Internet Explorer and Cookies

Oh my goodness!

I have not been able to log into my Blogger account for a couple weeks now. After exhausting all of my efforts, and finally finding the time to resolve the issue at hand...I did a screen-sharing session today with Verizon's online chat support.

Basically, Internet Explorer is giving us problems for some reason, and we had to install Firefox browser to get logged into Blogger.

So..I am not even sure if anyone comes here to read this blog, but..Now I can log in. And I assure you, I will be posting again soon! Yay for Verizon support!

...More

Deliani Morenco. The sweetest little girl in Nicaragua! This four year old little angel hauled bricks up a sandy hill one at a time, sifted sand, and kept our spirits up throughout the hours of work we spent on her house. God really used her to speak to me on a personal level during this trip.
Pastor Dale and his fresh pineapple! Adam and Rachel made periodic stops at fruit stands and local 'convenience stores' to provide us with the freshest of produce. They really took great care of our team. There aren't words to thank them enough.
Ahhhh yes, the tie wire! Ha! It took us a few tries, but we finally got the hang of how exactly to tie these together so the triangles wouldn't slip. Jeannie, Pastor Dale, Becky, Paul, (and our Mason in the background) working on a support beam for the house.

Three young boys working in a Bible activity book, matching Scriptures with pictures of Biblical characters. Look at those smiles! What a blessing to get to spend the day with them.
Senor Morenco working on his home with us. He's a quiet man, but I caught a glimpse one day of a HUGE smile when Adam asked him what he thought about his new home. Awesome!
Paul and Adam doing a little Masonry. Oh, the poor hired Mason thought he was getting a team of skilled Bricklayers to come and build with him! What a dissapointment we must have been! But we got the job done, just the same. And the experiences shared greatly outweighed the lack of experience.

At Last, Pictures!

I apologize for the delay in posting, Blogger and my PC have not been getting along well lately. Though I must admit, my PC is by no means new, and therefore has a mind of its own sometimes. I literally prayed my way through the loading process tonight for these pictures! This is one of my absolute favorites. Five of the girls from Santo Domingo School who spent the day with us at Campo Alegria, looking out over Lake Nicaragua. I miss these girls.
Becky, Pastor Dale, and Jeannie using the 'Little House on the Prairie' type well at the Morenco's home. This well is magnificent, bricked all 35' down into the lake water, as the home is right near the shore. We hauled countless 5 gallon bucketfulls of water from this well to the construction site nearby to soak bricks, mix mortar, etc... What an experience!
Some of the children at Santo Domingo School in San Jorge during class. We visited their school on our way out of town to see about some swings that are in need of a little TLC. They were pretty excited to see us again! As we were them.

It is Finished.

Okay, so the pictures I have to post here aren't nearly as exciting as the story most of us have come to connect with that phrase. Nonetheless, it's something worth sharing!

While we weren't able to complete the Morenco's home addition during our stay in Nicaragua, due to mortar drying time exceeding our stay, it has been completed and here are the pictures!

We have also learned that Mrs. Morenco is pregnant with their third child and due this Summer. The added space and safety will be much appreciated! Praise God!

Was it all a dream?

Well. We came, we saw, and we shared The Gospel of Jesus Christ. We have returned home to Brunswick, ME now, and I know that I, personally can say that my life will never be the same. We experienced poverty & opression, pain, joy, sadness, laughter, and tears EVERY day in Nicaragua. We fell in love with the people and the culture, and I know that I can personally say my passion for the foreign mission field grew tenfold over the past week and a half.

We built the addition to the Marenco's home, hosted EFL classes, held our Childrens' Camp, attended a local church, toured Granada and Mesaya, visited San Juan Del Sur on the Pacific Coast.. But I would think it safe to say that the most important thing we did was built relationships. The Nicaraguan people are no longer strangers to us, but they are now friends and some are even brothers and sisters in the unified body of Christ. I'm not sure there was a dry eye in the entire group as we left Campo Alegria to begin our journey home. We will miss the friends and experiences we shared. This trip far exceeded any expectations any of us could ever have imagined, and for that, our little group of 12 has formed a bond which cannot be severred. And now we can't help but to ask ourselves "Was it all a dream, or did it really happen?"...

Here are a few general pictures from our trip. In the coming days and weeks I will post more specific stories and their related photos. If you have ANY questions at all, please comment and ask. I welcome your curiosity and am eager to share our trip's experiences with anyone who wants to know. Thank you for reading. --erika

100% FUNDED

Wow! So many great things have happened in the past six weeks since I last posted! We (the team) received an email today stating that we are all completely covered financially for our trip! Any of you whom have ever participated in any sort of self-funded venture know that this is an amazing feat! Praise God for His Faithfulness!

The Holidays were an especially full time for myself and many other members of Team Nica. We travelled to see family, attended weddings, cooked and baked and baked and cooked, wrapped presents, witnessed to family members, and endured a severely snowy New England December. A fund raising effort at our local mall, wrapping presents for locals proved to be both fulfilling and fun for those members able to participate.

We decided as a team after consulting with our Nicaraguan contacts (Adam and Rachel Todd), to change our original plans of relaxation on our last day at a resort, to immersing ourselves in Nicaraguan culture in the city of Granada. This has not been an easy swap, however. Until today, Adam had been trying with no avail to book us into a local hotel for our night of rest before heading home. What we didn't know was that Granada is hosting a festival the week of our stay which apparently brings in many visitors. Our future in Granada was looking dreary. Until..... God totally opened a new door for our team! Adam tried one last time at the original hotel and spoke with the hotel manager, hoping for some glimmer of change. A large group of visitors had cancelled on them at the last minute! So, we have the opportunity to stay in the city square of Granada during a local festival for a night! We are able to bless the hotel with occupants when they thought they would have few or none, and we will have the opportunity to witness to so many during the festivities. God is SO GOOD!

On top of all this good news, we also have seen pictures of the foundation and floor which were poured for the Marenco's home back in December. All they need now is a group of willing and energetic participants full of God's love to come and give them the home they never thought they'd have. We're on our way! This is such an amazing milestone in my life, alone. As I am sure it is in so many others on the team. The thought of knowing I am going to help build a home for a family who has never had much of anything, and to know that it will be a daily reminder to them that total strangers came and labored simply out of love... Wow. What a testimony that will be for them to tell their friends!

Only 20 days to go!

God Provides Our Needs

Hello, all you bloggers! I haven't posted in awhile, as my PC has been on the fritz. But I think we're good to go for today.

Team Nicaragua has been busy busy busy with fundraising efforts in the last month. We hosted a Nicaraguan luncheon on Nov. 3, a Parent's night out on the 16th, bake sale on the 17th, and we've been continuously collecting change in our Sunday School rooms. God continues to bless our humble efforts to raise funds for this mission! The numbers are rising, and with that, our Faith grows stronger. As God provides our needs, we learn to trust in Him more and more everyday.

If you're interested in Missions, but have been afraid of the financial aspect, I am here to tell you, 'Where God guides, He provides'! Put your faith in Him, and He will take care of you.

Here are a few pictures of our luncheon. It was great success, largely due to the efforts of Win and Penny Robbins. Their hard work and Penny's administration skills are a big part of what pulled this meal off. Thanks Win and Penny!