Reeve
Prayer Update
Estelí
,
Nicaragua
January 2007
“No, in
all things we win an overwhelming victory through him who has proved
his love for us.” Romans
8:37 (Phillips)
Greetings
and Happy New Year to all of you who have been so faithful to pray for
us in 2006. We trust that you are looking to God to lead you in a
victorious 2007! We wanted to report what God’s been doing here
since we last wrote.
Victories
Many of
your were praying for Juan Carlos and his family and their visit to
Jordan
to help a fellow worker there. We are excited to report that they came
back safely in the beginning of December with hearts full of gratitude
for all the help the Lord gave them. They had excellent opportunities
to learn Arab and were often mistaken for Arabs on the street! Perhaps
the hardest part was their daughter’s (two years old) difficulty in
sleeping. Sharing the same bed made it difficult for them as well.
They returned with a vision to reach Muslims with the gospel and a
renewed zeal to do all they can in
Honduras
to see the gospel preached in their city of
San Pedro
de
Copan
and parts beyond. Thank you so much for your prayers for them. God
worked out thousands of details from the arrival of
delayed luggage to places for them to stay. They even got to
visit
Israel
, which was a dream come true! Pray for their reestablishment in
Honduras
and for God’s direction for their future.
Thanks also
for praying for our coworkers
Israel
and Flor. Flor’s mother suffered an automobile accident in October.
Recovery has been a long process but God has showed Himself in many
ways. She had a successful surgery on her lower back, which will
hopefully enable her to eventually be in a wheelchair. Also, the fluid
on her brain cleared as did the coagulation of blood there. The bad
news is that they recently found a dislocated vertebrae close to her
neck which will require further surgery.
Israel
and Flor are praying about bringing her here to
Nicaragua
, where the surgery might be cheaper and she could stay with them. In
the mean time,
Israel
is working on a house that he has built, trying to make it livable for
all of them.
Discipleship
One of the
blessings that came out of the accident with Flor’s mom was that it
gave us an added urgency to raise up brothers in the assembly here to
help fill the gap that
Israel
’s absence has left. We started a weekly discipleship program
focusing on following four areas of growth:
1.
Bible study
2.
Character growth
3.
Preaching
(preparing and giving a message)
4.
Pastoring
We were
encouraged to see eleven men step up to the plate and faithfully
participate in this two-month program. Some have already given their
first message and all have shown a serious desire to grow in their
walks with God and their service toward others.
We are also preparing for a full
time three-week discipleship program in January to which folks from
other assemblies in
Nicaragua
have been invited. We currently have fourteen people committed to
participate, about half from our assembly and half from others. We are
praying that the Lord would use this in a mighty way to build His
character and His Word into these brothers and sisters.
Family
The last time we wrote, we were getting ready
to move to a new house. Thankfully, we were told at the last minute
that we could stay put! In a quirky result of the elections here, the
owners of the house didn’t feel comfortable moving back to our
neighborhood with Daniel Ortega as president. It’s a little hard to
explain but they are obviously a little fearful about the stability of
things with him as president (another item for prayer!). We are
thankful that we can stay in a house that our family has greatly
enjoyed for the last two years.
We are in the “summer break” as the school
year ended in November and a new one begins this month. In November,
Nathan graduated from sixth grade with honors and is planning to join
Catherine at home school with mom (Betsy) as their illustrious
teacher!
Thanks for
praying and rejoicing with us in these things.
In Him,
David
(for us)
For those on their knees:
Praises
- We
had baptisms for five in November, including our son, Nathan.
- Juan
Carlos and Reyna’s successful visit and return from
Jordan
.
- The
partial recovery of Flor’s mother after her car accident.
- We
didn’t have to move!
- Orderly
elections in November that resulted in a clear winner without a
lot of civil strife.
Prayer
1. For continued
political and economic stability in
Nicaragua
as Daniel Ortega is
inaugurated as President
this month.
- Pray
for the new brothers who are broadening their ministry skills.
- Pray
for God to use the discipleship program this month for His glory
and for growth in those who are participating.
