commuNICA: January Update

Hello all:

January was a bear. We were presented with new challenges and, although they may not have been handled in the way they best could have, they were handled the best we could manage.

The year began with a large group from Texas Tech University Health Science Center, TTU Allied Health program and doctors from a variety of kinds of fields. They descended upon us for medical brigades. We often have medical brigades. In theory, because of the excellence in staff we have here, they almost run themselves...or so I thought. Normally when there is a medical brigade there is also a group of general short-term missionaries working here at the same time. The "non-medical" portion of guests are my responsibility as far as projects, translators, transportation and associated logistics. I have not had the pleasure of working closely with a medical brigade in a leadership role.

Cut to Jinotega's Victoria Motta Hospital. Sitting in a chair awaiting a visit with a cardiologist is our fearless leader, Benny Baker. Turns out Benny had trouble breathing in the middle of the night and it was no small matter. Thank God he is doing well now after cardiac valve repair and triple bi-pass surgery in Dallas. So while he is being repaired and recuperating Sheila and I are trying to hold down the fort in Jinotega. Remember, we have never been involved in a medical brigade here before.

God blessed us with able-bodied, seasoned medical missionaries on whom to cut our medical brigade teeth. I am not sure if He could have sent any better crew for this experience. Kudos to the Red Raider leadership.

Benny continues to recover in the DFW area and we expect his return to Nicaragua in late February/early March. We will be very excited for he and Donna to return and we will welcome them with a little different viewpoint of what they do.

Other than that, we continue to line up for a busy spring.

On the residency front, all our paperwork has been accepted and we are officially in line to become residents. On 03 March we will return to Immigration for our interview. At that time they will tell us what is next. All adoption proceedings are pending a green light (or would that be a green card?) from Immigration here. Thank you for prayerfully helping us with this.

We have been having some fun in Managua. A few months back we took some children from the local church to swim at the Las Mercedes/Best Western hotel in Managua. We use the opportunity to show the kids a good time, let them eat at a real restaurant, be exposed to a bit broader world and teach them that God has given them the ability to change their circumstances. We have probably done this six or seven times in the past year. We now plan a trip for the boys and a trip for the girls. That is the easiest way to divide the crowd. In the groups this time there were 9 who had never been to Managua before. One girl, who lives in nearby Apanas, said she had never been to Managua but had been to Jinotega many times. I asked her where else she had been she replied, "Only Jinotega and Apanas." These trips are always a blessing and always a reminder that I'm not as young as I used to be.

This time we had a hidden surprise. I always send Roberto, the manager of the hotel a "thank you" email along with a photo of the children. (See attached photo.) We have a great relationship with him and his staff. This the hotel where Mision Para Cristo puts people up the first and last nights of their trips - so we do pretty well by him. He sent me an email that In part says, "The happiness expressed on the children's faces today was priceless. You have a friend in me, and I will always look after you and the children (when you can visit). The children are beautiful and God is the greatest. You are doing a wonderful thing, that is a blessing for all of us. You are showing these Children what Christ is all about as you say, 'grace, peace and mercy.' I am always very happy to see you. You have a very soothing affect on me, I feel reassured whenever I see you. You are among my favorite guests, I would never jeopardize that friendship. Thank you for being very important to us and for your kindness."

I was unaware that Roberto knew what an impact he was having and this past trip was the first time I knew he even saw us while we were there. The point of this is to remind us that we don't always know when and who we are impacting with what we do. I hope Roberto understands how much he allows us to impact others positively. I am sure he knows for Whom we are working.

Specific Prayer Requests:

Sale of our 2006 GMC pick-up truck (now available for only $9,000). We need to sell it as we have had to have some major work done on the house in Georgetown.
Good, affordable answers to house issues in Georgetown.
Smooth process as we complete the residency interview.
Thanks for how far we have come in the process to date.
The next big step - initiating the adoption process.
Benny's recovery.
Physical strength and much needed wisdom.
Thanks for good health.
Thanks for continued support: spiritual first and financial second