younger siblings. It was a blessing for me to be able to show the love of God to such a beautiful child.

God never ceases to amaze me with His plans and "Its fun to be in God's game" as my dad always says :) Thank you all for your ongoing prayers and support. Peace be with you all.

first blog!

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Buenas! Sorry for the delay on this first blog, but with great joy we have arrived in Granada safely. Here is just an overview on the past 2 weeks for me.

From September 8th through the 15th our team was in Gainesville Georgia for training camp. The team consists of 10 girls and 4 guys. Upon meeting on the 8th, we instantly became a new family. In Gainesville, we were up bright and early for breakfast and activities continued through out the day. We attended general sessions about different topics relating to ministry. After lunch our team completed "team builder" activities. Through the team builders we learned how to comunicate effectively as a team and we learned alot about eachother. My favorite part of the day was at 8 oclock when we had worship with everyone at camp. (There were several other FYM, first year missionary, teams at camp who went to Kenya, Jeffers Bay, and India.) Each night the worship was a little different. The most powerful night for me was on Thrusday when we sang praises to God underneath the stars. Anyone who could brought an instrument played. There was a few guitars, a violin, some kind of drum(?), a tambourine then about 100 unique voices. The simple beauty of the bright stars, cool breeze and community of believers was incredible.

Overall I left training camp with a renewed relationship with God, and with complete faith in God's plan for me in Nicaragua.

On Monday, we left Gainesville at 7 in the morning and caught our flight to Houston with out any problems. Because of the Hurricane that hit Texas, we were concerned about our connecting flight in Houston. To us, the idea of being delayed, staying at a hotel for the night and catching some monday night football sounded good, however we were not delayed and safely made it to Nicaragua late monday night. It was a long day of travel but the day provided our team with a lot of laughter and bonding.

Since arriving in Granada, we have spent the days getting familiar with the city, preparing for the ministries we will be starting tonight, and getting to know our neighborhood too! For the past 2 nights a few of us on the team have simply taken a soccer ball outside our house and started a huge soccer game with the neighborhood kids. I feel blessed to be in such a beautiful and welcoming city. I will put pictures up sometime soon but feel free to check out some of my teammates blogs to get a glimpse of the area.

Each day has been filled with joyous encounters and a prevelant feeling of the Holy Spirit amoung our team. At the end of the day I lay in bed and thank God so much for the support and prayers from my friends and family. You all mean to much to me and I think of you often.

Here is a verse that has continually been coming up during my quite time with God and it has been a comfort to me.

"Your love oh Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the great deep... How priceless is your unfailing love!" Psalm 36 5-7

I believe... in what I don't understand

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In this life I realize everyday how much I don't know. When I was interviewing for the job I have now at a nursing home I had to fill out a tax form... yikes. Though I was a month away from graduating high school, I didn't know how many taxes to claim or what that even meant. So in an effort not to look confused, I checked a few boxes and signed the paper. But this is just a small and pathetic example of the many things that I don't understand. The bible offers so many concepts that are hard for me to wrap my mind around. One God created this whole world? A flood swept the earth? A dead man lives? Sinners are redeemed? He is coming back? But the answer to all these are, yes! God is God and we are men. We will never come close to understanding the complexity of our omnipotent God, nor should we! I find a lot of comfort in Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." And again in 2 Corinthians 5:7 Paul says, "We live by faith, not by sight." Living by sight in this world, woah, it's pretty rough. Dispite my lack of understanding, I rest asure with a firm faith and hope in Jesus Christ. That alone is more than enough to sustain us.
I can't wait to meet everyone on the team and for us to learn and grow together. Ultimately, I can't wait to chill in heaven with you all and for Jesus to tell us all face to face of this mystery.