- Pray
for Betsy and Catherine and Nathan in their home schooling
efforts.
David & Betsy Reeve
“In the
world you will have tribulation. But be of good cheer for I have
overcome the world.” John
16:33b
Spiritual Opposition
Juan Carlos
was trying to get a visa to
Israel
. Tickets had been purchased for he and his wife, Reyna, and two of
their children to go to
Israel
where they would meet a missionary and then travel to
Jordan
as part of the practical training for the missions course they started
here in February. All he lacked was the visa for
Israel
. He traveled to
El Salvador
(the closest Central American country with an Israeli embassy) four
times, answering questions, submitting paperwork, and the answer was
always the same. “Come back next week”. The date arrived when he
explained that he could no longer “come back next week” and they
gave him his money, passports and papers back but no visa! Because
Dave was in
Honduras
teaching at Modulos, this left Betsy back in Estelí running to
different travel agencies to change their tickets and get new tickets
going from
Israel
to
Jordan
.
While all
this was happening, tragedy struck the lives of our coworkers,
Israel
and Flor.
Flor’s
mother and four other family members were in a car accident that
killed two in the car and left Flor’s mother and one of her nephews
in a coma.
Israel
and Flor left immediately for
Honduras
to be with Flor’s mother and family. In the ensuing days, God has
answered much prayer and Flor’s mom has been coming out of the coma
and recovering from a perforated lung as well. The bad news is that
she will probably never walk again due to damage in her spine. We have
no idea when
Israel
and Flor will be back but we know that the recovery for Flor’s
mother will be a long haul and that even after her recovery she will
probably need assistance for the rest of her life. We are thankful for
the unity and increased focus on prayer we see in the church in
response to this adversity.
It took
three days, five planes, and three hours of interrogations (at the
Israeli and Jordanian airports) but Juan Carlos and his family finally
made it safely to
Jordan
. God also marvelously provided a Christian couple to host them during
their extra day in
Milan
. Pray for their adjustment and for their oldest son, Juan Carlos
Junior, who had to stay back to finish his school year. Pray for this
six year old as he is with his grandfather until the family comes back
(in December, Lord willing).
Elections
Nicaragua
’s presidential elections are
scheduled to take place November 5th. Campaign announcements fill the
air as a group of four candidates jockey for the lead. Our personal
favorite: “Vote for Mundo, an ugly guy for a beautiful
Nicaragua
.” Pray that God would put in place a leader who will look out for
Nicaragua
’s interests rather than for his own.
New
Cell Groups
Thanks for praying for the work in
Santa Rosa
, a community about 2 ½ hours away. We are still sowing and seeing
interest but still no fruit. We have started two new cell groups
in key neighborhoods including one called El Rosario, about
five minutes across the river. El Rosario is a part of Estelí but
almost like a city unto itself. Oscar, who lives in this neighborhood
has made a profession of faith and we are meeting in his home to do
Bible studies with some of his family members.
La Chirisa is the other barrio where we are meeting with a
family who has started coming to church. Pray for fruit from these
groups and possible church plants in these locations in the future.
Looking for a New Home
The owners of the house we have been renting
the past two years are coming back in December. So, we are looking for
another place to live. We are grateful for this house, which has been
an excellent place for our family and for Catherine’s homeschooling.
We are also grateful to God for a few young people in our neighborhood
who have trusted Christ during our stay. Pray that God would direct
our paths to another neighborhood of His choosing as we trust Him to
provide another home.
Thank you again for
colaboring with us.
In Him,
David
(for us)
For those on their knees:
Praises
Juan
Carlos and Reyna’s successful entry to Jordan
.
God’s
work in the healing of Flor’s mom.
Small
group studies that have started up in other barrios in Estelí (El
Rosario and La Chirisa).
Prayer
Direction and provision for
Israel
and Flor as they are in Honduras
taking care of her mother.
Pray for us and the church
here as we work to fill the tremendous gap left by Israel
and Flor.
