Caleb Austin - First Year Missionary

last blog....

Wed, 13 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

hey everyone i am in Atlanta having a great time with the team... this is going to be really hard saying good bye but i am loving every minute of the time i spend with my good friends....

ready....., set......, go........................

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey everyone I don't think I have another video blog in me, so I am going to switch back to good old written ones...

This week was a pretty different then most of the weeks we have had here in Nica, we spent this week going to the gringo businesses in Granada trying to raise money for young life. I don't know how much I have talked about that but it is a big deal for the team down here... Young life is a group that was started in the states but started in Nicaragua awhile ago in a city called Matagalpa... The young life in Granada was not supported by the Matagalpa young life so they had to find there support from other places... It stated around the same time that my team got here... I remember the first time that I saw young life I knew that they were doing good things but God did not call me to that ministry so I did not stay in close touch with what they have been doing.

But now you have the general idea I will tell you why we were raising the support this week and not every other week...

Last Saturday thanks to Joe Carter, Sarah Morgan, Sarah Kay, and countless other people there was a race in the city of Granada, everybody on the team helped in some way I was directing the runners so they knew where to go when they got to the turns... Heather, Jess and Amy were at the other turn... Pepa was running the water station( we filled up 1000 bags of water btw) and I think that JD, Beca, Melissa and Jenn were running registration. There was other stuff that different members of the team were doing...

I think in all it was a very good thing cause it opened people's eyes to young life. People saw that they are out there. What ever Gods plan is for young life here in Granada I know that it will be great...

the best is yet to come...

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

hello good readers i would like to say im sorry for the post being so hard to hear but i have edited the 2nd part and it dose not have music now, so it should be easyer to understand but the 2nd and 3rd day i dont make much sence anyway...

Caleb V.S. Volcano part 2... going crazy.

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Caleb V.S. Volcano... day 1

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

hey everyone i am sorry that it took me so long to do this i have not had the time to spend at the internet... and my good friend JD Kilmer was here this past week so i have been showing him around Granada...

it was vary hard to cut down so much of my movie i took like an hour of video...

(intro) caleb V.S. volcano....

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

hey everyone so tomorrow i will not be in Granada the guys on the team are being left in the wild to fend for ourselves for 3 days.... they are giving us a jar of (PB) and a jar of (J) and one thing of bread, rope water and they we are alone we will not see anyone for the whole time that we are there....

I'm already thinking of the awesome shelter that i am going to build and how i can make a bed out of twigs and what not...

Seth's reason for doing this is so that the guys will spend all that time with God..... and grow closer to him...

i don't know how i will respond to all that alone time with God but i hope that i will be okay so pray for me, and prepare yourselves for the awesome video Blog that i will have for you come next week...

have a great week...

Eres todopoderoso

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

this is a song that we do here alot and i really like it..... check it out....

El Puente...

Sun, 22 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay here we go El Puente..... I think that I was kinda tired when I edited this and I think once again I gave myself to much face time but I did better... so here we go "me casa de El Puente..."

house of prayer.....

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

this is a video that Caleb S. Annie V. and JD made for the house of prayer i really want you guys to watch this and see all the hard work that my friends have been putting into this great work of God...

7th and the 8th....

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay so this is going to be one of my more interesting blog's cause this has never happened to me before and it was pretty much my worst nightmare.....

