May The LORD shower you and your family with blessings galore for the New Year.

2010 will be a year of prosperity and victory, in Jesus’ name!

click this link for updates:http://andreagburgess.blogspot.com

andrea x
Happy 2010!

Nican tel: 8916-7957

May The LORD shower you and your family with blessings galore for the New Year. 

2010 will be a year of prosperity and victory, in Jesus' name!

click this link for updates: (the last one I sent out was wrong, oops!)

http://andreagburgess.blogspot.com

andrea x
Happy 2010!

Nican tel: 8916-7957

THANK YOU Jehovah Jireh: for your provision of a home and transportation to this point.
Psalm 132:15
“I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor will I satisfy with food.”
THANK YOU FATHER: for friends and family. I value our new home group!
John 15:13
“Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.”
THANK YOU FATHER: for your unconditional love that sustains me moment by moment.
Jeremiah 31:3 “I have loved you with an everlasting love”
THANK YOU FATHER: for leading me to attend a new church: Covenant Church, Managua. (www.ccmanagua.net)
THANK YOU FATHER: for directing me to teach Sunday School to the pre-schoolers.
THANK YOU FATHER: for a divine meeting here in Nicaragua in Oct with a friend, Jill, from USA who I haven’t seen for years!
THANK YOU FATHER: for a day of ministry together with Jill and the ladies from NUEVA IMAGEN Ministry/victims of sexual exploitation. (www.missionsminded.org)
THANK YOU FATHER: that YOU are in control and we don’t have to be! You are our Sovereign LORD.
THANK YOU El Elyon: For your love, mercy, grace, hope, comfort, joy and salvation.
THANK YOU Jehovah Shalom: for your peace that surpasses all understanding.

ALL THE GLORY TO YOU FATHER GOD!

Have a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!!!

andrea
temp Nica tel # 505 8-499-7998
other tel # 8-916-7957 left in USA, oops!!

It was encouraging to see the beginning of a rich harvest from the seeds sown from those 2 years. The children are growing and developing beyond what I could have imagined when they first came to the orphanage, especially concerning their dramatically increased social skills. I was amazed at their achievements in communication between each other as well as with the adults Psalm 126 v 2 (paraphrased) I was filled with laughter and shouts of joy as I said, “The LORD has done great things for them.”

Introducing  New Life Nicaragua, (Vida Nueva) Orphanage and Re Nutrition Center
After volunteering from time to time at Vida Nueva on my days off from Los Cedros, the Lord led me to serve with this ministry full time.  What an honor to have been invited to join their team!

The Re Nutrition Center was opened in 2005 to treat children from all over Nicaragua that suffer from acute starvation and chronic malnutrition.  Take a look at the website (www.newlifenicaragua.org) to see how this ministry, founded by South Carolinians Tim and Chris Bagwell, is carrying out the Great Commission by being God’s hands and feet here in Managua, Nicaragua.

My primary role is a progressive work of individually tailored holistic development.
It will begin with complete developmental assessments of each one of the children. After that I will work with them on an individual basis, and in small groups, to encourage them to reach their full potential in all areas of development and to become who God created them to be. I am inspired by Chris and Tim’s enthusiasm in this particular area. They have even dedicated a special area as our “Therapy Room”, where the children can enjoy their special one on one time, rather than always being one of many. Please lift the children at Vida Nueva (New Life) up in prayer as we begin to work with them on a daily basis.

We took two of the children from Vida Nueva to the beach for a new experience. They were quite nervous at first, but gradually built up their confidence to get down from our laps and play in the sand. My grandchildren had given me some coloring books and crayons for Rosalinda, so I was thankful to see her there and to have the opportunity to share them with her.

Immersion Experience!
Initially, I was reluctant to attend an all Spanish Ladies retreat mid Sept, but I was nudged to a point where I knew I had to go! I was a little nervous at first, but it was a very rewarding experience to spend the weekend with 150 other women who love The LORD and wanted to learn more about: “The transforming power of The Holy Spirit.”, as well as a fun time of fellowship. I made a new friend who has become very dear to me. The conference was the very first of its kind in Nicaragua, and highly successful.  God blessed us all with this time together for growth, rest, restoration and joy. We can now go forward and minister to others from the overflow of His love.

