The Called Dozen

​As we began planning this construction trip, we had hoped for 20 men that would go to Nicaragua. The deadline for us to release tickets came and so we prayed that 15 would grasp the vision of this trip and enlist to go. The next deadline came and we still only had 13. Shortly after that one dropped out. That left us with a dozen men. As God always does, He knew exactly who He wanted to be on this trip and tackle this construction project. I am so reminded of the story of Gideon from Judges chapter 6 and 7 as God brought this specific team together.

The men who have been here represented God and Fox River at the highest level. They literally put blood, sweat and tears into every day's work. It has been such a privilege to have been able to lead this group of men to Nicaragua. The willingness of these men to pour all of their physical strength into the work left a lasting impression on the people here. I promise you, they left nothing on the field. They were spent at the end of each day. 

So much so that the Nicaraguan man charged with being the contractor was impressed with their teamwork, tenacity and willingness enough to say, he would love to work with them again. This was a testimony of their relationship with God and their love for these people in La Esmerelda. This is an important witness as this man is not a believer but at the end his heart was softened and he was touched by these men of God. Pray that he will continue to see the truth of God and receive Jesus.

Today has been a travel day. Though we are at the end of our trip and headed home to those we miss, love and are eager to see, it is not easy to leave the wonderful new amigos with which we have built eternal relationships. Because we trust in our God, we know we are brothers and sisters now and forever. However, for those of us who have been here this week we have a familial bond that we long to hold on to and heading out today was not easy.

As I stood back and watched this group of men hug there friends they had worked hard with all week it was easy to see that God and this place called La Esmerelda, Nicaragua had grabbed their hearts in new ways. Though we can't communicate as easily as we would like, the long handshakes and full embraces definitely said what all were desiring to communicate. We love this group of people and will share more time together if God allows it here on Earth but for sure in Heaven.

Flexibility is always the key word on a missions trip. We have great people who work very hard to plan and make all the arrangements for those of us who go around the world representing Fox River. We could not accomplish all that we do without them. Even so we rarely get to make it all work exactly as planned. Again, the need to make changes to our day today made flexibility key. We traveled just a short way today instead of the whole trip back to Managua. We will complete the longer part in the morning to get to the airport. With that today has been much more restful. We got to our lodging and had a great lunch and have been hiking, touring the grounds of this beautiful facility and just relaxing.

Please pray for the country of Nicaragua. God is very much at work here and Satan is trying to destroy that. The country is very much at a crossroads and could change in ways that challenge the work of God's people here for a while. Pray for the church and medical clinic in La Esmerelda as these are changing a community for now and eternity. Pray for Pastor Denis and his wife Karen as they minister to the community by teaching the Gospel and managing the clinic as well as leading in so many other ways. Especially for Karen as she carrys their second child to full term. Pray that this new children's facility that has been constructed this week will bring the next generation of Nicaraguans to faith in Jesus.

Thank you Fox River for your support of International Missions through My Gift for Jesus. You are making life changing, eternity changing differences for people you may never know until eternity. They thank you and this team will bring that message home with them to share with you. Together with God, we are Contructing a Future.

Pastor Mark

Building for the Kingdom

Kerri shares a little about the end of the day yesterday and Mark G writes about how he has seen God move this week... 

Last night after a hard day of work we headed to church and were able to fellowship with the community again.  We had a couple people from our team help lead worship.  It was awesome to worship together and know that no matter what language we are singing in God understands and is glorified. Something really special from tonight’s service was that Logan played and sang with Norvin, the worship leader here.  They sang “Oh Praise the Name” or “Alabare El Señor” together in both languages switching off verses and choruses and at the end singing in unison both languages.  It was great.

At the end of service the church thanked us for being there and gave us a gift of coffee 🙌🏽 and then prayed over us and over the things that we are helping to build to be used for Gods Kingdom here on earth. Denis reminded us that this was not goodbye because we do have one more day of work left!  Hahaha! ~Kerri

Mark at the waterfall.

Praise God!!!

