October Update
Hello Friends and Family!
I cannot believe that it is already October (my fifth month of living in Nicaragua). I feel like my perception of time is skewed here because we do not have the changing of seasons. While most of you have been experiencing colder weather, soup season, sweater weather and bonfires we have still been in the 90’s during the day and only down into the low 70’s at night. I must say, I do miss the changing color of leaves (but don’t miss all of the yard work. lol)
I have spent the last several days thinking of what to write for this update, and to be honest there really is not much. So, I will start out with a some photos from this past month, then some quick updates, and finally prayer requests.
Work
Work has kept me busy this past month working on a 104 page design report, assisting with the drafting of structural drawings in CAD (not my forte), and creating a design report for our study on sustainability. Last Friday, we finally crossed the finish line on the Talita Cumi project - a masterplan project for a children’s home in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I was given the opportunity to put into practice the skillset and work I did at Chipman Design to create a new template for us to use moving forward. I also had the opportunity to flex a bit of a graphic design skill and create some custom graphics for our report.
Car
I have picked up my car search again in hopes that I will be able to have a car by Christmas.
My options here are quite limited. While many different car brands are offered and frequently seen on the roads, certain brands are easier to work with and replacement parts are easier to find. On top of that, my options narrow even further because I do not know how to drive a manual (stick shift) car. (My mom tried to teach me once in high school and the day ended with some yelling and me giving up, sorry mom.) I spent quite a bit of time this last week narrowing my options and weighing the pro’s and con’s.
Church
To be honest, I had hoped to be a part of a church by now, attending regularly. However, that is till not the case. My search continues in hopes to have a home church by Christmas. In the midst of finding a church, I am so blessed to be able to take necessary pauses and watch Harvest Bible Chapel online and still connect in some way on a Sunday morning.
Homeward Travel
In my September update, one of my prayer requests was for my grandmother. Shortly after, my grandmother went home to be with Jesus. My sister and I were blessed to have had the opportunity to facetime her and talk to her in her final days. She was 93 and lived a Christ-centered life. I will miss her, her laugh and her cooking. However, amidst grief I am also happy to know that she is no longer in pain and discomfort. We joked that after going into heaven, my grandfather probably greeted her by saying, “Jackie, what took you so long?”
So, after quite a bit of thought, I have decided to return to the states the first week in November for my grandmothers memorial service. God opened doors and allowed me to find a flight into Nashville (my dad’s family is from Bowling Green, KY) and to get time off of work. I will get to see my parents and my sister (who is traveling from Spain for the week), and the OG dog, Sebastian. :) I honestly wanted to fly back into Chicago to see all the people so dear to me - friends from Chipman Design, friends from Elgin, my church family at Harvest… But, with such a short time back home most of my time would have been spent traveling. So, I chose to spend as much of my time with my family as I could.
Spiritual Warfare and Prayer Requests
The last few months here have been very heavy at times. We often do not talk about spiritual warfare, but it has been very real to our team here. Many of us have experienced a ‘dark’ time in the last few months: I struggled with my health for about five weeks; our director, Phil, was diagnosed with dengue fever; about five weeks ago the Quail’s family home was broken into when they were away one night for a marriage retreat; two weeks ago my teammate David had a horrible accident and broke his femur and fractured his elbow (he was on a ladder, putting up some Christmas lights in his home when the ladder slipped and he fell), different team members have lost family; my dad had to go and have his retina re-attached because it didn’t take the first time, and the second time was more painful and involved two different procedures.
Several weeks ago, as we talked about all that has happened, my teammate Rob said, “I am encouraged by all that is happening to us. It means that God has something big in store for us and Satan feels threatened by the work we are doing.” WOW. That was most definitely not my first reaction. I went the other way and wondered why all this was happening. I am thankful for a God who uses teammates to alter my perspective and supply me courage in these times.
So, here are the prayer requests:
Church - Pray that God would continue to direct me towards the right community.
Car - Pray that the right connections would be made and that I would be able to find a safe and reliable car to use here in Nicaragua.
Homeward Travel - for safety as I navigate a land border crossing into Costa Rica and then make my way to Liberia for my flight to Nashville. Pray that the week back in the states will be filled with great family time - among my immediate family (my parents and sister) and my dads extended family.
EMI Nicaragua team -
For Phil and Olivia (our Director and wife) as they prepare to welcome their first child around the end of December.
For the Quails as they figure out the process of ordering new computers and phones to replace the ones they lost. Also pray for them as they will be headed back to London for a brief home stay at the end of November through the end of the year.
For Miguel and Rosibel (our accountant and his wife) - general protection in their jobs, their health and as they continue to build their home.
For Jan as he is taking the next steps in his relationship with his girlfriend and as they plan a life together.
For the Lowes as they continue to navigate the waters of recovery from David’s injuries. That David’s bones would heal and that he would be able to maintain strength in his other leg and arm and continue to improve. For Dianne as she takes care of their two girls and is also the primary care giver for David. They are also returning home in December for a brief home stay.
For me - for everything expressed above; for continued relationship building with my neighbors; for God to provide some new friends my age. I recently read a friends update from her missionary work in India and thought her explanation of ‘How are you (really) doing?” was spot on - “Some days are really full and encouraging and then other days I feel unknown and lonely. This is all natural and I have to remind myself of that!” Pray that I would constantly be reminded that God is always walking beside us and although I may feel lonely and unknow that he knows my inner thoughts.
As always, I would love to hear from you. I always enjoy getting an email with updates from you. I would also be curious to see if any of you would like to hop on a zoom call sometime and catch up in person - that is always an option, and one that I would really like!
Love,
Micah