Hello there family and friends…we are in America! We have made it to L.A. safe and sound and are excited to be on our way. It has been a long day of travel, especially since most of us didn’t sleep last night, but we are doing well and we’ll be home soon.

It was an early morning start at the Provadenic. We left for the airport shortly after 5 a.m. Shirley and her husband Richard (and their precious son, Ritchie), Wilber, and Esteban were there to see us off. It seemed surreal to be standing there with them saying good bye. Shirley, who cooked for us, and Richard, who arranges all of the construction for the work site, have been a huge blessing to our team and have won very special places in our hearts. Wilber, of course, has become our team’s younger brother and we all feel like he has a place in our family. And Esteban became one of our team, a member working along side of us, believing in our cause, and praising God all the way. We felt sad to leave them, but grateful that God has brought them into our lives for a time.

Esteban is an orphan just like Wilber. He has no one in the world to take care of him and look after him. He is struggling to find work right now and is living with a pastor and his family. Esteban has a desire to open his own internet café in Matagalpa (where we went on our first day in Nicaragua). He already has a space he can use, but he needed $1,200 to get some used computers to start it off. When Corwin realized we had some money left over after paying for the supplies for the house that we made, he asked the team if we felt it was a good idea to bless Esteban with the rest of the money to help him start his business. Our team, of course, thought that was an excellent idea. So, at the airport, before we were about to say goodbye to him, we gave Esteban our gift. He was astounded. He couldn’t believe that we were giving him this gift that would start his life off. We were so excited to show our love to him in this way. We will never forget the friend he has been to all of us.

Corwin had a hard time saying good bye to his son. We have become very attached to his story and now feel like we are a part of Will’s life in an important way. It was hard for us to watch him say goodbye know that there are so many unknowns ahead. But we trust that GOD IS GOOD and that His timing is perfect and trustworthy. Wilber is in God’s hands. Please continue to pray for Wilber’s acceptance into the English boarding school. We will find out this Friday if its possible.

We got on the plane with mixed emotions. It is hard to fall in love with a country so much yet be so excited to leave it and head home. We are so grateful for the experiences we had there and we know they have truly changed us. But everything has its season and this season, for now, has come to an end.

The team was very excited to land in Houston. All I could hear were the excited musings of what foods they were going to eat and what they were excited to have again (I was just really excited to eat lettuce). Though we still talked about the fact that this strange dream is now coming to an end, you could see their excitement in being onto their next step of the story. After fueling up for the first time on North American food, we boarded our plane to L.A.

We were greeted at the airport in L.A. by friends from a place called the Wave Youth Center. They are people who are interning in youth ministry here in California. Tonight they took us to their youth drop-in night at their youth center. There were BMX ramps set up in the back parking lot and skate ramps set up in beside the church. There was lots of fun video games and other stuff inside the center, as well as a snack shack. About 100 kids were out for the night…most of them in the Jr. High age. It was a cool chance for our team to interact with kids who could speak English and bless the interns by helping them set up and tear down. It was a fun night to hang out with the interns and the kids in L.A. Afterwards we enjoyed some supper from the California-exclusive In-N-Out Burger and then headed back to the interns’ house where we will stay for the night.

The team has been processing our leaving in all sorts of different ways. Some are emotional, able to show their emotion freely. Some are quiet and internal. Others don’t want to think about it until they get home. The fact of the matter is that it will continue to be a process for us for the next little while and it will show itself in all sorts of ways. We will find our own ways to express what we think and feel in due time.

Tomorrow morning we will wake up and head for Huntington Beach for breakfast at the Sugar Shack and a little bit of time to explore and then we will head to the airport. We land in Calgary first and then head to Saskatoon later in the evening. As I posted last night, we will be home around midnight. We all cannot wait to receive your hugs and love.

Even though there are only 24 hours to go…there are always things to pray about.
Please pray for:
-continued safety and health; Sarah has been feeling really nauseated since Sunday night and it hasn’t really gone away.
-continued debriefing; that we are processing things well and dealing with the things we are feeling
-for Wilber; that he is safe and that he may get into his boarding school
-for the Belize team; that their travels are safe and they are debriefing their experience as well

That is it! This is officially the last on-field blog entry to be sent from Project Serve Nicaragua 2008 team. I, personally, have been grateful for the privilege of sharing our experience with you through posting on the blog. It has been a place for me to debrief my own thoughts and feelings and findings on this trip. Thank you all for reading and coming along with us, in a sense. You are a part of our team.

Blessings on you always...
Chandra, Corwin, and the team

This is it…the last blog update from Nicaragua. Our goodbyes have been said, our bags packed, and soon we will depart on the journey that will bring us home. It will be a long 48 hours.

It is hard to describe the feelings that any one of us had today. There is no real way of summarizing the thoughts and emotions that ran through our hearts and minds. Some were feeling torn between dreading the goodbyes to be said and anticipating the hellos to be had. Some have completely fallen in love with this country and its lifestyle and can’t imagine going back to anything different. Some are excited to be home and to share this experience with so many people there. Some feel guilty for missing the comforts of home…a cup of Starbucks coffee, hot showers, lettuce (maybe the last one is just me)…especially when the people we have spent the last week with have never known such things. And some are still processing that we are even here, that this dream is being lived out, and that it’s about to end. It has been a long, hard week and every single member of our team, including Corwin and me, would have admitted to our exhaustion this morning.

Every morning we have met at 7:00 a.m. on the outer balcony of the Provadenic and read a portion of James together. Its beautiful there in the morning, the sun emerging and the street below growing busy. We took a moment to pause this morning as it was our last time to take in all the sites and sounds that have greeted us at the beginning of each day. It was our last time at the Provadenic in the sunlight.

We started our day in Veracruz off at the church. We had invited a lot of the community kids from the work site to come to Sunday School and when we arrived we were overflowed with hugs and kisses. We enjoyed our time singing and dancing with them. It was neat to see so many of our special friends who are usually dirty from playing in the Nicaraguan dirt all cleaned up and looking cute for this special occasion. The youth group at the church put on a drama for us…our team’s friend, Mundo, played one of the main roles and we smiled a lot to see him so animated. Even though we have spent such a little bit of time at this church, it feels like home.

After our last lunch at Mama Shirley’s we got all the back packs full of donations to hand out to the kids in the community. We took them to the worksite and got to give them all to our little friends. It was fun to watch them unpack them and get so excited about the things they were finding. Taylor unpacked her gift for a little boy named Solomon and he was delighted at every new discovery. I captured a cute moment when he opened up his colouring book upside and started to colour with a big smile on his face. Nathan gave a back pack to the little boy who hurt his foot (Bravio) and his older sister to share. There was a small pair of shoes in the bag. I was so grateful to see him put on the shoes so that he didn’t have to go barefoot and he could protect his wound from infection. They were bright pink, but he didn’t seem to mind. Handing out these back packs seemed like such a little thing…but it brought the kids so much joy.