What an amazing journey this has been. Words cannot accurately describe the tremendous work that God has accomplished this week. He hand picked people from 2 different countries, of all ages, with varying backgrounds, skills and abilities to complete the task of building a couple buildings and, more importantly, some relationships; all for the advancement of his kingdom. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work along side each and every one of the team. The accomplishments of this week are evidence that God will equip the called!

As we wrapped up our work today, I sat back and was in complete awe of the changes that had occurred over the past week. I saw some great progress on the children’s center as we have the walls built up 3 courses and we poured the concrete slab. I also saw the bathrooms with the walls built up and the plumbing trenches started. The septic system had the walls completed and the sidewalk was near completion. This group did some amazing work! The bigger changes were changes that I saw in the group. Throughout this week, all of us bonded and either built upon relationships we already had or created new relationships.

She can see her future being built right in front of her.  

finished floor of children’s building.

I can’t believe that I almost didn’t say yes to God’s calling for me to be part of this team.

-Mark G

Team time

The whole team!

Will you join us in praying as the team starts preparing to head home?  Pray for an enjoyable last day, safety for and everything in between! 

In a Heartbeat

Nick gives us a look into his experience this week...  These stories just never get old! 

Nick and Nolan 

Hello all,

Today started off like any other....an obnoxious bus honking his horn at roughly 5:45. We then spent the rest of the morning spending quality time with each other, then it was time to head up to the pavilion for breakfast.

Breakfast included pancakes, mango, watermelon, and rice and beans. There was plenty of coffee to go around as everybody fueled up for the long day ahead. The food has been absolutely phenomenal every single meal. It’s really hard to pinpoint a favorite meal that we have had this week.

After getting to the church, we were given our daily debriefing on the work that will be performed today, which included; finishing the walls for the children’s center, leveling the sidewalk, and stacking the last 100lb blocks in the septic tank. Norvin and I sure spent a good majority of our time in that hole. We were very grateful to have seen that last block in place. It just seemed that we each gave that look of exhaustion to each other any time we had to stand another block up, which then resulted in a laugh as we continued on our project.

Before we even arrived, I wondered how these tasks would be completed if we couldn’t even understand each other. I was very nervous that a lack of communication would cause lots of issues and be a headache. We slowly learned that language wasn’t much of a barrier at all. With the help of our translators we were able to adapt to the new situations we found ourselves in. I think it was a great learning experience for us gringos and the Nicaraguans to exchange words and learn quite a bit from each other. I have learned many words and the meanings to go with them, that it makes working hand in hand with the Nicaraguans a breeze, most of the time anyway. We started to understand the processes and at certain parts I found myself a few steps ahead of my work partner and it made everything easier. The relationships that we have made with each other, both us from Fox River, and the Nicaraguans is like a family.

Beyond all that, this trip has done nothing but humble each and every one of us. I doubt any man on this trip is walking away unaffected. To know the reasons behind what we were doing, the amount of people we will help is absolutely tear jerking. You think of problems we have at home, and they are nothing compared to the things they deal with here.

Keith, Nick and Nolan Runnells.  So cool to see this this Dad and son trio serve together!

If anybody were to ask me if I would do this again, I would say yes in a heartbeat. To know I’m doing so much for other people that I will probably never meet, or even hear of that are 2500+ miles away from home is an amazing feeling. This is something I will never forget.

So far, one of my favorite moments I had was getting to ride one of the motorcycles with Olvin to church Sunday morning. I never thought I would travel so far from home and have an opportunity to not only ride a motorcycle, but fix them up for Pastor Dennis and anybody else who uses them. Motorcycles are not only a means of transportation but they also can be a life saving measure. So to make sure that these bikes will be in a great functional condition for them was a real treat. We replaced a clutch, changed and adjusted the brakes and replaced a tire. We also did some general maintenance on them to make sure they were in tip-top condition when we left.

 Now it’s off to church for Thursday night service.

-Nick Runnells

The wonderful ladies making sure the guys are taken care of and translating so the teams can communicate!  Thanks Kerri and Donna! 

