see you soon!

we're done here. hmmm... not sure how i feel about that. i may not know for several months. we played hard today. i'm not going to show pictures because you may get jealous. (really, i am too tired to wait for them to load.) we are all looking forward to seeing some of you at the airport. pray that these tired, weary women can keep our emotions in check and love on each other for one more day. thanks for all the prayers this week- they have been felt!

dios bendiga.

laughter, gossip and nicaraguan history

today started with american church at international church fellowship. there was a visiting pastor from.... greenville, sc! i have loved hearing the praise in spainsh, but it was nice to be able to sing along. it was a nice time.

then... girl day began. we went to the market and shopped-for two hours! i have NEVER shopped that long and enjoyed it. we had pupusas for lunch: these delightful, pancake looking things, filled with pork or beans or chicken or cheese or veggies or all of that. delish! then off to an overlook to learn more about this country than i ever thought possible. amazing how the ordinary, off the street nicaraguan can give you the countries history-including dates. how many off the street americans even know the vice president? (it's joe biden, by the way.) we had a man that stopped amber and told her that "he had something to tell us." 30 minutes later, we had to kindly stop him. he wants you all to know that all the people of nicaragua want is peace. we told him that we would bring his message back. a message of peace. isn't that what we all want? i wonder, now, did we miss an opportunity? we did not leave him with the words of true peace. the type that transcends all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. man, i missed that today. forgive me Jesus. i was too focused on my agenda and did not see yours... the story of my life.

next: the grocery store. what?! my one week to not think about that and there i was, with my girlfriends, at the grocery store. (don't worry everyone, we cleaned the shelves of ALL the good coffee!) AND it's owned my wal-mart. beautiful. air conditioned. still a grocery store. you can buy anything from milk to underwear.

the evening ended with dinner and a time of fellowship with all the missionaries with Christ for the City and a birthday cake and ice cream for amber. what a sweet time with these wonderful people.

so you may be thinking: what did they do today? i gave how much, so they could do what? let me tell you how emotionally drained we have been. physically, this trip has been pretty easy, but emotionally... whew! story after story about hurt... we needed to rest our minds and our hearts. more importantly, i think this time was necessary for amber. she needed american girl time. what a blessing to have the honor of encouraging missionaries. i love that a day in town can do that for someone. in other words, your money has been well used- as have we!

tomorrow is debriefing day and a day to prepare to come back to you all. this can be very bittersweet. pray for us as we begin to reconcile all that we have seen and heard. we want to come home beginning to find all that Jesus has to teach us.

and again...

humbled, overwhelmed, grateful. what an amazing two days.

these pastor's wives came from several different places, not knowing each other, having no idea what to expect and the Lord came falling fresh! a.maze.ing!

but let me tell you the most incredible part. these women that i have been allowed to minister with, my teammates... i have never been so in awe of the redemption and healing power of the Lord. they shared with an authenticity that could only be given from the "Spiritu Santo" (Holy Spirit) himself. i can't imagine experiencing the things that they have, but more importantly, i can't imagine not being bitter, cynical, tired, stagnant... they still love Jesus and allow Him to love them. i have so much to learn.

then there were the pastor's wives-and two pastors. listening to the stories and the hearts of these women was like a two day slumber party. giggling, crying, sharing, loving... in two languages, but one soul. my prayer is that i will learn to minister like they do, with the compassion that they have, having lived the life that they live. one day i hope to be like one of them.

thanks, starr, for giving us an update from home. we are feeling a bit out of touch with reality. there was a protest here at the american embassy. we missed the whole thing. love to you all.

jewely and joy.

the woman at the well, the woman caught in the act of adultry, the woman who poured oil on Jesus' feet and wiped it with her hair... the worst of the the worst... that woman prayed for me today. she laid her hands on me and prayed- for me. i am not sure if there is ever a way to feel more humble. i'm not sure if i could have understood paul's statement "the worst of sinners," more than i did today. not because one was touching me, but because i am one. how unworthy i am to receive the prayers of women who TRULY understand redemption, who TRULY understand liberation, who are TRULY grateful for salvation. i pray that an ounce of that rubbed off on me.

again, i wish i could show more pictures of these beautiful women, but i must protect them. this internet that is being used for good at this moment, could increase the pain in their lives if this was seen by certain people. five of the women you will see, holding their new spanish "biblezines," are the core group. those who have finished the program at neuva imagen and are helping to build the ministry. we have been so loved by a group of women that i had no idea could even still love.

... and that was just the morning! we spent the afternoon preparing for the pastor's wives retreat and resting. and worship. i love to gather with the Church here. i love to hear them sing and join in when i can. so cool that God hears all of this at once.

pray for the pastor's wives that we will be with for the next couple of days. some of these women really need a fresh encounter with Jesus. maybe they are overworked, but mostly this culture has allowed them to be opressed. even within the church. pray that they will know that Jesus does not expect perfection and sees through to the very core of who they are.

we love you all. pray for the togo team that leaves from seacoast tomorrow and the family church in gainesville, fl sends a team to india. i love that we are taking the same gospel to so many different places at the same time.

aahhh, Jesus...

come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and i will give you rest. take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for i am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. - matthew 11:28-30

any of you who have done this whole missions thing know the emotions that go along with your first big ministry day... overwhelmed by the need, excited by the opportunity and drained by the process. we have seen and experienced a lot already. we have taken on the yoke and learned from the gentle, humble rabbi today.