We headed to the orphanage to play with the kids one last time and say our goodbyes. So many of the kids were already wearing their new shirts and shorts and were excited about all the gifts they had gotten yesterday. It was a hot day out today and our team was so exhausted, but I have never seen such energy poured into children for the two hours that we were there. There was much running and chasing and laughing and soccer. And our team, though exhausted, gave all that they could. I was proud of them for being so selfless. We said goodbye to the orphans and walked out as the sun went down. As we walked out Corwin whispered a gentle “goodbye orphans” under his breath and Jenna replied “that’s gross. Leaving them there, saying goodbye…that’s just gross to me”. It has hit her that so much of the love in their life just comes and goes and that is all that they have ever known. She later told me that she has found a new gratitude towards the loving families we have and the way they are always there for us.

We enjoyed our last supper together as a team. We ate our last pollo fritas from Delpha, crunched our last plantana fritas, and sipped our last gasseosas from the pulperia across the street. We were savouring every last minute of Veracruz.

Then it came time for the house dedication. We walked up to the work site and it had been transformed into a church service. There were streamers and balloons on the outside of the bright blue house and many plastic chairs set up in front of it. The church brought their keyboard and microphones and set them up and we were ready for a fiesta. Many people from our church came to the service as well as all of the kids who have been our friends all week. The service was one of celebration and, in Nicaragua, celebration means a lot of music and A LOT of dancing! I have never seen a group so tired dance so hard. At one point I turned around and saw Daniel clapping and dancing away. We sang to Spanish words we couldn’t understand and danced till the sweat beaded off our brows. And we loved it.

It is beautiful to see how free the Nicaraguans are in expressing their faith, their honour in God, and their passion for Him. Many different people got up to lead us in a song of worship. These people are necessarily musically talented…but yet something about the heart in which they sing from is extraordinary. They love for God is so abundant and evident.

The service ended with the cutting of the “ribbon” to signify the handing over of this house to Hector and his family. It was a moment our team will not soon forget. We all huddled in the house, remembering all the hard work and humility it took to build it. We prayed over it with gratitude for the lessons we learned in it and the life that will be lived to the full in it. And, with all of us reaching for the scissors together, we cut the ribbon and gave the house to Hector and his family.

From then on it was time for goodbyes. As I stood back and watched I got to encounter our team at their most intimate and vulnerable of moments. I watched Sarah as she cradled two little girls, Ashley and Kimberley, as they wept into her chest. I watched Jenna as she played with the hair of her two little friends and told them that she loved them. I watched Regan keep his arm around a sobbing Fernando, who is now Hector’s next door neighbour, and comfort him. I watched Denver as he danced and clapped with all his strength, which is still not very much, and hug his friends time and time again. I watched as Mitch 1 (Dunn) had a conversation with a teenage next door neighbour who said that watching our team work together and love the children changed his whole life. Mitch was blown away as this boy told him that he is changed forever and that he will never forget the impact we made on him. I watched Daniel as he searched for another kid to hug, making sure every last ounce of love he had was given. I watched Mitch 2 (Epp) as he sat in his red plastic chair holding a girl named Erlinda as she cried. I watched as April hugged her friend from church and cried along with her. I watched Taylor as she held little Solomon and wouldn’t let go…his face quiet and sad. I watched Nathan as he cried for the two little girls who had attached themselves to him all week. Something came alive in him when he was with them. I watched Colton fight back the tears as he said goodbye to the neighbourhood boys who are Hector’s friends…boys who have no fathers and love to have us around. I watched Marshall as he high fived the boys and told them that he loved them…and hugged them with all his might. It was amazing to look upon the connections that we have made with this community in one short week and to watch the love just pour from each other.

And then, of course, it was that time. The time where we all have to load in the van and be on our way. Many of the children sat on the sidewalk crying and it was terrible to rip ourselves away from them and drive away. Veracruz has left an imprint on our hearts that no other place could leave and we are so grateful for the way it has changed us. We can only hope that our presence there has done the same.

The team had a great time of sharing once we got back to the Provadenic. We talked about the things we want to change when we get home and how we will carry this experience with us for the rest of our lives. We are the only people to share this experience with one another and we want to cherish that forever.

Our plane leaves in 3 hours. We are both excited, sad, and ready to be on our way home. We cannot thank you enough for coming with us on this trip, for reading our updates and praying and supporting us. We honestly took you here with us and feel like you have been here every step of the way. BLESS YOU for that…we are ever so grateful.

Please pray for these final things as we depart:
-for health and safety as we travel; planes are crappy places to get sick. Pray we get home to you well!
-for our debriefing; that we would begin to unpack this experience and know how to communicate to all who weren’t here
-for saying goodbye once again; at the airport we will say goodbye to Shirley, Wilber, and Esteban…all of whom have become our family over the last week. Pray we love them to the tips of our fingers.
-for Corwin; he has to say goodbye to Will. Enough said.

We love you all and are counting down the hours until we see you again. We don’t know if we will be able to post in LA so the next time we talk may be face to face. 48 hours!

All our love and prayers…
The PS08 Nicaragua Team

P.S. We arrive on Tuesday night at midnight on a Westjest flight from Calgary. If you are up for it, please feel free to come on out to the airport and welcome us home! We can't wait to see you.

It is now 24 hours until we leave Nicaragua. We are all so tired, but we know that we must savour every last second of our time here.

Thank you all so much for your comments over the last few days. Tonight, at our team meeting, Corwin gathered us all around and read us all of the family and friend responses we’ve had. It was so encouraging to hear stories of how God was calling people to pray when we needed it most and how others have felt a connection to our team. We were so infused with motivation because of your love and support. It will be amazing to get off the plane on Tuesday night and fall into all of your arms and be able to express to you all just how much that has meant to us.

Today was the day to put the finishing touches on the house. We arrived at the work site a little later than usual (we had a few stops along the way) but were SO excited to see how far along it was. They were placing the beams for the roof (something that our team can’t do because we don’t know how) and they were ready for us to paint. We had decided on painting the house baby blue with a brown trim…but sometimes specifics like that get a little lost in translation. So we settled with the sky blue that they bought and jumped on painting that house up! There was also the usual team working out at the sewage hole and, by the end of the day, it was finally completed at 14 feet deep. It was awesome to see the teamwork needed to dig that hole. I was amazed as I watched Marshall climb his way up the 14 foot whole, covered in the dark dirt from the clay that lay deeper in the earth, but with a gigantic smile on his face. When we told him it was finished he said. “Aw, really? But it was so fun to dig.” What servant hearts these kids have.

We have had a lot of kids around at the work site who help in keeping those of us who are waiting for jobs busy. There are certain people that just seem to draw little friends…especially Sarah. The kids knew it was our last working day there so today seemed to be a day where lots of letters and photos were given to us. Mitch Epp has had a little girl named Erlinda attached to his hip at the worksite and she gave him two drawings and a picture of her and her little brother today. Such small gifts, but they mean the world to those kids and to our team. Its amazing how these kids let themselves love even though they knew we are going to leave. They have poured into loving us as much as we have poured into loving them. They love without condition.