So after living in Nicaragua for 5 and a half months I found myself going home for spring break, the others on the team went to san juan and Costa rica but me and Seth decided to go home. He is going to see his girlfriend and I am going to see close friends and family... but today God decided to test me... so I get to the airport and check in and everything is going great, but then as I was getting checked in to the plain they said they were not boarding yet, I was thinking okay well I guess I will just have to wait like 10 min's but no..... after I waited for 30 min's I asked if I would be able to make my connection flight in Huston, and they told me that there was a vary good chance that I would not get there today, I was thinking oh my goodness, I did not have my phone, I did not know anyone's number or have anywhere to go so I was thinking if Seth had not left yet I could use his phone so I went over to his gate and told him what was going on and he said that I could use his phone so he left and I had his phone... I started to pray and read my bible when I had read a little I prayed that God would fix the plain..... I stood next to the glass wall that separated me form the outside and prayed again and as I ended my prayer the person on the intercom said that the flight was cancelled... at that moment I thought that I would have to sleep In the airport and I did not know how I felt about that... so after I talked to the airline people and they said that they do not allow people to sleep there and I would have to stand in a line (witch had 2 hundred people in it), For hours trying to get my info for the hotel they were going to put me in, I called tana and she talked to Charles and they said that I would be better off staying I a hotel..... I was thinking that there was no way that after all the people talk to them and had found places to sleep would there be a place for just me..... At this point I was feeling completely lost and stranded, I was stock in a line that would take me hours too get passed and I was vary tired.... But I did not stop believing that God had my back and so as I stood there at the airport and I praised God for everything he had given me.... And right as I was finishing my praise one of the other passengers form the my flight asked me how I was doing, I just spilled out on how scared I was and how I just wanted to see my friends.... After talking to him for awhile one of the people from the airline came and asked him how many were in his group so that they could book them all in the same hotel, he said 24, the man went and booked the rooms and then he told me that there was only 23 people in his group and that he had put a spot in for me... I was so glad just to know where I was going to sleep and that I would not be alone... so after I was introduced to all of them I found out that they were all part of group from Canada in a city called Calgary.... I talked to a lot of his group and told them about all the work that I have been doing in Granada and they told me of what they had been doing In the jungle of Nicaragua......

the best western that we stayed at was one of the more nicer places that I have stayed at, there was 3 free meals so i was vary satisfied I had my own bed and unlimited internet access after playing a really long Game of crazy 8's with some of the guys form Calgary I went to my room and talked to my cousin on skype, it was the best feeling hearing her voice and knowing that I was safe..... When I got to the airport the next morning I was vary glad to have made so many new friends, and that I had passed the test that God had given me......I got my new flight info and a cup of coffee that my friend Craig from Calgary bought me.... Then I let some of them use my computer too try to find a service too go to that night cause they would not be able to get home till the next day due to weather...... so after all that I helped Craig set up a face book so that we would be able to say hi every once in a while....

As I write this I am sitting on a plain on my way to Huston and thanking God for the Calgary Church, and for the journey that God has put me on so that my faith could grow....

You may remember in one of my earlier blog's when I quoted 1 peter 1:7

These have come so that your faith--of greater worth then gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proven genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.....

here is your choice.....

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

here is your choice for my next video blog if you look at the comment box it will say that there is only 2 for each but i have ask in person some other people so the count is 2 to 4............central park.......

witch one first.....?

Sat, 7 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

hey everyone i do not have a video for you today it is taking some time too get all the clips i want and some of them are too long.... but it is going good i think that i will upload it this week. it is a video of all the different placese we go to in granada, like the cafes, mostly in ceteral park but i have like a drive down the street with some people aswell......

i am working on 2 right now the other is of EL Puente and all the cool stuff that is there so what do you guys want to see frist EL Puete or Cental park......?

(pleace put your choise in the comment boxs and wednesday i will upload it)

team time....

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay last time I put up a video because I had nothing too say, but I think that you all liked it so I thought that I would just show you what we are doing down here for ministry and other stuff. so I took my camera up to the top of the volcano that is near Granada and I started recording, i was just saying random stuff so it wont make too much sense but it will show you what I was doing that day.... And there is a slide show in there too watch the whole thing and there will be another video of the full view for the top of the volcano.... Enjoy

so yeah im going to role out of this one with a Movie....

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

all in all good week....

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay so in the past I have just told you about how my week went but by now you know what my schedule is if not here it is........

ministiry/ start time end time hours for the day

sunday 1:30

Crea 5:00 6:30

Monday 6:30

feeding program 8:00 1:00

yard work 2:00 3:30

Tuesday 4:00

yard work 9:00 12:00

Crea 7:00 8:00

wendsday 6:00

feeding program 8:00 1:00

yard work 2:00 3:00

thursday 6:00

feeding program 8:00 1:00

yard work 2:00 3:00

friday 4:00

ATL 10:002:00

total " 28:00

So now you know exactly what I am doing and when cool right......

