Missions Update From Nicaragua

Chosen Children Ministries

His Heart - Our Mission

News from the Field August 2011

Dear Missions Partner,

Looking back over the past seven months of 2011 at Chosen Children Ministries can only be described as overwhelming! Seven hundred-fifty missionaries have served faithfully so far this year, and eight more teams are getting ready to go. God has allowed all of us to see Him work in so many ways, and do things only He can do. 0.8838028169014085

One of the highlights of the year was drilling the first well at the Parcels Barrio and providing clean drinking water to 120 families who normally got their drinking water by walking 3 1/2 miles. A church was planted at the new well and a temporary building was constructed. John 4:13 : "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst again. But the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."

The team testimonies you will read in this newsletter are testimonies to God's faithfulness to those who answer the call to Pray, Give, and Go.

Thank you for your faithfulness,

Wallace Nix

Executive Director

Prayer Requests

New children are arriving

at our Mephibosheth orphanage. Please pray God will move the hearts of people to sponsor these chilren.

CCM supports 13 barrio pastors and churches in Nicaragua. Pray for these young churches and their continued support and growth.

Our Mephiobsheth orphanage needs a better and larger van. Therefore, one of the CCM regular ministry vans is being given to the orphanage. Please pray God will provide a another ministry van which is so vital to our CCM staff and teams in order to travel to the many barrios.

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Gowensville First Baptist

Gowensville, South Carolina

On July 3, our church sent our second Nicaragua mission team from First Baptist Gowensville. Fourteen of our members answered the call, and for about half of them, it was their first overseas mission project. It will most certainly not be their last!

What an amazing week of ministry God gave to us in Nicaragua. Having personally been once, I was still surprised at just how much need we encountered while there. God gave us the opportunity to literally bring shelter from the storms to people who had none, as he allowed us to repair the plastic walls around a number of homes, which really means the difference between living in the elements and being sheltered from them. 0.8669064748201439 One single mother of three children was able to come home from working all day to brand new "walls" on her home. In addition to the repair work, God inspired one of our team members, Charlie Gainey, to design a new type of house frame, made from PVC pipes. It's truly a house frame like no other I've ever seen. We transported this 12x12 home to Nicaragua, and God allowed us to build a sturdy new home for a woman and her family in Emmanuel barrio. What a blessing it was to see her face on move in day!

Apart from simply meeting physical needs and building a rapport with the people, we were able to go door to door sharing the Gospel in Cristo Rey barrio and Emmanuel Barrio, and there were 20 people who gave their lives to Christ during this project! Praise God for changing hearts and lives.

Our team came back different. I truly believe that life change happened not just in the folks who we ministered to, but in the people who went to minister. We try and teach our church that missions is not just a once in a lifetime trip, but a way of life. I'm so grateful for our partners on the field with Chosen Children, and we already long to return in 2012!

Josh Phillips, Associate Pastor & Team Leader

"In the same way, let your light shine for all to see,

so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Matthew 5:16

Lucy Baptist Church

Lucy, Tennessee

Flying with 10 youth that have never been out of the country, and some never having flown before, we were in for a real adventure. While it didn't go perfectly (does it ever with airlines?), Christ was faithful and everyone eventually arrived in Masaya. We were blessed with the opportunity to go to church in Masaya Sunday morning, and help with the construction of the schoolrooms in the mission house compound. 0.8110236220472441

Everyone was itching to get out in the barrios and start to share Christ with the incredible people of Nicaragua. We were able to go to Leon to a barrio called Salinas Grande near the Pacific Ocean. We walked around the neighborhood inviting folks to join us in our church service and, if the opportunity arose, we shared the Gospel. Some even picked up a machete and "helped" clear some land. After a lunch next to the ocean, we shared our lesson and God blessed us with a large group. The rest of the week followed a similar schedule.

We had the opportunity to share Christ's love with the kids at the orphanage, and in the barrio surrounding the orphanage and spent a couple days in the barrio of Marvin. It was amazing to share Christ with so many wonderful people. They were attentive, open, and so caring and inviting. In between sharing the name of Christ, there were some rousing games of soccer. Obviously, Team Nicaragua was far superior to Team USA.

Everyone that was on our team had their eyes open to the urgency of the Great Commission. Christ used this opportunity to show the need for missions and the need especially in Nicaragua. Praise God for allowing Lucy Baptist Church to be a part of it.

Doug Landrum, Team Leader

New Additions to Casa Mephibosheth:

Jessica-5 Martha-9

These 2 new additions to Casa Mephibosheth are in need of sponsors. Please contact our US office at 864-599-0067 or email amber at amber@chosenchildrenministries.org or visit www.chosenchildrenministries.org to sponsor Jessica or Martha.

Blue Ridge Church of Christ

Fisherville, Virginia

On behalf of the Nicaragua Mission Team of Blue Ridge Church of Christ (BRCC), we would like to offer our highest commendations and express our appreciation to the in country staff of Chosen Children Ministries (CCM). The dedication to service to others in the name of Christ Jesus, shown by Guillermo Morales and his staff played a huge role in making our mission trip an outstanding success. 1.0736842105263158 While working side by side with Guillermo, Juan, Bill, Jose, and Abner, we gained valuable insight into what it takes to serve Christ in Nicaragua and how to turn a seemingly hopeless situation into a labor of Love and a sense of personal spiritual fulfillment. This is Excellence in Ministry.

