They did a VBS while the children were on vacation from school for Holy Week. It was a huge success. They also taught the Sunday School class and played with the children at the orphanage in Jinotepe. 

They did a wonderful outreach at the local park and showed their cardboard testimonies. It was very powerful. They were also bold to share with the people working in the city dump, (La Chureca). 

Doug and Micah Selby came down to help out and it was a very productive time of fellowship and many repairs at the church. They installed some speakers in the sanctuary so that everyone can hear no matter where they are seated.

 Haley Johnson came down to help out with the children and the timing was perfect since Don Moore had just left. It is good for Cindy, our new English teacher,  to have help in the classroom.

  We praise the Lord that Ernesto is back with us after recovering from surgery last month. He is eighty eight years old.

Kerling

  Kerling, our second grade teacher is pregnant and we were concerned about who would take over for the three months of her maternity leave. Ana Barbosa is our fourth grade teacher and one of the best we have. Her daughter Hazel is teaching second grade in the afternoons at another school so it seems to be a perfect fit since our school is in the morning.  Please pray for Hazel that she will enjoy a smooth transition with the children next week.

 Abril fue un gran mes.

Nos visitó un equipo grande de jóvenes desde CC Cary, Carolina del Norte. Los jóvenes eran buenos para trabajar con los niños y evangelizar. El equipo hizo una actividad para los niños en la semana santa. Tuvo un gran éxito. El equipo enseñó en la escuela dominical y viajó al orfanato en Jinotepe para jugar con los huérfanos. 

En el parque local los jóvenes compartieron sus testimonios con pancartas. También los jóvenes fueron a la Chureca para evangelizar.

Douglas y Micah Selby vinieron para ayudarnos en muchas reparaciones y disfrutar el compañerismo. Ellos hicieron la instalación de algunas parlantes en el santuario para mejorar el sonido.

Haley Johnson vino para ayudar en la escuela y el tiempo era perfecto porque Don Moore se había ido en este tiempo. Es muy bueno que Cindy, la nueva profesora, tuviera ayudantes en la aula. Estamos dando gracias al Señor que Ernesto, un anciano de 88 años ya está con nosotros de nuevo después de recibir una cirugía.

  Kerling, la profesora de segundo grado está embarazada y estábamos buscando otra profesora para enseñar en su lugar por tres meses.

Ana Barbosa es la profesora de cuarto grado y su hija, Hazel, enseña segundo grado en otra escuela por la tarde. Hazel es perfecta para trabajar con nosotros por la mañana.  Por favor, ora que Hazel puede disfrutar un buen tiempo con los estudiantes.

zzz

Matthew was gone by then, but we were blessed to receive another missionary named Don Tucker arrived from Georgia. He has been a tremendous help with maintenance, with the English classes at the school, and with conducting Bible studies with university students who want to practice their English. His wife Maria came for a short time too.

In February, we lost our English teacher at the school. This has turned into a big blessing as we hired Cindy Davila temporarily to fill in while we looked for a permanent teacher. After seeing her interaction with the students and her willingness to learn and be trained, we have decided to hire her as our new, full time English teacher. So many times God turns trials into blessings.

The highlight of February, however, was the Pastor’s and Leader’s Conference that we held. We invited pastors from all over Nicaragua, and even some from neighboring countries. We planned on hosting about 40 to 50 people, and it was a tremendous surprise to us that almost 100 people showed up, some from as far away as San Jose, Costa Rica! We had to scurry to make more copies and get more food. Our two speakers, Mark Presley from Costa Mesa and Bertin Almazan from Panama, were excellent. Many participants were very grateful that they came.

In March, we hosted a one-day medical clinic with over 40 doctors and medical students from Florida. There was a cardiologist, a gynecologist, an ER doctor, and a number of other specialists on the team, and the students were all in their residency stage. They were able to attend to the needs of over 300 people, and each of those people received a New Testament.

We are excited to share that after several years of struggling, the bakery is again making a profit (which we put towards the school). This has been a special blessing from God as economies everywhere are struggling, and consequently, we are not receiving as many donations.

The youth had a great day of sports and the Word at a nearby sports center. It was a special day for them to get out of the city, fellowship, and play together.

If you wish to read about Dylan, Jessie’s nephew and our personal news, you can view photos and news at: http://cal4god.blogspot.com

Or you can view Jessica’s Facebook page.

With love in Christ,

Cal and Jessie Stuebner

CC Melbourne was with us for about a week in September. As always, having them was a blessing for us. The team helped with several projects including painting and odd jobs all over the church.

Janice

Shortly after CC Melbourne left, Matthew Helliwell arrived from Victoria, Canada to serve with us in the children’s and youth ministries. Matthew has experience in children’s ministry and speaks fluent Spanish. Matthew helps the English teacher at the school as well as carrying out various duties in the church including driving and computer duties, and sings in the worship band.

Matt Helliwell and dental patients.

