Update on My Paperwork

We received word today that in fact the meeting with our orphanage director and the lady at Mi Familia that is refusing to turn our paperwork over did in fact take place.

The woman has confirmed the paperwork is completed and she will deliver it to Mi Familia in Managua before I arrive on Thursday evening.

This is huge if it really happens. I don't mean to sound like I am not optimistic about this but this lady has lied to us 3 times already. It's hard to put faith in that.

Since my faith is in God and not in her I am going to trust that all things work together for those who love the Lord so that means ME...

Thank you guys for praying with me and trusting God for favor. He is faithful, its man that is not.

As I spent time in prayer this morning I found an old bible I use to use and in it was a list of scriptures that I had written down about 10 or more years ago. I truly believe it was for that moment this morning I wrote them. All of them pertained to this situation. All of them told me exactly what God wanted me to know this morning.

I find that absolutely amazing. Just think about it. I wrote those scriptures over 10 years ago and today they were exactly what I needed. God is so amazing. He knows all. He knew then I would need them today.

Do you write down scriptures that encourage you? Try it; see if one day God brings those across your path again just when you need them. It will do wonders for your faith.

Keep praying as I leave on Thursday afternoon. I will be going to meet with the lawyers of Mi Familia to ensure that all documents are ready for us to be voted on April 15th.

In addition to that God took care of the backdrop I needed. The place I am staying, Just so happens to have a screen and a sound system waiting on me. I can't wait to see what happens with showing the story of Jesus in color. It will change lives.

I'll keep you posted so you can be praying.

God Bless,

Angie

Nicbound again..

In 2004 I had to set up a Hotmail account. In a hurry I just typed "Nicbound" I was going on my first Nicaragua mission trip that summer and that's what came to mind.

I never imagined at that time in my life that I would be "Nic" bound every time I turned around.

In the first three years that I started working in Nicaragua I could hardly come up with the money to buy my tickets. It always seemed to be a struggle. It's amazing to me that once I finally accepted the call on my life to work there on a regular basis that the struggle was no longer around.

I have gone to Nicaragua 5 times since July and had only gone 5 times prior to that. It is amazing to me. I remember in 2006 saying to someone in Nicaragua, "I pray that one day I can come as often as God needs me to come without it being a struggle every time". God has answered that prayer over and over again.

With that said, YES, I am headed to Nicaragua again.

Remember the lady that is holding up my paperwork? Well she lied again and did not turn it over. In addition to that my case worker's last day was Tuesday and now there is no clear answer to what is going to happen to my case and the mounts of paperwork I submitted. Two weeks ago 1 out of the only 3 case workers was fired and all of her cases are still sitting on her desk. Many of those were adoptions. So now, all my case workers cases are sitting on hers with no one to work them.

Once I realized that it was in our best interest for me to go again I started thinking about mission work that can be done while I am there. I am excited to say I already have some plans to visit a village that needs help and support. This will be the first village that I will be working outside of the ministry I use to support. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to branch out and do God’s will for my life.

I am also considering taking my projector and laptop and showing movies at night in the village I am staying in. Most have TV there because there’s electricity but they have never seen movies about Jesus. I'm considering the Jesus Film Project, the Nativity and maybe another one, in Spanish of course.

What a great opportunity to show them Jesus. Pray with me that this method will really hit home and show them Jesus like they have never seen him. I would love to show Passion of the Christ but most can't read the subtitles.

I only have a week to figure this out so pray God shows me a way to come up with a backdrop to show it on that is easy to take on a plane.

The enemy may be causing problems and trying to delay the adoption but in fact all he is doing is giving me the opportunity to minister more to the lost of Nicaragua.

I leave on Thursday 3rd and return on the 11th. During that time I hope to visit my girls for two days and minister to the village and then return back to Managua and deal with the people holding up the process.

Please pray for:

Safety as I will be traveling alone there and then meeting my translator Claudia.
Protection while I am driving, yes I have to drive in this crazy country this time.
Favor with the people who are holding this process up.
Open hearts to share the gospel of Jesus with.
A backdrop that is portable and easy to set up.
My husband and kids
Good health - no sickness from the food and water there

My attorney was suppose to meet with the highest lawyer at Mi Familia today to find out where in the process is my paperwork so I'll keep you posted if anything changes before I go.

God Bless you all and thanks for praying. I really need your faithful prayers as we walk down this journey together.

Angie

March 2008 Nicaragua Visit

Although this trip was primarily for handing in our adoption paperwork we were also able to bless two families where we were there.

On the side of the road headed to a village I have worked in lives a family that is extremely poor. Their house is made out of sugar cane and floods every time it rains.

I have been ministering to that family now several times and this time I collect some clothes and also took their two little girls new Easter dresses.

While we were there the first day God opened two doors for us.

The first was to be able to share the Gospel with the husband. He had never been home the times we had gone before and this time we caught him all alone. We talked to him a lot about the need to have Jesus in his life and encouraged him to think about his life. We could tell he was eager to please us by doing what ever we asked so we didn't push asking him to pray. I knew in my heart it would be because we ask, not because he wanted to change his life. We sowed the seed now we will let God water it.

