August Update

Hello all:

Sheila and I were treated to a few days of R&R at a resort at Montelimar Beach on the south Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. It is an absolutely stunningly beautiful place. Sheila enjoyed the beach and I enjoyed shooting several hundred photos of anything and everything.

We completed the summer rush this past month and, as of the departure of the last group, in 2013 we saw over 500 guests and completed just over 12,000 hours of work. No wonder I'm tired! (Not really - I just sit behind a desk planning everyone else's work.) The pace has slowed a bit - it never completely stops. But the evenings are much more relaxed as we no longer have guests to feed, etc. The groups this year have come in all sizes and shapes. We have hosted guests as young as 17 months and as seasoned as well into their 80's.  We have had visitors who came to serve by themselves and groups converging to have almost 80 here at one time. We have had groups that came with specific focuses in mind and others who came to do "whatever." In all that was done, it is our prayer that God was glorified.

The last few months I have had the opportunity to return to my Children's Ministry roots by assisting a young preacher in the Apanas community (about three miles from Jinotega) with his Sunday School program at 3 pm on Sundays. It is quite unlike what you and I are accustomed to. Instead of grade/age levels dividing into developmentally appropriate sections, the whole group stays together for song and prayer, then Bible story and activity. This is a group that was about 40 in number and included ages infant to 14 years. Recently the program has been blessed and this past week we had 70 children! Still just the two of us adults there to manage. Juan Carlos leads and I ride herd. We are planning to divide younger and older and I am hoping to use this opportunity to do some teacher training with some of the youth from the church here in Jinotega and there in Apanas. This is an effort you are supporting as the blessings you pass on to us each month or so help provide crayons, markers and other supplies.

We have officially received all of the paperwork to submit for residency, followed by the adoption processes here. the next step is to get it all to the Secretary of State for his seal of approval, then move on to the Nicaraguan side of things.

Buy a calendar for your family and friends! The 2014 Calendars "Children of the Coconut River" are available for reservation. If you are interested, let me know at bikercoach@gmail.com and I will tell you what else you need to know. Below is the cover to whet your appetite. We are asking for a donation of $18-$20 with proceeds going directly to our support here in Nicaragua.

Ikaia the kitten (Rodent Abatement System) is still holding the rodents at bay for the most part. She is good cheap entertainment, but Sheila and I both recognize that she will someday be a full grown cat and just sit around all day instead of excitedly running with reckless abandon after moths, straws, and strings. Hopefully, with the subsiding excitement she will curb her need to attack toes that might accidentally peak out from under the sheet in the middle of the night with those razor-sharp baby cat teeth of hers. 

The stress of so many elements in motion at once here have made me vitally aware of how much I miss many of you. The break in the action could not come at a better time. What often seems like to us as controlled chaos we recognize as working to the glory of God, yet it is at these times we try to take control out of His hands and manage it ourselves. This doubles the stress.

This month's prayer requests:

• Pray for more calm before any more storms
• Pray that we remember to "Let go and let God."
• Pray for the residency and adoption processes as they move forward.
• Pray specifically for Sheila and me - just in general, but daily.

Thank you again. Grace and Mercy...but mostly Mercy,
Jonathan