From My Spring Newsletter

Here is a post from my most recent newsletter...

I just love Spring. The new life that it brings, the beauty, the warmth. The seasonsone bigwhy I am glad to be back in Canada.My most recent return home was greeted by warm weather, which made me excited for hanging the clothes outside...not sure why I get excited about that, but pretty much every year that is something that I look forward to. Seeing as we`re talking about seasons, let me do a recap of what I have been up to the past winter months.

November 9-24, 2009

In November I spent 2.5 weeks in Nicaragua with Steve and Alma figuring out our anticipated moves for the Woman at the Well partnership teams that would be coming in the New Year.We planned schedules, brainstormed ideas and began developing learning designs. There are about five learning designs that work to bring each group through a process of diving deeper into the work of the Nehemiah Center, the Nicaraguan culture and how our worlds effect each other as we live our lives in this beautiful global world of God`s.The Woman at the Well partnerships came out of Christian Reformed World Missions in Nicaragua when they noticed that North American churches are sending down their teams, but there were no plans for continued relationship.

On my return home, over Christmas and into the New Year, I busily worked on the learning designs and on the cultural surveys which teams complete on their arrival and departure.

January 21-February 15, 2010

Whether I was prepared or not January 21 came quickly and I headed back to Nicaragua, this time for almost 4 weeks. The first couple weeks I didn’t feel too far from home because a few days after I arrived the team from my home church, Faith Burlington, arrived. They were excited to explore their partnership with the Nehemiah Center and about learning what partnering with a Nicaraguan church/community might look like and to hear stories of God at work. I enjoyed my time with them, although, it was also at this time that I was experiencing pretty bad morning sickness—pretty much whenever the heat hit me, I ate something not so settling or my body just plain wanted to feel sick. Just before I left for this trip Kevin and I found out that I was pregnant and I had to pretend the whole time that I was fine because none of our family back home knew yet!

Faith Burlington team after a very rewarding Incarnational Missions workshop.

After Faith left, a team from Bethel Edmonton arrived for a similar intense Vision Trip with the purpose of diving deeper into the culture and seeking to better understand how God is already at work in Nicaragua. While Faith is focusing on the city of Leon, Bethel is focusing on the city of Chinendega, and the churches that are part of the healthy church initiative there. It was an excellent time of learning and growth for them, but for me as well. God continues to open my eyes to how He is at work in the people of Nicaragua and how partnerships work across cultures. Partnerships take time and patience and a lot of willingness to invest in relationship. We have to give up of self and learn to be and see how and what God wants us to be and see. Relationships are messy, no matter what time zone you are in or what side of the earth you are on. Then throw into the mix different cultures, different perspectives, and so many other bits and pieces and you have yourself a perfect opportunity for two-way transformation.

March 6-22, 2010

My time back home in February went quickly and I soon found myself back at the Nehemiah Center preparing for another church group. Immanuel Hamilton was a multi-generational group and came for 10 days as part of a visioning trip for their church as well, but with the extra time we were able to integrate interactive activities into the mix, which made for a not as intense learning and growing opportunity for the whole group.

The team from Immanuel, Hamilton

Immanuel, along with their neighbours, Faith Burlington, are focusing on the city of Leon in their partnership with the Nehemiah Center. So again I went with them to listen to beautiful stories of how God is moving in Leon through the work of the Nehemiah Center. I spent every waking and sleeping moment with the team and really enjoyed my new found friends and the knowledge that they aren’t too far away from me even back home! Being a part of their discovery and learning of how they fit into God’s big global picture was so much fun to be a part of.

In addition to your prayers and care please consider to financially support my work and the work of CRWM in Nicaragua. Before my position comes to a close June 30, I need to still raise $7,000.

If you want to give you can donate online www.crwm.org/donate with the easy online form, or you can send your gift to CRWM with April Voorberg, WMLA-803689 on the memo line. Thank you and blessings!!

　

　

　

　

Success

A successful trip, I am happy to say. Steve, Alma and I worked it hard and are satisfied with how far we got on the training development and vision trip work. We didn't completely finish so I still have my work cut out for me in the next 8 weeks before my next trip out. Lucky for me I have some solid direction now for what we want everything to look like.

And for anyone who wants to check out Kevin's guitar you can talk to him for a looksee and maybe a strum or two...the guitar was completed and I brought it home!!! A beautiful thing it is.

Now it is back to the cold world of mittens and sweaters. It's not so bad though, I get out to walk my dog, so I am forced to face the chill. I am already listening to my fave Christmas music and started decorating last night! I can't wait to chop down that tree this weekend! Kevin and my first tree! I don't know what's crazier to think of - all what Christ did for us during his life on earth and his death or what He is doing in this world today. When I sit and allow myself the peace to think on Jesus and all He has done, I am blown away by all His works, power, beauty and raw heart. I am really looking forward to this Christmas.

Round Two

Well, I suppose it's not really round two, but I am back in Nicaragua for 2 weeks to work alongside Steve and Alma with the Church Partnership program and with community trainings. I so enjoy this work!

Kevin dropped me off at the airport yesterday morning and I arrived in Managua by 8pm. I waited for about an hour and a half for my ride to show up not knowing that she was already there looking for me, but we just kept on missing each other in that small airport!! I was about to go grab a taxi when Alma walked by! Oh how happy I was to see her beautiful face!

After a restful sleep at Alma's place we headed into the Nehemiah Center for a full day of work...and of course talking and catching up and meeting new people since Kevin and I left. Right away Steve invited me into a meeting that would be discussing plans for the upcoming vision trips. Henry (healthy churches) and Hultner (youth at risk) and Steve shared with each other their different program initiatives and how they could come together for the specific purpose of the church parnterships. It was definitely a Spanish refresher for me, but very cool to hear of their programs and all the incredible work they do with communities.

Now Alma and I are working on a community training and are planning on facilitating it with a group a Nicaraguan woman at an organization called "Tesoros de Dios". This will be beneficial for both sides, as the women at Tesoros de Dios interact with a lot of North Americans and we need contstructive feedback on the training as well as a solid practice run. That training will be coming up on Friday morning.

We are now heading back to Alma's place for dinner and I am looking forward to a skype date with Kevin tonight!!