Pa el Norte pt. 3

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After lunch we decided it was time to return to Managua. Pastor David and Tania wanted to pray for us and our return trip to Managua. After our prayer time Pastor David revealed what he saw, and it was amazing!

What he saw where two objects in my hands. In my left hand was map, and in both of our hands were keys. Golden, bright keys. We were on a journey and God was going to show us the way.  Wow! The Holy Spirit was speaking in that moment. We just met pastor David that day in person, and we still had not shared with anyone about our dreams or what we were feeling. We were still praying and discerning about a place in northern Nicaragua to bring Satisfied Wages. He also told us a word to pray about, Restitution. Then Tania gave us a word to pray about, Restoration. She said this was a time of restoration in our lives. She gave us a few Bible verses to read and reflect on. 

So we left Jinotega feeling great, but also thinking about what these words and verses meant for us. It was a good long ride home to Managua. We were able to drive quicker without the mattress on top of the car. The next day I was very sore from that long car ride. I should have stopped at the gas station just outside of Managua to stretch! It was the first road trip in months and driving a manual transmission is a work out in Managua traffic! 

Everyday driving in Managua, but minus a horse

Two weeks later we were back on the road to visit a friend from our Dunamis prayer group, in the city of Matagalpa. This time we stayed overnight and left the next morning. It was a good visit, exploring new territories. The last weekend of August we drove to the city of Esteli. Another friend from our Dunamis prayer group lived there, and I had been helping her with her budget and ministry expenses over the phone. It was time to visit her in person and see her ministry and pray together. We stayed for the day, and enjoyed the sites of Esteli. By this third trip I was in good driving shape again and was making sure to stretch at available gas stations! 

Back in Managua at home resting and working online, Jari and I continued to wait and ponder over the three cities we visited. Where does God want to send us, and why do we move during the pandemic of 2020? In our prayer group it was suggested to us to get out of our current surroundings and take some time to pray alone, to put into practice Proverbs 5:1. We took advantage of the Nicaragua independence day weekend in September, to go to a familiar coffee farm in Jinotega to pray and rest. We spent three days on the coffee farm, high in the mountains. We brought a PRMI booklet, Baptism in the Holy Spirit as a guide for us. 

The coffee farm valleys

During our evening prayer is when we finally received our confirmation from the Holy Spirit. We were moving to Jinotega! There are many other details involved for this week, but we thanked God we now had direction and knew where to go. When we returned back home, we had a new puzzle piece to find. I thought, "When we move to Jinotega, we will not really know anyone, and have no ministry to partner with. So we are missing the 'who' and the 'how' for our ministry." The Nehemiah Center doesn't work in the northern part of Nicaragua. There was a lot of paperwork and organizational things to look into. Despite these missing puzzle pieces, we set a date for moving in December. Now we needed to find a place to live and a new ministry partner. We were moving to Jinotega in faith! In November, we found a house and set a moving date! 

During the last quarter of 2020, I read a blogpost of a friend from Grand Rapids, Renita Reed-Thompson. She wrote the ministry she works with, Discipling Marketplace Leaders, was giving a presentation of their research findings from the last few years of work in Africa. I signed up and participated in the presentation, and by the end of it, I had a groaning feeling again. I contacted Renita by e-mail and we had a few online meetings with the Discipling Marketplace Leaders team. During the last few months of 2020, we prayed about the possibilities of joining Discipling Marketplace Leaders, and bringing the work here to Nicaragua. Jari and I didn't want to rush, we were warned by Pastor Earl not to cut the corners of our puzzle pieces to make them fit where they did not belong! To take our time, and stay in step with the Holy Spirit. 

"Jari, we're moving there!"

I am now happy, and grateful to God, to say we are now part of the Discipling Marketplace Leaders (DML) network! Nicaragua is the first country in the Americas for DML! God has provided the 'who' and the 'how' for our work in Jinotega, Nicaragua. Read more about Discipling Marketplace Leaders here.  

Please join us in praying for this new entrepreneurial venture. Pray for the Nicaraguan Church to bless their nation, worshipping God through their work, in all the marketplaces Christians find themselves in, business, government and education. The two words we received from pastor David and Tania last year have significance in God's plan for mankind through Jesus Christ, and therefore, our ministry with Discipling Marketplace Leaders. Pray with us for Restoration and Restitution of the marketplace in Nicaragua! 

Inside the Jinotega Market
Location: Jinotega, Nicaragua

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