My life will never be the same...

So....

I am moving to Nicaragua....
God has been very clear to me and tugging at me to take a leap of faith and follow Him. I don't want to, But I need to. I can't do this on my own. "I can't, He can, Go ahead". That's my saying I am living by. I also need a lot of prayers and support. I have a TON of money to raise. I pray that God will provide. I know he will. I have faith, I know He has everything under control. It doesn't mean I am not going to stress out and worry occasionally.

I will be moving around the end of May 2011. Until then I will be raising money, selling everything I own, and enjoying Murray and the people as much as I can! I will be living in the Boy's rescue home (Casa Robles). I am excited to let God use me. I have always held back a little in my life. I will now NEED to rely on God more than ever. I am excited. I will be updating this blog often. Please visit my site for my new organization. You can find it at http://www.xalted.org/ .  I am excited about where God is taking me. I am scared too. I hope you all can be a part of this and experience it with me! God Bless you all and LET THIS JOURNEY BEGIN!

-Tom Seipel

Last Blog till I am in the Miami Airport....

I had an amazing time here. Can't wait to get home and plan a mission trip for my church. I already know a handful of families interested.

I spent the morning with Coburn today at him School he has started. It's pretty awesome.

Then I came back and spent the afternoon at Casa Havilah and said goodbye.

Now I'm back at Robles and the boys are getting ready for bed soon. So I am going to hang with them until they go to bed. Saying goodnight will also be our goodbyes. It will be sad. Judy and Angelica said I can move in if i want to live in Nicaragua! That's pretty kind of them....

The Buzbees have been great all week. I really appreciate their support and their love. They do have a lot of love in that family. I am happy I have been accepted into their ministry with open arms.

It is going to be a long day tomorrow. I have a lot of church work to do when I get home before Sunday. I don't wanna go back to a working life. It's pretty nice working for God here and not being responsible for anything other than loving the kids!

But Back to life.... I'll talk to you in the airport I am sure!

I had an amazing day.....

First it started off with a great time of prayer with Chachi, Mike, Brinson, and Coburn. We prayed for TWO hours...... that's 2!!!! It was awesome...... We annointed each other with oil and just had an amazing time with God. It was great. I wish I could do that every day with those guys. It is one thing to pray on your own. but to have others that experience the Holy Spirit with you is pretty cool.

After that Elizabeth picked me up and we went to La Chureca. It was sooo sad. I have some amazing video of homes in 3 feet of water and people just standing around in it. But remember.... it's a trash dump.... So you have a flood of trash floating around too. Who knows what you are stepping on in that water. And that's how they are LIVING right now!!!!

PLEASE..... ask me about these videos. I want people to see this horror and know that they can come down here on a trip in the summer that I will host and lead and they can help with their own two hands!

I am also thinking about creating a sponsorship program with these kids and our church/immediate friends. I thought about it.... I am sponsoring a girl down here but it's really regulated by compassion and you have to jump through loops to do anything. I could create a sponsorship program for these kids that supports them and you can come down on a trip and see them and build a relationship over a week that will last a lifetime!

I am about ready to jump into my humid bed and open my bible and spend some time in Jeremiah. Check out Jeremiah 17. Some amazing stuff! Have a great night everyone and I'll talk to you soon! PS.... let me know on Facebook if you are interested in sponsoring a child here!

Night all!!!
-Tom

ps... I see the Buckeyes whooped Marshall tonight!!!