Independence Day of Nicaragua is celebrated on 15th September. I attended some colorful, spectacular fiestas with some of the children from the orphanage. We want them to be aware of their heritage and culture!

Before closing…. did you know:

• Nicaragua is now the poorest country in the western hemisphere.
• It is ranked 112th in the Human Development Index.
• 75% of its citizens live below the poverty line (United Nations Human Development Report 2002)
• 45.15% live in extreme poverty (Care International UK)
• One in every three children in Nicaragua is malnourished while 9% are chronically malnourished (Pan-American Health Organization).
• The national unemployment rate is around 54%, in addition to considerable underemployment.
• According to the World Fact Book, economic activity is divided into 30.5% agriculture, 17.3% industry, and 52.2% services.

Nicaraguans struggle to feed their families, provide for their children, and to simply survive day to day.

This is an understatement and most of these figures are well below actual fact because many areas remain unreported. I will write more soon about some upcoming projects and outreaches that Vida Nueva is working on in order to reach out to some of the poorest of the poor communities here in Nicaragua.

To better share my experiences here in Nicaragua I have posted some pictures to the Vineyard website. I would love to keep updated on what is happening in your life with your family. Please e-mail me at AndreaGBurgess@Hotmail.com Hope to hear from you soon, God Bless!

much love, andrea X

Enjoy the latest News update from  Andrea G Burgess, serving in Nicaragua.

Summer’s Over…

July was a great month, ushering in the rainy season again, so the landscape has changed from the brown and golden hues to many incredible shades of lush, rich green.

The mountains and valleys are now flourishing, and look breathtakingly beautiful. As I look around I am filled with the wonder of Creation all over again.

As most of you know, the Lord lead me to a new ministry, New Life Re-nutrition Center in Managua, Nicaragua.  I have been presented with many different kinds of ministry opportunities, covering a wide range of ages and needs. New Life is similar to the previous home, in that it is an orphanage for children from birth to six years old.

This is a snapshot of what my new ministry involves: One afternoon I took one of our babies, 4 month old Diana Gabriela, to the hospital for an appointment and she ended up being admitted, so I stayed there with her overnight. She was released after a few days but still needed 24 hour care and isolation from the other children, so I was honored to be able to take her back to my home and care for her there. She is doing much better now with her new family and in a private home setting but she still needs our prayers for a complete recovery which may take a while.

On another occasion, I was asked to care for a newborn called Danny, for a few days while his mother recovered in the hospital after having a C-section. He was so cute, with a birth weight of 15 lbs! Ouch!! He was bigger at 3 weeks than Gabriela who was already 4 months! Chunky Monkey, beautiful little (big) boy!! J God makes us all so unique!

I enjoy taking the children out whenever possible to introduce them to new environments, and have had fun especially taking them to church with me, then out for lunch as a treat afterwards. Check out the photos for our July birthday party too!!! Too cute

Another highlight of the summer:
My dear friend and sister in Christ, Kathy Bolton, returned to Nicaragua for her second visit. She served with a medical team for a week, and then she spent an entire week with me. God’s timing is perfect! It was a blessing to have a friend to walk with me through a difficult period of transition. We started our days with praise & worship and prayer & meditation. As we surrendered each day to The LORD, we felt totally at ease enjoying the peace of His presence. During the afternoons, we traveled around seeing some of the country as we went around spending time with the Nicaraguan people in their homes. Our mornings were at the children’s home getting to know 25 new faces.

Rosalinda, my friend from the beach

Also, we made it to the beach and visited with Rosalinda! We gave her the birthday presents: a blue dress, new shoes and other sundry gifts, and celebrated her 8th birthday with her. Rosalinda’s Father was there, it was the 1st time I had met him. He sat at a table close by. He did not want to join us. Rosalinda seemed reserved and shy and chose to take her gifts home with her to open.