That Juan Carlos and Reyna
would adapt to the new culture and language in Jordan. That they would be a blessing.
Pray for Juan Carlos, the son,
who stays behind to finish his first grade year in Honduras
.
For God’s direction and
provision of a new home for us.
Nicaragua’s presidential elections in
November.
David & Betsy Reeve
Reeve
Prayer Update
Estelí,
Nicaragua
January 2006
“Are not
five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten
by God.” Luke 12:6
Locusts
“Crunch, crunch” go the dead grasshoppers
under our shoes as we walk on sidewalks and streets littered with this
evidence of the annual December swarm. The plague is timely, as we
have been studying Exodus and the plagues that God used to show His
power and get His people out of Egypt. Fortunately, the numbers in
Estelí have been few in comparison to what the Egyptians experienced.
Still, it gives one pause to consider a multitude so great that they
“covered the surface of the whole land, so that the land was
darkened” (Ex. 10:15).
Sparrows
The chapel, which waits for the last phase of
its reconstruction, has a temporary roof upstairs. A family of
sparrows chatters merrily on the trusses as I softly tread the steps,
hoping for a glimpse. Shafts of light descend through the planks
causing the color of their wings to alternate from golden to dark
brown as they hop in and out of the shadows. How wonderful is God that
even as we were planning this chapel for ministry, He had the sparrows
in mind (Luke 12:6)! If He has them in mind, how much more wonderful
are His plans for the salvation and nourishment of those who will
gather there. On January 25th a team of Canadians, led by
Ted Windle, are coming to help us build the third floor and the
classroom walls for the second. Pray for the availability of materials
(always in question here) and the safety of all who will be working.
“The
Hardening Cage”
I
used to work in greenhouses for a seed company. When we needed to get
a crop going quickly, we started plants in greenhouses and then
transplanted them into the field. But, in between, there was a place
called the “hardening cage” where plants had to stay for a few
days before they were ready for the rigors of life outdoors. The
hardening cage was simply a plot of ground with four poles and a
shade-screen cover that hung loosely over the top. There, the plants
could get adjusted to being outside without having to face the direct
affects of the sun in the day and had some protection from the colder
temperatures at night.
Many
of you know that we have had a vision for some time of sending out
workers from Central America to the 10-40 window, that area of the
world that contains the most people who have yet to hear the gospel.
Over the past five years, we have taught on missions and have seen
much interest from various believers in both Nicaragua and Honduras.
In February, Lord willing, we hope to open a missions school here in
Esteli. The purpose of this program is to prepare and equip those with
a serious missions interest so that they may be sent out. If you can
think of Central America as the “greenhouse” and the 10-40 window
as the “field”, then you can think of our school as a “hardening
cage”, a place of preparation and equipping. We would like to
present three months of classes and then offer a three-month “short
term” trip to the 10-40 window. Obviously, this is going to take a
lot of preparation and planning on our part and much provision from
the Lord. So, we appreciate your prayers. Specifically, you can pray
for the eight people who have received invitations and applications to
attend the program. They are all from Honduras. So far, five have
confirmed that they’re coming. We are excited to see how the Lord is
going to use this program and these people in His plan for reaching
the least evangelized and most populated part of the planet.
Thank you again for praying with us and for
the gifts that make these activities possible.
In Him,
David (for us)
For those on their knees:
Praises
- For
Israel, Juan Carlos and Reina (a married couple with two
children), Nilian and Florencia who have said, “yes” to the
missions program in February.
- A
wonderful visit from Betsy’s parents in December.
- For
two young women, Rosa and Dilsia, baptized in December.
Prayer
1.
For
safe travel and working conditions for the team who comes from Canada
to help work on the chapel.
2.
Pray
for the growth of Rosa and Dilsia and for Roberto, Karina, and Reina
who are facing various obstacles on their road to baptism.
3.
God’s
provision and preparation for Juan Carlos and Reina, Florencia and
Nilian, who are coming to the missions school.
For God’s direction in the lives of others whom He would want
to participate.
4.
