Healer- Planetshakers

I just wanted to share this video with you all. I feel like so much is going on both Stateside and here in Nicaragua~poverty, death, divorce, abuse, birth defects, earthquakes, car accidents, disabilities, broken relationships, hard hearts, addiction, dishonesty, cancer, abandonement, pride...there are so many yucky things that go on around the world. This song reminds me of the ultimate healing that we yearn for and hope to get a small taste of on this earth. Take time to REALLY listen to the words and enjoy!

Back in Managua

Hi friends and family~

Hope you are all well and enjoying the end of the summer time! Just a quick update for you...

I made it to Nicaragua on Tuesday after a LONG day of airport time...ugh! BUT, I made it safely with all my luggage which is always a bonus. I was happy to have a few friends pick me up and it was good to reconnect with them. I'm looking forward to getting in to my new routine. I will be spending 2 days a week at NCA and 3 days a week at Tesoros de Dios. My job is not real clear yet....but I know I'll enjoy whatever it is that I wil be doing. I'll keep everyone updated as my plans unfold.

A few things you can pray for:

~Thank God for good travel and (so far) a good adjustment to Nicaragua...again!

~Pray for Nora, a 16 year old girl who I was working with. I believe that God has placed many people in her path to help her through this trial in her life, and I am fortunate enough to be one of them. Thank God that she is going to be continuing her schooling at NCA.

~Pray for the kids and teachers at NCA. School has gotten off to a good start, and pray that is continues throughout the year.

I am also happy to report that I am right at 50% of my fund-raising goal. THANK YOU to many of you for supporting me financially. It is so appreciated! If you would like to support me financially, please contact me and I would be happy to direct you in the right direction. Supporting me by prayer is the best way that you can support me, thank you !

Blessings~

Angie

Dia de las Madres

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my fantastic mama! I can't even begin to think of all the many things she has done for me without getting crocodile tears rolling down my face. I've never met anyone more compassionate and caring than my own mother. She goes above and beyond everything I ask of her, and she does it with a smile and a giggle ;-) She's amazing, and I want her to know how much I appreciate her...love you mom! You are one of my biggest blessings!

You know, when I was younger and people would say "You are acting just like your mother" I would smile politely, followed by a big dramatic eye roll and go along. As I get older, I take that as a huge compliment...ok, and every once in awhile I will still do the eye roll...

I want to also say HMD to my many other mothers. There are so many amazing women who have helped me to mold in to the woman I am becoming every day. I am grateful to my many girls (TVM, Sue B, Sue H, T-dog, Julie) who are counselors, nurses, prayer warriors, shoulders to cry, the ones who smack me back to reality, pick me up from the heap of mess I can be, and most imporatantly, know how I like my glass for margaritas ;-) I am CONFIDENT in the fact that I would not be who I am and where I am without you ladies...thanks for the being the best "mamas" a girl could ask for. I love you all too!

One more...to my sister and sister-in-law....I am SO glad that you are mamas so I have some nieces and newphews to spoil! You are both amazing mothers and you're forming your little people in to some pretty cool big people. I love to walk this journey with them...

I hope that some day God will bless me with the title of MOM and I have many great examples and divas to look to for guidance, I am abundantly blessed.

Preparing for May madness :-)

Hi friends and family~

First of all, I need to apologize for being horrible at communication! It's been busy as always, and I just haven't made the time to do this! THANKS to those of you who continue to check in with me and ask my family at home how I'm doing, it's great to feel so loved...