So if you look at the bottom of the sheet you see that I have ATL on Friday with JD, Joann, and Laura. That is what happensmost of the timebut this week, because of a delay, we did not start on time so Laura and Joann did not join JD and I... As we were walking to central park to play Guitar for the masses JD wanted to go see the woman that our group prayed over for healing the last week. So after getting lost and finding the house in the middle of nowhere we got there......the last time that we were there her face was covered in scabs and she was almost unable to walk....... as we prayed for her this past week I remember thinking that I did not have the gift of healing in me, but I believe that it is not the gift that Is important but the need, people and there faith....... the need was real and I knew the faith that was in my friends so as they prayed for her to be healed I prayed for the gift of healing in my friends..... So once me and JD got there we asked the man if his wife was okay and he asked us to come in to his house. We walked too the back yard and talked to him for like 5 min's and then his wife came out and we saw that her scabs had healed and she was walking fine..... I don't really know what too say about it but It was great to see that she was okay....... JD asked her if she went to see a doctor or took any medicine, they said that she had not, and so me and JD played Guitar for them and prayed again....... So all in all good week......

the wheels are turning.....

Sun, 8 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay so this was the first week of full ministry that I have had, some of the teem is still waiting for it to start, so we are not In full gear yet but we will be soon.

This week I had feeding program with Melisa, Jenn, and Mario. Then I did work in the yard for about 8 hours, after that I have ATL and that goes on for 4 hours with Laura, JD, and Jo-ann.....

For feeding program I went to a house in one of the nearby barrio's the first day I was with Jenn and we served soup to like a hundred kids, making the food was really hard some of time I would burn myself on some of the hot vegetables..... But it was good I use my Swiss army knife all the time...... the second time I was with Jenn and Melisa we were like pro at this point so yeah it was fun..... Jenn wants to bring a soccer ball or a guitar too pass the time cause some of the time when we are waiting for something to do it would be good to pass the time......

I will fill you in with my other ministry's when they are more active.

I was so glad 2 weeks ago when we were having our meeting with Seth about what our ministry would be. When I was walking over to the meeting literally seconds before the meeting I asked God one more time to tell me what I was suppose to do this year that would server him the best, and so I sat down at the meeting and listened to the others tell Seth about what they wanted to do this year.... As I sat there I prayed for God to tell me what to do and then the question came to me, I did not really know what to say but found myself talking about how I wanted to go the feeding program twice a week and work in the yard at EL Puente I did not think that he would let me do something that had me doing work at EL Puente but he seemed to like the idea ...... so then I thought how many hours that I would spend on each ministry and told Seth he said that It would be okay then I told him about how I wanted to play guitar in the park once a week he told me that Laura was starting an ATL (ask the lord) In the park on Friday so I said that I would talk to her..... Now that I look back I know that It was not me talking it was God, So many times I thought that I would not be able to stay with no ministry, but I continued hoping that God would come thru and he did, he knew that I needed to wait till the last moment so that my faith would grow even more. like that day I spent in Latino Caf last semester when I was reading "searching for God knows what" and God told me that he was not done with me just yet .......

1 peter 1:7

These have come to you so that your faith---of greater worth then Gold, witch perishes even though refined by fire--- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I had to read this like 10 times before I understood it, but now I look at it and say how did not get that.... But I cant say how much it helped me when God show it to me...... thank you all for your prayer's........

