Welcome to the Van Zoest family blog

Marital Diagnostic Testing

2012-02-01T08:04:00.001-06:00

Nica Update: Marital Diagnostic Testing

Dear Family and Friends,

Eric (not his real name) was one of the first boys that Will called "a true friend".  Eric was a missionary kid who had lived in Nicaragua his whole life.  Will and Eric spent a lot of time talking about "deep" things and enjoyed many of the same activities.  Then, one day this past October, we learned that Eric, his siblings, and his Mom would be leaving Nicaragua in a matter of days to live in the States. A few months later, Eric's parents got a divorce.

This event has deeply touched all of us. Will said the other night that he wished he could have gotten in a time machine, gone back in time, and warned them that this would happen so that maybe it could have been prevented.

We cannot turn back time.  But, we can respond by joining God in something we believe He is calling us to do to support the marriages of missionaries here in Nicaragua. We are planning a marriage conference with the assistance of another couple.  The conference will take place on February 10 and 11.  It is a video conference which is a new event that FamilyLife has developed called "The Art of Marriage".  Over the past few months, we have been watching the video sessions and we are impressed with the dynamic and engaging format of this video conference.  It was designed to empower rural communities to offer the FamilyLife marriage conference on a smaller scale in a church or in small groups.  This format is also perfect for the foreign mission field.

Our target audience is missionary couples.  We currently have between 25 and 30 couples registered for the conference.  One woman wrote to us by email last night saying, "You have no idea how grateful I am that you are willing to host this marriage conference."

There has probably been nothing harder on our own marriage than moving to the foreign mission field.  And there has been nothing that has been better for it.  Other couples have said the same thing to us.  Our sin is so much more magnified and so much easier to see living here (both our own and each other's) because we live our lives with a higher degree of vulnerability – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  The great thing about our sin being magnified is that we can see it and we become more aware how it impacts others. And when we can see something, we can then do something about it.  So, living "exposed" and "vulnerable" and "less secure" is a challenge, but it is also an opportunity.

Below is something I wrote and then read at our international church with the prayer that missionary couples would recognize how the marriage conference will be both a challenge and an opportunity.  We share it with you with the same prayer - that you would consider attending a FamilyLife marriage conference in your area.  For information on dates and locations of FamilyLife conferences, you can go to www.familylife.com and click on "Weekend to Remember" or "Art of Marriage".

The past few weeks I (Lisa) have been thinking about the marriage conference that Dan and I have been advertising and how the nature of it relates closely to something that happened to my Dad a few years ago.

It was a few months before we arrived here in Nicaragua and my Dad needed to go in for a doctor's appointment.  He had been having troubles with high blood pressure and his legs would get weak sometimes.  But, just months prior to this appt., he had built a building all by himself that was large enough to house his tractor and a wood working shop.  So, he actually appeared quite healthy.

However, after running a diagnostic test on my Dad, the doctor told him to go to the hospital to get another test done.  This diagnostic test, called an angioplasty, indicated that he had 3 blockages in his heart requiring a triple bypass.  After more diagnostic tests, my parents learned that Dad's left kidney had died, his right kidney was significantly blocked, and he was diagnosed with diabetes.  A few days later, he had open heart surgery.

Open heart surgery means cutting the sternum down the middle, pulling it back like french doors to expose the heart, and then wiring it back together.  I remember seeing my Dad in ICU hooked up to many tubes and monitors.  It was a painful process for him to go through and his recovery took time.  However, he is now enjoying a quality of life that he would never had enjoyed had he not learned - as a result of a diagnostic test - that something needed to be corrected.

A marriage conference can be compared to a diagnostic test that is performed on a heart.  Only, not in a physical sense like my Dad, but in a spiritual sense. Dan and I have felt like we need to go in for a diagnostic test on our marriage each year in the form of a conference or group because for one, we don't have a perfect marriage.  We need an annual reminder of who God calls us to be as husband and wife.  And two, our marriage is always changing and developing and transitioning - just as we are individually.  So, it is kind of like taking a fresh look at a different marriage each year.

And the diagnostic testing of marriage conferences or groups helps us to see areas of our hearts that are weak or sick or hard.

It's not easy to go in for the test, because sometimes the diagnostic test of a marriage conference indicates that we need heart surgery.  And just like physical heart surgery – in order for the Great Physician to do His work - the heart needs to be exposed.  It seems that it is only when our hearts are vulnerable and open and exposed that God can do His best surgical work.

And often, His best surgical tool is our spouse.

It can be painful for us when God uses our spouse to heal us.  But, there is a quality of life on the other side of the pain and recovery that we just might miss if we don't go in for the diagnostic test.

So, what we were wondering . . .  is if you would be open to calling the Great Physician this week and just ask Him, "Do you think I need, we need, diagnostic testing?"

Thank you once again for spending a few minutes reading this update.  We continue to be so amazed and honored by your prayers, your faithful and generous financial support, and your interest in this journey.

Please pray for:

1) Eric and his family - for comfort, healing, and an understanding of God's love for each of them as they walk this journey.

For the marriage conference leading up to and on Feb. 10 and 11:

1) For the marriages of the missionary couples who attend to be strengthened.

2)  For God to empower Dan and I to facilitate it well (once again depending on His strength in our weakness, as neither of us are naturally confident "being on stage").

Thank you so very much!

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa, Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest

Pictured here are Dan and I with David and Claudia at their home. They are planning the marriage conference with us.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T07:48:00.000-06:00

Christ our Savior is Born

Wishing you
a Joy filled
Christmas

from the Van Zoest family

Thank you for your love and support!

Click here to read our Christmas letter.

Nica Update: Joy to the World

2011-12-18T19:21:00.001-06:00

Nica Update: Joy to the World

Dear Family and Friends,

I (Lisa) stood there, unable to sing the words. Tears in my eyes, heart swelling with thanks.

The song was in Spanish, but I knew the words in English. "Though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes with the morning." I was in the midst of Nicaraguan friends - the grounds workers, cooks, and cleaning staff of NCA. People who have endured great hardship and are economically among those who we might call "poor". When I am with them though, I see how rich they are and how much they have to give.

They were singing as loud as they could with hands raised, . . . body, mind, and soul fully engaged. Isabel sits next to me. Never have I known a voice so strong and beautiful. I tell her that her shoes are pretty. She says, "Gracias". And then she says, "You need to say, "A la orden" (which means something like "you're welcome). We laugh together – she loves to teach us. I am pressed but not crushed persecuted, but not abandoned struck down, but not destroyed I am blessed beyond the curse, for His promise will endure and His joy will be my strength. I look two rows up to see Blanca – she lost her teenage daughter a little over a year ago. Ana Gabriela drowned in a torrential downpour while walking home from school. I watch Blanca praise and laugh and beam with joy. I'm trading my sickness, I'm trading my pain, I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord. Then, there was Rosita sitting behind me, a spirited woman who always inspires me because of her enthusiasm for life. I remember the day we celebrated her graduation from grade school as a middle aged woman. I admire her determination. I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my shame, I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord. And Carmen, mother of many, gifted seamstress whose face and manner remind me so much of my grandma. She sewed curtains for my children's rooms, nurturing us like a mother and a grandma does. Jose Angel sits in front of us. He is the maker of bookshelves which are a centerpiece in our living room. A kind and gentle servant heart. We say yes Lord, yes Lord, yes, yes Lord, yes Lord, yes Lord, yes, yes Lord, yes Lord, yes Lord, yes, yes Lord, amen. And then there is Chepe, full of fun and life. I watch him lower the piñata which is in the form of a bell onto the head of an unsuspecting friend. He laughs along with all who watch him. Chepe rides his bicycle two hours to work at NCA and two hours back home each day. When I am having a bad day, I look for Chepe because he always has a smile for me, a smile that heals and loves. . . . though the sorrow may last for the night His joy comes with the morning. I look down the row to see my husband . . . child fatherless at the age of 7. It is written on his father's tombstone . . . though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes with the morning. I've had the privilege of living with a man who believed and keeps believing in joy in the midst of sorrow . . . a lifetime of sorrow because you never stop missing your Dad.

Hence, the tears and the heart full of thanks . . . thanks for the privilege of being in relationship with people who are resolved to live "joy" when they have every right to live buried in sorrow, resentment, bitterness, and anger. The other night, Will said to me at bedtime as we exchanged our last words for the day, "Mom, I just wouldn't trade my life for any other life." I said, "Me too, Will. Me too."

Joy. I've never known it like this before.

Joy to the World.

Joy to you beloved child of God.

And peace,

Dan, Lisa, Rebekah, and Will

Nica Update: Motorcycle Accident

2011-11-29T12:53:00.001-06:00

www.vanzoest.blogspot.com

www.danvanzoest.com

Nica Update: Motorcycle Accident

Dear Family and Friends,

I'm writing to you tonight, as we were reminded today of how dependent we are on God and His protection. We will be leaving on a bus for Honduras in the morning to see our niece who teaches at the International school in Tegucigalpa. We will celebrate Thanksgiving with her and her friends there. We are really looking forward to this trip.

Today, however, I (Lisa) was in a situation that has shaken me up a bit and has led me to ask you to pray now for our upcoming trip. Rebekah and I were taking a Nicaraguan student who has become a good friend of ours home – she lives just down the road from us. I needed to make a left turn onto her road. A motorcycle came from behind me to pass me on the left as I was turning left and ended up crashing on the side of the road. We were relieved to see that he got up and walked toward us, but we were also concerned about what this may mean.

Our Nicaraguan friend referred to the fact that I was an American and that I was in a very vulnerable position. The Nicaraguan motorcycle driver came to my window and was very angry, however, he was speaking in English – which made this situation much easier. He said that he was going to call the police because I broke the law. I knew that I had not, however, I also knew that it would take quite possibly hours to get through the process with the police. Dayana told me that the same thing happened to her brother-in-law last week and that the police took him to the station in downtown Managua for questioning. I knew that Dayana was right – I was vulnerable and besides that I was in the middle of packing to leave for Honduras and did not have hours I could spend with the police. I told the man that I would pay for damages to his motorcycle and asked him to let me know what the damage would cost him. He checked out his motorcycle and returned to me telling me that it would cost him $100 to fix his motorcycle, giving me some details in regard to all of the things that were wrong with it. I went home to get the money and copied off a receipt for him and me to sign agreeing that there will be no more compensation for the accident solicited(this was a suggestion from my house helper, Mercedes).

There is certainly a part of me that thinks I should have argued a bit with him about the amount of money. I wonder if the police would have been involved, if justice would have been done. However, I do have a sense of peace about this, certainly learning from it as well. What is special to me is that I see God so clearly in this. If the man would have been injured or killed, I would have automatically gone to jail. In Nicaragua, we are guilty until proven innocent. Another evidence of God's grace was that Dayana was with me to coach me through this and talked with the man as well. My house helper walked me through how to make sure that I have a signed sheet of paper to facilitate termination of the financial responsibility. And I remembered (by God's grace) to ask the man to give me the piece of paper that he wrote my license plate number on when he was threatening to call the police. We also were not hurt physically. And it was a great opportunity to pray with Dayana and Rebekah in the car in the midst of all of this. I was thankful that God prompted my heart to do so, as this is what I want our kids to see consistently – that we just go to Him with all things big and small and watch what He does.

And I believe that He used this situation to lead me to write to you to ask you to pray for our travels to Honduras. I find that the longer we live here, the more comfortable we become and far fewer things shake us up. However, God desires for me to live my life in moment to moment dependence on Him regardless of whether I feel that I need Him or not. The reality is that I do, we do, and each day truly is a gift that we receive.

I felt quite violated in a number of ways through my interaction with this man knowing that I did nothing wrong and that I needed to give him money that we could have used in so many other ways. But then Dan, who also recognized the injustice of the situation, but is always able to offer me a perspective that leads me to peace said to me, "Lisa, a hundred dollars to us does not even compare to what it is to him. You helped him fix his motorcycle and perhaps he will have some pain from the fall he took that he needs to deal with. We can look at it now as an opportunity to give whether it is fair or not." God brought healing through his words, reminding me once again how loosely He calls us to hold onto all that we have which is really all His anyway.

So, as we travel tomorrow and on Sunday, would you please pray for our safety. We travel tomorrow from 5 AM to 1 PM and on Sunday from 9 AM to 5 PM. We look forward to our time in Honduras very much. And we are thankful for the opportunity.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We pray that you too would have a happy and safe Thanksgiving as you travel to be with those you love and who love you.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa, Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest



forward to a friend

Nica Update: Last Year

2011-11-06T20:02:00.001-06:00

www.vanzoest.blogspot.com

www.danvanzoest.com

Nica Update: Last Year

A little over a year ago…streams of water, not drops, came out of the sky. Lisa was substitute teaching and I was riding in the back of a van looking out the window at how much water was flowing down both sides of the road. We were driving in the middle of the street to avoid being caught in the newly formed rivers on each side of the road. Someone in the seat in front of me turned to me and said, "children often drown when they get caught in those currents". Then we arrived safely back at the school.

Rebekah and Will needed to buy a present for a birthday party they would be going to the next day. So, we decided to drive to the mall to shop for a present. My phone rang shortly after the kids had picked out a gift. That is when I first heard the news that one of our students from our Spanish school, NCA Nejapa, had drowned while walking home from school that day. I knew the girl who had drowned because she was a part of the child sponsorship program that I oversee, I also knew her Mom because she served lunch to me at NCA almost every day. She works as a cook in NCA's cafeteria.

Because it is uncommon to embalm, when someone dies in Nicaragua they are generally buried within 24 hours. This means everything happens very quickly. Another custom is for family and friends to bring food and coffee to the grieving family to help feed all of those who visit. On our way home, Lisa dropped me off at a local grocery store where someone was going to pick me up to go to visit with the family. I found myself walking around the grocery store filling my cart with paper cups, napkins, Coca-cola, sugar, creamer and then finally standing in the coffee isle trying to figure out what kind of coffee do you bring to a Nicaraguan funeral. I still don't know, because some of our Nicaraguan friends arrived and picked it out for me. From the grocery store we went to pick up more friends from NCA who had purchased two massive bags of bread buns.

There was no road leading all the way to the house and so we drove as far as we could and parked in someone's front yard. We walked the remaining one hundred yards with the groceries we had bought. I arrived at the house and was met by a scene that was both familiar and very unfamiliar. The familiar gathering of people when someone has died, some were crying, some were talking quietly, most were standing quietly with their own thoughts. In the center was a small house pieced together with some boards and a tin roof. Inside was Ana Gabriela lying lifeless on the couch with her mother wailing next to her.

I spent a lot of time that night thinking about how much I love our kids, Rebekah and Will. I wanted them by me right then and there; I wanted to hug them, I wanted to tell them that I love them.

Over the next several hours we visited with many who came to show their care and love for this hurting family simply by coming and sharing a time of grief with them. As more and more people arrived I watched the men string light bulbs directly to the power line that ran to the house draping from the nearby trees. I watched the kids walk around giving coffee, pop and bread to all of the guests. Over time I got tired and leaned against the house, when I did a small piece of a board broke and fell to the ground. I looked through the small hole and could see the now familiar scene inside. I was grieving two things at that moment, the death of a child and the pain of the poverty of this world.

So that death would no longer have power over us, God also lost a loved one to death. Jesus' death and then three days later his resurrection brought an end to the power of death. 1 Corinthians 15:55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?".

We get to serve as God's hands and feet in this world and it was a blessing to see how the community at Nicaragua Christian Academy worked to overcome one piece of poverty in this world by building Blanca and her family a new house.

I am thankful for God and I am even thankful for the difficulties he uses in our lives to shape us. I am also thankful for the people he surrounds us with to help us through difficult times. I am thankful for each of you and the love, care and encouragement that you have given to our family.

My father passed away 33 years ago. I enjoy remembering him by visiting his grave when I get a chance. His grave stone has the following verse engraved on it: Psalm 30:5b weeping may remain for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

As hard as it is to believe at some moments, joy does come in the morning because of what our faithful Savior Jesus Christ has done.

May this Joy be yours now and forever,
Dan (Lisa, Rebekah, and Will) Van Zoest

PS: Here is a message from Blanca:

May the grace of the Lord shine in each home and on each of the people that shared of their own resources for my family. I am profoundly grateful for the huge support you have given for my house. Thank you from my heart and may the Lord multiply your generosity.

May God bless you and care for you in all your ways, and may He always be with you.

Blanca Morales and Family

Blanca's new house

The construction of Blanca's new home was completed near the beginning of October 2011.


Copyright © 2011 the Van Zoest family, All rights reserved. Financially support our ministry in Nicaragua at www.danvanzoest.com/danvanzoest_005.htm Our mailing address is: the Van Zoest family Nicaragua Christian Academy Apartado 842 Managua Nicaragua

Nica Update

2011-10-31T10:22:00.002-05:00

www.vanzoest.blogspot.com

www.danvanzoest.com

Nica Update:

Presidential Election in Nicaragua on Sunday

Dear Family and Friends,

The presidential election will be held in Nicaragua this coming Sunday, November 6^th.

Please pray with us for a peaceful election.

We saw a number of political rallies this past weekend, including one in a vacant lot less than a mile from our house. However, it has been very peaceful with no reports of widespread violence at this time.

Thank you so much for your love and support of our family as we serve at Nicaragua Christian Academy!

Peace,
the Van Zoest family

P.S. If you would like to read more about the elections in Nicaragua click here to see a story from the Wall Street Journal.