The second was while we were there a neighbor came to get water. Later as we passed by her house I realized it was even worse than the other. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. She stopped us and ask if there was any way to help her fix her house. She explained when it rains she has to leave because there is no protection and the water floods her entire home and the wind blows the rain in from the sides. I have posted pictures on my site for you to see what she is referring to.

We purchased plastic and nails for her husband to put on her house which will cover it for now. It will protect her a lot more than she had. Without rebuilding her house there's not much else that can be done. I'm praying about that...

We also bought food for each family for the month. The two husbands we met were starting a new job that day. They would work on the roads from 1 – 6 for 15 days and in return they would get paid by food. After calculating it out we figured they would work 5 hours a day in the 110 degree weather for enough food to feed them one meal for each day. Would you work hard labor for 5 hours in 100+ degree heat for one meal? By the way, the meal only included corn tortillas and beans.

We take so many things for granted. We complain when the AC is too cold, and the Heat is too hot. We complain when it's pouring down the rain and we have to go some where and we complain when our grass is brown and we need the rain. If you think about it WE as Americans COMPLAIN about everything. We are never just satisfied.

I challenge each of you today to think before you speak. How do you think it makes God feel when we complain? He is the creator of the rain, the sun, the snow, etc.

Look at the pictures of the bad house on my site and then look at the pictures of the next house on there. It's a new house that was built for a single parent. It cost about $3,000 to build.

Praise God for your house today, for your Heat, AC, running water, electricity, for all the comforts of home.

Click here to see the photos.



God Bless,

Angie

Mark Your Calendar for the 25th

Tuesday is a special day for Terry and I.

Not only is it our 19th Wedding Anniversary it’s the day our case worker at Mi Familia is suppose to receive the home study of our girls.

This can be a very difficult process to follow so I will try to explain it in a way that you can understand so you can start praying NOW...

The office we are dealing with in Managua has a smaller office that exists in the area our girls are living. That office was asked to do the home study of the girls. The home study is required in order to declare the girls abandoned.

The lady in this office who did the home study is being very difficult. It's hard to explain the reasons why right now, just know that she has the power to delay this adoption for as long as she chooses. She has had the home study done since early February and just last week lied and said it was not finished yet. She feels we are rushing things. It's been said that her opinion is it should take 3 - 4 years for an adoption to be finalized.

Our case worker in Managua sent a request for the home study on the 11th and requested it to be in her hands on the 14th. The lady in the other office refused the request and said, "I'll give it to you on the 25th".

The 25th is my case workers last day of employment. So, it is extremely important to this case that the home study gets turned in so my case worker can submit it to the proper person before she leaves. If this is not done it could be months before her replacement is hired and starts working on my case again.

I refuse to worry about this. The enemy would like for me to lose sleep or cry and get angry at this lady but instead I am praying that this week in Nicaragua which was called Holy Week impacted her life and she accepted Christ and is a new creation...

Isn't that all that really matters here. Yes, I want my girls to come home but God has that time worked out. If we are in His perfect Will all will come together. It's the lady we need to pray for.

She obviously does not have Jesus in her life or she would see the need to get my girls out of that orphanage. So it's her salvation and her heart we need to be praying for.

Today was a wonderful day for Christians but what about those who are not Christians? We sometimes get so caught up in what Jesus did for us that we don't stop and think about the person next door or the family member that is lost.

Let's agree today to not let another minute go by without lifting up the lost souls to God. Look around you now and see if you can't either actually see someone that needs Jesus or imagine someone’s face that does. Pray for them.

Pray for this lady who is holding up the future of my girls. Pray for her soul and watch God work everything out.

God Bless,

Angie

The Girls at the House of Rose Part 2

The time has finally come. After many many hours sitting at this computer editing video I have finally got a video for each of the girls as they were receiving their gift bags.

Things did not pan out like I had planned but in the end I was still able to teach them about true love.

As I mentioned before when I arrived I found that the older girls had been very mischievous. The director did not feel any of the older girls deserved gifts. This made me a little nervous at first so I made a deal with her to allow me to give them the gift bags.

Please pray for all the girls. A little girl named Marcella from the village they live in is teaching the girls very un-Christlike ways of doing things and especially how to be ugly toward the workers and the director of the orphanage. They are in the same school together and this girl is a bully.

The girls are shy on the video a little. They were just amazed that my friends "sent Ms. Angie" to see them and to bring them nice things. They were thrilled not just because they were getting something but because it was from so many people. They kept asking me questions about each of you. Tell me more about your friend one little girl said.

I truly hope that you and your family will continue communicating with the girls. I will be happy to take a note from your children or what ever the Lord lays on your heart. They usually get very little until I come around and then they get too much some times.

I really appreciate all of you that participated in this. The girls will never forget your kindness.

I videos are not the best but they are something. I encourage you to look at all of them; it will bless your heart tremendously. There are pictures too.

Check out the videos here.

God Bless,

Angie

"A person never stands as tall as when they bend down to help a child."-Abraham Lincoln

Bi-Lo Blanket Sale

Can you spare $.83 cents?