God’s provision for the missions program, especially for
trips that students will hopefully make to the 10/40 window.
David & Betsy Reeve
Reeve
Prayer Update: September 2005
Estelí,
Nicaragua
“I will
search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the
injured and strengthen the weak...”
Ezekiel 34:16
Injured
Sheep
A
mother weeps for her son, though it has been years since he passed
away. Gang members killed him. He suffered for weeks in a hospital
before succumbing to the blows inflicted on his head and body. She
weeps because it would have been his birthday and now he isn’t here.
She is one of what I call the injured sheep in our church.
Every church has them. As I look at these words of the Lord from
Ezekiel, I believe He is speaking about His future care for the nation
of Israel. However, the verse above reflects His shepherd heart for
all of us. As I’ve been meditating on it, I’ve told the Lord that
I want to be the kind of shepherd that seeks to “bind them up”.
Please pray that the Lord would raise up shepherds with hearts to
search for the lost, bring back the strays and bind up the injured.
Escuela
Normal
The Escuela Normal or “Teacher’s School”
is a three-year program for those who wish to become teachers. Wendy,
a young lady in our church, is a student there. A couple of months
ago, during our evangelism-training program, one of her professors,
Mariela, made a profession of faith. She invited Israel (our coworker
here) to meet with the Vice Director of the school to discuss the
possibility of our coming and giving spiritual talks on a weekly
basis. The Vice Director was very enthusiastic and invited us to come
every Thursday afternoon and every other Wednesday morning to give
hour-long presentations. The result of all this is that we have a
regular opportunity to present the gospel to about 120 university
students who will probably be future teachers in Esteli or it’s
outlying villages.
Kids
Ministry
While we have been in a new neighborhood for
about a year, I have found that my heart and relationships have still
been in our old “barrio”. The Lord used a car accident last month
to open my heart to our “new” neighbors. The accident involved a
number of men from our street who had been out at the cockfights. They
were returning home in heavy rains when their truck careened into a
ravine. Two of our neighbors died and a few more were injured. The
velorios (wakes) provided us with a chance to know our neighbors a
little better and help to serve them. Last week we started a kids
meeting at our house with the hopes that many of the children will
come and hear the gospel and be little bridges to their parents.
New
Workers
We appreciate your prayers for new workers who
continue to come to Nicaragua from Honduras. The last couple came in
December with their one-year old twins to help Max and Lola in Leon.
Their names are Samuel and Lesby. Please pray for two other couples
who are making plans to come in ‘06. We also ask prayer for the
churches who are sending them. Sending missionaries is still a new
concept for our churches in Honduras and we pray that they would model
the biblical principles of supporting their missionaries with prayer
and gifts. I (Dave) have an opportunity to address this issue at a
conference this month. Pray that the Lord would give me His insights
in my presentation.
Baptisms
We are praying about baptizing three new
believers in our church this month. Their names are Karina, Roberto
and Rosendo. We asked
prayer for Karina in the last letter. We thank God for your prayers
and for the signs of growth all these have shown in recent months. We
appreciate your prayers for their continued growth and the salvation
of their families.
Family
More than in any other Central American country,
baseball is the rage in Nicaragua. Nicaraguans are currently
celebrating their 14-2 womp over the U.S. in a world tournament in
Holland. A brother in our church (Boanerges from past letters) has
been training our sons Nathan and Peter in the skills of the game.
This week they were finally officially registered with a team. We are
excited for them to have this opportunity to be part of a team as past
efforts to be on soccer teams have been disappointing.
Pray that this would be a good vehicle for them to make
Nicaraguan friends and to be lights here.
Thank you again for partnering with us in the
Lord’s work here.
In Him,
David (for us)
For those on their knees:
Praises
- Professions
of faith by Karina, Roberto and Rosendo.
- A
successful close to our discipleship program in July. Three
graduated and finished well.
- For
Nathan and Peter’s opportunity to be on a baseball team!
Prayer
1.
For
fruit from our presentations at Escuela Normal.
2.
Pray
for the kid’s ministry on our street, that many would be interested
and come out.
