Friday, July 27, 2012

Mission Nicaragua :: Day 3

We feel a bit like pioneers as we have successfully completed our first day doing camp at the Ruby Ranch.  It is our hope and prayer and many more camps will follow as the dreams and vision of the Buzbees for the Ruby Ranch comes to fruition.  It is such a beautiful piece of property and even the basics - shaded tree areas, a playground with two trampolines and a large field made for a great day camp.

It definitely isn't what we are accustomed to, but that is where God definitely has not only prepared us during our training, but stretched us in our time here.  Ruby Ranch is located in the Las Parcelas community (where we took kids from down to Campo last summer).  So it is great to be able to continue and build upon the relationships we have previously formed.

We drove up in the bus to a watching and waiting crowd of about 50 - mainly campers with a few adults.  Nearly 30 of them participated in our camp last year, but we do have some new faces.  For many of us, we were able to pick-up where we left off.  For some of our new teammies, they were able to hear from the students how camp impacted them last year and how many found new life in Christ.

I couldn't have been more proud of our students who are totally running their stations (arts, Bible, music, sports and English) and leading groups.  All their preparation paid off even in new surroundings.  Every year I sit down and blog about how awesome it is to see the body of Christ at work.  So this year is no different.  The talents, passions and abilities that God brings to the team each year is incredible.  Then to see them in action is even better!

The kids had such a great time at each station and we could see the nervousness and shyness wear off as the day progressed.  Of course, launching kids on the trampoline and chasing the soccer ball through a field of horse poop tends to do that.  But they were able to just run and have fun and we enjoyed doing the same.  We were also able to provide hot lunches (while supporting the local economy) to each of the campers.

I was able to sneak away with our construction foreman to start specking out the site and ordering materials.  Praise God that we are going to be able to use the foundation laid by Manuel and his father in law (see yesterday's post).  This will not only save us some on cost, but will complete the step of faith the family took ten years ago.  This home construction will be one of the more ambitious and the largest home we have constructed to date.  We will start work tomorrow after camp.

Out team time at night has been a blessing.  They are all sharing stories of how they are seeing God at work in their hearts and simply where He is moving throughout the day.  We spend time in God's Word together and then also in prayer.  Then we move to our small groups and God's Spirit is definitely working as we are all striving to be open and vulnerable.  There is such a sweet spirit and team unity.  We can sense the prayer support we are receiving back in the States.  We continue to wait in expectation for all that God has for us and those we are ministering to.

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