Wow…. An amazing day…. I left it off that I was going to see my sponsored child….. And I did.
It was an amazing experience! We picked up someone from compassion international first and headed to a church/school where Adrianna was. And there she was…. She was sooooo precious standing about 3 ½ feet tall in her black pants and red top. She was so adorable. Soooo much more in person. I met her mother and her aunt (who was about 12 yrs old). The smile on her face lit up the room. It was kind of awkward at first. She gave me a beautiful picture of her at her 2nd grade graduation that she made. I gave her a lot of presents. A little purse thingy and in it was hair clips, tooth brushes for the whole family, a coloring book, crayons, and some silly bands. She loved it! The first words out of her mouth were “thank you for taking care of me”! When my friend and translator luis told me what she said I about lost it. I am actually crying while I write this. I am taking care of someone. It’s amazing to think that $38 a month saves someone’s life. I provide all medical care, cost to go to school, school supplies, food, clothing, and anything else the family needs. That’s amazing how far the US dollar will stretch down her.
So I fought back the tears and told her no problem that she was worth it and very special. We took a few pictures together. They had about 9 adults with camera taking pictures; the pastor, her teacher, compassion person, my friend, and a lot more. It was kind of overwhelming! She then gave me a tour of the church/her Christian school. We went to the office and I was able to look at her file. It showed her grades. She has always had straight A’s. Never a B….. wow…. I hope I don’t rub off on her too much! She told me she really loved studying and loves school. I told her about my schools and university and what I do now.
We decided to go get some ice cream. So mom and aunt came along and hung out too. I bought them Ice Cream and we talked a lot more. She told me she was sooo nervous all week waiting to meet me. I told her I was nervous too. She said she was shaking this morning because she was nervous. We both agreed we don’t need to be nervous anymore. Then I remembered something….. Her birthday is Sept 11th 2001. Her mom talked about her being born and the tv was on and they watched the tower fall while she was being born at 8:45 am. So I knew her birthday is in 10 days!
I told them I wanted to get her a birthday present. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday and she told me a new pair of shoes. I couldn’t believe it. Kids in the US want an xbox or iphone. She wanted a pair of shoes!!!
There was a payless shoe store close by and we walked there and look at shoes. She wanted these pink and brown tennis shoes but she tried on these pretty sandals too. I told her to get both! I spent too much money, but it was soooo worth it. She was smiling from ear to ear!
We went back to the church and all of the kids in the classes wanted to meet me. It was cute. I finally had to leave to get back to the birthday party. I asked the mother is there was anything she needed so I could keep in mind for Christmas or something. The mom said they don’t have beds and sleep on the floor. She wanted a bed. I guess they are pretty cheap here. I’ll look into it.
I finally said our goodbyes and she gave me a big hug. I was taken aback by that. It melt my heart. I am so happy I was able to meet here. I have dropped the ball before when I sponsored a child in College. I won’t drop it with Adrianna. I know her. I’ve touched her and hugged her. It’s a completely different experience meeting her. It was amazing!!!
So we came back and got ready for the birthday party. It was a blast. I talked to Mr. Buzbee a while about a lot of stuff. We are going to this one house tomorrow to pray for about an hour. A lot of people I know would think that sounds crazy…… but I can’t wait.
Then I am off to La Chureca. That’s the dump…. I am looking forward to seeing it again, but also dreading the sight of families knee deep in water.
I am not the same person I was when I got here. I wasn’t the same person after my trip in May. This trip has changed me even more. God is amazing. I’m excited to continue my journey following him!!!

Hola!
I am having an awesome time. Yesterday I went to the market and bought the house a Huge grill for $20, a huge Pinata, and gifts for my sponsored child.

Then I went to Casa Havilah and chatted with the girls a while. Momma Kenia tried to teach me some spanish. I understood it from her. I think she knows more English than she lets on.
I picked the girls up from school. Wow.... the schools are different here. First..... They are sooo open. all the windows dont have glass. The doors are just gates. It is very open to the air. It gets hot down here.

It has been raining a lot at night. Which makes for a humid sticky bed! :(  And Casa Robles has a lot of leaks. Its actually pretty sad how many leaks  this house has and it's one of the nicer ones in Nicaragua.
I really think about La Chureca (The Dump). The homes down there barely have roofs. Those people get drenched while they lay in bed at night. I also hear it is kinda flooded out. That some housed have a couple feet of water in them 24/7 until the rainy season is over. We are soo lucky and spoiled.

Today I get to see my Compassion International Sponsored child. I hear this is an amazing experience. To meet a child that you take care of across the world is amazing. I have all kinds of gifts to give her. I am really excited. My friend and translator Luis is going with me too. It should be a blast. I am actually nervous though. All the kids here love me, but it took a while for all of them to warm up. I have only 2 hours with my child. I hope she sees Jesus through my love.

