Significant Impact

This year at the Nehemiah Center (NC) we are trying to up our game on evaluation and monitoring, so we started asking teams to fill out evaluations. Yes, this used to be done, but somewhere in the busyness and upheaval of life, no one reminded me that written evaluations were a thing so they fell by the wayside. However, we started written evaluations for teams again this year. Besides being encouraging as far as how we were doing our work, there were some cool questions included. One of the thought questions was "what significantly impacted you during this trip?"

Here are some answers that have stuck out to me, taken anonymously from four different groups.

What significantly impacted you during this trip?

• The meetings with Nehemiah Center (NC) partners, ministries, ministry workers and community connections. 
• In order to pray we need to dream, like Paul praying his dreams in Ephesians 1:15-20
• Great times of prayer
• Encouraging signs of God's work in Nicaragua, even through pain and suffering
• The church service was powerful, especially as the congregation prayed for us
• all the various talks, seeing and hearing about the effects of the 2018 crisis
• Great opportunity to learn about Nicaraguan culture and how the NC is helping motivate churches to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ. This has become even more important following the social unrest that occurred in 2018.
• Feeling God's Spirit this week
• The staff at the NC and their walk with Christ 
• Seeing Nicaragua's beauty and remembering its Creator
• The way the team prayed for the NC staff
• The love and passion for Jesus and God in all the people, but mostly the power of prayer
• Seeing our friends again and how they missed us
• Seeing the youth in some of the churches start to take on leadership roles
• The closeness of everyone; we genuinely cared about each other and prayed sincerely
• Watching friendship continue to develop and grow; memories from previous trips were shared and relationships were deepened
• The Holy Spirit moving in the people on the team and staff, being focused on prayer and seeking God's direction for all decisions was the most impactful
• Praying in our own language together [at the same time] aloud
• Hearing the pastors preach at their churches and the community event service
• learning about the poverty attitude. I didn't see it last time, and so when all the kids had to get in a line [but wouldn't because they kept pushing to the front], it was just shocking to me how it affects everything for them, all the way to their mentalities
• Painting the prayer room

Wow! It's so cool to read these testimonies. I get to be part of this work in people's lives, and I am grateful to God for what He is showing people who come to Nicaragua and what He does in all of our lives. To Him be the glory!

Discovering Talent

Listening to presentations about the Nehemiah Center programs

The first group that visited Nicaragua came from southern Ontario, Canada from January 15-24 to learn more about the Nehemiah Center and work on the roof replacement project. This church had raised the larger part of the funds necessary to replace the thatch roof over the rancho area as well as the tile roof in the office complex. They felt especially satisfied to be able to unload the new materials themselves.

Unloading new roofing materials

There was one team member who couldn't participate in physical labor or painting, but she wanted to minister to the people at the office and help in any way that she could. We suggested she could teach the ladies how to bake things, pray with staff and practice English with the young people. Not all of our plans worked out the way we envisioned, partly because of lack of communication and partly because of lack of structure; however, Gertie was a blessing to the people at the Nehemiah Center. Some ladies learned how to make new recipes for cookies or cakes. The kitchen staff learned a new casserole recipe. Program coordinators were prayed for and remembered. And the kids? They liked having something to do when they were hanging out after school with Gertie, practicing English, baking, or doing crafts.

Saraí is in the green shirt, interpreting for a puppet show

One of biggest things that impacted me from Gertie's time with the Nehemiah Center was finding out that one of the teenage daughters of a couple working at the Nehemiah Center was really good at English! When Saraí was around, Gertie sent the translator away. This young woman, whom I have watched grow up but never really interacted with, has proven to be a leader, translator, and good with kids and languages. She not only helped Gertie a lot with the other kids, but when we needed someone for a day a month later for a community event with another group, Saraí jumped into translating puppet shows on the fly, organizing kids for crafts and helping out in all sorts of ways. It was incredible to witness the gifts God has given her and find this resource so close to us at the Nehemiah Center!

Saraí directing the kids in a game of parachute

Delegation

I am reading through Exodus during my morning devotions, and this passage stood out to me this week:

17 Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18 You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19 Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 Teach them his decrees and instructions, and show them the way they are to live and how they are to behave. 21 But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. 22 Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. 23 If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied.” (Exodus 18)

Jethro was a wise man. When a person tries to do too much on their own, especially in leadership positions, they and the people around them suffer. I have seen this very clearly in my own life when I feel overwhelmed.

This winter, I have been learning to delegate. Raúl has been working with me for two years now, and slowly but surely I am learning how to let go of some things and let him do them. Starting in January 2020, Teresa joined the Church Friendship team as well, and I am learning a whole new level of delegation.