Copyright © 2011 the Van Zoest family, All rights reserved.
Financially support our ministry in Nicaragua at www.danvanzoest.com/danvanzoest_005.htm

Our mailing address is:

the Van Zoest family

Nicaragua Christian Academy

Apartado 842

Managua Nicaragua

Nica Update: News bits

2011-10-16T23:44:00.001-05:00

Web site: www.danvanzoest.com

Nicaragua Christian Academy web site: www.nca.edu.ni/

Our mailing address:

Dan and Lisa Van Zoest

Nicaragua Christian Academy

Apartado 842

Managua, Nicaragua, Central America

Dear Family and Friends,

This update is a bit of this and a bit of that. It includes things that our kids have written; and update from Dan regarding the developing vision for the new school in Matagalpa; prayer requests; and pictures at the end. Thank you again for your interest in this journey. Dan and I continue to be amazed that after 3 years, people continue to walk with us so faithfully. Our 3 year anniversary of living and serving in Nicaragua will be October 29.

From the Hearts of Rebekah and Will: (permission given to share this with you)

The following was written by Rebekah last year for a school assignment: When I moved to Nicaragua, it was hard because I had to leave a lot of my friends. I had to choose what toys I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to sell. We had to sell our house and give away a lot of stuff. It was very sad, but I knew that God had told my parents He wanted us to go to Nicaragua. I moved to my grandparents house. We lived there for awhile and then we came to Nicaragua on two planes.

The following was written in Rebekah's journal this year: It is called "Nicaragua". Nicaragua is an amazing place to live. It is always warm but never really cold. There are colors all year round. The winter months are cool. But, Nicaragua is still not cold. This wintery time of year is when the poinsettias bloom bright and show their beauty to the world. In the wet season, the trees, grass, flowers, and plants are all shades of green. Things grow like crazy till the dry season begins. Then, it is time to take out the watering can. The dry season brings good things as well like not as many mosquitoes or no more flash floods. There is no fall where leaves turn colors and fall to the ground. But, Nicaragua is still an amazing place to live.

The following was written by Will last year. His assignment was to write out his personal testimony to share with boys and girls in the community of Jinotepe (an hour from Managua). When I was young, I was very influenced by my teachers and my parents. My sister received Jesus before me so she helped too. I remember that I thought I was in God's family even though I was not. I remember life was confusing to me back then. It was like I was a pebble that got kicked and stomped on. It was like I was alive on the outside but I was dead on the inside. I remember just crying for no reason because of that. I don't really remember exactly when I received Christ but I know that life after that was wonderful. I started asking questions like "How big is God?" and "Where is heaven?" After I received Christ I was really curious. One day my parents told me we were going to Nicaragua. At first, I was scared but after awhile I felt God tell me to think of it as an opportunity to tell people about my faith. So I stopped being afraid and started feeling that God was calling me here too. I guess He was alright because I'm right here telling you my testimony. A story in my life that really struck me is when I was littler. That story tells you why my life verse is Romans 8:28. My testimony is still going today.

*** There were some who asked us last summer whether we were planning to continue with Nicaragua Christian Academy given that we had initially made a 3 year commitment. And the answer is that we are planning to continue for as long as we feel a sense of calling to continue. Reflected in our kids' writing is a "settledness" with life here and this is truly how each one of us feels that this is our home and that God has called us and continues to call us to be here.

Dan's update: NCA Matagalpa - school # 3

We are thankful to God for the opportunity to build a new school in Matagalpa, Nicaragua!

From the time NCA English was birthed, there was a desire to see education with a Christian foundation spread throughout the country of Nicaragua. We are now able to see how God is at work fulfilling that vision.

In 1991, 20 years ago, Nicaragua Christian Academy was founded with two teachers and seven students. In 2005 a second school, NCA Nejpa, was established. Since that time we have seen tremendous growth at both of these schools. NCA English grew to include over 300 students and NCA Nejapa has grown to over 325 students. We are also hoping to build a second set of Elementary classrooms at NCA Nejapa, which would enable the school to have two classes of each of the elementary grades.

Earlier this year a donor from the U.S. made it possible for NCA to purchase over 10 acres of land in the city of Matagalpa, which is about two hours north of where we live. On September 7th, I travelled to the city of Matagalpa to be a part of the first advisory board meeting for the school. God pulled together a great group of individuals from Matagalpa who will be participating in the process of getting the new school up and running. This group includes a number of pastors, a college professor, local business men, and a number of others.

Our group was able to meet again on October 7th. We talked about the many details that need to come together for the school to open in 2013 and we were able to join together in prayer at the new property.

Please join us in praying for:

o Wisdom for the advisory committee as we continue to work on the details of the new school.

o The provision of a Director for the school

o To be able to identify, hire and train godly teachers and staff

o That God would be preparing the hearts and minds of our future students

o The many details related to the construction of the school including operating and building permits, electricity, excavation, and building

o Additional financial support and church teams to help with the construction of the school

It's an exciting time for Nicaragua Christian Academy! We are looking forward to seeing how God will work in the details of the construction and establishment of the NCA Matagalpa school.

Thank you so much for your love and support of our family, God uses you in so many ways to encourage us!

Prayer Requests:

1) Marriages We received the very sad news two weeks ago that one of Will's very good friends was leaving Nicaragua to return to the States due to his parents experiencing marital difficulties. We are reminded again of how intentional we need to be in our marriages. We, along with another couple who pastor a church, are planning to offer a marriage conference for the missionary community and English speaking Nicaraguan community in February. Please pray for the marriages of missionaries and for us as we discern God's leading in regard to this conference.

2) Political Stability In November, presidential elections will be held. It is very possible that the elections will not be fair or peaceful. Please pray for protection and for God's Hand to direct the course of the elections.

3) Our Family I will write more about this at another time, but one change in our family life is that I am now home schooling the kids. This decision was not the result of a negative experience at NCA in fact, last year was our kids' best year academically and socially. This decision was made in response to a sense of calling that it was time to return to home schooling for another season. God has been so faithful to confirm this direction again and again our kids' contentment with home schooling being one way that God has confirmed this. Please pray for wisdom and for self-discipline for me as their Mom and teacher and for God to touch the hearts of our kids through the rich conversations that we are able to enjoy as we live and experience life together.

4) Discipleship I, Lisa, continue to be involved with discipling kids at NCA. These kids are now 5^th and 6^th graders and are moving through a transitional stage of their lives. I continue to find them open to hearing and learning and God has given me such a deep, passionate love for them. I was also asked to represent the Elementary School on the Spiritual Life Committee a committee that intentionally addresses the spiritual needs of our students. Please pray for our students that they would be open both to receiving salvation and exercising surrender in their daily lives and for those of us who are in relationship with them that we too would live lives of surrender to Christ.

Thank you once again for your support, your love, and your encouragement. We are so aware that we are not alone, aware that we are prayed for, and aware that others are invested in what is happening in Nicaragua. We are humbled by your faithfulness. Thank you so very much.

Included are pictures below of ministry and family events.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest

Pictured here is the Administrative team (minus Dan who is taking the picture), the Department heads of Elementary and High School, and Student Council members at a quarterly Admin meeting. Students and faculty are invited to the Admin. meetings on a quarterly basis to share their thoughts about how things are going at NCA from their perspective.

Pictured here is the meeting Dan referred to that took place in Matagalpa in regard to the new school.

A picture of the property where the Matagalpa school will be built.

Nicaragua is so beautiful. Another picture of the property.

In September, our family went on a hike with the Boy Scouts at a reforestation reserve. We learned many things about the trees and animals in the forest. Half way through the tour, we were told that there were coral snakes and killer African bees in the forest!

We had a great guide who had the challenging task of keeping our attention on a sweltering hot day.

Following the tour, the Boy Scouts and a number of US Embassy workers planted over 50 trees. Here is Will planting one.

These trees were planted on September 11, the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Here is Rebekah planting hers.

Rebekah and Will are now taking guitar lessons from our new friend, Antonio, who comes to our house to teach them. It amazes me how well the kids can understand his Spanish as he talks very fast.

Antionio and Will

Pictured here is Rebekah participating in her class's Independence Day Presentation. Each class in Upper Elementary, Jr. High, and High School gives a presentation on some aspect of Nicaragua's history. Since Rebekah takes Spanish at NCA, she was able to participate.

Her class actually won the "Best Presentation" prize - a pizza party!

Posing like a true Nica girl.

Pictured here is one of the High School classes. They do their presentations for the Elementary and make it quite fun for them.

Then, everyone dances - even the teachers and administrative team. This is the first year Dan has danced and he did a great job.

The dance was the most complicated dance the teachers have had to do, some of the teachers commented. Dan needed to juggle using a mask, a hat, and a morrocca!

Picture of all of the teachers in their traditional dress.

Close up - Dan is in the back on the right.

Dan and Rebekah all dressed up.

Will chose not to dance. Instead of dressing in Nicaraguan dress, he wore his Iowa shirt.

We celebrated Rebekah's birthday in September as well.

We started with some games - this one is the hula hoop game.

Here we did a relay where the kids needed to dress up as a soccer player.

Here is Rebekah spraying people's hair to help us distinguish who was on who's team.

And then we played soccer. It seemed that everyone enjoyed this. So fun to play as families.

Here's a picture of all those who came to her party. We are blessed with so many great friends.

Get Windows Live Mail to create your own photo e-mails

Nica Update: August Pictures

2011-09-14T08:56:00.001-05:00

One exciting event that happened this month was that Rebekah and I spent a night at a hotel on the ocean. We had won a free night's stay and decided to use it as our "Passport to Purity" weekend getaway. "Passport to Purity" is a CD series by Dennis and Barbara (FamilyLife) that teaches preteens about the changes that they and their friends will soon be going through physically, emotionally, and socially. It also addresses the area of sex and how this is something God has given to us as a gift to be enjoyed in the context of marriage.

We took a long walk on the beach and had a great talk as we enjoyed the ocean, the sand, and the sunset.

On these huge rocks were hundreds of black crabs. They were fascinating to watch.

God’s amazing artwork.

More beauty.

And more.

Rebekah makes us coffee in the morning.

Rebekah has been horse crazy since she was 5. And so a ride on the beach was quite a treat for her. It is a long story, but we needed to wait an hour and a half for this ride. Later, Rebekah said, "Mom it was totally worth the wait!"

Rebekah led me and the guide as she got her horse to run on several occasions. I do not have pictures of this as my horse would always take off after hers giving me a ride that I really did not ask for.

Our guide then led us through a wooded area which was also beautiful. The amazing thing about this ride too is that it started to rain a half hour before we started the ride. Rebekah and I prayed for sun, asking God for the rain to hold off for the ride. And just before we got on the horses, the sky cleared up and it did not rain until we were walking to our car to leave.

We needed to pay attention on the ride through the trees as we needed to bend down to avoid branches and lead our horses around mud holes.

Here is Rebekah with our guide. He is a very kind and gentle man - and very much a cowboy.

Rebekah really enjoyed the great swimming pool there too.

Dan and Will dropped us off on Friday afternoon and then picked us up on Saturday afternoon. We had a safe ride there and back and the rain held off for most of the time which was what we were praying for.

Nica Update: The Miracles

2011-09-08T16:49:00.000-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s good to “sit down and talk with you” again tonight. It has been quite a month here in Nicaragua. Many challenges and frustrations, but God’s glory and sovereignty have been something we have witnessed once again. My plan is to write tonight about one way that we watched God respond to us at a time this past week when both Dan and I both felt very weak.

We will write again soon with some exciting news about some things that are happening at NCA and also share something with you that Rebekah wrote about what it was like to leave her home 3 years ago to come to Nicaragua and her impressions of life here now three years later.

The Miracles: God's Strength in Our Weakness

Our reentry back to Nicaragua this time was rough. It began with our luggage not arriving with us which is the first time this has happened. Then, we were not able to track it on the computer because the airline’s system was down. We waited for 2 days before it did come and we were thankful that everything inside was accounted for. Another surprise included the discovery of a few families of cockroaches who were making our kitchen cupboards their home. The kitchen was also infested with ants. We are still dealing with this, as the other night Dan said the kitchen floor looked like it was moving because it was covered with ants. In addition, a couple small appliances were no longer working – it is typical for electric things to not last long here due to the frequency of power outages and surges. Another stress was that Dan was able to get little done at work the first few weeks of August due to problems with the internet at school.

Our car was not working very well either – it would start, we would arrive at our destination, and then when we tried to leave, it would be dead. The weird thing was that if we waited 10 minutes it would sometimes start again. The car was also overheating again. Our American mechanic is no longer working on cars so we had no one to help us with this. Our internet was not working in our home when we arrived back. For 4 weeks, our land lord called the internet service, someone from the school was calling, we were calling, and other Nicaraguans were calling for us and the answer we would receive from the company was “your internet IS working.” Then, the thing that “broke” me was the day I found out that my house helper, Jeaneth, was no longer able to work for us. I lasted only about 3 months without a house helper when we first arrived 3 years ago– there is so much dirt that blows into our home in the dry season and mold that grows on everything during the rainy season. Jeaneth has been with us for 2 ½ years and has become a friend and someone with whom I work well with. She was continually joyful in the midst of her very difficult circumstances. So, I’ve really grieved her absence in our home.

So, this past Monday morning, I laid in bed thinking about all of the things that were going on – primarily the loss of Jeaneth and how impossible it seemed to get the internet fixed. Dan walked into the room and I said, “I am overwhelmed.” He said, “me too”. I got in the shower and Rebekah came into the bathroom a few minutes later and said that a lady was at our door. After finishing my shower and getting dressed, I went to the door to find a Nicaraguan woman and my neighbor standing at my door. My neighbor said that this woman (her name is Mercedes) was looking for a job. We set up a time to talk the next day, and to my amazement, she came with a resume and reference letters. This is really not typical. I called one of her references who is an American family who now lives in the States and they said that Mercedes is someone they would highly recommend. The husband told me that he would trust Mercedes with his car and the wife said that she holds her in highest esteem. This recommendation is very important because the most difficult thing about finding a house helper is finding someone that you can trust. The hours Mercedes said she was available were perfect for our family. She spoke very clear Spanish and was not afraid to correct my Spanish which I appreciated (also not typical of most Nicaraguans). I’ve been praising God this past week for providing for us in a most amazing way – by placing someone on our doorstep and saving us a great deal of time and energy trying to find someone to replace Jeaneth. So, that was the first miracle.

The second miracle happened on the same day. The internet company miraculously showed up at the point where Dan and I had given up hope that the problem would ever be addressed. The workers figured out what the problem was with our internet – which was actually quite complicated. Then, they fixed it. And our internet has never before worked as well as it does now.

An American friend also recommended this amazing Nicaraguan man who is now helping us with our car. He lived in the States for 20 years and worked as a mechanic there. He has been back in Nicaragua now for 11 years, and knows his way around in terms of finding parts, etc. He speaks great English and he lives within walking distance from our house. He too has been an amazing gift from God.

We learn every day how sufficient God is. How He sees us and knows us and knows our limits and our weaknesses. And we recognize how His strength is so clearly seen when we are at our weakest. I sometimes think about how weak Dan and I really are. We are both quite reserved socially; both of average intelligence; it is sometimes easy for us to get overwhelmed; I struggle with anxiety; I'm not very organized; Dan has never liked being the center of attention and our life requires that we speak in front of hundreds of people; and I could go on and on.

I was also thinking the other day about how I got rejected the first time I applied to graduate school because I had gotten two D minuses which significantly impacted my grade point average as a Junior transfer student at Calvin College. I laugh when I think about those two classes because it is further testimony of how God is in the business of using very weak people through whom to display His strength. The subject matter of those two classes was – Spanish.

While we were in the States, several people commented on how my writing includes the sharing of our vulnerabilities. My heart as I write is that you would continually view Dan and I as weak, broken people. I also pray that you would also see how God so amazingly and time after time - rescues us, empowers us, challenges us, and strengthens us with His love and His grace. We pray that you would see a pattern of how we are weak, but He is strong. Our hope too is that you would know and believe and be encouraged that we are not a “special case”. God loves to work through weak and broken people because His glory is so much more obvious through us when we are weak. Our response to life can be to push through on our own to prove our strength (even our spiritual strength) to ourselves or others OR to “give up” and surrender to the One who is a Master at taking what is broken and making it more whole than ever thought possible. I personally live on both sides of that fence from day to day. What I am learning, however, is that the side of surrender is a whole lot more peaceful and actually even a lot more fun.

Thank you once again for reading this update. It is our joy to share this journey with you and we are so thankful and blessed by those who journey with us.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will

Nica Update: Joy Riches

2011-07-21T16:53:00.000-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been such a pleasure to see so many of you this summer. Once again, we have been deeply encouraged as we return to our US home by your words and hugs and service. We are so rich, so very, very rich.

I will briefly describe what has been happening in our lives these past several weeks and then will share a little more deeply in regard to some of the things I’ve been reflecting on since we have been back.

What’s Happening with us in the U.S.

The word “whirlwind” comes to mind as a word to describe our exit from Nicaragua and our time in the US until now. School ended in Nicaragua on June 8, we had one day to pack, and the next day we flew to the US. The month of June consisted of 3 church visits in both IA and MI and 4 dessert “fiestas” in Cedar Rapids, IA during which we met with around 50 of our supporters and shared more with them about what has been happening this past year at Nicaragua Christian. We love this time of seeing so many people who are so faithfully and intimately connected to us and what we are doing in Nicaragua. You encourage us in so many ways, including letting us know that you continue to follow what’s happening in Nicaragua through our updates – this means a lot to us. The challenge for us while we are in the US, however, is that we travel a lot during this time which is very tiring for all of us. There was one week where we slept in 6 different places in the course of a week and other weeks that involved sleeping in 2 or 3 different places.

