Central Nicaragua - January 2009 - Dying to Bear Fruit
Just a few months ago he didn't know if he would live. Laying in a hospital bed not knowing why he was so sick. Now, he is praising God for the amazing recovery and again he faithfully teaches the people in his small church.
This is the story of Pastor Carlos. A year ago our team stood in his dry field and prayed for him & his family as well as his church, his village and the ministry that God had given them. Now we can praise God with pastor Carlos. The ministry is growing and the field now has an irrigation system.
Seven members from our recent team of 30 went specifically to teach pastors about how to better use and develop their agricultural resources. They also completed the instillation of a drip irrigation system on Pastor Carlos' field and started instillation on one other field. The task was not without difficulty. Some of the parts they needed took them several days to secure. After trying nearly every supply store in Leon they ended up getting the last few parts they needed from Managau which is about 3 hours away. However, once they had the last parts the project came together very quickly. A small dam was built in the nearby stream to build up enough water to supply the pump, which would push the water out onto the field. Now pastor Carlos and his community will be able to produce food through the dry season. Also, with some of the new techniques he learned he may be able to produce more and better crops off the same piece of ground. Even more exciting is that he was just one of 12 pastors that attended the Bible studies and agricultural development seminars that were provided by the Catalyst team.
An exciting group of young people made up an outreach team that worked in a village teaching Bible lessons. They drew a group of about 50 - 60 kids from the area with their sport outreach. They played baseball, soccer among other games. This was the platform to develop relationships and open the doors so that God's Word could be shown through love and words. By being in the same location four days in a row they were able to get to know the children by name. This allowed for more meaningful connections with the children. The team played games with the memory verses and did skits to bring the Bible stories to life. On the last day of the outreach seven of the children placed their trust in Christ as their means of salvation. Praise the Lord!
The remaining members of the team were working at a church in the village of Salinas Grande The church here has been established for several years and God is using it to multiply His work. From here a number of pastors have been called to move out and start new churches in other villages.
Up to 30 ladies showed up throughout the week to be taught by members of our team. These 30 ladies were either pastors wives or ministry leaders in the various churches that they represented. Some of them traveled for miles just to attend.
The content of the sessions ranged from deep Bible study to practical thing like sanitation, fruit dehydration, and crafts. The women were very receptive and asked very insightful questions to the leaders. Their passion for God was apparent despite the difficulty of their lives and ministry.
Just outside the church a group from our team worked with the children of the ladies who were attending the conference. The children from the village also showed up in droves to hear the Bible stories. Around 60 children were ministered to. We used songs, skits, crafts and sports to engage the children. At lunch time we gave out snacks to all of the children. They would line up over and over again until the cooler of water or juice was completely empty. We know that the seeds of God's Word were planted and we pray that the hearts of the children will be fertile soil.
There is a group of pastors that shepherd the churches around the Leon area. They will follow up with the many children that were taught from the Bible by our team. In order to be more effective they have formed a national fellowship of pastors and placed leaders within the group. It was a great highlight of the trip was when Andrew Brown, on behalf of Catalyst, had the privilege of presenting a new motorcycle to the new leader of this pastors fellowship. This motorcycle was given to accelerate the Gospel into the many villages scattered throughout Nicaragua.
It was a joy to be a part of this team in Nicaragua and see the many ways that God is working to reach people. To be his hands touching the young children and strengthening and encouraging the pastors and their wives was a special reward. Each of the members of the team that had the honor of going was just part of a much larger team that includes you. By your prayers, donations, and financial support you have made an eternal investment into the lives of people in Nicaragua. We have all been part of sharing the Word of God and we hold onto the promise that His Word will accomplish His purpose (Isa 55:11).
Click here to check out the photo gallery Team Photo at an 8"x10" resolution - right click the link to save the file to your hard drive.
Trip Schedule and Prayer Requests
God has truly amazed us with the marvelous ways that he has brought together the team of 30 people from around the US to be part of this outreach in Nicaragua. He has wonderfully provided the needed finances, not only for the team members, but also for the various supplies that we will be taking down. At this point all but three of the team members have all the funds in that they need to cover their trip.
Pray the God will supply the remainder for these three team members.
Supplies and finances have poured in from various sources to provide for Agricultural materials that will be used to assist the people and pastors of Nicaragua with their fields. The women's ministry at Westbrook Church has wonderfully provided funds and gifts to share with wives of pastors working to plant churches in Nicaragua.
Pray that God will work in the hearts of the team as he open their eyes to how BIG His love for people truly is!
