We get to stay!

This past week we had the privilege to minister and hang out with a group from our home church, West Cabarrus Church.  Even though we have only been here a few weeks before they came it was quite refreshing and uplifting.  It was such a joy to have them working alongside the Harbinsons and us.

  Here we are on the last day which was a "fun day" to visit a volcano and bat cave.

We were able to spend 2 days ministering in the San Antonia village and 2 days in the Las Delicias village.  We participated in projects such as painting tables, a church, a woman's house, fixing an older man's rocking chair, building a bed for a young blind boy, playing games, told Bible stories, several gave their testimonies, and had Worship services.  Through it all, we pray the people at each village saw the love of Jesus displayed from each action and service. 

The 83 year old lady was very excited about her house being painted. 

 The group worked really hard and some came away looking a little blue.  :)

 We believe these children could play the entire day and still not be tired.

 Below is the young blind man that the bed was built for by the group.  He was so faithful to attend each time we came to play games, taught a Bible story, and worship.  We taught him how to speed stack so he could be involved also.  He learned quickly!  We also had him playing "Hot Potato".  We loved his bright smile!

The week before the group came we visited the village to play games and challenge them to learn John 3:16.  We were excited when at least half of them knew the verse this week.  Now they have another verse to learn for the next time we visit.  The ones that knew the verse were rewarded by a sweet treat. 

On the last night at Las Delicias Eric Harbinson was sharing with the people how the WCC group was going to be sad leaving them and the friendships that were made.  I found myself a little sad.  And then all of a sudden I thought, "Hey!  I get to stay!!"  Yes, it was sort of a "well, duh!" moment.  I have been on several short term mission trips.  Each time I remember being sad that I was leaving the people that we met.  Now - PRAISE GOD - He has allowed my family and I to stay here and continue building on the relationships that we have made.  We get to stay here and share His love weekly!  Thank you Jesus for giving us this opportunity!

Please join us in prayer for:
*WCC safe travels home today
*Relationships made at each village...God's Word being planted and hopefully seeing fruit produced fromt the planting.  And pray for their openness to us coming weekly.  We will be returning to Las Delicias on April 22nd to do more AWANA games, Bible lesson, etc.  That afternoon the Harbinsons and our family will be discussing with the Pastor about a good day for us to come weekly.  It appears that he is very willing for us to return.  The day and time will be tricky to figure out.  Some of their children attend school in the mornings and some in the afternoons.  We want to be able to include all of them.  Please pray that we will be able to schedule the best day and time to do this. 
*Our future contact with the First Baptist Church in Matagalpa. 
*Our Spanish learning - muy importante!!  
*Financial provision for a vehicle that the Harbinsons and us to share in the ministry

We treasure your prayers and support!
The Perry Gang

Just being real...

I've always tried to be "real" with everyone.  I never want to be fake - "whatcha see is whatcha get".  Just because my family and I are on the mission field does not mean we are the perfect family.  We are far from it.  And today was my VERY grumpy day!

I could list a lot of reasons why I was grumpy: lack of sleep, still adjusting, "the devil made me do it", but I basically failed in being patient with others and myself.  I have been running so far so fast that I allowed myself to dwell on everything around me that I felt was wrong instead of focusing on the one and only thing that is right and perfect, my Heavenly Father. 

Everything here just seems extra hard for me right now - from trying to communicate, to paying the bills, grocery shopping, cooking, keeping things clean, washing clothes & dishes, wondering when the water will be turned off, or watching the little green light on our router to see if we will have the internet, etc.  I think it all hit me today and instead of immediately talking to God I just decided to be grumpy with everyone else.  To be even more real I will give some examples.  I've been waking up early (@ 5 or 6) to wash the clothes so I can get them on the line to dry before too many activities get in the way.  Well later this morning I asked the children to bring in any clothes that were dry.  They brought be a full basket of half dried clothes.  All I could think about was, "here is more work for me to do!"  So when I started to fuss and Jeremy said, "I thought they were dry too", he immediately got a handful of wet clothes thrown in his face.  Hmmm...not the best example of a loving wife.  Then at one point I think the whole city of Matagalpa heard me yell at one of my children when they talked back to me.  Hmmm...not the best example of a loving mother.

As I was wallowing in my grumpiness, I decided I was going to just send my mother and mother-in-law a long email expressing my anger.  I knew they would listen, not judge, and give me sympathy.  Guess what, the internet was not working!  For an hour I kept going to the computer to try and see if it was working.  The hour turned into almost the whole afternoon.  It took that long for me to realized God was quietly speaking to me.  He wanted me to share my frustrations with Him.  He wanted me to confess my sins, receive His forgiveness, and then be washed in His peace.  After that I was able to calm down and apologize to my family for my behavior.  It was all very humbling!

Yes, adjusting to a new country, culture, and language is hard and will probably get harder.  BUT I do not regret our decision to follow God's call to come to Nicaragua.  Will I, and the rest of the family, struggle with grumpy days and fail many times over this process?  Yes!  Thankfully, we serve a merciful God that loves us despite our failures.  Praise God for His forgiveness and patience!  All I lack He has in abundance. 

God pressed upon my heart to share my grumpy day and failures with you all.  I pray it can help someone with either comfort or a laugh!  Keep up the prayers.  As you can tell we need them!  :)