Our mailing address:
Dan Van Zoest
Nicaragua Christian Academy
Apartado 842
Managua, Nicaragua; Central America
Dear Family and Friends,
I would like to start today with an apology. We received many wonderful and encouraging emails following our last update. It is always my goal to respond to you personally because we so appreciate your notes. However, it is difficult right now for me to respond to individual emails in the midst of growing responsibilities, etc. We start our day at 6 am and by 9 pm we are often all in bed. I used to spend time late into the evenings emailing people, but this is not possible for me right now. People warned me about this before we arrived here – that I would not be able to keep up the frequency of updates or the personal responses like I had in the States. I do pray that God will continue to help us learn how to manage the privileges and responsibilities He has given us. Please know that we do appreciate you and your encouragement even when you do not hear from us personally. So often you minister to us through your own sharing of God’s faithfulness.
Some have asked about my Dad and my sister. Brenda’s news is good news, as her doctor has determined that the precancer cells that were found can be “frozen” and will not require further surgery at this time. My Dad is doing better in terms of his blood pressure responding to medication and kidney functioning is still looking good per lab results. He does still mention pain down his arm and in his jaw at times, so they are following up with that now. Your continued prayers are appreciated! And please let us know how we can pray for you. Dan and I pray for two of our prayer partner/financial supporters every morning, so please know we are interested in praying for you as well!
Below is a quarterly newsletter from the director of NCA, Liam Starkenburg. Dan has written a few paragraphs about his responsibilities at Nicaragua Christian Academy at the beginning of the newsletter. Thank you again for being a part of this ministry with us through your prayers and through financial support. It really is exciting to see how God is moving here at Nicaragua Christian Academy and in the country of Nicaragua.
What’s Dan working on at NCA?
This week I am working with the principal of NCA on preparing to order textbooks for next year. I am creating a spreadsheet to account for all of our textbooks, so that we will be able to order only the books that are needed for next year. One of the challenges in this process is getting the new textbooks from the US to Nicaragua in a timely manner. While our hope is to be able to have many of the books sent by ship in a container, we may need to have many of the books delivered to Nicaragua by various short-term mission teams coming to work in Nicaragua.
I am also responsible for NCA’s donor relations. This involves a variety of responsibilities, including maintaining NCA’s sponsor a child’s education program, working with ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) to track donations received and to complete their quarterly reporting, and working on developing a plan to promote NCA’s two large building projects (the Fine Arts Center and teacher housing). In addition, I am working on completing a grant application for NCA’s Nejapa campus and looking at different ways NCA would be able to receive and process financial gifts.
I enjoy being able to spend time with the students of NCA. I play basketball with a group of elementary students two or three times a week during their 15 minute recess. I have been able to spend time with the High School students during a number of special events including a field trip, a career fair and this past Friday I participated in our second annual Spiritual Emphasis Day.
Hopefully this gives you an idea of some of the things I am working on at NCA. Thank you for your support of our family as we serve here at Nicaragua Christian Academy. I am excited to see NCA’s impact grow as we touch the lives of over 500 young students in Nicaragua!
In Christ,
Dan
NCA News
Nicaragua Christian Academy
Managua, Nicaragua
January 2009
Sea-To-Sea Nicaragua
From December 29 to January 6, a group of 24 bike riders crossed Nicaragua from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in a fundraising activity called "Sea-To-Sea Nicaragua." The event, organized by Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) and their local partner Acción Médica Cristiana (AMC), was held to raise $200,000 to buy seeds to help farmers replant crops that were lost in Hurricane Felix, a category 5 hurricane that made landfall in Nicaragua in 2007. Through a special arrangement with the Canadian Food Grains Bank, every dollar raised was matched 4:1 by the Canadian government.
Four members of our NCA family (and many others in our community) participated in Sea-To-Sea Nicaragua. Fourth grade teacher Aimee Bootsma, gardener José "Chepe" Medina and tenth grade student Jesse VanderWees were among the riders, and athletic director Rachel Pontier was on the support crew. The bikers totaled over 620 kilometers in their 8-day trip over bumpy roads and through beautiful countryside. There were countless stories and adventures along the way.
On the last day, the Sea-To-Sea bikers enjoyed breakfast at Nicaragua Christian Academy before making their last home stretch ride, finishing up at Pochomil on the Pacific beach that noon. The NCA teachers joined the bikers in prayer after breakfast and sent them off, catching up with them later at the finish line and celebration.