Cafe Latino

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay so this blog is about only one place in Granada................Caf Latino, some of the things I like about it are that it's fun to just sit and read or go online, there Is not very many people that go there so it is relatively quite. They let you customize your drinks and I hear that there food is not bad ether. The internet is so fast mostly cause I'm the only one that gos there, okay well im not really suppose to be there alone so I don't do that anymore but it was nice when I did.....I first went there cause I needed to have some time to think about what I wanted to do the following year. When I was done with my drink I did not want to leave, I just wanted to curl up in a ball with a "caramelo mocachino" and live there ..... Im kinda glad it's a hot spot now because its making more money but I don't get all the alone time I want.........ummm lets see what else? oh yeah, they love me there..... No really until I started going there they did not let anyone stay for more then 30 min's on the internet, but they let me stay as long as I want......... and the boss gave me a card that gets me a free drink after I buy 5. I gave my last one to Annie for her B day but I have another and it is getting pretty full..... Okay here is like the best part of this epic tale, there drinks are very similar to the frappuccinos at star bucks but with one big difference...... they cost like 5 times less there then at star bucks.........I kid you not...... so that is the end of the story of Caf Latino but stay tuned for my real blog post............

a week in the life of an FYM..........

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay if you read this blog before the one about caf Latino read that one first....... No really.....

So, did you all like my last post? Really in depth right......... okay, well this week the team spent getting hours in to Tana and setting up times for ministry. Most of us are done with our schedule but some are still moving hours around............ as an AIM requirement each member of the team has to do 25 to 30 hours a week. The primary ministries that I have chosen are the feeding program, yard work, Crea and ATL in the park once a week.....

One of the more fun ministries that I am doing is ATL in the park with JD, Laura, and Joann. Last week we all went to the park and played guitar for 3 hours. As we were playing this one guy started talking to JD. He was a Nica break dancing teacher. It was cool, he gave us a demo and then bought us some drinks. it was so cool to see a guy who was so willing to help us out.....even though we probably have more then him. We talked for; I don't even know, an hour maybe, then we went to garden Caf and talked some more. I did not get anything cause I did not have any money left for this week cause I bought a pair a jeans and ate at jimmy 3 fingers.....

This week we all went to a conference for the pastors in the area. Charles Kay and Pastor Flores spoke...... Carlos and Lester did a great worship set, and Caleb S. asked for support from the group for the prayer house that he has started in the back of EL Puente. It is in need of a lot of work but God has given him a vision and I can't wait to see how it looks when he is done.......

We had a day off after the conference which was good. It was nice to talk to a lot of friends and old FYM teem members like Sylvia and Jamie, well they're the only ones but yeah..... I also talked to one friend from Cali over face book and I left a phone message for another one. it sounded like most of the people I talked to were good..... Oh and at like 5:30 the guys on the team went to jimmy 3 fingers It was a lot of food, not as good as I thought it would be but good none the less. The fact that it was a whole of my budget for the week was not depressing at all..... so that is what I did this week with my awesome missions team...... thanks for tuning in..........

i have no idea what to call this blog so i am not going to call it anything........

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay so this week we did a lot of work in the yard... at least I did, and I think that Seth was there, not sure, it was really hot, it clouds your memory.I would like the thank the Gamble family for teaching me how to work long hours in really hot or cold weather and not stop even for water and only take like an hour break for lunch..... Well the lunch break Is reasonable to begin with but ya I love you guys......

I think as of now that I will be doing the feeding program with Pastor Flores (I think that is how you spell it).... I think that it will be good for me cause all of the other things are like just interaction with people, and I think that I am the kind of person that needs to have work and interaction so it is a good fit for me..... The info meeting is next Monday so keep me in your prayers, you are all in mine...... so with that and Crea that gives me 16 of the 25 to 30 hours of ministry I need per week. (AIM Standers) so I just need like 10 more hours and a set schedule and I think that I have a good semester......

Okay well back to my week so yeah I think that we all had a pretty good week yesterday we all went to to a dump in Managua. It is so hard to describe all that we saw, there was old medical waste, burning tires, all different kinds of chemicals that would mix and then with all the heat form the sun combust and burn.... Some of the trash piles were as high as 60 feet....... It was really nice to see how much love some people and groups are putting into this area. There was a very nice school and some pretty cool kids there.... I was talking to a couple of kids and asked them where they lived; one said that they live right on the trash hill and another said they live in the small town next to it. It got me how happy they were! I can't see how anyone could live there, I know that even though they don't live in comfortable Granada or the states, they have the strength of Christ and that Is the most ultimate reason to be happy..... I pray for the people that are living there and the people that are there everyday helping them to have a better life.........

