The rest of the team went home today. Paul and I are staying for three days. We had thought about some big excursions (hikes and such), but that’s not going to work out.
Heading to the airport
We spent a few hours sightseeing while Rommel took the rest of the team to the airport in Mangua. This is a very beautiful city with colorful buildings, each with a courtyard hidden behind the doors. Every home and building is an open concept.
A local Catholic Church
We toured a couple churches and walked through a very beautiful hotel with only four rooms. We talked to a few people on the street and distributed some gospel tracts. We had a nice lunch at a street side cafe for about $6 each before heading back to the hotel to meet Rommel.
Kids playing baseballA wild horse on the baseball fieldGranada is a beautiful city
Rommel and Milady drove us to San Juan del Sur, a quaint Oceanside city on a bahía. On the way we stopped at the lake to view a couple volcanoes. These spectacles are in the middle of the lake.
In San Juan de Sur we ate Ceviche and walked on the beach while Rommel bought fish for tonight’s dinner. We stayed about another hour while Milady played in the ocean. She is a very bright ten-year-old girl that loves the Lord and her daddy.
We were back in Granada around 6:45pm and then went to Rommel’s home for Red Snapper dinner and fellowship. It was a wonderful evening and the food was excellent. We stayed until 10:00pm and walked back to the hotel.
Today was an administrative day. We all ate breakfast at Kathy’s Waffle House again today.
Four of the team met with Rommel for the audit, a meeting in which we learn more details about the ministry in the area, learn about the national host, and plan strategy for the future. The rest of the team (Dave, Jed and I) went for a long walk through town, did some sightseeing and street witnessing (distributing tracts).
A children‘s field tripKids making chocolate
We walked through the tourist district and down to the lake. Lake Nicaragua is enormous, it goes all what way to the Costa Rica border. Jed bought some souvenirs and we returned to the hotel around 12:30 so we could all go to lunch. We ate small because we were scheduled to have a farewell dinner at Rommel’s home this evening.
Jeremías (Gamaliel) was our host this morning. He took us to the open-air market to meet his mother and brothers.
Jeremías (right), his mom and brothers
Rommel made a huge barbecue with beef, ribs, chicken, potato salad and fresh pico de gallo. Ana Julia’s friend, Glenda, is an expert tortilla chef – she made all of the tortillas. The pastor and another lady that attended our conferences were there, as well, and Rommel asked me to entertain them since they speak no English. I served as translator for the rest of the team while Rommel cooked dinner.
Master chef RommelThe spreadSeñoraPastorRommelRommel, Ana Julia and Milady
We all said some trip-closing words from our heart and we returned to the hotel around 10:00pm.
Feed them with spiritual food and material food, that’s what we do and today we were able to do both.
The day began with a later-than-usual breakfast because we were going to the prison at 10:00am. We ate at Claudia’s, a small cafe around the corner from our hotel. We’ve been eating the same thing every morning with the free breakfast included with our hotel.
Huevos Rancheros
Eddie led our devotional time by opening up discussion about Jesus’ encounter with the woman in Matthew 15:26-27. Breakfast was delicious and the fellowship sweet.
We left for the prison at 11:00am. The team was split in two – Dave, Eddie and Paul went to the men’s penitentiary with Rommel. Greg, Jed, Grace and I went to the women’s prison. We had no interpreter when we arrived so I spoke with the OC and the nurses that received our donated medications. We waited alone in the room for about 30 minutes before the nurses came in to count the medications and have us sign to confirm we had donated them. I’m pleased to know they are accounted for so we can be reasonably sure they will be used for the inmates.
La Esperanza Women’s Penitentiary
The officer in charge was not available to introduce our ministry but Rommel had already done that prior to our arrival. We were then told to wash our hands and put masks on before entering the prison.
Medicine donated to the women’s prison
We were then escorted around a couple buildings until we arrived at the general purpose room where 28 female inmates were seated and waiting for our arrival. We were all pleased to find that there was a female inmate that used to be a guide that assisted other pastors that came to Nicaragua (as I understood it). She served as our translator and she did a great job.