Today I went to Bi-Lo and found Throw-Blankets on sale with your card for .83 cents.

Of course, I bought all I could. Around 48 of them.

It's really hot in Nicaragua during the day and when the sun goes down to them, it's cold, to us it's nice...

So if you can go to your nearest Bi-Lo and buy some I'll store them.

Thanks so much..

Angie

Now the Wait...

My mom use to say "A watch pot never boils". Some of you can relate to that saying and others are going to think what in the world does that mean.

Today our meeting with Mi Familia went great and my "Life in a Box" is in the hands of others.

I was a little concerned about one of the documents but God's favor was upon us and Dr. Artola just smiled and said, "No Problem". Trust me you don't get "No Problem" out of people in Mi Familia.

So now what you ask?

We wait, and wait and wait...

Our paperwork will be reviewed and the girls will have to be declared abandoned and HOME they will come. Wow, I really wished it was that easy..

God's timing is perfect; He is not a minute late. (Just help me deal with the fact He is never early either....)

Thank you so much for your prayers. I felt them, every step of the way.

God Bless and keep praying..

Angie

P.U.S.H (Pray until something happens)

I have had limited access to the internet in the last two days and I'm hating it that I have not sent this out by now but God knows best.

At 8:30 your time on Thursday morning Terry and I will be sitting in the office of Mi Familia (DSS of Nicaragua) submitting out paperwork to be approved to adopt our girls.

This process will allow us to be voted on by the Consejo (Consayhoe) which is like a committee or council. We know already there are at least one problem with our paperwork and so I am just praying it's only one.

The lady we will be meeting with is Dr. Artola. She is a Christian which I am hoping helps me a lot.

My prayer request is that we make a good impression on Dr. Artola and Mi Familia and that our paperwork has been done correctly and is in order.

God's favor has been on us this entire trip and we expect it to be there the rest of the week.

Also, please pray for another mother named Heather who is here in Nicaragua waiting to take her children home. Her paperwork has gotten delayed several times and it appears that she could be here longer. She has been her 6 weeks already. If we all pray together for her we can move her court date to be soon than later. God hears our prayers and acts accordingly.

Even if you get this after we have met still pray... Pray that it doesn't lay on her desk for weeks and it doesn't get lost in the many piles she already has.

Thank you for praying....

Angie

Smiles I'll Never Forget

We arrived at the orphanage yesterday to find the kids in disarray. Lately the girls have been very disobedient which is just not heard of around there.

It was so bad that I was in tears by the end of the night. I just could not believe my eyes or my ears.

The director and I had decided that the younger kids would receive their gifts today and ONLY if the older girls were better would they get there’s. I truly felt like it was just the devil trying to mess things up for me.

I just prayed over all the girls and expect a difference today and what a differen a day makes.

The girls were much much better today. They really were their old selfs again.

I gave the littlest girls their clothes and WOW what a show of love. They were so excited. I don't think I have seen such sweetness as I saw today. I so hope it comes out in the video. Once the kids put on their clothes they walked around like they were princesses. It was so so sweet. I can't wait to post the pictures.

Out of all the checking out of clothes, toys, coloring books, etc. I will remember that last minutes I had with the girls. I told that yesterday they were so bad that Ms. Angie didn't want to come back but today I was really proud at how much better they were acting.

The next words broke my heart.. "Ms. Angie, please forgive me for being ugly yesterday, please don't ever stop coming to see me". That came from one of the girls that got sent to bed at 6:30 because of her behavior. All the girls repeated what she said and hugged and kissed me over and over again. It was the most precious moment I've had at the orphanage.

Showing love to the loveless can move mountains, I watched it happen yesterday.

Until tomorrow,

Angie

On our Way

Wow, it's time to go already. Time is flying by. I'll be home next week before I can blink and eye.

I have so much stuff that I ran out of room. I will have to leave some things behind this trip but don't worry I'll be headed down next month hopefully. (All the girls stuff made it, just extra stuff I had didn't)

I have been so blessed to hear all the stories about your shopping experiences. I am sure there are more for me to hear about so make sure you tell me when I get back.

I am so humbled to have you guys as friends. I am honored that you trust me with your money, your time and your prayers. You can't imagine how special that makes me feel on the inside.

God will give you back more than you can ever imagine.

I just want to make sure you really understand what you did by giving selfishly to my girls at the House of Rose.

Those girls never receive things identified to them individually. It's always something for everyone. This week I am going to make sure they feel so special. Your package will be given to them in a way that they will know that it was for JUST them FROM you and your family. I can't wait to get there. I have gone 9 times and every time it's special but this trip for some reason is different. I have had butterflies in my stomach for 3 days. God is up to something.

Just in case you think that what you did was no big deal. This is what God has to say about it..

Matthew 25:40
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
God Bless, Stay tuned I'll update you as I can this week.

Pray for us every day that God will protect us, guide us, provide wisdom and knowledge to us and show us His ways.

This picture does not include everything. Just look what a bunch of us can do. :)

Angie