After we finished as much work on the house as we could do, we headed to the orphanage to drop off our bags of donations. When we arrived they were having a birthday celebration for some of the kids so it seemed fitting that we came bearing gifts. We divided up the things on three tables and the kids stood in line to pick one thing at a time. It was so cute to watch them mull over which stuffed animal to pick or which shirt to take. I asked one little boy to show me the clothes that he had picked out and he told me that they weren’t for him, they were for his friends who were away from the orphanage for the weekend. It struck me that even in a place where nothing is really yours, they can be so selfless. The rest of the afternoon was filled with playing on the playground and having a game of soccer. Wilber was able to connect with some of his friends who still live there and it was good to see him a little less shifty about being back there.

There is a saying our team has adopted and you can often hearing one or two of us muttering it and any given time just because its gotten stuck in our heads. That saying is “Denver remember, remember Denver”. It’s a little phrase that Will put together when he figured out that Denver’s name and the English word ‘remember’ rhyme (sorta). He never says one word without that other and often just says it for no reason…causing us to do that same. But it has been proven to be a handy reminder of what we need to pray for and how we can praise God. Denver was feeling much better today. He slept well through the night, without any fever, and was able to eat at each meal today (though his appetite is still not there). He wasn’t able to do any work with us at the work site because he is still too weak…but I think the kids enjoyed getting him to themselves. Cor and I were amazed when we watched him running around at the orphanage playing soccer in the afternoon. God is working a healing in his body and we totally recognize that. We strived to remember Denver in prayer, and we feel like Denver remembered to submit himself to God, and God is now blessing us with his health. It’s good to have him back!

We were able to get back to the Provadenic early tonight so we would have some time to talk about how we are feeling about leaving on Monday and to let the team rest up a little. Our kids have worked so hard this week…accomplishing more on a house than any other Project Serve team has done before…but they are worn out. At times like these emotions run wild and Satan takes advantage of that vulnerability. We hope and pray that tomorrow we can give all the energy that we have to that community as we say goodbye.

Tomorrow we have our last church service, get our last chance to see our special friends from the community and drop off some back packs to them, and visit the orphanage again to say goodbye. After supper we will have the house dedication service for Hector and his family. It will be a great time of celebration, but also a sad time. Saying goodbye to Veracruz is never an easy thing.

We continue to covet your prayers…look how far they have gotten us! We are well and able to keep going and that is what is most important. You have all truly accompanied us on this trip and we feel you here.
In the next day you can pray for:

-continued health and safety; we are tired and warn down, pray our bodies stay strong.
-for the Belize team; Jordan (their acting nurse) got heat stroke yesterday and has been very ill. Pray that he recovers and can join the team in their last few days there.
-saying goodbye to the orphanage; that we would recognize the blessing it has been to enter their world and that we take away the things we saw and learnt there and apply them at home
-saying goodbye to our community kids; that they would see God’s love in us and want to know it more
-our house dedication; that it would be a great time of celebration!
-our hearts; that they would be open to expressing the things that we are feeling

I would ask that you also pray for Corwin as he says goodbye to his son. He is unsure of the next time he will be able to come to Nicaragua and it is never a settling feeling to not know when you will see your son again. He is leaving with many uncertainties, especially with waiting for the knowledge of whether or not Wilber will be able to get into this new private school. Esteban, our translator, has said that he is willing to act as a big brother to Wilber. He will move him to the school and then come back to check on him once a week and help him practice his English. Esteban has been a gift from God while we have been here and will continue to bless Corwin and Wilber, no doubt. Please, we ask that you pray fervently for this situation. God says ‘ask and you will receive’, so let’s get asking!

Bless you all. We will be home to you before you know it. We love and miss you dearly. Thank you for all your words of wisdom and support, from the whole team and especially from Corwin and me. We love you!

-Chan, Cor, & the Team

P.S. Never sling shot a pigeon with a Mini Bum and then let Wilber run around with it. Havoc is always created. (check the video below)

Tonight the boys somehow hit a pigeon with a slingshot and some hard candy...its kind of a long story. The bird was not seriously injured, but was quite stunned by the incident. What happened next can only really be understood by watching the following video, shot live by Taylor...

Some of our favourite quotes;

“The bird was up in the corner and we shot it and it freaked out, its got a hurt wing. And now Wilber’s taking it and terrorizing the city!” –Mitch Epp

“Mitch Dunn just got angry”…”Mitch Dunn’s in his underwear” –Nathan & Mitch Epp

“I think I stepped in poo” -Taylor

“Get this on video, get this on video, por favor” –Mitch epp

“That bird will never hurt you”-Esteban

“Now we’re letting it free” -Taylor

In just over 48 hours we will be leaving the Provadenic for the airport. It seems like just yesterday we landed here…encountering our first sites and sounds of Nicaragua and struggling to make sense of it all. In only one week, so much has changed.

I’d like to start by thanking you all for your prayers today as Denver was sick, and also for words of encouragement and comfort as we continue to process and glean lessons from our experience at the beach yesterday. We feel the power of those prayers daily and not a moment goes by when we aren’t so grateful for them. Mrs. & Mr. Johnson…your son is well and getting stronger. I have come to appreciate him as one of the most humble people I know. I pray that we can return him to you with full strength. I have no doubt he will be a very changed man after this experience.

This morning our team got the chance to head to the market to get some cool Nicaraguan souvenirs. As you may have read earlier, because Denver was sick, I stayed with him at the Provadenic while the kids went to the marketplace. They told me they had a fun time exploring the shops and bartering with the store keepers. They came home loaded with machetes and t-shirts and all sorts of other goodies. Denver and I had a quiet time at the Provadenic. He was extremely sick all through the night and in the morning, not able to keep even a sip of water down. We worked really hard at getting him rested and cooled off (without being able to swallow pills or water) for the few hours the team was away. By the time they came back, he was taking small sips of liquid. I knew that he was really disappointed when he did not get to go to the market but he put a huge smile on my face when he heard the team come back and looked at me and said, “will you ask the boys to come show me what they got?”. Even in his sickness, he shared in the joys of his friends.

Today was a fairly integral day in the story of the adoption of Wilber. While we have been here Corwin has been trying to see if he could get Wilber back into the orphanage where they first met so that Wilber could get out of the dangerous neighborhood that he now lives in. When we were at the orphanage on Wednesday, Corwin’s meeting with the director gave us no answers as to if that is possible. Today Corwin found out that it was not…Wilber would not be allowed back into the orphanage. But, Corwin was fortunate enough to see his Nicaraguan lawyer today. After our team returned from the marketplace she paid a visit to the Provadenic. She informed Corwin of an option that he had to send Wilber to a private English school about 35 km outside of Managua. It is a boarding school where the kids live in dorms and are taught completely in English. They have 4 week terms starting at the beginning of every month and it is a very safe place to be. But, if Corwin was to register Wilber for school he had to do it during administrative hours on an administration day…leaving only this afternoon for him to rush out there and try to get Wilber in.

