Pa el Norte!

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We are sleeping with blankets now. Our fans are stored away in a corner and haven't been used in two months. I wear pants more often. One night, I had a flashback to Michigan, feeling like the heat should be coming on? Am I still in Nicaragua? Then the afternoon sky opens up and the angry tropical sun smacks my face, yes, you are still in Nicaragua! After four years in hot western Managua, we have now moved into the mountains in the department of Jinotega. The air is cool and fresh. The weather so far has been misty winds. January and February are always windy in Nicaragua, apparently no matter where you are. 

Jari and I have followed the Holy Spirit's lead to continue our ministry here in the Jinotega, a much smaller city than Managua. A different climate and a slightly different culture than what we have grown accustomed to. It feels like we are starting new again, and we look forward to seeing how God works in the region. So How did we get here? It a long story, but I'll attempt to share a few of the ways the Holy Spirit spoke to us. 

Road to San Rafael del Norte

In November of 2018, I joined a men's retreat at the Vida Joven camp, located in the mountains of Jinotega some 4,500 feet above sea level. It was my first time there and was exploring the jungle, swinging from a vine! (a friend has the picture) There were pine trees too! I enjoyed my time there and came home to tell Jari we will visit Jinotega on our next vacation time, "because your going to love it!" So we spent New Year's Eve in an ecolodge in the same area and of course Jari loved it! For Holy Week 2019 we decided to spend some time at a coffee farm in the same area. We took along a resurrection themed Bible study and enjoyed our time with God in the mountains! 

In November of 2019, we were invited to a week long conference in Muskegon, Michigan called, Growing the Church in the Power of the Holy Spirit. This conference was put on by the Dunamis project or Presbyterian Reformed Ministries International. We were at the conference for a whole week, a great time to rest and be in the presence of the Holy Spirit. We left the conference with new energy and peace. We also met some good people and a week before we were to return to Nicaragua we visited a pastor who connected us to Dunamis in Nicaragua! We didn't know they were doing work here so we connected right away! 

So in February 2020, we met pastor Earl with the Dunamis project in Managua for a lunch, and he invited us to some things he was doing in the north where he lived. Then he had a family illness and had to return to the USA for a while, and then COVID shut everything down! However, you all know God is good, and we used technology to join a prayer group online! So the entire year of 2020, we were in these Dunamis prayer groups. (Still going on now) 

At the end of March in 2020, the Nehemiah Center stopped meeting in the offices because of the pandemic. So we needed to refocus our ministry efforts and figure out how to do more things online. In our prayers we began asking God what was He showing us, where does He want to lead us during this pandemic. Then we had some dreams..

I'll continue the story in another post, this one is getting long. 

Location: Jinotega, Nicaragua

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