I just returned back to Nicaragua on Wednesday night around 8 and was INSTANTLY reminded that this is HOT, dry season. It was 115 on Wednesday durning the day and I'm guessing it was around 90 at 8:30 when I got out of the airport. So, needless to say, it feels unbearable at times, but gives me all the more excuse to be near water and lay on my bed with my fan on high ;-) I was supposed to return on Tuesday, but got the DSM airport, walked up to the counter and the friendly lady said "Where are you going honey?" and I said "Managua" and she said "oh, no you're not." My flight to Chicago was cancelled, so I got a bonus day with my family, never a bad thing. My time in the States was great...the highlight was seeing friends and family and celebrating Grandpa George's 90th birthday. We had a suprising turnout and were blessed to see so many family and friends. I know my g-pa doesn't have e-mail but I do know my mom prints these out and sends them to my g-parents, so let me just say to grandpa and grandma we had an amazing time celebrating with you both for the lives you live and I am so proud to by your grandaughter ;-) I could have never use enough words to express my thankfullness to God for putting you in my life. Amy and I sang in church for g-pa for his birthday, and I promised a full out concert for his 100th and he smiled and said "Looking forward to it!" So are we Grandpa...

I was also able to go to school with 2 of my favorite little people and share chocolate bananas with their classes. Thanks for having me Kaeliegh and Cole! I'm just as proud to be your auntie. I also got to take Caleb to Pizza Ranch (his always #1 pick) and spend lots of time with a little one running behind me yelling "ANNIE, ANNIE". I loved spending time with Sam, she's growing up so fast! I also got lots of time on Sue B's couch, Tim and Sherri's chair, mom's bath tub, my fav rocking chair at the Bandtras, DSM with Sue H and T-dog and my favorite booth at El Charro. Never a bad trip home....

So, back to Nicaragua...5 weeks of school and the count down is on for all of us! The kids are getting anxious and with it being so hot, especially in the afternoon, everyone can just be pretty miserable. BUT, we have a lot of fun things planned for the month of May which makes it busy, but good. A few highlights for this upcoming month:

~Willy Wonky and the Chocolate Factory with the 1st graders starring as the Oompa Loompas...I've been asked to be the head Oompa and I of course agreed...dancing, singing, dressing up like a dork, just a few or my favorite things.

~Emily and I are making "Ang and Em" day and heading to a resort for the weekend on May 14, we're both pretty excited about the beach and relaxing for a few days!

~Field trip to the zoo on May 17...we are looking for adult volunteers to come along and help, let me know if I can sign you up ;-)

~Mother's Day here is a BIG deal, so we're planning a fun program for the kiddos to do, should be a good time. That's at the end of the month.

A few things that happened BEFORE my big trip to the States.

~The play. We did The Toymaker and His Son on April 8 and I was asked to sing a few songs. It went VERY well and it was a great message...I'm still hoping to get a good copy of it. It's posted on Facebook in parts on my wall, if you have time and are interested, I would encourage you to watch it. The message brought me to tears and it was just so powerful. Everyone did a GREAT job and I was so blessed to be a part of it.

~We found a new house for next year!! Any one that's been here can vouch for how small my room is so I'm ecstatic to be able to move in to a 3 bedroom home with TONS of space and in a quieter "quinta." We will have GREAT neighbors and I think it will be a good move. Em and I will be in the house, so we'll have plenty of extra space for more visitors next year ;-)

~It's just been SO fun to watch the kids grow and mature this year, I would have never expected all the change from them at the beginning of the year. It's most fun for me to hear them reading so well. They are truly blessed to have Ms. Franklin for a teacher and I just feel lucky to be a part of it!

And of course...things you can be praying for:

~A HUGE THANKS to God(through many of you) I am OVER on my financial support for this year!! I was so humbled and grateful to recieve that e-mail, what a HUGE blessing and weight lifted off my shoulders. It's very hard to do much with raising support while I'm in Nicaragua, so this is a big relief and blessing! However, I will need to raise enough support for next year as well, so if you feel like you should, you can still support me financially. I've had a few e-mails in the past week about how to donate online, so here it is.

Go to www.crcna.org
Click on the Our Ministries link.
Click on World Missions link
Go to Ways to Give
Go to Online Giving
Choose the US (obviously ;-)
Choose Missionaries-Latin America and look for my name. The rest should be easy enough to do from there.

I am responsible for about $20,000 for next year and I have a little extra from this year to get my started, but still have lots of fundraising to do over the summer. Please know that I feel so blessed by each gift and am humbled that you think enough of me and my work in Nicaragua to share your hard earned money to help me do God's work in Nicaragua.

