Field Notes

Well today certainly was interesting to say the least. It turns out that a few of the local neighborhood children that stay at the mission during the day came down with a stomach virus that then spread to many of the teenagers and leaders – including our team! So far – Jennifer, Henry, Kurt, Kristen, Maddie, and Jamie are all still healthy, but Dr. Gaston, Zach, Kara, Ashley, Jane, Katie, and myself have all spent the day in bed sipping gatorade and waiting to feel better. There are about 50 other people here besides our team and about half of them are sick as well – turning the mission base into something of an infirmary.

Now – I don’t want anybody to be too alarmed. The stomach bug seems to run its course in about 24 hours or so and already the people who got sick first are on the mend. A full day of rest and staying hydrated seems to do the trick. Plus – even in the midst of upset-stomachs, we are seeing the Lord at work. The healthy members of our team have shown a lot of maturity in stepping up into leadership without having to be asked. They are doing a great job taking care of us!

One prayer request that we have is that no one would get sick during our travel back home. That would NOT be fun!

in Christ,

Dan

Boy do we have a hardworking team! Today we dug in the dirt. No, I’m serious, we dug in the dirt all day long. Our assigned task was to assist a new charter school in building garden beds for the upcoming school year. It’s a pretty cool thing they’re doing – the idea is that the school yard will be used to grow vegetables and herbs to be used in the first New Orleans culinary institute for high school students. Students will learn how to plant, nurture, harvest, and cook with their own organic produce. The only difficulty lay in the fact that the gardens needed to be planted in space that was made up of concrete, asphalt, rock, brick, and dirt. So out came the pick axes, shovels, hoes, rakes, and wheelbarrows! Our team sweated through the day and really accomplished a lot – I was very proud of them.

I can’t believe the trip is already half-way over! We’re having a blast getting to know one another, working hard, and studying God’s word together. Thank you for your generous prayers.

in Christ,

Dan

It is  HOT down here! We divided our group into two teams today – one team cleaned up a neighborhood playground for kids and the other painted the outside of a community center. With the hot sun beating down and 97% humidity, we were grateful when it started raining at 4:00pm and we had to end the work-day early. Everybody worked hard and did a great job. One thing I am noticing about our team is that I have not had to remind anyone to have a good attitude – not even ONCE! Everybody is cheerful, upbeat, and we have spent so much time each day just laughing together.

Some highlights from today include:

-Kurt accidentally painting the top of Maddie’s head with a paint roller.

-Hearing stories of hope from the missions director about what life in New Orleans has been like since Hurricane Katrina.

-Making a late night trip down the street to Wendy’s for frosties.

-Jane learning to play the African drums for our team worship time.

Thank you parents, friends, and family for your prayers!

in Christ,

Dan

An astonishing number of things went well today!

1- safe trip.

2- arrived on time.

3-ate authentic new orleans food including alligator soup, fried oysters, and boiled crawfish.

4- Zach Lockhart’s flight finally worked out and he arrived safely.

5- our group devotional/worship time tonight was deep and encouraging.

6 – everyone but me is in bed and fast asleep!

We start early tomorrow morning and will hit the ground running with some hard work. Thus far everyone is having a blast, enjoying each other’s company, and looking forward to a great week together. Thank you for your prayers!

in Christ,

Dan

Well folks – one day down and everything is going according to plan thus far! We drove from Charlottesville to Sharptop Cove Young Life camp to pick up Katie Watterson, then continued our trip south to Atlanta to stay with the Walker family. There were a lot of hours in the car, but we are having a great time and are excited to finish the trip to the Big Easy this afternoon. Thanks to all you parents for your prayers for our safe travel. We are grateful!

-Dan

We are always moving.

Moving in one direction or the other on any given subject. Today, think about contentment. Are you becoming more and more content with your life day by day or are you becoming more dissatisfied with the things and people around you? What is true for people can also be applied to ministries. Is your ministry becoming more and more content with each passing day?

For most of us we equate contentment in ministry with laziness and apathy. “Oh you’re satisfied with where things are? What’s your problem? There’s so much more to do!” But be careful not to mistake contentment for completion. It is entirely possible to be content with your ministry while still acknowledging that the work is not yet complete. Even the best of us spend our thoughts (and sometimes our actions) striving to figure out ways to make out ministries “better.” Better how? Are we truly motivated to disciple deeper and reach more people for the sake of Jesus’fame? Is that REALLY the motivation? Or are we actually deeply discontent with the ministry we’ve been given and want to make it something bigger, sexier, cooler, and more impressive – something that will make people think to themselves, “wow, ____ is such an amazing leader, we’re so lucky to have him/her…”

We are always moving.