This trip provided an excellent opportunity for our students to see real-life mission work and love for neighbor being acted out close up. Thanks, Sea-To-Sea Nicaragua team, for showing your faith in action! For more information about the bike trip, visit http://bikenica.wordpress.com/.
NCA Nejapa Graduation
Our Spanish-language school, NCA Nejapa, held its first high school graduation this year. On Friday, December 5, our first eight graduates received their diplomas with much applause.
This event marks the culmination of the initial growth phase of NCA Nejapa. The school was started in 2005 in an effort to provide our school's commitment to "Academic Excellence with a Christian Foundation" to parents with a lower economic capacity and in the Spanish language. All of the school's 22 teachers are Nicaraguan, with the exception of one of the English teachers.
NCA Nejapa has grown from a size of 55 students at its inception to 240 students today. This year alone, we added over 100 new students, and this happened without any advertising! Nejapa parents are so happy with the education at their school that they cannot help but recommend the school to all of their friends and family.
Nejapa's mission statement is the same as that of the original campus: "To equip children of Christian parents with the spiritual discernment, the moral courage and the academic excellence to impact society through Christian living motivated by a heartfelt love for God." Nicaragua is a country in desperate need of moral leadership, and we hope and pray that our students will be prepared to make a difference for God! For information about sponsoring a child's education at NCA Nejapa, please visit our website.
A Midnight Cry Leads to an Amazing Salvation
By Carl and Kathy Most
Missionary family at Nicaragua Christian Academy
Serving with Caribbean Ministries Association
Sunday afternoon rolled around and so I was off to Mateare to work with the street youth. Several of the youth and I decided to visit Pablo who was at home recovering from a knife attack earlier in the week (such is the life of a gang member). Pablo is not the kind of guy you want to meet in a dark alley. With tattoos everywhere on his body, you'll often find him either selling drugs or out on the streets wandering in a drunken stupor. Not quite the pride and joy of mom & dad - to put it mildly. The past week however his life was turned upside down by none other than GOD himself.
On Wednesday, Pablo was released from hospital after being treated for 3 stab wounds, one to his lung. Thursday night though, God woke him up in the middle of the night and before you know it, he was up, moving, and prostrate on the floor in his humble home, crying out to God to save him - surrendering his life for God to use and then jumping up and down praising God with the immense joy that flooded His heart. As we all sat in a circle we were captivated by his every word and action. We all got down on our knees in the very same spot where only nights before, God had worked yet another incredible miracle of life giving salvation. We gave thanks for this miracle and renewed our commitments to encourage and follow Him with our lives.
Speaking of miracles, this year God has guided us to place our teenage boys in school at Nicaragua Christian Academy. Jared is a junior this year and Corey is a sophomore. After many years of homeschooling, they are having a blast studying at NCA. They are enjoying so many wonderful Godly teachers who are pouring into their lives on a daily basis. What an eternal investment these teachers are making not only in our sons lives, but in the lives of many Nicaraguan children.
Prayer and Praise
Praise God for His provision of a record high number of students. We now have 275 students enrolled at NCA, after the addition of 7 new students this semester.
Pray that God will begin working in the hearts of potential teachers as He calls them to Nicaragua.
Pray that Nicaragua Christian Academy and NCA Nejapa will be effective in raising up leaders ready and willing to transform their communities and make decisions of integrity based upon God's Word.
Pray for the country of Nicaragua in the midst of difficult economic and political circumstances.
How to contact us:
Dan and Lisa Van Zoest
Nicaragua Christian Academy
Apartado 842
Managua, Nicaragua
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
A day in the life
Dear Family and Friends,
After three weeks off of school and a new semester before us, we are settling into a routine. We arrived in Nicaragua at such an interesting time – first the riots, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas – our kids only had one full week of school from the time we arrived until Christmas! We often felt disoriented the first couple of months here, but life is becoming a little more predictable (relatively speaking) now. We thought we would begin to share more with you about what life is like here on a day to day basis. Dan, Rebekah, and I will share a little of what we have experienced and observed.
Rebekah recently started making a list of things about Nicaragua that are “different than Iowa”. I asked her if I could put it in our update and she said that I could.
1) The roads are bumpier than Iowa.
2) There is no carpet in houses.
3) The houses are different.
4) You live inside a wall.
5) It is warmer.
6) There are volcanoes.
7) The money is different.
8) There are markets.
9) You have bars on all your windows.
10) It’s a different language.
Rebekah is someone who notices everything about everybody and about the world around her. I enjoy her list because it is just like her – she is a very sequential and organized thinker. Also, notice all the times she mentions the house – one of the most difficult transitions for our kids has been leaving our house in Iowa. It is quite amazing what a home represents to a child.
