How Do You Spell Relief?

H E L P!

I'm not crying out for help.  I'm saying we have HELP in the form of wonderful, passionate, loving, Godly people who are coming alongside to offer long awaited relief to our weary minds and bodies.  You can't imagine the feeling this relief of responsibilities is to us.

Wilber, our very close friend and more like a family member to us, has caught hold of the vision for what we are doing.  He has so much passion, which is giving us a boost of adrenaline.  God comes exactly at the right moment to tend to our minds and bodies and provides what we need.

Wilber is a born evangelist, which I may have mentioned before.  He cannot help himself.  He loves to go out to the highways, byways and neighborhoods that most of us would never step into.  His job and he knows it so well in his spirit, is to reach the lost.  Two years ago, he was in the streets, his life spiraling into eternal hell.   He grasped onto God's outstretched hand and pulled himself out of the gutters.   His life's work is to tell others about the transformed life offered by Jesus.

We also have pastors and a transplanted American paraplegic that are giving their time to help mentor and disciple the guys.   Do you see what I have written - they are giving their time.  There are no requests for financial assistance, they too have a heart and passion for what we are doing.  Weekly they come and each spends 3 hours one day a week with the guys.

Two of the volunteers travel a great distance - 15 plus miles each way.  We feel led to pay for their transportation and just that small gesture has found great appreciation within them.

Preston has been teaching the Friday morning classes.  However, this will be short lived because in January we hope to have the vocational cabinet shop up and functioning.  If God has provided us with the current volunteers, He will provide someone for the Friday classes at the due time.

Oh, the sweetness of relief!  It allows us time to devote to other matters, formulate programs and Preston's expanding teaching opportunities in other churches.  I love to teach English and felt like I never adequately prepared my twice weekly lessons.  Now I can devote more time to that preparation.

Can you hear the relief in my words and the gratitude for the people who have chosen to come alongside us?

Before I leave you, I need to tell you about needs for the ministry.  The expenses for the Restoration House are heavy and once again we are having to pull from my social security,  We have had long term, faithful partners but in the last 2 years as is common with ministries, some have left us because their time has come to an end.  We are now operating with a $700 monthly reduction.  We have never taken a salary, the ministry provides for the operation base which is also our residence; but we pay for personal expenses as well as many of the events associated with our Nica sons.  Now with us having to help with ministry expenses, our personal finances are in poor shape.  Our savings account was emptied for medical costs when Preston nearly lost his finger a year ago and we've not been able to kick-start it again.  Because of  our work load and the exorbitant costs to travel to the States, we have not been able to meet with our partners or potential partners.

Would you prayerfully consider either increasing your donation, become a new partner or share our needs with your friends and your churches?  This entire "adventure", that's what God invited Preston to take, has been totally by faith.  When you no longer have the ability to work and earn money, it puts the meaning of faith to a test.   Before coming to Nicaragua, we always said we had faith, but what we learned was we had faith in our bank account.   We've come to know faith in a different way.

We would now love for HELP and RELIEF to come in another way - increase in available funds for the mission we are on.  Giving is easy and simple using our donation site.  We are always mindful of costs to the ministry and making donations via ACH, costs only 25 cents compared to the almost 4% charged by debit and credit cards.  There are several projects and needs from which to choose to specify your donation allocation.   They are featured in a drop down list on the site.

https://connect.egiving.com/restoration-house/restoration-of-the-nations

Thank you for your continued partnership in Restoration of the Nations.  It's an exciting time for the ministry and we need you to join with us to fulfill all that is before us.

Temporary Restoration House (Casa Restauración)

We've been 7 months with our personal home being the temporary facility for the Casa Restauración.  Did I say it's been 7 months, seems like 7 years!  There's a reason why people tend to have children in their younger years.  To try to take on that responsibility in your golden years, well, let me say, it's a challenge. 

One of the cultural customs in Nicaragua is that families stay together.  The guys take it in stride that we live all in the same house.  However, I've always been an introvert and to have to share my space with another is a real STRETCH for me.  My husband is use to me, but when I seek the refuge of my room, the guys want to know "what's wrong with her".

