Nica News

Thanking GOD tonight as I pillow my head for the many blessings he has allowed Pam and I to be apart of over the years. Setting in a church tonight that God lead us to plant and listen to a Pastor preach that we have had the honor of teaching for the past 3 years made my heart jump with joy and thanksgiving. Last week a young girl in Galax VA celebrated her 9th birthday. She ask those that came to celebrate with her not to bring presents but to give her money instead so she could support Because We Cares work in Nicaragua. Today her birthday money feed 250 people in the village of Esperanza. She raise enough money to feed 2 more villages this week. Thank you so much Ava and we look forward to your return.
I can hardly wait to wake up in the morning (God willing) and see what God is up too…..

In His Service, Donald and Pammie

New Bus

Good morning and Blessing to all……..Pam and I would also like to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

There is never a GOOD time of the year to begin a "fund raising" campaign and I’m sure the month of December is probably the worst. Please know that Pam and I have spent a lot of time in prayer before we headed down this road. A couple years ago we purchased a used 26 passenger bus to carry our teams from Managua to Somotillo. This year alone we have had 2 blown motors and had to replace the turbo charger in October. After much prayer we decided to sell "big Bird" and proceed to purchase a new bus. In mid October Roberto found a buyer and big bird is no longer our lemon. We sold the bus for $20,000.00 and immediately put that money down on a new bus. The cost of the new bus is $48,900.00 which leaves us with a $28,900.00 deficit. We are asking all our partners to please pray about helping BWCM to complete this purchase. Our next team will arrive in Managua on 12/27/2014 and we are praying that we will have the new bus available.

Please pray and partner with us to make this happen and to GOD be the Glory.

1 Samuel 12:24
Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

Nica News

PLEASE HELP……A couple months ago we were asking you to pray for rain in Nicaragua, now we are asking for help. Over the past couple of weeks they have been getting very heavy rains that have created many mud slides. As a result of the rains thousands have lost their home and are struggling to just survive. I’m asking the staff in Somotillo to empty the warehouse of all the food we have on hand and to survey each village for medical needs. Our needs today are the Manna Bags, medical supplies and support for the Dr to make medical visits to the needed village. PLEASE PRAY ABOUT HOW YOU CAN HELP……..

Nica News

One-third of all Nicaraguan children never enroll in elementary school, fail to attend, or drop out before reaching the sixth grade. The majority of these children drop out in first grade, before they learn the reading and math skills they need to succeed in life. Other risks that threaten the well-being of Nicaragua’s children and youth are malnutrition, teenage pregnancy and early marriages, child trafficking and sexual exploitation, gang involvement and HIV and AIDS.

This month Because We Care Ministries is working through our "Manna Fest" program to ease the problem of malnutrition. Manna Fest is not the cure but it is a stop gap as we continue our daily feeding program to get vitamin enriched meals to the village. Through Manna Fest you can provide enough food to feed a Family of six for a week at a cost of only $10.00. Would you please pray about what GOD would have you and your family do to provide basic food for a family in Nicaragua. Please go to our web site….bwcm.org…..click on the donate button and be a blessing to 1 or more families in Nicaragua. You can also mail donation to BWCM, PO Box 14132 Roanoke, VA 24038

Nica News

Today was another great day on the mission field. Pastor Dan taught the Word of God to over 20 pastors. There was a pastor’s conference where they were taught how to bring the Word of God to each individual in the different villages. There were 2 wonderful testimonies given over the radio at Principe de Paz. Pastor Dan also preached from Timothy and brought truth over the radio. The rest of the mission team had plenty to do. The seasonal rains have brought forth great green vegetation at the mission. This gave the men the ability to show off their muscle power in using machetes to chop down the rapidly growing lawn/weeds. Meanwhile, the ladies went to a local school in Casa Blanca. There the Gospel was presented as well as some entertainment from sock puppets. The children were overjoyed to see the gringos and got some supplies, cookies and bracelets. First time moments were created as teenagers from our group presented the Gospel.