A Day in the Life . . .by Lisa
On December 26 our neighbors would be leaving for the States and told us that we could use their internet connection while they were gone since we still are not connected. We were looking forward to this a great deal. I also talked with a friend at this time asking her to help us with our phone as it was crackly and we were thinking that this may be the source of our internet problem. On December 29, Will had a 102 fever and the only thing he felt like doing was playing Webkinz on the computer while he laid on the couch. In the midst of his game, we lost our neighbor’s connection due to a possible power surge. End of internet connection. Will was now sick and irritated. Dan and I were a bit stressed having a sick child with a high temp. We did not yet have a doctor so I called a missionary nurse and after describing what Will’s throat looked like (very red and white spots), she told us we could let him try to fight it for a couple of days and then just go to our local pharmacy and buy some antibiotics – no prescription needed and $3.50 for the bottle of amoxicillin. (A week later he was doing fine).
Dan and I were cleaning the house this day that Will was sick hoping to air things out and clean things up to help our family’s health situation. We put Will’s sheets – the only sheets he has – into the washer. Around 20 minutes later, the electricity went out. It had been out for a few hours when Dan suggested that we wring out the sheets and put them on the line so that they would be dry by evening. Good idea. So, we put the sheets on the line. Around an hour later, the electricity comes back on and we decide to put the sheets back into the washer to finish the cycle.
We pick up the phone in the midst of all this and it is now dead. We call our friend (on the cell phone) who was going to be helping us with calling the phone company and she said that she would try to call at least 3 times a day to let them know about our phone issues. Then, after mopping the whole house, we go through the inevitable ritual of watching all of the ants come out of hiding. They are not so happy that we demolished their indoor anthills that they build in the cracks of our tile. We try to decide whether we can better tolerate dirt or ants. We are now on day 15 with a dead phone and it has been a month and a half since we have had internet in our home. (We drive to the school to send out updates. We use our cell phones which we had hoped just to use for security when we are out and about.). We end our days giving our kids “milk jug” baths. The city water is turned off between 5:30 and 6:00 pm which is when most people then use their water tanks. For some reason (no one knows exactly why), our four houses at the bottom of the hill do not have a valve to shut off the air pressure in the pipes, so we get spurts of water out of the shower which we cannot use without burning out our heating unit on the shower. So, we fill up milk jugs with hot water around 5:30 and then give our kids their milk jug showers around 6 or 6:15 pm. So, why don’t we give them showers earlier? Because they play outside (we’re determined to raise kids who have time daily to just play) after homework is done from like 4:30 to 6:00 with their neighborhood friends. One time they did come in so filthy, that we all walked up the hill and asked a neighbor if we could use their shower! Anyway, this gives you a little bit of an idea how things can go sometimes. Dan will now share a specific day that he had trying to get a package we received out of customs.
A Day in the Life . . . by Dan
On Dec 18 I was at the front desk at NCA when the FedEx delivery man arrived to let me know that we had received a package that was being held at customs at the airport. The next day a Nicaraguan friend from NCA drove me to the airport and we spent about 45 minutes trying to find where the FedEx office was and after walking about a quarter mile from the airport we found the office only to learn out that they would not let us in because there were already enough people in line to last until the time they closed, 4:00.
So, Today (Dec 22) I went back to the airport by myself. This was a feat in itself, as I had not driven there before and it is on the other side of the city. The trip was uneventful and went well. I again parked at the airport and walked the quarter mile to the FedEx building. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of my walking.
First I took the papers I had to the counter and they told me I had to go to the back room and find the FedEx location. I walked from the waiting room into a warehouse with boxes stacked everywhere sectioned into the different delivery companies (UPS, DHL, FedEx…). I gave my papers and my passport to the FexEx person and he proceeded to type my information into the computer and then he printed off two pieces of paper and gave me one and kept the other and told me to go back to the front. It turned out that the Nicaraguan lady behind me in line at the FedEx section spoke English and she told me I that I would need several copies of the piece of paper he gave me and that she would show me how to do it after I get my number at the front desk.
I then went back to the waiting room and showed them my new piece of paper and they gave me a number (#61). I sat in a chair and waited for my Nicaraguan friend to come back out of the warehouse. When she did, she led me to a building a couple of blocks down the road where a man stood by a copy machine ready to make my copies for me. After thanking her for her help I walked back to the waiting room while she went to meet her husband.