In November CC Merritt Island came to Calvary led by Pastor Howard. The team was a great blessing and helped with many projects including painting in the school, plumbing at the church, and no shortage of odd jobs in between. David Deforge, a dental hygienist, came down to perform teeth cleaning for the school kids as well as several adults. Pastor Natanael Del Toro taught at the couples meeting that was a huge success.

Pastor Natanael Del Toro praying with the couples.

The team had several opportunities to get out and outreach in some nearby neighborhoods.

As a reward for all their hard work the team was able to see the kids at the orphanage in Jinotepe as well as a day at the volcano in Masaya.

Jeff Larsen and twins

At the end of September the Moore family arrived from Farmington, New Mexico. They are going to be serving here in Managua in many forms for approximately a year. John was the assistant pastor at Calvary Chapel Farmington. Currently he is taking Spanish classes to be able to be fully effective here in Nicaragua. Franny home schools Cysco and Jadin, 14 and 10, respectively. We know that God will use this family in incredible ways here in Managua and we ask for your continued prayer that they be able to adapt to Nicaraguan life.

Jon and Franny Moore

The school year is drawing to a close, as some of you know the schedule here is different and runs until December. This means of course that next year we will no longer see the sixth grade students and we will have some new students in the younger grades. Please pray for the sixth grade students. Many will attend Christian secondary schools but some will go to public school which is really not the best environment for them. Please continue to pray for the school.

Recently, we lost our dear friend and church member Horacio Ernesto Barboza. Horacio was hit by a truck November 14th, and was in hospital for two weeks until he went to be with the Lord on Sunday, November 27th. Horacio was heavily involved in the church activities, assisting with the youth, leading the children’s ministry, and as the PE teacher at the school. His passing will be lamented, but there is no doubt that he is with our Lord and Saviour. Horacio is survived by his wife Luz Marina, and two children Jerson and Nayca. Please pray for strength for them as they continue to lead the children’s ministry.

Luz Marina and Horacio

Las cosas siguen bienes aqui a Capilla Calvario Managua. Desde la ultima vez, nos han visitado dos equipos de misioneros, y vinieron unos misioneros para quedarse mas tiempo.

El equipo guiado por Ed Clark vino desde Melbourne por una semana. Fue una bendicion tenerlos aqui. Ayudaron con muchos proyectos como pintar, etc.

Justo despues de que se fue el equipo, vino Matthew Helliwell desde Victoria, Canada. Matthew vino para ayudar con los ninos y jovenes. Matthew habla bien el espanol y tiene experiencia en misiones y con ninos. Ahora esta ayudando a la maestra de ingles y ayuda en muchas maneras, manejando el microbus, con la computadora, y cantando con el equipo de alabanza.

Al fin de septiembre, vino la familia Moore desde Farmington, New Mexico. Van a servirnos de muchas formas. John Moore fue co-pastor a Calvary Chapel Farmington. Ahora esta en clases de Espanol para ser efectivo en Nicaragua. Franny trabaja en casa, dando clases a Jadin y Cysco. Sabemos que Dios va a usar esa familia en gran manera aqui en Managua. Siguan orando que ellos pueden adaptarse a la vida aqui en Nicaragua.

Se esta terminando el ano escolar, como unos saben el horario es diferente que los estados. Asi que el ano que viene no vamos a ver a los de sexto grado pero vamos a tener unos nuevos en los otros grados. Por favor oren para los alumnos de sexto grado. Muchos van a secundarias cristianas, pero unos no, y las publicas no son buenas para ellos.

Recientemente, nuestro amigo y hermano Horacio Ernesto Barboza se fue con el senor. Horacio se choco con un carro el 14 de noviembre, y paso dos semanas en hospital en coma. Horacio fue un miembro muy activo en la iglesia. Fue maestro de educacion fisica en la escuela, encargado del ministerio de ninos, y ayudante con los jovenes. Guarda en oracion la familia Barboza.

Jorge Horacio

We have had an action packed summer here in Managua this year. We started off in June with a lively youth team from CC Boca Raton. They were willing to take on any project, from moving large piles of dirt to cleaning roofs and rooms, and had great hearts to evangelize at any moment. 

CC Pasadena came in July to do a dental clinic, and Jorge Leal lead an Inductive Bible Study Seminar. Both were a huge success. It is good to see the love of Christ shown in practical ways to many who do not know Him, and to see the building up of the body of believers. One man came from the Atlantic Coast for the seminar and stayed with us at the church.

CC Chelmsford came down with an unbelievably talented crew. Linda is an occupational therapist who helped make life a little easier for some of our older church members. Joe completely rewired the main electrical line to the back house and to the generator backup for the main building. Victor made a window for ventilation in Eufemia’s house and the team donated baseball equipment to the orphanage in Jinotepe.

In August a team came down from Ride Nature whose ministry focus is spreading the gospel through skate/surf outreaches. Miraculously they were able to find a skate park here in Managua and do an outreach as well as a movie night and a trip to San Juan del Sur.