God has also provided some very fun and rich times with our families and friends as well. We enjoyed a week on Lake MI with Dan’s family in June which included his two sisters and their families from CA, his Mom from OH, Uncle and 2 Aunts, and brother and his family from MI. We have also been able to see friends/supporters during our travels which has been so encouraging as well. Last week, we enjoyed a week with my parents at a lake in IA. We have been so incredibly blessed by the hospitality and generosity of so many people during our time here. We are constantly the recipients of such amazing grace and love.

Reflection on What’s Happening in us

This life that we live is quite fascinating to me. Life for me, personally, has never been so simple and so complicated all at the same time . . . And truly, life has never been so good.

Perhaps, I can share a story with you to illustrate what this looks like as we move back and forth between “worlds” in a sense:

A few weeks ago, Rebekah and I were in the American Girl doll store in Chicago. We were there with my sister-in-law who was treating us and several other family members to an American Girl doll luncheon. We began our visit by walking around the American Girl doll Store which included hundreds of dolls, clothes and accessories, and a beauty shop where you could get your doll’s hair styled. As we walked into the large and beautiful room where the luncheon was held, I stopped for a moment and looked around at all of the people and dolls (sitting in pink booster seats at the tables) and food and decorations. I had been warned by friends in Nicaragua to never allow the two worlds that we live in to intersect. And I’ve followed that advice during our time in the US, trying to enjoy each moment with each person in each place that we visit without comparing Nicaragua to the US. However, on this particular day, I let my guard down and my thoughts drifted as I started thinking about how many kids in Nicaragua eat one meal a day. Following this thought was a “picture” in my mind (not sure how to explain this) of a group of Nicaraguan people in colorful clothes standing before a backdrop of dirt. And they were laughing . . .

I’ve never experienced culture shock quite like this before, but what happened next was that I started to cry and I just couldn’t stop. I let some family members know that I was having a culture shock moment and that I just needed to leave for a little while. I went to the bathroom and bawled in a bathroom stall. The feeling that I was experiencing was a very deep sorrow – something I’ve never experienced before. I normally have a good cry about once a year and what I usually feel during that cry is self pity. This time, it was not about me, it was about a people that I have grown to love and appreciate and admire.

I did not stay long in the bathroom stall to process what was happening as I reminded myself that this was a special day for Rebekah and that I needed to be there for her. I also wanted to enjoy and participate in this special time that was generously given to us. A few minutes after I returned to the table, Rebekah tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Ma ma, this place is so much bigger than I thought it would be. I thought we were having lunch at a little American Girl shop.” I smiled as I realized that she was having her own “culture shock” moment, transitioning from the simplicity of our lives in Nicaragua to the complexity of American life.

We do not live a “primitive” life in Nicaragua, but we do live a simple life. The city we live in, Managua, has a population of 1.5 million people. We actually shop at a grocery store that would resemble a small grocery store in the US in terms of how it looks structurally, complete with air conditioning – I think it is even owned by Wal-mart. We have a refrigerator, stove, a washer, and a dryer (which we do not use a lot due to the cost of electricity, but comes in handy for us and our neighbors during the rainy season!). Our house is small and made of concrete, but it is painted in attractive colors. The simplicity of our lives does relate to the fact that we do have fewer choices to manage than we did when we lived in the US. This "simplicity" is also related to how we live our lives. Our daily activities are centered around relationships with people and our "posture" reflects a more consistent "dependence" on God for daily provision and protection. It is the norm for me to hug at least 5 to 7 people a day, as that is the way that both Nicaraguans and Americans relate to each other – even if we just saw the person yesterday. Our entertainment primarily consists of time with other people in our home or in the homes of others, at school, or at church. Our family travels everywhere together because we have one car. We do not receive junk mail, do not have an answering machine, or a TV. We read the world news on the internet and talk with neighbors about what is happening locally. A friend of mine once said that living in Managua, Nicaragua is like living back in the 50s. I think this is a good comparison.

And yet, life can also be complicated as we so often bump up against cultural and doctrinal differences (with both Nicaraguans, but also with missionaries from all over the world) that we need to work at understanding and responding to with grace and love. It can also be complicated in terms of our identity being that of “American” while our hearts are more and more intimately connected to the pace and the values of the Latin culture. It is complicated in the sense that we live our lives surrounded by poverty and are confronted with it daily - often through requests for financial assistance. This includes small children, people without limbs, and elderly people begging at our car windows; Nicaraguan friends who request help to pay for a surgery for their child; or our house helper who is in desperate need of a new pair of glasses and a nebulizer for her asthmatic son. We wrestle often with whether to give and how much to give and whether giving is even wise or healthy in each case. Our family also often struggles to define where “home” really is now that our hearts are knitted to two places that we love where people that we love live. This summer, I’ve also sometimes struggled with tracking with the fast-pacedness and business and expectations of American culture. Our introduction to this facet of American culture came at customs in Atlanta while we were talking and laughing with the man who was assisting us – the people behind us in line became irate and expressed very loudly how much more quickly the other lines were going compared to ours. And yet, as I look around at the beautiful green corn and bean fields of IA, I think about how these fields represent hard work, faith, discipline, responsibility for self and for others, and hope for the future. So, we are thankful, so very thankful and proud to call ourselves American citizens and recognize the incredible blessing that we have been given to have this as part of our identity as well. It’s just that we see how both cultures have so much to teach us. The blending of the two cultures is a picture of truth (American culture) and grace (Latin culture) – which in the same portrait, reflects the image of Christ.

. . . And, life has never been so good. When we received the call to go to Nicaragua, I think that what I believed was that God was calling us to “give up”, to “let go”, and to “sacrifice”. However, I did not anticipate how much He would respond by “giving us far more than we could ask or imagine” and by “showing us how firm His grip is on us when we let go” and by “showing us the freedom that comes when we die to ourselves”. This past year has been a hallmark year for me, and I think for us as a family. Our kids will talk about how much they love their lives in Nicaragua and how it feels like “home” to them. I see passion and fulfillment in Dan as he engages with his work at NCA. And never in my life have I experienced such joy, such contentment, and such peace. If you are like me, you might wonder how that happened. And I know that the answer to that is not a short one or one that I can fully explain. However, I will mention two things that I know contributed.

1) At the beginning of the last school year, I wrote about how God repeatedly (within a week) brought Matt. 11:28 to my attention through the Bible, through a book, and through 2 different individuals. It is the verse that goes like this “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” He then led me to spend one day a month at a farm with Him. My day with Him usually involved 5 hours, the first of which I usually spent just staring into the trees as I “unwound” and poured out all my worries and stress and the things that were swirling around in my mind. I asked Him to show me the next steps for the ministries I was involved in and prayed for the kids and the women that I was leading. I drank in the beauty of trees, flowers, and the smell of fresh air. I asked Him what He saw that needed to be changed in me and He showed me 3 specific things throughout the course of the year – 2 of which I have found great victory in overcoming through His power as He led me step- by- step by providing people/classes/and an on-line study to help me in these areas. It is a routine that I will continue next year, as I am learning that His call on my life is not about living a driven life – even when it comes to serving Him. It is about living an abiding life - one that is intimately connected to Him and open to allowing Him to serve others through me. The amazing thing is that as I look at the three years we have been in Nicaragua, it has been this past year where I have seen Him work most powerfully through me – so much more was accomplished when I “came to Him and received His rest” and trusted Him with everything else.

2) So, learning to rest in my relationship with God was one contributor to this sense of peace. A second contributor involved my relationships with people. One of the things that I’ve learned on the foreign mission field is that you make friends differently there than you do in the States. You need to be intentional and assertive and fast! People are so often on the field for a year or two or three and then leave. This causes those who stay to sometimes erect barriers toward new people coming on the field because saying good-bye repeatedly hurts. So, this year, instead of waiting for people to ask me to do things with them, I was much more intentional about inviting people to our home, finding a walking partner, developing an accountability relationship with a friend, attending a Bible Study that I didn’t need to lead myself, and just stopping by at friends’ homes for an hour or two to talk. I have so enjoyed getting to know so many people from all over the world. And God has so often used them to encourage and challenge and strengthen me as well.

The relationships I just mentioned are primarily with missionary and US embassy women. I have also been praying and hoping for deeper connections with Nicaraguan women/families. A few weeks before we left to come back to the US for the summer, we were invited to a Mother’s Day celebration with a Nicaraguan family. A Canadian friend of mine had recently married a Nicaraguan man from this family and she remembered me expressing a desire to connect more with the Nicaraguan community. So, she invited us and we went. This family is poor, but generous – they served us Nicaraguan snacks and cake and we enjoyed a piñata together (only the Mothers got to hit the piñata that day). It was an amazing time. My stomach and my cheeks hurt by the end of the night from laughing so much and so hard. We were also inspired by how the men of this family organized and executed this celebration honoring the women of the family. Our kids played with their kids – musical chairs and soccer – and were invited into one of the homes to meet a pet bird. At the end of the night, the family invited us to come for their Christmas celebration. God has given us the opportunity to enjoy so many different people who have so much to teach us.

And besides all of those people, we have you – those who faithfully pray for us and support us financially and read these very long updates and encourage us along the way. So, that picture that I mentioned earlier that appeared in my mind at the American Girl doll store with the Nicaraguan people who were laughing . . . well, it does seem to represent the spirit of the Nicaraguan people in spite of their hardships. But, it also very accurately illustrates our experience there. We have found joy in Nicaragua - in a place that is so desperate when it comes to economics but is so very rich when it comes to relationships. We find joy too through you – through people who are a very special part of our lives. And in many cases, the reason why we are so close is because . . . of Nicaragua.

And that is what I mean when I say that we are rich, . . . so very, very rich.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will

Nica Udate: May Stories

2011-05-17T11:02:00.001-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I would like to begin our letter today just thanking you once again for so faithfully walking with us in so many ways. We continue to be amazed at your consistent support of and love for our family. I’ve thought so many times that I am so thankful for the fact that we needed to build a team of supporters to do the work that we do because this experience would be not be nearly as rich had we done it alone. The journey is much deeper and much more meaningful when shared with others. So, thank you once again for journeying with us.

My plan for this update is to share short stories once again to give you an idea about the things that are happening here. Each of the captions below will complete the sentence “We are . . . .”

So, we are Sweating: April and May are hot months. Hot to the point where we feel like our level of productivity is significantly impacted – in part because we are drinking lots of water and visiting the bathroom much of the day! There are times when Dan or I collapse on the bed at 7:00 PM and sleep until the next morning because the heat drains our energy. Rebekah had a 102 temp the other day which quickly went down when we had her drink and drink and put lots of ice on her head. So, we were thinking that this too was related to the heat. We have had two good rains and once this begins to happen regularly, it will begin to cool down. The first rain here is like the first snow back home – all the kids run outside and run around and splash in puddles and get completely soaked. It is also fun to experience clouds again, as we have had 6 months with no weather change!

We are . . . Celebrating: Two exciting bits of news about what God is doing in terms of expanding the borders of NCA. First, there has been a piece of property that has been owned by a Baptist mission on the school grounds of NCA. This piece of property went up for sale recently and NCA was able to purchase that land which will provide opportunities for further expansion in the future. Second, we recently found out that NCA will begin building a third school soon! An individual is funding the purchase of the land and the construction of the initial buildings. This school will be located in the city of Matagalpa, which is about 2 hours north of Managua. Our hope is that the new school will be ready to open by February 2012 which is the beginning of the Nicaraguan school year. The new school will most likely start with a focus on secondary students in grades 7 through 11. Both of these developments continue to encourage us as we see God moving in other parts of Nicaragua through Nicaragua Christian – a school that started out as a few missionary families who were home schooling their kids. They responded to the request of Nicaraguan families to include their children in what they were doing with their own. Today, 30% of the NCA English student body are missionary kids, 60% are Nicaraguan students, and 10% are South Korean; and most of the students at NCA Nejapa are Nicaraguan students.

We are . . . Mentoring. This year, Dan has begun working with a teacher in the area of raising financial support. This role is so important as the process of raising support is a difficult one, but can also be an amazing opportunity to come to know God as “Provider”. For weeks, Dan and this teacher have been listening to seminars, talking, praying, and creating a brochure to give to potential supporters. This past week, the teacher began making calls to people they had sent the brochure to. Dan and the teacher have been amazed and encouraged by God’s provision through only a few individuals. It has been such a joy for Dan to watch, reminding him so much of our own experience – when God did and continues to provide in such incredible ways.

We are . . . Discipling and Being Discipled. This past month, I was scheduled to speak to the Upper Elementary students about the story of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Chapel usually begins at 8:30, then we sing for 10 minutes, celebrate birthdays for another 5 or so, and then the speaker speaks. High School chapel does not start until 9:15, so I always count on having 5 – 10 minutes after 9 to complete the chapel message. Every minute counts. I should mention too that I love preparing for the chapel message – I spend hours researching, thinking, praying, and writing it out. And the day I get to deliver the message is like Christmas Day for me. Well, an hour before I am to speak for this particular chapel, a teacher asks me if I got "the email message". I said that I had not. She said that I had to be done that day at exactly 9:00 because the High School needed to set up their band. I told her that I would try, but I felt frustrated because I would need to pare down what I had planned to say.

I went to the bathroom and started to complain to God about how hard I had worked on this and how I really wanted to share what I had prepared. Then, I started to strategize as I thought about how I could ask the band director to sing fewer songs and talk with the other teacher about just making the birthday part go quicker. It was at this point that God spoke to my heart saying, “Lisa, I desire more for you to live this message than to give it.” The heart of the message that I had prepared was to point out how Jesus said to His Father in the Garden, “Not my way, but your way” just prior to His crucifixion. I planned to share with them how I believed that this was not the only time that Jesus said this to His Father – I believe He lived His life saying this with every situation/problem He encountered. He lived His life in continual surrender. After receiving what God spoke so gently to my heart, my mood and my perspective completely changed and I worshiped God in the bathroom, thanking Him that He cares far more about my relationship with Him than what I “do “ in His name.

I pared down both my message and the power point I had planned to use and arrived at the chapel area minutes before chapel began. It was then that the teacher who had told me earlier that I needed to be finished at 9:00 came up to me and said that she had been looking all over for me. She told me that the band director told her that he was not planning to sing that day as he was not prepared to do so that day. This would give me back the 10 minutes I thought that I had lost! I stood there smiling – it is just like God to give us back what we give up when we surrender. Dan recovered my power point and I quickly readjusted the message. There has never been a time that I’ve spoken in chapel with such passion and conviction. For the next few days, I heard from teachers and students and our kids in regard to the power of that message. Through this experience, I am reminded again that powerful living comes through surrender (giving up my way and going along with His way) - such an amazing paradox.

We are . . . Relating. As I look back on this past year, I see how God answered a very specific prayer for community. He has been teaching us a lot about how to make and maintain friendships here. It can be difficult here to make friends as people come and go so frequently. In addition, many people host mission teams which is a 24 hour job. So, when our friends have a team, we know that they are unavailable for the duration of the time the mission team is here which can sometimes be weeks. We learn to enjoy the moment we have with people today, and we are learning to be very intentional about those relationships. This year, I organized a “dinner group” with 3 other missionary families that meets once a month. We have really enjoyed getting to know these families and find great joy in sharing our lives with them. God has also provided me with a weekly walking partner and an accountability partner – both of these women are 10 years older than me and sharpen me in so many ways. Dan too is enjoying new relationships with some guys that he is getting to know better. And the kids have had a great year with lots of friends inviting them to do things and lots of friends hanging out at our home. We praise God for these relationships, recognizing them as gifts from Him.

We are . . . Trusting. Last week a friend of mine came home to find that her house was being robbed. The burglars took off in a car and started heading out of the neighborhood. My friend followed them as her neighborhood has a guard at the exit who lets people both in and out of the neighborhood. My friend started honking and honking to alert the guard that he should not let the car in front of her out. And that was when one of the men pointed a gun at my friend and another man pointed a gun at the guard. She stopped honking and the guard let them go. A few months ago, another friend honked at her own gate to let her husband know that she was home at which time a man came up to her car and pointed a gun at her head gesturing for her to get out of her car. She did and they took the car. Over our 2 ½ years here, we have heard many stories like these from week to week – things like this that have happened to friends and people that we know personally. Those who live and serve in rural areas in Nicaragua endure the challenges of primitive living. Our challenge in the city of Managua is safe living. Your prayers for the recovery of those who have experienced such trauma would be appreciated as well as your continued prayers for our and their safety. We do live our lives here so much more aware of our daily need for God’s protection and care.

We are . . . Preparing. We will be traveling back to the States this summer with the purpose of meeting with churches, individual supporters, and seeing our families. We will be sending you information in regard to some desserts that we are planning for the Cedar Rapids area where we plan to meet with individual supporters. We will also be visiting with supporters as we travel between Iowa and Michigan. We plan this year to meet with four churches this summer and then will meet with four next summer which means that we would see all of our churches every other year. Dan will continue to work through the summer, keeping office hours at libraries around the area we will be staying. We will stay with my (Lisa's) parents again this summer which is and hour and 15 minutes away from Cedar Rapids.

In addition, we are hoping to rest, carving out time to be with our families as well. Dan and I have been very intentional in thinking about and practicing the activities that will “increase our shelf life” on the mission field. Our goal is to maintain our health physically, emotionally, and mentally which will impact our endurance on the field. Our visits home once a year have been a part of that plan and are something that is supported and encouraged by our mission. We are so thankful for that. Thank you too for your prayers for us as we transition from one “world” to the next which always involves grief as we let go of what has now become “normal” for us and embrace what is less familiar.

I’ve not listed prayer requests thinking that as you read about our lives, God will direct you how to pray as you think through what we have shared.

