Mi Vida Loca

Hello friends and family~

Hoping this finds you all well and enjoying the warmer weather!

I just thought I would bring everyone up to speed on my crazy Nica life! Things have been REALLY busy, but also very good. I've had visitors or been visiting people every other week since I got back in January, so it's been a LOT of fun, but also very busy. I was fortunate to be able to take the bus to Honduras during the last 2 weeks of February to meet my parents there. It was SO NICE to get out of Nica for awhile, while also getting time to spend with my parents. It was a whole new experience for me playing nurse, but it is a role that I LOVED!! We got to see some pretty crazy things in the ER at the hospital, but it was great. Made me think I could make nursing school my next adventure :-) Thanks to mom and dad (and the rest of the team) for inviting me and letting me participate. It was a true blessing!

My last scheduled visitor for this semester was my dear sister. Amy left at 6:00 this morning to head back to Chicago. She flew in last Friday and let's just say the sister reunion was a sweet one :-) We had a great time. She got a taste for the Nicaragua dance clubs, the beach, the orphanage at El Crucero, the Nehemiah Center, Rosti Pollo, Tesoros de Dios and of course NCA! It was busy but so good....thanks for coming Amy!

My next trip will be in 4 weeks from today (not that I'm counting down or anything) when I head out at 6 am to head back to the States. I'm SUPER excited to get back and see many of you, but I'm most looking forward to celebrating my Grandpa Eekhoff's 90th birthday while I am home. God has SO RICHLY blessed him with an abundant life and our whole family is looking forward to celebrating that with him April 16. It was a GREAT excuse for me to head home ;-) It'll be great to spend almost 2 weeks back in the States. In Nicaragua, we will celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) and I hear from people who have been here before that I will not regret not being here, I guess it gets pretty crazy...so I guess it's an added bonus to heading home! I'd love to catch up with many of you, let me know when you would like to take me out for coffee, lunch, dinner, movies...anything ;-)

I guess the most exciting news that has happened around here is that I have OFFICIALLY decided to sign on for another year in Nicaragua. It was great to have Amy here to help me make that decision. I will be home on June 11 and head back to Nica around mid-August. I will be changing roles a little bit...I've committed to work with Mihelle Adams at Tesoros de Dios. I'm excited to share more about my job role there when I get it all figured out ;-) I'm excited to continue this journey, however deciding officially has been a little bit more difficult emotionally than I expected. The longer I am away, the more I miss out on, and realizing that I'll miss out on another year of activity (mostly with the nieces and nephews) has been more difficult than I thought. HOWEVER, I have an overwhelming sense of peace in the midst of the difficulty that God is going to use me here for another year. My new job will be much more flexible than it is now at NCA, and I anticipate an extra trip home in October to meet the newest member of the Te Grootenhuis family ;-) He or she is scheduled to arrive on October 4, so you can bet this auntie will be buying a ticket for that day...or one close to it.

As always, there are things you can pray for:

~Peace for me as I have made my decision, like I said, it's tougher than I thought it would be. Pray that God would reassure me with confidence in my decision. It's been an emotional roller coaster these last few weeks as I've been struggling to decide, and I always hope that I made the right decision. Pray that I would be confident and that God would show me the ways I can be used for one more year here.

~Frankie. Ask Amy about him. I'm SO IN LOVE WITH HIM, pray that God would reveal my role in his life. I'd hop on a plane with him tomorrow and bring him home if I could. I never expected to fall so in love with him, but with that comes much heartache because of his situation.

~Financial support. This is a huge part of my ministy, and with committing to another year comes the responsibility of raising my own support for living expenses. God is AMAZING and provides in ways that I never thought and from people I never expect it from. God is good, and I trust that He will continue to bring in my support as needed. I'm right at 85% for this year, which is GREAT and I know that God will provide the rest!

~Provision of teachers at NCA. There are MANY openings this year, just pray for those God has already prepared for the jobs!

I LOVE and appreciate hearing from all of you...and I hope to meet with many of you next month.

Blessings~

Angie