After the meeting we have to rush back here because it's Kenner's birthday today. All of the Buzbees and Casa Havliah will be over to celebrate. I have been blowing up balloons all morning! It's been a great time. I honestly don't want to go back to the real world of working and being in charge. It's really nice to go with the flow and not worry about anything! Anywa.... I love ya all and see ya soon!

So It’s been a while since I was able to blog. Sunday night I went to Casa Havilah and hung out with the girls. I bought them Pizza Hut and we had a blast. They danced, sang some songs, and even did gymnastics. They were amazed that I could do cartwheels, round offs, and the splits! Never underestimate Gordito!!!
I took a lot of video. Nidalee never left my side. I colored with her for a while. She is about 5 yrs old. She followed me wherever I went and I loved every minute of it. She is a cutie. She is the sister of two of the boys in my house. She even took my plate after we ate and washed it for me.
I finally went to leave and a few of the girls walked me to a taxi because they didn’t want me to go alone at night. It was cute. I had a blast!

Monday Morning was interesting. I went with Brinson and Chachi to Jinotega. It is about 3 hours north of Managua in the mountains. We met a Pastor they are helping up on the border close to Honduras. I guess it is REALLY remote. They said that its about an hour drive more, and then you travel up river for 2 days!!! They don’t have any electricity up there but they has a church and praise God! The pastor’s name was Victor. We had a home cooked meal out of the back of some ladies house and I sat there and listened to them speak Spanish and Mosquite. Mosquite is a language of the people up there. After they were done doing business we took some pictures and had a great time of Prayer!!! It was about 10 mins long and I really felt the Holy Spirit moving! Then we came back home! I am really glad I went. I think I really got to know Brinson and Chachi. It was a great trip.
So back home, I took a nap. It was much needed after getting up at 5am. Then I ran around with the kids this afternoon. And had a great dinner. I’m ready to do it all over again tomorrow. Again…. I love it here. It’s really amazing. The kids are so well behaved. Just like in Korea, the kids don’t breathe unless they are told to. America is now afraid to discipline its youth with social services and lawsuits and such. But there is a fine line between abuse and discipline. I respect the way the parents treat the kids here. My kids would be blown away by some of the stuff I’ve seen. Like tonight, Marcos prayed for us for about 10 minutes. Most adults don’t “like” praying that long. Marcos is 12 years old!!! They are just raised to fear God and I think that’s good. After all, He is el Jefe (the Boss) and you don’t want to cross him! Well…. I am about to go to bed. I hope to get to the internet café tomorrow morn. Buenos Noches!!!

Casa Havilah

So Yesterday I went to casa Havilah and said hi to the girls in the afternoon. They were thrilled to see me. I gave them silly bands. Some I bought and one bag Elizabeth gave me! The girls loved them. I also gave them some hair clips. They were excited!

Speaking of Elizabeth.... I miss my kid at FCC murray. A LOT!!! But... I absolutely love it here. I just got back from church and we had a blast. I know everything ran smooth without me back home. It's always nice to attend church instead of being in charge!

Last night the boys home watched King Kong in english with spanish subtitles. They loved it. So did I. It was nice to hear english, but I've been working on and enjoying talking in spanish.

Well I am at the boys house using Judy's mobile internet USB. I don't want to use too many of his Minutes. So I need to go. Tonight I am buying Pizza Hut for the girls house. And tomorrow we are going to see a Mosquite Pastor way in the mountains. I guess its like 3 hours by card and then 4 by boat. I am excited for this. I'll take lots of video!  I'll write tomorrow. I love you all!

Love Tom!