We look forward to seeing many of you very soon. Thank you once again for your support and for your prayers.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest

Nica Udate: Vision

2011-03-24T11:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

It is March Madness! This is something we get to enjoy here since the games are broadcasted on the internet. We are having such a great time watching the games, as we all love basketball. There have been times, however, when the internet has been in and out and I’ve experienced a new “definition” of “March Madness”. And our kids were a little confused at first too because our school here is called Nicaragua Christian Academy or NCA. And so they were wondering a bit about the connection between our school and the NCAA tournament. Just a good example of how confusing it can be to grow up cross culturally. But, it has been our joy to share this tradition with them and to enjoy it together.

This update will focus on one thing that we see God doing through a ministry that is developing with the kids in 4^th – 6^th grade at NCA. It is something that I did not even see until recently and am excited about how God is unfolding a vision for ministry with the upper elementary kids one step at a time. Following the update are some pictures that "tell the story" of some of our family's and NCA's most recent events.

Shortly after arriving at NCA a couple years ago, one of the teachers asked me to speak at an elementary chapel. From that time on, I have been speaking in chapel – usually once a semester. I've really enjoyed this opportunity as it gives me a chance to connect with kids as I speak and I love preparing for these messages as I learn so much in the process. Then, last summer, I began to sense “a nudge” to engage a bit more closely with Rebekah and Will’s class through more direct discipleship. I prayed through this quite a bit as this is something I had never really done before, but it just seemed that I was being led in this direction. God also gave me a plan over the summer for how to engage with them and so I arrived back at school last fall prepared to take steps forward. However, I had talked with no one about this and did not really know when I would do this. My idea was to meet with students during the 10 to 20 minutes many of them normally spend in before school or after school care. However, God had something different and better in mind.

He led me to talk with the 4^th grade teacher (Will’s teacher) about this vision and I asked her about whether she thought before school or after school would work better. She responded by saying that she would like to offer me 25 minutes of her class time once a week to share a devotion with the kids. I then talked with Rebekah’s 5^th grade teacher and he also invited me to spend the same amount of time in his class! So now, once a week, I spend 25 – 30 minutes with each of these classes sharing with them about what it means to be a disciple of Christ. It has been my joy and pleasure to be involved with these classes and I find myself more and more passionate about pouring truth into kids between the ages of 9 and 12 – they are really thinking through things and asking amazing questions.

It was through a conversation with Will one day that God deepened and grew my passion for this ministry. Will shared with me something that I had never known about him. He shared that while he was attending his 4 year old preschool class back in Cedar Rapids, IA, there was an elderly couple who came to talk with their class once a week about Jesus. Will said that it was during one of their visits when they shared about the gospel that he truly understood what Jesus did for him. It was later, while he was laying in his bed one night that he would receive Christ as his Savior. I had never heard this story before – I knew about the couple who would come to his class. I knew about how he had received Christ as a small child while he was laying in his bed. But, I never knew about the connection between receiving the gospel message from them and God using it to quicken his heart. So, what I believe is that God saved that story to be told for this specific time and place – for a time when I am that lady coming into an elementary classroom once a week sharing with kids about who Jesus is. Hearing Will’s story was, for me, like pouring gasoline on a fire – my passion for this ministry has deepened and widened as I recognize the opportunity that God has given me to join Him in what He is doing.

Then, a few months into the school year last fall, Rebekah and I had a conversation that God used to develop His plan even further. Rebekah was talking about her friend Emma who was on furlough in the States at the time. She talked about how she missed her and what a good friend she is. She talked about how she and Emma were keeping each other accountable last year for certain things – ways that they wanted to live that were more honorable to God. I was impressed with their desire to be accountable to each other and I pondered that for awhile. Accountability partnerships have been a part of my walk with Christ for the past 10 years, but I was not sure about when to encourage this with our kids. Rebekah and my conversation sparked the idea to support the girls in what they were already doing in addition to providing them with some guidance and encouragement. I asked Rebekah if she would be interested in this and she said that she would, as did Emma.

Our meeting time is before school once a week during the 20 minutes that Dan is in devotions with the teachers. After a few weeks of meeting, the group developed into a group of 3 – Rebekah, Emma, and Lorenzy. Will is also now meeting with a group – it is him and 2 friends named Isaac. Both of these groups actually started with 2 kids. Lorenzy became a part of the group after Rebekah and Emma started talking about their desire to spend more time with Lorenzy. I also watched how Lorenzy handled a conflict and through this felt a sense of leading to invite her to be a part of the group. The way that we got two Isaacs is that one day the Isaac who was not initially invited just showed up at the door where we meet and asked if he could join us. Will and the other Isaac said “sure”. God, once again, seemed to have planned these groups to be groups of 3, not 2. “Accountability groups” is another area that I am not real familiar with when it comes to how to do this with kids – but once again, we are just asking God to show us the next step. For now, we are reading the biography of George Muller (missionary) and talking a bit about him and his walk with God.

So, I was just thinking this all through the other day – thanking God for the opportunity to be a part of this and just marveling about how He put it all together. And then I had kind of like an “ah ha” moment. I thought about Jesus and how He spoke to the multitudes – kind of like how I have the opportunity to speak to a large group at chapel. But, then out of that multitude, he chose 12 – like the 2 classes of little disciples that I get to relate to in a more up close and personal way. But, then out of the 12, He chose 3 to whom He would reveal more and relate to more intimately – the 3 girls and 3 boys I meet with once a week. And then I reflected on how this all happened – not through my planning or strategizing or “making it happen”. He did it. And I get to be a part of it.

If there is one thing that I desire to communicate to kids about God, it is that life with Him is an adventure. That we can wake up each morning and look forward to how it is that He will communicate with us that day – will it be through nature, the smile of someone else, through something someone says, through something that we read, through convicting us of a way that is not right for us, through an insight that He brings to mind as we think or pray, or will it be through something difficult or challenging or heart breaking? And when we see it, when we hear it, and when we recognize His voice in it – we grow in intimacy with Him and our desire to respond to Him with gratitude (through the form of service) grows and deepens. My passion is fueled by the fact that this is a way that I’ve needed to intentionally learn to live as my natural tendency is to look through a lens of worry and fear as I interpret the things going on around me or to burden myself with how I should do better/be better/do more/be more. And my hope and passion is to help kids to learn to wear the lens of “expectation” now – to look for God throughout their day and to see opportunities to join Him in what He is doing, to pause and look for how He is directing them. And to live the adventure of following Christ regardless of where He leads them and how they might feel about it - because on the other side of that is a life, an abundant life, that we can in no way manufacture for ourselves.

It may seem that those who live on the mission field are really living this adventure with God. I can tell you that this is not necessarily true. We too try to do things with our own resources instead of going to God and asking for His help, we get discouraged, we struggle with anxiety, we hang on to bitterness, we operate within our comfort zones, and we resist taking the next step God is nudging us toward. Living the adventure with God is not a “place” that you go to live the adventure, it is a realm within which we all can live in the place God has planted us. It is about waking up in the morning and looking forward to finding His fingerprints throughout the day, knowing that He is an engaging and intimate God who is pursuing us – not just for eternity – but for today, for this very moment.

Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:12,13

Thank you so very much for your faithfulness. You are among the obvious “God fingerprints” in our lives as you encourage us, support us financially and in prayer, and just love us. We are so grateful, so thankful, so aware of our engaging and intimate God through you.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest

Nica Update: Stories

2011-02-06T07:28:00.001-06:00

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been awhile since we have "talked". We know that you desire to walk with us and that you can only do that as we communicate with you. So, please pardon our lack of communication these past two months. We have missed you. In fact, so often as exciting or difficult things happen here, my mind turns to you thinking, "I can't wait to tell them this." Or "I need to ask them to pray for that." So, please know that you are often thought of during our daily experiences here.

There are so many things that have recently happened. I am structuring today's sharing as short stories about some of the highlights. The first stories will feature "Aslan on the Move" stories of how we see God moving in some pretty amazing ways. The second set of stories will be "Waiting on God" stories which highlight situations that you can pray for us and others in the coming weeks. At the very end, you will find pictures that give you a bit of an idea of what the kids are up to.

"Aslan on the Move" Stories

Spiritual Emphasis Day – Last Friday the Junior High and High School did not attend their regular classes, but instead listened to a key note speaker and attended several different seminars led by parents on various topics which included forgiveness, spiritual disciplines, and sex. The theme of the day was "I Believe in You" and focused on Jesus' interaction with Peter after His resurrection. One of the activities the kids participated in was to open a letter that was written to them by their parents who expressed their belief in their child. There were many tears among the students during this activity and the remarkable thing was that all 140 kids received a heartfelt letter from their parents. The teachers were prepared to write letters to those students who did not receive a letter, however, this was not at all needed. Our parents stepped up and said those powerful words to their kids and the kids were deeply impacted. After the day was over, Dan heard some teachers say, "I love working here. I can't believe I get to do this."

Marriage Ministry Gaining Momentum - One of Dan and my passions is marriage and family ministry. A dream of ours when we arrived in Nicaragua was to equip missionaries to engage in marriage and family ministry among Nicaraguans. Recently, God is opening the floodgates and we are overwhelmed by all that we now see happening. The first exciting change was that a new missionary family arrived in Managua two months ago. This couple is very passionate about marriage and family ministry as well and we are now working together in this. They are currently leading a marriage group that we are attending. It has been so refreshing to be working with them as a sounding board for ideas in addition to the fact that we are enjoying the sweetness of building a friendship with them. Second, we recently became aware of a marriage conference on DVD that FamilyLife is designing for use in rural areas. We have watched clips of this conference on the internet and were very impressed. We got excited about the possibility of launching one here. Several missionaries have asked us to consider offering a weekend conference, as a weekly group is difficult for those who travel and manage mission teams 24/7. We talked with a Pastor friend of ours who leads an English Speaking Nicaraguan church and he and his wife are also very excited about this as well. We are now making plans for a fall conference to include the couples of their church in addition to the missionary community. But, there is more. A few weeks ago, we talked with another missionary family who said that they are looking for more Spanish materials to use with the small group of Nicaraguan couples that they lead. We mentioned that we have a FamilyLife marriage conference DVD that is in Spanish and they were very excited about this and plan now to use it in their group. Then, last Sunday, the director of a ministry came up to me and said, "Lisa, I've been wanting to talk with you for a long time. I lent the Spanish Marriage DVD you gave me to a Nicaraguan couple and now they are very excited about starting their own small group with married couples!" Dan and I are in awe of what God is doing and how much He is doing lately when it comes to marriage ministry. We are so excited and thankful to be a part of it!

A New Responsibility for Dan – Dan is continuing to enjoy working with the administrative team at NCA and coordinating about 60 sponsorships at NCA and NCA Nejapa. However, within this past week a new dream is now gaining momentum for Dan. He began this year working with ACSI to help a number of teachers at NCA with raising some of their financial support. Last week, he watched a seminar on the internet with one of the teachers who is needing to raise support. One of the seminar speakers was Ellis Goldstein who is from Campus Crusade for Christ and is the man who trained us in how to raise support when we were with CCC for a season. Following the training, Dan asked if the teacher would like to meet on a weekly basis for the purpose of having someone to bounce ideas off of and to be encouraged by. The teacher said "yes" and began meeting with Dan this week. Dan is excited to help and encourage the teachers at NCA in this way. Dan and I were just talking yesterday about our journey and how we are so thankful for how God led us first to FamilyLife/Campus Crusade before calling us to Nicaragua. FamilyLife instilled in us a passion for families and a desire to serve them. Campus Crusade offered excellent training in support raising. God is now using these passions and skills to minister here. Someone from FamilyLife once said to us during the time we were so broken about leaving FamilyLife, "Nothing is wasted in God's economy." We see that now.

"Waiting on God" Stories

Earthquake! – On Friday, January 21, we experienced our first earthquake. A quake like this has actually not happened for around 5 years. There were two quakes – one that happened first, a pause, and then another. The kids and Dan were at school at the time. Will said that it felt like God had picked up their classroom and shook it. Books fell off the shelves and windows were rattling. Dan said that he was very impressed with how all of the students and teachers knew exactly what to do. Everyone went under their desks and counted to 30 out loud as a class (something everyone does just to help stay calm). Then they all went out to the soccer field and counted kids to make sure everyone was accounted for. We were thankful that everyone was safe and no one was hurt. I was on the 3^rd floor of a hospital visiting a few people who were there. I was closest to the epicenter (as compared to the school), but what I felt was more of a "swaying" than a shaking. It seemed for a moment that the building swayed one way and then the other. I think the earthquake just made all of us more aware of this possibility. So, we do just continue to ask you for prayer for our safety and the safety of our community. Thank you!

Another Nejapa Tragedy - Tragedy struck our Spanish campus again a few weeks ago. One of our students was shot and killed by a stray bullet. A gang was robbing a neighborhood and one of the gang members shot off his gun randomly ( not at anyone) and the bullet hit 15 year old Gabriela who was in her home. She died on the way to the hospital. Please continue to pray for the Nejapa school community as this is the second student who was tragically killed this year.

4^th – 6^th Grade Retreat - Next week, Thursday and Friday (Feb. 10 and 11) the 4^th through 6^th grades will be going to a camp outside of the city for a spiritual retreat. They will be listening to a pastor speak in addition to attending devotion and life application sessions with him. The students will also be learning a number of survival skills like how to build a fire, how to pluck a chicken, and then how to cook the chicken over the fire. I will be serving as a "pray-er" during the retreat. This is a role that I am creating and praying for other parents to join me during the retreat. Our prayer is that God would deeply touch the students' hearts and that they would grow in their passion and in their desire for Him. Please do pray for safety as well.

Head Lice – A few weeks ago, our family began a new adventure – Head Lice Combat. We do not know where or how the kids got it – it had been going around school at one time but not lately. We are finding out that lots of people both here and in the States have dealt with this. We are still battling it and it is exhausting work as I do not have hot water for washing, so I am boiling lots of pots of water and bagging lots of our clothes to try to rid us of this. Other challenges have been no electricity some days and no water on others. However, our family is to the place where we are able to thank God for this – seeing some things that He is doing in us that are of eternal value and worth. Tomorrow, I have a meeting with someone about starting some work with our kids at an orphanage. The other day, I thought, "Maybe we don't really want to volunteer at the orphanage, as I know that orphanages deal with lice all the time." The next thought, I knew was from God . . . "Life with me, Lisa, is messy." Messy, but rich. However, we would appreciate you praying for an end to this – especially for the kids. They have handled it very well, but it is getting old for them too.

Amazing Blessing – We wrote to you awhile ago about how we have put a lot of money into our car this past year. The most recent difficulty was that we had a hole in our radiator over Christmas. This was frustrating because a new radiator in the States costs 150 dollars and here it was going to cost over 800 dollars. Dan, for some time, has been praying for God's direction on a newer vehicle - just looking for how He would lead us in this. God has now answered and we are once again in awe of how faithfully and creatively He manages our financially situation. A few weeks ago, Dan received two pieces of news that spoke God's answer to his prayer for direction. The first was our financial report from Christian Reformed World Missions. The support that we received in December was a huge surprise to us. We had anticipated that we may be able to save up and get a different car next fall, but with the amount of support that came in in December – we are able to begin looking for a different vehicle now! However, the plan to get a different vehicle was also contingent on whether we could sell our current vehicle at a decent price. Well, on the day that Dan received the financial report, he also received an email from someone who is very interested in buying our 4runner. A few weeks later, we now have 3 people who are interested in our 4runner! Our mechanic has been recommending it to people because, apart from the radiator (which is now fixed with apoxy), he says that the car is an excellent car. It also has many new parts in it from the repairs we made this past year. So, thank you so very much for responding to however God led you in this – whether to pray for and with us for this blessing or to contribute financially or both. Would you please pray with us now that God would lead us to another great vehicle? Thanks so much!

Thank you again so very much for your prayers and support of our family. We are so aware that we are not walking alone and that is what makes this adventure so rich.

Peace to you,

Lisa

(Dan, Rebekah, and Will)

Nica Update: Christmas

2010-12-21T06:15:00.000-06:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for praying for our family this holiday season. God has been so faithful in His care for us – leading us to activities and gatherings with groups of people that make Thanksgiving and Christmas so much easier. In this update, we will be sharing with you about some of the things that are happening here related to the holidays.

Let’s start with Thanksgiving. One of our traditions as a family is to read through a book by Barbara Rainey about the History of Thanksgiving. Included in the book are many personal stories about people who surrendered their lives to God – not only the Pilgrims, but also people like Squanto and others. This year we also went to an orphanage and helped with washing used toys which will be given to the kids at the orphanage. While we were washing the toys, we talked about all of the things that we have that the kids in the orphanage do not have. Rebekah mentioned how we know the English language and what a privilege this is. We also thought about how we have Grandpas and Grandmas who love us and get to go on vacations and have our own rooms and our own toys to play with.

That afternoon, we got together with 22 other people (an assortment of families and single teachers from NCA) at Liam and Jessica Starkenburg’s house. Liam is the director of NCA and he and his wife built a beautiful home last year that they use frequently to host many gatherings. A Thanksgiving is not a Thanksgiving for Will without football as this is connected to memories he has learning how to play football with his cousins in Ohio. So, at one time there were up to around 10 of us playing a game of football prior to the meal and Will was in his glory. Our friend Joe, a 23 year old young man, joined us for Thanksgiving and then stayed overnight at our house. Joe works at an orphanage an hour away from Managua and takes the bus into town for church each Sunday and he sometimes stays with us. Joe is so fun for us to talk to because he is a new Christian and is a very deep and intentional thinker.

Our Christmas plans include attending a Christmas Eve service after which we enjoy deserts and watch fireworks. The fireworks are not an “organized” type fireworks show. It is kind of like everyone brings their fireworks to the school parking lot and then they will often light them all at the same time. The tradition for Nicaraguans is to light fireworks at midnight at which time they are also opening presents and eating a large meal.