Greg introduced our ministry and then I served as emcee to introduce Jed, who gave his testimony and then Grace, who shared a message about the Prodigal Son. I then shared a message followed by an altar call – five ladies came forward, some with genuine tears in their eyes. Greg then prayed for any ladies with ailments or physical needs and then we distributed the gifts.
We brought a bag for each lady that had Days-for-Girls washable feminine hygiene pads and liners, two toothbrushes, a tube of toothpaste, a bar of soap, deodorant and some candy. We gave 24 Bibles to the prison church and left a soccer ball for the ladies. They told us that because they are ladies they don’t play soccer as much as volleyball. We will consider bringing volleyballs for the ladies in the future.
The ladies then sang a worship song for us that seemed like it lasted ten minutes – we all stood and clapped along with them while they sang – I could understand very little of what they were singing. We then shared some pastries and soda with them – they lined up, took a pastry and a cup of soda, and returned to their cells. We were then left alone – we each had a snack and then left the prison. We walked to the front gate, retrieved our passports, and walked across the street to a small street vendor to wait for the rest of our team to get back from the men’s prison.
Jeremias, our driver, and Rosa, the street vendor
While waiting we bought some sodas and sat down under a shaded seating area. There was a man and a ten-year-old daughter that began talking to me. I shared a gospel tract with him and offered to buy the little girl something to drink. I also got her a bag of chips and asked here to order for her father, too. We, as a team, then began praying for the rest of our team – shortly thereafter the elderly lady that owns the little shop/kiosk asked us to pray for her. We prayed for her and her granddaughters that were helping her tend the store. We then chatted with them for a while in Spanish until the rest of our team arrived, we then returned to the hotel.
Antonia, Maria, Rosa and Jed
We had an early dinner tonight because Rommel had a “cultural experience” planned for us. We ate at a nice restaurant two blocks away and had fellowship for about an hour and a half. We met Rommel back at the hotel and began our evening. A few of us knew what we were doing but it was a surprise for most of the team.
Feeding the Hungry
We drove about four blocks from the hotel and parked on the side of the road where about thirty people were waiting – Rommel had told them to be there to get a free meal. These were homeless or poor people, some probably addicted, some had graduated from Rommel’s recovery program, and several children. Rommel had worship music playing in the van and we prayed for each of the people as we gave them a plate of food, a beef stick, a bag of chilled fruit, and a gospel tract. There was enough for everyone and some left over, which we distributed to a few more people later in the evening.
Praying and LovingPoverty doesn’t mean you can’t have joy. Poverty doesn’t mean you don’t have value.
We then walked through the central plaza. Jed and I distributed gospel tracts and gave some snacks to some of the street kids. We then decided to go get ice cream but, since the whole team wasn’t in one place, I took a few minutes to share the gospel with a group of four British “kids” in their early-to-mid twenties. They were baffled by the curved illusion cards and then we had a good, fruitful conversation about eternity and the reality of heaven, hell, a just God and the meaning of the sacrificial death of Jesus.
All of them engaged in the conversation at some level – I saw smiles, heard chuckles, observed internal reflection, and watched some rather uncomfortable body language. One of the girls said that that was the best conversation she had ever had about religion. As I reflected later I thought about how different people react when confronted with uncomfortable truth. We can’t judge their laughs or their smiles – I believe, due to the nature of the situation and the way the conversation proceeded, that these were perhaps ways of dealing with their recognition of the reality of one day facing their creator. More on that another time.
We walked down the tourist street which is blocked off from traffic, there are many street vendors, beggars, and trinket peddlers. We handed out gospel tracts and found a few of the street people we had met Monday night. We met a man that cannot talk, he only makes sounds. He was “talking” to Rommel, and Rommel told us that he was upset because they city had closed this street and now it is more difficult for him to make money. There used to be street performers here which would draw much larger crowds, providing him with more people to sell his little trinkets and jewelry.
