PASTOR GLEN - THE CONFERENCE REPORT FROM NICARAGUA

REPORT FROM OUR NEWEST TEAM MEMBER 
 PASTOR GLEN PITTS

NICARAGUA CONFERENCE REPORT

Lynn & Ruby

I want to thank you again for helping make our "Pastor's Time Out" in Nicaragua a wonderful success.  

Pastor Paul, who travelled with me to help with the teaching load, told me several times... "Glen, this was one of the most meaningful and fulfilling ministry experiences I have ever had." 

OUR THEME VERSE was Micah 4:2 NIV  "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord ...and he will teach us his ways, and  we will walk in his paths."

Let me share some of the highlights of this first pastor's conference.  

ABOUT NICARAGUA

    - has a population of almost 7 million people.  Spanish is their main language.

    - 53% are under the age of 18

    - it is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere behind Haiti

    - minimum wage is $137 a month

    - literacy is 66%

    - unemployment runs between 50 and 62% ...depending who you ask.

    - 1 in 3 children suffer from chronic malnutrition

    - only about 30% complete grade 6

    - two centuries of dictatorship, civil wars, natural calamities, mismanagement, corruption, and exploitation have prevented this  nation from moving forward    

    - Hurricane Mitch in 1998 traumatized the nation and caused an estimated $15 billion damage.  9,000 people perished and 2 million people were left homeless.  They have never bounced back from this horrific event.

    - in spite of this, many have turned to Jesus through various outreaches over the years

    - most needed in Nicaragua today are Bible teaching; leadership training; evangelism; and help to alleviate enormous social needs

  ABOUT OUR FIRST "PASTOR'S TIME OUT!"

    - 23 pastors attended.  They ranged in age from 23 to 73.

    - God had the right people there.  We found the size of the group to be ideal.

    - A token $5 was charged each pastor.  The balance of $145 per pastor for the four day period was underwritten by us.

    - The group meshed unbelievably well.  They socialized, played soccer and basketball together; some swam in the pool; they     lingered after every meal to strum guitars, worship, share stories, and have fun.

    - In our 13 sessions with them they hung on every word!

    - Only two pastors had ever attended a conference

    - Only two pastors received any pay or financial help from their churches.

    - All but one were from poor communities within a 30 km radius of the Skylark Retreat Centre

    - Our focus for this first conference was:  1.  Being the man God uses.  2.  The essential elements of an effective Shepherd- Leader.   3. The importance of clarity re mission and vision.  4.  The importance of Team.

    - When we asked the pastors at the end of our time "How many of you are planning to return in June?" ...every hand shot up like a  bullet!

    - We closed our time in a unity circle praying that God would use us more fully and effectively for the outworking of His purposes     and plans.

    - As we said good-bye I felt I was re-deploying 23 reinvigorated "Ambassadors for Christ"  ...23 freshly encouraged and determined     "points of light" ...into 23 needy communities of Nicaragua ...each determined with God's help to serve him better as Shepherd-    Leaders in their communities.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR...

    - each pastor, that they will experience a new level of confidence and fruitfulness in ministry

    - each pastor and their family that they will truly know God's love, leading, care, and daily provision

    - God's provision related to our upcoming "Time Outs" in June & November.  Approximately $10,000 is still needed.

With gratitude,

Glen

WANT TO HELP SPONSOR THE JUNE CONFERENCE?  JUST GO TO THE DONATE BUTTON  ON THIS BLOG AND BE SURE TO NOTE IT IS FOR THE

 NICARAGUA BARNABAS CONFERENCE  IN JUNE - thanks for the support!

The LAMb Team

UPDATE ON DASHA'S SURGERY

DASHA HAS RETURNED FROM THE HOSPITAL - AND WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR HER HEART SURGERY.

We have not posted a great deal publicly about Dasha's surgery.  She has been on the list for several months to fix several holes in her heart.  She was admitted to the Bishkek hospital last week, but contracted a serious cold and thus has been dismissed until she is well.  Needless to say, this is serious for little Dasha - not only does she need the surgery, but the admission, staying in a "scary" place overnight for several nights and then to be dismissed - it is all very confusing and scary for her.

Please add Dashsa to your prayer list and keep her close to your heart in your thoughts.

Thank you so much.

The LAMb Team

MEET LITTLE ULYA - OUR NEWEST LITTLE GIRL AT DAYSPRING

LITTLE ULYA IS 6 YEARS OLD.  

We welcome her to our home and family.  Little Ulya is a bright little girl that has really adjusted into the family.  This makes five little girls in our Dayspring family in addition to the three little girls of our resource family - making a TOTAL OF EIGHT little girls.  Wow what excitement.

