Nica News

Nica News 4/12

On April 12, 2011 / NicaNews

As we sit on the back of the pickup truck talking strategy with Pastor Diomedes we watch the sun set on another beautiful day in Nicaragua. It has been another day in a beautiful country, filled with beautiful people, and talking about a beautiful Savior. We spent the entire morning again with men of God who serve as pastors here in Nicaragua and in Honduras. I am challenged by these men every time we meet as I watch them gather in authentic community. They genuinely care for each other and you can see it as they greet each other and when they pray for each other through their tears. I long for the day when we can all experience this kind of community. After 3 months of training with the me men we are starting to build some great relationships.

I also continue to be amazed at how hungry they are for the word of God. Donald and I taught on the humanity of Christ and Christ’s role as priest. They more we talked, the more notes they took, the more questions they asked, and the more dialogue we engaged in. Then we spent the afternoon working our way through all of Isaiah 53. They are soaking up the word of God like sponges and they are excited about taking the truths that they are learning back to their people. Needless to say, they have plenty of sermon material for the next couple of weeks!

We spent the rest of the afternoon with Herman the pastor from Guasimal and Rodeo Grande. Yes, you read correctly. He is serving 2 churches and also reaching out to a village that is a 4 hour horseback ride up in the mountains called Cerro Colorado! He leads 6 services a week and has a heart to raise up leaders so that he can reach even more. Please join us in praying for the churches in Guasimal and Rodeo Grande. Pray for a new church start in Cerro Colorado. Pray from Herman and his wife Concepcion. Pray for the multiplication of more leaders in these locations.

One last thing…as we were leaving Rodeo Grande we stopped to watch 3 men dig a well by hand. In that moment God put a bow on the whole day for me. We spent the morning talking about the deep truths of the incarnation on Christ. As I reflected upon all that we talked about in the morning, I stare down a 10 meter hole in the ground and watch as a man chips away at rocks as he stands in water and mud. At some point they will lower the rope and he will come up out of that pit. That is exactly what Christ has done for us. He willingly came down into our world, into our mud and mess, to remove our sins, and then God brought him back up and seated him at this right hand. Now God has sent us into places and into ministry that might be messy but that is how we can be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world.

God give us the strength to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty and be his hands and feet today.

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG

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Nica News 4/11

On April 12, 2011 / NicaNews

Perhaps the God moment of the day came as we wrapped up the first day of the pastors conference and went to spend the afternoon in the village of Ojoche. We went to the village in order to really understand the heart of a great pastor named Benancio. We all sat under some shade trees and chatted about life, church, and ministry. The more that Benancio talked the more I heard his vision and the more I recognized a kindred spirit. I would love to have Benancio at a Bedrock staff meeting! He has a similar vision to ours and is a church planter at heart. In fact I think we should rename this church “Bedrock: Nicaragua campus”! They are serving their village in creative ways and reaching out to neighboring villages. Please join me in praying for the village of Ojoche, the village of Dulce Nombre De Jesus, and the village of La Ceiba. Pray for the 40 members of his church and the 10 leaders that make up his team.

The day ended with a delicious chicken stew and brownies by Pam! After a Skype date with my family it was off to bed to rest up for another full day tomorrow. Just another amazing day on the mission field.