A visit to Los Cedros

We went to visit with the children at the home in Los Cedros a couple of times. My heart hurts to be away from them. I have known many of them since birth, but I know through Faith that our Sovereign God has them in His hands. I plan to go and visit with them regularly so they don’t forget how special they are to me and to let them know I still love them very much!!

World travels in August

It had been my dream to go to England and visit family there, some who I had not seen for many years. As I prayed for a miracle, the ticket prices rose rapidly. But “Is anything too hard for The LORD?” Genesis 18 v 14a
God made it happen, Praise God! He provided the finances for the ticket and all the expenses along the way for the entire 10 days! I was with my daughter in time for my granddaughter Faith’s 5th Birthday party!! Being with my Grandchildren again, laughing, crying, playing, and praying together was a dream come true. Thank you to all of you who gave so generously to make it a reality.

I visited my birth Mother, 20 minutes away from my daughter Maria (unbeknown to either of them before my visit!)  My older sister was there visiting from Singapore, so we all went out one day for a big picnic in the park.
Lastly, I got to be with my two younger sisters and their families.

Tears come to my eyes as I write this. I am amazed by God’s love, goodness and provision. I still can’t believe I was able to go!

Back to Florida. Gainesville was fun! I caught up with many good friends and my church family, with the added bonus of seeing Ron & Cynthia McVicar tooJ   Blessings and thanks to my friends who provided a place to rest my head and transportation while I was there. The rummage sale was a huge success, thanks again to all of you who helped.
My trip ended in South Florida with my son and his wife, which included a boat trip one afternoon though for some R & R., my favorite pastime in South Florida.
Good times, great memories, blessings galore! This was a very special time for me and my family for building and restoring relationships. Now I am relaxed and refreshed and ready to start again!!

Back in the saddle:

After a month of reconnecting with friends, family, and supporters, I headed back to Nicaragua August 31st.
I’ll share about New Life’s vision next time I write so you can fit my piece in the larger puzzle of what God is doing with these precious children.

Finally, my friends, God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, thank you all for your compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, generosity, patience, mercy and love. Thank you for bearing with me through it allJ (Col 3 v 12 paraphrased)

Until next time, much love in Christ, andrea xxx

Hogar de Nueva Esperanza, Los Cedros, Nicaragua.

Dear friends and family:

This month I wanted to share with you an email sent to me by Theresa Williams’ daughter, Elise, age 8. I love and miss you all, see you soon. May God continue to bless you extravagantly.J
Subject: A note from Elise
Date: Sun, 22 Mar 2009 14:11:10 -0400

Dear Miss Andrea,

Hi Elise: I was so happy to hear from you, thank you for writing.

Are the kids and babies from the orphanage adoptable?

Our goal would be to get all the babies adopted and settled into families as soon as possible, but it is a very long and difficult process.

If the kids are adopted, can they take their blankies that we made with them?

Yes of course they could take their beautiful blankies with them. If/when children leave, we pack their personal things for them to take with them:)

I will be praying that if they get adopted, that they will have a nice new family.

That is an awesome prayer and one dear to my heart also.

If they are not allowed to be adopted, what would they like for me to pray for them?

All the children have had sad things happen to them in their lives before they came here, I would ask for prayers for healing for them from their sadness, and for them to be filled with the love of Jesus. I pray that they will be great leaders for their country, they need to do well in school for this:) A good prayer would be that they will all be able to get a good education, that is not so easy here. Many children cannot go to school for different reasons.

I’m really glad that Miss Allyson is going to visit the orphanage, because it sounds like you are already very busy!

Me too!! Only a few days away now, I am really excited. I miss my friends and family back in USA. It really helps me to hear from you, makes me feel closer to you:) Thank you so much for writing.

Do you have enough story books in Spanish to read to the little ones?