As we worked through the week we took note that CCM staff were always in good spirits and eager to get to work in ensuring that we were taken care of, and, when in the field, eager to serve those we met, while at the same time helping us to get the most out of our short time in Nicaragua. We got to know some of the personal lives of the staff and share some of our lives with them. We found everyone we worked with quick to laugh, eager to explain, anxious to share, willing to serve, and above all, possessing hearts filled with the love of Christ. We took note of the fact that the staff acted not as a well-organized work force, which they were, not as a group of coworkers or friends, which they were as well, but as a family. We were so blessed as the staff not only welcomed us, but made us to feel a special part of the family. Shortly before we left we had a chance to speak with one of the staff on the patio adjacent the dining hall. We commented to him that we had noticed that he, as well as the rest of the staff, always had an upbeat, positive, happy attitude and that nothing seems to bring them down. We thought this remarkable given the enormous challenge of trying to meet a need so great, so desperate as to be almost hopeless. His reply was simple and sincere; he gave credit of this attitude to the Spirit of the Lord, and the opportunity to serve His people. He also said that they got strength and encouragement from the many visiting missionaries who came to serve, and that he had particularly enjoyed our group.

Thanks to the CCM staff, we at BRCC were truly blessed by our time in Nicaragua. To the staff, we will keep you in our thoughts and prayers. May the Father continue to bless you with the determination to do what it takes to reach the lost, the resources to provide for the needy, and the endurance to see the job through to the end. Blessings from BRCC.

Chris Marks, Team Member

Clearwater Community Church

Clearwater, Florida

The Lord blessed our team with an amazing week in Nicaragua. Twenty of us from Clearwater Community Church and Spring Hill Baptist Church were called by God to make this trip. We traveled to the Leon area and spent the week working at Salinas Grandes most of the time in the Village of Hope. Our team shined God's blessings as we served this area for the fifth time working and ministering in this village. Our project this year was to tear down the house we helped build for Pastor Irving and his family in 2003. We took down the roof, all the wood, and were able to complete the masonry work to the point where the new home was ready for the roof.

First, each day, Monday through Friday, we held VBS at the church. The kids were great, their singing was enthusiastic, and they were attentive to our lessons. All the children were eager to say the bible verse and to work on the craft. 1.0301724137931034 We were encouraged by how the Holy Spirit was at work with these kids and among our team.

Additionally, we also had the opportunity each day to have adult discipleship, first at Pastor Irving's church and then at the church in another village. There were 50-60 people coming each day to study God's Word together. What a blessed time it was teaching these folks and sensing their hunger to better understand the Bible. On the last day, a woman stood up and said, "I cannot read but I can listen, thank you for coming and teaching us God's Word." Wow, what a thrill!

As the week went on the Lord had even more in store for us. Several of our folks started going door to door with a translator and some of the women from the church. By the end of the week, almost everyone on our team was involved in sharing the gospel message. We were able to reach every home in three villages. On Thursday, several of our folks were walking pass a school, stopped and were invited in to talk to the children. Nothing planned; just very simply presenting Christ's good news at this divine appointment and a number of kids accepted Jesus as their Savior. God's plans are so much better than ours!

The Holy Spirit was truly at work with the teenage boys in the Village of Hope. On Monday, several were hanging around playing soccer; most of the teens did not attend church. One of our girls started playing with them and impressed them with her skills. One of our leaders invited them to come and listen to some of our boys talking about the Lord. Our guys shared a message from Hebrews 12:1-3. These young men would not go into the church, but they did come and listen under a tree as our guys shared their testimonies and the gospel was presented. Pastor Irving noticed that they seemed to have an interest in singing and in music so he suggested we invite them back the next day for a jam session. In fact, he told us to make it loud! And that is what happened. The next day these teens, with some more friends, came back, came into the church and were involved with the drums, the keyboard and had a lot of fun. Again, not something we planned, but it was in God's plan. The next day we were presenting a drama called "Redeemer" and we invited them to come. 1.064102564102564 And although, they still would not come into the church for the service, they did hang around outside and watched the drama through the open windows. We don't know what the results will be, but Pastor Irving and the CCM team will be following up on what God started in the hearts of these young men.

The Lord still had another blessing in store for us. On Wednesday night, most of the folks had gone to bed, when one of our young men asked to speak to one of our leaders. He was from a Christian family and he was in this leader's discipleship group back home. He came with one of his best friends and said that earlier that day he had participated in presenting the gospel when the team was going house to house. And, it was the first time he had been with someone when they got saved and as a result he realized that he had been going through the motions. Everyone thought he was saved and now he knew that was not true. That night he placed his faith and trust in Jesus for real. Then next night he shared this with the entire group at our last sharing time-what a great climax to an amazing week. Planning on doing it again next year, we can hardly wait!

Jack Hughes, Team Leader

Shandon Baptist Church (Youth Team)

Columbia, South Carolina

On July 16^th, 25 members of the Shandon Baptist Church youth ministry headed off to Nicaragua for the adventure of a lifetime. During our time in this great country we were able to build 3 houses for the people of the Paradise barrio, as well as minister to their children each day by teaching them Bible stories while acting them out. As if this were not enough, one of our teams was able to build a schoolroom for the local school and was able to finish their task before the end of the week. 0.9318734793187348 The highlight for all of our groups was when we were able to go door-to-door in the barrios, giving away hygiene bags and sharing the Gospel. Our students, and leaders alike, were encouraged to see a total of 25 people put their faith in Christ at the end of the week! We praise God for His grace throughout our trip and for all the wonderful and dedicated people at Chosen Children. We are already counting down the days until next year's trip.