On Christmas Day we will spend the morning as a family, opening presents and eating brunch. In the afternoon, we will have Liam and Jessica Starkenburg and their family along with a couple of single gals for dinner. Many people do go back to the States at this time, especially the singles. Other Christmas activities that we have been involved with over the past few weeks include: a Christmas concert at the national theatre, neighborhood Christmas party, School Staff and class Christmas parties, Kids' Christmas concert at school, and a party for those who work in gardening, cleaning, and cooking positions at the school. The “Workers Party” is one of our favorites. This party starts with a church service followed by a time of giving gifts to the children of the workers. Each child gets a gift – around 50 kids. This year, I had the privilege of buying these gifts at the market with the Nicaraguan woman who organizes this party. I enlisted the help from our neighborhood kids – most of whom are missionary kids and attend NCA – to help wrap all of the gifts for the kids. These gifts are most likely one of the nicest gifts that they will receive at Christmas. After they receive a gift, there is a piñata and then a very nice meal.

Thank you again for your prayers for us! Dan’s class before Thanksgiving went very well and my cousin Matt is continuing to heal well. Thank you for your continued prayers for him. We ask that you continue to pray us through the Christmas season – just for peace of heart as we spend the holiday away from family. One other request would be to pray for our car. This past year, our car has been in the shop quite a few times and we have spent a good deal of money on repairs. Now, our radiator has a hole in it and a new radiator here costs over $700. The same radiator in the States costs $150. So, we are praying that someone who is in the States over Christmas could bring with them a new radiator for our car. We do not have this yet in place, but are praying that God would just keep showing us the next step. Thank you!

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year. We appreciate you!

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will

Nica Update: Devotion - Come to Me

2010-11-18T22:24:00.001-06:00

Web site: www.danvanzoest.com

Nicaragua Christian Academy web site: www.nca.edu.ni/

Our mailing address: Dan Van Zoest; Nicaragua Christian Academy; Apartado 842; Managua, Nicaragua; Central America

Dear Family and Friends,

     This update will include some prayer requests in addition to a personal sharing in regard to something that God has been saying to me again and again these past months and weeks. I believe that this is not only something for me, but that His intention is that I share it with others.

Prayer Requests

1)      Lisa's cousin, Matt Wieberdink (age 15), was burned on the bottom half of his leg in addition to most his back. He spent a week in the hospital and is now home recovering. Please pray for continued healing and recovery for Matt.

2)      Dan will be teaching a class on "Family Budgeting" at NCA on Nov. 19, 22, 23, and 24. Pray for wisdom for him as he prepares and teaches. Also, pray for the students to be open to considering what he will be teaching. This teaching is not consistent with cultural practice, so it will most likely be new for the students to consider.

3)      Please continue to pray for safety and health for our family. It has been amazing how healthy we have been in Nicaragua (healthier than we had been in the States!). We are thankful for God's protection and provision.

4)      Please pray for us as the holidays approach. This is a particularly difficult time for me (Lisa) as it is very difficult to be away from family at this time. God is already preparing us and directing us in plans to ease the difficulty and we are so thankful! Please pray too for our families back home who also feel our absence at their gatherings.

5)      Please pray for the students of NCA. Pray that they would be young people who surrender, who "Come to Jesus", and have a passion for connecting with Him.

6)      Please pray for the country of Nicaragua as it is facing uncertain times politically. There is much concern in regard to next year's election.

Sharing:

     A month or so ago during the Bible Study I lead with the teachers, we dissected the verse, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." which is found in Matthew 11:28-30. The part that really impacted me was the part about Him calling Himself "gentle and humble in heart." I reflected on how our Savior and Lord is not a task master driving us with the whip and commanding us to do more and more for Him. He is gentle. He is humble in heart. He invites us to be a part of what He is doing not because He needs us or because there is no one else in the world who can do what we do but because He knows that in "the working together", we become closer. It's about relationship.

     These verses rolled through my mind from that Wednesday through the next few days. I was still thinking about this on Saturday at which time I received a package from my good friend Andi who is one of my "iron sharpens iron" friends from the States. I opened her card and read these words, "I'm sending you and Dan this book as I hope it helps you live more deeply . . . and rest in our Father's open arms" after which she had written the scripture reference Matt. 11:28 30. Ok, so then there were tears, recognizing how God was speaking to me once again about resting in Him. I opened up the package and found a book called "Come Rest" by Richard F. Speight, Jr. and on the first page of the book was written the verses from Matt 11:28-30. I've been reading the book very slowly and sometimes reading chapters again and again, enjoying it very much. He writes, "Are you all stirred up with the cares of this world? You can begin by spending time looking deeply into His eyes. But you can't look deeply from a distance. He is not pointing a finger at you, He is opening His arms. Let go of what holds you back. Run to Jesus. Stumble, crawl, fall- whatever! As you rest in Him, you will grow more content with Him. Then you will be able to freely give His gifts to others.

     Ok, so that was Saturday. The next day was Sunday and we all overslept which is unusual, as I normally find it impossible to sleep past 5 AM. So, we are late for church (this is not unusual, as those of you who know us are smiling right now). However, this time we are very, very late. So, we decided to go instead to a Nicaraguan church that we had never visited before. Their service started at 10 AM, giving us more time to get ready. So, we got to the church and got settled with our Bibles and our Spanish/English dictionaries and began listening to the pastor talk about how God is our Shepherd who leads us beside still waters. He restores our soul. A little later in the service, he then tells us to turn to Mateo (Matthew) 11:28 30. I remember thinking, "Did I hear that right?" I turned to Matt. 11 and listened to him read the words in Spanish that I read in English, and realized that once again within the course of 5 days - God spoke this truth to me from His Word. He used a Bible Study, a friend, a book, and then a Latin American pastor as His vessels.

     A few days after that Sunday at the Nicaraguan church, God then used my good friend Oswald Chambers to speak this truth to me again. On October 8, I read . . .

Come to me. Matt. 11:28

Is it not humiliating to be told that we must come to Jesus! Think of the things we will not come to Jesus Christ about. If you want to know how real you are, test yourself by these words, "Come to me." In every degree in which you are not real, you will dispute rather than come, you will quibble rather than come, you will go through sorrow rather than come, you will do anything rather than come the last lap of unutterable foolishness "Just as I am." As long as you have the tiniest bit of spiritual impertinence, it will always reveal itself in the fact that you are expecting God to tell you to do a big thing, and all He is telling you to do is to "come".

"Come to me." When you hear those words you will know that something must happen in you before you can come. The Holy Spirit will show you what you have to do, anything at all that will put the axe at the root of the thing which is preventing you from getting through. You will never get further until you are willing to do that one thing. The Holy Spirit will locate the one impregnable thing in you, but He cannot budge it unless you are willing to let Him.

How often have you come to God with your requests and gone away with the feeling Oh, well, I have done it this time! And yet you go away with nothing, whilst all the time God has stood with outstretched hands not only to take you, but for you to take Him. Think of the invincible, unconquerable, unwearying patience of Jesus "Come to me."

     His words are clear. "Lisa, come to me." He has not only spoken to me about this, but He has also provided a place where I can "come" and "rest" in Him. Ten minutes from our home is a horse farm that is rented by a couple who both teach at NCA. At the beginning of this year, I asked the couple if I could spend one day a month on their property with the purpose of just being with God. They said that they would love it if I would use their farm as a meeting place with God.

  On their property is a hill with a small bench on top. The first time I walked up to the top of this hill and looked around, all I could say was, "glory" as my eyes filled with tears. The view is beautiful the gray silhouette of a volcano in the distance, different shades of green, rolling hills, purple and white flowers speckling the landscape, ocean blue sky with puffy white clouds, and the warm touch sunshine on my back. For the past few months, I've been spending the first Friday of each month here with God praying, fasting, reading, journaling, listening, thinking, crying, laughing, and just soaking in more and more of who He is. There have been weeks when I've felt that I didn't have time to spend this day with Him because my plate is full of family commitments, ministry tasks, and people to meet with. However, I'm finding that when I meet with Him, even in the midst especially in the midst of this business, He frees up time on other days that I did not know that I had. I'm finding that the things He has called me to are getting done, and I am enjoying a much deeper level of joy and peace than I have in the past several years.

     The last time that I enjoyed this kind of joy and peace was during other seasons in my life when I regularly had this kind of appointment with God. In MI, I would drive to the lake and sit on the beach all day - reading, journaling, listening to the waves, and talking with God. There was also a time when we lived in Grand Rapids that I needed to drive an hour to work which also served as an amazing time of connecting with the Lord. In IA, I would go to a retreat center for the day and walk through a wooded area and spend time connecting with my Creator. God also provided me the opportunity to have a key to a church we were attending, and I would spend an hour in the sanctuary each week - sitting in front of the cross, talking to Him, listening to Him, singing, and just being with Him. As I reflect on those times in my life, I also recognize that it was during these seasons that I got to experience God's power through me in ways that often surprised and always amazed me. I watched people come to know Christ as Savior and others learn how to walk in surrender for the first time. I got to see lives transformed and it was exciting for me to be a "player", to join God in what He was already doing in the lives of those around me.

     As I remember these seasons of "Coming to Jesus" in my own life, I am that much more convinced that this is how He calls us to live. It seems that when we are focused on just that one thing coming to Him it is possible to experience His lighter load and easy yoke and rest for our souls. And then, He does far more through us than we can do by working harder and putting in more time. He says, "Be still. Rest in me. And . . .

"Come to me." Will you?

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will

Nica Update: Stories

2010-10-25T09:39:00.001-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I’ve decided to use “fall colors” to write our update. We do what we can here to celebrate the changing of the seasons back home, as it is one of the things we all miss. I was talking with some American and Canadian teachers the other night who said that during October, they carve watermelons and put candles in them! I think we will be trying that this year.

For this update, Dan and I will be sharing some specifics in regard to what we are up to these days.

This past week, we got together with the families who are a part of our missions organization – Christian Reformed World Missions. Also present at our gathering was a prayer team that is connected with CRWM, whose mission focus is to pray for missionaries on-site. One of the team members was sharing with Dan that while their team was praying at NCA, the question that came to mind for him was, “Who is pouring into these teachers?” Dan smiled as he listened and then said, “I know who!” It was so confirming for me to hear this, as God’s call to me 2 years ago included these same words, “As they (the teachers) pour out, who pours in?”

I mentioned in our last update that we currently have 4 separate Bible Studies with 22 women participating. We are receiving requests for more Bible Studies as well and will meet together as a leadership team of 4 to seek God in this. We have grown in number, however, my primary interest is related to the depth to which we are growing in our walk with the Lord. I think stories best illustrate such things, so I will share three stories with you about a few of the women who attend my Bible Study :

One lady recently shared that she was initially not sure if the Bible Study we were doing would really be something that would help her to grow in her walk with the Lord. However, after attending for a few weeks, she said that she has been amazed at the impact in her life. She mentioned how our time together is a time of refreshment, that she has become more disciplined in her time with the Lord, and that it is something she looks forward to each week.

One of the teachers in our Bible Study would come to our group expressing how she was feeling very stressed. A few weeks ago, I noticed how her countenance had completely changed and she shared that she has begun looking at her Bible and no longer feeling a sense of guilt for not reading it. She shared that she now experiences a sense of “invitation”. This week, she reported that she is now getting up at 5 AM to read her Bible and is incorporating more of God’s Word into her teaching.

A teacher from our Spanish Campus shared that she has felt God leading her to begin a Bible Study for girls at school. She shared that there has never been a Bible Study at the school before and that most of these girls have never attended a Bible Study. This week she shared that she handed out sign-up sheets and already has 11 girls who have expressed interest.

One other area of passion and ministry for me is in sharing a half hour devotion with the 4th and 5th Grades every Tuesday. I am using the same curriculum with them as I am with the Women’s Study – it is called “God Sightings”. The focus of this study is to help people to develop the habits of reading the Bible devotionally and journaling in addition to inspiring them to see God in what is going on around them. Each week with the kids, I will focus on one verse/truth. We usually do some kind of activity, and then I will give them an assignment such as, “Look for Jesus in Disguise this week” (When you do it unto the least of these, you do it unto me) or “Share one way that you have loved God with your mind this past week” (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, . . .) . Then, we will come back the next week and share our stories. Last week I was challenged and inspired by a 5th grade Nicaraguan boy who said that his father wakes up at 3 AM each day to pray. This boy said that he “loved God with his mind” (which involves obedience and not necessarily “feeling” like doing something) by asking his Dad to wake him at 3 AM so that he could pray with him.

I’m also finding that this time with them also draws out things that they are thinking or believing that are not true. This past week, I was focusing on how Jesus told the disciples to be like little children. I asked the class what Jesus saw in kids that he wanted the adults to learn from. I was looking for things like “laughter/joy, trusting hearts, carefree spirit, etc. But, what several kids shared was that children are more pure and less sinful than adults. I thought about how destructive this line of thinking can be in terms of their not seeing their desperate need for Christ. We will be talking more next week about this and I look forward to how God will continue to teach each one of us as we learn together.

On a personal note, it has been a joy for me to share with the classes that our kids attend. I get to see them in their context and get to know their classmates and the culture of their class. God is challenging me too in the area of loving the kids in these classes who have and sometimes do hurt the hearts of my own. This has been difficult at times, but I do see how God is teaching both me and the kids more about His grace as we learn to love others without expecting anything back. One more thing that I enjoy is how our kids are able to see me in a role among their peers. The other night as Rebekah and I were talking, she looked at me and said, “Mom, have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? I think you would be good at it.” People have suggested this to me before, but never has this suggestion had the same kind of impact as hearing it from my daughter. I told her how much I appreciated that, but that my passion really is to be a Mom. She smiled.

Dan wrote the following update in regard to his work at NCA -

Each quarter the NCA departmental chairs from Pre-K, Elementary, High School, and Spanish meet together with the administrative team. This past Thursday we all enjoyed lunch together as we met for a few hours on Thursday. Meeting with these teachers and school leaders reminded me once again how God has placed a very special group of people together here at NCA.

We talked about a number of administrative things like establishing next year’s school calendar, NCA’s admissions process, translating parent communications to Spanish, staff recognitions and documentation needed for the changing legal environment in Nicaragua. We also talked about the following two upcoming events at NCA:

About 80 of our high school students will be participating in a 30 hour fast at NCA this weekend to raise awareness about world hunger. After the fast is done the parents of many of the students will be serving a large meal to the students at NCA. During the fast some of the students will be painting Bible verses on various buildings on our campus and we all gave feedback on what verses to use and where to place them.

Each year the high school student council hosts a talent show for all of the students at NCA. Students from elementary through high school participate in singing, dancing, playing instruments, and showing off various other talents. We were able to work on finalizing the date and time for this year’s event.

In addition to working with the administrative team at NCA I will be doing the following coming up…

· teaching a high school class for a few days on how to create a family budget
· joining the high school students for their upcoming field trip
· advising a couple of students on their video production class project
· working on connecting a Christian school in California with our Spanish school (NCA Nejapa) - we will probably have their Spanish language classes interact with our English language classes
· helping someone in the US who is interested in enrolling a Nicaraguan student at NCA
· sending an email out to all of the sponsors in our NCA Nejapa child sponsorship program
· working with ACSI and Worldwide Christian Schools in the US and Canada to make sure the donations received have been distributed to NCA

Thank you so much for your care and support of our family. It amazes me each day to see the many different ways God is impacting the lives of the students, parents, and staff at Nicaragua Christian Academy.

I will soon write a more “devotional” update that will also include our prayer requests. Thanks so much for reading this, for your interest, and for your prayers. We are thankful for you!

Peace to you,
Dan, Lisa, Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest

Nica Update: Rebekah's party -answered prayers

2010-09-26T18:20:00.000-05:00

Play slideshow

Want to save all these photos at once? Learn how

Online pictures are available for 30 days

Dear family and friends,

I'm writing to you to thank you for your prayers for Rebekah's birthday party yesterday and to share with you how God answered those prayers. I share this with you, inviting you to celebrate God's goodness with us. He was so obviously directing and leading and answering prayers.

Last Friday (Sept. 17) was Rebekah's birthday and we had planned her party/sleepover to be right on her birthday - perfect. Well, not perfect, as a virus swept through the school and 3 of the 5 girls who were invited had fevers/illnesses, etc. the day before the party. So, that morning I needed to give Rebekah the bad news that she would not be having her party after all. Her face fell when I told her, but she bounced back quickly and was soon excited about going to a restaurant together that night to celebrate as a family. It was extremely hot this day and I knew that it would only get hotter with more people in the house, so in that sense it was a relief for me to not have the party on this day and the thought crossed my mind that God may have a better day weather-wise planned. Dan and I were also very tired on that Friday as our routine had been different that week with the Independence Day holiday and we were still adjusting.

We go to Casa Mia (Nice Nicaraguan pizza place with a great atmosphere) on the night of her birthday Rebekah's pick. While we were eating, a Nicaraguan waiter comes up to Rebekah and says "Feliz Cuplianos" and gives her 200 cordobas (equivalent to 10 dollars). So, we are all confused and then Will spots a man who's family we had had over for dinner the previous week - a new missionary family in town that we are getting to know. We wave him over and do find out that he was the one to give the money to the waiter. It was neat to talk through that with Rebekah as we recognized that had the party not been postponed, she would not have received this special gift. We saw it as a gift from God.