Grace and a Street Family – they live on the street with mom and dad. Neither is on drugs – both are looking for work, but there is none to be found.
We found an ice cream parlor, got some cones, and sat at a street side table for a while. It was a very touching and nice night. The weather has been hot all week but this was a very pleasant night. We all returned to the hotel with humbled, changed, and blessed hearts.
I awoke at 3:30am with a strong desire to get on my knees and cry out to God. Philippians 3:10 came to my mind (that I may know [Christ] and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death). I went to my knees in prayer for an hour that he would give me vision for ministry and to see the people of the world as he sees them.
Devotional time was mine at breakfast this morning. I shared this passage of scripture and my thoughts on how this trip and the people we’ve been with have impacted me so far. How will my life in the protected world of Washington state impact the world? How will we as a family keep our eyes on Jesus and be fully submitted to his work in us? The death I witnessed yesterday is a reminder of the sanctity of life and the need to redeem the time.
Only four of us received clearance to enter the prison in Granada today. We prepared the hygiene kit gift bags before breakfast, making 90 kits for the number of prisoners we were expecting at today’s prison crusade. We packaged toilet paper, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, anti-perspiring, and a couple pieces of candy. The ladies also received “Days for Girls” reusable sanitary pad kits that my mom made.
Outside the Prison Gate
We all drove to the prison together in two different vehicles. Dave, Paul and me waited outside the prison in hopes that we would be granted entrance after Greg and Rommell spoke to the prison staff.
Jeremías and me
While waiting we prayed and did some bird watching. This is beautiful country, very green and hilly and full of wildlife. The temperature this week has averaged highs in the low-to-mid 90’s but it hasn’t been uncomfortable.
After a ten minute wait we were granted access so we drove to the gate and we all met inside the compound. We assembled all of our humanitarian aid and entered the prison without incident.
I have no photos of the prison, only one from inside the compound. it was very clean with beautiful gardens. There was a shift change so the officers we’re all lined up speaking with their senior officer. When they finished they allowed us to enter.
We walked through the prison gate and were greeted by two K9 officers, one with a German Shepherd and one with a Rottweiler. Greg approached one and the guard told him to “be careful”. He decided it was against best judgment.
We walked through a garden area to the prison, passing a few crowded and dark cell blocks before reaching the chapel, which was painted beautifully inside with new plastic chairs that we purchased in advance with our team budget (we sent the money ahead and they bought the chairs before we arrived everyone in the chapel had a seat.
There were 22 women and about 50 men in the service. Eddie did a great job as emcee and Jed gave his first sermon. He’s never preached before, and never been in a prison before. He reflected later that it was a wonderful experience for him. He did great!
After the service we distributed the humanitarian aid and Bibles, sending some extra Bibles to a couple of the cell blocks. Let’s play they are used properly.
After the two hours at the prison we went to lunch at a little restaurant around the corner from the hotel while Rommel went to Mangus to attempt to get a schedule change for tomorrow’s prison – no success. We have two services tomorrow in two different prisons at the same time – I have to translate.
I don’t have the skill to preach and translate in Spanish – I’m trusting that through the power of the prayers of my family and friends, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, I will succeed in this task. I’m a little uneasy – I know God will work this out perfectly – I’m just a little anxious about what it will look like. Perhaps there will be an inmate that will be able to assist me. Rommel will be translating for the other team
After lunch we met at the church to teach another conference identical to yesterday’s. Rommel was still in Managua so I translated for the first 20 minutes until Rommel returned. It was difficult but fun. As soon as he arrived I handed him the microphone.
The conference went very well and everyone was encouraged.
Please pray that the entire team will do well in the prisons tomorrow, that many will respond in repentance to the gospel, and that we will honor God through faithful and fearless service for his name’s sake. Please also pray that he will miraculously enable me to translate far beyond my current abilities.
