Prayer requests

I come to you with two requests:

My first prayer request is for the family of one of the children attending the school here. He passed away with heart failure of some sort Saturday night around 7 p.m. His name was Norbin, and he was 7 years old.

His family came to talk to Xiomara today about what happened, and I guess to explain why they were not registering their sweet little boy in to the school again this year. When Xiomara came to tell Kim and me this morning while we were painting she said, “The last day of school last year I felt like I needed to take his picture, I don’t know why.” Heartbreaking. Xiomara went on to say that while the mother was trying to tell her what happened that she broke down and cried (obviously), but the father was unhappy about this and yelled at her and told her to stop. We are hoping that he was just embarrassed, but it is likely that she does not have a supportive home. The mother was a stay-at-home mom and was with her little boy all the time; the father was rarely with them. What a sad day! It is hard to think about what it would have been like if that poor child had the same medical attention we have in the states. He would have had a better chance of living, but I am glad to know this sweet little 7 year old is now sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Please pray for his family. I can’t imagine the pain they are going through.

Also, if you would like to help this family in anyway, feed them, help pay for the funeral cost, send them a letter, etc. Please send your money or cards to Campbell Street and state exactly what you want done with it, and I will make sure it gets done.

Thank you in advance for the prayers sent up for this family; I know I can count on all of you.

The second request is for me. I have been reading the book Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick (I highly recommend it). This book is incredible and just what I needed as I begin this journey in Nicaragua.  

One paragraph that has really spoken to me this week is in the chapter “Hear. Speak. Do”.

“You see, there are going to be many points along the way when you’re not going to have anyone around to motivate you or encourage you. And in those moments, you’d better be able to open God’s Word, look in the mirror, and remind yourself of the truth. As you incorporate God’s Word into your vocabulary, the way you see your circumstances will begin to shift. Your faith will start to rise higher than your feelings and your fears. And it all starts with speaking the Word.”

I feel like this is really one of those times for me. I am going to have to let God motivate me, through me.  I am not alone, but sometimes I allow myself to feel alone because everything is not in order like I am use to. I depend a lot on my parents and my friends back home, and I need to fully rely on Christ at all times. During my hard times I want my first thought to be “PRAY” not I need to go call my parents (even though I have the best). I also want to take action, I have moved to Nicaragua, but now what? That is not enough. I want God to be my hands and feet every single day that I am here and always. I know that with strong faith and prayers I can accomplish the unimaginable, but without God this is pointless. I want complete openness to what God has in store for me.

Also please pray while I work to cross over my language barrier.

I am so thankful for the spiritual people that are in my life and thankful for the assurance that I can write this and know that my requests will be brought to God by many. Thank you for reading and letting me have a few minutes of honesty.

Te amo.