Dot Pirrello came down alone to do a reading comprehension seminar for the teachers at our school, and it was a great success. We are having the best year ever at the school and continue to praise the Lord for Carolina’s endless enthusiasm for the ministry.

The youth ministry did a talent show that was definitely the highlight of the summer for them. Parents and church members alike were delighted to see the abilities of our youth, and many neat prizes were given out.

The new music teacher Jose Dolores, is doing a great job of teaching music every Saturday. Right now, they have been focusing on how to read music as well as play an instrument. We hope to see great results in the future.

New puppy Oso: Our old faithful German Shepherd, Pinky died in May and Sasha literally went into depression; so we had to find a replacement. Oso is half Siberian Husky and half German Shepherd. Jessica thinks that he is cute beyond words, and we have high hopes that he will become a good guard dog. He already has a respectable bark even though he is not quite five months of age.

El verano ha sido muy ocupado en este año. Empezamos en junio con un equipo de jóvenes de CC Boca Ratón en Florida. Ellos estaban dispuestos a hacer cualquier trabajo, como mover un montón de tierra a otro lugar y limpiar los techos y cuartos de los edificios. Ellos estaban listos para evangelizar en cualquier momento.  

CC Pasadena de California vino en julio para hacer una clínica dental y una conferencia de cómo estudiar la Biblia inductivamente. Las dos obras tuvieron gran éxito. Es bueno para ver que podemos mostrar el amor de Cristo en maneras prácticas a muchos que no le conocen a El y edificar a los creyentes aquí en Managua. Un hermano vino desde la costa Atlántica para asistir a la conferencia y alojó en la iglesia con nosotros. 

CC Chelmsford de Massachusetts vino con un equipo con muchas habilidades. Linda es una físico terapeuta que ayudó a los ancianos de la iglesia para quitar algunas de las dificultades que tienen en sus hogares por causa de sus enfermedades. Victor hizo una ventana en la casa de Eufemia y el equipo regaló accesorios de béisbol al orfanato de Jinotepe.

Un equipo de nombre Ride Nature vino en agosto se enfoca en alcanzar a los jóvenes surfeadores y de patinadores. Es un milagro encontrar un parque de patinetas aquí en Managua para ser una actividad con los jóvenes. Ellos presentaron una película en el santuario y visitaron San Juan del Sur.

Dorotea Pirrello vino para hacer una capacitación con los profesores de nuestra escuela en el asunto de la lectura comprensiva, y tuvo gran éxito. Este es el mejor año de todos para la escuela. Damos gracias a Dios por la nueva directora, Carolina.

El ministerio de jóvenes hizo una noche de talentos y muchos de los padres y miembros de la iglesia disfrutaron la actividad. Los equipos ganadores recibieron premios.

José Dolores es el nuevo profesor de música que hace una buena obra con los jóvenes cada sábado. Ellos están aprendiendo a leer la música y tocar los instrumentos. Estamos esperando ver resultados en el futuro.

Tenemos un nuevo cachorro de nombre Oso. El viejo pastor Alemán, Pinky, se murió en mayo y Sasha sufrió la perdida en gran manera. Oso es una mezcla de raza pastor Alemán y Husky Siberiano. Jessica opina que él es cariñoso y esperamos que Oso sea muy bravo en el futuro.

In April a team came down from CC Camarillo with a pastor and a number of Spanish speakers. They made a tremendous impact on the neighborhood through house to house witnessing as well as counseling some of our church members and motivating them to make positive changes in their lives. One of the positive changes is that Eufemia and Horacio, the older gentleman she’d been living with for almost thirty years, were married on the 27^th  of April.

Horacio_Eufemia

Bryan Randolph, DDS, came at the end of April and blessed many children and adults with good quality dental treatment. Even some of the neighbors who would not normally enter the church came in.

Adela_Marylin

In May, CC Melbourne sent a medical team of 28 people, complete with their own translators. It was a wonderful clinic because every single person was prayed over several times throughout the process of going through the clinic. We have had a few new faces in church on Sunday as a result of their hard work and prayers. They also helped us make some repairs at the church and school. Pastor Dean and Melinda Corns taught at a successful couples meeting, and many of the team helped with a VBS and children’s ministry.

Cubby_Jim_Sary

En la primavera estábamos muy emocionados aunque ya empezó el tiempo lluvioso aquí en Nicaragua. En marzo vino un equipo de 40 estudiantes médicos desde Miami juntos con sus instructores para hacer una clínica médica de un día atendiendo aproximadamente 250 personas, Lo cual fue una bendición para la comunidad.

Cindy_MaryLou_Karen_Marylin

En abril vino un equipo desde CC Camarillo con un pastor y algunos traductores, que compartieron el evangelio casa a casa en la comunidad y ministraron a miembros de la iglesia. Uno de los resultados fue que Eufemia y Horacio, se casaron el 27 de abril.