Today was Strategic Planning Conference day #1. Breakfast was at 6:00am with Grace sharing a devotional time and we left the hotel at 7:00. The 3-hour drive took 4 1/2 hours – we arrived in Chinandega at 11:30am and began our conference immediately.
Along the way
We stopped a couple times for rest and snacks. On station where we stopped we encountered a man selling trinkets. Rommel knew this man was needy and asked him how we could pray for him. He has renal failure – he said he doesn’t need prayer for the growths on his arms, he only wants to see his son grow up. We prayed for him and gave him some financial assistance.
Passing by the prison in Leon
There were 20 people waiting for us when we arrived because we were later than expected. We began our conference without delay.
We began with an overview of our ministry since most of these people did not attend our Monday conference. We then taught about Ministry expansion into the rest of Nicaragua, teaching them to plan, recruit and raise needed funding.
Greg teaching to divide the country into divisions
We broke the attendees into groups and had them do some brainstorming to help them learn to work together to problem-solve.
Brainstorming
Pastor Rigoberto runs a ministry called Missions Door that is serving in the prisons in and around Chinandega. He is suffering from a chronic ailment so we all gathered around, laid hands on him, and prayed for healing and continued strength to serve in ministry.
Our team with RigobertoThe church where the conference was held
Everyone was very pleased with the conference. They all received their diplomas and lunch was served at the end of the conference and we began our 4 1/2 hour journey home.
A lady who wanted a photo with us
As we passed through a village there was a fire truck, several police officers and a large crowd of people gathered around on the other side of the highway. We stopped as we passed by – there was a man lying dead on the ground, apparently from a motorcycle accident. He was not wearing a helmet or any protective gear. We prayed for his family as we drove on, contemplating on the tenderness of life and the need to proclaim the gospel to all of creation.
This man was living a life just like you and me thirty minutes ago. 250,000 people die every day in this world. I praise God for the gift of life and the promise of eternal life, and I pray as you read this you consider what will happen to you if you were to die today. The Bible is clear, the penalty due for our sin is eternal, and the forgiveness offered through Jesus Christ is also eternal. Which will you receive? Condemnation? Or eternal life? If you are not certain of your eternity I pray you will confess your sin and cry out to God for mercy.
Today was conference day. The church where we taught was less than a mile from the hotel – we arrived shortly before 9:00 and waited until 9:30am so the people operating on Nicaraguan time could arrive.
Waiting for more people
Eddie served as the emcee and did a great job introducing the ministry and our team, and brought the whole conference together throughout the day.
Everyone did a fantastic job teaching each of their topics to the 50 people in attendance. All students were very attentive and took diligent notes.
Greg taught Why We Do Prison MinistryDave taught the Character Traits of a VolunteerGrace taught How to Start a Prison MinistryJed taught How to Grow a Prison MinistryPaul taught the Responsibilities of a Group LeaderNate taught the Four Divisions of Prison Ministry, How Services are Divided, and The Four Types of Services
None of this could have been done without the faithful service and translation of Rommel. He worked hard all day translating for all of us and running us around town. Our national volunteers and ministry partners often work harder than us. We are so thankful to have him as part of our team.
New Volunteers
Thirty people committed to get involved in prison ministry at the end of the conference – a great response – only two had previously served in the prisons. After teaching them that they can serve in prison ministry without going inside the prison they understood the importance of helping all people who are affected by incarceration. If you’re reading this… how will YOU serve?
Greg presented the new PFC flag
We gathered the class together and we all prayed for the prisons of the world by laying our hands on a globe ball and praying out loud as a body of servants desiring to see the prisons of the world taken for Christ. Please pray with us.
Praying for the prisons of the world
After the conference we returned to the hotel and I went with Rommel, Jed and Paul to purchase medication for the prisons. We visited two pharmacies so we could get the best prices on each type of medicine.