i wish we could post pictures of all of the amazing women that we met today. there will be pictures of a few, but to say that our stereotypes of women from the streets was blown to smithereens, is the understatement of the year. picture your mother, your grandmother, your neighbor. add in abuse that is incomprehensible. factor in ptsd, addiction and poverty and that is who LOVED ON US today. what a privledge to be in the presence of women who are the ultimate of survivors. some are in love with Jesus and some just can't wrap their minds around a Man that could possibly think they are beautiful. some want out and some can't imagine their lives any other way. in any case, we were a room of "just girls" today... wives, mommies, sistas, women-strong women. and without judgement. how often does that happen, ladies? we truly just wanted the best for each other.

we shared testimony, we shared the Word, we blessed little milton in a baby dedication and prayed as 9 year old raynita came to Jesus... the inpromtu baptism with a plastic cup was one for the record books. the evidence of the Holy Spirit was all over it. translating the difference between infant baptism, baby dedication and a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in a catholic, third world country can only be done through that amazing, fresh falling of the Spirit.

tomorrow we go back. it is jewlery day. i can't wait to see what the Lord will do tomorrow.

love to you all.

hola! estamos a qui! lo lo gramos! gracias por sus oraciones!

(hello! we're here! we made it! thank you for your prayers!)

everything went seamlessly. in fact, it was one of the easiest trips through customs that i have ever had. orientation is finished, showers have started and bedtime is sounding amazing. we just wanted you to know that we are safe.

here are some pictures from the day: airport fun- we had gotten really good at airport fun! (and yes, those are the same clothes...)

tomorrow is a day with the women at "nueva imagen." (new image) pray for these treasures of the Lord as we love on them and learn from them.

amor!

will you approach the throne of grace with us?

hey everybody... we are still in houston. this is our prayer: there are a bunch of women that will be showing up, straight off the streets of managua, to hear what the american women have to say... the american women are not there. pray for amber, claudia, helen and johanna as they work on the fly and minister to these scarred women- as they always do. pray that the women who come will not be disappointed or frustrated with the circumstances, but will see the love that these four ladies have for each one of them. pray that these same women will come back tomorrow.

"devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. and pray for us [and them], too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ... pray that [we all] may proclaim it as clearly as [we] should." - colossians 4:2-4

love.

Continental . . . . Breakfast!

You thought I was going to say something else about the airline?? Not so much :). It's 8:45am [CST] and we're thanking God for our FREE breakfast this morning!! The hotel staff are SO NICE . . . and we tried to offer our services, but LIABILITY got in the way. We basically told them our situation [on a mission, stuck here in Houston but would love to help] and offered to wash windows, help man the washing [towels, sheets], vacuum, pick up trash in parking lot, etc. . . BUT, after checking with the GM, we were told that due to liability, we couldn't help. It's really sad that we're in a world where 'liability' is the first thought, but it is what it is. The lady at the front desk was really appreciative of our offer . . . did I mention that when I first told her what we wanted to do for them she asked me what our fee would be? I'm not joking!! Anyway, the coolest thing I've seen so far is OUR TEAM! They are so aware of the big picture here . . . we all agree that our mission started the moment we arrived at CHS yesterday AND no matter when we get to Managua, we're 'on task' for our LORD. These ladies are amazing!! Keep up the prayers and we'll keep you posted . . . love to all!

houston, we have a problem...

this is jill. i've hijacked the blog.

we are in the beautiful baymont inn and suites here (not sure exactly where) in the houston area. johnny, the guy at the front desk, would love to have you all.

we missed our flight to managua by.... 6 minutes! what?! don't you just love to race ACROSS the airport, with no moving sidewalks, on the tram, up the escalator, only to find that your plane just pushed back?! did they think we stopped at starbucks? i am so impressed by this group of girls. they go with the flow, wait for instruction and laugh-a lot! we are booked on a flight for tomorrow evening, so we will see what Jesus has in store tomorrow.

thanks for your prayers.

here are some pictures from houston's bush airport, international termial E...

love to all.

Team Photo - and then the rest of the story

Okay, so here we all are, ready to go!!! Now, check this out . . .our 3pm flight is DELAYED due to weather in Houston!!! We are now scheduled to depart at 4:37pm and we're praying to catch our connecting flight in Houston to Managua. They tell us they can't guarantee and since there's only one flight per day to Managua . . . this is a job for GOD!!! We're letting Him handle it and we'll update you again as soon as we can. In the mean time, keep those prayers going! Much love to all!!

24 hours to go!

So I'm doing my packing checklist and I'm quite sure the rest of our team is too. We knocked out packing our ministry bags today at our team meeting in about 40 minutes; it was amazing :). Keep us in your prayers tomorrow for travel mercies . . . we're flying Continental through Houston and we'll be arriving in Managua around 8pm their time, 10pm ours. We'll post a team photo tomorrow and you'll see us in our team tee's [red mission shirts]; our departure is 3pm. Thank you all for your prayers & support so far! God bless you all :).

T-Minus 5 days and counting!

Welcome to the blog spot for our Seacoast Women's Only mission team . . . we're heading to Managua, Nicaragua on Monday, 10/26 staying through Tuesday, 11/3 and we'll be ministering to two groups of ladies during our stay. Check back often for our updates & photos! All prayers are much appreciated :). For those that want to know, from LEFT to RIGHT in our team photo are myself, Angela Rogers, Constance Brocato, Chris Lawson, Libbie Armstrong and Jill Forbes. We're missing a very lovely Mari Fisher . . . . . check back for our departure photo we'll take Monday at the airport!