On Thursday of this past week, we begin receiving warnings from the CRC and the Embassy about a tropical storm and how the infrastructure of Managua is weak due to so many storms - so stock up on water and food, etc. And I am asking God what the next day will look like for the party; wondering if we should still have it, etc. I pictured the girls stranded at our house for the weekend or longer and anticipated that we would be without power which is what always seems to happen lately when we have a lot of rain. However, I asked friends earlier in the week to pray about Rebekah's party throughout that week and knew that they were praying - praying particularly that the girls would get and stay healthy. Our family prays together at school before we all go our separate ways each morning and I prayed Friday morning asking God to hold off the rain for Rebekah's party. I remember feeling a bit silly asking for that, thinking that perhaps I should not have prayed that (fearing that I asked too much and thinking about how it would impact Rebekah's trust in God when it did start to rain during her party!) and just accepted what seemed inevitable.

All throughout the day on Friday it was very cool, overcast, and a little drizzly. The girls arrived at our home after school and I served them popcorn, orange slices, and cambric tea (hot tea). Our theme was "Little House on the Prairie". Our family read through this series together last year, visited the actual places where Laura grew up (Walnut Grove, MN and De Smet, SD) over the summer, and have been watching one episode of "Little House" every Sunday night this past year. So, the things that we did at the party were connected to many of the things that we read about in the books/learned on our trip, etc. Had it not been so cool, the hot cambric tea would just not have been as appetizing! The girls also wore prairie dresses throughout the party which would have been very hot for them had the weather not been so cool. The rain held off all throughout the entire party and we were able to do all the activities we had planned to do outside. It was also cool in the girls' room at night which otherwise would have been very hot with 5 of them sleeping in there.

In the middle of the night, it started to rain very hard and the power did go off which wakes us up as the fans stop running - the kids seem to sleep fine without the fan, but I wake up instantly and cannot get back to sleep without the lulling of the fan. One of the girls woke up and was scared in the dark, so I got up to find her a flashlight to use as a night light. I got back in bed and wondered if all of the other girls would get up too. I felt exhausted and started to complain to God about the power being out and was picturing all 5 girls waking up and not being able to get back to sleep. After 10 minutes of complaining, He spoke to my heart reminding me of all He had already done to make Rebekah's birthday so special. His gentle reminder transformed my attitude from one of discontent to a deep sense of gratitude once again. A few minutes after I started just thanking Him, the power came back on and I went back to sleep. And the girls never woke up.

I wrote to a friend last night about how the party went so well - so smoothly in terms of how everything flowed - and much of this I had actually planned differently but felt led to change plans throughout. I know that God was leading me in this way as well. We had a low key Sat. morning with the girls and I enjoyed just hanging out with them and getting to know them better. I stayed in my pjs all day and I think all of the girls went home in theirs as well! We had rain off and on on Sat. morning, but nothing that prevented the girls from getting home OK.

Below are some pix of the party. I just wanted to share this story with you to give God glory for how He worked so beautifully and showed me that no prayer is too silly to pray . . . nothing is impossible with God.

Peace to you,

Lisa Van Zoest

All dressed up in their prairie dresses. They took on the names of the characters in Little House, so here we have from L to R - Nelly, Mary, Olga, Carrie, and Laura.

The girls found out that jumping rope in prairie dresses was not always too easy!

Rebekah's friend Abby (AKA Nelly) getting ready to hit Will with a paper machete snow ball full of flour! (This scene from "The Long Hard Winter" by Laura Ingalls Wilder)

Abby (Nelly) is successful in hitting Will (AKA Almanzo)!

Rebekah (Laura) throws a snow ball at Lorenzy (Carrie).

Faces full of flour (pretend snow)!

The girls and I making homemade Apple Turnovers - a treat that Alamanzo's family enjoyed (mentioned in the book "Farmer Boy".

The girls rolling out their dough and getting a bit hyper tired as it is now around 8:30 pm.

They did an awesome job. The Apple Turnovers were delicious!

The girls decorating their prairie bonnets with sequence and beads. This kept most of them busy for hours on Sat. morning!

Beautiful girls with beautiful smiles!

Showing off their handiwork - hard to see but they have lots of beads and things sewn on.

Decorating and eating animal shape pancakes for breakfast - a Van Zoest sleepover tradition.

Get Windows Live Mail to create your own photo e-mails

Nica Update: Pix and Catching Up!

2010-09-24T13:22:00.001-05:00

Web site: www.danvanzoest.com

Nicaragua Christian Academy web site: www.nca.edu.ni/

Our mailing address: Dan Van Zoest; Nicaragua Christian Academy; Apartado 842; Managua, Nicaragua; Central America

I just wanted to mention here that we have listed two critical prayer requests at the end of this update. They are highlighted in red. So, if you do not have time to read this update, we ask that you would please read the requests and please pray. Thank you! You will also find pix of our family at the end of this update.

Dear Family and Friends,

I am so thankful today for the opportunity to write to you. It has been awhile, I know. And I've truly missed this time with you. As I write, your faces often flash through my mind and it does seem to me that we have spent a few moments together. I pray that you experience this same connection. So, grab a latte and let's share! Know that we love to hear from you too, about you, your families, and about how God is using you as a missionary in the field that He has placed you in!

Upon arriving back in Nicaragua, we hit the ground running . . . unpacking and organizing our things in the home we moved into the week before we left for the summer. Then, there was the flurry of activity that accompanies the start of school. Soon after school began, we received the news about our head cook Blanca's daughter's drowning during a powerful rain storm. Blanca is back at school and has an amazing community of people supporting her in so many tangible ways. I do see pain in her eyes each time we greet each other. And yet, she appears to continue to take steps forward, trusting her God. The Independence Day celebration on Sept. 10 also required a lot of preparation for teachers and students and families. It is always a wonderful day of celebration as we watch 3yr old through 18 year old students dance traditional Nicaraguan dances. The favorite, however, every year is the teacher dance when the teachers perform their own dance. I find myself so full of joy during this celebration as I see the pride that Nicaraguans have in their country and the passion with which they celebrate. Today we celebrate Rebekah's 11^th birthday with some of her friends from school for a party/sleepover. This will be lots of fun. And after all that fun, we should then settle down to more of a routine until Thanksgiving.

Almost every day or every few days since we have been back, Dan and I are sharing ways that we see God just blessing us. It has been so amazing. We want to share these blessings because so many of them are answers to prayers that we have asked you to pray. Thank you so much for your faithful prayers. We are so aware of how "prayed for" we are as we watch all that God is doing.

The Blessings:

Dan moved to a new office which is more secluded, but very noisy as he is located next to high school classrooms. God went before us as He provided the Bose Noise Cancelling headphones through a Sunday School class from our sending church last year. Dan wears them every day and says that they work perfectly!

Dan also enjoys his office because he was formerly in a very high traffic area and was frequently interrupted. The seclusion of his office now gives him the opportunity to accomplish much more during the course of a day.

Dan was also relieved this year of a particular task that took a lot of his time and was not very much in line with his job description. He has often talked about what a difference this makes and how thankful he is for this change.

Last summer, Dan was talking with me about how he enjoys his work at NCA but that he misses accounting (his former career). A few weeks into school, Dan was asked to take on an accounting piece which will be a great help to NCA teachers. He is excited about this.

The house we moved into is an amazing blessing. We can't even begin to share all of the blessings of being in this home. The greatest blessing is that we no longer feel like we live with another family. People noise is no longer an issue for us and we feel as though we have a whole new life. We now can have true quiet time with the Lord and our souls are revived!

The Bible Study that I lead with the teachers has exploded. It is amazing what God is doing in so many ways. We now have 4 leaders and 22 women involved in these Bible Studies. It was amazing to see how God led women to sign up for the 4 groups we have offered – we limited group size and were amazed how the women chose the groups in such a way that each group received the exact number of women who could attend.

In addition to the numbers, we are seeing God deeply at work in the lives of the women. I was talking with one of the leaders yesterday who said that a Nicaraguan woman (who is going through a divorce) walked into her group and later shared with her that her first thought was, "What does this girl have to teach me about suffering. She does not look like she has ever suffered." Carmen, the leader of this group is a beautiful young woman – appears very put together , is working on her doctorate degree, etc. However, during the course of their group time, Carmen shared her testimony which includes how both of her parents have been divorced 4 times. God so beautifully drew this woman to Carmen's group and we now look forward to how He will continue the process of healing in her and her family's life (her children are students at NCA).

Last year, I had been praying for more opportunities to be involved with our kid's classes at school, just desiring more of a relationship with the classes and I also had a burden for their spiritual well-being. This year, God so amazingly has opened up a opportunity for me to do a half hour of devotions once a week with both Rebekah's and Will's classes. It has been so fun for me when kids stop me in the hall to talk with me about what we are learning, how they are completing assignments, and I enjoy being in the midst of a group of kids that also includes my own. I enjoy how our kids have this community of diversity in which they get such a great opportunity to learn about grace – how to relate to people who are so very different from themselves. I will also speak in the 3rd - 6th grade chapel again this year and I recently substituted for the 6th grade teacher. It was a rough couple of days (especially since it was raining so hard the kids could not hear me, the electricity went out, and they could not go out for recess because of the rain!), but it is now so fun to greet each of those kids by name and hear them yell to me, "Hey, Mrs. Van Zoest!"

A few weeks before we left for the summer, I rode in a car for an hour or so to a Women's Retreat with a woman I did not know. It was amazing how clearly God spoke to me through her. I told her I was burned out and needed help planning for how to do our next year differently. She said something that has rung in my ears ever since. She said, "You need to follow your passion and say "no" to everything else." This is so true here in Nicaragua as our energy reserve is compromised by heat and daily life stresses. A friend of mine once said, "If you get one thing done today, you are doing GREAT. If you get two things done, take the next day off!" I've taken these things to heart and have dropped responsibilities that were draining me of energy and that were not my passion. I'm now doing what I believe God has created me to do – 1)To be a supportive wife to Dan and an available and attentive Mom to Rebekah and Will, serving them as God leads me to. And 2) To be in the midst of people, sharing Christ with those who do not know Him and challenging and encouraging those who do to take the next step in their walk with Him. As a result, I am at peace, full of joy, and so very thankful!!!!!

Rebekah and Will are doing amazingly well. Dan and I have commented how they both seem so "settled" this year. We often see both of them smiling and laughing at school and in the midst of friends. Will's teacher mentioned to me how several kids in his class identify him as their "best friend". This, is truly an answer to prayer! We see them growing in their relationship with each other as they enjoy time together and I am finding lots of notes that they are writing to each other. So fun. I am thankful every day for the privilege to be a Mom.

While at the school yesterday, I watched High Schoolers planting trees around our campus. Dan later told me that the Gardeners who take care of the campus are teaching the students about gardening. One of our staff members recently set in motion a fund raising effort to raise enough money to build Blanca a house. She currently lives in a dirt floor hut with her kids. These events represent again how God is at work at NCA as he uses a lower class Gardener to teach and to mentor students; He uses an upper class Nicaraguan staff member to lead others to serve a sister in Christ who is in need. God is doing so much at the school - both inside and outside of the classroom. One day a few weeks ago, Dan came home and said, "NCA is a pretty amazing place to be."

Prayer Requests:

Please do continue to pray for health and safety for us and for our community. There are many viruses going around, several people with parasites, and we know of a family who has had Dengue fever. Every week we hear too of more families who are broken into. Last week a friend was at a stop light and someone tried to open their car door and get in. This family emailed the missionary community to warn people to make sure their doors are always locked. This has not always been the "norm" here – it seems that things are changing.

We have been hit hard this year with a number of "extra expenses". Some of them medical - as with turning 40, I've had the pleasure of beginning some yearly check-ups that have not previously been a part of my routine. Some of them, things breaking down and needing to be fixed. And others involve just unexpected expenses. Our support continues to be very strong and we are doing fine financially. We would just ask you to pray that God would continue to be our Provider and that we would be protected from further unexpected expenses.

Hurricane Matthew is scheduled to hit Nicaragua sometime today and tomorrow. Heavy rains and winds are predicted which causes a threat due to the fact that the ground is saturated from recent heavy rains. Please pray for the protection of Nicaragua from destruction and loss of life. It is also possible for us to lose water and electricity and for the roads not to be passable in the next several days. So, please pray that everyone will be prepared for these challenges as well. We are praying too about the fact that we will be having Rebekah's party this afternoon and then a sleepover. Praying that we can get the girls all home on Sat.!

Please pray for God's protection on Nicaragua Christian Academy. Last week a student was suspended for a behavioral issue. This student's parents were not happy with the school's decision and have involved a lawyer, the media, and the police. Liam, NCA's director, as well as our psychologist, were taken to the police station for questioning last Tues. Liam said that he is seeing how God has already been at work protecting NCA, as the police have been very supportive of the school. However, we are not sure how the law suit will unfold. NCA is now working with a lawyer and we pray that God uses this situation for His glory, as NCA is now in the public spotlight. Liam has urged our school community to love this family and to pray for them. We ask you too for your prayers for them as well.

Thank you once again for your prayers. We know that we are part of a team, and you are a vital part of the work that God is doing here. Thank you so much for being a part of this work with us.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest

This is my Bible Study Group. L to R is Leah (ESL teacher at Nejapa and Cedar Rapids, IA native), Me, Sylvia (Elementary Principal), Marisol (School Psychologist), Alicia (Works for the Nehemiah Center), Kara (Jr. High Math/Science), and Emily (ESL teacher at NCA English).

Our kitchen. The pictures on the fridge are of you! We love getting updated pix at Christmas - hint, hint!

If you were looking into the kitchen from the last pix, and turn to the right - this is what you would see. Our dining room/office area. If you were to walk toward the orange wall and turn right, you would go into Will's room. Rebekah's room is across from his and our room is across from the white wall that you see to the right of the orange one.

If you were looking at the table in the last pix and then turned your head to the right some more, you would see this - our living room area. Some special items in here are a bookshelf made by a Nicaraguan man who works at our school and Rebekah's keyboard. Rebekah saved up and bought that keyboard herself and is now taking lessons at school and from a neighbor for free!

This is the front of the house. The room to the left (where the window is) is a storage area and behind that is the laundry area. To the right, is our favorite part about this house - the porch! I've always wanted a house with a porch! We have had lots of people over and usually eat outside here where it is cooler. Dan and I also love this spot as a place to meet with God and a quiet place to read.

Rebekah and her friends before they danced for the Independence Day celebration. L to R - Grace, Andrea, Rebekah, and Lorenzy.

Will and his new friend Isaac.

Will and his friend Walter.

Rebekah dancing at the Independence Day celebration. The students practice every day for a few weeks to learn their dances.

Dan in his office sporting his headphones. Next door is a high school classroom.

Get Windows Live Mail to create your own photo e-mails

Nica Update: Grief

2010-08-19T23:11:00.003-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I have been working on an update to send out to you, but tonight have decided to send you an email to ask you to pray for our NCA family. Nicaragua Christian Academy is a family and one that consists of so many people from all over the world. And yet there is a care and love among us that crosses lines of race and socio-economic levels. Tonight our hearts are heavy and we are just asking God for comfort and protection.

Tonight Dan got a phone call from Liam, NCA's director. Liam said, "I have some very bad news." Liam went on to say that the 14 year old daughter of one of our cooks - her name is Blanca - passed away this afternoon. At around 1:00 this afternoon a very heavy downpour of rain began and did not subside until around 3:30. Our campus was flooded and students were walking over propped up boards with small rivers flowing underneath. NCA's Spanish campus was evacuated due to the severity of the flooding. Blanca's daughter attended school at NCA - Nejapa and was walking home when she got swept up into a current of water and could not get out. She drowned as a result. Blanca's daughter was a sponsored child which means that Dan was involved with her, her family, and her sponsor. He has some very sad news to communicate tomorrow to this child's sponsor. Dan also has a good relationship with Blanca who is always smiling and joking around and likes to give Dan a hard time when Dan gets his lunch. Dan is with Blanca and her family right now along with many other teachers and administrators. So, we ask you to pray for Blanca and for her family and for the staff and students at both the NCA English and the NCA Spanish campus - for comfort and peace and a sense of God's presence.

Please also pray for protection for our NCA family as well. Our new 5th grade teacher (Jed) reported a couple of weeks ago that his family's guard was in a shoot-out with some men who were trying to steal Jed's motorcycle. This resulted in the guard chasing them away. Jed has noticed several men watching their home which has been very unsettling for him and his family. Two nights ago, Jed was driving at night and came upon a group of men who were burning tires and going up to cars and shaking them. The men were armed with guns and machetes. The approached Jed's car and shook it. Jed said that he pulled forward and just kept looking forward and eventually the men went on to another car. He said that people were throwing money out their windows in effort to placate the men. Dan and Rebekah had been on a date that night and ran into that same traffic jam on their way home. However, Dan turned around and found a different way home - not realizing what was really going on. He thought it was an accident. We praise God for Jed and Dan and Rebekah's safety and how they were delivered from harm.

Last Thursday I attended - with several of the teachers - a time of mourning for our friend, Ana, whose mother died suddenly of a stroke. It was the first time I had attended something like this and learned a lot about how Nicaraguans grieve. One of the things that happens is that family and friends stay with you all through the night and then the next morning there is like a funeral service. Ana attended our teacher Bible Study last year and is a good friend of many of our teachers. She is about to have her first child which makes her mother's death especially difficult. Her mother was also the sister of one of our Spanish teachers. We are thankful, however, that Ana's mother received Christ just prior to her death. We ask for your prayers of comfort for Ana and her family as well.

And finally, we ask you for your prayers for Nicaragua as a whole. We are seeing signs now that say, "If reelection, then insurrection." This is a threat that if Ortega is reelected, there will be a response. The election is in the fall of 2011, but it is obvious that things are happening right now that are out of the "norm". Again, we just ask you to pray for God's protection, provision, and wisdom for our NCA family, for Nicaragua.