Gemaliel Jeremías, our driver and one of the students, with his diploma
Rommel then surprised us – we had a dozen plates of leftovers from lunch to take to the homeless. These were full plates of chicken, vegetables, rice and beans.
Woman sleeping on the street receiving food
Rommel feeds the hungry every week and ministers to the addicted, hungry, and homeless.
We met several people on the street – Rommel knew most of them. As we were walking through the plaza we met two women and their seven kids – we don’t know where their husbands are, possibly addicted or simply irresponsible and leaving their families to find food and shelter. We had them follow us to the van and gave each of them a plate of food. As we were giving them plates of food a line began to form behind them. We didn’t have enough for everyone but we prayed for them and Rommel told them when they could come again for a meal.
We fed about 15-18 people in 30 minutes. That was not difficult. We’ve been called to be the hands and feet of Jesus – this is one of many ways we can do that. It was very moving and touching for each of us.
Tomorrow we leave very early to drive 3 hours to Chinandega to teach another conference to prison ministry volunteers- it will be a long day.
Breakfast was led by Dave this morning who shared about our need to know the scriptures in order to recognize truth from falsehood – unless we know the truth we won’t know a counterfeit when we encounter it. I don’t recall now the title of his devotional time and it involved more than scripture memorization, but he expressed the need to memorize scripture and the ability to recall it when needed is key in our Christian walk.
Shortly after breakfast we were picked up by Rommel and Jeremías, who drove us to the church. The pastor led the church in an opening prayer followed by some great worship.
The children sang a few songs with dancing and hand gestures before being dismissed to classes.
The pastor gave the pulpit to Greg this morning and he gave a wonderful message about finding your passion and serving God in that passion.
He was then told he could continue so he shared for another half hour about biblical principles on fasting.
After the device we had a time of fellowship with some of our newly acquainted brothers and sisters and I shared some gospel tracts with the children and a few adults.
We returned to the hotel to freshen up or change and left for lunch shortly afterward. We drove to a town called Masaya and are at a small seafood restaurant the Rommel suggested.
This meal was prepared much differently than we are accustomed to but was quite tasty. The food came in stages because it’s a small restaurant that cooks to order. I had Coctel de Camarones and Sopa Siete Mares.
Sopa Siete Mares (Seven Seas Soup)“It’s smiling at me”
After lunch we drove a few miles through a steep volcanic area to the crater of Volcán Masaya where we took a short hike up to a viewpoint and learned that the indigenous people used to make sacrifices here and the Colonials thought it was an entrance to hell so a Friar baptized and excorcised the Mountain – there’s some solid theology for you 🫤
Volcán Masaya
After an hour at the volcano we returned to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow’s conference. Dinner was at 7:00pm with chicken, vegetables, rice and beans. Paul and I even had cookies ‘n cream ice cream. It was a fun day – ministry in the prisons was delayed so we’ve used this time for our cultural experience – now we press forward hard for the rest of the week with teaching, training, preaching and serving in the prisons and alongside the local church.
Rommel setting plans for the rest of the week
Pray for a well-attended and well-received conference tomorrow. Pray that many will commit to serving in prison ministry in Nicaragua and other Central American countries. Pray we will remain healthy, strong and encouraged. Pray for our families back home.
Today started with personal devotional time and prayer with a cup of coffee in the courtyard of the hotel. The rest of the team began trickling downstairs around 7:00 and we ate breakfast at 8:30am.
I surprised the team with an envelope full of cards that I received from the students at Tecate Mission School. Rebecca is a personal friend and missionary teacher at the school – her 4th and 5th grade students each made a card and wrote letters to me and our team before our trip and they were delivered to my house in the mail the day we left Seattle. What a blessing to have so many kids praying for us.
Cards from Tecate Mission School
Immediately following breakfast we all went to town to shop for humanitarian aid at the local market. Granada is a beautiful and quaint town.
