Well, I decided to send my family letter through facebook and blogger this year. Since I have a few extra days this month to get things done, I am going to get my "letter of year in review" out early. I have never really done one of these letters for our family but since we are so far from family and friends this year, and God has done so many different and amazing things in our life, I thought I would share early and with everyone we could reach electronically. So here goes......
Just over a year and 4 months ago, God called us to Nicaragua. We have obeyed that call and are currently living in Leon, Nicaragua. It has been a whirlwind of a ride. We moved down here without even knowing where we would be living. God not only provided us with a house but neighbors who spoke english. We have been able to minister to so many people because of the grace and love of God. In January of this year, we met and joined a ministry called Hearts to God. Their focus, dreams and goals are very similar to ours and we have been so very blessed by their willingness to allow us to be part of what they are doing for God. In addition to joining the ministry God answered another great need of ours. We had no mode of transportation down here and this ministry had a vehicle they were very willing to allow us to use while we are here. God continues to pour His blessing down on our family. As we worked with different teams that came down to minister we have met many friends and created long lasting friendships. The children continue to make many friends and find different ways to reach out and touch the children of Nicaragua. The summer months were filled with teams and working with Mrs. Raye Morgan on getting ready to purchase land in La Paz Centro. This community is in great need of food and medical attention. Our hopes and dreams are to start a feeding center on the land that has been purchased and be able to feed in many different barrios in and surrounding La Paz Centro each day. We have been looking to apply to places in the states that will send down food for us to distribute. We continue to pray that God will open doors for us to have food everyday to feed people in La Paz Centro and the surrounding areas. This fall Sierra, John and I had the privilege of teaching a class on leadership and discipleship. Sierra worked with anywhere from 5-20 children while John and I taught the adults about what God expects of leaders in the church and community. By the end of the 12 week session she was doing crafts, videos about Jesus and even teaching from her own knowledge of the Bible. Of course, we had the translator with us in the adult class so she was doing it all on her own. God has again blessed us with a young lady so willing to do God's work and without help from a translator. I am so proud of her and her language abilities over the past many months.
Caleb has continued to grow and change as well. He has gone from a young boy to a young man. He has learned to adapt to change and even has grown in the area of language. What seemed so hard to him while we were in the states has become less of a challenge for him and he is excelling. I am also very proud of how God has worked in his life and he has been such a willing vessel to do what God asks of him. Never would I have thought he would have the courage to share the Gospel with a complete stranger in a language unknown to him before this past year. God is such an amazing God. Without a doubt, my faith and understanding of God continues to grow and change as I am able to see how He works and what part I am to play in His great plan.
Kyle continues to change as well. He received glasses just about one month ago and he felt it was going to calm him down a bit. He said it helped him to feel more in control. We continue to pray for God to help him with his distractions and I continue to believe God is doing a great work in him. Many times he has shared the Gospel and people have made decisions to follow Christ. It will be just a matter of time before he is out there changing the world on a greater scale.
Sydney is also continuing to grow and change. When we left the states she was 4 and as the year comes to an end she is heading into her 6th year of life. Her red hair is an awe inspiring thing down here and many people see her as a beauty to behold. She is constantly kissed, touched, looked at and talked about as we walk the streets. She is such a beautiful little girl. She has learned to love the Lord and allow people to touch her without crying or cringing. She is a real trouper. We are very happy that she is reading and just needs to continue to practice to improve. We weren't sure how it would all work out with hearing and learning a new language before she was reading english but again God has allowed us to be very blessed and she is reading and learning a new language at the same time. What an amazing God to make our brains so versatile.
For many months now, we have been spending our fridays feeding families all over our part of Nicaragua. We bring a bag of food containing rice, beans, tomatoes, peppers, onions, oil, potatoes, carrots, plantains or other vegetables and share the Gospel with them. God has given Sierra, Caleb, and Kyle the ability and courage to share every week and even now Sydney talks about practicing so she can do the same soon. I can only imagine how people will respond when a 5 year old shares the Gospel and asks if they want to pray the sinners prayer.
The people of Nicaragua are so patient and willing to listen if only there were enough workers to bring in the harvest. Sierra has even been courageous enough to share in spanish without a translator and the lady that listened was so very patient and in the end made a decision for Christ in spite of the broken spanish. I have no doubt God was the interpreter for Sierra and the lady heard exactly what God wanted her to hear.
John continues to astound me with his abilities to preach. He has had many opportunities to preach and share the Good news. His courage is way beyond what I would have ever guess he had in the states. God again is changing and shaping us into what He wants for our lives. I am humbled by what I see God doing each day in our lives. We continue to be willing to do whatever God asks of us and pray that much harder that Satan will be bound.
We have had a few struggles this year but nothing to compare to the blessings and changes God has given us and blessed us with. The kids are happy here and so are we. We wouldn't want to be anywhere else unless God asks us to move. We know without a shadow of a doubt this is where He wants us and we are content to do His will.
We pray for our family and friends we have left in the states and Canada and around the world. Your prayers and support have allowed us to stay down here and continue to do the will of God. All of us would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May your eyes be opened this coming year to all the amazing things that God will do for you.
Much love and prayers for you all,
Vanessa Speigle and family.