John 16:33 (NIV)

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have over come the world.

"how am i" good how are you?

Thu, 15 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Okay so we now have met and are in the process of getting to know our new guy leader Seth, He is a really chill guy, yesterday we all went out to get coffee at my favorite hot spot Latino caf. I found a new drink I like on their menu and I think that I will be there a lot in my free time....

Well, what has been happening? After a week here in Granada we all are happy to be back and are getting in to our work. Well, most of what we are doing right now is just looking into ministries, cause we need to know what is out there for us to do. Today a bunch of the team went to a school for special kids; I think that will be a big part of what the team does.... I have a prayer request for you all..... For the last few months I have had the advantage of a translator in my ministries but I don't know what I will be doing for this semester in that regard..... So I ask that you all pray that I will learn more Spanish and that I have more opportunities to be taught it here....

Well other then a few bug bites I am doing great and I cant wait to read your comments. Love you all......

ahhhhhh...... me Casa de Granada

Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey everyone, so yeah, me and the team are once again all together in Nicaragua. It was so nice to be able to get some down time before the next leg of the trip, and I thank everyone that I saw for giving me a great time back......

So yeah, life here is in some ways the same and in other ways very different, like we all have been living at the church EL Puente and will for the next 4 months. It is nice there, if I was to change anything I would make the showers less cold but I would change that in any place in nica.... So where was I... right El Puente sweet, yeah yesterday I got on to the kitchen counsel that is cool. I get to fry stuff and chop stuff and get to hang with some pretty cool people like Jess and Manuel and I don't have to do dishes, always a plus... although Tana will read this and most likely say "Caleb you need to do that too" love you Tana....

So yeah, all the people here don't seem to have forgotten us yet we still cant walk down the street with out hearing our names. It is a good reminder of the work that we have been doing and the People that we are helping.... I don't know yet what God has in store for me this year so I ask for your prayer for me and my family both in Christ and blood......

Good bye and God bless you......

Gloria Dios!!!!!!!!!

Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

okay well that is it the teem is done with the first part of the trip and tomorrow we will be on our way home to see friends and family.

This last week we were at an orphanage on an island in lake Nicaragua.... the time we spent there was very laid back. I worked in the garden and helped clean up the area. There were some other things that the team did, like one of the girls watched all the little kids from the morning till lunch, then 2 of us a day went to a free clinic in the town of LA, then another 2 went to a feeding program..... Okay, well that was mostly our ministry for the week other then just hanging with the kids.

My personal favorite time on the island was the hike up the volcano, it was so great to be hiking again with some good friends, but some of the team liked it more then others....... We got up at 5:00 to eat breakfast and have all our stuff ready, then we got in the buses and headed off to the volcano. When we got there I was asked to carry a 3 liter bottle of cola in my backpack, and yes I did it......

The first part of the hike was not so bad it was dry and not all that steep, but about 1 hour into it it got steep, I held up okay for awhile but with 3 liters of cola in my pack I was vary tired, then 2 hours into it I gave it to my friend Joe Carter; he took it better then I did. About 2:30 in we got to a very wet area, there was a drop off, and in some places your whole foot would get stuck in the mud, there was a lot of people that did not like it and when we got to the crater; 2 of the team members tried to swim but the water was too shallow and they were sinking in the mud. We ate and headed back to the buses, the climb back up out of the crater was hard but fun, at least for me. I thought it was cool to climb up a mud covered crater..... Well ,after that I hung back with 2 of the girls that were having trouble getting down the volcano, then once we made it to the look out point I called my friend Jordon back in the states and told him what I was doing and what I had done..... it was by far one of the best hikes I have ever done it did not have the same end as most of my hikes do but it was fun none the less.....

Oh, I have a praise to share with you all. A friend of mine from Hoger Crea recently finished the program and is now living with his family in Granada. I did not know if he was doing okay or not. I pray for all the guys in the Program and I was happy to see him walking down the road near Euro caf. I almost missed him, he was so different form the guy that I first met all those weeks ago. I asked him how he was and his answer was simple, Gloria Dios! I was over come with joy to see that he was doing so well; we talked for awhile and then I told him that I was leaving tomorrow to go home for the holidays, I said good bye and I hope that I see him again.......

