Ministry happens when you least expect it...

So I have internet again, but it's cause I drove to Pizza Hut to get it.

I am ready to have it full time though! I have so much "Work" to do with my Ministry that not having it is a pain!

The last couple days have been busy. Yesterday I met an amazing girl named Veronica. She is a volunteer with the Scholarship program. The school in the dump gives out scholarships to kids that finish school and meets certain requirements. These scholarships pay for private schooling. Right now there are 28 kids.

Veronica is amazing like I said. First, I was amazed at how much English she knows. I didn't have to talk in Spanish at all with her. I loved it. But What was amazing about her is her heart. She is a strong Christian. She is 28 years old and has 8 siblings. She doesn't know who her father is and none of her family are Christians. One of her sisters had a child named Leonard. He is 7 years old. Her sister left him when he was born and Veronica has taken the role of a mother to him. She is wonderful with him and I admire that responsibility she has.

We picked up about 18 of the 28 kids and took them to see a movie. It felt like I had a spanish youth group. They reminded me of my youth group and made me miss them even more!

But we had fun at the movies and then at Pizza Hut after. Veronica invited me to go with her Monday too. So I think I will be busy mondays and Thursdays since that's when we hang out with the kids.

Then after I dropped off Veronica I went to the girls home to celebrate Marie Ellena's birthday! They had a pinata and we did some salsa dancing. It was a great time!

Today was a blast....

So I picked up the girls and took them to the Buzbees where we joined the boys home and a big group of High Schoolers from a church. We got on the Buses and went to Ruby Ranch. There the group had an Olympics set up with different games. I was on Red team with some of the little girls. my team ended up third, but that's because we had a lot of little ones on it. We won the tug-o-war event though since we had a couple bigger guys. Myself and one other really pulled our "Weight" on that event!

It was pouring down rain the whole day and it was a mudfest. It was amazing seeing the muddy faces smiling the whole time. Who woulda thought playing in mud was such an outreach opportunity!

Afterwards I drove them back home. We had a blast!

I am really enjoying my time with both houses. I can see special relationships being built with the kids in the boys home and the girls. I pray that God leads me to be a perfect role model for them!

Well, that's all for now. Time to head back to the boys home. Love you all!

All by myself now....

Well the team is gone. I am the lone FCC in Nicaragua again. It's kinda sad. I didn't like saying goodbye again! I know that will become something I will get used to every time I come home. But it's never fun. Lots of tears were shed at the airport. I know I will be thinking about that group for a while. They came down and did some amazing things. I hope they know how many lives they touched.

Now I am about to go to Casa Robles. It will be nice to be with the boys again. But I will be sad to not have internet again. We are still trying to get it at the boys house. I hope the group goes back to FCC and lights a fire about Nicaragua that can't be put out. I am blessed to have some great people supporting me. God Bless you all.

Last FCC blog with the group.

So today has been awesome so far. This morning we went to Ruby's house to pray. I was interested to see what the Holy Spirit would do. Mr. B, Chachi, and Coburn were there to pray for us. It was an amazing time. Mr. B made some prophetic comments that just blew the group away. He described stuff that was going on in their lives to a "T". The group afterwards kept wondering if I told him stuff about them. I swear I never spoke a word to him about my group. The Holy Spirit talked through him and I think blew my group away!

After lunch we went to say goodbye to the boys and girls. It was bitter-sweet. I know my group touched them. The shoes we bought were especially loved. I have had a great week leading my first group down here. I can't wait to lead more. If you are reading this and are interested in coming, please let me know. It doesn't matter if you go to my church or anyone else's. You can join a trip with my church, or you can get a group together to experience this amazing ministry. Please contact me at tom@fccmurray.com

I love you all. Off to a nice "goodbye" dinner with my group. Check back in a couple days to see my normal blog about what I'm doing here. God Bless you all!

2 days in one!

So sorry for the non-blog day. We had a busy day and I was tired. Yesterday started off with going to the market. It is a fun market. It is just like a flea market, but it has everything from toys, to meat, to furniture. The girls bought a couple things. But nothing big....