3.
Baptisms
for Karina, Roberto and Rosendo, their growth in the Word and the
knowledge of God’s love for them.
4.
That we would be good shepherds to the sheep here; for the Lord
to raise up more shepherds!
David
& Betsy Reeve
-
-
-
Reeve
Prayer Update: November 2004
“¡Que
Barbaridad!” or “That’s Outrageous”
Occasionally, Betsy
and I discuss aspects of life in Nicaragua that we would classify
as “outrageous”. We thought that we’d include a couple
of these “Nica” quirks in this news/prayer letter.
Directions- Asking
for directions can be a risky prospect in Central America. Many
folks would rather make up their own directions than risk
embarrassment by saying, “I don’t know where that is”.
Many who don’t drive or own cars have a “different”
perspective of how far things are. Last week, a coworker (Grant
Ferrer) was asked to take two ladies to a type of wake that they
have here before a funeral; when he asked the location, they
responded, “A little beyond Estelí” (which is about 2
hours from Managua). Over six hours later, Grant found that “a
little beyond” meant four hours of night-driving, most of it
“off-road”. He got back home at 5 AM! ¡Que
barbaridad!
Days Off- In
Nicaragua, a one-day holiday can mean a week off from work or
school. This can be frustrating when you think your kids are going
to be in school and they’re suddenly “off” for a week.
Today, Betsy took Megan to school only to be told that there’s
no school today, nor for the next ten! Reason? They’re having
mayoral elections and they have to get ready. ¡Que
barbaridad!
Missions
Conference!
In
our last letter, we asked you to pray for a missions conference
that was scheduled for August, here in Esteli. We are pleased to
report that the Lord blessed it with a crowd of over 200 people!
It was not only the first national conference we’ve had amongst
our assemblies here in Nicaragua, but also the first conference
focusing on the need for us to be missionaries outside of
Nicaragua to the “remotest part of the earth”. We had times of
prayer and fellowship and reports from the various works that have
started up over the past three years. We also had a report on the
countries in Africa that we visited in January. We are grateful
for all the assemblies that participated and for the fellowship
that new believers were able to have with one another.
New
Works – New Workers
That
conference helped me to remember how the Lord has directed new
works and new workers since we arrived in Nicaragua three years
ago. When I first visited Nicaragua in May of 2000, there was,
from our assemblies, Oscar Cubas (a worker from Honduras with his
family) and Helen Goatley, a widowed missionary working with
prostitutes in Managua. There was one established work and
one new work. A little over three years later, there are eight
additional worker families, four established works, and three new
works in progress. The Lord has brought new workers from Honduras,
Canada and the U.S. to help with the harvest here!
If you’ve read our
previous letters, you know about Oscar Cubas (the first worker
here from Honduras), Max and Lola (Honduran workers in Leon),
Israel and Flor (our coworkers here in Estelí), and Grant and
Kandy Ferrer working in Managua alongside Helen Goatley. In
the last year, two new couples have arrived from Honduras, Saul
and Olga Guitierrez and Walter and Mevis Santos. Saul and Olga are
working in the assemblies of Tauquil and Jalapa (assemblies where
Oscar and his family had been working), freeing up Oscar and
Walter to start a new work in Ocotal, a city between Estelí and
the Honduran border on the Pan American highway. Two
brothers from Canada have also come with their families to work in
Delores, a town southwest of Managua. Their names are Mark and
Brenda Bachert, and Tony and Danelle Flett. We appreciate
your prayers for these workers as they adapt to new homes and new
works in various stages of progress.
Baptisms
Lord
willing, we will have four baptisms this month. We are a little
extra excited as one of them is for our daughter, Catherine. At
12, Catherine has showed a lot of growth since we left for the
mission field and a real heart to follow Jesus. Please pray for
her and the other three taking this step of obedience: Bonerges, Línique,
and Alan.
Furlough
We
are looking forward to being in the states for two months while
our kids are out of school. Below is our schedule. If you’re
near us, we’d love to see you! Please pray for our coworkers,
Israel and Flor, who will be carrying on church responsibilities
in our absence.
