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 communit

y 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.