Dean and Melinda Corns

El dentista Bryan Randolph, vino al final de abril para tratar a muchos niños y jóvenes, y también a vecinos.

Jorge_Jessica_MaryLou_Cindy

En mayo, CC Melbourne envió un equipo de 28 personas médicas y traductores para hacer una clínica médica que fue de gran bendición por causa de la mucha oración durante el tiempo de la clínica. Tenemos algunas nuevas personas en la iglesia después de la clínica.

Noel and Maria

  Algunos miembros del equipo nos ayudaron con reparaciones en la escuela y en el edificio del santuario. El pastor Dean y su esposa Melinda Corns enseñaron en la reunión de parejas y el equipo hizo una escuela Bíblica de vacaciones para los niños.

Rosa and Geovanni

Reporte de Alabanza:

 José Dolores Gaitán es el nuevo instructor de música,

 Carolina Chávez, la directora de la escuela está avanzando con la escuela.

Worship Team

Peticiones de Oración:

Por Valeria por que su padre se falleció el 23 de Mayo. Valeria quiere empezar a cantar con el grupo de alabanza en junio.

 Por José Dolores Gaitán, el instructor de música, que el Señor lo use para desarrollar el equipo de alabanza.

 Que algunas parejas de la iglesia se casen en este año.

Norman_Eliette_brother_sister

Marvin and Rosa Elena

Yeril and Vanesa

Vanesa_baby_Grandma

Jairo and Gustavo

Robert and Marisol Trohon

Rosa_Claudia_Elvia_Maria

 In early January Karen Holdcraft returned to Managua to have a knee replacement operation.  She is steadily recuperating and was able to attend Sunday service for the first time last week. She had some special friends, Jenny Moon and Inga-Lill Guzik come down consecutively to help her out, and they were a huge blessing. Inga-Lill also did some dental work while she was here, blessing several who were in pain. The government decided to delay the start of the school year by two weeks, so we took advantage of the time to do some training for our teachers. Four of them are new.

We also had a large team (58, mostly youth) came down from CC Costa Mesa High School. While they were here, they put on a Women’s Tea and painted inside the bakery. They also did a field trip to the zoo for our church kids and a trip to the volcano Mombacho for the fourth, fifth, and sixth grade classes. Many of these children rarely leave the barrio.

It was a pleasure to have the team do worship since Norman, our guitar player was in Costa Rica along with our sound tech (Idrly), visiting Brian and Tracey May for a few weeks.

 The team also joyfully helped distribute the Christmas shoe boxes sent from CC Merritt Island this past Sunday. Of course there were plenty of smiles to go around. The team was a special blessing with no problems even though it was a large team.

Our youth group started their Friday evening meetings again, and it was wonderful to see that even with some of our youth now in college in the evenings, we still had a few more youth than last year.

It is exciting to see the growth in Carolina, the new school principal. She had been teaching English the past few years and assisting the old principal; and she is stepping into her new role nicely. It looks like we have a good team at the school this year.

You can now donate to the ministry electronically:

You can send money by credit card at the website of CC Merritt Island: http://www.ccmerrittisland.org/

There is a Tithes, Offerings, & Donations button that you can click on. Follow the instructions. 
It is necessary to put CC Managua or Managua School Fund in the specified donation box.

En el invierno estábamos muy emocionados. Fue una gran bendición el recibir a un equipo de CC Fort Lauderdale que era lleno del espíritu santo y su poder. El equipo hizo algunos logros en el alberge y en La Chureca. También ellos nos ayudaron para hacer reparaciones en la escuela.

Karen Holdcraft vino en febrero para recibir la cirugía de una rodilla artificial. Karen siempre está avanzando y asistió al culto del domingo en la semana pasada. Algunas amigas de Karen, Jenny Moon e Inga-Lill Guzik vinieron para ayudarla. Inga-Lill es una dentista y ayudó a algunos que estaban sufriendo de dolor en la boca.

En este año el gobierno decidió iniciar el año escolar dos semanas más tarde y por esta razón hicimos una capacitación para los profesores entre los cuales hay cuatros nuevos.

En febrero llegó un equipo de 58 personas, la mayoría jóvenes, de la escuela de CC Costa Mesa. Ellos hicieron un evento especial para las mujeres, nueva pintura en la panadería, un viaje al zoologico para los niños de la escuela dominical y un viaje al volcan Mombacho para los estudiantes escogidos de nuestra escuela primaria. Muchos de estos niños casi nunca salen del barrio aquí.

Era un placer que los jovenes hicieran la alabanza en el culto porque Norman (El guitarista) e Idryly (tecnico de sonido) estaban en Costa Rica para visitar a Brian y Tracey May por algunas semanas. También el equipo ayudó en distribuir los cajas de regalos que la iglesia CC Merritt Island envió. Como siempre, todos salieron con sonrisas. A pesar de ser muy grande, el equipo había una gran bendición aquí.