The big event was in the afternoon. We took the boys and girls to see Kung-Fu Panda 2! It was awesome. After the movie we took them to Payless Shoe store and let them pick out shoes. They were in heaven. They never get to pick out "fun" shoes. Normally they have to get church shoes or black dress shoes for school. It was awesome watching them buy "Cars" shoes that light up! It was also Chaos in the store. But it was worth it. Thank you to all the FCC Murray people who donated money.

Then today.... Church was fun. I loved it like always. I think the group did too. After church we went to the beach with just us. We had a great time relaxing! I'm excited for tomorrow though. We get to have prayer time in the morning. I am sure it will be a different experience!

Well I am off to bed. Time to start another book. Love you all.

A memorable day

What a great day!

We went to Las Brasiles to see Coburn's ministry. It was awesome. We went to the pre-school and played with some of the children. Then we walked around and checked out some of the houses. He really has an amazing ministry there. One thing they were short of were tables. Kinda sad..... I am thinking that I am going to raise some money for tables.

After Dan stabbed himself with aircraft cable (thank goodness he has his tetanus shot, although locked jaw would have been a quieter lunch :) , we had a great authentic Nicaraguan lunch. Ps..... Dan was good, we had a nurse! Go Teresa. When you see him, ask him about the banana.

Next, we went to Volcano Messiah! We stopped at the museum and while we were on a tour, some kids ran in and threw 2 high school girls on the ground. At first, it looked like we were in those zombie movies. I thought they were dead. But never fear, Teresa was here. What happened was they had heatstroke as a result of hiking while drinking coke. Not the best choice of carbonated beverage. So Teresa nursed one back to consciousness but the other was having some issues. They threw her in the back of a truck, and went to the hospital. I pray that she is doing ok.

Then we went to the top. The sulfur smell was horrible. Think of lots of burning matches. Then we had to climb the 177 stairs to the top...... Not my favorite part. It was beautiful. The best part, was going down though. We had to park the car backwards in case it erupted. It is active after all. More than I can say for myself.

On the way down the mountain. I swore we were at six flags. Coburn had my Microbus hugging those curves. I guess he hugged a little to tight. Cause I looked back and nurse Teresa needed a nurse. She was getting carsick. After a short stop, everything was dandy.

That was until we thought we were going to run out of gas. Ashley was constantly nagging about getting Ice cream. So we got some at the gas station. After 2 minutes of eating ice cream, I realized my group all needed bibs. Because Dan, Mitzi, Mom, and Ashley were wearing more than they ate. Luckily, Dan dropped most of his on the floor of my new car so he didnt get his nice white shirt too dirty.

After a nice dip in the pool, we went to dinner. We had to wait for Elizabeth, she was having a little problem with something about flypaper not coming out of hair very easily. So we shaved her head...... Just kidding. But she definitely needs another shower. But seriously..... fly paper.... Nurse Teresa is prepared. She said she was a girl scout. Man, I knew I shouldn't have quit Tiger cubs.

Excuse me for a moment. I need to interrupt this blog to give you breaking news. Ashley Dawson just fell on her face. I'm sure everyone has seen that before. She does it a lot! Love you girl!

Dinner was Rico!

Had a great talk with the group. And you will see a lot of pictures on my facebook tonight.

On a side note..... this blog tonight was a group effort. That's why it sounds a little different. We just spent the last hour laughing our heads off trying to recall this day for the blog. That is what's awesome when you get a group together serving the Lord. Everyone have a great night. Tom Seipel...... Signing off.

Ps.... no one was harmed in the making of this blog. Actually, some sense might have been knocked into Ashley. So it was a productive evening.

God's Bowling???

We had a great devotional time tonight. We talked about James 2:14-20. It was awesome. We sat on the 3rd floor and enjoyed the night. At the end of the time together. A Monsoon hit. It got VERY windy and started pouring.

It was awesome. I saw God all day today. And He ended it with a masterpiece of a storm. We all huddled in the middle of the 3rd floor so we wouldn't get wet since the rain was blowing in. It was cool. Now I am sitting here with 2 of my favorite youth EVER.... Ashley and Elizabeth. Ashley just called me dumb. I feel the love. :)

I couldn't think of a more perfect end to a day. We painted the girls home's kitchen, we played with the girls, we came home and hung out at the pool, and we had a great devotion time! I'm going to upload some pics now. Love ya all. Have a great night!

