Gloria a Dios!!!

Thank you for your prayers! The Nicaraguan men's & women's conferences were greatly successful. The women were so hungry to hear & apply God's Word. Please continue to pray for the men & women - most struggle with 'perseverance of the saints' - which has become very distracting for many. And, because of the Nicaraguan culture, many of the men are involved in extra-marital relationships. In spite of their struggles, their hearts are very tender & I am confident God led many in repentance & spiritual growth!

This is the hotel, Casa Mateo, where we stayed at while in Jinotepe, Nicaragua...very cool...like an old western/spanish movie. The owners are Believers and use the hotel's revenue to minister in Nicaragua.

This is the church where the women's conference was held - as you can see, it's location was perfect for passers-by to hear God's Word being taught...we left the windows & doors wide open for all to hear!

This is the couple who pastors the church we used...an amazing family with huge hearts!

Ladies waiting to register for the conference...pastors, pastor's wives & various church leadership came from near & far. Many denominations were represented as well.

By the end of the week, we had 90+ women in attendance. Many brought their children, too. The children were exemplary -- they would sit patiently for the entire day.

Nicaraguan children are beautiful...look at those big brown eyes!!

Worship -- and let me tell you, Nica women know how to worship!!

(L to R) Me; Rebecca Loge (a missionary in Nica -- she is a member of our church & works with Project Hope); Terri Baer (an IMB missionary in Paraguay -- she & her hubby served previously in Chile for 25 years!!)

Terri served as our translator. Her Spanish is excellent! She definitely gave me an extra measure of confidence - I knew she could effectively convey the lessons cross-culture, without compromising the Gospel.


Snack time! As part of the conference we provided two snacks and lunch. We also reimbursed them for their cab fares/travel expenses each day.

At the end of the week, we gave each woman and a box filled with goodies & a certificate with their name, recognizing their participation in the conference -- both items were very special to them!

Me & Rebecca - she's been in Managua for two years. Her presence was such a blessing! She not only helped us communicate with the Nica women, but was able to minister to many of them - they connected with her immediately!

The two men in the middle are Edgar & Miguel. The flew in for the conference & are in-training to pastor Second's church-plant in Monzanillo, MX.


(L to R) Terri Baer (IMB missionary in Paraguay); Alvaro Alvarez- he is the brains behind the Pastor's Conferences & his passion is discipling pastors all over Middle America; Vince, my dear hubby.

On the final day of the conference, the women in attendance presented Brenda, Shirley, Terri & myself a gift of appreciation. I was completely caught off-guard and extremely moved by their kindness. I will treasure these items always!!

Adoption Update: Referrals were issued while we were in Nicaragua. We had internet access at the hotel & were able to keep informed. As we landed in Springfield on Friday, we checked email once again to see if any additional referrals were issued, and one more was. This family is not far ahead of us in the wait, so we couldn't help but get even more excited! And then, we saw that Vince had a missed call from a 703 # (AWAA's area code) -- we were still on the plane and about to completely freak-out (for lack of a better word). When we checked the voice mail it was indeed Duni, but she was only returning our phone call regarding an immigration issue from the week before --- so disappointing!!! We tried to call her back, but she had already gone home for the day...ugh! But we're still hopeful...soon...