When my number was called I went to the front desk and showed my papers and my new copies of the papers. They stamped and signed each piece of paper and told me to go back to the warehouse. I went back to the warehouse and after a couple of minutes a man and woman walked me back to the FedEx section where I showed them that I had a couple of new copies with signatures. They then found the package and opened it to find that it was full of English books for kids. They leafed through a few of the books. The lady that had walked me to the FedEx section told me that we now needed to go back to the front desk. So we walked back to the waiting room where they took my passport and all my papers and told me to sit down and that they would call me when they were ready.
I went to go sit down when an older lady came up to me and excitedly said “You speak English!” She went on to tell me that she had moved from Nicaragua to Houston, TX 25 years ago and she remembered what it was like arriving in the US and not knowing English well. So she said, “if you need any help, let me know.” They called me back up to the front desk to tell me that I would need to pay a $10 tax on the package I was receiving. They gave me another piece of paper and told me to wait in the line to pay the cashier. So I waited in that line and paid the cashier my 208 Cordobas and she stamped my piece of paper.
I brought my newly stamped piece of paper back to the front desk where they looked it over and then signed it and sent me back to the warehouse. By this time I knew the warehouse and many of the people working in the warehouse pretty well. I greeted everyone again and this time just the man joined me on my walk back to the FedEx section where I again showed him my new papers. He took a few minutes to fill out a few forms and then he found the package and gave it to me. My escort now brought me to another desk where I waited for my turn and then handed over all my papers. He proceeded to take out all of the staples that everyone who gave me a new piece of paper had added. He filled out a couple of forms and then gave me two new pieces of paper and let me go out the door. Before I left I thanked Julio, my escort, for walking me through many of the steps. The guard stopped me before I could walk back to the airport and took the top sheet of paper off my pile and sent me on my way. All this took about 2 hours and I think I received the special treatment, because when I talked with the lady from Houston, she said she had already been there for over 3 hours. Probably not how it would be done in the US, but I did enjoy spending a little time with and getting to know a few more Nicaraguan people. I drove home from the airport a different way and didn’t have any problems. God cared for me through the whole process and provided the help I needed just when I needed it. (We were also so blessed by this package of over 100 books from Rebekah’s 3rd grade class back in Iowa!)
We have often been advised that if we accomplish 2 things in a day, we are doing well. So often days are like this with many interruptions and unexpected detours which require physical energy and a willingness to release some of our expectations. I think it is good for us to be in this place – to struggle with productivity and to often feel that we are accomplishing very little or that which we accomplish is so often needed to be redone. Oswald Chambers reminded me in his Dec. 30 devotion, “Watch how God will wither up your confidence in natural virtues after sanctification, and in any power you have, until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus . . . It is the saddest thing to see people in the service of God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them, depending on what they have by the accident of heredity. . . . But, as we bring every bit of our bodily life into harmony with the new life which God has put in us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.” We pray that all of these “differences”/adjustments/challenges will create in us just that – the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
I will close by sharing that on January 8 we received our Christmas cards! What a treat! I was not prepared, however, for how the pictures and letters would impact me. At one point the kids looked at me and they said, “Mom, you are going to cry aren’t you. We can tell because you keep blinking your eyes.” The kids also received 5 packages from family and friends and are expecting 4 more to come. They made comments about how their friends still remember them – thank you! We also received a number of cash donations for us to use for Christmas presents which is also so appreciated – we’ve let the kids know how their Christmas presents were given to them through a much larger community this year. I wish you could hear them thank God “for our supporters” – they are very aware that everything we have, we have received from God through those back home – thank you. Thank you too for the emailed pictures and Christmas letters and notes – we so enjoy hearing from you! Thank you so much for all of the ways that you love us – each in your own unique way and each expression is valued and appreciated so much.
Please continue to pray for the political stability of this country. There will be some political changes in January so we pray for a smooth and peaceful transition.
Peace to you,
The Van Zoest’s
After three weeks off of school and a new semester before us, we are settling into a routine. We arrived in Nicaragua at such an interesting time – first the riots, then Thanksgiving, and then Christmas – our kids only had one full week of school from the time we arrived until Christmas! We often felt disoriented the first couple of months here, but life is becoming a little more predictable (relatively speaking) now. We thought we would begin to share more with you about what life is like here on a day to day basis. Dan, Rebekah, and I will share a little of what we have experienced and observed.
Rebekah recently started making a list of things about Nicaragua that are “different than Iowa”. I asked her if I could put it in our update and she said that I could.
1) The roads are bumpier than Iowa.
2) There is no carpet in houses.
3) The houses are different.
4) You live inside a wall.