Let me share a funny moment with you from 2 years ago before there was a Casa Restauración:  I think I will always remember the time when Jack Noel was talking about living with us - FOREVER.  At first, I was not on the same page of conversation with him.  But as I tuned in more, I realized that he was NOT talking about a temporary situation where he could save some money and get on his feet.  When I finally asked the question, "how long do you plan on staying with us", I was not prepared for his answer.  It was a good thing I had not taken a drink of water at that moment, because it certainly would have been projectiled across the room.  "FOREVER", caught me by surprise.  I asked him if he wouldn't like to have his own house one day.  'No, I want to live with you ALWAYS', was his reply.  I told him that families in America do not continue to live with each other after the children become adults.  He reminded me that I was no longer living in America!

Let me get back to our current housing situation.   We moved into our current home because it had two bedrooms and we no longer wanted others living with us.  There was a breakdown in management of the original Casa Restauración, (see March blog - Blindsided), and we had to move the residents in with us.  We have had consistently 2-3 young men living with us since the end of January. 

There is a house next door to us that has been for rent for months.  It would be ideal to rent and place the guys in it.  There is plenty of room to allow for more guys to join the recovery program.  And we could personally manage the facility and keep better watch over everyone.

So what is the problem?  Peace!  Lack of peace about signing a lease for the property.  Everything about it makes sense - it's next door for easy monitoring, there would be more peace and quiet in our home, and it's an opportunity to reach more guys.  BUT, there is no peace in our spirits.  Until God shows a solution, we will continue to make do with the arrangements as they are.

When I agreed to accompany my pastor husband to another country, I certainly was not aware that it would involve me becoming a house parent.  That was not in the original plan, but God's plans are not always our plans.  So many times that fact comes up in our daily lives.  A friend asked me once: 'if before you moved to Nicaragua you knew that your work would involve young men living with you, what would you have done'.   My reply was "stayed behind".  'Exactly', she said, 'God had to get you to Nicaragua first before He could reveal His total plan'.

Don't get me wrong, I love the guys and most of the time they are a delight.  However, let me repeat, I  AM an introvert and I like my privacy and personal space.  My privacy is gone, I've tried to carve out an area in the house that is mine to hide away in, it just does not work out.  They are so needy for time and attention;  someone is always coming to me to either talk or just hang out.   Friends that really know me, find this amusing - I was a mother to girls, and truth is known in our family that the granddaughters got more of time.  So how is it that I am a house mother to BOYS?

Oh, the humor of God!!

A Month of Birthdays

July is traditionally a busy month for us in addition to our regular duties.  We have always made sure that we celebrate the boys birthdays;  not only with our Nica sons, but the boys that are a part of our lives.  So, in July the birthdays are plentiful.  The celebrations, depending on our personal finances, can be as simple as me baking a cake to a full blown celebration of a meal with their favorite foods.

This year, we celebrated Noel's birthday with a family dinner which now consists of a huge extended family.  We prepared spaghetti with meatballs along with garlic knots.  The crowd is getting large so there were 2 cakes, one vanilla - Noel's favorite, and a chocolate.

The guys have always LOVED my cakes.  The usual cake in this country is more like a dense pound cake with meringue icing.  I use the always faithful Duncan Hines mixes - expensive here, but well worth the effort.  They like the soft, moist cakes and some remember them fondly throughout the year.

A gentleman always offers his arm.

For Aroldo, we told him that we would take him out to dinner; anywhere he wanted to go.  He's never been to a "fancy" restaurant and was hesitant to ask.  But as we encouraged him to ask for what he wanted (that's what we always say to them - ask for what you want) he sheepishly said "but it's expensive".  I said to him, "let me be the judge of that, what is it?"  He - "El Carbon"   Me - "We can make that happen"   He - "Really?"

El Carbon is a steakhouse and by US standards very inexpensive, but still a stretch for us.  This is the first birthday that Aroldo has not been in the streets, so we wanted to give him his birthday wish.  We included Nelson to join us since he too is living in our home.