Nov.
29th – Dec. 2nd- Southern California
Dec.
3rd to Dec. 20th- Bay Area
Dec.
21 to 28th-
Southern California
Dec.
29th to Jan 9th-
Oregon
Jan
10th to Jan. 25th- Bay Area
Jan
26th to Feb. 3rd- Southern
California
Here
are some contact numbers, if you’d like to schedule a visit:
David
and Barbara Sealand (949) 361-2248 (Betsy’s parents in
Southern California)
Barry
and Kit Kirkland (510)
569-7176 (Bay Area)
If
you email us after November 28th, please use our Yahoo
address: davidwhitney2000@yahoo.com
Mailing Address- 404 Calle Vista
Torito, San Clemente, CA 92672
Thanks again for your prayers and support as we head into 2005.
In
Him,
David
(for us)
-
Reeve
Prayer Update: July 2004
“If therefore the
Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.”
John 8:36
Freedom
“Exactly 25 years ago, the National
Guard was disbanded. Two days earlier, its Director in Chief
Anastasio Somoza Debayle had abandoned Nicaragua. Those in command
of the army followed in his footsteps. En Rivas, Pablo Emilio
Salazar, then nicknamed ‘Commander Bravo’ didn’t
live up to his name and boarded a boat on Lake Nicaragua to
unknown destinations.”
So reads my
loose translation of an article from today’s newspaper. Today is
a holiday as Nicaraguans are celebrating the 25th
anniversary of the “liberation of Managua”. On July 19th,
1979, Somoza, a dictator whose family had been in power for over
40 years, was officially kicked out and the Sandinistas took
power. Nicaraguans 25 years ago had little idea of the tyranny
they would face under the Communist Sandinista party for the next
10 years. In 1989, when the Sandinistas allowed free
elections, they lost to Violeta Chamorro, the widow of a popular
newspaper man.
A political cartoon in today’s paper
shows the caption, “25 years later”. In the picture, a
lone pillar stands with the label “Rhetoric” amidst the
rubbish of poverty. In other words, twenty-five years after the
revolution, nothing has really changed and the only thing that
remains strong is the rhetoric of politicians.
That cartoon, perhaps, summarizes the
reasons that Nicaraguans continue to show a hunger for God’s
Word and the true freedom that comes from within the heart and not
from political parties.
The Apartments
Almost
directly across from our chapel, eight non-descript apartment
units face each other in a small cul-de-sac. These apartments form
a tight little community for which we have been praying ever since
we moved here. Most evenings, young people chat out on the steps,
wiling away the time. Several have come out to our English classes
and some to our youth meetings and a few have made professions of
faith but shown no fruit. We have been praying for an opening, one
true believer that might be a light for others in this community.
Ana,
a sixty-year old woman, has proved to be such a light. More than a
year ago she began to come consistently to our meetings but never
seemed to “get” the gospel. She
listened politely but would always respond with works-based
answers when questioned about her salvation. A
break-through came when she expressed a desire to be baptized and
we had to explain that we really couldn’t baptize someone who
was trusting in her works to go to heaven. She spent an agonizing
night in prayer and finally confessed that she wanted to
trust the finished work of the Lord Jesus and not her own deeds. After
a couple of months of sitting in on Ana’s follow-up meetings and
helping her do her lessons, Ana’s daughter (Heidi) also made a
profession of faith! Then,
three weeks before Ana’s baptism, her husband died suddenly. The
people in the apartments rallied around Ana as did the people in
the church. We
had our first-ever funeral service the next day and practically
everyone from the apartments showed up and heard the gospel! Ana
was baptized last week and again many came from the apartments and
heard the gospel. Please
pray that the freedom that Christ brings would break out in this
tiny community as a result of these recent events.
Discipleship Program
In
May, we started Estudios de Liderazgo y Discipulado (Studies in
Leadership and Discipleship), a school for three young men in our
assembly who aspire to leadership. We have classes in the mornings
in Old and New Testament as well as a relevant Discipleship topic.