El culto de jovenes empezó de nuevo con más jovenes aunque algunos ya están en la universidad cada noche. Es muy bueno ver como está creciendo Carolina, la nueva directora de nuestra escuela primaria. Ella era la profesora de inglés en los últimos años. El equipo de profesores parece muy bien en este año.

At the end of October four of our leaders went to the Pastors/Leaders conference for Central America in El Salvador. It was Gustavo’s first time to attend, and he took in every opportunity to receive the teaching and fellowship with the other leaders. Nicaragua had the largest number of leaders at the conference, just to give an idea of how the Lord is working here.

In November Jym Kay brought down a group of men from CC Fort Lauderdale and they worked hard. Some roof panels were replaced at the school and some security holes were plugged at the bakery. They also did a wonderful puppet show with the children and an outreach at the dump.

Wayne Goranson returned to teach the second part of the Inductive Bible Study Method, and Miguel did another conference at a nearby church in December.

Jon and Franny Moore brought their son and daughter as well as a team of six others from CC Farmington, New Mexico to help out in December so we have been able to rejoice with fellowship and outreach a lot lately. They painted the classrooms at the school, and Joli Johnson worked miracles on the Days of Creation mural in the courtyard.

As usual,the children’s ministry is the most active. Awana Club had a nice group of children complete the year with a nice awards ceremony in the sanctuary.

For the past month we have had a small group of ladies praying in the church every afternoon and of course there have been results. One that is particularly noteworthy is that Rebecca’s son, Luis, now has a job working with Christians who are helping him walk the walk. We ask that you partner with these prayer warriors to help reach more people here in Managua.

Este año ha sido muy bueno en la iglesia Capilla del Calvario de Managua. Algo grande que pasó en este año fue el bautismo de nueve de nuestros jóvenes en noviembre. René Nieto y los otros líderes de los jóvenes oraron mucho en este año. Dios ha sido fiel para tocar los corazones de los jóvenes. Cuatro de nuestros líderes asistieron a la conferencia de líderes en El Salvador a finales de octubre. Para Gustavo, fue la primera vez que participó en esta conferencia y él aprovechó cada oportunidad para aprender y disfrutar el compañerismo con los otros líderes. Nicaragua tenía la delegación más grande entre los países asistentes y se puede decir que Dios está trabajando en gran manera en Nicaragua.

En noviembre Jym Kay vino con un grupo de hombres del CC Fort Lauderdale y ellos trabajaron duro con reparaciones en los techos de la escuela y la panadería. También hicieron una presentación de títeres para los niños y evangelizaron en la Chureca.

  Wayne Goranson hizo la primera conferencia en mayo y  una segunda conferencia de Método Inductivo para estudiar la Biblia en noviembre y Miguel hizo la primer parte en otra iglesia local en diciembre.

  Jon y Frani Moore vinieron con sus hijos y un grupo de seis personas de CC Farmington, New México para ayudarnos en diciembre. Pintaron todas las aulas en la escuela y Joli hizo un gran trabajo con el mural en el patio de la escuela.

  Como siempre, la escuela dominical ha sido muy fructífera en este año. El Club Oansa hizo una promoción para terminar el año en el santuario. Recientemente algunas de las mujeres han estado orando cada día en el santuario con buenos resultados como Luís, el hijo de la hermana Rebeca ya está trabajando con personas cristianas que le fortalecen en la fe también. Pedimos de sus oraciones para alcanzar a más personas aquí en Managua.

The last weeks of summer and all of the fall season have been very busy. It has never been boring to serve here at CC Managua. Rhyan and Gineva Johnson came down from Michigan in August to help out and were a great blessing at the school and around the church. Bryan Randolph brought a dental team that was supposed to go to Rivas and work with an orphanage for a few days but because of government red tape they decided to bring the children up here to the church and do all of the treatment in Managua. They also treated children from barrio Las Brisas and some from our school. Nothing is ever really normal here. We do not normally have many visitors in the fall but in September we had a team from Bayside Community Church with One Hope that worked as far away as Tipitapa doing evangelism.

Send Ministries has a great missionary training program and their Rhythm team was the best example of young missionaries in training that we have ever seen. They did door to door evangelism with much success and were constantly in prayer. Of course this made a difference.

We have had a huge amount of rain this year and at the end of Sept. Lake Xolotlan (Managua) was higher than it was after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The government evacuated hundreds of people who had been living along the lake into shelters and has actually done a decent job of organizing the aid project. Thank God for election years. David and Tamra Bryant have been working in Barrios Manchester and San Sebastian for the past couple of years from Costa Rica and now they live in the southern part of Nicaragua in San Juan del Sur.