We leave for Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan on Saturday and cannot wait to meet our most recent little girls.  We know each of their stories and they come from some very "hard places" and have experienced some very difficult life experiences.  Yet our resource family is so kind and patient to work with these little ones.  Our Child Advocate is amazing in her attention to details and meeting their needs.

Soon, we will be building a playground at Dayspring and soon we will have our garden planted.   For now, our garden is and will continue to be our little girls - SAFETY, WELL-BEING AND PERMANENCY!

GREAT JOB Team!

HOSPITAL AND DOCTOR BLESSINGS - 100 STETHESCOPES

WOW WHAT A WEEKEND - GEARING UP FOR KYRGYZSTAN

We spent the weekend in Ohio with Kim and Randy Gebele - both board members for LAMb International USA.  We packed their humanitarian bags they will be carrying over to Kyrgyzstan in April.  What a wonderful time we had packing 100 BRAND NEW STETHESCOPES to give to the hospitals and doctors we work with  there.  You heard right, 100 brand new ones.  This was from the generous donation from Kindred Hospital in Tucson, Arizona.  Dr. Sunil Natrajan initiated the process and we are so grateful for this donation.  

We also packed up 10 BRAND NEW 18" dolls to be given to the 10 little girls at Dayspring Family Life Resource Center.  Ruby's mother - Ruby Tinker donated the dolls and went on to make some beautiful doll dresses for the little girls to play with in dressing their little dolls.  

LAMb INTERNATIONAL WANTS TO THANK KINDRED HOSPITAL, DR. NATRAJAN AND DEAR MOMMY - RUBY TINKER.

LITTLE JENYA IS BACK!

SHE IS HOME!

As many of you know, little Jenya was pulled from Dayspring due to some incorrect paperwork done by government and a lingering argument between two different jurisdictions.  However, after diligent work from our team on the ground - the papers are corrected and Jenya is home!

She is overjoyed.  She cried constantly when she was gone and jumped for joy when she was told she could return to Dayspring.  JENYA IS HOME!

We are so thankful for all your prayers.

GOOD JOB LAMb Team!

ANYA TURNS SEVEN - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

OUR LITTLE ANYA'S  BIRTHDAY - SHE IS NOW SEVEN!

ACEL SENT US THE PICTURE OF THE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR ANYA!  When you have a family - and you turn from one year to the next, the common activity is a birthday party just for you.  However children who grow up in orphanages often do not see such an event.  Even children from crisis families sometimes do not or cannot not celebrate a child's birthday.  We even have posted before where some children do not even know when their birthdate is.  Sad but true.  Maybe a small thing, but very important to our Dayspring children.

Acel and Talant know how to celebrate all special events for children - birthdays, snow days to go sledding, great walks with stories and play with the entire family involved.  We are so honoured to have this family and to know you care.

Just wanted you to know - ANYA IS NOW SEVEN!

(Dayspring is a pilot project for girls ((our first such program - we hope for more)) - diverting them from the orphanages and bringing them to a family who will love and care for them.  We will work to ensure permanence for the children who come to Dayspring and divert them from ever going to an orphanage. Our hope is to work with families who are in crisis and help where we can. We will help find rehabilitation programs, work, or even housing when families show they are willing to work to regain a healthy lifestyle for their family and children.  Dayspring is our first such program - we work with government to find adoptive homes, train prospective national adoptive families and financially support approved families through the costs of adopting in their country. - LAMb International believes in A WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS.  We partner with strong partners who also believe:  Alliance Ukraine Without Orphans, ILDC - Ukraine, ILDC - Kyrgyzstan, One Hope - Ukraine, Partnership 4 Every Child - Ukraine, CBN - Ukraine, Adopt Ukraine, Child Rights Defenders League - Kyrgyzstan, Crosslinks - Kyrgyzstan, etc.  We believe!)


The LAMb Team

MEET KRISTINA - OUR NEWEST LITTLE GIRL AT DAYSPRING

KRISTINA JOINED US THIS WEEK

She is 10 years old and quite charming.  Our resource family welcomed her and will do all they can to keep family involved.  Little Kristina comes from a family that was homeless.  The impact of poverty is devastating to families.  As Kristina is safe and cared for by our resource family and now we need to extend a helping hand to Kristina's bio family.  Her parents love her.

Dayspring Family Life Resource Center is dedicated to helping little girls and their families - work toward reunification, adoption - permanency.

Want to help sponsor Kristina or any of the little girls at Dayspring?  Let us know - we will tell you how you can do this.

Thanks,
The LAMb Team