you asked!

Humble apologies for the delay in replying to some of your questions. Here goes at least one for today!

This question was asked recently by a couple of people, in different countries!

How can you live like that?

Since I am quite content with life here in Nicaragua I had to turn the question back over to them and ask what they meant. Apparently they were concerned about lack of physical security, my low income, often no electricity and no water, and never being sure of where I would be living next.

Oh, living by Faith? It's easy! I have seen how The LORD has provided for my every need, not necessarily wants, but needs, at just the right time ever since I left the comfort and security of my home in Gainesville 5 years ago.

 I am well aware of the increase in crime here over recent years, especially in Managua, the capital, and take precautions as required. Safety is not guaranteed anywhere, and as Stacey Eldridge says: "Safety is not found in the absence of danger, but in the presence of Jesus." Let me tell you, there is no safer place to be than in the will of God.
As for the other issues, living here in a 3rd world country certainly helps you get your priorities in order.

Having no water for a month makes you really appreciate running water when you do have it. I remember last year, the orphanage up in El Crucero had been without water for a couple of months and the first time it rained hard, we sent all the children outside with their soap and shampoo to take a shower. They loved it. A Heavenly shower!

 And who would have thought that the sound of a toilet flushing could make you feel so thrilled? I currently have running water for a couple of hours in the early morning and a trickle at random times over the weekend. Hey. You get used to saving water and bathing out of a bucket!

I am typing this with a flashlight headband, I must look like a coal miner right now, but haven't had electricity in my home for the past 5 days, except that oddly enough, one power outlet works! No lights or anything, so I have a small fan, a table lamp and this pc hooked up to it. Not only have I learned to be content in the midst of all this, but I actually find it hard being back in USA or UK and dealing with all lifes distractions and seeing so much go to waste.

My first 3 years of living here were without any fixed income, never knowing where the next cordoba was coming from. So when I was offered a position at NCA with a steady income/a living stipend of $300 per month it was like winning the lottery. It is amazing how far you can make that $300 go when you have to. You should try it some time!

 At this time I wish to thank all of you who have sent in financial support over the past few years. It has enabled me to do many outreaches in the communities, to orphanages, old folks centers, deliver food parcels to the hungry, and take care of some extras for myself like repairs and fuel for my vehicle and I have been able to get some health issues taken care of, more about that later. So I thank you for your generosity and for your faithfulness with prayers.
I will continue to reply to your questions as time and internet allows.
I love hearing your stories too. Praying I can come and visit you in person over the summer.

May God continue to sustain you and shine His Glory down upon you.
With love in Christ
andrea x

count your blessings...

On Monday evening I got a phone call from a friend of mine while I was trying to park the car. I know, I shouldn't have answered it if I couldn't talk, but I did, and hurriedly passed the telephone to one of the children from our church who was in the car with me at the time. She explained to my friend that I couldn't talk and that I would call her back soon.



Let's say my friends name is Rose,. When I called Rose back, I didn't know that my 8 year old KFC was able to hear us. She overheard Rose crying, say that she did not have a job, was looking for work and willing to do anything and travel the hour into Managua every day to work if necessary. Rose had no means to buy food for her family, her husband and 10 month old son. My KFC immediately called her dad and said he had to take her shopping when he got home. She sat down and made a a list of things she wanted to buy and when her dad came home she went to the local store and bought 2 bags of groceries . With her own money! Diapers and milk for the baby too! It blessed me tremendously to witness her heart in this situation. She didn't even think twice about it. When I thanked her she just said > "God told me to buy groceries for her with my own money." and smiled.



Since Rose had been crying when we talked on the phone, I had asked if she needed to get out for a while and offered to take her and her son into Managua for lunch and a day out. When I arrived to pick her up yesterday, Labor Day, at 9>30 am, she was up to her knees in mud. It had rained really hard the night before and her house had flooded.



They had just built a small extension onto their very basic home for their baby son. The price of cement has just gone up so they couldn't afford enough cement to make the outside wall completely watertight. About 2 feet of water had leaked into the room. She had been up all night scooping it out with buckets.



For the next 3 hours she proceeded to dig a channel in the dirt for the rains to follow next time it rained. Since we are in rainy season now, this needed to be done right away. She apologised for not being able to go into town for lunch with me, she said she had to finish the work while her husband was home. I helped to look after the children of the extended family who live there with her. At times they would help scoop out the dirt that Rose loosened with the pick axe. It made me so sad to see them working so hard, what a struggle! To top it all, when the neighbor brought a drainage tube over to put into the channel she had dug, it would not fit! So she had to fill most of it in and start again, to dig a trench that the pipe would fit in.



Her hands were blistered and bleeding. I could see the sweat dropping off her face and glistening over her entire body as she worked in the heat of the day. Then we drove all around town trying to find a 90 degree connector, not sure what the technical name is, an elbow joint maybe, anyway, we could only find a broken one that was a little too small, but thought we might be able to make it work. We were excited about our find and took it back to her husband. He said he would make it work, it was all they had. I watched him cut up a perfectly good pair of jeans so he could bandage wrap it around the joints and glue it on to make it fit.



It touched me deeply to watch their determination to make their home waterproof and safe for the family, using the very little resources that were available to them.



The whole time, my friend did not complain, she just kept apologising that she could not go into town with me. I know she read the love in my eyes each time our eyes met, and she returned it with a smile.



LORD sometimes I feel so inadequate. I want to build her a new house, a waterproof one with tiled floors, not mud and dirt, and with the pigs running in and out. A house with a flushing toilet, not one at the end of the yard that everyone uses, the hole in the ground that stinks. A shower with running water, doesn't have to be hot, just fresh running water, not just washing in a bucket day in and day out. LORD I want to do so much.

Yet I know that is not necessarily what is best for them at this time. The most important thing is that they all come to know you LORD. Then with you all things are possible. Help me to just keep sharing your love with them.



 In two weeks I do not know where I will sleep, but my hope and trust are in You LORD, and for now I will count the blessings you have given me this day Father God. Thank you! And thank you for speaking to the heart of our 8 year old KFC, and that she was ready and willing to obey your command. Thank you for letting me witness that act of love and provision. Never let me take what I have for granted.



Thank you for allowing me to see You in all this LORD.

BTW, KFC is the name our children's ministry chose to call themselves / Kids Following Christ!