Wow…. Yesterday was amazing. I woke up to a day of uncertainty. I had no idea what we were going to do. I started with sitting on the couch reading a book to Louisa. It was in Spanish and I think I did pretty well. My mom would be amazed by my Spanish. After all I struggled with that dumb class at Ohio St. But the last 2 days I have been speaking 90% of the time in Spanish. I was really happy that Judy and I had about a 15 minute conversation in all Spanish and I don’t think I said one English word! Now…. My conjugations of verbs aren’t very good, but they know what I mean when I says them poorly anyway!
I found out we were spending the whole day at the mall. This was a treat for the kids. First we ate lunch. We ate at this restaurant called “Rostipollo”. It was interesting. It was a nice upper-class sit down restaurant kind of like a TGI-Fridays or something. But it was ALL chicken. I thought about it…. We don’t have anything like that back home in America. An all chicken nice sit down restraint. Hmm….
They gave all the children these helium filled balloons and we tied them to their wrists. We had a wonderful mean. It truly was delicious. Afterwards I got the check. I was paying for this day because a friend in Murray gave me money to treat these kids to some fun. If I was in America, I would have had a heart attack. The check said $1,456.00. But in Cordoba’s (that’s the name of their money.) It was about $60 I believe. We left the restaurant to shop. Chachi was with us and wanted to buy the house their first radio. And he bought a nice $200 US dollar radio too. It makes the whole house shake when you play it!
After that We took the kids to the most exciting part of the day… the Arcade!

Chachi told me that only one of the kids have ever been to an arcade. I can see why. It was very expensive even for back home. It was like a Dave & Busters. It was about $20 for a card that could play about 10 games. Very expensive. But I bought $100 worth of cards and they loved every minute of it. I had 2 boys with my group and it was awesome. Ceasar and Fredder were with me and I loved watching their faces the whole time they played. They were in awe. From playing each other in Air Hockey to winning tickets to earn a little present. It was a blast…..
(As I am typing this, there are 4 completely naked boys standing around me watching me type. They run around naked a LOT in the morning. I think it’s because mom gives them all showers one at a time and they all are naked until the last is finished so mom can pick out clothes. )
So the kids thanked me a million times and we went back to the house! We had a blast. After that we went home and the kids had nap time! Then dinner….. It was delicious. Angelica is one of the best cooks I have ever seen. The food is great! Before every meal I am in awe of what happens. One of the kids pray. It’s not pray as in the children pray back home. They pray at the dinner table for like 10 minutes. I’ve never seen a 4 yr old pray for 10 minutes in my life. But that’s 3 times a day here. It’s amazing how strong Christianity is down here. God is all over this country. You have people who are strong Christians and yearn to be closer to God, and at the same time you have people who think they have no hope and yearn to be close to God. The same denominator is people down here want God.
I don’t know what we are doing today. I think I am going to go buy a grill for the house. They are currently grilling on the rim of a tire. They took a tire rim and welded a hubcap to the bottom to hold the charchol. Then they grill their meat on a grate that has broken spokes where meat falls through and gets wasted. Chachi said I could probably find one for $20. Wow…. I don’t know why someone didn’t buy one before. So I think that’s on todays agenda.
Ps…. I introduced Judy to the song “Amazing Grace”. He loves singing it now and I need to go download the words for him! He has been humming it all day! I am out of here. God Bless all of you!