The men are involved in ministry in the evenings (evangelism and
preaching the Word). We have definitely seen God’s hand enabling
the teachers (Israel and I) and the students (Eric, Olman, Alan)
to see the work through to this point. Lord willing, we will end
in mid-August. We appreciate these men, two of whom left their
work to be “full-time” in this endeavor. We also
appreciate Grant Ferrer, who gave up a week of his busy schedule
in Managua to come and help teach.
Missions Conference
Our
first missions conference is scheduled for August 21st.
We have invited believers from the other assemblies in Nicaragua
(about five) and are hoping that it will be a chance to be
together and share what the Lord is doing. Oscar (one of the
Hondurans who went with me to Africa) and I also plan to share on
our trip to Africa and promote discussion of things we can do to
get our young people involved in missions. If you haven’t
received the report of our Africa trip and would like to, please
send your snail-mail address and we can send the report with the
pictures. Unfortunately, the pics are too big to send via email
and I haven’t found a program to reduce their size.
-
Thanks again for
standing with us in the battle for freedom!
In
Him,
Dave and Betsy
Reeve
For Those on
Their Knees
Praises
- Baptisms
last week. Over eighty people turned out to watch.
- The
Lord’s faithfulness in helping us through the discipleship
program.
- Peter’s
finger seems to be completely healed
from a bad break that required surgery and two pins to “put
it back together" again!
Prayer Requests
1.
Fruit from relationships in the Apartments.
- Imparting
mission’s vision at the conference on August 21st.
- A
successful conclusion to our discipleship program in August.
- Establishment
of new believers: Ana, Maritza, Heidi, Alan, Lineque
- Fruit
from our evangelism visitation program which ends in August.
Reeve
Christmas Greetings: December
2003
“For
the Lord Himself will descend from heaven
with a shout...” I
Thessalonians 4:16
The
Shout!
A
loud pounding . . . an
anticipating crowd waits outside . . .
as the homeowner opens the door,
the
question is put:
“Quien
es la persona que causa tanta alegría?”
(Who is the person that
causes so much joy?)
“La
Concepción Inmaculada de María!”
(The
Immaculate Conception of Mary!) is the shout that resounds from
the house.
Such
are the festivities that have just concluded in a uniquely
Nicaraguan celebration of the “Purisima” or the birthday of
what Catholicism calls Mary’s immaculate conception. On the days
preceding December 7th, people celebrate by having
parties and setting off large quantities of fire crackers. On
December 7th, thousands gather around various altars
throughout the cities of Managua, Leon and Masaya to adore Mary,
whom they regard as their sinless mediator, who goes to Christ
with their petitions. In Managua alone, 100,000 were expected to
participate in this year’s event.
How grateful we are at this time of year to be able to
remember the birth of the one Mediator, Jesus, who calls all who
are weary and heavy-laden to come to Him. Instead of a shout to
Mary, we look forward to the shout that announces His coming as He
returns for His own.
We
are thankful for some exciting developments this year in ministry.
Seven people were baptized and we are going through an
evangelism training/visitation class with a third group of
students. We are also thankful for God’s provision to buy the
building in which we are meeting and are trusting Him to provide
for the renovation that will begin in February. Some challenges we
are facing in the new year include Dave’s trip to North Africa
with 3 Honduran brothers in January and hopefully, the start of a
discipleship/ leadership training program in May.
Our
family has also had a good, healthy year. Catherine enjoyed her
teacher and made honor roll without fail.
She is our “craft queen” and has spent the last two
days wrapping up gifts she has been making all year for
grandparents and other family members.
Nathan
and Peter also do well in school and will be joining Cath at her
school when the new
year starts. Nate is
the “candle king” – he has maximized his “candle kit” to
the point of taking orders from family members who want to give
them as gifts. Peter likes to be active and this includes baking
up a storm in the kitchen. Megan
loved pre-school and alternates her time between mothering her
dollies and mastering reading and writing in an attempt keep up
with her siblings.