We had the most awesome time.  It was a wonderful, rare treat for us, but it was so much more enjoyable to watch the guys partake of something that they may have only dreamed about.

Finally, we finished the month with a lunch for James' birthday.  We went to McDonald's for the best fried chicken, EVER.  It's crispy and moist and always the meal of choice with Nicaraguenses.   For those who don't know, James is now a married man.  This means we have to share him with his wife and in-laws and we don't get to spend as much time as we would like.  He's such a joy to us and we cherish every moment with him.  He's also fluent in English, so conversation comes so much easier because our Spanish still needs a lot of work.

Why do we make a big deal of birthdays?  Because no one else does or never did for most of the guys.  We want to celebrate their lives, their uniqueness and let them know they are important to us.

A Long Ago Dream

From the beginning of the ministry, we knew God had given us a vision to have a cabinet shop along with the carpentry vocational training.

We tried to start the shop in the village of El Paraiso which was located 30 miles from Leon.  Jobs are scarce in that area.  We spoke with another ministry who is very involved in the village and they felt it would be a perfect opportunity for the men in the area who were mostly jobless.   There was one young man who in the beginning showed himself to be more ambitious than all the others.  After two years of working with him, it was decided that he would not continue to pursue learning the concept of business management.

We continued training others in a small space close to our home.  At the end of a year, our lease was not going to be renewed.  Where to put the shop was a dilemma.   Space that is affordable and sufficient in size for our needs generally don't go together.

The pastor of our local church loves carpentry.  He also has a heart for the youth of the community and cares very much about the work that we do in Nica.  For several years he lived in the States thus he is familiar with American ways.   His experience in both cultures is an asset to our friendship and working relationship.  He came to us one day and offered a portion of his church for us to use for the carpentry training.  God always has our backside.

The business concept associated with the vocational training is of interest to Pastor Pedro.  Together we have formed a Nicaragua corporation for the purpose of manufacturing and sales of cabinets.   The cabinet shop would have a dual purpose, create jobs for the community and help provide additional funding for our ministry and his church.

Currently we are training the guys that are in the Restoration program along with local young men from the community.   They are learning how to build various types of wall and base cabinets along with wardrobes and vanities.   We have no plans now to expand into any type of furniture making.  For now it will be all about building "boxes".  It's easy and it's new in the this marketplace.

Nicaragua is growing and the economy is thriving.    In the last 3 years, it consistently is rated as one of the top 10 retirement destinations in the world.  There is need for better housing and that will require cabinets and wardrobes.

We have our first commercial client and the guys are excited.  A local hostel with a coffee shop needed a new bar counter for their coffee and drink preparations. The guys received a small wage for the construction and installation of the project.

We are super excited about this program, it's been a long time coming.  We think we are positioned at the right time in the marketplace.    At this time, we work half a day in the carpentry shop since we need to share the space with the church afternoon programs.  We also have the Restoration program that requires our attention in the afternoons.

The church and our ministry will each receive a portion of the profits.   Our first payment to ourselves was $27 each for the month.  Not too bad for our first job.

Learning to Yield to HIS Plans

When we arrived in Nicaragua, we came with a plan.  Habakkuk 2:2 says: 'The Lord answered me, Write down what I show you. Write it clearly on a sign so that the message will be easy to read.'   And we did write it down because the vision was so clear in our heads it was like watching it on video.

We immediately went to work on the vocational training all the while waiting for the rest of the fulfillment of the vision.  We did not doubt that it would come because we had a promise, "all that we would need was ready and waiting".   However, six months went by and nothing of the other things in our plan were coming about.

What we were experiencing however, was boys and young men coming to our door.  We did not seek this out, but if they were showing up, it must be from God. 

And for years they have been coming.  Some come for a day, some for a meal, some for months.  All the while, we kept saying 'this isn't what we came to do'.  Mentoring and parenting young men in our house was not part of "our plan".

But, how do you turn away a hungry child, an orphan, a rejected young man or an addict?  Matthew 25:40 'The King will say anything you did for the least of my brothers, you did it for me'.  That scripture always stayed with us whenever we were feeling like maybe we were missing the mark of THE plan.