Later, the entire team went to the village of La Flor. There we crossed a river and ministered to children and adults. When we arrived, there was the threat of thunderstorms and a potential downpour. Even though it rained a little we were able to serve food as well as provide medical care for over 50 people. One team member was able to lead one teenager to Christ. As we all know there are many rules to follow in order to be safe. One member broke one of those rules and wore flip flops because she forgot to change her shoes. Surely she will die from the wrath of Don! As we think of a scripture today, one stands out in our minds. Matthew 9:37 “and he said to them the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

Nica News

Once again the Portico Church team find ourselves in Nicaragua for an amazing week on the mission field. Our arrival Saturday arrival was too late to travel North to Somotillo, so we stayed in Managua and headed to Casa de Shelly first thing Sunday. Sunday afternoon we found ourselves in Villa Esperanza and Pastor Dan shared the message at the church service that was held there. This village is particularly close to our hearts, as many members of our team had helped lay the foundation of the church structure a year earlier. It was great to see our friends again. Power outages and heavy rains caused us to hold our evening church service at Casa de Shelly. Pastor Donald brought the message and Domingo led us in worship. It was a challenging message and a wonderful time of worship.

Monday the Lord dispersed us in many directions. Pastor Dan headed over the border into Honduras to teach Pastors’ Training, several team members shared on the radio, the ladies headed back to Villa Esperanza to lead a Bible study with the village women, and the remaining men on the team stayed and became all too acquainted with machete weed eating at the training center. The afternoon found us in El Jinoquao where the medical team treated the villagers while the team engaged the rest of the people with the Gospel and a healthy amount of soccer.

Today we arose to a beautifully overcast day, not so welcomed in America, but always appreciated in Nicaragua. Randy and Jamie shared their testimonies on the radio and afterwards Pastor Dan preached. The morning again found us on separate paths, as the ladies went and shared skits and games at 2 area schools and the men re-acquainted themselves with the machetes (but added weed eaters to the mix). The men labored hard to vastly improve the slightly over ground grass at the training center….and it looks great. This afternoon we went with the medical team to El Ojoche (a favorite of the Team) and fed the village, played a lot of wiffleball, and enjoyed a shared time with a village Pastor who has done a wonderful job of discipling many people. The Gospel was shared, the Lord was glorified and much was made of Jesus.

Nica News

Dear Because We Care Ministry,

Congratulations on your enrollment into our Kroger Community Rewards Program. Your participants can begin enrolling online within 48 hours of this notification. Just go to the appropriate website mentioned below and begin enrolling.

You have been assigned a new NPO number 83313.

Please refer to this number in all future correspondence.

TO USE THE KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM:

  • Simply encourage your members to register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
  • Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with your organization after you sign up.
  • If a member does not yet have a Kroger Plus card, please let them know that they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
  • Click on Sign In/Register
  • Most participants are new online customers, so they must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.
  • Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
  • You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
  • Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
  • Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
  • Update or confirm your information.
  • Enter NPO number or name of organization, select organization from list and click on confirm.
  • To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.
  • REMEMBER, purchases will not count for your group until after your member(s) register their card(s).
  • Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 800-576-4377, select option 4 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
  • Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.

Thank you,
The Community Programs Staff

PLEASE KNOW THAT THE KROGER GIFT CARDS ARE NO LONGER ANY GOOD. PLEASE REGISTER YOUR KROGER PLUS CARD AND USE THE BWCM NUMBER TO SUPPORT OUR WORK IN NICARAGUA…..THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT….DONALD

Manna Fest 2014

Manna Fest 2014

Philippians 4:12
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

Blessings from Somotillo Nicaragua…….Had to believe but it’s that time of the year again. Yesterday I posted an article about the draught here is Nicaragua. Many are saying it is the worst in 30 years.

Click Here to Donate!