Casa Robles

Casa Robles
I arrive at casa robles. It is the calm before the storm. Judy and Angelica talk to me in Spanish and I understand that we have an hour before the kids get back from school. They go at 7 and come back at noon and they do not eat lunch at school.
Then the clock strikes 12 and Judy goes and picks them up in a taxi. Pretty soon I see this taxi come around the corner with 9 kids in the back seat including Judy in the front. It’s crazy how they cram people into cars down here. Public transportation is amazing. School buses are used for the public transportation. They will have close to 100 people in a school bus. It is packed to where the back door at the back of the bus is open and people are hanging on with one arm and one or two are standing on the bumper while they hold onto the door while the bus is going 50 mph down the road.
So the kids come and I am swarmed by them. My legs disappear as they all grab for a part of me. All except Marcos and Ceasar. They are too cool and are almost teenagers. They wait until the kids are done and they give me a one arm chest bump man hug.
They strip down in the middle of the hallway and throw on home clothes and get out of their school uniforms. Then we eat lunch. It was a typical Nicaraguan meal. We had rice, a little lettuce salad with pico in it, beans, and a piece of pork. To drink she had some juice made from orange and something else that was amazing. The one cool thing down here, is she makes ALL the juices from scratch. It’s amazing the kinds of juice they have. From radish juice to cactus…. It’s pretty interesting. After Lunch I gave them each a hot wheel car I brought for them. They were consumed for the next 2 hours with those cars. Then it was nap time. Angelica and I talked in Spanish while the kids were sleeping. Judy came home and we finished the nap time with some foosball. I felt bad because I beat him 3 games in a row. I even tried to let him win the last game but he kept scoring in his own goal. And ever time he would do it he would yell out “Senor”. Yeah…. My computer isn’t Spanish. It doesn’t put the ~ thingy above the “n” yet.
When the kids got up, it was time to amuse them again while Angelica made dinner. So Luisa and I put together a Disney Princess puzzle that I brought down for her. She loved it and thought it was awesome because it was 3-D. Luis called me on the cell phone that I got down here and we are working ways to get together so I can give him some stuff. But he is also helping me on my trip on Weds to see my sponsored child. I am excited about that!
We had dinner and then the kids just ran around playing. Eventually they watched a goofy Spanish cartoon on Judy’s computer and then they went to bed. I was exhausted so I went to bed too at 9pm!!! Lol
On a side note…. Marcos got in trouble for using bad language at school today. So he didn’t get to nap. He sat on his knees for the 2 hours of napping and was made to memorize Proverbs 4 over and over. I thinks that’s pretty cool for a punishment. If you are going to put a child in time out, make them memorize some of the bible!

I love it here in Casa Robles. They definitely welcome the extra set of hands. Although I don’t do a whole lot to help, I guess I’m more or less giving Angelica and Judy a break with the kids. I think I am taking all of them to the movies today. I guess we’ll see. I am excited to see what God has in store. I’ve been able to really get to know some of these kids pretty well. It was cute when luisa and like 4 of the boys kissed me on the cheek goodnight. I am making a connection here. Or should I say God is. Well…. Time to get out of bed. The kids had today off of school I guess it’s a teacher work day. So I am starting to hear voices. Nanny Tom to the rescue! I will chat with you all later!

Good ol Rainy season

I woke up several times last night to the clapping of thunder. It poured.... like monsoon poured. It rained all night and the windows lit up with lightning. It was pretty cool. Between that and the nightmare I had about my youth group rebeling and causing a mini revolt against me, it was an interesting night! :P

Now it if very cloudy and gloomy. Which I am thinking is a good thing because it might be a little cooler with the sun hidden behind the clouds. It is humid though. I just took a shower about 10 mins ago and feel like I could use another. I am sure my youth would agree that I could. Those turds! But I do miss them. I have been keeping up with a couple of them on Facebook while i've been here. It's nice to have some communication. And even Ashley and E-beth say they miss me. Never thought I'd hear those words out of their mouths! :)

But I'm off to the boys home today. I will be starting my next leg of my journey. 8 boys between the ages of 5-10 and one 3 yr old girl. I should have my hands full. And when big ol Tom shows up they think "Playground"! So I know a lot of people back home think I'm on vacation..... I think it's working 24/7. I know my body will feel that way! But I wouldn't ask for it any other way.

I hope everyone is doing well back home. I am going to start my video documentation today with my new Flip Video camera. I am no cinematographer, but I am hoping to capture every inch of the amazing essence of Nicaragua here. I have a lot of people I want to show it to so that next time I come down, they come too!

I really can't emphasize enough.... This is a journey that's worth every penny. After all, what journey with Jesus isn't???

Goodnight USA

Well.... first I had people email me saying they couldn't comment. So I changed my settings and now everyone can comment....

I went to the girls house this afternoon and had a blast. The girls all remember me and call me "Gordito" which is a sweet loving term for fat! :) I love it though. I hung out and chatted with Filomina and Vanessa. I gave one my sunglasses and one my hat last time I was there. Right when they heard I was coming in the door they ran and got them and put them on. It was cute. Now they want me to give them a hat and my new sunglasses to them this time so they both have a hat and sunglasses from me. I told them next time I come down they are going to look like me. They said they couldnt grow their facial hair into a goatee. At least that's what I think they said in spanish!

