giggles, goof ups, and grace

hola! it's tiffany reporting live from Nicaragua.

so much laughing... so many silly goof ups... and so much grace has happened just in the past 24 hours let alone this past week.
today was our last day with the pastor's wives in san marcos. upon returning back to the baptist house tonight during processing, the interpreters informed us that two of us (jill and i) had been pronouncing one of the pastors wives named paola incorrectly for the past two days. the way we were saying it meant... woman who farts a lot. oh the horror!
we also thought we were riding back to the baptist house while the bus took the pastor's wives back to their houses. so, we said all of our good-byes and gave out lots of hugs and kisses... and then to our surprise boarded the bus with them to ride for and hour back to where we are staying to say good-bye again. we have laughed so hard over all of our silliness and the nicaraguan's have been so gracious!
today we did a question and answer where the pastor's wives asked us about GOD's callings on our lives, our relationships with our families, and our greatest fears and and desires as mothers for our children in american culture. they told us they would pray for us and our families and gave us so many words of encouragement that we were all sure we were the ones being ministered to and not them. we did some fun activities together (where we laughed a lot), we did a skit/talk on colossians 3:12 (pictured above), and we ended with the cross where we could nail our burdens to leave them for CHRIST to carry (also pictured above). the women shared how they had been encouraged and how they had learned that it is okay to leave their children for a short time over night to do ministry or even to renew themselves... many had never done this before. i can't believe this trip is almost over... these women will forever be etched in our hearts. i am overwhelmed when i think about this week and the blessings that i have experienced.
tomorrow we will go to church and finish painting the room at nueva imagine... and maybe have a little rest time (i hope). thank you all for praying for us!

tim, selah and josiah, i love you so much and cannot wait to hold you in my arms... i miss your snuggles the most.
love you!
-tiffany

and the gumby goes to....

for her willingness to lead all of our team building activities and to teach extensive water safety courses to our new nicaraguan swim team (btw, butterfly is the favorite), the gumby goes to....

tiffany!!

. . .

This is Stacey :) It's been another GREAT day! However, it is 10:50 and I was awake by 5:20 so I have no cute title for you and this may be a shorter post than you're used to. . .but maybe not. . .

We are in San Marcos, about an hour from Managua. The weather is great and the drive here was picturesque (I think I may be annoying to some when I want stop to get a picture of everything. . . not sure, Jill?). Coming here, as we talked about our topics for discussion, I wasn't sure we had as much to offer these women who are well versed in the bible; now it is obvious we were placed here with purpose. We can tell they truly appreciate our willingness to take time away from our families to inquire and talk about their lives as they usually spend their days serving others and neglecting themselves.

It took a little bit for the women to relax and open up but shortly after Tiffany's warm up activities, it was obvious these ladies were here for some serious R & R. Their silliness and laughter was music to our ears. A few even seem as if they are our Nicaraguan Hannah's circle equivalents.

We continue to do our best communicating in Spanish, but I realized earlier in the day I said, Escuche me for excuse me instead of permisso; so instead I was telling them, "Listen to me" as I passed by. At dinner, I was impressed by Katy's ability to comprehend a woman's request for the rest of her meal. Also, this evening when Lee Anne opted for gesture over Spanglish, the woman understood her to say, "Make my bed!" and she did. . .

Testimonies were shared by Katy and Tiffany today. Both were powerful and led to great discussions about fear, boundaries and relationships.

I look forward to tomorrow. . .

Jeff and Griff, I can't wait to give you lots of hugs when I get home. Thanks for letting me have this time. It has been an amazing experience. I love you so much! oxoxo

breeze and flowy skirts don't mix

we are now at skylark with the pastor's wives. the weather is completely different. the wind is BLOWING and so are our pentecostal skirts! the women have just gotten here, so i will get off and hang out now. thanks for the prayers!

love!

and the gumby goes to....

today's award goes to the woman that has been stretched out of her comfort zone and has been able to put off family concerns, fear and anxiety to laugh, laugh, laugh. the gumby goes to....

katy!!

Upended by Grace

Hola! It's Katy, or "Kaht-ee" as the women in Nicaragua call me! We have had such a fabulous day! We were all up and ready for our devotion at 6:40 and spent the morning laughing (as usual), crying (as usual), and preparing our hearts for our last day with the Nueva Imagen women. We talked this morning about how difficult it is to "understand" what these women have been through and how it is so hard to try and give them hope. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full". We all have been trying to figure out how we communicate this concept with women who have been through so much and live in a place where "abundant life" seems so impossible. Jesus also said, "Everything is possible for him who believes." We have so much hope for these women... each one of us has been drawn to different women and they now have a permanent place in our hearts. We find ourselves talking about them like they are our friends..."did you hear what Candida said this morning about her daughter?"..."Ruth needs us to pray for her granddaughter, Helen"..."Xiomara's niece is a mess of messes!" However, at the same time we find ourselves cracking up about how we have totally messed up trying to say something to them in Spanish or trying to understand what they've said. You'd think 6 years of taking Spanish would have helped! Our interpreters have been troopers dealing with this group of sarcastic and wordy girls!
After a morning of sharing testimonies, we explained to them the concept of "The Cross". We brought a wooden cross and asked the women to think about something specific that might be holding them back (shame, guilt, fear...) from living a life of freedom in Christ. After asking the Lord for forgiveness, they could write down that "something" and pin it to the cross- leaving it there as a symbol that we are free of sin because Jesus died for all of us. We spent lots of time praying over all of these women. Although they think we were ministering to them, we all know they have ministered to us. wow. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us."Romans 5:5
After lots of hugs and kisses, we said our good-byes! We ate a yummy lunch and went on a bus tour of Managua! Kim and Lee Anne braved the "Canopy Tour" and zip-lined through the trees!

Zack, don't worry, I haven't packed any children in my bag... yet.

Love to all!

i am so honored

jill here... i cannot express to all of you how proud i am of these women. this has truly been a life changing experience for me. for those of you who don't know, 6 out of 7 of us are in a life group together. this has completely changed the dynamic of this group. there is a love and a trust between us that i have never had on a team before. and laughter...! no one has wet their pants yet, but it's coming! if you are in a life group, this is something to think about...

janet, kim, lee anne and stacey have shared their stories. what a blessing their authenticity has been. i am "waiting in expectation" (psalm 5:3) for what Jesus is going to do next!

jeff and troy- amazing tag team blogging.... so funny! stacey was grateful for your posts.
heath- thank you. you make this so much easier to do. you are the best. (and b/c of the Lover of your soul, i love you more.)
trace, keith and derrick- thank you for encouraging you wives. we love them, too.
zack and tim- hello?! kidding. we know you miss and love your brides. thank you for sharing them with us.
HC girls- you are here... seriously!
the rest of our great followers- thank you. your prayers ARE FELT and so necessary. we are praying for all of you as well. thanks for putting yourselves in the line of the enemy on our behalf.

dios le bendiga.