We have gone back to review the written plan a lot lately and we have discovered that we are not far off of our plan.   We are doing the vocational, we are providing education, we are discipling, we are changing their lives in ways we never dreamed about doing.    

  

No, we don't have the land that we dreamt of buying, or the large facility built with which to do the work in and be able to sleep those that need a place to rest.   We don't have it all YET, but we know that one day we will.  Six months or six years of waiting is not a long time to the LORD.   

In the mean time, we will continue to work at what God has placed right in front of us.  We believe that in His time, He will weave what we are doing now with the original vision He gave us.  It will all come together in a way we would never have imagined and it will be perfect.

The Gift of Family

It's HOT, it's dry, it's windy and it's dirty.  Such is life during March and April in Nicaragua.  Just when we think we can't possibly get up and go forward another day, we get a call from family stateside to say they are coming to visit.  It is the first time that family members have visited us - 7 years of "loneliness".

Our oldest daughter had made a trip to Nica with us a year before we moved here.   At that time, she had been drafted by her siblings to accompany us on a trip to do reconnaissance and determine if mom and dad should be admitted to a mental institution.  This year however, she wanted to be able to spend her 50th birthday with us.

Nicaragua does not use the term Easter, it is called Semana Santa (Holy Week) and resurrection day is Holy Sunday.   It was a wonderful time of year for our daughter and her husband to visit and experience the festive life of Nicaraguans.  Even the streets are decorated with colored sand portraits.  

Life comes to a halt on Wednesday evening of Holy Week and the city empties out because everyone heads to the beach.  Buses are loaded down with campers and supplies; pickup trucks are riding on their axles because of overcrowding.   The tradition here is so different from what we experienced in the U.S.   In Nica, Easter Sunday is no different than any other Sunday.  They seem to acknowledge the death of Christ more than His resurrection.   Life for the average Nicaraguense returns to it's usual pattern on Sunday.

We ventured out to the beach but only on Wednesday afternoon for lunch; any time after that would have been foolish.  Las Peñitas and Poneloya are small fishing villages on the ocean that experience a tourist explosion of tens of thousands of people during the 4 days.  We love the fact that we practically live on the Pacific and look forward to showing it to anyone who comes to visit, just not during those days.

Our Nica sons and the other guys we are involved with have wondered for years about our children. They were excited that they would finally be able to meet one of our daughters.  We had lots of gatherings so everyone had a chance to get to know our American family.

We live on a cul-de-sac with a park out our front door and an old Catholic Church across the street from there.  The church is very active and there were continual events the entire week with lots of beautiful fireworks in the evening..   We love that we have a front row seat, but the noise can be deafening and spent bottle rockets landing on our roof or patio is more than our dogs can take. They hide in our room in fear.

The last day of their  visit, we rented  two tricyclos and toured the city.  Our goal was to visit each of the major Catholic Churches - 14 of them.  We took pictures inside and out of all 14. Who would have guessed we'd have had such fun touring our city.   The sites that are so familiar to us everyday,  I hope we never take for granted.

A week was too short, but being able to share our life with a member of our family was priceless.   The time off from the usual routine was a welcome break.  They talked of coming back at Christmas, it is something to look forward to.

Blindsided

I don't think there was anything that could have prepared us for what we have experienced this last month. Everything seemed normal, the guys are loving school, new guys are adjusting well to life in the Restoration House; everyone seemed to be in harmony with one another.  Or so we thought.  Since we do not live in the House or relatively near it, we rely on the house manager to keep us informed.  We make several daily visits for either lessons or personally interacting with the guys.

I had to make a trip to Managua and I do not like traveling alone to that city so I asked for Noel to accompany me.  When I picked him up at the House, it was so evident that he was distraught.  We rode mostly in silence while I waited for him to tell me what was bothering him.  When we returned back to the House later in the day, things began to unravel.  By that time, all the guys were willing to talk.