When the team found out about this unique opportunity they responded with a resounding supportive response to go. They didn’t just release him to, they commanded him to! They said that what is most important for Wilber is most important to us and that Corwin needed to follow God’s leading to that place. And so he did. Corwin, Esteban, and Wilber headed to the school while the rest of the team headed to Veracruz, praying all the way that Wilber would have a safe home until he gets to come to his new home with us in Canada.

Our day in Veracruz was short. After lunch the boys headed to the worksite and the girls stayed at Shirley’s to sort through all of the donations and make up back packs to give to kids in the community as well as bags to leave with the church and then the rest for the orphanage. Denver was able to travel to Veracruz with us but was still very ill and had quite a fever. As soon as Shirley heard that “her baby” was sick, she put him directly to bed, put fans on him, and got a cool cloth on his head.

The house is coming along so well. We are so excited for it to be done! The front of the house is poured with smooth cement now, ready to be painted tomorrow (a first for Project Serve!). We will also get to see the doors and windows put in before we leave…another thing that no other PS team has seen. Because Corwin, Esteban, and Wilber were all away and I was at Shirley’s watching over Denver, the boys had to conquer the language barrier at the worksite on their own. They said that at first it was a little daunting, but they managed to communicate and were able to get all their needed tasks done. The sewage hole that they are digging is now 11.5 feet deep!! Watching them get in and out is a little tense (well…for me), but they have found a passion to dig the whole thing. They have about one more metre to go and are so excited to dig every inch of it.

Evelyn, the mother of the family that will live in the house, has been our “site mother” while we have been working. She is the sweetest woman with the greatest smile. She has the true God-given heart of a mother. When we left the site on Wednesday she noticed that we all were carrying our work shoes with us. She told us to leave them there and she would watch them until we needed them again. Mitch Epp said that, when he got to the site today, she had taken all of the socks out of the shoes they were in and washed them and matched them up. When I saw the freshly laundered socks, I saw not only that that was true…but that that woman got those socks whiter than they were before they came to Nica! What an example of a servant. We were all very humbled to receive such a powerful gift.

The girls were very tired as they sorted through donations this afternoon. They are feeling tired, weak, and a little depleted. But, even through their need for rest, they did an awesome job of organizing things while I was checking on Denver. It was fun to sift through the donations and recall some of the stories of the people who gave them to us and the reasons they gave them for. We realized that giving those items not only touches the people who receive them, but the people who give as well.

At 6 o’clock the boys returned to Shirley’s from the worksite. We discovered that the tired feeling the girls were having was also present in the boys. Instead of going out to Delpha’s Chicken, as we had planned, and going to church…we decided to spend time together at Shirley’s. We were able to let Denver continue to rest (and, by this time, hold down his liquids and even eat a small bun!) and encounter some rest ourselves.

Being in Shirley’s home is like being in our own home. She calls each of us her “baby” and cares for us as if we were her own children. She feeds us, cleans up after us, and encourages us to use her home as our own. Her little son, Ritchie, who is 2, never stops giggling and laughing when we are around and throws his arms loving around all of us to show his affection. We always feel bad when the bus pulls out of their yard and he stands there crying. Jenna got to have a sweet conversation with Shirley (who speaks very broken English) today about the differences in our cultures but the similarities in our relationships with God. Shirley said that she cares for all of the kids that Corwin brings down so much and that she just wants to see us grow in our faith in God. She is a wonderful and tangible example of God’s love.

During supper Corwin shared his findings at the school. He said that the campus is exquisite, a completely safe place for Wilber to be. It is guarded and gated. It’s all in English, forcing Wilber to learn the language. The dorms are nice, there is a great soccer field, and even a computer lab where Wilber could make an email address for the first time in his life. Corwin said that the only catch was that there were no dorm rooms open right now and that there is a waiting list. But, through his charm and God’s good graces, by the end of their meeting, Wilber had been placed at the top of that list. Corwin must now wait until next Friday to see if there is an opening for Wilber and, if there is, he will move in on the 3rd of March. God has been SO GOOD to our team and we have seen so many prayers answered already…so we know that God’s plan will go on in this situation. We believe God has a purpose for Will in all of our lives.

Just before leaving Shirley’s, Denver’s fever broke and his body began to cool off very quickly. Another prayer answered! He started feeling stronger and was able to drink a lot more. He does not have an appetite yet, but is loving his “Club Socials” (for those who have been sick on previous PS trips, you know what I’m talking about). I believe his strength will return in the morning and he’ll be back to himself in no time.

I would say our team’s overall feeling is weary tonight. It has been a long few days and we are still processing the afterthoughts of our experience at the beach yesterday. We only have 2 more days to do, and we want to live each to in fullness, but I think we feel, at this point, that our hearts can only go as far as our bodies. We need energy for the next few days.

Tomorrow is a busy day. We have decided that, since he will be strong enough, we will take Denver to the market so that he can get some of the things he wanted to bring home. Then we will head to the house to do some painting and finishing touches. After lunch we plan to drive through the community to drop of back packs to some of the special friends we have made with the kids and then head to the orphanage to hand out the abundance of donations.

The team made an observation tonight that I feel that I, personally, have been realizing a lot too. We were talking about the culture differences we notice so much here and many of the kids talked about how the people here are content with being still. They are content to sit in their front room and watch cars pass by or sit on the porch with their baby in their lap or walk down the street and saw hello to all who pass. They don’t need to have the distractions and the hobbies that we tend to feed off of…they enjoy their simplicity and honour it with complete contentment. I have been challenged by this. So often we fill up our schedules to “get things done” and “make an appearance” and we never really allow ourselves to just be and just be happy for just being. I think that is something that all of our team wants to take away from what they have learned here.

Once again, I hope you all know that we just can’t get enough of your prayers. Here are things you can pray for while we finish our time here;

-for Corwin and Wilber; that there would be an opening at the school and that Wilber would be accepted and registered
-for Denver; thank GOD for his start of recovery today. Pray for renewed strength and an appetite.
-for health; now is the time that sickness will strike (when we’re tired and run down). Pray that we take care of ourselves!
-for those who receive the donated gifts from Canada; that they will feel the love of God that it has been given with
-for the team; that they continue to grow and be challenged…that they seek after what God is telling them to be bold in and to absorb all that they are seeing, hearing, and feeling.

We are thinking of you always. We carry you with us.

With love,
-The team

This is a quick prayer request. After all of our excitement and a day in the sun at the beach yesterday, Denver is feeling quite ill. He puked all through the night and is dry heaving quite alot. He can't keep anything down right now and is feeling very weak. He has a fever and is not able to be hydrated at all. But, as we learned yesterday, GOD IS BIGGER THAN SUCH THINGS! If you could please pray for healing on his body and restored strength, that would be awesome.

