Medlins Makin' Music

So thankful God's allowing us to participate in 

leading the worship time at church.

"Summer Break" with the kids in Chichigalpa

With the children out of school in Nicaragua, we have the opportunity to spend some time during the week teaching English and VBS at La Iglesia Buenas Nuevas!

Planting seeds after learning about creation

Game Time!

God is so Good

My Dad's struggle with cancer ended Nov. 8th, and he went to be with Jesus.  God's goodness throughout that situation was amazing. He allowed me to return to the States and spend some time with my Dad before he passed away. I was able to stay with my Mom a while afterwards, and enjoy the sweet fellowship of the Christian family God has blessed me with. 

I love you, Lord, and I thank you for blessing me during the loss of my Dad. I thank you so much for making him my Dad. He introduced me to you, and he lived the life of a disciple as a great example for me to follow.

Blessings

This weekend, God allowed us to renew our visas to be in Nicaragua for 90 more days. We took a 3 day trip to Costa Rica to do so, and got to visit with Kellie's cousin's family!  It was such a great time of refreshment.  Thanks for meeting up with us Ken and Jen!

Abigail, Sydney, Sienna, and Christina chattin' in the pool

Trey, Jacob, and Micah 

MacKenzie and Gabriel watching a movie and
enjoying the air conditioning!

Worship with La Iglesia Buenas Nuevas

So thankful for the opportunity to sing and play music
to the Lord!

Christina and Gema singing a special

Michael with hermana Magdalena.

Teaching out of 1 Cor. 15 with translating help
from his buddy Charlie

Young Adult Bible Study Retreat

Studying God's Word together at Poneloya

The guys were way out numbered, but they gave it their best!

Praying for Gema and Jacob after their baptisms

The whole crew

Working, Playing, and Worshipping with Friends

Here are some things we've been doing with Pastor Carlos' church...

Building the cover for the new septic tank

Digging!

A serious game of tug of war at a church picnic!

Who can blow up their balloon first,
without touching it with their hands?

CRAZY swim time, after the baptisms

Baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Grateful for Briggi's Visit

During the month of July we enjoyed having Kellie's second cousin, Briggi, with us.  

Thank you so much for coming and jumping right in to whatever opportunity God put before you!  We miss you already. Please give the family big hugs for us.

Briggi holding Caleb, Bridelka's little boy

Gema, Gabriel, Michael, and Briggi as they prepared
to leave for a mission trip with FBJ in Honduras.

Jen! It was so good to catch up with you, too.  Thank
you for bringing Briggi over from Costa Rica.

At the top of a water slide, with a view
of activity from the nearby volcano.

We all enjoyed your company, and your help,
so much.

Fantastic Helpers!

Hannah and Christina in our "backyard."

Kellie's second cousin returned to Nicaragua with us for a few weeks.  We're so glad you're here, Hannah!

Yesterday, she and Christina were a huge help, doing things like:

• Stuffing bags with school supplies for 129 children
• Mopping floors
• Grocery shopping for our family
• Baking awesome brownies, from scratch

Thank you both for the blessing you are to me!

" I Thank My God Every Time I Remember You" Phil. 1:3

We were grateful to enjoy some time with our family in the States, before a busy summer back in Nicaragua.

The boys got to work on some appliances with Pa Paw

Gabriel and his cousin Seth

Mom and Aunt Renelle, enjoying time together, as usual!

Uncle Tom with Jacob at his birthday party

Grandmother Perkins celebrated with us, too!

Swimming with cousins Emily and Naomi

Patricia and the girls getting ready for a day of shopping!

Jacob loves to ride dirt bikes at his Paw Paw's house.

Jacob and Paw Paw

Paw Paw, Mrs. Patricia, and Dolly

Michael and the girls heading to N.C.

Kellie and Wendy enjoying another adventure together.

10 Reasons You Should Be a Missionary

10 Reasons You Should Be a Missionary

Edited From the Blog of Jonathan Trotter

If you will, journey through a Top Ten list of why the job of a missionary is just plain awesome.

10. You’ll get to try new things, like typhoid fever and amoebas.
On the bright side, most of the time your illnesses will sound cool. And cool illnesses make people pray more.

9. You will have friends from countries you didn’t know existed.
Faroe Islands? East Timor? Canada? Living abroad tends to add countries to the map. But consider yourself warned, living abroad also confuses things. For example, I’m no longer sure if a boot is a type of shoe or a part of a car. Is paste something with which you build a house or a sandwich? Is a biscuit breakfast food or dessert? And what about this thing called “a barbie”?

8. Your driving skills will “improve.”

Who knew you could survive so well without rearview mirrors, turn signals or lanes? Who knew driving 20mph (or 32kph for those of you who don’t know how to measure stuff correctly) could be so exhilarating. -

7. You’ll learn to be grateful for the little things, like ice or ranch dressing.

It's not just us North Americans who want some better tasting food.  A melted Snickers bar can often get you out of some long lines and sticky situations.-

6. Your bargaining skills will improve…with the police.
The police don’t want to write you a ticket, and you don’t really want to pay a ticket. And everyone knows you didn’t really violate a law anyway. You may just have to give up that bottle of cold Pepsi.

5. You will learn how to complain in multiple languages.
The ability to complain, out loud, in front of other people, without them knowing, is the gift of a lifetime. Just be sure to do a quick perimeter check for possible same-language listeners within earshot.-

4. You’ll always be able to use the excuse, “I’m not from around here.”
When you need to explain why you wear clothes, or why you don’t really care much for fresh termites, fried spiders or chicken beaks, simply state “I’m not from around here.”

3. Fashion rules will no longer apply.
You ever seen a missionary? Yeah.

2. You’ll get to report to hundreds of people, every month, details about your work, your family, and how you spend your money.
Who needs Dave Ramsey when you have the entire deacon board of multiple churches analyzing your finances? It’s accountability on huge quantities of steroids.

1. You’ll get to experience the raw joy of crossing language barriers, cultural barriers, time zones and comfort zones, simply to invite someone to follow Jesus.

Maybe you preach the gospel straight up, street-corner style. Maybe you serve the sickest and the poorest, touching the folks no one else wants to touch. Maybe you teach English or a vocation, aiming to empower. Maybe you do a thousand things for economies or community health or justice. Whatever you do, there is one Love that draws us all together and pushes us out the door. Every day.

His name is Jesus, and at the end of the day, He is worth.it.all.

-

Christina's Friend Leslie

Christina has a recently new friend who lives with her grandmother across from the mission.  Leslie just turned 11 this week and Christina will be 11 on Sunday.  She's a great girl and a lot of fun!