It seems that the house manager, was allowing the guys to have more freedom than was allowed in order to "buy" their silence.  When it was all said, we found that the manager was not doing his duties at the house, he was frequently away and he was stealing the money that was allotted for food.  The stealing of the money was something that the guys did not know about.   The guys have always known that we encourage good nutrition.   When we heard they were eating only beans and rice at most all the meals, it was a red flag to us that something was not right.    The manager was using the majority of the grocery money for his own gain.

None of this behavior is unusual for all that we have experienced while living in Nicaragua.  What hurt so badly is that the house manager was one of our Nica sons whom we had trusted explicitly.  He himself had grown up in Remar and knew the duties of a house manager.  He knew the vision and scope of our work.   In our minds, he was the obvious choice for the job.  He was young, but the job was not difficult; he was strong in the Lord AND he had our trust.   Now because of his selfishness and greed, he would be out of a job and out of a place to live.

It is extremely difficult to find reliable, trusting individuals to do any type of work. The only remedy for this problem, until we could find responsible persons to help us,  was to divide the guys to live in our home and Wilber's until we could find a better solution.  We found understanding with the owner and was able to terminate the lease on the dwelling.  To  move the guys into our home was not ideal for us for two reasons:  we had downsized a year ago so that we would no longer have others living with us and our home is the mission base.  Everything happens at the base along with constant interruptions,  leaving us with little to no privacy.   Luckily we have room for 2 sets of bunk beds.

Not only were we blindsided, but this took the wind totally out of our sails.  Trying to recuperate without the time and privacy is difficult.  The work goes on, the demand is never ending.  We have two evening meetings a week in our home and one evening outside for teaching, in addition to our daily schedule.   Our days are long, beginning at 5AM and now they are crowded with extra bodies in our "sanctuary".

I have to laugh when I think about our time in Nicaragua.  It has been all about adjustments.  As Americans, we are so structured and rigid.  More times than we can count over the years, the guys have said to us "calmate" which means - take it easy.  We'll learn to adjust to the new living arrangements.  For how long? Who knows.   It's important that the guys have stability and feel welcome in our home.  Their is an upside to this, we no longer have to make multiple daily trips over to the Restoration House.  Maybe we can save a few minutes a day for ourselves.

                                      

Nicaragua is a beautiful country, it is our adopted home.  The people are warm, friendly, but they are proud and which sometimes means difficult.  We are still learning that fine line between preserving the rich cultural heritage and educating them to be able to exist in this developing world.  Every day is a challenge and we are always in a battle.   Yet as we look back, we have learned a lot and developed personally in such a way as to be able to live in this culture.   

We cannot do it alone however, we need your continual prayers to strengthen us and provide wisdom for the decisions that need to be made concerning the well-being of the guys and the future of the Restoration House as well as the other ministry programs.

In a Blink of an Eye

How quickly things can change.  One minute we have one of our very own strongly speaking to an incoming addict about the benefits of our Restoration House program and the next, he himself is missing.

It was a beautiful, quiet Friday morning.  Wilber brought to our home a potential young man to join the recovery program in the Restoration House. When Wilber entered it was apparent that he was in great distress.  Hours earlier, his beloved cousin who struggled with drugs and alcohol was killed in a street altercation.   Wilber is 14 months clean and his passion is to see that no man continues in their struggle with addiction.  Because of his loss, he is now more determined than ever to go into all the streets to find young men who will listen to his story of living clean and free.

Aroldo has been in and out of our lives since 2010.  He struggles with several addictions and yet he loves to learn more about the Word of God and experience His loving, awesome presence.  On this particular Friday morning, he was sharing with the newbie all about life in Casa Restoración (Spanish).  He was passionate about how the program was helping to transform his life.

The meeting lasted a couple of hours, the temperature was usual for this time of year in Nicaragua - HIGH; nothing had been prepared for lunch, so it definitely was a McDonald's kind of day.  Air conditioning, daily specials and with a brood to feed, it was the perfect affordable place to eat.  We had a fun lunch, lots of laughter, sharing, teasing and just enjoying each other's company.

