The Rest of the Story

It's been more than a year since the last time I made an entry in this blog... Grace does such a great job with our monthly newsletters.  There is more to one of the stories she shared this month, so I thought I'd share here.
Wilbert Martínez is one of our eight guards; Grace shared this photo of him standing in front of the home that he shares with his common law wife and two daughters.  He has been growing in his faith through our bi-weekly devotionals with the security team, in spite of the fact that he is just now learning to read and write (he says growing up in the country he never had the opportunity to have any formal schooling... even first grade).

A week ago last Sunday, he took his family to a church in his neighborhood, and when the pastor invited anyone who was ready to accept Jesus as Personal Savior and Lord, his seven-year-old daughter tugged on his arm and whispered that if she were old enough, she'd go forward.  The Holy Spirit used her to prick his heart and lead him to take that step of faith!

As I make this entry, Wilbert is traveling to his hometown to renew his citizenship papers, so that he can surprise the mother of his children by legally making her his wife, and pledging before God and his church family to love and cherish her for as long as they both shall live... and to be the father to their daughters that God intends.

May God continue to bless and guide this family!

First Fruits

Davnelid Flores 

I just have to share this story!

This darling fourth grader mentioned to me at lunch a couple of weeks ago that she wanted to start a special-order bakery, so I asked her if she could make 40 breakfast cupcakes for today's Teacher Workday.  She came back the next day to tell me she could make cinnamon and/or banana, and that they would be 10 Córdobas (32 cents) each, so I ordered 20 of each flavor, and came ready to pay C$400, plus a generous tip!

When she delivered my order early this morning, she informed me that I was her first real customer, therefore those cupcakes were her "primicias" (first fruits), and she would not be accepting payment.

This girl's been paying attention in Bible class!

Nicaragua

The news in our country of residence has been all bad lately, so Grace and I took 11 of our teachers out to a part of the country that has remained calm... and as you can see, beautiful!

Those are Granada and the Mombacho volcano in the background of the two photos.

Happy Mother's Day (in the U.S.; here it's May 30th) to mine, the mother of my two terrific children (currently residing in Heaven) and to the sweet girl by my side in these pictures.

Challenging Times

Not sure how many of you back in the US may have gotten wind, but things are happening here in the "Land of Lakes and Volcanoes".  Schools have been closed across the country since dismissal last Thursday (Grace's 60th birthday), and everyone is anxious to see what is next.

Without getting into the politics of the matter, Grace and I are here to serve regardless of who might be in power, and are committed to being a part of all the good things God has going in this beautiful country.  One of the things He has put on our hearts, is to see the families of those we work with grow strong and prosper as they live out His calling in their lives.  Pictured are Juan Pérez and his wife Marjorie Orozco; he is an electrician and she our 3rd grade teacher.  They are incredibly hard-working professionals with a combined salary of under $700/month, because that is what people earn here (and much less). 

It has been their dream to have a home of their own... through God's favor, impressive stewardship of their resources, and a construction fund made available to our teachers and staff through the generosity of some of our supporters, their dream will soon be a reality.  Their daughter, Jazmín, is in our preschool.  Families like theirs give us hope for the future of this country!

Pioneer

She may not seem all that excited to be photographed with her new principal, but I'm thrilled to have been able to say "yes" to her parents after they completed the application process!

Alisbell "Allie" Ocón is officially the first student with Down syndrome ever accepted by NCA Matagalpa.  We have been praying for the right combination of our maturity as a school, supportive parents and class dynamics ...if her first day in our Kindergarten is any indication, this was God's timing!!

First Day of School

This is the team God has assembled for the 2018 school year at Nicaragua Christian Academy Matagalpa (the Art and 4th grade teachers had to leave the Open House early and missed the photo).

Standing L2R: Dagny Dunham, Grace Kynast, Kristie Mattenley, Ben Dunham, Otoniel Martínez, Melba Gámez, Nora López, Julieth Rodríguez, Brian Baker, Sayling Benavidez, Yudit Altamirano, Marjorie Orozco, Karla García, Suyapa Tórrez, Gloria Orozco, Glenda Méndez, Martha Flores, Migdalia Rodríguez, Evelia Oporta, Martha Castro, Annel Flores.

Crouching L2R: César López, Ulises Urbina, Jeffry Laguna, David Mejía, David Zeledón, Greg Kynast

Team from our Church in Jacksonville

We had the joy of hosting five from Chets Creek Church who came to serve in a variety of ways at our school.  Chris, Bill, Pam, Megan & Delaney did everything from labeling and cataloguing books for the library to assisting teachers in the classroom and speaking to groups of students in class or at the middle school retreat!

We miss them already and look forward to our next opportunity to host... them or YOU!