A tentative schedule is as follows:
Saturday – Travel Day – Arrive Managua around 8-9PM CST– Greeting by Chosen Children and transfer by Chosen Children Bus to Masaya (near Managua) and stay at Guest House for overnight. We will probably wait for both Houston and Miami groups to arrive and clear customs before departing the airport.
Pray for seamless travel for the team. We have people originating in California, Alaska, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Pray for safety and ease of customs immigration in Nicaragua as we are bringing in lots of supplies for ministry in our luggage.
Sunday – Worship and Travel – Breakfast at guest house around 8AM. Group Worship then transfer by Chosen Children Bus to Leon Guest House (about 3 hours by bus). Afternoon will be used to look at mission sites, meet with teams and make final plans. Group devotion and sharing after dinner.
Pray for team unity and safe travel in Nicaragua.
Pray for the Chosen Children missionaries who will host our team.
Monday – Thursday (Approximate Times)
8 AM Breakfast at Leon Guest House
9 AM Departure for Team Sites
Ag Teaching and Demonstrations for Pastors- Bob Hathcock, leader
Women’s Conference and Discipleship Visits – Lynda Hathcock, leader
Pastor’s Kids Bible School – Margaret Brown, leader
College Student Sports and Bible Camp – Jana Ogg, leader
1 PM Lunch on Site provided by Chosen Children
Afternoon continue site work
5-6 PM – Return to Guest House
7 PM – Dinner at Leon Guest House
8 PM – Nightly Devotions/Debriefs
Pray that the Nicaraguan pastors and church leaders will be encouraged for their work of evangelism, discipleship and even basic survival/sustenance.
Pray that through our outreach, some may meet Christ the first time, others will grow in him.
Pray that the churches will be strengthened for long-term ministry.
Pray for the health of the team and for team unity.
Friday
8 AM Breakfast at Leon Guest House – assessment of remaining projects
1 PM – Lunch
OPTIONAL Afternoon market and culture in Leon – be sure to see the cathedral downtown and note the shrine to the “dead Jesus” – you will understand why you have been a missionary.
5 PM – depart for Guest House in Managua/Masaya – transfer by Chosen Children Bus
8 PM – Team Closing Dinner at Masaya – Team Pictures
Pray that God will strengthen us to finish well in his work.
Pray that the team will understand the need for the Gospel in Nicaragua.
Saturday
8 AM - Breakfast
Pack and Final Pictures
10-10:30 AM – Departure for Managua Airport
Pray for safe travels and smooth returns.
Pray that God will burn in the heart of every trip participant a desire to life a mission’s lifestyle for HIS glory.
Trip Aim and Description
Jesus said “...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24 [NASB])
Catalyst is gathering a group of people that want to invest a week of their lives into something of eternal significance. If you want to be part of the team then block out January 3-10, 2009 on your calendar now. You can click here to download a brochure with all the details or go to our downloads page for an application package.
The trip will be a cooperative effort between Catalyst Missions and Chosen Children Ministries. CCM has long term Nicaraguan personnel in country to support the sustained growth of the Churches and ministries that we will serve during our time there.
There are four elements of the larger Catalyst team.
· Agriculture Extension
Workshops
In most of Nicaragua food is life. A pastor outside of Leon is keenly aware of this and is providing his congregation spiritual food. However, many lack physical food. He yearns to develop a field to fill this need.
We need men and women with agriculture backgrounds /
expertise to help staff Agriculture workshops
from a Christian perspective. With sustainable
agriculture a high priority, we will focus on basic training seminars and practical application projects like:
· Seed selection
· Soil improvement
· Rotation
· Family gardening
· Inexpensive irrigation
· Solar power
· Animal workshops
· up to 20 people needed on this module
· Adopt a Grandchild (Pastors Kids Ministry)
Join this group as they pour Jesus’ love into the hearts of pastors children. Here an average of 25 children are cared for and taught the Bible. This ministry relies on volunteers and child sponsorship to operate.
We are looking for a group of grandparents willing to work with these children and local churches for a life changing spiritual and physical investment.
Potential projects include:
· Bible Clubs for Children
· Organized Games and snack times
· Sharing crafts and activities with the children
· 10 team members needed on this module
· Encourage a Pastors Wife The wives of pastors in the rural areas of Nicaragua will be served by this group. Around 20 women will be cared for and encouraged as they share Bible studies and practical sessions with our team members. Special gift baskets and Bibles are being prepared for personal delivery to the pastors wives. Lets encourage them as their families seek to share the Word of God in the rural areas of Nicaragua.