We do have lots of books, in English and Spanish. The children love to be read to, I cannot think of a favorite story though, they like lots of different ones. What is your favorite story? I remember my Mother reading “Alice in Wonderland” to me when I was a little girl. I loved it, she read it over and over again!!! (Maybe we didn’t have many books then:)

Do they have a favorite story? I wonder if it is easy to buy story books in Nicaragua?

There are book stores here, but I do not have a car to go into town to go shopping very often, and we have to be careful with our budget, (ask Mummy about that!!) We are very blessed to have been given lots of books, although we constantly need more since they suffer a lot of wear and tear with so many children sharing them!

Do you know when you will be coming to Gainesville for a visit?

I will be coming to USA April 28th for 2 weeks, for a conference in Pensacola. I hope to visit Gainesville during that time, and Shana and Todd have spoken about having a dinner one night in the community room so we can all get together and talk. I think she said Sat May 9th, then prayer on Sunday 10th, Mothers’ Day before I leave again for Nicaragua.)

Is there anything you will need when you come back?

I would love to visit with as many of you wonderful people as possible while I am there.

Is there anything you will need for the orphanage?

Ms Allysen has a list of things we need at the moment. I am not sure what she will be able to bring, so we will know more after she arrives:) Thank you for asking!

Guess what one of the numbers I was in for my Gainesville Youth Chorus Sweet Taste of Broadway? It’s a Hard Knock Life from Annie.

I’m glad that your orphanage is not like Annie’s orphanage!

I wish I could hear you singing, I am sure I would cry with pride and joy! (I know, how embarassing for you! I cried when my son sang in choir when he was a little boy!)

Hugs and Kisses,

thanks for your love Elise, and for all your hard work and help with the blankies, I think of you every time I see them, which is almost every day:) Hugs and kisses back to you, you are very dear to my heart. My prayer is that you would be able to come and visit us one day, it would be SO cool:) You should start studying Spanish. :):) Would you like to travel, if so, what countries would you like to see?

I miss you lots

Lots of love in Jesus,

ms andrea,

smiles and blessings galore

Elise

P.S. By the way, I did get to listen to Elise sing at a concert in Gainesville while I was home in May. I was honored to be invited and included in family plans. And yes, I did cry, I was so proud of you Elise, and you too Tim! Love you always n forever!! XX andrea XX

Hogar de Nueva Esperanza, Los Cedros, Nicaragua.
Dear friends and family:
Jumping right into a praise report: Pedro is back! We got him back March 18th,
along with his older brother Manuel , (age 3) also.J An answer to prayer. We are so
happy and blessed to have him back with us and Manuel has made a smooth transition
to life in the orphanage. He is such a happy child with a huge, infectious smile,
see pics. Many thanks to you and your family Theresa for sending us personal
blankies for them both.J

Carlos continues to gain weight and is melting our hearts with his smiles. Funny
thing: all the other children have started playing with baby dolls, and guess what?
They are all called “Carlos.” Sweet!

We had a new girl join our family March 6th. Yakareli is about 5 years old and had
been living a rough life before coming to us. The first few weeks were challenging
but now she has started school and is settling down well. I am very proud of her and
the progress she has made. She is a very intelligent young lady and is already
picking up English!

Oh, before I forget, all you Gator fans out there…. Whilst driving through Managua,
the capital of Nicaragua, a few weeks ago, I just happened to see a vehicle with a
Gator license plate on it! I couldn’t believe my eyes and stalked it down to take a
photo. (not the best idea when driving in Managua!) check out the photosJ A glimpse
of home!

Poor Tatiana had Impetigo quite bad and we had to shave her hair off. After medicine
and cream, she is much better now. However, some of the other children are showing
signs of it now, so please lift them up in prayer. Impetigo is a highly contagious
skin disease and can take a while to heal. We pray for a supernatural healing and
restoration in Jesus’ name. Amen.