They have made many long journeys and have prayed much for these people so when CC Managua sent out a prayer request message they forwarded that message to hundreds of others in the states who also prayed for the rain to let up so that the lake would go down. Thousands of Nicaraguans have been praying since the rains have done much damage and caused crop failures around the country. In view of this it might seem presumptuous to think that this message moved the Lord to show His mercy to us here but a few days after the message was sent we had our first dry week in months and the lake went down a little. Please continue to pray for rain in the right measure since we still have a great need for a good harvest of beans and corn as much of these crops have been lost to flooding.

David and Tamra came to visit the people in the refuge centers and the Lord provided for them to buy food for over one hundred people. This is the perfect example of Christians working together in prayer and practical assistance.

Ric Marconi came down from CC Pasadena and was a huge help at the school and with the installation of some accounting software that is bilingual.

As always the real news is about the local people and how they are growing in Christ. Gustavo who has been leading worship every Sunday is going to the Pastors and Leaders conference in San Salvador for the first time at the end of the month. He lost his wife in June but continues to trust in the Lord and grow in the faith. Noel Solórzano, our co pastor has a son and a daughter who have recently begun to contribute to the worship group every Sunday. Samuel who is seven years of age is now playing the drum set and his sister Vanessa is singing backup vocals. It is wonderful to see people growing and serving the Lord.

The photos in order from top:

1. Some of the Send Ministries team with Maria, Vanessa and Samuel.

2. Send Ministries team members with some of the Friday night youth.

3. The Manchester Furniture Shop gate is right next to the large truck parked in the water.

4. Ana Maria and her daughter Carla Patricia lived very close to the shop and are now living in a refuge.

5. This is the house where Yolanda lived with the lake right at the edge of the property, now she is in a refuge with her family.

6. Geovanni, Rosa and baby Brisa.

7. Corey Grueter and a dump worker.

8. Corey Grueter and Noel.

Prayer requests: Please pray for the conference in San Salvador on the 29 and 30^th of October. Last year we had to return by another route because of a downed bridge due to the heavy rains.

Please pray for a team of eighteen men arriving on November 4 to repair the roof at the school among other projects and outreaches.

Please pray for an upcoming Baptism with the youth ministry. It has been growing this year.

Please pray for a few new teachers and a new school principal next year. We are always striving to improve and we lost two teachers this year due to pregnancy and child care issues.

Please pray that Geovanni will finish school next year so that he can attend church on Sundays.

Praise reports:

Geovanni and Rosa dedicated their baby daughter Brisa.

Good growth in the Youth Ministry.

Good growth in the worship ministry.

The Lord’s faithful protection and blessing over the ministry.

May and June were full of tremendous blessings, such as the arrival of Camille from Hawaii to help us out for the summer and increased involvement from some of our youth in worship. Our Oansa club competed in a local competition. We also had the opportunity to build new relationships and prayer connections with people from the States who found us online and wanted to see the ministry while they happened to be in town.

 It was, however, a time of tremendous sadness as well. On June 6, Gustavo’s wife Isabel passed away, leaving behind an adult daughter and a seven-year-old son. Nine days before Isabel died she was in the hospital on the verge of death. The hospital does not allow children inside to visit, but they made an exception for her son Reynaldo so that he could say goodbye to his mother. The next day, Isabel felt much better and the nurses were surprised that she was still alive. She left the hospital that afternoon and gave a wonderful testimony in church on Sunday telling about how grateful she was that the Lord was always with her even though she had been very sick. Isabel died the following Sunday. Perhaps the Lord did one last miracle so that she could give a final testimony before the congregation. She was buried near Esteli where most of her family lives. Gustavo and his wife have been faithfully attending our church for years, and even helping out with sound systems and worship. Please be in prayer for him during this time of loss, and also for Isabel’s family.

May and June were also very busy for our school. Many people were honored as we celebrated Father’s Day, Teacher’s Day, and even Children’s Day, all national holidays. On Father’s Day, we had a special assembly where the upper grades from our school performed a special dance to honor their dads. On Teacher’s Day, there were songs, dances and poems read; and of course, a Bible message was shared on both days. For Children’s Day, which actually ends up being a week-long celebration, each grade in our school had a party on a different day, complete with games and a piñata. Everyone had a lot of fun.

July was a month full of teams, and at one point we had four at the same time! The first team to arrive was from Calvary Chapel Chelmsford in Massachusetts. Their fearless leader, Joe Pirrello,  brought a group of fourteen, mostly youth! They helped out with Sunday school to give all our local leaders a much-needed break, and one of them, named Julio, also taught the midweek service in Spanish to give Noel a break.

Besides helping out the local leadership, the Chelmsford team carried out a VBS session, finished several large work projects, completed several outreaches, and even lead worship a number of times. One highlight of their trip was when they held a spontaneous church session at Tent City, complete with Spanish worship and a passionate teaching by Julio. We had planned to break out into groups after that to pray with families and distribute Bibles and clothes; but we were rained out.

The second team to arrive was from Calvary Chapel Pasadena in California, lead by Tony Scotti. Their annual dental clinic was a blessing to many of our students and their families; and their cook, George Leal, was a blessing to the missionaries!