PS.... lots of pictures on my facebook profile!

Hell on Earth?

So Today was awesome. I have all of my group here from FCC and my parents. I am really proud of these people. Whether they came to have an amazing earth shattering experience with God, or they came to see what i'm going to be up to, I know God has a plan for them!

Unfortunately Ashley stayed at the compound because she didnt feel good and wanted to sleep. Now she feels great. So I am glad she got over her "bug/strep".

Today we took them to La Chureca. It's the big trash dump down here where about 1500 people LIVE in. It might be considered Hell on Earth in some people's eyes. It if full of broken people. I think that's why God is there. He has a lot of people he can use. In the middle of it is Colegio Esperanza which means "school of Hope". The Buzbees run it with a wonderful Nicaraguan lady that is the director.

First the group went to the school in the dump. We pulled out some balloons and it was amazing to watch these kids grab balloons out of our hands like they were gold. They almost tackled Mitzi trying to get balloons! It was fun watching all of them. SOme little girls attached to Elizabeth like glue. I have some great pictures I'll put up tomorrow!

Then after that Chachi took us on a walk through the dump. I think it really blew some of the team away. I know that it touched most of them. I heard it in Dan Parker's voice tonight when he was prayer and struggling to hold back tears. God was moving in the hearts of some of my team members.

Then we ran by the boys and girls home. The boys tackled all the adults. It was cute. And the girls were sweet and fun like always.

After dinner I did a little Devotion/Sharing time with the group. We reflected over 1 John 3:17 and talked about where we saw God moving. It was a great time with the group. It might be my favorite part of the week. It's when we get to talk about God. Loving on kids is a gift from God. But I love when we talk about God. I really do. I hope this group grows closer to Him each day. We have a great start! I pray that God wrecks our hearts, takes control, and lets us live through Him this week. My prayer is that we are uncomfortable. A comfortable Christian doesn't grow in Christ. It's when we are challenged that God fills us and we draw close to him. I yearn for that every day of my life. I am uncomfortable here in Nicaragua, my group is too. I hope some of you back home reading this will come on a trip and be uncomfortable with me too! God bless you all and talk to you tomorrow!

Baptisms

I forgot to mention....

Sunday night we had 13 high schoolers baptized in the pool here. It was amazing!!! Praise God!

FCC Representing!

I am pumped. As I type my mission team from First Christian Church is sitting in Miami waiting for a long layover. I'm super excited though to have the first "mission trip" from FCC. I remember when I was hired for the job 4 years ago... Their goal was to have an international mission trip by 2012! Yay.... mission completed!

Well I am sitting at the Buzbees again so I have internet for the next week. So I will be back to blogging. I think the internet guy is going to be at Casa Robles thursday to install the internet. I am excited for that. I really need some internet. I just need to communicate more than anything!

So I am pumped. You will be seeing a lot of pictures this week on my facebook and on my website. I will keep you up to date. I need to run now and get ready for the group. But I'll be back soon! God Bless all!

YAY!

So today was a big day. I bought my first car. It is a 1999 Toyota Hiace. It is a 15 passenger microbus. I paid $9,500 for it. More than I wanted to spend, but it was too good to pass up. Plus I know that God will provide! It is baby blue in color. Not my favorite, that's for sure! But it will get all the boys and girls in it. So I am happy!

I have been walking the girls to school every morning, So it will be nice to have a bus to take them in when it rains. Plus when my team gets here from my church, I will be able to take them wherever they want to go!

Still no internet. I'm at pizza hut right now drinking a pepsi so i can use their internet! I need it soon. I am going to go crazy without keeping up with friends, sports, and news. Mostly the first two!

God is good though. I had an amazing quiet time yesterday. I am reading the book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. I've read it before, but I wanted to read it again. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to let the Holy Spirit lead them. It's an awesome book.

Anyway, I need to run. Love you all!

So Nica is different....

I love it down here. Lets get that out. But At the same time, boy it's different.

For instance. I just had a nice gecko walk across my bed. Only in Nica! The girls home has a pet baby black and white squirrel. Only in Nica. I could give so many more examples. But I thought I'd just say hi.