March graced us with the presence of DR Watson, O.D. from Doctors Vision Center in
NC. A talented, professional man with a great sense of humor. I had the pleasure of
working with him at an eye clinic he held here for all our staff. Not only did he do
comprehensive eye exams, but then he followed up with the prescription glasses and
eye drops as necessary. Our staff, and I, were very appreciative, Thank you! Oh
Lord how you provide for us!

We had a medical team from USA here for a week in March and I had the pleasure of
serving with them at one of their clinics. This was the first time I have been able
to join a team in operation and it was encouraging to see them reach out tirelessly
to the sick and needy, who otherwise may not have had an opportunity to get the
medical help they needed. I worked mostly with the children, keeping them occupied
while they were waiting to see the Doctor. I pray I will be able to help more often
with Medical Outreaches in the future.
March 8th was my jubilee birthday!! “Nifty Fifty” as my daughter’s birthday card
notes.J The nannies and other staff here at Los Cedros were so wonderful and
generous. They had a surprise birthday party for me, and sang songs they had been
rehearsing together for some time. It really touched my heart and was a huge
blessing to me. They gave so much of themselves to celebrate with me and make my
50th Birthday special, one to remember. They presented me with a leather purse,
sandals and a few other little gifts. We continue to grow closer to each other and
to The LORD as we meet weekly for our ladies Bible Study.

I thank you again for your involvement in this team. I value your prayers, and am so
encouraged to see the great things God is doing here in Nicaragua. Thank you LORD!
Well, until we meet again my friends, adios, hasta pronto.J

Love and blessings galore,
Andrea XX

“Defend the cause of the weak and Fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and
oppressed.” Psalm 82:3

Hogar de Nueva Esperanza, Los Cedros, Nicaragua.

From Andrea G Burgess: to my precious friends and family, Grace and Peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.

Hi guys n gals! I love you and miss you!

Lots of “good stuff” happening here, Praise God!!! (slide show at the bottom)

February was very busy, fighting wild fires, starting a bible study class, CPR and First Aid training for our nannies and more…..

BUT the biggest news and Praise report this month was the amazing, successful heart surgery for our very own Angel Gabriel. His surgery was on Feb 4th, and 5 days later he was discharged to The Ronald McDonald house nearby. The doctors warned us that the surgery was not 100% guaranteed to be successful, but with much prayer and faith all went well and he made an incredible recovery.  I reflect on the doctors opinion here about a year ago when they told us he wouldn’t make it through the next week, well boy just look at him now! Stronger than ever, a picture of health! A true miracle of healing, Lord we give you all the Glory, Praise and thanks!

With the dry season come many wildfires. The strong winds aid in the rapid spread of the fires. We had to evacuate the orphanage twice, as the flames swiftly approached our home. On Feb 19th we called the fire department that arrived 2 hours later, (then asked for gas money to cover their trip!) They put the fire out then left, and about 15 minutes later it flared back up again. This time there was no-one around to help, so we went out there ourselves with branches and beat the flames by hand. First time fire fighting for me, as the cook and a nanny showed me how!  God was faithful and kept us safe, all I can say is someone must have been in deep intercession for us that day, it was close! Thank you prayer warriors for being there for us and thank you FatherJ

Juanita had her first birthday at the end of January, and Josecito was 2 on February 5th 2009. Our little angels are growing up fast!

CPR and 1st Aid classes were being offered by a team visiting Managua from USA, so we took advantage of the opportunity and paid for some of our nannies to attend the full days training. I went with them to recertify also, it was a fun and informative day! Praise God for His provision.

February 6th was very special for us as we started our first ever Ladies Bible Study for the nannies, (and anyone else who wants to join us) here at Los Cedros. We meet on Friday afternoons and are studying Beth Moore’s “The Patriarchs.” Again, I can hardly believe God’s provision for us.  I did the study in town last year in English, and then I was able to get copies made in Spanish for our ladies.  We have been able to meet every Friday since, (except Good Friday), Praise God!! Thank you for such a wonderful opportunity. The fellowship and prayer time is awesome as the ladies pour out their hearts and share their intimate life stories.  I have watched many of the culture-barriers being torn down, and witnessed great reconciliation in relationships. I am deeply encouraged by the transformation of lives as they realize there really is true hope in Christ.