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG

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Nica News April 11, 2011

On April 11, 2011 / NicaNews

Another great day on the mission field has come to an end! This day has been very eventful and produced some fruit of a different kind. Today there was no village outreach, no watermelon eating contests, no slingshots, no painting fingernails, or other events that we are used to on a typical day in Nicaragua. Instead we spent the entire day teaching, serving, fellowshipping, and encouraging 12 pastors. 10 pastors from Nicaragua and 2 pastors from Honduras joined us at the Casa for a crash course in Christology and Homiletics. We spent the morning walking through the humanity of Jesus and understanding his role as prophet. After a traditional nicaraguan lunch we rolled up our sleeves and dug into 2 Kings 18:1-6 and discovered a great 4 point message. We are all learning from each other and it is our desire to “present ourselves to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” Perhaps the God moment of the day came as we wrapped up the first day of the pastors conference and went to spend the afternoon in the village of Ojoche. We went to the village in order to really understand the heart of a great pastor named Benancio. We all sat under some shade trees and chatted about life, church, and ministry. The more that Benancio talked the more I heard his vision and the more I recognized a kindred spirit. I would love to have Benancio at a Bedrock staff meeting! He has a similar vision to ours and is a church planter at heart. In fact I think we should rename this chuch “Bedrock: Nicaragua campus”! They are serving their village in creative ways and reaching out to neighboring villages. Please join me in praying for the village of Ojoche, the village of Dulce Nombre De Jesus, and the village of La Ceiba. Pray for the 40 members of his church and the 10 leaders that make up his team. The day ended with a delicious chicken stew and brownies by Pam! After a Skype date with my family it was off to bed to rest up for another full day tomorrow. Just another amazing day on the mission field. Chris Dowd Executive Pastor www.bedrockchurch.com

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Nica News April 10, 2011

On April 10, 2011 / NicaNews

Blessings from Casa De Shelly……As many of you know, this time of the year is very dry in Somotillo and many villages are with out water. Several years ago God introduced BWCM to a group of people that live on the top of a mountain near a volcano. Needless to say, this time of the year they are without water and really struggle to sustain life. We have been fortunate through the years to find various ways to get water to them and just make life a little better at least for one day. Well today was one of those days. As we drove into the city yesterday and I saw how dry the river beds were and the very first thought that entered my head were the folks in Santa Cruz. This morning I tried to get a tractor with a large water tank that we have used in the past but was unable to do so. Not to be discouraged we went to the market and bought a truck load of bottled water and headed to Santa Cruz. The neat thing about this story is that Chris shared the Gospel and several children prayed to receive “Living Water.” Thank you LORD that these children will never “THIRST” again.
Please pray for Chris and I as we begin the Pastor’s Conference tomorrow. IHL, Donald

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG

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Nica News, March 31, 2011

On March 30, 2011 / NicaNews

Blessings from “Casa De Gillette” Today Pam and I reach another BIG mile stone and Life change in our journey of serving our heavenly Father. Pam will be leaving her secular job and become a full time employee of Because We Care Ministries. Waking up Friday morning (good Lord willing) we will be able to continue unimpeded and very excited as we seek to be obedient in this next step of our journey.

On Sat. April 9th we will be returning to Nicaragua to continue our “Pastor Training” along with Dr. Chris Dowd. We will also be looking into the possibilities of taking over some work for Living Waters Ministry. I’m not real sure what that looks like but I see the possibilities for God opening up lots of doors for evangelism. I do know that there is a great need to repair many of the pumps that have been installed and I know that fits our desire to serve the community where God has placed us. One other prayer request….We have been invited to journey into Honduras to see if there is any way we can duplicate there what we are doing in Nicaragua. If that’s what God wants then I’m all over it but I do want to stay focused on the task at hand and be faithful to our calling. PLEASE JOIN US IN PRAYER IHL, Donald and Pammie

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG

Welcome to the Updated Website and Nica News

On March 26, 2011 / NicaNews

Welcome to our new email mailing list for Because We Care Ministries. Our mailing list is growing and we needed a better way to send out emails, so we are using a new service to make things easier on us and easier for you. We hope you like the new look. But the new email list is not the only thing that is new, we wanted you to be the first to know about our new website!

We invite you to visit the new site and check out the new features. You can easily invite your friends to signup for the Nica News updates, and you can even view previous Nica News updates directly on the site. If you have any questions or comments, please email Don or fill out the online contact form on the new website.

Thanks again for your support!

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG

Nica News – March 17th

On March 17, 2011 / NicaNews

Another successful day serving our Lord.

The day started around 5 am with some enjoying fresh coffee and visiting on the patio. As the early morning progressed everyone was ready for devotion by Libby and prayer by Rick. Another A+ breakfast from momma and crew.

Following breakfast, Rick, Mike, Ruben, and Kent spent most of the morning painting the exterior wall of the lunchroomkitchen. Also some time was spent checking out the new compost pit. The compost was worked and worms were set into part of it, then covered by tin.

