Hello from Nicaragua

Hi Everyone :)

I am in my second week of outreach, going into the third week.

My first weekend here we did a youth service for a nazarene church. It was amazing, we performed a couple dramas, gave a few testimonies and one of the girls preached. Then we had a time of prayer for anyone and God really moved in the young people as well as our DTS. I was completely overwhelmed at how God used us as a group and me personally in our Everything Drama and my testimony.

Last week we did a VBS and did street ministry. There were about 50 kids that ended up coming to the VBS. Our theme was about real heroes. We used Mary and Joseph, John the Baptist, the good samaratian, peter escaping from jail and one other one that I do not remember right now. We played games with the kids, they love soccer and we did crafts. Alyssa and I were in charge of the crafts. It was a lot of fun to see the same kids each day. In our street ministry we did a lot of prayer walking around the festival for St. Sabastian and later in the week we handed out invitations to a program for this week as well as singing in the streets. Saturday a group of us went to Masaya to the market to look at trinkets and things. It was a great experience to ride the buses here. Overall, it was a good week.

This week we are doing VBS for an orphanage along with the neighborhood kids of the orphanage. On Monday night we did a program on the top of a flatbed truck down by the festival. I gave my testimony and was in two dramas. Again we did the everything drama where I play the main role. In it I get beaten up, this time I actually did get punched in the face and got a bloody nose :) it was funny...no worries I am okay. We got to ride motos which are small cars, it was a great experience.

Tomorrow is our last day of VBS and then we are heading near the coast to Chinendega (? unsure about the spelling). Currently we have been at the YWAM Base in Diriamba which is near Managua.

I am really liking it here and am suprised at how well I like the food. I was a little worried but it has been good so far. Today I did my laundry on the washboards, it was also an experience :) good times.

Right now most of our team has been sick, there are only three of us that have not been sick...myself included :) Yay!

Some prayer requests:
1) For those that are sick
2) That our time in Chinendega goes well and safe travel
3) That the rest of us will not get sick
4) For possitive attitudes for the team as well as continued unity
5) My eyes: I have been having a really hard time seeing clearly, my vision just seems to be getting worse. They are not bothering me like they did before where they were scratchy and red, but I have been getting headaches from not being able to see well.
6) For continued quiet time with God :) I have been doing well so far, but as our schedules change it gets difficult to make sure I get enough time in.
7) We come back to Diriamba on Feb. 4 and leave for Costa Rica on Feb. 6.

Thank you all for you prayers, I believe God is really using each of you to bless the people here through your prayers. And it is amazing that I did not get sick, Thank you Jesus!

I hope to update sometime in the next few weeks, we will just have to see if I can get back to the internet cafe here or if there will be one in Costa Rica.

Love, Grace, and Peace,

Kathy