Marietta First United Methodist Church

We are excited to serve alongside of you this week as we spread the love of Jesus Christ!

We have arrived in Nicaragua and can’t wait to see what God has in store for us this week!

Upon arriving at our church home for the week, we were immediately welcomed by warm hugs from the church members. The kids have already begun to steal our hearts!

This week we are partnering with Pastor Silver at Iglesia Monte Hermon.  We are excited to get to know Pastor Silver and his family!

Today we began our painting project, starting with the inside of the church!

Alyssa made a new friend today while painting the church. She is getting good use of her Spanish!

While painting, Ian and Pastor Silver had some quality time getting to know each other!

Seeking the Lord for His guidance and blessing is the best way to start ministry!

This afternoon we were able to have an assembly with about 400 high school students.  So how did we start?  With a game and a dance party!

During the High School assembly we were able to share our stories of meeting Jesus.

The life of a missionary is a crazy adventure....we think we look the part!

This afternoon we packed 12 bags of groceries and cleaning/hygiene products to deliver throughout the week to 12 families picked by Pastor Silver.  We also took time to pray over each bag and the family that it represents.

Today we delivered the first 3 bags to families living near the church. We had the opportunity to pray for and bless the families as well. 

This morning we continued painting the inside of the church, adding in the blue columns. It’s really starting to come together!

Kelly found a way to break through the language barrier this morning!

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday the church hosts a children’s feeding program. We had the chance play with the kids and serve the food after they had a Bible lesson. 

Over 50 kids gathered today at the feeding program!

This afternoon we spent time praying for the children at the hospital. We were able to offer food, crafts for the kids, and hope through Jesus Christ.

We ended our day by driving up to a volcano.  It’s amazing to see the beauty of God’s creation!

Today we finished up some painting inside and started working outside. Pastor Silver says this is his dream come true!

This morning a group of us went to share the love of Jesus with prisoners. It was a precious time sharing our stories and the hope that Jesus offers to us all.

Today we helped the local church by spending 20 minutes in each classroom at the local high school. This is part of the vision of the local church. We played a quick game and then shared how Jesus has changed our lives. In the end we invited them all to the church!

Smiles abounded as we brought the joy of the Lord into each classroom!

We were able to deliver 4 more bags of food and supplies to families today. All of the people were very thankful and wanted to be prayed with. 

Jessica found a new way to manuever the streets of Nicaragua!

...we took a selfie!

Tonight we had an incredible time at youth group.  A handful of new youth from our school visit attended, and they had never been there before!  We led the games and ended with praise/worship and the Word. Pastor Silver challenged the youth to live holy lives as we all gathered at the altar. 

Our hearts definitely have bonded with these youth this week!

Today we delivered the final bags of groceries. Throughout the week we each took turns leading the delivery and praying over the different families. 

This afternoon we took 38 children from the church’s feeding program to an aquatic park (something these kids have probably never been to)!  There were so many smiles and memories made!

This place is so much fun!

Tonight we gathered with the local church to worship Jesus.  Even though we speak different languages, we serve the same God.

At church tonight Ian and Mike both shared with the congregation of Iglesia Monte Hermon.

After an afternoon of  taking the day to explore beautiful Granada, we returned to the church to say goodbye.  The church members had gathered to say thank you to us, gave us gifts, and showed us a video of pictures from the week.  

We were able to bless the local church by purchasing a new  refrigerator for their kitchen to replace the small one they currently use.  The ladies cried tears of joy as they received the gift!

Today we committed to return again next year to continue this partnership, working together to build the Kingdom of God!