November...WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

Hello friends and family~

I hope this finds you all well!

I've been terrible at keeping everyone up to date...life has been busy!

Not a whole lot new to report, things at NCA are going well...I've been getting more involved with the counseling department and that has been fun for me, since this is where my passion is. Great kiddos I'm working with in a lot of tough home situations. When I talk with them, I'm SO thankful for the home and community that I grew up in. It makes a WORLD of difference. I'm still teaching English to my boys, I think they're stuck with me :-) The other girl who was supposed to do it kind of backed out, so I am still teaching English every day. It's good for me, I really love the boys and was very sad to think of not working with them anymore. I always wonder if what I'm doing is helpful with them, I just don't feel adequate. God knows...this week I had 3 teachers tell me how much they have improved in English, so I must be doing something right :-)

I had the opportunity to go to an orphanage in El Crucero last weekend and work with 5 babies who were rescued from the Atantic Coast...and I FELL IN LOVE!!! I am going back today (Saturday) and just want to go live there. The stories of their little lives are heartbreaking, I just pray that God would provide all their needs. I told my mom I might have 5 little mouths to feed at Christmas...I just want to take them home :-) It's been a GREAT experience and one that I'm so thankful to have had, it really is an eye opening experience.

In the social aspect of things...I've been going to lots of movies and attempting to go to baseball games (that's a whole other story) and hanging out with friends. It's good for me to be busy. I'm hoping to get to the beach at least one more time before I come home at Christmas :-) THings are going well, and I'm so thankful that I've found a few really good friends here to help me keep my sanity :-)

My mom flies in on Wednesday and I am so excited! She stays for only a few days, but I'm planning to keep her very busy :-) It's so nice to have people come visit, it helps fight the homesickness aspect of it all. I've been struggling with that, but I realize that I'm not the only one and we all just know when we need a night out do distract ourselves from thinking about it :-) I love visitors and if you're reading this, consider it your official invitation to come to Nicaragua, I promise you would enjoy it :-) The time with my sisters are great, we were pretty lazy (can you believe it?!??) and didn't do much of anything besides just catch up. We went to San Juan Del Sur which is about 5 miles from Costa Rica and stayed at a great bed and breakfast there. Their time here was all too short, but I appreciated them coming, it was a fun time!

I have lots of preyer requests this time!

~Update on the legal situation: Liam just informed us that nothing new has happened with the case. Like everything else in this country, it's taking a long time. Continue to pray that the right actions will be taken and for a hedge of protection around all the staff and students at NCA. Sounds like it could still get ugly...

~My principal, Slyvia, had a miscarraige yesterday. She has a son who is 17 and has been trying to have another baby since he was born. She was SO excited to be having another baby, so this is devestating news. Pray for her and her family as well as us at the school so that we can support her in the best ways we can.

~I've been working on my Spanish and it's going pretty well. Pray that I continue to pick up the language and for patience for my tutor as he tries to teach me. A lot of times he laughs at me and says "Do you know what you just said?"

~Financial support is a huge need for my work at NCA. Thanks to God (and many of you) I was able to surpass my fundraising goal for this past semster. However, since I decdied to come back next semester I need to raise $9000. Pray for God's provision in the financial aspect so that I can continue my work at NCA. I feel so blessed to be here because I know this is where God has called me to be.

~I've really been wanting a car and I ask that you pray for God to show me the right way in this situation. It's been very frustrating to share a car with 3 other people and I at times feel very trapped and unable to really get invovled with other ministries that I would like to be involved with because I have no transportation. I just pray that God will provide a car and that it will be a good car (those can be hard to find here.)

~Pray for Frankie, Yulka, Ophelia, Leo, and Emily...the 5 kiddos at Que Mas Vencedores (More Than Conquers), the orphanage up in El Crucero. Pray that God would provide all their needs and that he would open the hearts of their forever families so that they may find a home.

~Praise God for the safety and protection he's given us as we travel out and about. It's amazing how many times in the car we've felt God's hand of protection. People aren't great drivers here, so it's great to know we're in good hands!

~Pray for safe travel for my mama as she comes on Wednesday. She has long days in the airports, so hopefully all flights are on time, safe and good for her. She'll be sleeping before the wheels are up...

~I slept though my first earthquake yesterday morning...yea, I slept though it. Pray that God would not send anything like that to this country and that he would keep us all safe. We were talking about it last night and feeling very at risk for a bigger earthquake here and feeling more vulnerable, but ultimately decided that God's plan prevails no matter where we live and what event He puts in our lives, it still just feels a bit more scary after there was an actual earthquake yesterday.

If you have a second, I encourage you to check out the pictures, there are some fun ones of the babies at the orphanage. One look and you'll see why I'm in love :-)

Thanks for all your prayers and support...it's epic! I love getting e-mails and notes from all of you, so keep them coming!

Blessings~

Angie