Teresa was a Cohort of Missioner participant in Costa Rica from 2018-2019. She is from Chinandega, Nicaragua and found out about the Cohort program by being a leader for IMPACT clubs. Another Cohort graduate, Nereyda, is coordinating IMPACT clubs and recommended the Cohort experience to Teresa. She left Nicaragua to serve in Costa Rica for a year. When she came back to Nicaragua in July 2019, Resonate started the process of trying to get a US visa for Teresa to be part of a pilot Cohort program in Detroit. (For those of you who don't know, I started in Nicaragua as a volunteer in the Cohort of Missioners program, called Caminantes in Spanish. You can learn more about the Cohort watching This Video.) Resonate asked the Nehemiah Center to help vouch for Teresa and see if there could be a job for her when she came back to Nicaragua after being in Michigan, so I started getting to know her. We invited her to some prayer meetings in Chinandega and the Nehemiah Center's 20th anniversary celebration. Unfortunately, Teresa's visa was denied so she didn't go to the United States in January as planned. After observing her at these events, we asked if she would like to volunteer with the Nehemiah Center in the Church Friendship program, and she agreed. She started with us at the beginning of January 2020.

Teresa is a very personable, joyful person who is interested in learning. She seems to be able to strike up a conversation and start laughing within the first five minutes with most people she talks to. She speaks English and was teaching beginner English classes to kids in Costa Rica as a Caminante. As we worked with her, Raúl and I observed that Teresa is very teachable. When we gave her feedback, she tried to put it into practice right away. Teresa was always willing to run errands, help translate, call to confirm reservations and even lead the teams on their tourist days so Raúl and I could have a break. She started learning both the financial part of teams (which Raúl usually takes care of) and the coordinating and translating (which I mostly do). 

It has been a challenge for me to take the time to explain (and explain again) what needs to be done and how to do it. I feel like it takes longer than if I were to do it myself. However, I know that this is part of the process and good for character formation in Teresa as well as myself. She has been a huge help. Together with her and Raúl, we led four teams in 8 weeks and participated in other Nehemiah Center activities, and I didn't shout at administrative staff or break down crying during that whole time.



Jethro was right. Trying to do it all wears a person out. Even though delegating takes more work initially, it helps alleviate the strain and all the people go home satisfied. I'm thankful for Teresa helping bear the load over these past few months! We will see what the next months bring. Pray for Teresa and the Nehemiah Center as they explore options for the future.

Love in the time of COVID-19

While the rest of the world has been taking measures like closing borders to travelers and self-isolating, Nicaragua has been carrying on with business as usual for the last several weeks. People have been talking about the virus, but few were changing their lives. When the US made announcements about policies, many mission organizations, including Resonate Global Mission, Raúl and my sending organization, gave missionaries in Nicaragua recommendations for different actions, but it was hard to swim against the current.

Since Raúl and I flew to El Salvador via Panama for our consultation there March 7-10, we decided to take some measures like avoiding social gatherings and working from home as much as possible. However, we weren't sure how far to take those measures because life around us was normal. We spent some time at home and stocked up on groceries.

The weekend we were laying low, the Nicaraguan government announced public marches to show love and solidarity to the rest of the world. Raúl and I had a meeting at the beach hotel we were going to have the CRCNA regional retreat, but we went there to cancel the meeting. It was a lovely, quiet day at the beach - perfect for us. On our way back to Managua, we saw one of the "love in the time of COVID-19" marches. An interesting national response, but well-intentioned.

Nicaragua announced its first confirmed case of coronavirus last night.

Now we have lots of company in taking preventative measures. The Nehemiah Center is urging staff to follow medical recommendations, wash hands frequently, clean surfaces, avoid being in closed-in areas or meeting with more than 15 people, maintain at least a meter of distance between people, and prepare for sickness or shortages. They are also asking people to avoid using public transportation.

In some ways, I feel like we have been through something similar in Nicaragua because during the crisis, we stocked up on food, stayed home, didn't assemble in large groups and avoided public transportation. Maybe our experiences over the last two years help us be better prepared for the world crisis we are facing now.

Thankfully, God stays the same. Whether it's the bubonic plague or COVID-19, God remains in control. We can trust HIM. Bible verses can comfort us, but the true peace comes from knowing that in life or in death, we belong to Jesus.

Work Yourselves Out of a Job

In overseas development training, they tell us to work alongside other people, preferably from the country where we are serving, so that we are not the only ones who know how to do what we do. The goal is to eventually work ourselves out of a job, they say.

I don't always know how I feel about this principle (how do you build trust in relationships if you tell people you're trying not to work with them very long?), but the time has come to put it into practice with the Church Friendship Program at the Nehemiah Center.

One aspect of this is helping established friendship groups define and carry out their activities. Instead of Adrianna and Raúl calling and reminding and organizing, it's time for the local pastors and leaders (in Nicaragua and North America) to decide what needs doing and make sure it gets done.