Jed, Eddie and Grace
Eddie, Rommel and I went to the currency exchange while the rest of the team enjoyed sightseeing in the plaza. Three of us bought a slice of pizza from a street side restaurant. We purchased toilet paper, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and other hygiene items.
We returned to the hotel to drop off the aid and four members of our team. Rommel took Greg, Jed, Paul and Grace to a small restaurant around the corner from the hotel and ten drove Eddie and me to the airport in Managua to pick up Dave, who arrived at 1:00pm. Our return drive took us through Managua, a city of more than 1,000,000 people. We were back at the hotel in Granada around 3:30.
Our prison services were rescheduled until later in the week so we had no prisons to visit today – we reallocated our cultural experience day to today and the rest of the trip will be full of ministry.
After getting Dave settled in and our team altogether we piled into two vehicles and drove to the top of the mountain to a place called Mirador de Calarina. This is a local tourist area with many vendors and a beautiful view of the lagoon in the middle of a Caldera.
Granada in the far background
Jed was purchasing some pottery from a vendor named José and he shared the curved illusion gospel tracts with him. He asked me to come over and talk to José so I shared the gospel with him in Spanish and left him another follow-up tract. We handed out many tracts to many vendors and others before heading back to the hotel for dinner.
Jed and JoséSunset at the Mirador
Dinner was at the hotel where Greg shared a devotional from the Psalms and we had sweet fellowship. We have a wonderful team. Pray for tomorrow:
Worship service at Rommel’s church
Greg will be preaching the sermon at church
Health and strength for the team
Many opportunities to share the gospel with the people of Nicaragua
From left: Greg (man with half a face), Grace, Paul, Jed, Eddie, Nate
Our team met at SeaTac airport at 9:00 PM only to discover that our flight has been delayed two hours, we departed at 2:00 AM. Upon checking in Dave discovered that his passport is expired and he has no idea where the current one is. He replaced his passport a couple months ago and apparently grabbed the old one. He stayed behind in Seattle to get a hotel for the evening and he will go to the passport office Friday morning and, if able to get his passport quickly, he’s booked for the same flight Friday night so he will meet us in Granada. I went through a very similar process in 2016 (my passport only had four months remaining – six months is required) and was delayed one day getting to Kenya.
We arrived in Houston for our layover where we met Paul Franks, who flew from California. I haven’t seen him in 2 1/2 years – what a nice reunion.
We arrived at our scheduled time in Managua. Dave wrote to us to say he has an appointment to have his passport replaced today at 11:00am. He will join us in Nicaragua tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers. It was a long wait to exit the airport – many of the passengers, including us, were flagged for baggage searches. We lined up for about 1/2 hour before having all of our ministry bags inspected. A couple of us had to pay $3-$10 tariffs for trail mix and Jeremy that we brought with us. We have 12 dozen pair of reading glasses that were confiscated – we were given the name of an office to contact where we can pick them up tomorrow.
Welcome to Granada
The team split into two groups as we drove to Granada in two trucks. Arriving at the hotel we had a brief meeting and drank some sodas. Rommel brought bottles water for our team and then we discussed some minor changes to our schedule before taking a short rest before dinner.
Dinner was wonderful. We walked two blocks to Rommel’s home and met his wife, Ana and his ten-year-old daughter, Milady. They had prepared chicken, rice, beans, tomatoes and potatoes – delicious. Rommel informed us about the prisons in the country and the ministry he has been doing there. We then had a very powerful time of prayer for the prisons and the inmates and Rommel showed us a lot of letters from inmates, which we laid our hands on and prayed for them. We certainly feel very welcomed here and I’m certain this will be a great and effective week of ministry.
Pray: Dave is now in Houston – pray he will arrive here this afternoon.
Pray we will be able to get the reading glasses this afternoon.
Pray: Today we will purchase humanitarian aid and purchase other needed supplies.
Pray: there have been a couple schedule changes – pray we will be granted access to all scheduled prisons and we will be able to take all gifts to the inmates.
None Righteous 