Nicaragua 1419: June 2014

Friday, June 13, 2014

Countdown: 4 weeks to go!

Four weeks from today our team will all meet in person for the first time as we come together in the Houston airport before our flight to Managua, Nicaragua on July 11. Four members of last year's team (see last year's blog here) are returning: Team Leader Lisa Marshall, Pastor Dave Bottorff from the Chicago area, and Pastor Greg & Diana Strand from Corvallis, Oregon. Our 12-member team will come together from three locations in the United States as Lisa is from Michigan, Pastor Dave will bring four others from Illinois (Cindy Matteucci, Andrea Medema, Bill Peoples, and Bob Valentine), and the Strands will bring four more from Oregon (their children, Adam & Audrey, and Ray & Dianna Hart.) We hope that you will pray for all 12 of us by name in our final weeks of preparation!

Speaking of last year, MOST Ministries had a great article on Pastor Dave that you can find here. It will give you a pretty good picture of last year's trip and why so many of us wanted to return! Also, MOST Ministries went back to Nicaragua this March to follow up in 6 of the villages where the Water Project has been done and the news was so encouraging! Not only did all of the churches report a growth in their attendance, baptisms, and the number of the activities they provided to their communities, but the statistics on the impact of the water filters are astounding:

(In terms of the percentage of adults missing work) "Before the filters 90% of the total number of working family members reported missing work each month. After the filters 5% of the total number of working family members reported missing work." and

(In terms of the percentage of children missing school) "Before the filters 90% of the total number of children in the families interviewed reported missing school each month. After the filters 10% of the total number of children were reported missing school."

Wow! To God be the glory! We are truly blessed to be a blessing to others.

Project Details

The Water Outreach Project has three elements:
1. Create and install water purification systems in local homes.
2. Teach health and hygiene education to local parents and children.
3. Evangelize and witness through actions and conversations.

The team will transform the community by providing families with a sustainable water purification system, information on how to use the system and the reasons for its use, and a clear, culturally-appropriate Gospel presentation. The children's health and hygiene lessons will incorporate Bible stories in a fun, VBS-style format.

This is a great long term project that has the possibility of changing an entire village by providing them with clean water, good health habits and proper sanitation.

Host Church Information

The Lutheran Church-Canada (LC-C) began a Nicaraguan mission in 1997 after receiving an invitation to share the gospel in the Central American nation. The first missionary to be called was Pastor Sandor Arguello, a Nicaraguan refugee. His first months were tough. But following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, people needed emergency help. The church responded. Arguello spread the Gospel, and God opened hearts and built a community of believers. On January 11, 2008, twenty-three congregations of the Lutheran Church of Canada voted to form Iglesia Luterana Sinodo de Nicaragua. Francisco Jose Peralta Mojica became the Mission Team Coordinator for the ILSN in March of 2012. He will be the host for this team.