A Step of Faith and Story to match

Today Marc M shares his story of how he is being used and Changed by God this week!  Make it to the end because it’s a great story and there are some ‘day end’ pictures so you can see the progress!..

What. A. Day. What. A. Week.

Amazing might be an understatement while trying to describe this experience. Life changing is probably more appropriate. What exactly that means though....only God knows!!

Personally, being here in La Esmeralda is nothing I could have prepared for. When I made the decision to join the team down here, I had no idea what I was getting into. I feared the travel and health risks. I feared the communication barrier. I feared whether or not this trip was really for me.

But with Day 5 of our construction efforts now in the books, I know this is exactly where I am supposed to be...right here in La Esmeralda alongside my new found friends. Men from Fox River that I didn't know before this trip that I'm now proud to call my brothers. The Nicas that I feared not being able to communicate with I have made some amazing relationships with. God placed me here with all of them for one common goal...to build His Kingdom by actually building things that will mean so much to the Nicas that call La Esmeralda home. 

Marc and Olvin

One Nica in particular, Olvin, is one I will never forget. He and I have formed an amazing friendship in a very short amount of time and regardless of our communication struggles. We have similar personalities and have definitely had our fair share of laughs. He says "Bruno Mars" and I sing "Grenade" for him...although not very well. Silly little things to others but lasting memories for me. 

As for the actual construction happening around here, I'm beyond impressed by this team of men. In essentially 4 plus days, we have most of the bathroom exterior walls complete, the septic system walls almost complete, the sidewalk ready to be poured with concrete tomorrow,and the part I'm most proud of....the children's facility has walls going up!!!!

Just saying that makes me think of the Gateway Worship song, "Walls Are Coming Down". Well let me tell you, down here we're singing "Walls Are Going Up, Walls Are Going Up, Oh Oh Oh Oh..."!!!

When we were at church on Sunday, the children met in their children's facility despite not having any walls around them. I pray that before we leave we can get the rest of the walls up so those kids can start to feel the hope and the love this team is pouring into them.

I look forward to what the next few days has in store for us as we continue to do God's work.

Blessings to all back home and I'm sorry about the snow...I'm currently recovering from sunburn!!!  ~Marc M

Check our the progress and bonus picture below...

Motorcycle work is happening too!!

It’s so cool to see the progress they are making.  

And a beautiful sunset to close the day of hard work!  

Pictures

Today we have some pictures of the guys hard at work... 

Progress!!

Today we got a ton of work done and we are set up for the rest of the week.

Logan is sharing with us tonight...

Eggs Ranchero!

I rode a motorcycle.

The natives put me to shame.

We awoke this morning in good health and made our way to breakfast. I did my morning leg lifts and jumped on a rock! Once we made our way to the food we began with prayer, like we do before everything. (There’s a reason for that, I’ll get there in a little bit.) I had a piece of toast, although eggs and beans/rice were options. (I’m not particularly a fan of eggs.)

We made the trek up the hill of death, to our work space. Mark Potter suggested we stretch, but I had already stretched! Dilema! So I filled my water bottle instead.

I added an energy/hydration pouch to my water, it tasted horrid.

I was assigned to work on the hole, a ten foot square in the ground where we are building a septic tank. I worked as hard as I could, but the Nica’s outworked me again. Unsurprisingly.

Logan working on the sidewalk

I made my way around to all the stations throughout the day. The sidewalk we’re building is coming along so well! The bathrooms are probably making the most consistent and powerful strides of progress. Even the children’s center has finally been leveled and good to go.

I’m learning so many words, perdòn means ‘excuse me’, which I say a lot, considering how often I’m in other people's way. The people here are incredibly accommodating and kind. Luís took me on the motorcycle, and all the guys have been super helpful regardless of how little I know.

But most importantly, Jesus is at work here, and it’s hard to miss. We talk to him as much as possible, because without him, none of this is possible. We’re just getting out of the way and letting him do his thang.

Now! Go enjoy your warm showers and go to bed! You crazy kids.

Love you.