On Wednesday, November 27 in Chinandega we met to define essential activities for the friendship, and each of the pastors will coordinate an area. The goal is for this friendship group to be carrying out its own activities without Raúl and Adrianna pushing things by June 2020.

So what is essential for friendship to continue, according to these pastors? We are still waiting for corroboration from their sister church in Pella, Iowa, but here's the list as it stands:

1) Prayer is fundamental. This means meeting the last Friday of every month to pray together and send prayer requests to the sister churches.

2) Combined services. Joining together in worship twice a year shows unity among the churches.

3) Pastoral family retreats. These have been a precious time of rest, rejuvenation and quality time together for each individual family and the group as a whole. If the team from Iowa could join them during the July retreat, that would be a bonus.

4) Continuing Education. Have a seminar or conference for a day in some area of ministry for pastors and leaders to update them in their practices. They would really like the speaker from the Nehemiah Center's anniversary celebration, Israel Ortiz from Guatemala, to come.

5) Visits from sister church. Receiving delegations from the Pella church once a year will help cultivate the relationship and involve the churches more.

Our meeting with the Chinandega pastors on Wednesday

Each pastor is responsible for making sure that an activity is carried out. Raúl and Adrianna will be coaching them in these next months so they have all the tools they need for the transition. Pray for us in this new process, and for the pastors to be able to continue serving God and each other in unity!

Pastoring Pastors

Tuesday we visited with a pastoral couple, Adolfo and Martha, in Chinandega. They had a scheduling conflict with a big Church Friendship planning meeting for Wednesday, so we met with them individually to bring their ideas to the Chinandega group. 

We started out with a coffee, had supper together, and ended by praying for them at their house – three hours later. 

Taking the time to talk about their lives, travel experiences, health issues, church plans, prayer requests, and input for future planning is a way of investing in their lives and encouraging them to continue in the work God has entrusted to them. 

When we finished our time together, these pastors who are regional supervisors for the Church of God denomination thanked us for our time. “We continue to give testimony,” said Adolfo, “that you pastor us. We have supervisors, but few people take the time to really talk and pray with us. I try to do that now with the pastors I supervise.” 

As I (Adrianna) fretted that we didn’t make it to the church service we had planned to go to, Raúl reminded me that those pastors needed some extra time, and what we did was important to them. Thank you for being part of coffee with pastors, for praying for us as we pray for others, and for remembering Adolfo and Martha in your prayers.

Adolfo and Martha with their son and daughter-in-law at the pastoral families' retreat in October

Fund by Numbers

As you know, I am a missionary who raises support in order to live and serve in Nicaragua. Resonate configures budgets on a fiscal year from July to June, so we have recently begun a new budget year. Praise be to God, all funds came in for my ministry by June so the budget for last fiscal year was fulfilled 100%! If you would like to see details about the budget, please email me. Here are some highlights that help give a concrete idea of where money goes:

• Transportation to and from field for Home Service: $170 a month or $2,040 yearly 

(Raúl and I are planning to visit churches and individuals in summer 2019 in order to introduce him and share about the ministry in Nicaragua)

• Transportation for ministry: $70/month for car and $40 for public transportation

(did you know gas is at 34 córdobas/Liter, which converts to $4.25/gallon? Good thing our new car gets us to and from Chinandega in about 22 Liters, or 5.5 gallons!)

• Amount needed to complete car payment: $300/month or $3,600 total

• Regional Spiritual Retreat for 2 people in April (because Raúl and I will be newlyweds by then!): $20/month or $240 total
• Office supplies: $10/month
• Communications (phone bills, internet, stamps): $50/month
• Conference fees: $30/month or $360 yearly
• Personal retreats for prayer and direction, possibly training or counseling: $50/month for $600 total
• Gifts for pastors and coworkers: $30/month
• Immigration costs for visas, paperwork, etc: $15/ month
• Continuing Education: $200/month
• Housing and utilities: $350/month
• Food: $100/month
• Travel (vacation or to visit family): $90/month or $1,080 for the year
• Medical insurance: $140/month
• Dentist, Chiropractor, etc: $45/ month or $540 yearly
• Retirement fund: $300/monthly
• Emergency fund: $100/monthly

I believe strongly that God calls us to good stewardship, and so I strive to use this money wisely and well. After talking with financial advisors they say that I have a balanced budget which accounts for long-term needs and goals with different savings funds. As a partner missionary with Resonate, I need to account for paying taxes, insurance, retirement, etc. Thus some of the numbers that you see.

Hopefully this gives you an idea of where your support goes, and if you have any questions or advice, please email me! All of us are involved in the ministry and work that God is doing in different ways. Thanks to those that financially support the ministry in Nicaragua with church friendships and facilitation at the Nehemiah Center.