While the team is at the market this morning, Denver and I are staying at the Provadenic so he can rest and get well. I know God will help Him.

Thank you for your unending support and prayers. We love you guys!

-Chandra

It has been a BIG day for us here. We are going to sleep tonight with grateful hearts for all that we have and all that God has blessed upon us and a renewed faith in the power of God and the purpose to which He has called each of us.

Today was our team “day off”. After a wonderful sleep in, we ate breakfast together and headed off to Pochomil beach. It is a beach that has many different small resort type areas where there are hammocks in the shade to rest in, places to eat, and a wonderful beach to play in and explore. The kids were so excited to get out of the van (which we like to call “Blue Carlos” for several reasons) and get their beach day going.

Pochomil is a beach that Corwin brings his teams to every year. Last year we met two little boys named Juan and Wilmer. They played with our team all day and helped us dive for sand dollars in the water. They were so cute and we wished we could have left some of the donations we had brought with us to Nicaragua for them, but we didn’t have any with us. We promised them that we would come back next year and bring them each a back pack filled with things. This morning we prepared those back packs at the Provadenic in faith that we would see those two boys. And, as faith would have it, Juan was the first kid we saw when we arrived. He remembered Corwin and me right away and he ran up to greet us. We were able to give him and his brother their back packs and were just amazed at the fact that he had held tightly to the promise we had made him. The Nicaraguan people are very much like that…they will remember everything and hold on to any promise made to them. We are glad we did no break that promise.

We had a fun day playing at the beach. We were able to rent surfboards and boogie boards and the team spent most of the morning learning how to surf. It was fun to watch them hit the water and encourage each other as they tried to surf. We sat down to a late lunch of fresh lobster, fish, and chicken. Some of the team had never tried lobster before and found that they enjoyed it a lot! We felt like we were eating like kings. After lunch the team got the chance to rent horses and go for a ride on the beach. April was in her glory as she galloped down the beach. She said she was fulfilling a life long dream to ride horseback on the beach. Some of us napped in the hammocks, or walked down the beach collecting shells, or just played in the waves. It was an enjoyable time.

Just before we were leaving…God gave us an opportunity to call on Him like most of us never had before. Nathan, Daniel, Colton, April, Denver, and Wilber were playing out in the waves. They had developed a little game with a soccer ball…throwing it into the waves and catching it as it came back to them. The waves had gotten a bit bigger and they didn’t realize how far out they had gotten. All of a sudden Nathan realized that he was out in the waves with Will way deeper than either of them could touch. They started to try to swim closer, but they were caught in a strong tide and seemed to be getting pulled out farther. After several minutes Nathan started to call for help. Colton & Daniel were nearest to them and saw they were in trouble and started to swim out to them. Wilber and Nathan continued to swim in, but because of Nathan’s height, he could touch ground far quicker than Wilber. Colton saw that Will was still in trouble and continued to swim out to him. Wilber’s arm had cramped up and he was struggling to swim and stay above water. Colton reached him and grabbed a hold of him and started to swim because Wilber could no longer swim on his own. Nathan reached Daniel and they both were able to make it to shore. Denver and April, who were a little closer to shore, saw that they needed help. Denver and April quickly swam out to them. They made it to Colton and Will. By this time Wilber was clutching onto Colton, who was growing very weary. Denver reached them just in time and was able to take over hauling Wilber into shore. Colton grabbed a hold of April. The two of them worked together to swim themselves to shore. Denver, in a burst of energy, continued to push forward with Wilber attached to his back and successfully, with so much effort, got himself and Wilber safely to shore. The six of them stood on the shore, holding onto each other, exhausted and praising God for their safe return to dry land.

They quickly returned to the rest of our team, and as often happens in times like these, the emotions that come along with such an experience began to emerge. We came together as a team to support these 5 as they walked through the realization that they had saved Wilber’s life. They shared the fears that they had had and the way that they felt that God had provided them with the energy needed to get Wilber to safety. As we sat and shared as a group, Esteban translated our words to a very shaken up Wilber. Finally, Will chose to say something to the group, something Corwin has never seen him do before. His words were epic and, I’m sure, have been burnt onto our hearts for eternity. He spoke of the fact that no one ever in his whole life has ever cared for him so much that they would do something like that for him. He never felt like any other person had thought he was worth it. He told our group that he loved us and that he was sorry for swimming out so far. He thanked those who were in the water with him, especially Denver, for being the hands of God in the situation. He called them ‘God’s angels’. He said that he had never truly had faith that God would provide safety and protection for him before. But now he knows that his life is worth saving! He spoke of the things that his “daddy” (Corwin) had taught him about God and said that now he truly believes. He thanked us all over and over again and told us he loved us.

It was one of the most defining moments for our team. To sit there and realize the goodness God has for us, the heroism of those 5 team mates, and the life that was preserved. If you are the parents of any of those 5…you should be extremely proud of your son or daughter. God showed his power not only in the safety of our team members, but in the changing of Wilber’s heart and mind. He now knows that he IS meant to be on this earth.

Nathan was particularly moved by all that happened. He said that he has always listened to other’s testimonies of God showing up in times of dire need and he had always desired to know that intimacy with God. He said that he never felt that realness of God before, but in the moment when he got to shore, it was all around him. He couldn’t help but feel the undeniable presence and power of our Lord. I think this is an encounter with God that he will not soon forget.

After many tears and prayers, we joyfully and triumphantly got into Blue Carlos, grateful in a way that we have never been before. We had McDonald’s as a treat on the way home and then enjoyed nice showers. The kids received their surprise letters from home, a real blessing after such an intense day, and are feeling the abundant love from each other and our communities at home. I think those words of encouragement were exactly what was needed to get them through another few days.

We only have 3 days left in Nicaragua. How did that happen? How did that time go by so fast? In the next few days we will go to the market, finish working on the house, visit the orphanage several more times, hand out back packs to kids in the community, and give the rest of the donations to the kids in the orphanage. It will be a rollercoaster of emotion, but we are looking forward to every step.

We continue to feel your prayers every step of the way. We are SO THANKFUL for the way you are all loving on us from so far away! Here are the latest prayer requests:
-for the 5 who were in the water today; that they continue to process their experience and praise God for His sovereignty
-for health & safety; we are starting to feel the “gurgle belly” affects of Nicaragua. Marshall, Regan, Jenna, and Sarah were feeling nauseated tonight. Pray they are able to hydrate and rest to stay well for their last few days here.
-PRAISE that Corwin is feeling much better than yesterday!
-Regan’s hives; we just keep on getting them! Pray that they don’t hinder him from experiencing things along the way
-Kristin Clark (the leader of the Belize team); she got tiny little bug bites on her legs on their first days there and they are now infected so she has not been able to work with her team on their work project. Please pray that she is able to heal quickly.
-preparing to be home; these kids have had life-altering, worldview-rattling experiences here…pray they know how to say goodbye and how to take what they have learned here and use it at home.

