Significant events

Today is the day after the world changed 500 years ago. In 1517 on October 31, Martin Luther is said to have begun the Protestant Reformation by nailing 95 theses to the door of a church. How could he have known that his desire to reform the Catholic church would later result in a myriad of Protestant churches? It makes me ponder how the actions we take today affect the lives of people years and years later. It also makes me think about how striking it is that all of the churches I work with - both in Nicaragua and in North America - owe their existence to Martin Luther. What a motive for celebration!

The month of October was a busy one for me, and not because of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. I'd like to write about each one of these events more in-depth, but for now I'll just give you the highlights.


October 10

The Nehemiah Center held a "Vision Conference" for new pastors in Managua to come, meet the Nehemiah Center, and possibly sign-up to receive training in the coming year. We had 54 participants though not all were pastors of formal churches like we were hoping for. After a devotional time and a plenary speaker, the participants were divided into three groups. Each group rotated around three workshops: The Context of the Church, The Context of Managua, and the Nehemiah Center and its program Better Churches 1. I assisted my colleague Freddy in the Managua workshop. We had a photo collage that people looked at and talked about what the photos provoked in them. Then we discussed how Jesus saw the city of Jerusalem with all its flaws, and we prayed for Managua. After the workshops finished, we adjoined to the large ranchón area for feedback and lunch.

Praying for Managua

October 13 and 27
The León pastors began the Daniel Plan study. They opted for a more informal format than the pastors in Chinandega who had participated in three workshops facilitated by Manuel at the Nehemiah Center. The León pastors decided to meet every other week and asked me to facilitate the study. They have challenged themselves to lose 4 pounds in the next two weeks, and they are encouraging each other to have healthier lifestyles.


October 20
For the first time ever, we invited all the participants in the Church Friendship Program who live in Nicaragua to come to the Nehemiah Center to meet each other, share experiences, and give input for the program next year. I'm still working on going through all the questionnaires and notes that we took that day! I was very thankful for Raúl's presence taking notes and leading games with the 18 participants who arrived. Only 2 pastoral couples didn't show up out of the 11 who participate in the program. Praise God for a great turnout, and they all asked to do this again (and on an international scale!) next year!

October 22
In Acahualinca the 4 churches hosted a marriage conference for the couples in the church. In total with kids and servers there were about 60 people present, with 20 couples who participated. Pastor Andy, formerly from Oskaloosa, shared about the promises that couples should make to each other, and Pastor Henry from Acahualinca talked about the enemies of marriage. It was a sweltering afternoon, but we made it through by listening to some good music, playing some fun games, and eating good food at the end.


October 24 The Chinandega couples finished their study of the Daniel Plan with an afternoon potluck and prayer in Chinandega. We focused on the importance of friendship to continue to make changes. It's been a little hard to foster fellowship lately, but I trust that the Spirit knows what it's doing. We really enjoyed all the dishes that everyone brought to share at the end!




October 28
I handed over the keys to my house in León. My roommate moved out on the 10th, and since I have been traveling between Managua and León so much, it doesn't make sense to have a big, empty house to pay rent on. Plus, it's dangerous to leave a house without anyone in it, and the roof was leaking very badly during the rains. So I sold some things and put the rest of it in storage. For now I am house-sitting for some friends, and lots of people have offered me their extra beds when I need a place to stay. Between December and May I'll be with so many teams and traveling to the States that I won't need a place for more than a month of nights! It is definitely interesting to know that I'm a nomad right now, but I'm thankful for all the gestures of hospitality from people that I have received.

Now you know why I didn't blog all month! I've still been involved with the Nehemiah Center daily grind, meetings, Dordt students, and other random things. Perhaps one day, like Martin Luther, my actions will affect others' lives in ways that I can't even imagine. Soli deo gloria.