5) It is warmer.
6) There are volcanoes.
7) The money is different.
8) There are markets.
9) You have bars on all your windows.
10) It’s a different language.
Rebekah is someone who notices everything about everybody and about the world around her. I enjoy her list because it is just like her – she is a very sequential and organized thinker. Also, notice all the times she mentions the house – one of the most difficult transitions for our kids has been leaving our house in Iowa. It is quite amazing what a home represents to a child.
A Day in the Life . . .by Lisa
On December 26 our neighbors would be leaving for the States and told us that we could use their internet connection while they were gone since we still are not connected. We were looking forward to this a great deal. I also talked with a friend at this time asking her to help us with our phone as it was crackly and we were thinking that this may be the source of our internet problem. On December 29, Will had a 102 fever and the only thing he felt like doing was playing Webkinz on the computer while he laid on the couch. In the midst of his game, we lost our neighbor’s connection due to a possible power surge. End of internet connection. Will was now sick and irritated. Dan and I were a bit stressed having a sick child with a high temp. We did not yet have a doctor so I called a missionary nurse and after describing what Will’s throat looked like (very red and white spots), she told us we could let him try to fight it for a couple of days and then just go to our local pharmacy and buy some antibiotics – no prescription needed and $3.50 for the bottle of amoxicillin. (A week later he was doing fine).
Dan and I were cleaning the house this day that Will was sick hoping to air things out and clean things up to help our family’s health situation. We put Will’s sheets – the only sheets he has – into the washer. Around 20 minutes later, the electricity went out. It had been out for a few hours when Dan suggested that we wring out the sheets and put them on the line so that they would be dry by evening. Good idea. So, we put the sheets on the line. Around an hour later, the electricity comes back on and we decide to put the sheets back into the washer to finish the cycle.
We pick up the phone in the midst of all this and it is now dead. We call our friend (on the cell phone) who was going to be helping us with calling the phone company and she said that she would try to call at least 3 times a day to let them know about our phone issues. Then, after mopping the whole house, we go through the inevitable ritual of watching all of the ants come out of hiding. They are not so happy that we demolished their indoor anthills that they build in the cracks of our tile. We try to decide whether we can better tolerate dirt or ants. We are now on day 15 with a dead phone and it has been a month and a half since we have had internet in our home. (We drive to the school to send out updates. We use our cell phones which we had hoped just to use for security when we are out and about.). We end our days giving our kids “milk jug” baths. The city water is turned off between 5:30 and 6:00 pm which is when most people then use their water tanks. For some reason (no one knows exactly why), our four houses at the bottom of the hill do not have a valve to shut off the air pressure in the pipes, so we get spurts of water out of the shower which we cannot use without burning out our heating unit on the shower. So, we fill up milk jugs with hot water around 5:30 and then give our kids their milk jug showers around 6 or 6:15 pm. So, why don’t we give them showers earlier? Because they play outside (we’re determined to raise kids who have time daily to just play) after homework is done from like 4:30 to 6:00 with their neighborhood friends. One time they did come in so filthy, that we all walked up the hill and asked a neighbor if we could use their shower! Anyway, this gives you a little bit of an idea how things can go sometimes. Dan will now share a specific day that he had trying to get a package we received out of customs.
A Day in the Life . . . by Dan
On Dec 18 I was at the front desk at NCA when the FedEx delivery man arrived to let me know that we had received a package that was being held at customs at the airport. The next day a Nicaraguan friend from NCA drove me to the airport and we spent about 45 minutes trying to find where the FedEx office was and after walking about a quarter mile from the airport we found the office only to learn out that they would not let us in because there were already enough people in line to last until the time they closed, 4:00.
So, Today (Dec 22) I went back to the airport by myself. This was a feat in itself, as I had not driven there before and it is on the other side of the city. The trip was uneventful and went well. I again parked at the airport and walked the quarter mile to the FedEx building. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of my walking.
First I took the papers I had to the counter and they told me I had to go to the back room and find the FedEx location. I walked from the waiting room into a warehouse with boxes stacked everywhere sectioned into the different delivery companies (UPS, DHL, FedEx…). I gave my papers and my passport to the FexEx person and he proceeded to type my information into the computer and then he printed off two pieces of paper and gave me one and kept the other and told me to go back to the front. It turned out that the Nicaraguan lady behind me in line at the FedEx section spoke English and she told me I that I would need several copies of the piece of paper he gave me and that she would show me how to do it after I get my number at the front desk.