Potential projects include:
· Sharing Bible studies with the ladies
· Teaching on practical needs applicable to the area
· Encouragement through time spent together
· Crafts and activities
· Testimonies
· 10 team members needed on this module
· Barrio Bible Club & Sports Ministry
If you love working with children and have abundant energy
this team is for you. Bible lessons, songs, skits, activities, and play are key components of the ministry that this team will undertake as they sprinkle love into soft hearts.
Throughout the week in Nicaragua a number of different locations will host this team. Hundreds of children will be presented with truths from God’s Word through translators in areas where local churches and believers can follow up.
Projects could include:
· Bible Clubs (songs, skits, Bible memory, crafts)
· Organized Games and/or Sports Clinics
· Feeding Ministry
· Possible minor church building maintenance
· up to 30 team members needed
If you feel challenged to do something simple yet very powerful to impact global missions and you have a willing heart and open hands please apply. You will receive training and assistance in preparation for the trip. God will open your eyes to how He is working
in other parts of the world. Your life and understanding
of our great missional God will be expanded as you lay down your life to bear fruit of eternal value for Him.
CATALYST Mission
is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization recognized
by the Internal Revenue Service.
All contributions towards this trip are tax deductible.
This deduction
applies to team members
as well as their donors.
The cost of the trip is held to a very small margin and we endeavor to be good stewards of the resources given to us.
Thank you for entrusting
us with your resources and being a vital part of touching lives in a needy part of the world.
To look through some pictures that the team took during the trip in January of 2008 you can go to our Nicaragua 08 Team Album.
Here is a music video that was put together by a member of the January 2008 team..
If the video above doesn't play you could be missing the Adobe Flash plugin. Go here to get it or launch the video in your default video player by clicking here.
To red more about what God did through the team in 2008 click this link.
Seven members from our recent team of 30 went specifically to teach pastors about how to better use and develop their agricultural resources. They also completed the instillation of a drip irrigation system on Pastor Carlos' field and started instillation on one other field. The task was not without difficulty. Some of the parts they needed took them several days to secure. After trying nearly every supply store in Leon they ended up getting the last few parts they needed from Managau which is about 3 hours away. However, once they had the last parts the project came together very quickly. A small dam was built in the nearby stream to build up enough water to supply the pump, which would push the water out onto the field. Now pastor Carlos and his community will be able to produce food through the dry season. Also, with some of the new techniques he learned he may be able to produce more and better crops off the same piece of ground. Even more exciting is that he was just one of 12 pastors that attended the Bible studies and agricultural development seminars that were provided by the Catalyst team.
An exciting group of young people made up an outreach team that worked in a village teaching Bible lessons. They drew a group of about 50 - 60 kids from the area with their sport outreach. They played baseball, soccer among other games. This was the platform to develop relationships and open the doors so that God's Word could be shown through love and words. By being in the same location four days in a row they were able to get to know the children by name. This allowed for more meaningful connections with the children. The team played games with the memory verses and did skits to bring the Bible stories to life. On the last day of the outreach seven of the children placed their trust in Christ as their means of salvation. Praise the Lord!
The remaining members of the team were working at a church in the village of Salinas Grande The church here has been established for several years and God is using it to multiply His work. From here a number of pastors have been called to move out and start new churches in other villages.
The content of the sessions ranged from deep Bible study to practical thing like sanitation, fruit dehydration, and crafts. The women were very receptive and asked very insightful questions to the leaders. Their passion for God was apparent despite the difficulty of their lives and ministry.
There is a group of pastors that shepherd the churches around the Leon area. They will follow up with the many children that were taught from the Bible by our team. In order to be more effective they have formed a national fellowship of pastors and placed leaders within the group. It was a great highlight of the trip was when Andrew Brown, on behalf of Catalyst, had the privilege of presenting a new motorcycle to the new leader of this pastors fellowship. This motorcycle was given to accelerate the Gospel into the many villages scattered throughout Nicaragua.
It was a joy to be a part of this team in Nicaragua and see the many ways that God is working to reach people. To be his hands touching the young children and strengthening and encouraging the pastors and their wives was a special reward. Each of the members of the team that had the honor of going was just part of a much larger team that includes you. By your prayers, donations, and financial support you have made an eternal investment into the lives of people in Nicaragua. We have all been part of sharing the Word of God and we hold onto the promise that His Word will accomplish His purpose (Isa 55:11).
Supplies and finances have poured in from various sources to provide for Agricultural materials that will be used to assist the people and pastors of Nicaragua with their fields. The women's ministry at
Jesus said “...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24 [NASB])
If you feel challenged to do something simple yet very powerful to impact global missions and you have a willing heart and open hands please