We are going to sleep with thankful hearts tonight. We send love to each one of you…especially those who wrote encouragement letters. THANK YOU for the love you sent us! We do miss you.

In God’s graces,
Chandra, Corwin, Daniel, Regan, Nathan, Mitch 1, Mitch 2, Denver, Colton, Marshall, Jenna, Sarah, Taylor, April, Esteban, & Will

James 1:27
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

Hello again. We have been gone officially one week tonight. We now have less time here than we have been away for. It is crazy to think that the time has been going by so fast and that, in four days, we say goodbye to Veracruz. At this point we must decide to live with no regrets.

It was another great day on the jobsite and the house is coming along quite well. We were able to accomplish a lot today and are excited to be putting the finishing touches on soon. We poured the last bit of the cement for the floor and are now working on the cement window and door frames. The sewage hole that we are digging is also coming along so great. We have worked out a crazy system of pick axes, shovels, buckets, pulleys, and wheel barrows that assists us in getting it done was fast as possible. When we started digging today it was 5 feet deep…and when we left the work site tonight it was another 5 feet deeper. These kids worked mercilessly digging through the clay and rock to get this hole dug. Another day of digging should give us the other 5 feet we need. The carpenters have become friendly and open with us…we like it when they can call on certain members of our team to do jobs and know that they trust us to know what we are doing. It has given us a sense of ownership to our project and a feeling that we have been a part of something that will change the history of one family in Nicaragua.

In the afternoon we got our first opportunity to visit the orphanage. There were mixed feelings and anticipations before we left. For Esteban, our translator, and Wilber, they knew it would be a flood of emotions. Esteban spent his teenage years in the orphanage, entering when he was 13 and leaving when he was 20, only three years ago. Wilber spent most of his life there and left last spring. Both had friends they wanted to see there and a sense of gratitude towards the life that the orphanage had provided for them…but yet still had a sense of anticipation in re-entering the part of a significant world which has been left behind.

The orphanage is a Christian orphanage. There are dormitories attached to the left and to the right of a main dining hall. Those dorms house the 3 year olds to 13 year olds, boys on the left and girls on the right. Behind the main building are two different houses, one for older girls and ones for older boys. There is also a playground on the property and a basketball court/soccer field nearby.

Our entrance to the orphanage was a good but slow one. We were greeted by the principal who asked if we would like a tour, which has never been given to one of Corwin’s groups before. The orphanage kids were hesitant at first, as always, but slowly became more comfortable with our presence there. The boys went with the older boys to the soccer field to play a few games and the girls got to play with some of the younger kids on the playground. Slowly the kids started to trust us and get comfortable with us. We played on the swings with them, laughed a lot with them, and listened to them as they sang songs to us. We would hug them and kiss them and tell them we loved them and their faces would light up. Taylor had a cute experience with one of the really shy boys. She began playing with him but he didn’t laugh or even crack a smile. She was unsure if he liked playing with her, yet he continued, so she did too. When it was time to leave she went to say goodbye with a hug but the boy pulled away and offered his hand in a hand shake. She shook it and walked off. A few minutes later, when we reached the gate (a fair distance from the playground where they had said goodbye), the little boy came running to her and threw his arms around her with a big smile on his face. He then walked backward all the way to the playground so he could wave to Taylor and watch her walk out. Jenna made an insightful observation as we walked off the orphanage land; we get to leave and they don’t. They have no where else in the world to go and no one else who wants them. We have the job of loving them this week and we pray we will do it with all the love in the world.

While we were at the orphanage Corwin had a meeting with the director. Wilber, currently, is living with a relative in Managua but it is a dangerous situation and Corwin would like to have Will stay in the orphanage until the adoption goes through for Will’s safe keeping. Because Will was there once before, it would be an exception to a rule to allow him to come back. The meeting with the director went well and though he was not certain about whether or not the exception could be made, he was more than willing to look into this inquiry. Though small, it was get another step in bringing Wilber home.

We are continuing to be made aware of things in Nicaragua that we never realized or had never seen before. Today I had to help a little boy named Bravio and he helped me remember just how privileged of an existence we have sometimes. We often have many children, sometimes even 15, playing around the worksite in hopes to have us join in on their fun. Bravio is one of those boys. He was playing without shoes when he stepped on barbed wire and dragged his foot forward. Immediately he started screaming and the kids rushed him over to me. Almost feeling his own pain, I cleaned and dressed his wound. The slice was probably only an inch and a half long but very deep, through the top layers of skin and even fat. The wound, in Canada, would have definitely needed stitching and other medical attention. I cared for it as best as I could and tried to give his 9 year old sister instructions on how to care for him. The reality is that, here, kids who have wounds like that often go without any care and suffer from devastating infections and sometimes, if they are small and weak enough, even death. If our children at home were to cut their feet like that, we have the ability and accessibility to get them to help and heal them. In Nica, that chance is not always a reality. As I watched that little girl carry her tiny brother home I said a prayer in my heart with the gratitude I have towards the doctors and medical help both my family and I have always had and said a prayer that that boy’s foot would heal without a glitch. Sometimes, when we are in Nicaragua, it is terribly hard to live in two different realities; ours and theirs.

The team seems to be very perceptive to the new and very different things they are experiencing in Nicaragua. They constantly debrief each other’s views on everything; the food, the customs, the driving, the people, the smells, and the way people spend their time. The boys have moved their mattresses out onto the balcony of the Provadenic and have been sleeping out there each night. Mitch Dunn had several rude awakenings a few nights ago when the confused roosters just kept cock-a-doodle-dooing for no reason in the middle of the night. Regan has become slowly more and more acute to the distinct smell of burning garbage that is consistently wafting around. Colton and Marshall both really can’t believe that when you ask “where is the garbage can” the answer is “right under your feet”. The act of throwing a bottle out the window without a thought is mind boggling to us. Things that make perfect sense to Nicaragua make no sense to us and vice versa.

We were thinking and praying for home tonight as we looked up at the beautiful eclipse of the moon. We prayed that you all are well and thanked God for such a dedicated group of prayer warriors who are supporting us from so far away. We send our love.

Tomorrow we have a team day off. The kids have been working super hard for the last 4 days and its time to experience a bit more of Nicaragua. We will head to the Pacific Ocean for a day at the beach and then have supper at McDonald’s (a Project Serve Nicaragua tradition).

There are a few things that we would love it if you could continue to be in prayer for:
-our travel to and from the beach & our time there; that it would be safe and relaxed
-the work on the house; we’ve decided we would like to do a few extras like painting the front and a bit of landscaping. Pray that we have enough time to get it done.
-Regan’s hives; though he continues to get them AFTER we are done working, they do not irritate him. Pray that continues.
-the Belize team; they have been having some health issues too (even Kristin wasn’t feeling well on Monday). Pray that they get healthy and able to be working.
-for Corwin; he was feeling quite achy tonight and had a bit of a fever. He was sent to bed early. Pray tomorrow’s rest day restores him.
-the team; they will receive their letters from home after our rest day. Pray that their encouragement and inspiration gives them all the strength they need for the next few days.