After lunch, we had an errand to run and needed Jack Noel to accompany us.  Aroldo volunteered to take Noel's wife and baby back to the Casa in Noel's tricyclo.  Forty-five minutes, just 45 short minutes it took us to arrive back at the Casa only to have Noel's wife greet us at the door to say that Aroldo was gone.  He had dropped her at the Casa, changed his clothes and walked out without a word.  No warning signs, no moodiness, just passion, fun and laughter one minute and the next he is no where to be found.  We tried repeatedly to call him, eventually he turned off his phone and then he sold it.

He was gone for 3 days before Wilber found him and brought him back.  Upon his return, we learned that during lunch on that Friday, Aroldo had been texting with a foreigner whom he had met days earlier at the mercado and agreed to meet up with her.  As I mentioned, he struggles with many addictions.

For days after he returned, he was quiet and isolated.  The shame, regret and accusatory voices in his head were coming at him continually.   After the initial reprimand, there is not much we can say.   It was evident he was beating himself up enough.  We held back the "I told you so's" and just tried to be a source of love whenever he would accept it from us.

It's the same ole story with him, it's usually a girl that trips him up.  He is so starved for acceptance and love, that he repeats the same mistakes over and over.   The story of his earlier years is heartbreaking and one can understand his need for some sense of significance.   As much as we continue to share with him where his validation and identity really comes from, it never seems to penetrate his heart.   So, we wait on the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do.

Aroldo is bouncing back but the infectious laughter and glint in his eye is missing.   He asks us often "why are we patient with him".  He doesn't know that it is a different kind of patience, some days we want to wring his neck. But the patience that he experiences from us is a knowing that there is a great plan for his life.  And so, we keep loving him and working with him as long as he continues to reach out to us.

Another Year of Opportunities

New Year's Eve is really a BIG deal in Nicaragua.  We get to see first hand the celebrations up close because we live on one of the most popular parks in all of León fronted by a Catholic church which LOVES to PARTY.   There were fireworks all evening long launched by the neighbors and then the grand finale at midnight by the church.  Two of our Restoration House guys popped in and out all evening long, then came back shortly before midnight because they wanted to usher in the new year together with us.

It's a new year with new dreams, lots of excitement and anticipation of great things to come.  Aren't we all hopeful on January 1?

The month started out busier than usual.  The young men on the streets are tired of street life, the holidays are behind them, the nights are cold with nowhere warm to sleep and maybe it is time to sober up.  Wilber has been taking guys out to The Farm almost daily where the detox process can start.   They come to us with only the clothes on their backs, plastic flip-flops on their feet, hungry and tired.

We feed them, give them a care package consisting of toiletries, change of clothes, hooded sweatshirt, towel, notebook, pen and Bible to sustain them while at The Farm.  Most of the guys do not last the 3 weeks at The Farm, many do not make it beyond a day or two; one young man beat Wilber back to town (Wilber had stopped to talk with friends).  The reasons vary as to why they leave The Farm.  For some it is too "primitive", this spoken by guys that live on the streets - go figure.  Others do not like the structure or rules and are very independent.  Those that make it the longest, think that after a couple days of sobriety they don't need to complete the program.  You can't hold a guy against his will, so they are free to go under their own power - there are no complimentary rides back into town.  I am still amazed at how they can find their way through the maze of cane fields to the main road to hitch a ride.

For a long time, we thought we could love them into submission and/or change.  More recently we have adopted the tough love approach.  Wilber has been trying desperately to get us to change our minds, he was going to prove that love and patience would win them over.  He's now starting to experience the disappointing and discouraging moments.  Pastor Benjamin has stopped trying to talk the guys into remaining in the program at his Farm.  The truth of the matter is the guys are NOT ready to change their lives.  But none of us can make that determination on day one when they come to our home seeking help. Each of us chooses, at that moment, to believe that the requests for help come from weary souls.

How many of us on New Years vow to begin a healthier lifestyle?  How many of us fail within the midst of the first month?  We have all the best information at our fingertips to help us master our minds and bodies to kick old habits and yet we fail.  How much harder must it be for these guys to put aside their destructive choices and behavior when there is no seeming hope on the horizon?  How much pain are they trying to drown out? How much shame are they wanting to block out?   There's no way we can stand in judgement of their momentary desire to change when we cannot keep our resolution to leave the sodas alone or view a lot less Facebook.