I then went back to the waiting room and showed them my new piece of paper and they gave me a number (#61). I sat in a chair and waited for my Nicaraguan friend to come back out of the warehouse. When she did, she led me to a building a couple of blocks down the road where a man stood by a copy machine ready to make my copies for me. After thanking her for her help I walked back to the waiting room while she went to meet her husband.
When my number was called I went to the front desk and showed my papers and my new copies of the papers. They stamped and signed each piece of paper and told me to go back to the warehouse. I went back to the warehouse and after a couple of minutes a man and woman walked me back to the FedEx section where I showed them that I had a couple of new copies with signatures. They then found the package and opened it to find that it was full of English books for kids. They leafed through a few of the books. The lady that had walked me to the FedEx section told me that we now needed to go back to the front desk. So we walked back to the waiting room where they took my passport and all my papers and told me to sit down and that they would call me when they were ready.
I went to go sit down when an older lady came up to me and excitedly said “You speak English!” She went on to tell me that she had moved from Nicaragua to Houston, TX 25 years ago and she remembered what it was like arriving in the US and not knowing English well. So she said, “if you need any help, let me know.” They called me back up to the front desk to tell me that I would need to pay a $10 tax on the package I was receiving. They gave me another piece of paper and told me to wait in the line to pay the cashier. So I waited in that line and paid the cashier my 208 Cordobas and she stamped my piece of paper.
I brought my newly stamped piece of paper back to the front desk where they looked it over and then signed it and sent me back to the warehouse. By this time I knew the warehouse and many of the people working in the warehouse pretty well. I greeted everyone again and this time just the man joined me on my walk back to the FedEx section where I again showed him my new papers. He took a few minutes to fill out a few forms and then he found the package and gave it to me. My escort now brought me to another desk where I waited for my turn and then handed over all my papers. He proceeded to take out all of the staples that everyone who gave me a new piece of paper had added. He filled out a couple of forms and then gave me two new pieces of paper and let me go out the door. Before I left I thanked Julio, my escort, for walking me through many of the steps. The guard stopped me before I could walk back to the airport and took the top sheet of paper off my pile and sent me on my way. All this took about 2 hours and I think I received the special treatment, because when I talked with the lady from Houston, she said she had already been there for over 3 hours. Probably not how it would be done in the US, but I did enjoy spending a little time with and getting to know a few more Nicaraguan people. I drove home from the airport a different way and didn’t have any problems. God cared for me through the whole process and provided the help I needed just when I needed it. (We were also so blessed by this package of over 100 books from Rebekah’s 3rd grade class back in Iowa!)
We have often been advised that if we accomplish 2 things in a day, we are doing well. So often days are like this with many interruptions and unexpected detours which require physical energy and a willingness to release some of our expectations. I think it is good for us to be in this place – to struggle with productivity and to often feel that we are accomplishing very little or that which we accomplish is so often needed to be redone. Oswald Chambers reminded me in his Dec. 30 devotion, “Watch how God will wither up your confidence in natural virtues after sanctification, and in any power you have, until you learn to draw your life from the reservoir of the resurrection life of Jesus . . . It is the saddest thing to see people in the service of God depending on that which the grace of God never gave them, depending on what they have by the accident of heredity. . . . But, as we bring every bit of our bodily life into harmony with the new life which God has put in us, He will exhibit in us the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.” We pray that all of these “differences”/adjustments/challenges will create in us just that – the virtues that were characteristic of the Lord Jesus.
I will close by sharing that on January 8 we received our Christmas cards! What a treat! I was not prepared, however, for how the pictures and letters would impact me. At one point the kids looked at me and they said, “Mom, you are going to cry aren’t you. We can tell because you keep blinking your eyes.” The kids also received 5 packages from family and friends and are expecting 4 more to come. They made comments about how their friends still remember them – thank you! We also received a number of cash donations for us to use for Christmas presents which is also so appreciated – we’ve let the kids know how their Christmas presents were given to them through a much larger community this year. I wish you could hear them thank God “for our supporters” – they are very aware that everything we have, we have received from God through those back home – thank you. Thank you too for the emailed pictures and Christmas letters and notes – we so enjoy hearing from you! Thank you so much for all of the ways that you love us – each in your own unique way and each expression is valued and appreciated so much.
Please continue to pray for the political stability of this country. There will be some political changes in January so we pray for a smooth and peaceful transition.
Peace to you,
The Van Zoest’s
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Pictures - 1/11/09
Will, Rebekah and Lisa at our kitchen table.
Rebekah and Will having fun with the Christmas cards we received - Thank you for all the cards!!!
Rebekah made a stage and wrote a program for her animals.