Thanks for all the praying and loving you do! We’re thinking about you.

Much love…
-Chan, Cor, & The PS08ers

P.S. “I like me a bean stirfry.” –Regan Brown

Hola once again…it is a blessing to be able to share with you about another day down here in Nicaragua. We are praying for our loved ones at home (and our friends on the Belize team!) and are hoping God is blessing you abundantly.

We have just completed our second day of work on the house and the blisters on our hands would tell you that it was another day full of hard work. These kids are phenomenal…they are able to take any task and conquer it even if they can’t even understand the people who are teaching them how to do it. There hunger to serve is very evident and tremendously contagious.

We are very far ahead of schedule for finishing the house. The carpenters are always amazed at how much we seem to get done in a day! Today we almost completed pouring the cement flooring in the house. The carpenters who work with us picked Nathan to learn how to level the floors once the cement has been poured. It is an interesting and very unique process. Nathan was blessed to get to work with them. Jenna and Sarah got a chance to go up on the roof with the carpenters and learn how to do trowel work on the edges. The language barrier didn’t seem to be an issue when they were so excited to learn to do new things.

In the back yard we started to dig a 15 foot hole for a sewage system. Dan and April were go getters when they hopped to the challenge. I have never seen two people so dirty, and determined, to make a hole happen. Soon other team members joined in with pick axes and edgers to help the dirt removal along. Hector and his family are so excited to be receiving this awesome home.

The team has been doing an unreal job of soaking up every opportunity that they have. They have vocalized that they see every opportunity and chance that they get to serve as a once in a lifetime opportunity therefore it needs to be seized and excelled in. And this they have done well. Every time we need a volunteer for work there is never any hesitation. These kids want to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus in whatever way they can.

God has really been building us up individually. Corwin and I constantly get the chance to sit back and watch the kids takes steps of faith that they have never taken before. They are doing extremely well with the language…using every chance that they have to learn and speak and sometimes make a few mistakes. Today, for a short time, Corwin and our translator, Esteban, had to be away from the work site, and it was an awesome treat for me to sit back and watch the kids playfully communicate with our carpenters. They have also been so encouraging to watch as they lead each other. I spied on Nathan, today, as he taught Jenna how to bend thick wire into triangles for rebar structures. Denver, as always, headed up the concrete making time and time again. And Taylor seems to get the job of helping keep the community children distracted so they don’t distract us (and she’s really good at it!). Something has truly come alive within them. They have also, and especially, grown insight into their faith journey. Regan came to me last night to ask for prayer for his hives. He said that he looked up verses about healing in the Bible and it said to ask his elders to pray over him so he thought it would be a good idea to pray together. What a beautiful faith. And GLORIA A DIOS, today: no hives while he was at the worksite. Prayers answered. These young people have remarkable awareness and are putting their faith into practice.

Though we have been doing tons of physical labour and spending a lot of time in Veracruz, we also have spent a lot of time building a second kind of home; one for Wilber. For those who don’t know, Wilber is a 14 year old Nicaraguan orphan whom Corwin is adopting. We’ve had the distinct pleasure of adopting Wilber into our team. He has been staying with us at the Provadenic and has been working with us every day. The change in him through the last 4 days has been exceptional. He went from being shy and reserved to being so comfortable with us and even beginning to communicate with us in both English and Spanish. Sometimes you can’t even tell that we don’t speak the same language! We have fallen in love with him as a little brother and friend. It has been awesome to be here for Corwin and get to build him up as he goes through the adoption process and learns how to be a father. We feel like it is part of our mission here in Nicaragua and we are humbled to watch it all unfold firsthand.

Tomorrow we are back at the work site until 3 in the afternoon and then we get our first opportunity to head to the orphanage. The kids are excited and nervous, I think, to see what the orphanage is like and to have their heart continue in this process of getting broken to the needs of the people here. I look forward to recanting some of their reactions.

We feel like God has really been blessing our time. I remember this time last year when most of our kids where puking with high fevers (myself included). PRAISE GOD for the health and safety He has given us on this trip so far! He’s truly taking care of us.

You can continue to pray for that health and safety as well as for Corwin and Wilber as they will be making a few decisions in the next few days about things that will affect the adoption process. Pray that God’s will be working in the lives of our team members, of our new Nicaraguan friends, and in Wilber and Corwin.

We love and miss you all so much.

-The team

Greetings from sunny and warm Central America. We have just completed our first day of construction on the house and are finally clean and ready to rest up for tomorrow. This is Nurse Chandra writing…Corwin has handed me the duty of summarizing the last two life changing days that we have had here in Nicaragua.

Sunday was the very first day that our team met Veracruz. After our long and crazy adventure to Matagalpa we still managed to get ourselves up early and were filled with energy and anticipation as we made the journey to Veracruz. We arrived in the village and headed to our church. As soon as the van entered the yard the children were waiting for our door to open so they could grab our hands, give us hugs, and sit beside us in church. We participated in Sunday school where we sang some songs with them and Denver told them a little about Canada and Jenna told them about what it’s like to go to summer camp. The rest of the morning was filled with playing games and giving lots of hugs to the children.

When we are in Veracruz we are fed by a wonderful woman named Shirley in her own home. Shirley loves God with all her heart and feels that is a blessing to be a part of the work He has us do down here. She had asked Corwin in a previous visit if we could bring some of the donations of school supplies and hygiene items that we brought from Canada with us to some very poor families that live in the more remote areas around Veracruz. After lunch at her place we put together several back packs full of stuff for the families that we would see along the way. The team had only had a taste of Veracruz, so what came next was a culture collision for them.

Shirley guided our team to the home of the first family. She explained that it was a home with a single mother who took care of five children. Two of her children have muscle problems and were unable to walk and move on their own. This woman cannot work because she must take care of her children. We gave her the back packs we had prepared and prayed for her and her family. The kids quickly developed a deeply personal awakening to the devastation that some of these families live in and as we walked away there was a new and abrupt awareness in their faces. The next family we visited had a similar situation; a single mother of seven who couldn’t find work. Her home was a small shack made of scrap pieces of corrugated metal with a dirt floor. She allowed us to enter her home. Corwin and I watched as the kids absorbed all that they saw; mats on the dirt floor for beds and clothes in a bag in the corner of the room. As we prayed for the woman she started to cry and the emotions that the kids experienced were new for many. There was this sense of introspection; ‘How is this fair that I have so much and they have so little? Why do I complain about the things in my life? How do I make this right?’ The kid’s hearts started to break for the things that break God’s.