Gloria Dios!!!!!!!!!

time to go......

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hey everyone, so yeah this is the final leg of the semester, and then we get to rest for the new amazing things that God has in store for us next year.....

But, we dont want to loose site of what is still happening here in Granada. We have finished with most of our ministry and we have packed up alot of our stuff so that we are ready for the flight home and our move outof the house, that is what is going on right now. This next week we will be on an island working at an orphanage on lake Nicaragua. It will be a nice change of pace and location for the team. As far as we know, we will not have internet and will not have time to do much other then ministry, but I think that we will have a good time there and do lots of stuff to help them. I dont know when we are getting back but I think that it will be like the 17th.......

I was really sad to say goodbye to my friends at Hogar Crea, it was not for good but it was still hard. I see them every week and sometimes more... I hope that I see some of them on the street before we leave.

I have very much enjoyed the book that we have been reading (Searching for God Knows What); it gave me a more open view on the different aspect of God's relationships with his children. I can honestly say that I want to read the rest of the next chapter....... that is really BIG for me, i am not a God book reading person.......

I am not vary good at writing blogs and I think the name is weird, but I do it for my friends and family so I ask that,if there is anything you would like to know about, please tell me in the comment box and i will fit it in to my next post......

2 am to 7:30 am

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So yeah back to what is happening in Granada. Well it has been hot and a little humid but what are you going to do......

So Joe Carter, Jessica Hutt, and myself have been teaching the advanced ESL class and that went well...... the last week we have not had any students cause of all the schools getting out..... but we have still found stuff to do last week we did an ATL instend......

I would like to share a personal time I had with God recently. Last week we were told that we needed to stop sleeping on the floor and sleep on our beds, so we did. I caught a cold or somthing and well I was rather sick. So the night we did that, I got like no sleep so I was taking naps all day the next day, like at lunch and at ESL when we were waiting for our students. That night I needed a lot of rest but ( this is ware God comes in) I was not able to sleep. I was in a lot of pain but could not sleep and I had notting to do so i asked God what I should do and He said "worship me....... "

Tthe last thing I was thinking of was worshiping him at that time. But I said "okay God I will" and so I put some Hillsong on my ipod and worshiped God from 2 in the morning to 7:30. It was the best time I have ever had with God and I was given a new strangth the next morning......

I love God and all he has done for me and I love all of you.......

God bless you.....

best AIM moments

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

best AIM moments in Nicaragua.

Well, the first one started back in training camp when JD and Caleb were trying to get a fly into a bag. They got it and then put it in the freezer to slow down its movement. Then, as it was frozen, they tied a stran of hair around its neck and let it try to fly away......... cool right...

Ok, next is still at training camp. When the team was in the middle of a team builder and we had to get all the team thru a tire; the whole teem got thru but Tana, our leader, was still on the other side. Instead of having us pull her thur she jumped all thur and it was awsome........

The next one was in nica so yeah, this one time Jamie was telling the team that you can't break an egg by pushing on the 2 ends of it, well....... that is not the truth. it broke all over me and that was not fun at all. I think it was funny now, but not so much then.......

The next would be the walk off at Sisters of Charity.

then eating the lizard, I did not eat it but I made fire and that was awsome......

The worship in the rain and the time we spent just hanging out that night....

shaving our heads at hogar Crea and then having such a great time with them the following week with the walk to raise money for their program.......

Holloween costum party, that was funny (for more detail see joe carters blog)

The zipline and the decent that was scary.......... well thats the best moments, for me at least, have a great week and God loves you......

