The team returned on Tuesday, January 27th, although for awhile there we wondered if JR would make it back with us! He was pretty sick, but God and a couple of Nicaraguan hospitals looked after him.

We were blessed by the children much more than we blessed them, as usual. The change in the atmosphere at the children’s home in Jinotepe was dramatic—God is reaching the kids’ hearts and drawing them to himself. They have devotions regularly, many read their Bibles frequently, and the new house father, Aldo, has instituted daily exercise (optional) and is teaching the boys to be good stewards of God’s gifts to them.  When some of team members were ill the children prayed for us and we were healed.

Some of the things that we accomplished were:

     – Prepped and painted the iron railings on one side of the Casa Grande
     – Built and painted four tables for the ninos to use for study and play
     – Purchased blankets, dishes and flatware for the kids to use
     – Provided a new laptop computer for Javier Sanchez, the director
     – Inner healing counseling and education training for the house parents and kids
     – Repair and restoration of the basketball goals and backboards

In addition we spent many hours playing with, talking to, and hugging the children. It was a joy to give them our attention and love, to talk with them, laugh, play Uno, sing worship songs and hike on the beautiful trails on the property. 

Thank you again to all who prayed for us and supported us financially. Look for more updates and phots from this trip, and for announcements about our plans to return to Nicaragua with a team in July!