Casa Havilah looks great. They had an artist come in and paint the walls so it's a huge animal mural. It looks amazing. They also have a playground set in the middle of their courtyard now. It's pretty cool!

Then I went back to the Buzbee's and staying here tonight. I think I move into the boys house tomorrow. Right now I am sitting under the stars typing to you. It can't get much better than this!

Right now a guy came up to sit here and is chatting to me so I'm gonna go. So goodnight USA!

And it begins....

Well, I am here in Nicaragua...

I decided I wanted to keep a blog so not only everyone can see what I'm up to, but see what God's up to!

So I got in last night. I had a wonderful nights sleep. It was a long day of flying after all.

Today I woke up to the sounds of these tropical birds. What a blessing. I walked out of my room to do my devotion outside and I was in awe. It was dark when I got here and today I was floored by the beauty. This place is more beautiful than I remember. They have some gorgeous flowers here. There are birds of paradise flowering everywhere. There isn't as much fruit on the trees as when I was here in May, but that's because they have had too much rain. It has flooded some of there trees and even uprooted a couple. But even so, this place is paradise.

I was greeted by the girls (Hope, Johanna, Lalya, and Hazel). They were very happy to see me. And everyone commented on how I have hair this time.

I met up with Mr. Buzbee (Mr. B) and had a great chat with him in his house today. Chachi joined us and we prayed and talked about what's been going on in my life and what God might have planned for me here in Nicaragua these 2 weeks. I went with Chachi to move a huge round heavy wood table into the boys rescue home. (Casa Robles).

When I got there the boys were really excited. They were singing a "Tom" song. I was shocked to find out they have been waiting for me a while. The gate opened and I was welcomed by 4 kids hugging my legs at a time. And last but not least was Louisa. She is a 3 yr old girl that lives with the boys. She saw me and ran up to me and instead of hugging me she put her arms up  in the air. She wanted me to pick her up and hold her. Angelica (the house mom) and Judy (the house Dad) told me she has been talking about me all week. I really made a connection with her last time I was here. I'm glad she remembered. It's funny though. She gets mad and jealous when one of the boys gets my attention. She wants me all to herself. I guess we'll have to work on that these next couple of weeks.

Chachi and I ate lunch with them. We had cow heart-kabobs, rice, and pico. It was delicious. Angelica is a great cook and this cow heart tasted better than most steaks I've had back home. We were refreshed by a nice glass of Cactus juice. It's a hot pink looking drink that's made from the fruit on this one cactus. It's really good.

The boys got all excited when they found out I was coming to live in their house all week. I am excited too. I will be working on my Spanish a lot this week whether I like it or not! :)

I am back at the Buzbees right now. Mr. B and I are going to go to Casa Havilah (the girls house) here in a bit. I have been told they are expecting me! ;)

I am really glad to be back. I read in the book "Why Did Jesus Cross the Road" today, that where you spend your free time in your life is where your heart is. I guess that's true. Because my "vacation" time couldn't be spent doing anything more rewarding. These kids light up when they see me. It's not because of me though. They see Jesus. They see someone who flew hundreds of miles to love on them. They don't get that a lot. Most of these kids come from broken and abusing families. It is my job to love them and show them that they are Godly masterpieces. I love serving God. I love "crossing the road" like Jesus did. He always went out of His comfort zone to spread his message and reach people. And most of the time they were not the "cool" people. They were lepers, prostitutes, the poor, and the sinners. I am definitely not in my comfort zone. It's humid, it's hot, I don't have my modern conveniences like cell phones, and I am not in control. But I love this journey with Jesus. I love crossing the road or the world if you will. It is when we are out of our comfort zone, that we grow in Christ. My prayer for my family, friends, and church is that everyone would be uncomfortable and try to do do something radical for Jesus. You will grow like never before. I am glad I came down here. I have a lot of work to do for the glory of God. It's just the beginning....