Class

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The book that we have been reading is called "Celebration of Discipline",it is about different disciplines that we as chistians go through.So far we have done simplicity, submisson, prayer, fasting, and study.I am currently reading solitude. we have class every day Monday thur friday, and we read a different book or we have a pastor come and teach us...... Most of the classesI have taken alot from. The study we did on prayer from the book "Celebration of Discipline" I loved. i wish we had done a whole week on that, there was such rewarding conversation........ The other that I liked was fasting it was nice too learn more about how God fasted and about ways to fast and how to go about fasting........ It was basicly a how to guide on fasting........ Last week we had two other mission workers that live in Costa Rica come and do a seminar on how to reach the community.It was interesting,I was kinda sick at the time soI did not get as much out of it as the others on the team but ,none the less it was rewarding...... For the last 2 days we have been studying a book called "Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts", it has brought up some conversation thatI dont really understand butI got some things out of the book soI like reading it.......

Well, that is allI have to say soI hope you are all well and God bless you......

Granada......

Sat, 8 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So, this week was pretty much the same. Last Friday there was a big worship service at Crea, it was really good for the guys there, we did our drama's and 2 of our team gave their timelines. It did not last as long as it was supposed to cause Robert'swife broke her leg dancing in worship...... (Robert is thepastor that speaks at Crea)....A lot of us prayed for her that nightand I ask that you all pray for her and Roberto, they have a vary busy life and they are 2 of the most respected people that i know here in Nicaragua.

Sunday the team went to Mambochow to do a zipline tour. It was really fun; there were like 10 different ones that we rode and they were so much fun. I made myself go first so that I would not talk myself out of it, and it was awesome. On second longest one I wanted to take a video.......... bad idea, I was not in control and lost it a bit. I did this sweet wipe out and my arm got all cut up....... but I was fine, I did the rest okay until we got to the decent part and then I freaked out! I was shakingandon the way down I think I screamed, I'm not sure it is just a blur now....... thenwe had a very bumbyrideback to Granada, some of the team say that they lost there minds for awhile on the way there.

To say a few things about Granada...... well what do I say? I guess i will just tell you about the little things...... Well, the little shops in the city are how we get our food... there are like 3 that I go to for my snacks, one across from the guys house another that you can get cheap drinks from and another that is near the girls house, iy is nice to go to after lunch and we need a drink...... to get food in bulk we go to Pali or La Colonia, they are the bigger stores in Granada. in Managua the La Colonia is where the rich people go to shop...... I only go there when I want to get a cheap snacks or drinks, I save cords that way.....

The best way to get money down here is to go to the BAC bank and withdrawl your money in dollors then go to the exchangers on the street. The place I go now is the paper store on market street (not real name) I got an exchange rate of 19.70 so for one dollor i get 19.70 cordobas....

One of my friends from the Hogar Crea progarm I found out today has left and I dont know what to think I gave him some money to get some food and I pray that is how he uses it; to keep himself sober and off drugs. I spent time in prayer today for him and I ask you to pray for him...... and pray for me to learn to work with what God gives me........

Hogar Crea

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So, over the last fewweeks I have been telling you about the rehab center Hogar Crea. The guys on the team are invited to go every Tuesday and Sunday night. It is fun to hang out with the guys there and tell them about Jesus. For the last 5 weeks we have been going andspending time there, somtimes we play guitar ,( oh, and thank you kilmer family forgiving me so many great tabs from the biblestudy they are really helping me out)a couple weeks we danced to a chickensong that was awesome. One weekme and Pepa ,one of the teem members, gave our testimony about our walk with christ........ In the Crea program there are a number of levels to reach they are marked byhow muchtime you spend there and a number of other things....... Tomorrow the teem is doing a drama for them. We practiced today and it is looking good.....