Carlos, our new baby, is doing extremely well, not so little anymore, gaining weight fastJ  and oh SO cute, a bundle of joy!  Check out the photosJ

Thanking God for all of you and lifting you up in prayer. Remember that Jesus is praying for you too! See John 17:20 and on…

Until next time, may grace and peace abound!

Hasta pronto,

andrea/mum/grandma XXX

How can we pray for you? Please feel free to e-mail me at:

andreagburgess@hotmail.com

January 2009

Happy New Year to all my family and friends!  I pray you are healthy and happy in ChristJ

May I present you with a quick update from Los Cedros, Nicaragua, and share some of our prayer requests and praise reports:

I returned to Nicaragua a couple of weeks ago, after spending Christmas with my son and his family. We went to the mountains in North Carolina and enjoyed hiking trails, horseback riding, snow-tubing, bonfires with s’mores, and most of all, just being COLD! It was my son’s Christmas gift to me, and I thoroughly appreciated it! 

Gabriel, our baby who was born with a serious heart condition will be taken to USA on Feb 1^st and is scheduled to have open heart surgery on Feb 3rd. We have been praying about this for quite some time and Praise God that He has provided us with a hospital and doctors who are willing to offer their services free of charge. This kind of surgery would usually cost at least $60,000. Thank you Lord. One of the most challenging things to do here in Nicaragua was to obtain all the necessary travel documents for Gabriel. Hooray, happy to let you know we finally have his passport and visa! Please pray for safe travels and successful surgery, and that he will make a quick recovery and come back to us safe and soon! Gabriel, we will miss you! God Bless!

We were blessed last week with a new addition to our family: little Carlos was 11 days old and weighed less than 6 lbs when he arrived. He is so cute and as I care for him I am reminded how much God loves each one of us. I look at him with my heart overflowing with love and tell him he is SO precious. My friend, God still looks at you and me and says the same thing, with a smile on His face. 

I will try to send you some pictures of our new  baby Carlos.

The dry season is upon us again, the landscape has changed colors and I am again reminded of God’s sovereignty. He has everything under control, “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3-1. I pray that we may have renewed faith and trust in Him. No matter what you may be facing, He knows about it, remember God is on your side: “He will fight for you, you need only to be still” Exodus 14-14.

On December 17^th 2008, we got the sad news that Pedro was being returned to his family, (Father and Grandmother).  Pedro has not been taken the hospital since I last went with him Dec 12th. Please pray that he will get the care he still needs so urgently. He should be having Physical Therapy, wax treatments, massages as well as wearing pressure bandages. His bones will still be growing, but his  burned skin  will not be able to stretch. He will need more surgery.  Please join me and lift Pedro up to The LORD in the power of our prayers.

November 2008  graced us with the presence of three new children, all siblings: Isidro 3 ½, Maribel 2 ½ and Tatiana 7 months. They came to us from an orphanage in Costa Rica, and have adapted very well to their new home here. They are such a pleasure and joy to be with. The circus was in town and we were invited by the owners to take all the children free of charge. I had no idea what to expect, but was amazed at the high quality and professionalism of the performance. Most of the children loved it, had a blast, although a couple of the younger ones were a little afraid of the clowns!

I travelled up to our other orphanage in Jinotega with 3 of our little ones for Thanksgiving. It was awesome!  We cooked The Works, including green bean casserole complete with crunchy cheesy onions. Before the feast began, all 45 of us took turns to individually express thanks to God for just some of the good things He did for us over the past year. The meal was completed with an array of scrumptious desserts too, thank you Lord!

Doctor Ivette Icaza, from Metropolitan Hospital came to our home to educate the staff and older children on Fire prevention and safety. She is in charge of Rehabilitation and PT at the hospital and worked very closely with us for Pedro. Our staff found it both interesting and informative and were thankful for the opportunity provided to learn and be made more aware the dangers of fire. Thank you Lord

I climbed up the mountains in El Crucero, a small town about 45 mins drive from Los Cedros, to join about 10,000 people in a National Day of Prayer for the country of Nicaragua. It was awesome and encouraging to see so many people gathered together in the name of God, and to pray blessings over this nation. Praise God!