Pastor Tony taught two Wednesdays and a Sunday to give our pastors a much-needed break, and he also taught at our most recent couple’s meeting. The couple’s night, complete with service and dinner, was absolutely lovely. The Pasadena team, who had worked together with the Chelmsford team in Tent City, was also able to return to Tent City to finish the prayer groups and distributions. The people there were overwhelmingly touched by such attention, and so was the team.

The third team to arrive was from Calvary Chapel Twin Lakes in Arkansas, lead by James Mercado.  This was their first time coming to Managua, and it was wonderful to have them! They worked alongside the Pasadena team in the couple’s night and several outreaches (including the prayer groups at Tent City).

And while Pasadena worked on their dental clinic, Twin Lakes conducted an eyeglass clinic for reading glasses and even some prescription glasses. One of their team members, Mike Bauerlein , also gave our sound room a much-needed makeover.

There were two other teams that came in July, both from a ministry called OneHope. One of the teams, a group from Canada, is working on developing a long-term project to help the people from Manchester, the community along the lake. In the past, they came to conduct assessments and meet with Manchester community leaders; this time, it was all about building rapport. They came and ran a week-long soccer clinic for the kids that was hugely successful. The other OneHope team, a group from Florida, distributed Christian literature to literally hundreds of kids in schools around Managua.

Mayo y Junio eran llenos de muchas bendiciones, como la llegada de Camille de Hawai para ayudarnos durante el verano. Nuestro club Oansa compitió en un concurso local. También teníamos la oportunidad de construir nuevas relaciones y uniones de oración con la gente de los Estados Unidos quién nos encontró de internet y querían  ver el ministerio mientras ellos resultaron estar en Managua.

Era, sin embargo, un tiempo de gran tristeza también. El 6 de junio, la esposa de Gustavo, Isabel falleció, dejando a una hija adulta y un hijo de siete años. Nueve días antes de que Isabel muriera ella estaba  en el hospital al borde de la muerte. El hospital no permite que niños entren y visiten, pero ellos hicieron una excepción para su hijo Reinaldo de modo que él pudiera despedirse de su madre. Al día siguiente, Isabel se sintió mucho mejor y las enfermeras estuvieron sorprendidas que ella estaba todavía viva. Ella salio del hospital esa tarde y dio un maravilloso testimonio en la iglesia el domingo contando sobre que agradecida ella estaba que el Señor estuviera siempre con ella aunque ella hubiera estado muy enferma. Isabel murió el domingo siguiente. Quizás el Señor hizo un último milagro de modo que ella pudiera dar un testimonio final ante los hermanos. Ella fue sepultada en las montañas donde la mayor parte de su vida vivió con sus familiares. Gustavo y su esposa habían estado asistiendo fielmente a nuestra iglesia durante años, y hasta ayudándonos con la alabanza y adoración. Por favor esté orando  por el hermano Gustavo durante este tiempo de pérdida, y también por la familia de Isabel.

Mayo y junio estaban también muy ocupados para nuestra escuela. Muchas personas se honraron cuando celebramos el Día del Padre, Día del Profesor, y Día de Niños, todas las fiestas nacionales. En el Día del Padre, teníamos una asamblea especial donde los grados superiores de nuestra escuela realizaron un baile especial para honrar a sus papás. Durante el Día del Profesor, había canciones, bailes y poemas leídos; y por supuesto, un mensaje de la Biblia fue ensenado durante ambos días. Durante el Día de Niños, que realmente termina por ser una celebración de una semana, cada grado en nuestra escuela tenía un partido durante un día diferente, completo con juegos y  piñatas. Cada uno tenía y disfrutaban  muchas diversiones.

Julio fue un mes lleno de equipos misioneros, y uno de los retos que teníamos era cuatro equipos al mismo tiempo! El primer equipo que llegó fue de Calvary Chapel de Chelmsford en Massachusetts. Dirigido por su líder, Joe Pirrello, trajo un grupo de catorce !mayormente  jóvenes! Ellos nos ayudaron con las escuelas del domingo para dar a todos nuestros lideres locales un descanso muy necesario, y uno de ellos, llamado Julio, también enseñó el servicio de miércoles en español  para dar a Noel un descanso. Además de ayudar a los lideres locales. El equipo de Chelmsford realizó una sesión de escuela Bíblica de vacaciones, terminó varios proyectos de trabajos grandes, completó varios proyectos de evangelización, y hasta alabanzas en la iglesia. Una cosa grande de su viaje fue cuando ellos sostuvieron una sesión de iglesia espontánea en el barrio de champas (protestantes por daño causado por el Nemagon), completa con la adoración en español y una enseñanza por el hermano Julio. Habíamos planeado partir en grupos después para orar con las familias y distribuir Biblias y ropas; pero fue cancelado por la lluvia.