Manafest-2014-giving

Click here to download the Manafest 2014 Poster

Nica News

Good morning and blessings from Casa De Gillette. Pam and I have truly enjoyed our 2 weeks off from Nicaragua but we are ready to get back to work. Today we will return to Nicaragua refreshed and renewed. I learned yesterday that as of today the Kroger cards that are linked to BWCM will no longer be usable. Kroger has started another program called “Community Rewards” that will link BWCM with your Kroger plus card. I have filled out the paperwork and will let you know when its time to register you Kroger Plus card. You will have to go to Krogers web site and register your card. I’ll send out another letter as soon as I hear from Kroger.
Monday we will begin out 10th year of Manna Fest. For those that are new to the program its an opportunity for you and your church family to purchase food for the families in Nicaragua that will be given out during Christmas. We can feed a family of 6 for a week at a cost of $10.00.
I also wanted to share with you a video that was done by Bedrock Community Church about their week in Somottillo.

It’s All About Jesus,

Be Blessed and have a great weekend.

Nica News

Team FLG day 3 is in the books. It was another great day on the mission field. We squeaked out 2 more wins today. The guys stepped up and played hard. Played in the rain and battled back during both games. There were several "firsts" today: Oso Blanco Mark Mortimer pitched 7+ innings. Recorded a save and a win. I caught 5.1 innings. (Boy am I feeling it now.)Matt Swedenburg climbed a tree and 15 boys
followed him. (His dad Scott Swedenburg would have done the exact same thing.) Samuel Leonard is our secret weapon. He has been a hitting machine.

Our engage team has been doing an outstanding job!! I found out today that Ross Page has been given the task of keeping the pigs off the property. He is doing a great job!! Boyd Kaiser is the newest member of team BWCM soccer. I have heard they call him "Dominator."

God is really using this time in everyones life to sharpen, shape, and challenge. I was reminded tonight about a passage I have been in for a few weeks now.

2 Corinthians 1.3-4 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

This week is NOT about baseball. It is ALL about Jesus. I remember a story on Dawson Student Ministry (High School) Chapel Choir trip. We were able to spend an afternoon at a Mens recovery center (a Farm Center.) We had the opportunity to take a tour of the Farm. A man who was recovering from some type of addiction drove us around on a tractor and told us all about the programs and the different types of "jobs" each man had. A story he shared really stuck with me. He shared with us at first he didn’t really understand some of the tasks the leaders would give him. He knew he could do it a different way and possibly achieve the same results and may even be done faster. What he had to learn was, that it was not about finishing faster or doing it a better more efficient way, but it was about following directions and allowing himself to be led. That night that man shared something that didn’t really impact me too much on the trip, but it has made a huge impact on myself and a few others on the mission field.

Everyday our Lord is teaching us and grooming us to do great things. I truly believe this week has already been full of teaching moments. As a believer, He is asking us to be teachable, moldable, obedient, and most of all, willing. Last night during "God Moments" someone made the statement "it is not something that happens over night." I quickly thought of the word methodical.

I have had the privilege to call Francisco Leonel Osejo my friend. As bad as I wanted him to come to know the Lord three years ago. I have been able to see God work in his life. Yesterday after his team defeated us, he asked if he could share first. Something you need to know first: Four years ago Somotillo men would not give us the time of day, much less share anything in public with their "guy" friends around. He stepped up and wanted to share before we had a chance to share with his team. He first thanked God for giving both teams a chance to play a great game. Then he shared how thankful he was that we were being obedient and following the path God has laid out for us.

For three years I have often wondered is For Love of the Game really building up the kingdom???? Are we connecting with these guys. The Lord used yesterday and today to teach me. It is ALL about the small things. It is truly about loving people. Scripture tells us to love Him with everything we have and love our neighbor in the same way. The game of baseball is a great game. It is a wonderful tool.

A year ago this week I received a message from my wife Marsha Hall that she had a miscarriage. I was thousands of miles away and she was without me. I woke up today thinking about that. The Lord used my friend Francisco to comfort me as I have often comforted him. He followed us back to Casa De Shelly and hung out. We introduced him to a game called Spike Ball. He stayed and played for a while. The whole time he was playing I was smiling and thanking God for allowing me to be a part of this great moment. He used Francisco to comfort me today. As my heart started out clouded with hurt, The Lord used a friend to fill it with JOY!

It is not about how BIG you do it or how many people show up. It is all about what you do with the people God places in front of you. We must remember we have all been created with a purpose. We are a well thought out plan. The key to our success lies in our obedience to our Savior.

Another Great Day on the Mission Field.