Still havent ordered internet yet. It's frustrating not being able to communicate when I want to. But I'm surviving. I was up at 5am this morning to walk the girls to school. It's only about 5 blocks. It was nice to be over there. They are older than the boys and they can joke around and poke fun more. The boys are fun, don't get me wrong.... but hey dont always undestand my sarcasm yet.

Well.... I'm going tosee if I can call home now. I will go to Pizza Hut tomorrow to use their internet and write a lot more. For now, it's jst a short hi!

Take care all and God bless!

I miss my internet!!!

So I won't have internet for 7-15 days until they install it. In the meantime I will try to get on at my friends house and make a trip to pizza hut and use theirs too!

So I am now living in Casa Robles (the boys home). My room looks like a room. I have pictures and shelves and such!

There is a team of about 37 high schoolers here. They took the boys and girls to the beach yesterday. I got sunburned, but it doesnt hurt.

Last night me and a couple friends saw X-men. It's really good.

Church today was awesome. We rocked out. I love the band down here. I missed not leading worship, but I trust everything is going well and is in God's hands back home. It was weird to go to church and not worry about anything for once. I'm going to enjoy that part of it!

Sorry this is short. Cant stay here for internet any longer. In a week my church group comes down. I'm excited for them!!!!

Anyways.... I gtg. Love ya all. You will hear from me a lot more once I get the internet!

Chillin....

Well i'm just chilling up on the 3rd floor lookout. It was another cool storm in the afternoon. Got really windy and I just sat in the hammock and enjoyed the weather.

I bought some furniture today. A couple shelving units so I have something to put my clothes on.

A big group comes down tonight. It's a Christian High school from Colorado i believe. I think they have around 35 people coming. So it will be a big group. I am moving into the boys home tomorrow. And on Saturday the high school group and the boys home and myself will be going to San Juan Del Sur which is about 2 hours south. It's really close to where Survivor Nicaragua was at.

It will be exciting to get my first dose of work with a mission team and the boys. I have no clue what to expect, but i'm pumped.

Well, time to take a nap i think. It's pretty quiet till this group gets here tonight. Peace out all!

Power of Prayer....

So today was awesome.....

I bought a cell phone. I'll give you guys the number here soon. Its in my cabin right now and I'm up on the 3rd floor under the stars in the middle of a storm. The lightning is amazing!

We went to the boys and girls home today. I loved seeing them.

And the highlight of my day was prayer time. Coburn (who is a friend of the Buzbees down here) has 6 guys here doing some construction work on the school he runs. Well he asked Chachi and Mr. B if we could pray with them today at 3pm. So we met at Ruby's house and went up into the prayer room. When we were done prayer it was almost 5:30pm. 2 and a half hours of prayer!!!! I know some of my friends would think that sounds crazy. Most of us can't stand it when the church service is more than an hour! hehe But this was amazing. First it felt like we were praying for 20 mins. not 2.5 hours. And second it was just awesome. Everyone was prayed for. all 10 of us all praying out loud at the same time. I felt led to sing some worship songs quietly as my prayers. I guess my prayers were providing the soundtrack of our prayer time. I felt amazing. I sang song after song from what wonderous love is this and were you there, to casting crowns and Chris Tomlin. When I sang shout to the Lord, a lot of the guys joined in. I couldnt believe I had enough songs to sing for 2.5 hours in my head. Nothing I planned on. I just felt like I needed to sing. And a new song popped into my head after every one finished. I think that's how I enjoy praying the most. I would like to think I was blessed with an ok singing voice. So I like offering my song back to God in thanks. I hope we get to do this weekly!

It was awesome though. Then we came home and had a great fried chicken dinner!

One thing hit me.... Coburn said "Hey Tom, you can help me next week some time...."

I realized.... normally I had a countdown till I had to leave. But it made me realize I will be here next week. And the next, and the next.... It's crazy. There is no rush. I am serving God and my only agenda is to have none and be willing to listen to God! What a perfect life. I am blessed I have so many people who love me that are supporting me while I do God's will and serve Him. I couldn't be here without all of you!

Please feel free to leave any comments on my blog. I love to hear what you think about my blogs. Plus I love to hear from you guys. I love ya all and miss ya.

PS.... my skype name is Tom.seipel if anyone is interested in chatting. Love ya all and talk to you soon!