We have only been here a couple of weeks but a lot has happened. Our family, however, is doing very well. We are enjoying a different home which is so clearly an answer to prayer. We are so much more at peace as we are not dealing with the many difficult things we dealt with in the last house. It does seem strange to be so "at home" in a place that is so unstable. But, we are. We are thankful, so thankful for this life. The hard stuff and the good stuff. We see God and His work so much more clearly here. And we depend on Him so much more.

Thank you so much for your prayers. We see God responding to prayer so consistently and so faithfully.

Peace to you,

Lisa Van Zoest

Nica Update: Loved and Blessed

2010-07-10T13:44:00.001-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

It has been good to be home. Good to see our family and many of our friends. We often wish we could have hours with everyone, but often we need to settle for quick hugs and a few minutes. But, I know that we have all felt so very loved in so many ways. We are amazed at how many people know the details of our lives because they have been reading our updates. I've had moments when I am in the midst of family and friends when I just feel a "warmth" which leads to an overwhelming thankfulness for the riches of relationships.

It has been good too in the sense that we are beginning to see how our time in Nicaragua is positively impacting us. One of our first days back, the kids and I went into Wal-mart and Target just for fun. It was fun to see how each of us was so excited just to look at everything. We bought a bag of goldfish pretzel crackers and we felt a thankfulness for goldfish crackers that we had never experienced before! Rebekah has also seemed quite reflective this summer commenting on how the things we are doing this summer are so much more special to her than they had ever been before. When people ask her if she would like to live here or in Nicaragua, she will answer "Nicaragua". Will's heart is attached to the US, but one day he surprised me when he said, "Mom, I really like our life." Dan and I too have had conversations about how the simplicity of our life in Nicaragua suits us individually and as a family – it is so centered in relationships with each other, with others, and with God.

The final three weeks of our stay in Nicaragua were quite a whirlwind. We found out that a house up the street would be available a week before the kids and I left for the US. This was such an amazing answer to prayer as the timing was so clearly a gift from God (had it opened up a few weeks later, it is likely that it would have been rented by someone else before we returned). There were a lot of significant things wrong with the house and we were told that the landlord knew about them but was not fixing them. However, God answered so many prayers as we watched how attentive the landlord was to each thing that we pointed out to her, fixing most things before Dan left. A neighbor recently emailed to say that the landlord is continuing to fix things through the summer. This house is truly a blessing too in the sense that we will not be dealing with the intensity of noise issues that we had in the last house because the houses are spaced further apart and have sliding windows as opposed to slat windows as we had in the last house. We will also have better water pressure. Our kids were often taking bucket baths in the evening because we would - during certain times of the year - not have much water. So, we would heat water on the stove and fill a bucket with cold water. This house is smaller and hotter, but the advantages do for us outweigh the disadvantages.

Our time so far in the US has been busier than we had hoped, but we feel that it has been better than last summer. The kids have really noticed the difference and have commented on how they are having a much better summer, as we have been intentional about giving them a break when it comes to being "on stage" and we have been doing some fun things together too. However, with doing fun things sometimes brings guilt for me because fun things sometimes cost money and I wonder if it really is OK to be doing this – a struggle of so many of us that live on financial support. Some of that comes from ourselves, but some of that comes from others who have expectations that missionaries should not necessarily use money for entertainment. So, a couple of weeks ago I took the kids ice skating, for laser tag, and then to Perkins – three things they mentioned that they wanted to do while in the States. The next day, I woke with that sense of guilt again. Should we have done that? Could we have done other things that didn't cost money? Then, that afternoon, a friend handed Dan a $50. A couple hours later, my Mom said that she talked with someone that day who wanted to give us a gift of money they were not able to get to us at Christmas. The money we received covered more than what we had spent in entertainment. I received this as confirmation that - once again - God saw us, He saw what was in my heart, and He responded through these two people to reassure - leading me once again to a place of peace. As I reflected on this, I thought a lot about how God is an extravagant God. He certainly calls us to be good stewards of His money, but He – I believe – does delight in giving His children good gifts, guilt free gifts.

Will's poem:

I've been having the kids journal this summer to try to help maintain their writing skills. The following is something that Will wrote. I'm thinking that he may have been inspired by all that we are hearing on the news about the oil spill.

Nature

Blue, yellow, green, red, brown is nature.

Birds, plants, animals, creatures is nature.

Not cared for properly is nature.

Getting killed by pollution is nature.

Nature is nature.

A few things we ask you to pray for are:

1) Safety in travel. We are on our way today (Saturday the 10th – Tues. the 20th) to travel to MI and then OH to visit family, friends, and churches there. Please also pray for and give praise for our health. It has been amazing to me how healthy we have been with our crazy schedule.

2) Rest. Please pray for Dan that in the midst of business that he can find and that I can facilitate rest for him. I spent a day this past week in solitude with the Lord. Please pray that I would continue to be open to hearing His plans for my relationship with Him, with our family, and what He desires for me to be involved with this year in ministry.

3) Peace in Nicaragua. This next year will be a critical year politically as Daniel Ortega's term is coming to a close in November of 2011. It is expected that the election will not be peaceful or fair. We pray for God's Hand to be at work in the hearts of Nicaragua's leaders.

Nica Update: Our Summer calendar

2010-06-24T17:04:00.000-05:00

Dear family and friends,

I had a chance to type up our family's calendar today (see below) and so I wanted to send it out so you know approximately where we will be through the Summer. Please feel free to visit one of the churches we will be at each Sunday. We are planning to talk for a few minutes during each of the services and we will be available for questions after each service. Thanks!

In Christ,

Dan Van Zoest

Nicaragua Christian Academy

Fri, Jun 4 Lisa, Rebekah and Will fly to Chicago, IL

Sat, Jun 5 Drive to Wellsburg, IA

Sun, Jun 6 Lincoln Center Christian Reformed Church, IA (9:30 am service)

Tue, Jun 8 Drive to Minneapolis, MN

Fri, Jun 11 NCA (Nicaragua Christian Academy) High School graduation

Sat, Jun 12 NCA Reunion (every 5 years)

Sun, Jun 13 Dan flies to Chicago, IL and drives to Wellsburg, IA

Mon, Jun 14 Dan drives to Minneapolis, MN

Thu, Jun 17 Drive to Wellsburg, IA

Sun, Jun 20 New Covenant Bible Church, IA

Sun, Jun 27 Peace Church, IA (9:30 am service, potluck after the service)

Sun, Jul 4 New Covenant Bible Church, IA (8 am, 9:20 am, 11 am services)

Fri, Jul 9 Drive to Rockford, MI

Sun, Jul 11 Ada Christian Reformed Church, MI (9:30 am service)

Wed, Jul 14 Drive to Kalamazoo, MI

Fri, Jul 16 Drive to Celeryville, OH

Sun, Jul 18 Willard Christian Reformed Church, OH (9:30 am service)

Wed, Jul 21 Drive to Wellsburg, IA

Sun, Jul 25 First Christian Reformed Church of Wellsburg, IA (9:30 am service)

Sat, Jul 31 Drive to Chicago, IL

Sun, Aug 1 Fly back to Managua, Nicaragua

Nica update: Stories and prayer requests

2010-05-28T11:53:00.019-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Below, are 6 stories and 8 prayer requests/praise items. Thanks again for your interest and attention!

1) Dan enjoyed spending time with 16 of NCA's High School students as they participated in HACIA Democracy. The following is something NCA’s director wrote in a newsletter regarding HACIA Democracy. “A delegation of 16 students from NCA English and NCA Nejapa (Spanish) participated in a 3-day event in San José, Costa Rica sponsored by Harvard University and comprised of over 450 students. The event was held in English and Spanish. Our students represented different member nations of the OAS (Organization of American States) in formal debates about problems facing the western hemisphere, including the war on drugs, terrorism, judicial reform, human rights and other important issues.

Our students spent months researching their topics before the event and participated in weekly practices since August. Our students were very active in defending their position and introducing viable solutions for further debate and support of all nations. Three of our students won awards for their exemplary roles. Edoarda Pérez won the essay contest (out of all 450 delegates), and Carlos Mántica and Narayan Núñez won the prestigious Best Delegate award in their committees. In addition to their three days of debate, students spent one day sightseeing in San José, including a trip to the Poás Volcano.”

Group pictures from HACIA:

2) I’m reading a book called “Humilty: True Greatness” by C.J. Mahaney. Excellent little book. One part was about defining greatness for your kids. God opened up a great opportunity for me to share with Rebekah and Will about “Greatness” through a situation that involved Dan at the school. Our conversation went like this: So guys, who can you think of that is really Great. Will said, “So, do you mean like Micheal Jackson or Jesus?” I said, “You hit the nail right on the head.” We talked about who the world would define as “great” – those with power, money, fame, etc. Then we talked about how the Bible defines greatness as someone who is humble, dependent upon God, and who has the heart of a servant. Then, I shared the following story . . .

I said, “This past year Daddy has seen a need at our school for a principal for the Elementary. Right now we have one principal for the whole school – Pre K through 12th grade. And that is a lot of work for one person. So, Daddy researched other schools our size and found that there were usually 2 and sometimes 3 principals for the school. So, Daddy talked with a lot of teachers and the administration and asked them to consider this idea. At first, people were not too sure about this idea because it would cost money to pay the principal. But, Daddy prayed and just kept asking God to show him and others what God wanted for our school. And then, God directed many people to begin to think that our school definitely needed another principal and also showed them how the principal could be paid. And not only that, God directed us to Miss Meija (who is currently our Pre K 1 teacher for 3 year olds, is a Nicaraguan woman who speaks perfect English, has just completed her Master’s Degree, has been with the school for 15 years, and is a good friend of mine). When everyone thought of her as the Elementary principal, they got very excited! So, the school asked her if she would consider being the principal and after a lot of prayer and thinking, she said “yes”!

But here’s the thing . . . all that time that Daddy was working toward the idea and presenting the idea of our school hiring an Elementary principal, he knew that it would cost him something. He knew that it would cost him his office because his office is right near the Elementary which has been so much fun for you guys and for him. But, what I want you to see is that this is what Greatness is. Daddy will not get money, fame, or power for being a part of getting the new principal. And he loses something – his office. But, what matters to him is that he got to be a part of what God was doing at our school. And now he will trust God to find him a different office. That is what being Great means.”

3) During the weeks that I was really struggling, I met with the team of women that I was planning a women’s retreat with. I shared my struggle with them which was a good thing, as everyone could relate to my struggle and also shared their own. One of the women said, “Lisa, our family will often leave the city and just go somewhere to get away. It is something that you need to do.” We followed her advice and took off for the mountains a couple of hours north of Managua. We stayed at a place called Selva Negra which is owned and operated by a German couple. It is a self-sustaining coffee farm with hostels, a hotel, and a restaurant. It was so fun for us to wear long sleeve clothes and jeans and snuggle under fuzzy blankets at night. We also walked trails through the rain forest which reminded me so much of walking trails at a lake near my parent’s home. And the “Germanness” of the restaurant was such a comforting feel as well – something familiar. We did find adventure too as we took the most frightening horseback ride of our lives. The ride down to the valley was pretty rough, but riding back up was beautiful. Indescribably beautiful. I think the greatest thing about our time there, however, was the drive through the mountains, the quietness, the time just to sit and relax, and the opportunity our kids had to just run free, to play on a playground again, and we just all enjoyed trees and grass and creation. It was such a healing time for us.

Pictures from Selva Negra:

4) The Story of Buddie - One of the interesting things about living here is that almost everyone has a dog. Most use them as guard dogs, but others have them for companionship. Our kids have wanted a dog for years, and the fact that nearly everyone here has one made their passion for a dog that much greater. Because of my allergies, only dogs with hair as opposed to fur would work for us which made the possibilities a bit limited. I remember at times praying, “Lord, would you grant this desire of our kids’ hearts.” Well, a week before Valentines Day, we heard that another missionary family had bred their poodle and that it had 4 puppies. So, on Valentines Day, we took the kids to their house blindfolded and when they saw the puppies we told them that we were giving them someone to love this Valentines Day. They couldn’t believe it! In fact, in the car as we were leaving Rebekah said, “Are we REALLY getting one of those puppies?” Our little guy’s name is Buddie. He’s brought a lot of joy and frustration to our home! However, in many ways, I’ve thought that he really has been a gift from God.

Picture of Buddie:

5) 4th – 6th Grade Spiritual Retreat – this year was Rebekah’s first opportunity to go on the two day 4th – 6th grade Spiritual retreat. The retreat’s theme was “Plugged In” with a focus on what it means to bear good fruit. The kids listened to a speaker and met with him for small group time, did 6 different science experiments that demonstrated how to use natural resources to produce energy. They made water wheels; made ovens out of pizza boxes, saran wrap, and tin foil – they baked some great cookies!; roasted marshmallows using gas that was made from cow waste; etc. The Middle School also had a Spiritual Retreat. I asked the leader of the Middle School retreat to give me a few details about their experience and this is what he wrote, “The Middle School retreat was held at Ometepe Island where we climbed the Maderas Volcano all the way to the top (and went down into the crater). It was a 10 hour hike (due to the slick trek with all the rain on the way down). All 30 kids made it along with 4 senior leaders and 8 adults! The theme was perseverance.” The High School will have their retreat this weekend at a retreat center.

Picture of Rebekah on the 4th – 6th grade retreat:

6) Rebekah’s song – Rebekah wrote a song tonight. I asked her if we could share it with you and she said that we could. It goes like this . . .

I Need You Lord
You are the vine in which I bear fruit
Without you I may do nothing,
Nothing may I do without you
I need you Lord
(Chorus)

You are the shepherd, I am the sheep
If I wander away
At no matter what cost
You find me
I need you Lord
(Chorus)

You are the lamb
The perfect sacrifice
And you died for me
Me and my sins
I need you Lord
(Chorus)

You are the Living Water
You pour it out to me
I drink it and am revived just so
I love you and I need you Lord
Oh I need you Lord, Lord I need you

Chorus:
Jesus, Jesus you are my Savior and I,
I love you, I love you, you love me
Willing am I to accept you
I need you Lord

Prayer/Praise:

1) Health – a member of our family has been sick since March with bronchitis or a stomach virus that lasted two weeks. Please pray that we would return to the States healthy!

2) Housing – we are praising God for answering our prayers for new housing. We will be moving to a home up the street from our home before we leave for the States. This house has plumbing and lighting problems that we are praying the landlord will fix over the summer. It is also located next to the highway so there will be more traffic noise. Even with the problems, however, it is located in an area that is not as busy or noisy with “people noise” as the home we are now living.

3) Summer Plans – the kids and I will fly out June 4 and Dan will fly out a week later. Our plan for the summer is to see a few churches, to prepare for next school year, and to spend time resting and being with family and friends. We feel at peace with this plan knowing that our health as a family is a priority. Please pray for safety as we travel.

4) Electricity and Water – This past year has been great for us in terms of the consistency of electricity. These past several weeks, however, the electricity has been off and on – last week it was off for two days. We also just have a trickle of water coming out of the shower and the faucets. Today we had no water and all of our dishes are dirty and the laundry is piling up. Would you pray for patience for us and for God to show us how to work with this situation or that He would provide the water and electricity.

5) Lisa’s Dad’s recovery – My Dad is doing GREAT! The stent is doing its job and his energy level has increased significantly.

6) Dan’s Mom’s recovery – Mom VZ found out that the spot that they removed was not cancerous which was very good news. She is recovering well from her surgery.

7) After our last email, we received several responses from missionaries. One missionary wrote, “I appreciated your e-mail so much. There were so many things that I related to that it was both hard and comforting to read at the same time. I couldn't even answer right away because it brought up so many emotions in me.” This, for me, is a praise as my hope is that God would use what I write to encourage others on the field, but also to communicate to those back home about the challenges of this life, not only for us, but for missionaries in general. Please know that those who visit your churches from the mission field do not desire to be put on pedestals, but do have a need to be cared for/listened to/supported.

8) A final praise is for how God has so faithfully met me where I am these past weeks. I could tell you so many stories about how God has been drawing me in. I’m feeling much more at peace. Thank you for your concern and for your prayers.

Thank you for praying for us. We are so often aware of how we are lifted in prayer daily.

Peace to you,
Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and William

Nica Update: Keep Walking

2010-04-24T19:34:00.000-05:00

Web site: www.danvanzoest.com

Nicaragua Christian Academy web site: www.nca.edu.ni/

Our mailing address: Dan Van Zoest; Nicaragua Christian Academy; Apartado 842; Managua, Nicaragua; Central America

Dear Family and Friends,

This letter has been floating around in my heart and head for awhile now. It will be good to get it down on paper. I will warn you now that it is long and will be a little "heavy". My heart is often to share things with you that will not only help you understand our lives here, but that you would globally apply it to missionaries in general. I am known to say things for better and for worse that many people would keep to themselves. However, my prayer is that by sharing these things, you would see God's strength in our weakness and recognize His infinite ability to transform and make new.

My focus in this update is to share more with you about what it is like to adjust to a culture that is so very different from our own. Our first year and second year have been unique with different challenges each year. As I share my own struggle with other missionaries both here and in other countries, I hear from them that their experiences have been and are similar.

The Honeymoon

Our first few weeks here in Nicaragua were both quite disorienting, but also very exciting. I've often thought of it as "reliving childhood" in the sense that everything was new and so interesting and we enjoyed the process of discovery. I can remember thinking that living here would be quite easy as we have modern grocery stores, malls that are comparable to those in the US, we have a comfortable home with running water (most of the time), and I have things like a washer, stove, and refrigerator, etc. This was not necessarily my vision of what living here would be like before we arrived. So, all of these things were pleasant surprises. This honeymoon time even seemed to last for months certainly challenges intermingled but, I remember this to be a very fun "phase".

