The past month has been full of so many things, some fun and others stressful. In all of them, however, we could see God's hand at work in our lives, helping us and teaching us more patience.
Gavin and his best friend, Michael, wrote and directed a series of dramatic plays starring other youth from the church. The plays all had a great message about making good choices in the midst of a lot of temptation and bad influences. The youth practiced for hours every day and then had a grand performance inviting the community in. They charged 10 cordobas a piece (about 40 cents) and are going to use the money to buy a Christmas party for some children in a very rural and poor community. It was beautiful to see these kids working hard to reach out to others.
This week marks the end of Kimberly's 3 months living in our home. We have enjoyed getting to know her better and she has enjoyed being a part of a normal (if crazy) family and having a father figure in Cory for the first time. She lights up whenever he is around. She loved playing with the girls' toys and watching their princess movies too. I guess you have to make up for a childhood when you don't get one the first time around. We will still see her weekly since she lives close by, and can continue being an influence in her life. Our girls have finally made some real progress in Spanish, thanks to her. I love listening to them all playing together and talking. Please pray for her as she struggles in school. She is a few years behind and wants to give up some days. She also wants to be a missionary doctor one day and we are trying to encourage her to pursue that goal.
Cory's classes at the vocational school came to a close this week with the end of the school year. The senior class from each of the different areas of study, automotive, woodworking, blacksmithing, music, sewing, and cooking, presented to the other groups about what they had learned this year.
The youth from Betania Iglesia (Church) came over on November 10 to celebrate Cory's birthday. They brought him a pretty pink piñata, his first ever. They enjoy watching movies and eating popcorn in our living room. It's great to be able to host "fun" events for the youth and in this way help reach out to community kids who aren't regular attenders. They average less than 20 each Sunday night, but we had over 40 at our house. It's our hope in the future to organize more fun youth outreach activities.
We also celebrated the Day of the Indigenous Races. It's a day for Nicaraguans to remember their roots and the people who first populated this country. It's a bit like we do in the states with dressing as Pilgrims and Native Americans for Thanksgiving. The preschoolers had a costume contest for this day. They had to make their own costumes out of natural products or old rice bags. Stacy was one of the three judges who got to choose the winner. They were all so adorable and so proud of their costumes.
We are heading up to the states on November 16 for a 2-3 month visit. This will be our first time back since we left 20 months ago. We are so excited to see everyone again! It will also be a chance to be with Stacy's father while he undergoes some rigorous cancer treatment.
Our schedule is as follows:
November 17-22 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
November 23-December 1 Tampa, Florida
December 1-3 Charleston, South Carolina
December 4-19 Winston Salem, North Carolina
December 19-January 1 Grand Rapids, Michigan
January 1-10 Midland, Michigan
January 10-30 Tampa, Florida
We would love to see as many of you as possible as we pass through. Let us know and we can get together.
We are bringing with us 150 pounds of the best Nicaraguan coffee to sell. It's fair-trade and purchased directly from the farmer in the northern mountains. We have already had orders for about 100 of those bags, so let us know if you would like us to save one for you. The suggested donation is $15 a bag.
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