May
2004 bring you much joy as we await the shout!
Merry Christmas!!!
The
Reeve Family
-
-
“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our
eyes.”
Psalm 118:23
Reeve Prayer Update:
September 2003
Greetings!
While the psalmist was referring to the coming Messiah as he
penned the words above, we feel we can echo his sentiments as we
see what the Lord has been doing here in Nicaragua.
Our Own Chapel!
You may
remember a prayer request back in December for land on which to
build a chapel. Our group has been growing and we have been
looking for more space. That prayer has been answered in a rather
miraculous way. We had been looking at various sites
(both with and without buildings) and found them
outrageously expensive. Juan, the owner of our current meeting
place, has been studying the Bible and is becoming interested in
spiritual things; he also decided to buy another property and felt
it was the Lord’s will that we have the building in which we
meet. In Nicaragua when someone sells a property, he or she
usually receives the whole payment at once. It is rare to make
monthly payments toward the purchase of a property. Although Juan
was asking a good price for the property,
we assured him that we only had a fraction of the sum saved
up from offerings and gifts and would not be able to buy it
outright. Juan then said that we could give him what we had saved
and then make monthly payments interest free! Owning the building
gives us some great advantages:
1.
We can tear out walls to expand our meeting area and
fortify to add a second floor for Sunday school classes, etc.
2.
Now, instead of making rent payments each month, we will be
making payments to buy the property (and building)!
3.
The believers will now be giving toward their own chapel
(instead of to an account that we were using to save for a
building in the future) and will have ownership in it.
4.
We are near the center of town, where land values are going
up. If we “grow out” of the building in the future, we can
sell and buy another larger piece of property more toward the
outskirts of town.
We are
obviously excited at the prospect of ownership, something that we
thought might take years to accomplish.
Baptisms
Last
month we baptized two of the couples who recently got married,
Alan and Anita and Mardred and Oneida and two young people, Nubia
and Duglas were baptized. Thanks for praying for these new
believers. We are
currently doing a kids meeting and an evangelistic study in the
home of Alan and Anita, with the hopes of reaching others in their
community.
The Ferrers in Managua?!
Many of
you know Grant and Kandy Ferrer with whom we worked in Honduras.
After a year-long furlough, they returned to Honduras last June
with the idea of looking around for a new place in which to
minister as the church they left has been and will be able to
continue on its own. Through a variety of closed doors and other
circumstances that only God could have arranged, He has led them
to live in Managua for five months to help fill in the gaps when
Helen Goatley (a wonderful missionary from New Zealand)
leaves for a much needed furlough. Helen has been working for
about seven years
with a group of ladies (and now some of their husbands) who have
all come out of prostitution, come to the Lord and are learning
other ways to support their families. Grant and Kandy will be
discipling and teaching these men and women and will also be
making trips to Leon (hour and a half away) to encourage the new
church there.
10/40 Window
Since we coming to Honduras three years ago (to this date!), we have
purposed to see a mission vision grow up among Hondurans and
Nicaraguans for the 10/40 window. Latins have potential to be
successful workers in that area of the world where there is the
greatest number of unreached peoples and the smallest percentage
of the mission force working. Grant Ferrer and I would like for you to pray about an
opportunity to take three Honduran leaders to North Africa in
January with the prayer of enlarging our vision for that area of
the world and eventually seeing Central Americans from the
assemblies here sent there as workers.
Without
your prayers and gifts, these praises would not have been
possible. Thanks again for colaboring with us.
In
Him,
David
(for us)
For
Those on Their Knees
Praises
- A
contract signed for the purchase of the building in which we
meet.
- Recent
baptisms and a Bible study in a new neighborhood.
- The
arrival of the Ferrers in Managua in September.
Prayer Requests
1. Salvation
for Vilma, Sandra and Marlen (Bible study) and Alba (English
class).
- God’s
provision for materials and labor for remodeling of the
building.
- Preparation
for trip to the 10/40 window in January (itinerary, visas,
finances, etc.).
David & Betsy Reeve