The last house we visited taught us a lot about humility. We came to a third property that was not unlike the first two. The exception was that this one had an innate joy about it. The family members were Christians and greeted us with smiles and love. Though they had almost nothing, they told us that they have never gone without their basic needs and that God is so good to them. We offered them our gifts as a blessing, but then they asked to bless us in return. They offered us some of their crop…yucca root…a vegetable for us to take with us to cook for a future meal. At this point our tears began to flow. These people, who have nothing, still wanted to give to us, who have everything. Through choked tears Regan prayed a blessing over their family and we left with a dose of humility.

We also got to walk through the community and see the other houses that past PS teams have built. At one point we turned down a road and were literally swarmed with children wanting to hold our hands or ride on our backs. It was an overwhelming welcome to Veracruz.

Today we started construction on the home for Hector and his family. The team has been anxious to get working and it showed through their wholehearted efforts. Though we started our day with a minor delay due to lack of equipment, the team’s spirits were never dampened. All it took was one look at Hector’s beaming smile to make us want to work so hard at giving him the first home he’s ever had. We spent our day shoveling & sifting sand, chiseling excess cement off of the brick walls, digging a whole for a toilet, cutting wire for rebar structures, making cement, and leveling the dirt floor inside the house so that we can poor concrete. All day long the team worked with amazing initiative. The children in the community joined in our work too…sometimes distracting us to play games and other times grabbing a chisel and working along side us. A morning that was started clean and cool was ended in dirty hands and faces, legs caked with mud and cement, sweat like we have never had before, but the most content feeling in the world. We can’t wait to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.

God has been so good to our team. Those who were suffering from colds before the trip are now much better and feeling strong. We have had so much safety in our travels and feel like God has been protecting us in that way. We are growing rapidly as a unified team and are learning to not only serve the people of Nicaragua, but also to serve each other. And we are truly grasping the love God has for all His creation in the eyes of the children who so easily accept us and show affection to us.

Thank you so much for your love and support. We can feel those prayers!! We miss you guys lots and can’t wait to tell you about all we are seeing and doing. Here are a few prayer requests:

-continued safety, health, and unity for our team
-for God to continue to break our hearts for the needs around us
-for Regan; on Sunday he had terrible hives on his neck and arms. We prayed for no hives while he worked on Monday and not one showed up! But once we were done work and back at the Provadenic he was covered once again. Pray that God shows Himself to us in healing those hives!!

Blessings to you all…Dios les Bendiga…
-Chan, Corwin, & the PS08 team

We made it safely on Friday night, and it's been a blur of activity since then. We were greeted at the airport by our good friends Richard and Shirley, along with local heartthrob Mundo. At the Provadenic (our hostel in Managua) we were met by our translator Esteban and Wilber, the Nicaraguan boy I am in the process of adopting. It was a very special reunion.

On Saturday I learned that Matagalpa is not 1 hour and 15 minutes away from Managua, as was suggested by a friend of mine. What started as an idea to make a quick trek to see some lush coffee growing countryside, turned into a 13 hour mountain marathon adventure. Packing 17 people into a 15 passenger van seemed to be adventurous enough, but to intensify the experience, we found ourselves careening up mountain roads remarkably similar to ones found on the moon. Not great on a full bladder. All this for a chance at some beautiful scenery gazing and a swim in a jungle waterfall. But it was definitely worth the ride. The team has a wonderful way of seeing any potential obstacle as an opportunity to experience something new and enriching. They made the day into something which they'll remember for the rest of their lives. We finished the day with a birthday party for my son. It's a week late, but it was still an amazing experience to give him a birthday he'll never forget.

Today we spent time in Veracruz and became more familiar with the people and the town we will be serving the rest of our time. We begin house construction tomorrow. The team has learned many incredible lessons already, and i am excited to share them with you as the days unfold.

More stories to come. Please check out the pics and leave comments for the team.

We are only 1 hour away from taking our final flight. It has been a sweet ride so far and we have had many adventures. We didn't get much sleep at the Vancouver airport, and some of us were dragging our heels onto our early morning flight. But once we got to Los Angeles yesterday morning we were re-energized and were able to enjoy a bit of the California sunshine, though it never got much warmer than 17 C. Last night we all went to Downtown Disney (it's free!) and spent time looking at the shops and enjoying the sights. Before bed we had a good time of prayer together as a team. We are so excited for the adventures that are waiting for us. Almost everyone got a good sleep at the hotel, which has helped our energy levels. Out flight to Houston was complete with a brief period of intense turbulence and a sudden 3 second free fall. Jenna screamed. Marshall laughed, but I think it was to cover up his panic! We landed safely and have been waiting for our final leg of the journey. Please continue to pray as we step into a new and intense Nicaraguan reality. April, Regan and Nathan are struggling with head colds, so please pray for their quick healing. We are so excited to finally arrive in Managua. Thanks again for your partnership. We carry you with us. Stay tuned.

Here's a quick rundown on what has happened so far in our adventure:

1. The team has had several team meetings to prepare for this mission. We first met on Sept 16 for a parent orientation, and then again on Sept 23, Oct 28, and Nov 17 to build our team and prepare for our fundraising initiatives. During one of these training sessions, the students got their first Spanish lesson (very interesting to observe), and did more team building activities. I would have to say the most amazing part of our Oct 28 training day was when the students shared their life stories with each other. This is really where I saw the depth of these young people. As we listened to each other share our dreams, our hopes, and our struggles, we truly experienced a vulnerability and openness that took our team to the next level.

2. Our group fundraiser happened on Sunday, December 2. The students were part of a wonderful dessert auction. The students presented some amazing desserts that went to the top bidders. There was a great atmosphere, some student testimonies, and STARBUCKS® coffee! Each student was responsible for filling their table of 8.

Through this event we had hoped to raise enough money to cover the cost of building the house in Nicaragua - approximately $2000. YFC has another Project Serve team led by Kristin Clark, and they are off to Belize in February. We worked together with this team on the auction, and they were trying to raise $1500 for their building project.

God is so good! We ended up raising an astonishing total of $13,000 for the two mission teams!! We are so thankful for God’s faithfulness, and for the ability to use these funds to further our impact in Central America.

3. Our latest team meeting was on Jan 26, and it was a marathon 15 hour training day. We started early and went late. We wanted to experience a typical 'PROJECT SERVE' length of day, to get the team conditioned, and to see if we could spend that many consecutive hours together without going crazy! We spent the morning praying and having personal quiet time, ending with the viewing of The Passion of the Christ, and a very powerful foot washing ceremony. We are becoming more and more like a family, with a deep care and commitment to each other. I praise God for leading the team to this place. We served at a local church in the afternoon, and ended the day doing a lot of final trip preparations. It was a big day, but very significant for us as a team.

4. Our great adventure begins very soon. We leave next week Wednesday at 10:00pm from the Saskatoon airport. There will be a commissioning prayer time at 8:30pm, so please feel invited to be part of that. I hope you can make it and show your support.

5. Prayer requests for the team

- health and safety

- pray for the families of the team members as they prepare

- pray for continued wisdom for the trip directors


Thank you again for your support of the Project Serve Team. God Bless you richly. Stay tuned.

In Christ,
Corwin