WOW! All is great here in Yamamoto. Yesterday (Sunday) we attended church in Watari where Rev. Hayashi is the pastor. George did the sermon on Ezekiel 8 in Japanese, of course, but had given each of us a copy of his sermon so that we would know what he was saying. It somewhat surprised us that the attendance was only seven - the pastor, his wife, in-laws and three others. One was a young man (grade 10 in his school...

Our first full day was one of multiple projects that will help get the guesthouse to be functioning and make it look "finished". Painting is considerable and will be ongoing tomorrow. Electrical "small jobs" including the installation of a ceiling fan in the kitchen. Also, some work is being done on the shed outside. George & Ruth Young (Christian Reformed World Missions pastor) joined us just before supper and will be staying here for the duration. Morris is doing a...

As amazing as last week's church service was, we were blessed to have attended church in English this morning. The church was held in a school with an open sanctuary keeping us nice and cool. Once the service was over, two kids who attend school there gave us the grand tour before we left for the beach.  We were blown away once again by God’s majestic creation on the waterfront. We were fortunate to have had a relaxing day before...

Saturday was quite the day; full of learning, laughing, and challenges.  Our team, along with the team from Faith CRC, travelled to Mombacho volcano.  We went our separate ways when we arrived; our group was to hike around a crater first, and they were to zipline first.  After meeting our guide for the day we piled into a huge, open truck and began our ascent.  The ride up to the crater was extremely steep and I’m sure some of us...

Yesterday we were honored at a party in the village we have been working in all week, Los Alveraz, in the mountainous area above Santa Lucia. It was such a wonderful way to end our time with the community we had come so far to serve. We celebrated along side with music, laughter and delicious food made by loving hand. We joined together and sang praises to God. One especially touching moment was when we were thanked by several leaders...

On Monday, we drove from the Nehemiah Center up to the village of Santa Lucia.  The ride there was quite the experience, weaving through busy traffic which eventually gave way to less busier roads and magnificent scenery.  Our group was fascinated by the mountains, everywhere we looked the scenery was breathtaking.  

Soon the paved roads gave way to gravel and then dirt....and our vehicle kept climbing higher and higher into the mountains.  We are thankful for Lester who is a...

Today is the day that the Lord has made...

This was truly a blessed Sunday. We started the day off with a "cultural" lesson from our host Alma who has lived both here and in the US. Alma shared how Nicaraguans have a slower pace and time is not always what it seems. For example, when you say I'll be there around 9am, you may not show up till 9:30-10am, and this is totally normal and acceptable. Since we are embracing...

Wow!  It feels like we have been here for so long because everyday is jam packed with very "touristy" things.  

So Saturday morning started off with us making a new friend.  We found a kitty who just can't seem to leave us alone, so we (mainly me) named him Carlos. (:   We got a brief history and geography lesson of Nicaragua, and than we took a drive around town.   When I say "drive", it's NOTHING like in Canada....

Community transformation doesn’t just happen overnight and it doesn’t just happen in one part of the world! The All Ontario Youth Convention and CRWRC are intentionally partnering together to walk alongside youth in Ontario and Nicaragua! It is our dream to empower and develop young people to make a difference in their community. The YMCA of Nicaragua (ACJ) is working in 9 communities in the central part of Nicaragua. On March 9-19, the first AOYC team will live, work, and...

Dear Friends,

I am staying a second year! Through prayer and seeking counsel of others I have decided to stay as a volunteer here in Bangladesh for a second year.  I am excited about it and honestly I could not imagine doing anything else. I love the work I am doing and let me tell you why:

I get to educate “marginal farmers,” farmers on the margins of society eking out a living on less than a dollar a day. Many of...