~Logan

Thanks for sharing Logan!  

Together we work!

Sunday, April 15 2017

It is always awesome to hear from different perspectives. Below Keith shared a bit of what he has experienced and what the team did today.

The team had a restful morning after a rough night. Apparently everyone on the team snores so sleep was at a premium!

We are sleeping in what is called the Doctor's house but it has been converted to a crude bunk house.

We had a hearty breakfast of pancakes, tortillas, rice and beans and local fruit.

At 10 am we attended church with the local Nicas led by Pastor Denis. The service was in Spanish however Missionary Donna translated for us non-Spanish speaking team members.

After service we walked back to the clinic for lunch of hamburgers, home made French fries and cold Coca Cola.

Our work day started at 2pm with members of the congregation helping.  They usually have service in the evening but Pastor Denis decided that it would be cool if we all worked together instead. The local Nica's work ethic puts us to shame. They don’t stop, do twice the work and carry more than any of us!

I personally worked on the children’s area leveling the soil in prep for concrete. Others were in a 7x8 foot hole maybe 12 feet deep placing 100lb blocks for the septic system.

We also had a crew placing 100lb concrete blocks vertically for a wall around a men and women’s bathroom at the rear of the church. Can you imagine going to church and not have a bathroom? With the way some Fox River members drink coffee that would be an issue!

We accomplished so much for a short day!

Everyone is doing well, eating well and getting along well despite working so close for so long. 

We ask that you keep us in your prayers for safety and health. See you soon!

God bless,
Keith Runnells

How cool is that! The Church worked together today.  It doesn’t get much better than coming together to build the Kingdom!!  Thanks for following along!  

Go big or go home

The team finished the trip up to La Esmeralda this morning and hit the ground running!  They unpacked just enough to find their tools and got straight to work!  

One of our Mark’s (there are 5 of them 😱) shares a little bit about the first day... 

“Today was a great day.  We started off the morning with a delicious breakfast in Selva Negra, then we headed up to La Esmeralda where we will stay the rest of the week.  We unpacked the bus and grabbed the tools and equipment we needed, then got to work.

Pastor Denis explained the plan to us and then we started by moving a ton of dirt (Quite literally). Moving dirt to clear out the area the bathrooms will be and putting it in over by the children’s area to level the floor out.

We finished digging the hole for the septic tank to go and then started putting the columns in and setting them with cement.

We also cleared out some plants so that we can put in a sidewalk along the church. Then some more digging to have a foundation on the side.

Lunch was powerful today because I felt a great sense of community amongst all of us.“  -  Mark Potter

We can’t wait to hear all that God does in and through these guys!  Stay tuned because we hear tomorrow will bring something extra special! 

We Are Here!

​Today started early for us at the church at 1:30am.From there we headed to Chicago to make our first flight to Miami and then from Miami to Managua, Nicaragua.

Once we got our visas we headed to collect all of our bags! They all made it! We then headed through customs where 8 of our bags got checked, but God’s hand was all over it! The man who was dealing with us was so nice and patient with us and he tried to make it as quick as possible. He also brought another very nice man who was making sure we understood everything the customs people were telling us. God was in it and we made it through with all our stuff.

We ate a quick lunch and got on the bus to make our 4 hour ride to Selva Negra, where we will have dinner and stay for the night. Everyone is pretty tired after traveling all day, but ready to experience all that God has for us. We are enjoying the beauty of Nicaragua and the team is thankful for a bit of fresh, cool air after landing in Managua at 12.

After dinner we are all looking forward to hitting the beds. Thank you for your prayers and we appreciate your continued prayers for safety and health and Gods working!

Here We Go!

It’s time!!!!!  So many people have prayed and waited and supported us and now the time has come for the team to leave!  We have checked our bags and made it through security.  We are about to board our first flight to Miami and from there we will fly to Managua. Everyone is excited to get there!  

​Pray for safety as we travel, for our bags to all make it, for health, and for God to begin his work even now as we travel! 

We cant wait to see how God works this week! Follow along here to hear and see all that God is doing!