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May 2009
Dear Praying Friends,
During Sunday School I
could see two of our men carrying a lady in a wheel chair over the soft
sand that leads up to the church entrance. After the services I learned
that Maria Louisa had been in a terrible motorcycle accident. She told
me that she believes that God spared her life and is giving her a second
chance. She had abandoned her children, one of whom is a student in our
literacy program. Now she is home and is trying to make amends. Maria
asked if we could have a special prayer service for her in her home. Of
course we could do that. As people were arriving I had a chance to speak
with her and learned that she had never been born again (John 3:3). She
wanted me to pray with her and oh what a prayer she prayed as she asked
forgiveness of Christ for her sins and received his gift of salvation.
Then she publicly asked her mother to forgive her for the way she had
treated her. The hugs and tears were abundant and beautiful.
The literacy program
continues to reap dividends beyond our expectations. Some of our
students have started coming to OANSA (AWANA) and also to Sunday school.
Now they are bringing friends and the church is gaining a good
reputation in the community. However, we ask your prayers for Yorlene,
the 11-year-old girl that had begged us to teach her to read and was the
catalyst to start the program. She rarely is allowed to come anymore.
She is forced to stay home and work. Her aunts tell us that the physical
and verbal abuse that they can hear coming from her house is as bad as
it gets. Her aunt Maritza recently interfered in this home when she
heard screaming coming from the house. Running in, she found her brother
Augustin, Yorlene´s dad, about to bash his wife´s head with a large
rock. Augustin then went into a further rage and tore his house down
upon them. Yorlene suffered scrapes and bruises on her arms and body.
Maritza ran from the rubble towards a sister’s house to try and call for
help. Augustin caught her, picked her up, and threw her down the side of
the mountain. She thought for sure she was dead. But as she flew through
the air over the side of the mountain she felt as though someone grabbed
her and set her softly on her feet, sustaining no injuries. God has
intervened many times on behalf of this family and we ask you to
continue your prayers for them.
It is exciting to see the
youth program expand. As I pick up young people in my 8 passenger
Sequoia (its held a high of 24 so far), for the various services, they
continue to point to little roads and trails in the jungle for me to go
down to pick up more of their friends. What a joy! But, oh how we need a
bus!
With the continued rise
in violence in Nicaragua, we appreciate the regular emails from the U.S.
Embassy, which gives us warnings and advice as to how to improve our
safety. The following are some things that have happened since our last
letter, all within a half mile of our church. A friend was ambushed and
stoned while on his motorcycle. He lost his bike but escaped with just
cuts and bruises. A security guard was shot and killed and robbed of his
pistol. An American woman was kidnapped in her home but we are happy to
report that the perpetrators could be candidates for the world’s dumbest
criminals. The lady was easily rescued and unharmed. Last Saturday on my
way to our youth meeting I saw a fellow near the road who was face down
in the dirt and his hands and feet were tied behind his back. I later
learned that he had robbed the wrong lady who cried for help and he was
then immediately over-powered by the folks nearby. Good for them!
I had to go someplace
last week that I desperately try to avoid. Two of the men from church
went with me to the Mercado Oriental to purchase tarps for the large
windows at church. (The rainy season is upon us and we must cover the
windows to stay dry.) The Oriental is the largest market in Central
America and has a violent reputation that causes smart Americans to
avoid it. I was amused as my dark skinned companions turned us into an
Oreo cookie. They kept the soft creamy one in the center as we walked
through the crowded market place. No one was going to bop their
missionary on the head! Their care for me is really precious. Our quest
was successful and we had no problems at all, “gracias a Dios”.
God is good, and we feel
truly blessed to have the opportunity to work amongst the people of
Nicaragua.
Thank you for your continued love, prayers, and support,
Ken and Krista Dowell – Nicaragua
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