Nicaragua

2011

Join us this Sunday, August 28 in Venture for a special service all about our trip!

See you in the IBC Gym at 11am! Hear from our team and find out how you can

get involved in future trips!

Update 8-11-11 (Part 2- 7pm):
Today we finished the well and dedicated it! It was a wonderful ceremony hosted by the leader of the community – a woman older than I would like to guess… I was also asked to speak on behalf of our team and had the opportunity to share with the whole community that we did this because we love Jesus and wanted to help them fulfill a need. I also told them that there were hundreds of people in the states that though they couldn’t be there to dig the well did participate by donating to us and funding our trip and were and are praying for us and the community. They made us an amazing meal and we are now back at Jorge’s resting and getting ready to travel back to Managua tomorrow and back to the U S on Saturday – please pray for safety for everyone on our last day and as we head home!

Update 8-11-11:
Hello! Today was another fun day! We had one hiccup with the compressor and it broke the PVC t shade pipe that shoots the water out to the side of the rig! We had to wait for a replacement and, in the mean time, Eric tied the compressor down and we continued pumping without any way to direct the water – it was wet! After we replaced the broken piece we got back to work and put the concrete down. Our water is running at 110 gallons per minute! With a flow like that we are told the well will never run dry.
The hygiene team had an excellent time with the kids and community and actually had the opportunity to bring school supplies to the school. The kids were extremely excited. The teacher praised God for such an answer to prayer! It was really great to hear how receptive the community has been to our teaching team.

We ended the day with a game of soccer with the kids — Greg and Marcos are really good and so are the kids. I did my best to keep up!

Tomorrow we will dedicate the well!

Thank you for your prayers — pray for safety traveling back to Managua and a safe flight home!

Update 8-10-11:
Another successful day! Lisa and Monica are having a great time with the children – it seems that the people are very receptive to the teaching – they say on average there is one person who knows about brushing teeth or washing hands but it is new to the majority. All the kids are in love with them — and Greg, who played so hard with the kids the kids today that he nearly passed out.

We re-dug the well using a 7 inch bit and then went Bout putting the PVC piping in a x sterilized the casing- the work was messy and wet but we are all having a great time!

Thank you all for your prayers! tomorrow we will try to put the piping in and after that we will cap it and dedicate it with the pump!

Update 8-9-11:
We just got back from our first day of drilling and… we already found the water!! Tomorrow we will case it up and get it set with a shoot and pump, and then we will purify it. By Wednesday we may be all finished and able to dedicate it!

Update 8-8-11:
Morning! yesterday we spent some time in the village and then came back and worked on getting hygiene supplies ready. the rest of the day was spent reading and talking and building relationships as a team. we will be drilling in a community about ten miles from Jorges house. it is a great opportunity to show his immediate community what LWI is all about and show them Christ’s love. Today we will head back to start drilling and teaching. pray that the people are receptive and that we can be encouraging. pray that we work hard and for constant safety. (Stephen P.)

Update 8-7-11:
Hello! Our team made it safely to Nicaragua, Managua last night. It was a very smooth entry and we all found our luggage with ease! Minutes later we were greeted warmly by Jorge who met us and took us across the street to the Best Western for the night. We spent some time catching up and learning about each other. Our team: Lisa, Monica, Michelle, Eric, Alex, Marcos, Greg and Myself could not be more different but that is a wonderful thing and I think we will really work well together. Jorge told us that they are moving to a new area in Nicaragua Because they have had over 50 teams sign up to participate next year. The new area is tricky to find water in due to all the volcanic rock but he and his family are excited and hopeful about the new challenges. Many of his team from last year are going to be working with us along with a couple that LWI sent from TX that was wanting to participate this year on a well dig. Today we will be going to church and getting settled in Jorge´s house about a two hour drive from here. Tomorrow we will go to the village and start digging and educating. That process will hopefully end with a successful well on Friday morning that can be dedicated to the village. Please pray for unity, safety and that we can continue to be representatives of Christ and his love for all of us as we learn and grow through this process. I do not know when I will get a chance to send you information updates again but I hope this is good enough for the blog!

Update 8-5-11

We leave Tomorrow at 2pm from Reagan airport. Please pray for safe travels for our team! More updates to come throughout the week!

PLease take a moment and watch this informative video about the program she is involved in.

For a little less than a year Jeff has been living in a village populated by over 1,500 people, many of whom are former child soldiers abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). He and a team of workers from the village are working on a Dream Center that will provide a medical center, clean water, and a vocational school to people who have been displaced and traumatized from a 20 year war that ended only a couple years ago.

While at Venture Jeff mentioned that there is a fungus that has been spreading throughout the village that takes over the skin on the head, arms, legs and feet and is very aggressive.

This fungus can end up taking the life of the person if not treated quickly. As of right now there is no way to support the stopping of this fungus however you can donate here to Jeff’s cause so that the medical center will become more rapidly available to the public.

Please be praying for Jeff and his work in Uganda. He keeps a consistent blog of what he is doing as well as a facebook page.

-Visit http://www.joshuaproject.net/
-Visit http://www.peoplegroups.org/
-Read Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper
-Read Operation World – Jason Mandryk
-Attend the Church-Wide Concert of Prayer April 10th
-Pray through Psalm 96 or Revelation 5 and ask God what you should do
-Share the Gospel with someone

THE TEAM HAS LANDED AND ARE SAFE IN THE COUNTRY.

Please keep them in your prayers over this Thanksgiving. We will keep you all up to date as we get word from them!

THE NEED:

Up in the mountains, just south of Honduras there is a remote village. This village was evangelized for the first time last spring. There is a pastor willing to work and live in the village and desires to start a church and run a program to feed people, but they need a physical building to acomplish this.

WHO’S GOING:

Our team, made up of Venture, Richmond, and Nicaraguan people who love Christ, are preparing to go and build this church.

OUR NEEDS:

First and foremost, Please pray for team unity, spiritual bonding, safety, good team communication, that construction logistics would go well. Pray Nicaraguan people would see the church being built as a blessing from God, that the Nicaraguan people would come to know the Lord, and that the pastor would be spiritually ready to move to the church.

FINANCIAL NEEDS:

The team still needs $5000 for construction materials and traveling expenses!

The deadline for giving is November 7. To donate to the trip, please click here

Click on the “Nic2″ lead by Jeff Gunther in the scroll down menu.

Or  if you would like,

send a check to:

Immanuel Bible Church

YA Nicaragua – NIC2

6911Braddock Rd

Springfield, VA 22151

Write “NIC2″ in the memo line of your check.

Venture is participating in a second mission trip to Nicaragua this year. Jeff Gunther is leading a team to build a church in a town in Nicaragua during Thanksgiving week this November. You can help in several ways. There are still open spots for people to go. If you are interested in participating in this trip, you can contact Jeff at jeffegunther@yahoo.com. You can also pray for them. Please email Jeff if you are interested in being on a prayer team for the trip. Finally, you can donate. The church will cost $7000 to build, and each team member is raising money to go on the trip. If you are interested in donating, you can do so here.