Well I think the last meeting we hadwas the most eventful. First we rode part of the waynica style ( one rides on the bar of the bike and the other rides normal) then I rancause I'm to big to ride that way. then Robert (one of the nicaraguans we know) came on his motercycle and gave me a ride the rest of the way to Crea.... so we sang some songs and were having a great time withtheguys and long story short...... Caleb S, Baker ,Joe and me shaved our heads................................ yeah really.

if you are asking why that is a long story. first, the guys at Crea have to shave there heads once a month, I think it is. We have been there when they were doing it and me and Pepa and our translater Mario were joking aboutdoingit. Then Tuesday came and that morning I was doing my quite time and I was talking to God and I asked him to please show me what I can give up that would really test my devotion to him..... so he had been telling me thru a number of things. A movie we watched, the guys at Crea, one of the girls on the team had told me that I would look good with a shaved head, stuff like that. I was scared of what it would do to my life and what it would do to the waypeople saw me...... so I went to crea that nightnot wanting to do it and then Caleb S. said "lets shave our heads" and me and joe were like "no way". Then they asked if we wanted to do itand i was still not going to, but then Joe got up and asked Mario to translate for him he said............. I will give up my hair if you all give up your sins, I love my hair and i would never give it up............. except for God and then he put the spirit in me and I was somoved by his conviction that I said "count me in" and mario shaved my head.. Wehad so much fun with the guys there andgot so much respect...since then I have not been 100 percent happy withit but i did this not for myself but for the lord and his plan......

Side note, that night I wentto a place the girls were havingdinner and I will never forget the look they had when they saw me and the otherguys......God has answered my prayer.....

Prayer Requests: I am getting another cold and with no hair to keep me warm I am notdoing well, so if you could pray for that I would love it. Also, there is thisguy around town that I have trouble tolerating andhave wanted to punch out, so yeah pray for that too. Thank you everyone that still reads my blog and I will see most ofyou this christmas December 19........

God bless.

massiah

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So, this week was mostly the same as last week; we went to sisters of charity for ESL Monday and Tuesday. In the more advanced classI did some more one on one time with my student, we talked in English for like an hour so thats whatI did in ESL. Wendsday we had Bible study and trash pick up. That night Tana wanted us to worship God in what ever way we wanted to so some of us played the guitar, some played a song on their ipods and some just sang... This was awsome; while we were worshiping it started to rain really hard and five or six of us went out and just had fun in the rain, we got soaked but it was so worth it cause it was hot and we needed a good cool down. While we were out there we sang some awsome songs andI flelt so close to God.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about Massiah! It is another city in Nicaragua that has a vary active volcano, but this time we did not go to see the volcano we went to shop at this awsome market. There was alot of stuff that was made from leather and wood. Most of the people there are the same as in Granada. The bus ride was interesting; I stood in the back and talked to Carlos about worship songs......... Well, I tried to talk to him, my spanish is still not very good but it is getting better. Luckily we both can speek a universal language.......guitar...... so it all worked out fine.... We walked around Massiah for a good 2 hours, we all bought some pritty cool stuff..... anyway that was last Sunday. Tomorrow we are doing somthing out of town, I dont know what it is yet...............

i would like to ask for prayer for me to have more energy, the days here are getting longer; for me at least and I am not dealing with the heat as well as I could....

good stuff

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

So yeah, I had a good week, not much new stuff but some interesting new events. Some of the people on the teem went on a hike to a foothill next to the volcano near the city. It was really fun to just be worshiping God looking over Granada. I hope to do that again sometime.

This week was mostly the same as last but it rained the last 2 or 3 days. it is not raining now but it was fun while it lasted....

Monday and Tuesday we taught ESL at the orphanage(sisters of charity) Joe and I taught the advanced class... its harder to teach the basic class I think.

Oh, and for some reason there are a lot of tourests coming to the city of late.....

Well I dont really know what to say so I will just tell you the most awsome things that happed this week. JD and I played and sang at Crea. That was really sweet! Then we prayed over the guys that wanted to give there lives to God. One of the guys from Crea fell over from the holy sprit and baker (pepea) cought him and prayed over him.... sweet right.. then we all went to have one on one time with each other. I got to talk to Mario, JD, Caleb, and sarah morgan.... i learned so much about them, mostly Mario. he is a really great guy..... okay so the most out of the blue thing that happed was this ...........(drum role).......... Joe and Caleb S. told some one on their blogs that they were going to eat a lizerd and well, after they hunted it for 20 minutes and killed it, I started a fire with my awsome fire starting abiltiess.... so they stuck it on a stick cooked it up and ate it. So yeah that happened. say what you want but it was fun....