Fight or Flight

In missionary orientation, they teach you that you will experience something called "fight or flight" during your time on the mission field. It is kind of a primal panic reaction that one experiences when he/she feels threatened sometimes you will become aggressive and try to defend and at other times you will just try to escape. Throughout our first year here, we experienced this a great deal. It was different for each of us. Dan would often get very quiet and would just need to go somewhere for awhile to be alone. I would wake up with panic attacks and I often felt angry which soon led us to purchase an exercise bike to give me an outlet to work it off. Like our neighbor says, "Happy wife. Happy life." Rebekah seemed to cry more easily which is not like her as she is pretty even mood-wise and would, like her Dad, need to spend some time alone in her room. Will, who so often identifies with "heroes" in stories he reads and movies he watches, would draw pictures of himself holding a gun and defending us, his family, from robbers who had broken into our home. This seemed to be his way of controlling or mastering what he very quickly realized was our reality.

This fight or flight experience is not a stage that you move through or complete. It is just a part of life here and we experience it at different times and in different situations still. I do remember thinking half-way through the summer last summer while we were in the States that I was finally feeling "safe" again, like there was a rhythm to life that was I was comfortable with. I could predict what would happen next and did not feel that I needed to brace myself for the unexpected.

I consistently ask you to pray for safety, but have not talked much about specific unsafe situations in our updates, in part, because I do not want to worry our families and in part because it is just difficult to talk about. I think that talking about it makes it just that much more "real". However, it is the reality we live with. I remember substitute teaching for the first time at school. I read a story with Will's class about something scary that had happened to a young boy. I asked the class to give an example of when they felt scared. The examples they gave related to being robbed and watching people get rocks thrown at their heads when they tried to escape and how their heads were bleeding. I will never forget that moment, as I thought about how these kids and now our kids live with a reality that they are not necessarily safe not even in their own homes.

Quite regularly, we hear stories of missionary friends and families at our school being robbed. Some of them have had guns pointed at their heads; others have been robbed in the middle of the night while they were sleeping; others have been gassed while they were sleeping so they would not wake up to detect the robbers; many have had their guard dogs poisoned; one family's Nicaraguan guard was shot and killed; and some guards are paid off and will open up the gate for people to rob the home while the family is away. We had friends over for dinner the other night who shared with us that while at a stop light, a man rammed his body into their car pretending to be hit by them. Our friend knew the man was not hurt and looked around to recognize clues that he was being set up. He was able to drive away, but were the police to be involved, it is likely that he could have gone to jail and been charged money for the man's "injuries". I've often thought about how in the States I've known - maybe a handful of people - who have been robbed. Here, I can only think of a handful of people who have not been robbed. Someone recently told me that a short term mission trip participant said to them, "Yes, but this kind of thing happens in the US too." The difference, however, is that in the US there is a good chance that the thieves will be caught. Here, there is very little chance of that happening. There are also many desperate people who are stealing just to survive particularly since the economic recession. I often think about how I would steal too if I had a child at home who was hungry.

Last year, whenever I would hear a story about someone being robbed at gun point or in their home, it would take me weeks to work through this. And by that time, another incident had occurred. This year, I personally feel that I've adjusted to this as our reality. This seems to be the case for our family as well. We have had no incidences of robbery in our neighborhood, although we suspect someone tried to enter last year by climbing the wall. He/She was detected by the many dogs in our neighborhood who went crazy and the person fled. I've complained at times about the noise level here and how we all kind of live in one house noise-wise however, this is also an advantage as it would be very difficult for someone to slip in and out of our neighborhood undetected. There are other times too like when we pull up to a stop light to see many people with missing limbs begging. I remember depositing a coin into a can that a man held under his arm pit with a very short stub of his arm. I remember looking into his eyes and thinking, "the impact of this moment is what is hard to explain, and it is so frequently a part of our days and weeks." Another night, while Dan and I were driving to a restaurant for a date, a little girl stepped up onto our truck, pushed her soiled face into my rolled up window, and banged on the glass, begging for money. Never will I forget the impact of that moment as well. One other night, while Dan and Rebecca were on a date, Rebecca said, "I hate that lady with the knife." Dan said that he panicked looking around for a woman near their car with a knife. What Rebekah was referring to, however, was a billboard with a woman holding a razor. This incident illustrates, however, our constant vigilance and need to be aware.

Fight or Flight. The only way to get through it is to keep taking the next step forward and trusting the promise that God is with us. He meets us in the place where we try to escape our vulnerability by reminding us that He is El Shaddai - The All Sufficient One. He comforts our fearful and angry hearts by reminding us that He is Jehovah-shalom The Lord is Peace.

Grief

A few months ago, I was riding in the back of a truck that had no shocks down a very bumpy road with several teachers who I had just had dinner with at a Nicaraguan restaurant nestled in a wooded area. Something was happening to my ear drums due to how rough the ride was which I can't completely explain besides the fact that after that ride, I could not hear very well in the days following. In the midst of that ride, one of the teachers shouted (she had to shout so that we could all hear her) "I can't believe this is my life!" I feel that her statement kind of sums up this next phase.

You may have picked up in our updates this year that we have struggled. Particularly, I have struggled. I think the struggle this year is deeper than last year, as we are at a place of trying to understand who we are in this new context and how we can best function. In fact, for several months I was saying to Dan, "I just miss being known. The people back home know me, know my heart, and it is just so hard to start all over again. I just want to be known." As I was driving home from school one day after dropping Dan and the kids off, God spoke to my heart saying, "Lisa, the person that you want people to know no longer exists. I am doing something new. You are new. Allow people to get to know you for who you are this day." He is so good at reframing and changing my paradigms. I could not ask for a better Counselor.

I identify this stage as "grief" because that is the only way that I can really explain it. I've recognized how our family cycles through the stages of grief each one of us in a different way. I think that for Will and I, the struggle is more intense just because of who we are we are both very reflective and experience life at a very deep level. He and I can often get stuck in thinking about "the good old days" and the people and things we miss about home.

I think next year, I will be more proactive as I can now predict the times that are most difficult. When we return to Nicaragua at the beginning of the school year, there is a flurry of activity and it is exciting to start school again and reconnect with everyone. Thanksgiving can be difficult because there are no signs of fall here, it is hot which makes it challenging to cook a big Thanksgiving dinner, and we think of our family traditions/reunions back home. The winter months here are the easiest for me I think because we do not miss the challenge of driving in the snow or the cold. All the emails you send about how cold it is in MI and IA are really quite helpful thank you! The weather here at that time is also just perfect sunny and very comfortable, sometimes we even wear jeans and drink hot chocolate! Christmas is very big here too, so there are lots of things going on to celebrate this holiday and I've instituted several celebrations in our neighborhood which we used to do back home. These celebrations/activities have helped us through this time to feel "normal". It was so great too to have my family here last Christmas it was like having the best of both worlds! The most difficult time, it seems, last year and this year has been the spring like March and April. For one, it starts to get extremely hot and it is very dirty due to the months without rain. We also miss spring the fresh after-the-rain smell, the first robin, the signs of new life from the green grass to the blooming flowers . . . . Most significantly, however, is that Easter is not celebrated in Protestant churches. What I have heard from others is that Protestant churches stay away from celebrating Easter because they do not want to be confused with the Catholic Churches who have many activities and rituals going on during what we call Semana Santa (Holy Week). So, there is just a deep void during this time. I realize how we heavily depended on our church back home to lead us in traditions leading up to Easter and the day itself. I plan to think and pray through next spring to try to be more proactive next year with our plans. I know that this will help.

So, yes, this is our life. And we are thankful, so thankful for this life. We are at peace with our calling and know that this is where we are called to be. But, we do struggle. A picture that came to mind for me this Easter as I was struggling so much with home sickness was the picture of Jesus carrying His cross to Calvary. I thought, "I wonder if this is how He felt at peace that He was doing what God called Him to do, but still feeling the pain and the impact of what He was doing and was about to do." Peace and pain in the same step. It can be difficult and sometimes quite overwhelming, but our Loving Father nudges us to "keep walking".

Keep Walking

I will just end my email here with a story of an experience I had months prior to our specific calling to Nicaragua. It was February and I was in a lot of pain physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I will not go into all of the details of this, but the bottom line is that I was a mess. I was very angry with God, feeling that He had been leading us on a wild goose chase as we tried to discern what He was calling us to do. I was so tired of living life on the fence.

It was around Valentines Day, and I walked into Wal-Mart to buy Valentines presents for the kids. I got about half way down the Valentine aisle and had a very strong panic attack (I started getting these after Rebekah was born, some years not experiencing them at all. But, at more intense times in my life, I experience them occasionally). In fact, I felt paralyzed and started shaking and crying. Then, God spoke these words, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." And then He said, "Lisa, keep walking." Immediately after He spoke these words, the panic attack was over and I no longer felt paralyzed. I looked around to see all of these huge foil hearts with the words "I Love You" written on them in very big letters. I still get tears in my eyes as I remember this special moment with the Lover of my soul there, in the Valentine aisle at Wal-mart.

Weeks later, someone from church who did not know me very well nor did she know anything about my internal struggle gave me a plaque with the words, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" and below the words was a glass heart. I recognized it as another gift and reminder from the Lord. The words God spoke to me, "Lisa, keep walking." became my focus for the weeks and months that followed and I slowly - through the support of loving and grace-filled mentors who consistently walked with me - began to once again open myself up to trusting the Lord with my life once again. A year and 8 months later, we arrived in Nicaragua. As we drove along a highway one of our first days here, I looked up to see a billboard with the words, "Keep Walking" written on it. I still look at that billboard every time we drive by it and each time, I am renewed in my resolve to keep taking that next step with Christ on this road . . . the road that leads to a death to myself and a life of seeing God's glory here on earth and someday, in heaven.

Prayer Requests

1) Dan and the kids are on a camping trip with the Boy Scouts this weekend. They drove 4 hours north to a remote location near a canyon river that they will be tubing down and hiking around. I had planned to go on this trip, but I have bronchitis and am needing to rest. So, please pray for their safety, peace for me, and for my healing and Rebekah's healing she is now coughing as well. Will is doing well thank you for your prayers for him when he was sick! Dan arrived safely from Costa Rica in March, having had a wonderful experience with the students.

2) Next Thursday, Dan's Mom will have surgery to remove a spot on the area where she had a mastectomy a number of years ago. Please pray for a successful surgery and for peace of heart for her and for all of us, her children.

3) Please pray for Bible Study leaders for our teacher Bible Study for next year. I'm looking for around 5 to7 leaders to lead groups of 5 women. This ministry has been valuable to our teachers both in their spiritual growth and in developing community among them. Several of them are new believers and as they grow in the knowledge of the Word, they are better able to communicate the truth they learn in their classes.

Finally, I would like to thank you for reading this update. I know it was long. I've not written in awhile, so you got two months worth. I also wanted to let you know that I've struggled this year to return email as people write to us. My struggle is related to all I shared about grief - my connections with people back home are just harder for me to engage with in the midst of my working through this. So, I pray you understand. Know that everything you write to us, we read and so appreciate and are encouraged by. Thank you all so very much. We are so well taken care of in so many ways.

Peace to you,

Dan, Lisa (the writer), Rebekah, and Will

Nica Update: Our Healer

2010-03-26T00:12:00.000-05:00

Dear family and friends,

I'm writing a quick note to you tonight to thank you so much for your prayers for my Dad. My mom called today to tell us that she was amazed at how excited the doctor was when they met with him after surgery. He said that the surgery went very, very well and that at this time there are no plans for Dad to be on dialysis. He said that Dad's artery was over 90% blocked. The stent is now allowing good blood flow into the kidney. My mom said that his blood pressure is also responding with lower numbers there too which is good. So, thank you once again for standing in the gap for our family.

I would like to add two more prayer requests as well.

1) I took Will to the doctor today because I listened to his lungs last night and heard significant wheezing. He has had a cough, but no fever and has been running around like he usually does. The doctor told me today that he has bronchitis in both of his lungs and was quite concerned about him. He sent me home with lots of meds. - steriods, antibiotics, inhaler, and another one for loosening phelm. Kind of complicated as everything is in Spanish and I needed to mix powders with water and other medicines. I stopped by our school nurse's office and she helped me figure it all out.

Would you pray for healing for Will's lungs? Will was hospitalized as a young child a couple of times with respiratory illnesses, and had been on a nebulizer quite often. Our prayer is that he can recover quickly and that this does not become a pattern for him again.

2) I met tonight with one of our elementary teachers for tea. Two months ago, her sister-in-law died suddenly of cancer. The sister-in-law's husband, of less than a year, then committed suicide 5 weeks after her death. The teacher's brother and her sister-in-law did not have a personal relationship with Christ. So, within 5 weeks, this young woman has attended two funerals of two family members and is now dealing with the pain of losing them both here on earth, but also for eternity. I'm asking you too to pray for her and her family. Her mother and two sisters do not know Christ, and her heart is for their salvation as well.

Thank you. I was sharing tonight with this teacher about what an incredible team of prayer supporters we have. I am often so humbled by your faithfulness and consistency. You are a wonderful model for me.

Peace to you,

Lisa Van Zoest for all

PS. I wanted to let you know too that when I send emails out, I send them out in groups of 50. We are only allowed 6 groups of 50 to go out per day. That means that the remaining 4 groups of 50 go out then 24 hours later. So, some of you will get our updates and prayer requests on "real time' and others of you will find that they are delayed a day. I'm sorry if this causes confusion. We have just not yet found a way to send out all of them at once.

Nica Update: Specific prayer for Dad

2010-03-24T15:19:00.000-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

I wanted to give you a quick update just to give you something more specific to pray about today and tomorrow.

I just got a message from my sister saying that Dad's creatin level is now up to 4.1. I think that normal is 1.3 or somewhere around there. The doctor is saying that he is heading in the direction of needing to be on dialysis if it were to get any worse. He also mentioned that it is possible that he would need to be on dialysis even after the stent, depending on how the surgery goes and how well the stent works. This is one of our greatest fears, knowing that dialysis would significantly alter my parents' life and their dreams.

Just before receiving my sister's email, I was reading Ex. 17 and Matthew Henry's commentary to prepare to lead Bible Study today. These are Henry's words . . .

17:8-16 Israel engaged with Amalek in their own necessary defense. God makes his people able, and calls them to various services for the good of his church. Joshua fights, Moses prays, both minister to Israel. The rod was held up, as the banner to encourage the soldiers. Also to God, by way of appeal to him. Moses was tired. The strongest arm will fail with being long held out; it is God only whose hand is stretched out still. We do not find that Joshua's hands were heavy in fighting, but Moses' hands were heavy in praying; the more spiritual any service is, the more apt we are to fail and flag in it. To convince Israel that the hand of Moses, whom they had been chiding, did more for their safety than their own hands, his rod than their sword, the success rises and falls as Moses lifts up or lets down his hands. The church's cause is more or less successful, as her friends are more or less strong in faith, and fervent in prayer. Moses, the man of God, is glad of help. We should not be shy, either of asking help from others, or of giving help to others. The hands of Moses being thus stayed, were steady till the going down of the sun. It was great encouragement to the people to see Joshua before them in the field of battle, and Moses above them on the hill. Christ is both to us; our Joshua, the Captain of our salvation, who fights our battles, and our Moses, who ever lives, making intercession above, that our faith fail not.

Thank you again for your intersession for my Dad, for us.

Peace to you,

Lisa VZ

Nica Update: Special Prayer Request

2010-03-23T12:41:00.000-05:00

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so thankful for a community who is so faithful to pray for us. This time we are asking you to pray for my (Lisa's) Dad.

Those of you who have been "with us" for awhile may remember that my Dad had open heart surgery a year and a half ago. At that time, they found that one of his kidneys had "died" and that the artery of the other was 85% blocked. They had talked about doing a stent around 6 months after surgery, but decided to wait due to the risk associated with this surgery - given that he has only one kidney. Recently, an MRI indicated that surgery is now needed to open this artery.

He will be having surgery this Thursday, March 25, to do the stent. We are praying that there will not be complications, that the surgery will be successful, and that our hearts will be at peace as we anticipate this surgery. My sister will be flying from Dallas, TX to Iowa to be with my Dad and Mom. I'm so thankful that she will be there.

Thank you again for your faithful prayers!

Peace to you,

The Van Zoest's

Welcome to the Van Zoest family blog

Marital Diagnostic Testing

Nica Update: Marital Diagnostic Testing

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a Joy filled Christmasfrom the Van Zoest family

Nica Update: Joy to the World

Nica Update: Joy to the World

Nica Update: Motorcycle Accident

Nica Update: Motorcycle Accident

Nica Update: Last Year

Nica Update: Last Year

Blanca's new house

The construction of Blanca's new home was completed near the beginning of October 2011.

Nica Update

Nica Update: News bits

Nica Update: August Pictures

Nica Update: The Miracles

Nica Update: Joy Riches

Nica Udate: May Stories

Nica Udate: Vision

Nica Update: Stories

Nica Update: Christmas

Nica Update: Devotion - Come to Me

Nica Update: Stories

Nica Update: Rebekah's party -answered prayers

Nica Update: Pix and Catching Up!

Nica Update: Grief

Nica Update: Loved and Blessed

Nica Update: Our Summer calendar

Nica update: Stories and prayer requests

Nica Update: Keep Walking

Nica Update: Our Healer

Nica Update: Specific prayer for Dad

Nica Update: Special Prayer Request

Wishing you
a Joy filled
Christmas

from the Van Zoest family