our latest e-mail

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Hello Everyone!!

I apologize for the delayed update about our 10-day vision trip in Nicaragua. I've been a little distracted by the amoeba growing inside of me. No worries, I'm on the mend!

It is difficult for me to condense our wide range of thoughts and emotions about Nicaragua, but I'll certainly try my best. Most importantly, the trip confirmed further our call to do ministry in Masaya.

We were completely in awe by the amount of poverty there. It was extremely different than other 3rd world countries we had visited before. Naturally, the amount of poverty also indicated deep needs that the people have.

During our ten days, our schedules were full of meetings, appointments, scoping out houses, locating supermarkets, visiting communities, beginning the residency process, and the list goes on. The Lord has also been faithful to make crucial relationships for us already. We've been working with a lawyer to establish the organization and our residency. The pastor of a 1,000-member church (pictured below) is excited for us to be there working along side the ministries they already have. And, there are several Nicaraguans that are interested in helping Students International in the work we are starting there. Such a blessing!

The next three pictures are from our time in the communities. Each home had a different trade. 

Making leather bags & drums.

Embroidering dresses.

Making shoes.

It was encouraging to meet with the pastor and realize how God is already moving in the town of Masaya. They have 100 cell groups, a Christian school, a clinic, a prison ministry, and are working with teenage drug-addicts. We are recognizing that the Lord's plans for this place are so much bigger than we originally imagined. It seems that He is expanding our vision for what ministry in Masaya will look like. We are grateful to be part of it! And grateful that each of you are part of it, too!

We are returning to the states in a little over a week. We're ready to be there, and visit with as many of you as possible! Mostly, we'll be back-and-forth between Indianapolis and Middlebury until January. We have several weeks of training in January, then we'll move to Nicaragua mid-February. Let us know what your schedules are like, so we can spend time with you!

Please pray for:
1. Housing - there are very few options near Masaya from what we've found
2. Teams - we are still praying for teams to sign up for short-term mission trips next summer
3. Fund-raising - we only have a little more to raise, but need to reach our goal before February
4. Wisdom - we desperately want to be following the Lord in all we do!

We love you guys! You can see more pictures on facebook.

Austin & Jill

News from Guatemala

I'm sitting in our room, here in Guatemala, wishing I could paint, draw, or write poetry, anything more creative than accounting. And I'm reminded of what I have seen in the past week....

Being in Antigua gives us a unique opportunity to see how our organization (Students International) is impacting lives in Guatemala. Last week, we took two days off from language school to visit the sites. We were simply blown away with the way people are using their strengths for the benefit of the Kingdom. Who knew that neutering farm animals could have a profound impact on a person's spiritual life? Well, it happens! In this poor town of El Gorrión, where they have just received running water for the first time ever, people are extremely dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. The leader of the agriculture site with Students International has identified this need in the community, and in essence, has become the "town vet." He told us that this is what ministry is about... meeting both the tangible and intangible needs of people. Because they need his services for their animals, he has a platform, from which to share Christ. It was incredible to see this in action, especially considering my strengths are completely different. Of course, we also visited the sites that are more "up our ally," too. Obviously, we are gifted in other areas, and cannot wait to see how the Lord uses them. We left the sites feeling excited, inspired, and as if the Lord is expanding our vision for Nicaragua. Now, we're just ready to get there!

A few of my fave captured moments from our visit with SI-Guatemala.

Thankfully, only five more days until our Vision Trip to Nicaragua! We leave early Saturday morning, and we'll be staying a little over a week. Please pray for us if you think about it.

Thoughts of the day...

There is obvious value in preparing mentally for ministry. We are certainly called to worship the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul & strength. At the same time, I am taking comfort in the fact that God often shows up in our weakness. We're believing 1 Corinthians 2:1-5... that faith comes not through the wisdom of man, but the power of God. I am thankful that the Lord chooses to use us in spite of ourselves, and in spite of our brokenness.

And just for fun.... here is a picture of the town where we spent our anniversary. (That little town in the background. Our hotel was on the lake.)

Grace & Spanish Deficits

So, I'm realizing that God's grace & learning Spanish have a huge thing in common. The more I learn of each, the more I'm aware of my short-comings in each area. Still a long way to go... in grace and in language.

Earthquakes & Eruptions

Well, we've been in Guat for about three weeks now, and we've survived a volcanic eruption, four earthquakes with additional tremors, a landslide, and Spanish classes. The most intense of these--classes. You don't think of it before learning another language, but having a 5 year old's vocabulary can become very personal and very draining.... but I think we're quickly approaching age 6.

To be fair, these natural disasters sound a lot worse than they truly were. We even roasted marshmallows on an active volcano last weekend. And that hike kicked my butt.

We are loving this adventure that God has so kindly called us to! Until next time....

Guat.

So it's difficult enough for me to find the motivation to blog, and now..... all the choices are in Spanish! AHH! I mean, I'm learning, but c'mon!

We're safely in Guatemala for language school, and we just love Antigua. It is an adorable town with cobblestone streets, flowers everywhere, colorful markets and buildings, and we're surrounded by active volcanoes.

Now that we're here, there is such a sense of relief. Unpacking was extremely settling. No more living out of suitcases... at least for two more months.

Last week was Austin's birthday, today is the presidential elections, next week is Independence Day, and in a few days we'll be celebrating our housekeeper's birthday, too. Needless to say, we've been experiencing a lot of Guatemalan culture. We even stumbled upon our "dream job"...

A "moto cafe"... they are a full-service cafe with high-end coffee. lattes. pastries, etc. and they offer motorcycle tours throughout Guatemala and the surrounding countries. So when you're not ascending active volcanoes on your moto, you can exchange stories over coffee.

How To Pack.

Thanks to  JH Ranch, I am a champ at packing for a three-month adventure.  Language school, no problem.

But how in the world does a person pack for two-years though? Where do we even begin? What to take? What to leave? What to ship? What to store? What to sell? We haven't really started.... I'd rather be baking & shopping.

Here goes nothin'