El segundo equipo a llegar fue de la Calvary Chapel Pasadena en California, dirigido por Tony Scotti. Su clínica dental fue una bendición para muchos de nuestros estudiantes y sus familiares; ¡y su cocinero, George Leal, fue una bendición para los misioneros!

El pastor Tony enseñó dos miércoles y un domingo dio a nuestros pastores un descanso muy necesario, y él también enseñó en la reunión de parejas más reciente. La noche de parejas, completó con culto y comida, era absolutamente maravillosa. El equipo de Pasadena, que había trabajado juntos con el equipo de Chelmsford en el barrio de champas, era también capaz de volver a el barrio de champas  para terminar los grupos de oración y distribuciones. La gente allí fue tocada de una manera  especial por tal atención, y el equipo también.

El tercer equipo a llegar fue de Calvary Chapel Twin Lakes  en Arkansas, dirigido por James Mercado.  ¡Esta era su primera vez visitando Managua, y era maravilloso tenerlos! Ellos trabajaron junto con el equipo de Pasadena en la noche de la parejas y varias campañas de evangelización, mientras el equipo de Pasadena trabajó en su clínica dental, Twin Lakes  condujeron una clínica de lentes  para leer;  lentes y hasta algunas gafas de prescripción. Uno de sus miembros de equipo, Mike, también hizo modificar el cuarto de sonido que necesitábamos mucho.

Había otros dos equipos que vinieron en julio, ambos de un ministerio llamado OneHope. Uno de los equipos, un grupo de Canadá, trabajó en el desarrollo de un proyecto a largo plazo de ayudar a la gente de Manchester, una  comunidad a lo largo del lago. En el pasado, ellos vinieron para conducir evaluaciones y encontrarse con líderes de la comunidad de Manchester; esta vez, era todo sobre para la edificación de una relación. Ellos vinieron y dirigieron una clínica de fútbol de una semana para los niños que fue enormemente exitoso. El otro equipo de OneHope, un grupo de Florida, distribuyó la literatura cristiana a literalmente cientos de niños en las escuelas alrededor de Managua.

Katy Schuessler and Laura Ritchie were here from Texas at the same time and did not hesitate to get into the games and work projects.

The girls at the Jinotepe orphanage took a real liking to Camille, one of the team members, and she hopes to return for a couple of months this summer.

We are grateful for the servants that the Lord brings here.   We were also blessed in March to host a baptism for several people from Noel’s home group Bible study.

In April CC Merritt Island sent a team to help at the perfect time. Cal broke his collar bone the day after they arrived. It was a huge blessing to have the helping hands and prayers of the team at such a time. This team did a lot of door to door evangelism in the local barrios and was very happy to see how the Lord opened the hearts of the people.  David DeForge brought some equipment that will be a blessing to dentists coming in the future.  He also cleaned many teeth, identified problems, taught oral hygiene to the students and showed the love of Jesus in all that he did here.

Kevin McCarthy was a blessing with Worship, and he also found some latent talent among the orphans in Jinotepe. We pray that the Lord will open the door for these young people to learn more in the future.

There were many other people who helped in our recent time of need, and we could write numerous pages about all of the work done by them to make up for the lack of helping hands here.  It was awesome, and God is awesome!

En marzo tuvimos la bendición de tener un grupo de Calvary Chapel Camarillo. Hizo una actividad de béisbol con algunos niños en el barrio del Parque la Paz. Katy Schuessler y Laura Ritchie vinieron aquí desde Texas al mismo tiempo y no dudaron en involucrarse en los juegos y proyectos de trabajo. Camille (un miembro del equipo), le cayó bien a las niñas en el orfanato de Jinotepe y Camille espera regresar pronto por dos meses. Estamos agradecidos por los servidores que el Señor trae aquí. Fuimos bendecidos en marzo de hacer un bautismo para varias personas de la reunión que Noel hace en una casa. También Emelda de la Fuentes fue bautizada.

Even the police can be friendly and play around.

En abril llegó un equipo de CC Merritt Island para ayudar en el momento perfecto. Cal se quebró la clavícula al día siguiente de su llegada. Fue una gran bendición de tener las manos y las oraciones del equipo en este tiempo. Este equipo fue puerta a puerta en muchos lugares para evangelizar y estaban muy felices de ver como el Señor abrió el corazón de la gente. David DeForge trajo un poco de equipo que será una bendición para los dentistas que vienen en el futuro. También él limpió muchos dientes, identificó las necesidades, enseñó higiene bucal a los estudiantes y mostró el amor de Cristo en todo lo que hizo aquí. Kevin McCarthy fue una bendición en el culto, y él también encontró un talento latente entre los huérfanos en Jinotepe. Oramos que el Señor abra la puerta a estos jóvenes para aprender más en el futuro. Había muchas otras personas que ayudaron en nuestra época de necesidad, y podríamos escribir numerosas páginas acerca de todos los trabajos realizados por ellos para compensar la falta de manos para ayudar aquí. Dios es grande.

Katy had a birthday party with extra frosting.