Mission Nicaragua :: Day 4

Our first full day of camp is in the books. What an awesome day other than the time the Nica kids woke up. The boys started stirring (and by that I mean walking around talking loudly) at 4:52am. Apparently in their community they are up early to do chores and some have to then walk 4km to school. Most then go to bed when the sun sets, which would be around 7pm here.

But we managed with the lack of sleep and actually had a great day! We started off with the students leading their stations - arts/crafts, music, Bible, English and sports. Then on to lunch, swimming, dinner, chapel and a movie. It was a full day for sure, but one where God was definitely working! We are slowly seeing some of the walls come down when it comes to relationships and an openness to the camp experience. We are continuing to pray that the Nica kids see the Gospel through our lives, our smiles & hugs and when the Word of God goes out, we are claiming that it goes out and doesn't return void!

I think I can speak for everyone when I say that despite feeling physically tired, our souls are coming alive and being renewed by the Spirit. Not only are we having good time alone by being unplugged and having uninterrupted time with the Lord, but we are also having good team time together in the Word. Last night we tackled all of chapter two of Galatians and looked at the freedom we find in the Gospel. We talked about how the Gospel exposes our hypocrisy and we were all challenged to look into our hearts and as the question, "Where does hypocrisy manifest in my life? Where am I believing something that I'm not living?" And then how can I surrender that to Almighty God. How can we daily crucify our sin, our self our desires, our dreams, etc. in Christ so that we no longer live but it is Christ who lives in us (Gal. 2:20).

Please join us in praying that God will continue to work powerfully in our camp tomorrow and the rest of the time that we are here. We are believing that God is going to save souls and change lives this week. We are preaching the Gospel to ourselves and preaching it in word and deed every day! Thanks for standing with us in prayer. Don't forget that we have a prayer guide online at wildwoodstudents.com!

Mission Nicaragua :: Day 3

We were off and running today with an early start finishing up some last minute details and preparation before the campers arrived. Then around 11am a bus full of children, their teacher and family and a few moms as chaperones arrived from the community of Las Parcelas. We found out that many of these kids have never left their community before and most have never swam in open water. They commented on how beautiful everything was on their ride up and then when the bus pulled up they were a little shell shocked! It's interesting how each group we've had a camp has had a different 'personality' and these are definitely more on the shy and reserved side.

But God has allowed us to start gaining trust and building relationships. After orientation and room assignments, we had lunch and then down to the lake to go swimming. Then comes a bit of down time before dinner. Our first evening session was a blast as we played a classic student ministry balloon game with them. We also had a time of worship and then Katie Robertson shared her testimony before I preached. I'm doing a series about "People who met Jesus." We are looking at the reality that when people met Jesus they always left changed. Please pray that the Gospel would be clear as I preach and that many students this week would meet Jesus!

Capping off the night is a movie, which gives our team a chance to get together and debrief, open the Word together and also have small group time. We shoot for getting the kids to bed a bit on the early side since they are usually up with the sun (which around here is around 5:30am).

God is already working and I've been so excited to see how hungry our students are to go deeper in their walk with Christ and also strive to live out the Gospel in word and deed. It is truly a picture of the body of Christ as the each work together to make camp happen. Tomorrow will be our first full day where they each run their respected stations and get to put into action everything they have practiced and prepared for.

Please continue to pray for us and don't forget that in addition to my blog, you can follow us at twitter.com/wildwoodstudent or facebook.com/pages/Mission-Nicaragua for pictures and updates.

Mission Nicaragua :: Day 2

What an awesome day God gave us today. We were up pretty early after our first night here in Nicaragua - grabbing breakfast, having team devotional time and individual time alone with God. Then it was a quick repack to get everything ready to head down to Camp. We had an amazing ride on the Pan American highway which winds us up in elevation and through many different towns on the way to Campo Alegria. For many on our team, this was a great chance to see alot of Nicaragua! It's about a two-hour ride the finishes through a rural farming community that is loaded down with corn fields, sugar cane fields and banana fields.

We arrived at Camp pretty hungry, so after our famous Nicaragua lunch (PB&J) we took some time to get settled (aka take a nap, relax and swim in the lake) before having to get set-up. Our cooks prepared an amazing dinner of nacatamales, arroz blanco, ensalada, fruitas, y plantanos fritos. Delicioso! After dinner we had our nightly team time. God laid on my heart to walk the team through the book of Galatians this year. So after we do some in-depth time in the Word, we have some time in our small groups for discussion and prayer. God is already and work and we can all sense that He is going to do something great this trip!

The chiaulas (like a small gnat) were the worst we've ever seen down here. Sometimes you can see the wind carrying what looks like a brown cloud and it's them! The wind died down right before bedtime and they were everywhere in the rooms! We were all covered in them. Thankfully God sent an amazing storm across the lake around 2am, which was not only an awesome display of His power, but sent a breeze to move them along (except the ones already swarming the rooms!) Needless to say, it was an exciting night of sleep (or lack thereof) for most on the team.

We are excited about the kids from Las Parcelas arriving so we can start camp! These are children that have never been to any camp before and most have never left their community. I would imagine some have never ridden a bus before. Not only will they enjoy the beauty and activities of camp, but more importantly, we are praying that they would be met here by God Almighty and experience the gospel in word and deed. Please join us in praying to that end!

Mission Nicaragua :: Day 1

We have made it and awoke to a beautiful morning here in Nicaragua! Despite being pretty exhausted we had a good team time in the Word last night looking at John 14. We are praying that the power of the Holy Spirit would fill us and do a mighty work this week. Our hearts are united and we are definitely praying for the "greater things". We are asking God to show up in power and do a work that could only point credit and honor His direction!

Our travel day yesterday was relatively uneventful. Our first stop after leaving Tallahassee was my parents' house in Jacksonville where they had an amazing spread for us for lunch (we'll do anything to avoid airport food & prices)! Then we were off to Jacksonville to find Chelsea and celebrate her birthday. Again this year, we overloaded the tiny prop plane with 50lb bags full of supplies and clothing. They asked 3 people to get off due to weight restrictions - luckily none were on our team!

Touched down in Miami with only an hour layover, which if you've ever been on Concourse D is about how long it takes to walk from one side to the other (which we had to do) and we had to grab dinner. Our plane was late to arrive so it did give us a delay in which to eat our dinner before boarding.

God gave us some great opportunities for our team to share the Gospel and about our mission on the flights and in the airport. I'm excited about this team's willingness to "be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope we have" and engage in gospel conversations. We've been strong on the "deed" and the "hands and feet" and now most are gaining the confidence to speak the truth in love!

Today we will get our supplies ready and head down to Campo Alegria. This will give us a head start on the kids from Las Parcelas who arrive on Friday. We'll spend the afternoon setting up our stations and doing some test runs so we will be ready to hit the ground running. Pray for our travels to camp and for these kids that will be coming!