Wedding

Yesterday, we went to our first Nicaraguan wedding. Our friends Kerin and Isaac, from the first church we attended, were finally getting married, after years of dating. I can still remember talking with Kerin, a few months after we arrived and she was 16, telling me she couldn't wait to marry Isaac. She was a very patient woman!

And we're ready!



The invitation said the wedding started at 3 pm. But did that actually mean to arrive there at 3? That was our big question. Most people told us, no way. Sometimes the bride doesn't arrive for hours. Our next door neighbors related the awful story of waiting 4 hours for the bride to arrive. I told them they should have ordered pizza!

The one main difference between Nicaraguan and American weddings is that here, there are 2 ceremonies. The first one is called the civil ceremony, and is done with a lawyer. Only lawyers have the power to marry a couple. This is done the same day, the day before, or even a week before the ecclesiastical ceremony. Usually only the family is invited to the civil ceremony.

The ecclesiastical ceremony is more like our ceremonies in the States. There is a pastor (or priest, if you're Catholic), with a sermon, the bride wears a wedding dress. The main difference here is that the set-up was more like a reception. We walked in and sat down at our table. The pastor preached, vows were said, rings exchanged, and the couple was "married" by the pastor (although he has no legal power).

The bride, Kerin.



There was food, music, and cake, just like American weddings.

Joel and family work on the food.



The cake.


The other difference we noted is that the cake was served on napkins. It always is. No matter where we have gone, for some reason, they always serve cake on napkins, never on a plate. I don't know why.

Typical Nicaraguan child. They can sleep anywhere, anytime. No matter how loud the preaching or music. Marlon (MacDonald's brother) holds his daughter, Cristel.

Almost there!

Whew!

We are hoping to be DONE with the project work tomorrow, Friday. We finished delivering the last of the rabbits today, and Steve spent 15 hours on Tuesday buying 12 goats from Somoto and delivering them to the farmers. I've also been spending copious amounts of time poring over pages of receipts, entering in all the information in a database and double-checking the information.

Needless to say, we're exhausted! We both have very nicely red shaded eyes with bags under them, and we're struggling to even come up with simple conversation after the kids are in bed. Thank goodness for vacation next week!

This is what heat does to me....it makes me chop my hair. I just couldn't stand the humidity anymore, my hair is so heavy.


But....we still have packing to do, and lots of it! Next week we hope to pack the majority of our stuff, possibly look at another farm, make a trip to Managua, get Sebastian's last 3 vaccinations done, fill out lots of paperwork and just possibly get away for a night. Can we do it all? Like Bob the builder say, Yes we can!

Let's just say this vacation will be anything but relaxing!

This little guy gets into absolutely everything! and he LOVES to climb, even though he's taken a few hard hits to the head from the concrete floor. And he desperately needs a haircut, but I'll see where that lands on our list of things to do!


Zach is on vacation this week, kind of like Christmas break for kids in the States. This is the mid-year point for the school year. He is enjoying his gameboy below, and Seb is giving him a few pointers.

Coming....or going Home?

So it's true. We have made the decision to come back home to stay. But we will still be going home July 27th, probably for a few months while we settle our affairs. It feels strange...sad that we will be leaving home, and yet excited about returning home, at the same time. Can one have two homes?

Since May, we've been wrestling with the idea of staying in Nicaragua. Not with an organization, but simply living here, and working here. Like other Nicaraguans.

I know, it seems crazy. At first I thought, Is it possible? Sure, we've heard stories. Seems like everybody knows some chele (gringo, or white-skinned person) who came here to live. I just never thought we would be one of them.

Do we have all the details worked out? No, not really. But God does. So we are trusting in Him, to lead us. And we are staying on our knees, asking God to show us clearly our next step.

Is it scary? You bet. I woke up at 3:30 this morning and gasped, Are we really, truly going to do this? Come back and try to make it on our own here? I asked God to show me the right path, His will for us. In response, He filled me with a peace, a heavenly peace such as only He can give.

I know we will be tested. Every fiber of my being screams against the insanity of it all, the not knowing, the too few details, the health of my kids, the pressure of making it financially. But if I listen closely, I can hear the soft, gentle whispers of God, asking me to take His hand, and to trust in HIM. Not in humans, or my own mind, but only HIM.

Do I really trust Him? Do I really believe that He loves me and brings all things to His good purpose? It's easy to say yes, when you have a good job, the cupboards are full of food, and you have access to good medical care. When your life is so completely under control, there is nothing left to entrust into the hands of Him who created us.

But to say YES! when you don't know where your next meal is going to come from, when your friends have turned their backs on you, when the health care is poor and you haven't heard God speak in months...that is faith. That is trust.

Did you see the movie Facing the Giants? Excellent movie.

In the movie, a man is struggling with his life circumstances, and not seeing God at work in his life. Another man comes to encourage him, and tells him a story.

There were 2 farmers who had fields, and both desperately needed rain. So they both prayed for rain, but only one went out and prepared his fields for it. Which one had faith? Which one are you?