~I come back to the States in exactly 6 weeks for the summer! Pray for me that I will finish strong and that all the many plans we have for May will go smoothly and successfully!

~I have found a church that I REALLY like...after a 9 month search, I just love the worship and the pastors. It is a true answer to prayer.

~It is an election year here, which means there can be some scary protests and acts of violence. We have only seen one, and pray with me that it is truly the only one we see!

~ALWAYS praying for the kids at El Crucero...so much pain and hurt in their lives. They're SO sweet and want so desperately to be loved. Lauren is there now while the directors are in the States. If you could pray for her by name, that would be fantastic! She's 24 years old and is running the place and she is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, her stress level is high and she needs to be lifted up.

~Frankie. Still head over heels for him, pray for me that God would reveal the next step in his plan and how Frankie will fit in to my life. I would LOVE to bring him home for the summer so you all could meet him. Unfortunately, that's highly illegal and will not happen. Maybe some day...

Thanks again for reading, sorry it got a little long. I am so thankful for each of you!

Blessings~

Angie

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

How can it be the middle of February already?!?!?

Hello friends and family~

I hope this find you all well!

I just realized I have not sent out an update for quite some time, sorry! It's been a bit busy since I returned from the States at Christmas. My friend Tricia came to visit about 2 weeks after I got back to Nica, and we had a GREAT time!! It was SO nice to have someone to show around my life, it's great too because she can report back to everyone at home ;-) We hit the Masaya market, Gran Pacifica beach resort, El Crucero orphanage, Tesoros de Dios and of course...NCA. THANKS for coming TVM, you're awesome! Marlo and Carol Van Klompenburg are also here for the month of February...more familiar faces. It's been a real blessing having them here. There is a team for Faith church here this week as well, in fact they are probably just landing in Managua right now, so another fun week for me!

Things here are going well, it's been very busy but I enjoy it! We have a student teacher in our first grade room now, so needless to say, the kiddos are getting lots of attention ;-) We've been keeping busy with fun things too. We've spent some time at the beach this semester and taking out the student teachers so they can experience the Nica culture through our gringa eyes...hahaha. We went to Granada yesterday and had a great day...I'll try to get some pics up on Facebook and on the blog.

There are always ways you can be praying for me...read below!

~I have turned in to the resident counselor for all the teachers at NCA, which I love, but last week I had a bit of a meltdown. SO much hurt in their lives and I guess I just wept for all of them. Pray specifically for my 2 dear friends, Jed and Gina. I don't want to give out too much info but they are both walking through fire and have entrusted me to walk with them. Pray for wisdom for both of their situations, and that God would use my words to speak His truth in to their lives.

~Praise God for continued safety and his proctection over us as we travel out and about...it's been fun to learn to drive here, but can be quite scary at times.

~Financial support is a big part of my ministry. I'm at about 80% of where I need to be through July. If you would like to support me in that way, go to www.crwm.org and look for my name ;-)

~It's decision time again for me as far as what I would like to do in the next school year. Pray that God's guidance would be present in all my thoughts and that ultimately, His will be done.

~I am SUPER excited to be able to meet my parents in Honduras next week with a team from the area. Pray for safety for me as I travel on the bus (I'm a bit nervous) and for them as they travel. And, in all the many activities that are planned in Honduras, God be glorified!

Thanks for keeping up with me, I LOVE hearing from many of you!

Blessings~

Angie

Earthquake!!

Just when I think nothing exciting happens here...

This morning at 11:15 we experienced a 5.1 earthquake here in Nicaragua. It was VERY scary for all of us and it just creates some uncertain feelings here. The kids did well, we've practiced earthquake drills so they knew what to do, although they have a lot of questions. It makes you realize REAL quick who's in control of all things!

Join me in thanking God that it was not any worse, and asking that all people here will be kept safe and that there are no more earthquakes anytime too soon :-) No one was hurt at school, so we're all thankful for that.

Blessings~

Angie