Dear Family and Friends,
On December 10th we leave on another trip to Nicaragua and will return on December 21st. This trip started out to be a Rotary trip, but ended up with only three of us going. By hiring some Nicaraguan friends, we will be able to get everything accomplished. Please keep us in your Prayers. I want to thank God, and all my family and friends, who have made all of our past trips very successful. This will be my 15th trip, and going at Christmas is always a wonderful time to be there.
Over the past 9 years, through our Mission work at Fifth Avenue Baptist Church and your help, we have put a roof on and a floor in the New Jerusalem Church, which didn’t have either when we first got there. We have drastically increased the health and education of all of the children that have lived in the Remar orphanage. With the help of family, friends and several members of the Barboursville Rotary Club, we sponsor over 13 children in the community of Vera Cruz, and provide school fees, books, and school clothes so they may have a better education. Since I helped a wonderful family 8 years ago to rebuild their falling down house, we have built a total of 27 homes. Again, I want to thank you for all of your help and prayers!!!!
All of the kids are doing well in school. In a few weeks, Dennis finishes his 4th year of Medical College and is doing very well. As a doctor in Nicaragua, Dennis will start out as a “Medical Student.” He will have five years of studying, two years of internship, and two years of residency. He speaks perfect English and after his father became a Pastor at a Korean Presbyterian Church, he also speaks Korean. It is great to get emails from him and talk to him on the phone and know what is going on down there. He is just like our kids; he is on Facebook, but he posts in three different languages. Daniel, a boy (young man) that I previously sponsored at Remar Orphanage, is doing well. His father has given him a couple acres of his own and he is growing corn, beans and coffee. We paid for bean and coffee plants, so I guess we are now in the farming business. Other non-profits sell coffee in Nicaragua, so maybe we can do the same in the future. Since Daniel finished level 14 in English, he is being considered to teach English part-time at the high school in his little mountain community. As you can tell, I am very proud of Daniel and Dennis. The other 12 children we sponsor are in various grades and are doing well.
This year we have two houses to build -- as long as we raise enough money. A house costs around $3,500 to build. This includes the materials and 5 or 6 local laborers we pay. Barboursville Rotary Club is again helping by paying ½ the cost of one of the houses. The houses we build are 18 x 18 foot cinder block with a tin roof. I know it is not much, but it is better than they have now. The New Jerusalem Church recommends a family with children from their Church for us to build a house.
On our first day we will join a group from Fifth Avenue Baptist Church and take children from Remar Orphanage to the market to buy their Christmas presents and school clothes for the upcoming school year. The group from my Church arrives a few days before we do and will take some of the children from Remar to the market on other days as well.
I will be checking on the 13 community children we sponsor in school and will have the annual Christmas party for around 87 children at the New Jerusalem Church. This will be the 8th year for the Christmas party. We try to buy the children an article of clothing and, for some, it will be the only Christmas present they receive. I usually budget $500 for this party. I would like to increase that amount because it doesn’t go very far for 87 children.
The past few years have been very successful and growing for our work in Nicaragua. Because of the various things we are now doing, we have moved some of the projects out of the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church and three years ago started a 501(c)3 non-profit organization called “Nicaragua Education, Shelter and Health Fund, Inc.” (“NESH”). We did this in order to help with fundraising and because of all the people outside of our Church helping with our work.
Now comes the part where I ask for YOUR help. God says you won’t receive if you don’t ask, so I am asking!! We haven’t raised all of the money yet to build the two houses, pay for the children’s Christmas party, and pay for school clothes and fees for the upcoming year in school, which runs February through November. Many of you have helped with our Nicaragua work in the past and I could never tell you how much I, the people in the 27 houses, the kids in school, and especially Dennis, appreciate it. I already call him Dr. Dennis and, every time I talk to him, I can’t count how many times he says to me, “God bless you Jack, and all your friends.” I know he is going to make a very good doctor. Since I send money for school 11 months a year, contributions anytime during the year are greatly appreciated.
You are all invited and I wish you could all come with me sometime to see and experience how grateful these people are. It really makes you realize just how blessed we are to have been born in the United States. If you have any interest in ever going to Nicaragua, please let me know.
I know the economy has been bad and everyone’s budget is tight, but if you could find it in your hearts to help me and all the people I just talked about, I, and they, would be truly grateful. You can make a tax deductable check to “NESH”, and send to NESH, P.O. Box 731, Barboursville, WV 25504. You will receive a letter confirming your contribution.
Again, I want to thank everyone for their past and present support, and ask everyone to please pray for our safety and our work. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and to remember what Christmas is all about. In Nicaragua, Christmas is quite different; they celebrate the coming of our Lord for several hours on Christmas Eve, set off fireworks at midnight, go to bed and wake up to few, if any, presents on Christmas morning.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL!
Jack
No comments:
Post a Comment