We are asking God to have the faith to go out and prepare our fields for rain.

Spiritual Warfare- Real or just a good imagination?

Whoa! What a scary topic. Definitely something for the charismatic church. You don't hear about it too much in the conservative churches. Some Christians don't even believe much in demons, spiritual warfare, all that hocus-pocus stuff. Seems too New-Agish.

Why is it that this topic is hardly discussed in the average church today? Do we fear the obsession that may come? Do we fear our own ignorance? There are so few people that openly discuss this topic, even fewer that greatly understand it.

But when you start having visions, dreams, or open visions, when demons start attacking you in your sleep, during the day when you're eyes are wide open,WELL...things start to look a little differently. It's hard to kid yourself that this stuff isn't real. I've been feeling like it's time to come out of the hole. To not ignore this gift that God has given me. What is the use of a talent if it is only put in the ground and buried?

I've had two very interesting nights, last night and the one before. It's been a while. A while since I've had a spiritual dream, or vision, or whatever you want to call them. A while since I've seen either an angel or demon. God always seems to know how much I can handle, and to be honest, I've had my plate full. He always knows when I need a rest from all the spiritual battles, and He covers me. Protects me. But I'll talk about all that in another blog. Honestly, I didn't grow up charismatic. I grew up in a church that NEVER talked about this stuff. And no one ever talked about it with me. Most of what I know is from...experience. Since childhood. But like I said, that's for another blog.

But I felt like it was time to head back into the battle. I felt ready to fight again, and was talking to God about that last week. So I guess you could say that I asked for it :)

Saturday night's dream felt so real, I don't think it was a dream. I've started to realize this past year that what I thought were dreams, were in fact, open visions. They were real...but that's for another blog and time.

I felt restless. It has been a tiring month. We've had 26 straight days of sickness, of vomiting, colds, fevers, diarrhea, you name it. There was an entire week in which we were ALL sick. All 5 of us. In the middle of all that, we moved. Physically speaking, it's been a long month.

But this was different. I could feel in my spirit that something was happening in the spirit realm. I finally drifted to sleep, after praying for a few hours. Suddenly, I was in the hallway of the house.

And I saw Satan walking in front of me. He was peering into the rooms, and when he came into our room, I saw him whispering. Whispering words of defeat, of wrath, of bitterness, of resentment and pride. Thoughts that had flitted into my brain only hours before. Slowly he moved on to my sons' room and did the same thing.

I saw him with such clarity and I suddenly realized that I wasn't afraid. This may not mean much to you, but to ME, this was amazing. I've had quite a few dreams throughout the years, with demons and with Satan in them, and I've always struggled against fear. They always appeared so menacing, so dark and full of power, evil power. There were times I would wake up shaking from the fear.

But it seemed that I saw him as he was. I couldn't believe that I had been afraid of him for so many years. But I also realized that this is somebody who tries to poison our minds against our spouses, our families and our friends. Even against our enemies. And instead of realizing who the true enemy is, we point our fingers and carelessly toss injurious words at each other, spewing forth venom, HIS venom, not realizing the whole time that behind the stage there is the real enemy.

Has it ever occurred to you that the thoughts going through your head may not be from you? Are you aware that Satan can talk to you, but so subtly that you think it is YOUR thoughts? Are your thoughts full of guilt, shame, bitterness, condemnation, hatred? This is exactly what Satan wants you to think about. Do you think this is God talking to you? NEVER. The Holy Spirit convicts, but Paul states clearly, There is therefore now no condemnation in Christ Jesus.

He doesn't want you to reconcile with your spouse, or love your children, or extend peace to a neighbor. He wants you out of the way, down for the count. And one of his best attacks is through the mind.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that every single bad thought we have is from Satan. We certainly don't help ourselves. But I think we take too much of the credit sometimes.

Last night's dream was so real, I can still feel my heart racing when I think of it. I had just fallen asleep, restless again. I went to bed praying. Suddenly, I felt a large body land on our bed. The bed shook from the weight. I shot up out of bed, certain we were being robbed. After a minute, my heart still pounding, I heard nothing. I then thought that it was perhaps one of the kids who had come over, perhaps all 3 of them, from the way the bed had shaken. I waited to hear a little boy voice ask to come sleep with us, but still, nothing. The silence was deafening. I knew somebody, or something, was in that room. The shaking of the bed had woken me from a dead sleep. I could tell there was a demon in that room, trying to bring a spirit of fear onto me.

And how did Jesus spar with Satan? Quoting Scripture. I still think that is one of the best ways to fight Satan and his demons. I spoke Timothy aloud,

For he has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love and of self-control.

And after a couple hours of quoting Scripture and praying, I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

The truth is, we are at war. Whether you want to believe it or not, there is an enemy prowling around, learning your weaknesses and doing his best to take you out. Whether it's through ignorance, apathy, loneliness or the use of other people, he will try his best.

So I'm keeping my Bible close, and talking to God...a LOT. And if you're interested in getting off the sidelines and joining the battle, I suggest you do the same.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places.