October 2008 brought us plenty of rain, the wettest month of the rainy season here. School was often closed as the roads flooded. It was quite a challenge to keep  the children  busy indoors, but yeah, we made it through!

Please do keep in touch, I would love to hear your news and prayer requests:)

AndreaGBurgess@Hotmail.com

It was so good to see many of you while I was back in USA for the last 2 weeks of August. I did have a lot of traveling to do while I was there and I offer my sincere apologies for not being able to visit with all of you. I plan to be back around mid-December so do let’s catch up then!God continues to bless us here in Los Cedros, and His children are growing up so fast. (check out the photos)

The rainy season is settling in, making the surrounding mountains, hills and valleys so green and beautiful. The flooding is not so great though. I keep meaning to go to the market to buy a pair of Wellington Boots, we really need them here. The roads deteriorate rapidly this weather, and it is quite a challenge to get into Managua by car. There are a few areas prone to landslides and potholes galore.  Actually, locals joke that there is a road somewhere among the potholes, (rather than saying there are potholes in the road.) It’s no joke at night though, trying to make it back over the mountains from Managua to Los Cedros on a dark, foggy, stormy night, with bulls, cows, horses, dogs and drunks in the road along the way. According to the newspaper headlines last week, 10 people died locally after just one downpour. The supply of electricity has been more stable than this time last year, but still goes out unexpectedly, taking the internet with it for hours, sometimes days at a time!   At least last year it was off for scheduled hours every day so we could somewhat prepare ahead of time.

Nicaraguans proudly celebrated their Independence Day on September 15 and we enjoyed the colorful fiestas and processions in our village.

Pedro is making an incredible recovery. The doctors at the hospital are constantly amazed. I remind them he has a lot of people praying for him! We thank you and Praise you Father God! The daily trips to hospital were cut down to twice a week up until October, and from now on we plan to go just once a week. He still needs massages on his burned skin at least 3 times a day, as well as paraffin treatments and physical therapy exercises so I still get to spend lots of time working with him, Pedro, my Super Hero!

Now that I am not going to the hospital so often, I will have more time to spend with the other children again, hurray! So I have scheduled individual teaching time with them to work on their unique developmental needs. Also, this week we will start daily praise and worship times with all the children and I plan to lead small group/home group style bible studies with our staff twice a week.

On my recent trip back to USA, Kathy traveled with me up to Globe International’s HQ in Pensacola for a day of orientation. It was interesting and rewarding to find out more about working with a Missions Agency. You can check out their website for more information at www.gme.org  (Children of Destiny.) They encouraged me to take a six month correspondence class for Missionaries, which I started in September. This season of my life is offering me many opportunities to really study God’s word. Along with the Globe class, I started going to a ladies Bible Study Group. We are doing the Beth Moore “The Patriarchs” study. I am also enjoying an online Bible study with Cheryl Swartz in Texas and RuthAnn in Gainesville. We “meet” every Thursday night via Skype. It was hilarious at first with the 3 of us being as technology challenged as we are. But we muddled through it and kind of have it figured out! I am trying to keep up with Kathy’s Wednesday night group too. I am reading the same book alongside you ladies!  I thank God for blessing me with these things at this time, a chance to grow and learn how I can best serve Him to advance His Kingdom here in Nicaragua.

Please continue to pray for us as we move forward into this new season of change, and let me know what I can be praying for you also. We are in this together, for Christ.

James 5 v 16b: “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

Once again I write to thank you all for joining me in this venture, please remember I could not do this without you.

“In Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:2

I invite you to camp on Psalm 136 with me for a while, especially: “His love endures forever.”

Hasta luego,

with love,

Andrea, Mum, Grandma XXXXX J