After a great lunch, the trucks were loaded and we headed out to Villa Nueva. At the village, there was much excitement in the name of Jesus. Some worked on cooking the soup, some did a dance routine with many of the children participating. Rick gave a super testimony to the children and mothers. A couple guys did the watermelon ministry, slicing up 20 melons and handing them out. After the soup was done, we served everyone and there was none left. Heather and Libby threw clothes and candy from the back of the pickup. We stopped and everyone got a cold soda for the ride home.

A fantastic “God Moment” to finish the afternoon happened when all of us stopped at the river and was able to witness the baptism of “G” by pastor Mike. What a wonderful completion to another beautiful day. Congratulations to “G”.

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG

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Nica News – March 16th

On March 16, 2011 / NicaNews

Today we started the day off with devotion about worshiping God and reading in Revelation chapter 5. Rick, Mike and Donald worked with the pastors for the last time this week encouraging them, motivating them to live a life fully for Christ so that they may be strengthened. Also, encouraging their village to step out of their comfort zone and share Jesus as well as many other topics. Mike, Kim and Kent worked on the compost pit and the Baptist school water pump. The women and Rick went to the market and gathered vegetables and chicken for the afternoon village. They also went to the Hospital and gave burn pads to be used for patients.

After Lunch the team went to La Carreta. Heather and G shared their testimony, Oscar sang and 4 couples got married. Donald performed the Ceremony and it was much like here in the U.S, rings were exchanged, the unity candle was used and music was played. One couple wanted to follow Christ and had their child dedicated after they were married. The team fed the village and there was just a sense of happiness and joy throughout after the Lord was praised and worshiped. On the way back to Casa we distributed candy, rice bags and clothes off the back of the truck.

Libby, Rick, and Donald shared at the radio their testimony and about the Prodigal son. Oscar and Johanna sang as well.

We had a great day seeing the Lord show up and work through each one of us.

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG

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Nica News – March 14th

On March 14, 2011 / NicaNews

We’re back in Nicaragua and have had a great start to the week here on the mission field. This team is a veteran team with members from Galax, Roanoke, Huddleston, Greensboro, and West Jefferson. The team didn’t waste any time in getting to work. We arrived Saturday night and started the week by attending church at Casa de Padre (the Father’s House Church) in Managua. Pastor Mike from Cornerstone shared a message from the book of Job about God being in control of our lives and we saw 4 people respond to the invitation and give their lives to Christ. The music was loud, the people were passionate, and we saw God move and work in the church. Just an awesome morning.

After church, we made the 3 1/2 hour drive up to Somotillo. If you ever have been here before, you know the people really do drive crazy, so it’s a blessing each time we make it here safe. We settled in and then headed to church at the Principe de Paz church here in Somotillo. Another large mission group of students from Oklahoma joined us and their pastor shared the message. We saw yet another person accept Christ. It never gets old when we see people cross from death to life in Christ.

On Monday, we started the March Pastor’s Conference with 13 local pastors in attendance. We taught on the importance of prayer, the necessity of Godly character, the character and nature of God, and on how to prepare a sermon. The pastors are learning much, and they are really hungry to learn more about their role as a pastor of their respective local churches. While the Pastor’s Conference was going on, the food was prepped for our village trip to Canyalipe in the afternoon and several projects were started around Casa de Shelly.

In the village, medicine and vitamins were distributed, a hot meal was prepared that was both nutritious and good, and games were played with the children. It’s always exciting to see the sheer joy on the children’s faces when they see the missionaries coming. It is a true blessing to be able to minister to these children and families who have so little, but yet seem so joyful. We ended up the afternoon with a trip to the radio station where testimonies and songs were shared, and the Gospel was presented yet again. We ask for your continued prayers as we seek to obey and follow God in all that we do. Let’s remember that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and that He is still in control of this world we live in. Our challenge to you is to simply trust Him and follow Him.

Dr and Mrs. Donald M Gillette
Because We Care Ministries, Inc.
P.O. Box 21806
Roanoke, VA. 24018
WWW.BWCM.ORG