Football & Battles Within

Preparing to watch Superbowl 46 from the comfort of my family room, enjoy tasty food, good company and entertaining commercials that cost millions (last year - $3 million per 30 seconds), has got me thinking.  With this year's game less than a week away (not pulling for either team) and the last NFL championship that I was really excited about 20 years behind me (Superbowl 26, the last time that the Redskins won a Superbowl), I was wondering what has changed about the game besides the Redskins not going the distance?    

Although Joe Gibbs did a great deal for the franchise, my favorite coach to read about is Vince Lombardi.  His understanding of the game seemed to transcend the football field.  The principles that he coached by are inspiring and could be applied to almost any area of life.  One of my favorite quotes of his is...

“It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men. 

Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way and once you have won his heart, 

he will follow you anywhere.” - Vince Lombardi

Lombardi's phrase that truly captures me is, "It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men."  It makes me wonder what battles I am fighting within my heart?  What do I believe is worth fighting for and am I winning those battles?  That begs the question, "What has won my heart and who or what do I follow?"  

I claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ but what happens when my heart is pulled in different directions?  Am I always willing to follow Him anywhere?  I'd like to think so, but I believe that the answer comes back to my heart and those daily internal battles that I fight.  As I am often tempted to think of self first, I strive to serve others and follow Jesus wherever He leads.  

The End of an Amazing Week

We were up early to collect the second half of the group from the airport in Managua this morning since we could only fly half yesterday.  We were picked up by a large yellow school bus and driven to Grenada for lunch. Dustin & Lisa Holliday met us for lunch since they are just finishing week one of a two week Spanish immersion program there. Then we were off to a discount market in Messiah, Nicaragua for some final deals before making our way home.

We departed from Nicaragua almost one hour late and ran through the El Salvador airport to make our final flight back to Dulles.  All made it on safely and Ben Cooper was upgraded to first class for the entire ride home.  He was kind enough to let Toni Schwarting have his ticket and enjoy his seat since she worked hard to organize the details of our trip.  We arrived at Dulles close to 2:30AM and of course, faithful Tye Stone was on call to collect us from the airport and drive us back to church. I am writing this final blog before drifting off to sleep at 5AM. It was an amazing trip and the group made plans to rendezvous at the 11:30AM service in the morning. Hope I wake for it. Thanks once again to all of you who prayed for our trip - we felt the support!

Winding Down

We were up early and took the second half of group to the prison for a visit after breakfast. We took a birthday present to one of the teen boys in jail who said that he didn't know his birthdate and has never celebrated a birthday. One student donated him a soccer jersey as a gift. The prison visit was meaningful although the atmosphere there is extremely oppressive with a very bad stench and poor lighting.  The other half of the group stayed behind to complete our construction projects.

We are packing up for half of our group to return on the last flight to Managua tonight. This will help ensure every group member making it to Managua in time for our flight home tomorrow night. We are due into Dulles airport around 2AM on Sunday morning.

We received a few emails inquiring about sickness. We had two female students both run a temperature for about 12 hours, but both had their fevers break and they are up and around with no problem now. No other students have been sick so please don't panic. All is well and spirits are high - thanks again for all the prayer support! 

It Just Keeps Getting Better!

Today began with 21 from our group heading off to the local prison straight after breakfast.  The group divided in two, with our girls and 2 of our males going to visit the part of the prison with teenage boys and women.  The rest of our group visited the 2 cell blocks with men.  Ben Cooper preached with a translator and the entire group was moved.  The other half of our group did construction while the prison ministry took place.  We plan to repeat the visit tomorrow morning with the other half of our group, so please pray for the prison ministry.

After lunch our entire group packed onto three buses with the orphans for a trip to the beach. We were praying for the rain to let up and while it did rain for a short time, it was perfect beach weather to keep everyone from burning.  We had a short baptism service in the ocean with 3 students getting baptized: Heather & Parker Hough, as well as my son Murphy.  It was an amazing experience.

Tonight we attended church with the locals and orphans and are about to call it a night so that we have some energy left for tomorrow.  This week just keeps getting better!

Students Leading the Charge

Today we had a group of students take a trip to the local hospital.  We had heard of the deplorable conditions; understaffed and poorly supplied, with a monthly government budget of $2,000 for supplies for hundreds of patients.  The stench and feel of the place was one of sickness and depression. The ten students delivered a number of supplies that they had personally solicited while back in the states.

After delivering materials, they wondered the hallways looking for people to pray with.  The students prayed for a large number of adults, children and elderly who asked for prayer.  Then they heard loud cries of a person in excruciating pain.  They followed the noise and ended up in a room with a mother and her 12 year old daughter.  The daughter was bleeding out and was in serious need of care, beyond what this hospital could provide.  When one of our students asked the nurse about the situation, they said, "If this girl does not get to Managua for treatment, she will not survive. The problem is that she does not have the money for a flight there."  Grace Bramblett asked, "How much will that cost?"  The nurse answered, "$250." The students were so moved that they literally got on the floor and asked God for provision and healing for the girl.  

The 10 students arrived back around lunch time and shared the concern with our entire group.  I watched in amazement as students ran back to their rooms and returned with as much money as they could scrounge.  Some gave all that they had.  Together they raised close to $600, which they brought to the family after lunch to cover flight and other medical needs.  As you can imagine, they were overjoyed and grateful.  I listened this evening as students processed the days events.  This group is clearly moved by the way the living God is at work in their lives.  It has been a blessing to be a part of this trip! 

The Sun Showed Up Today

While we did still wake to a thunderous downpour, the sun poked through and made this our nicest day weather-wise.  Attitudes were positive as we headed out to work post breakfast and picked up where we left off yesterday.  The only difference today was that the group understood the task at hand so people dove into jobs with renewed energy and determination. 

The cooks spoiled us this evening with scalloped potatoes and a lobster dish (Amazing!)  We finished a wonderful porch time and called it a night at 11PM.  We will be up as a group tomorrow at 7:20AM for group quiet times/devotions.  Thanks again for your prayers! 

And the Work begins!

Today we were up very early to begin the day right with a quiet time. Just as we were getting started at 7:20AM, someone from Pastor Earl's house came out to let us know that we had the time wrong and that it was actually 6:20AM. Students stood up in a hurry to rush back to bed for one more hour of sleep. Oops, my mistake.

We started again an hour later with pancakes, got our work assignments and it was time to go. Some worked on setting up the orphan crafts for the week, others helped mix and pour a concrete floor for a new room at the school, another group hammered up boards, while the final group of students helped build the roof of the new school rooms.

Attitudes were amazing,lunch was appreciated and the group was right back to work. This has been the rainiest of my three years here,with periodic heavy downpours throughout each day. In addition, the power seems to go on and off in similar fashion. Once again, the students age maintained flexible spirits and outstanding attitudes given the constant change in circumstances. We had a wonderful group porch time tonight and sent the group off to bed at 10PM since there were a lot of exhausted looking faces. Tomorrow we will be back up for day two of work. Thanks again for your prayers!