There are 2 policies that we have adopted in our ministry.

     #1 - We will not do more for you than you are willing to do for yourself.

     #2 - Jesus always told the sinner, "sin no more", then He went on his way.
           
We will love them,  treat them with respect, but we will not chase after them; we will let them go until they return to us.

We look forward to this year and all of it's opportunities while remembering that we cannot control the outcome.  We are His hands and feet to extend His love to those He has given free will.

Wrapping Up the Year!

What a roller coaster year it has been.  Think about riding a coaster.   As it climbs the hill there is lots of anticipation, once at the top the excitement is exhilarating.  Then the coaster starts down towards the valley; for me, fear starts to set in and I hang on because there is no getting off the coaster. Then there are the twists and turns and I think about if the coaster will be able to stay on the track.

Our year was much like that.  We started out with excitement and so much anticipation about the Academy.  Then we had fear as we wondered had we missed God's Voice and His plan.   All we could do was hang on because life kept moving forward.   There were twists in our plans when God revealed that He had different plans for the building that we had hoped would be for the Academy.
He was going to turn it into a church.

Mario's carpentry shop did not turn out as planned.  He learned some valuable skills, but as of today, he is in his village doing nothing.  But, as I spoke about last month, God will use everything for good. He has a plan and His ways are not always our ways.

Mid-year, we welcomed our third Nicaragua "grand baby".  Oh, the promises of God come to mind. Long before Nicaragua or missions was ever on our "radar", God told me that I would have many children and grand children.  Someone once compared me to Gladys Aylward and she led over 100 children through the mountains to safety.   Well, I know that we've had influence to almost 100 young men.  You don't hear about all of them, because they come and go out of our lives.  We only hope that we left something of value with each one.

In August, we had a team member say to us that now there was no one living in our home with us, it was time to find 4 new young men.  My eyes must have grown as large as saucers because he said, I'm sure that is not something that you find appealing, having boys live with you again.  He was certainly right about that.  We raised daughters and learning the ways of boys was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.  I was enjoying my rest from the challenges of caring for boys; especially boys with issues.

But, here we go, more twists and turns!  Remember, God's plans are not our plans, His ways are not our ways.  At the beginning of the year, we met a man in his mid 30's and there was a mutual connection.  Recently, God began using him to bring our awareness to young men in need.  As quickly as a coaster can go around a curve, God quickly took us toward His plans.  The young men would not be living with us, but we would help them try to lay hold of a more stable life.  So, the Restoration House now has it's own residence.

We finished the year with a wedding.  Our Nica son, Jack Noel, married his love during a ceremony held in our home with his American "dad" officiating.   As with coasters, we have experienced ups and downs, twists and turns in Noel's life, but it came to an exhilarating end.    Now he is passing from son to responsible man with a family of his own.  As he and I walked arm and arm toward the Pastor and guests to take our place, I said to him, "don't forget me".  He replied "never, Madre".    It was a beautiful evening, set in a magical setting of twinkling lights in the presence of loving friends and our ever faithful God.

Give Thanks

There's so much to give thanks for during this wonderful season.  When one is going through some difficult and discouraging times, it's hard to see what good could possibly come out of it.

Two things God's Word tells us:  Give thanks in ALL things and He will use ALL things for good.

I don't know about you but when we're in the midst of trying times, giving thanks is not the first thing that pops up in my mind.  I'm learning to slow down, pause, breathe and sometimes I do remember to find something that I can turn into a blessing in my prayers.

Believing that God uses all things, is a lifeline to me.   Every single day our lives are challenged in ways I never thought possible, much less to be able to endure the hard times.    Most of you do not know about the devastating blows that hit us just hours before boarding the aircraft to move to Nicaragua.   There were years of sadness, verbal assaults and isolation from our family, all while trying to transition into a culture so totally "foreign" to our normal way of living.    Even among the people we came to serve, we experienced so much opposition.  I'd cry out continually asking,  "God, where is the good in all this?"

