We are entering the hottest and driest month of the year here in
Nicaragua, April, and things are beginning to heat up with the sports ministry
at New Song. We received a large shipment of equipment about two weeks ago and have
started up with practices. So far there seems to be a good mixture of kids who
have not played very much, most are in the intermediate level, and there are a
handful of kids who have some serious ability. Although we are looking to add
one or two more, we already have a solid group of coaches who are passionate
about baseball and are eager to teach the kids the skills of the game. Little
by little things are starting to come together but there are some interesting obstacles
that one has to deal with here in Nicaragua. For example, to let the kids know
about practices it is not as easy as sending an email or even calling families
to notify them rather you have to go searching for the children, and it can
almost feel like a scavenger hunt. There are no addresses here instead they
have a “direction”. So one kid’s
direction might be, from the bridge 2 ½ blocks down and 25 yards to the west.
After you get close to this point you begin asking people if they know where
“Little Luiz or Maria” lives and depending on whether or not you are in the
right area affects how many people you have to ask to find Luiz or Maria. This
is just one example of how things are a little bit trickier here in Nicaragua
than in the United States, but it is a joy nonetheless.
As far as an update on the field, in the middle of February the
water pump we had been using to water the fields broke. It was advised that a
new well had to be dug and like every other thing so far, we have had hiccups
with finishing the well but it seems to be on the homestretch as far as
completing it. When the pump had initially broke we were in the process of
planting grass and fortunately only about right field was planted so we have
been able to maintain that grass by hand irrigating it daily with 1 inch pvc
pipe connected together to a motorized pump that is taking water from a little
creek close to the fields, it is Nicaraguan innovation at its finest. As you
all may or may not know, getting the fields play ready has been quite a long
and frustrating process, and it can be discouraging and one can begin to lose faith/hope
that it will all come together eventually. It is easy to lose patience
sometimes especially in the society that we live in. We are so accustomed to
having things now. The Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years is a
very widely known story, but most of the time the emphasis and the focus is on the
disobedience that put them in that position. But in the end the Israelites
showed amazing obedience and patience and God kept His promises to them. One of
the most powerful excerpts from the Bible is found in Joshua 14:6-14.
“Now the men
of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jepunneh the Kenizzite
said to him, ‘You know what the Lord said
to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. I was forty years
old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore
the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, but my
brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I,
however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. So on that day Moses swore to
me,’ ‘ The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and
that of your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’
‘Now then, just as the Lord promised He
has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses,
while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years
old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as
vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this MOUNTAIN that
the Lord promised me that day. You
yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large
and fortified, but the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.’
Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his
inheritance. So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jepunneh the Kenizzite ever
since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.”
There are so many things to take away from those verses that
charactarize what it truly means to walk the Christian walk with faithfulness,
boldness, obedience, zeal, patience, willingness and so much more. What an
incredible level of patience Caleb showed by waiting 45 years to receive the
inheritance God had promised and even then he still had to go in and drive
people out of his land. We sure hope that we do not have to wait 45 years for
the fields to be ready but it does put into perspective God’s timing verses our
timing and how we need to continue living a life of patience accompanied with
obedience. Six months seems like quite a long time now but six months compared
to twenty years of blessings that these fields could produce is minuscule. With
that we do encourage you all to continue to join us in prayer that the fields
will be completed and that God will bless that land. We also ask that you pray
for the seeds that will be planted through devotions with the children and
coaches, and that God will bless those times. Thank you for your support and
prayers. God bless!