Rebekah and Will having fun with the Christmas cards we received - Thank you for all the cards!!!
Rebekah made a stage and wrote a program for her animals.
Videos - 1/11/09
A video of us driving by a herd of cows in Nicaragua:
The video below is a clip of the market in Managua:
The video below is a clip of the market in Managua:
Friday, January 2, 2009
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Dear Family and Friends,
We hope you had a great Christmas! God facilitated for us a very busy and a very fun Christmas. I was telling my family that He knew it was important for us to be busy as those days just before, on, and after Christmas could have been so much more difficult for us if we had nothing to do and no one to be with. However, the missionary community here has loved us well through our first Christmas away from family and friends. We have decided to share our holiday highlights with you with pictures that are posted on our blog. So, you can visit our blog at http://www.vanzoest.blogspot.com/ to view the pictures. Below is our Christmas letter that summarizes our first couple of months in Nicaragua.
Thank you again for reading our updates and following this story. There is such joy in our journey as we share it with you!
Peace to you,
The Van Zoests
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Christmas greetings from Nicaragua! Though we are writing our letter from a different part of the world this year, our goal is still the same – to let you know that you are in our thoughts this Christmas and to share with you about how God has been at work in our lives. We look forward to hearing from you as we know that everyone has a story to tell and a journey to share.
Our introduction to Nicaragua was an exciting one. We arrived in Nicaragua on Oct. 29 and on Nov. 9, mayoral elections were held. The election was disputed due to suspicion that the votes were not properly counted. This led to demonstrations and rioting that continued off and on for two weeks. The rioting has stopped now, but tension between political parties continues. The U.S. has responded by cutting off 65 million dollars of aid to Nicaragua. The impact that these events will have on Nicaragua and Nicaragua Christian Academy is unknown at this time. The mission of Nicaragua Christian Academy has never been more critical. Your prayers for continued religious freedom and for openness to Christian education in this country are appreciated.
Our family is adjusting daily. Dan has been picking up more responsibilities at the school from week to week. He has been communicating with alumni to determine the effectiveness of their education and also to determine what the students are doing after graduation. Dan has found that several graduates are involved in ministries serving Nicaragua. He will soon be meeting with the director of a non-religious private American School which will open up opportunities to learn as he develops a relationship with this school. Dan has also participated in a meeting with the Board of Directors which involved planning for future development of the school. Dan has also been working with the Child Sponsorship program for the Najapa campus which involved a mailing and effort to develop relationships with sponsors.
Both of the kids are adjusting, each at their own pace. Rebekah has been fun to watch on the playground as she has a neat little group of girls that she plays with. She has seemed to step right back into the school routine and continues to have a passion to learn. Will has demonstrated a great deal of character as he faces several challenges at the same time – being the only American boy in his class, moving from homeschooling to a school routine, and learning a new language. He does not complain about his situation, he is working very hard, and is making great progress according to his teachers (the school curriculum is a U.S. curriculum and is quite challenging). Some things we do for fun as a family are: go to the ocean (one adventurous hour away), go out for ice cream, visit with new friends, go to the mall, play at the school playground, swim, make chocolate shakes, and watch a movie on our computer.
I (Lisa) am adjusting to being alone at home for the first time in 9 years. I’ve felt so thankful for the years with our kids and am also enjoying this new season. A few things I’ve been up to – trying to keep my finger on the pulse of how we are all adjusting, substitute teaching, planning a craft bizarre at the school for Nicaraguan artisans, mentoring an NCA teacher, and I continue to write for our blog. As I read “My Utmost for His Highest” this week, I’ve thought about how a particular sentence defines our calling here on earth. Oswald writes, “I am called to live in relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives . . .” As I write for our blog, this is my heart and my prayer – that God would use it to inspire others to grow in a longing for Him and to pursue a deeper relationship with Him. You can reach our blog at http://www.vanzoest.blogspot.com/ or you can email us at vanzoest@hotmail.com to let us know you would like to receive weekly to biweekly updates. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. We so appreciate your love and your care for us. Have a wonderful 2009 pondering and sharing your own story of God’s grace and love.
Love,
The Van Zoests
We hope you had a great Christmas! God facilitated for us a very busy and a very fun Christmas. I was telling my family that He knew it was important for us to be busy as those days just before, on, and after Christmas could have been so much more difficult for us if we had nothing to do and no one to be with. However, the missionary community here has loved us well through our first Christmas away from family and friends. We have decided to share our holiday highlights with you with pictures that are posted on our blog. So, you can visit our blog at http://www.vanzoest.blogspot.com/ to view the pictures. Below is our Christmas letter that summarizes our first couple of months in Nicaragua.