But, I'm a walking, breathing testimony, that God's Word is true: good does come out of trials.   All of life is a process, which requires time, obedience, faithfulness and it's not just on our part.    As He is working in our lives, He is also working in the lives of those around us.  Working and coordinating every detail until one day we start to see or experience that "promised good".

There's so much good! All around and near me, I see and experience good. Relationships are being restored, lives are being healed, amazing breakthroughs are taking place, dreams and visions becoming a reality.

We all love to experience the goodness of God.  But, let's never forget to Give Thanks in all things, because He tells us to do so.   And if we are blessed to experience the good, it's all the more reason to continue to Give Thanks.

Restoration House

For three years, we have been in association with a Godly, humble Nicaraguan man named Benjamin. He has a program that focuses on the rehabilitation of men struggling with alcohol and drugs.  He teaches them to turn their focus away from substances and turn towards God.  You might remember us talking in the past about taking some of our guys out to "The Farm" located in the midst of sugar cane.  It's located a 30 minute drive from our city, not easy to find, nor is it easy to get into or out of The Farm.

Recently, there have been more and more young men that we have escorted out to The Farm for a 21 day stay.  It was becoming a concern as to how the guys would cope when they left.  The fate of Israel Jose was probably responsible for us to finally take action to implement a plan.  We had known him for years and he was brought back into our lives for a purpose.  On the drive back from The Farm after leaving him there, we asked a question to our friend Wilber, "do you think it would help the guys if they had a safe place to go after leaving The Farm?"  The very next day we started looking for a house.

Twenty-one days in recovery is not a long time.  A person is hardly finished with the detox within his body. We want to provide an additional time and place for them to begin on learning to transition back into society. Many guys were living in the streets before.  Many have lived in horribly disfunctional homes.  Many homes have more than one person actively using alcohol and drugs.   Many don't have jobs.  Many have never learned the every day life skills most people take for granted.   We want to provide a safe environment where they can learn to live as healthy, whole and Holy men.

We love how God works, which at times can be suddenly.  We looked at one house that we all thought would not work.  When we drove around the corner, we stopped on the street to get our bearings and ponder where to look next.   There was a house directly in front of us that had been for rent for almost a year.  We had called about it several times earlier in the years to use for the cabinet shop, but the answer was always the same.  The house was being remodeled and it was not ready.

We made one more phone call and finally, the house was available.  The representative said she would come right over to show us the house.  When the cab pulled up and a woman stepped out, there was no doubt that the house would be ours.   The woman was a friend of ours helping the owner who lived in the States.  She was so excited because just that morning she had asked God during her prayer time, "to please bring someone to rent the house".

The place was a perfect size because we wanted only 6 men max in the house plus the house monitor. And the favor of the Lord just kept coming.  Without asking, the rental price was reduced by $50 a month because we would not be using it for an income producing business.  Now we had less than 21 days to prepare what has become known as The Restoration House for the first occupants from The Farm.

Favor, favor, favor was continually coming our way.  We had to purchase everything we needed to supply the house.  When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING.  We had to find a person to live in the house to manage it and watch over the guys.  AND, probably the most difficult was to establish a schedule along with rules and procedures.  Up to the final hours before the occupants arrived there were last minute things to purchase and most importantly was to fill the House with groceries.

Three young men including Israel Jose were first brought to the office in our home to talk with them about the schedule and rules. We did not anticipate the resistance that we came up against during this meeting.  It's been an ongoing battle during our entire time living and working in Nicaragua to get the local people to see the wisdom in scheduling your time and observing rules.  They are very independent and more so the young men we have dedicated ourselves to serving.

One of the guys actually broke down in tears and tried every way possible to negotiate with us.  They only looked at the schedule and policies as what was being denied them instead of how it was meant to keep order in the house and protecting them from the neighborhoods and old friends that might be harmful to them.

We've learned through experience that when you have to talk someone into something, the commitment level is not very strong. Wilber, being a recovering addict, was passionate about the guys staying in the House and talked to them for some time about the benefits. They all three agreed to "try it".

Sadly, the one in tears left the house the next day.