Which way is your ministry moving? Will you be content only after you implement “just one more change”?  A ministry that is becoming more and more dissatisfied will produce the fruit of jealousy, greed, covetousness, and bitterness – not exactly great stuff. Let’s be content even though the work is not yet complete. Contentment produces the fruit of gratitude, thankfulness, and generosity – now that sounds like a ministry I’d want to be a part of!

Well folks, our team is in the Managua airport ready to come home! Everybody had a great time and is sad to leave but ready to see family again. Right now, everyone is feeling well, but Jane & Maddy caught a little bit of the traveler´s bug yesterday and today. Emily M. also managed to catch a cold – who catches a cold in Nicaragua? The good news is that everyone is feeling much better and we can´t wait to tell you all our stories from an amazing week of ministry. Our flight gets into DC at 2am so we should be home in Charlottesville around 4:30 or so. See you tomorrow!

Day 3

We´re hot, sweaty, tired, and happy! This morning we walked to the ¨Home of the Ancients¨(a nursing home) and helped the nuns who run the place clean and wash. Then we spent a lovely hour attempting to converse with some of the residents. After lunch, we went to a place in the Bario called the ¨Train Station¨ (ask us about this place when we get home) and played with the children there. At one point there were 25 screaming children running around, a few scawny dogs barking at them, and a drunk man passed out in the corner – welcome to ministry in Nicaragua!

Day 4

This morning we drove out to town to the city dump to bring lunch to the families that live and work there. These are the poorest of the poor. The place is a barren wasteland of garbage and ash (they burn the trash). It´s a powerful experience that isn´t easy to shake off. I can´t imagine what it´s like for the children growing up living amidst everyone else´s waste.

This afternoon we ran Vacation Bible School as Luz Del Mundo (a local church in the Bario outside of town. We had a blast singing, doing skits, playing games, and making crafts with the children there. As we left the kids were hanging onto our sholders begging us not to go. It was definitely hard to leave them!

Praise the Lord everyone is doing well and still healthy!

Jane says – Nathan stinks like a cheeseball. Fun. This trip. Sweaty. This trip. Exciting. This trip. You´re really close on this one.

Maddy says – I miss my parents!

Liz says – I can´t wait to learn Spanish, and I´m enjoying finding various & sundry other Nicaraguan animals to eat.

Emily M. says – she and jane have decided to do a GAP year in Nicaragua.

Emily S. says – I love my familia and Kyle, the outdoor gear you equipped me with has proved very useful!

Dan says – can´t wait to come home and see my girl!

Day 1

I love it when things go according to plan! Even though our travel day was long  (really long) we made all of our flights, had no delays, and arrived in Managua safely. After disembarking, we transitioned smoothly through customs and just as we were picking up our luggage, Maddy tugged on my sleeve and asked – is that huge guy Charles? Sure enough, standing a foot and half taller than everyone around him, Charles Kaye was right outside the airport waiting for us! The rest of the day is a bit of a blur since we had all be awake for over 24 hours, but we had a great time listening to Charles´ stories and even got to take a boat tour of the Isletas of Lake Nicaragua. The highlight of the afternoon was definitely seeing the monkeys! Bedtime came early – 7:30pm – and we all got a solid 10 hours of sleep.

Day 2

A day of worship and adventure! We got to participate in El Puente´s church service in the morning and then went on a bike tour for the rest of the day. We biked 20 kilometers up a volcano and then swam in a 4 mile fresh water laguna that was formed inside the crater. What a beautiful country! It was an amazing experience to bike through rural villages and see so much of the countryside.

So far, everyone is healthy, the food is amazing, and we´re having a great time! If anyone wants to pray for us, please pray that the Holy Spirit will show us how to be helpful and encouraging to the local believers here. It is already clear that our impact as a team will be minimal, so we desperately want to be a breath of fresh air to the local church and to the missionaries here.

Maddy says – Hi mommy! … and Daddy!

Jane says – she misses her funny bunny, especially when she sees the del valle pineapple juice in the stores.

Emily M. says – she loves her family.

Emily S. says – she misses her Kyle, its beautiful here, and we´re having a lot of fun!

Liz says – its beautiful here and she can´t wait to eat an iguana!

Dan says – I miss my wife, my dog, and deodorant!

Friday, April 1st, at midnight – 5 bleary eyed adventurers and myself will pile into a van and drive up to Dulles airport in Washington D.C. to board a plane bound for heat, humidity, mosquitos, good coffee, and volcanoes! It’s not an April Fool’s Joke, it’s the beginning of a week-long excursion to one of the poorest, but most beautiful countries in our hemisphere! I will be posting regular updates on this blog every couple days – so feel free to check back here and read about our trip!