Thank you again for reading our updates and following this story. There is such joy in our journey as we share it with you!
Peace to you,
The Van Zoests
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Christmas greetings from Nicaragua! Though we are writing our letter from a different part of the world this year, our goal is still the same – to let you know that you are in our thoughts this Christmas and to share with you about how God has been at work in our lives. We look forward to hearing from you as we know that everyone has a story to tell and a journey to share.
Our introduction to Nicaragua was an exciting one. We arrived in Nicaragua on Oct. 29 and on Nov. 9, mayoral elections were held. The election was disputed due to suspicion that the votes were not properly counted. This led to demonstrations and rioting that continued off and on for two weeks. The rioting has stopped now, but tension between political parties continues. The U.S. has responded by cutting off 65 million dollars of aid to Nicaragua. The impact that these events will have on Nicaragua and Nicaragua Christian Academy is unknown at this time. The mission of Nicaragua Christian Academy has never been more critical. Your prayers for continued religious freedom and for openness to Christian education in this country are appreciated.
Our family is adjusting daily. Dan has been picking up more responsibilities at the school from week to week. He has been communicating with alumni to determine the effectiveness of their education and also to determine what the students are doing after graduation. Dan has found that several graduates are involved in ministries serving Nicaragua. He will soon be meeting with the director of a non-religious private American School which will open up opportunities to learn as he develops a relationship with this school. Dan has also participated in a meeting with the Board of Directors which involved planning for future development of the school. Dan has also been working with the Child Sponsorship program for the Najapa campus which involved a mailing and effort to develop relationships with sponsors.
Both of the kids are adjusting, each at their own pace. Rebekah has been fun to watch on the playground as she has a neat little group of girls that she plays with. She has seemed to step right back into the school routine and continues to have a passion to learn. Will has demonstrated a great deal of character as he faces several challenges at the same time – being the only American boy in his class, moving from homeschooling to a school routine, and learning a new language. He does not complain about his situation, he is working very hard, and is making great progress according to his teachers (the school curriculum is a U.S. curriculum and is quite challenging). Some things we do for fun as a family are: go to the ocean (one adventurous hour away), go out for ice cream, visit with new friends, go to the mall, play at the school playground, swim, make chocolate shakes, and watch a movie on our computer.
I (Lisa) am adjusting to being alone at home for the first time in 9 years. I’ve felt so thankful for the years with our kids and am also enjoying this new season. A few things I’ve been up to – trying to keep my finger on the pulse of how we are all adjusting, substitute teaching, planning a craft bizarre at the school for Nicaraguan artisans, mentoring an NCA teacher, and I continue to write for our blog. As I read “My Utmost for His Highest” this week, I’ve thought about how a particular sentence defines our calling here on earth. Oswald writes, “I am called to live in relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives . . .” As I write for our blog, this is my heart and my prayer – that God would use it to inspire others to grow in a longing for Him and to pursue a deeper relationship with Him. You can reach our blog at http://www.vanzoest.blogspot.com/ or you can email us at vanzoest@hotmail.com to let us know you would like to receive weekly to biweekly updates. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. We so appreciate your love and your care for us. Have a wonderful 2009 pondering and sharing your own story of God’s grace and love.
Love,
The Van Zoests
Pictures, pictures and more pictures
We had a neighborhood Christmas party which we found out later was the first time the Nicaraguan, Korean and North American neighbors have gotten together for a Christmas party. We shared favorite memories of Christmas.
Rebekah and Will and their friends Karly and Abi delivered paper nativity dolls to two neighbors with small children. By Christmas eve, they had delivered the shepherds, angel, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus, and a stable. With each doll, they shared the story of Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, we went to church and sang Christmas carols by candle light. Afterwards, we watched fireworks in the parking lot. When we returned home we watched some more fireworks that our neighbors were setting off.
We enjoyed Christmas with a goup of around 25 Canadians and one other person from Iowa. We had a good time getting to know some people better and enjoyed lots of good food.
Speaking of good food, the kids and their friends helped me to make Oreo truffles for the party.
And Lisa make a great breakfast for our family on Christmas morning
The day after Christmas, some friends took us to an active volcano. The pictures below clearly imply the possibility of an eruption.
Time with friends:
Rebekah, Karly and Abi
Watching a movie on the computer
Will playing with the boys in the neighborhood
Rebekah and Emma on the beach 
Will and I on the beach 
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