Friday, July 8, 2016

We left Juigalpa this morning and said "see you later" to our friends at Hebron Baptist. After driving a couple hours, we stopped by to see the volcano in Masaya. 

We had lunch at Tip Top which is a local fast food restaurant that serves chicken. Then we headed to the market to do a little souvenir shopping. 

We are now at the hotel right across the road from the Managua airport. We will get up early in the morning for our flight back to Atlanta. Please be praying for us as we travel!

This week has flown by! We can't wait to share stories with you when we get back!

Thursday, July 7, 2016

We started out the day with door to door visits. No one was saved, but so many seeds were planted! We also got to go visit several homes and provide encouragement and pray for them. As soon as we left door to door visits, Page, Ellie, and Macey went back to the pediatric hospital to deliver baby wipes to several of the small children in the hospital who were very sick. 

After lunch we had a VBS with a fiesta theme! Jodi taught the children the creation story, and the children loved participating in the lesson. After the lesson, they colored pictures of their faces to represent that we are all different and God loves each one of us because we are all His creation. Then, we gave the children bracelets that showed the colors representing the plan of salvation. It was snack and game time after that!

After VBS, Page shared a Bible study with the church leaders. We gave the pastor Logos software to use as he prepares messages to preach. We also gave them inductive Bible study material on the characteristics of leadership and worked through the first few pages of the Bible study together. 

After dinner, we will have our last worship service of the week with Hebron Baptist Church. We have several songs and testimonies we have planned to share, and Denise and Dakota will each share a message to the church. We are looking forward to a great service! 

Please pray for our team because we will be driving back to Managua on Friday morning. Pray that we will have safe travel!

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

What another wonderful day! We started out the morning by going to a barrio that was about 10-15 minutes away from Hebron Baptist. We did door to door evangelism, and we handed out Spanish Bibles, candy, and new flip flops. Most importantly, 6 people accepted Christ and many seeds were planted! Please pray for the people near us. We are finding a lot of people who believe that their good works will get them to heaven. So we have been talking to people about having assurance of their faith and how we are saved by grace through faith. 

When we finished door to door evangelism, several us were able to meet a lady who has started a church in her home in that barrio. As we went door to door, we made sure to invite the people to the church in her home. We also left Spanish tracts and Bibles with the lady so that she will have ministry supplies to use.

After lunch we had a VBS for the children were Macey taught about the walls of Jericho. We had a relay race and snack for the children. 

Then, Shelby led us in a women's Bible study on the book of Ephesians. It was so amazing to have discussion with the ladies of the church and hear how God is working in their lives. After the study, the ladies enjoyed making headbands.

We finished out the day by going to a beautiful overlook of the city and having pizza. We are looking forward to another great day on Thursday!

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

What a wonderful day! We started out with door to door evangelism. We came across several people who aren't sure if they wanted to receive Christ today, but we know seeds were planted. We did see two people get saved today so we praise the Lord for the work He is doing! There are so many amazing individual stories of the conversations we get to have with people through door to door evangelism. When we get back home, we can't wait to share those stories with you!

After lunch, we had a VBS and over 50 children came! Shelby taught the story of Daniel and the Lions' den. 

Then we played with balloons and had a snack for the children. 

One of the most precious times of the day was this afternoon when we visited the pediatric section of the local hospital. Hebron Baptist Church is wanting to reach out to the people in the hospital, so they asked us to join them. We took toiletry bags and sandwiches to the children and their families. We also prayed for God to bring healing to them. We want to say a special thank you to Mrs. Sue Burgess. She sent several crocheted baby hats. We were able to deliver those to the new mothers in the maternity section of the hospital. 

Tonight we are having an evangelistic service with the church. Please pray that many people will come, and that many will be saved!

Monday, July 4, 2016

We started out with a rainy morning in Juigalpa. Because of the rain we didn't get to stay out doing door to door evangelism as long as we originally planned. However, we were still able to share the Gospel and see 7 people accept Christ! 

Also, all our missing luggage arrived this morning! We are so thankful to have all the ministry supplies that we had packed away in our checked luggage!

After lunch, we had VBS with the children. Ellie told a story about Jesus and then the children enjoyed a few minutes of coloring. One of the pictures below shows a display of the children's artwork! 

Then, we showed the children a soccer ball with different colors that represent the Gospel. Dakota explained how the colors represent the Gospel and then the children colored the soccer balls. We explained how they could play with the soccer balls and it would give them an opportunity to tell their friends about Jesus. 

After VBS, the men played volleyball with a few young guys and Denise led the women in a Bible study. She taught about inductive Bible study and ideas they can use to help them study the Bible. We were able to give them some study material in Spanish to go along with the study. 

Our final activity of the day was a movie night with the church. The pastor showed The War Room in Spanish (with English subtitles). Overall, it was a very blessed day! 

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Our flight to Nicaragua went very well, and we got through customs with no problem. When we made it out of customs, we discovered that the luggage didn't make it for 9 out of 10 of us. Along with more clothes and our personal items, we had a lot of VBS and Bible study material in our checked bags to use.  But above all, we know that God is in control and nothing takes Him by surprise.  God has provided for every single need.  This just teaches us that while we are praying that our luggage makes it back quickly, we still want to give God the glory for everything He's provided during this circumstance. Plus, I'm expecting that God has something big in mind for this week and we've just got to trust Him and be obedient! 

We started out the day with a Sunday morning worship service. Hebron Baptist led us in some songs in Spanish and then Ellie and Shelby led us in a few songs in English. 

After that, Denise, Macey, Jodi, and Allie took the kids back for children's church while Page shared a few words with the church about what it means to be a disciple. 

After lunch, we had a fun afternoon playing volleyball with the youth at Hebron Baptist Church. Most importantly, we got to share the Gospel with a group of young men that came to play. 

Later we had a Sunday evening church service where Jodi and Shelby played while our translators Tavo and Jasmine sang. 

We are looking forward to a great Monday and seeing what the Lord has planned! 

Time To Go!

Our team is so excited to be on our way to the airport right now! Our flight is scheduled for late this afternoon. After our four hour flight, we've got about a two hour drive from Managua to Juigalpa. So, we are in for a late night tonight, but it will definitely be worth it to finally get to be in Nicaragua again! Pray that we will have safe travel and a restful night before we start our week of ministry!

Two Weeks To Go....

I am so excited because in just two weeks and a day, it will be time for our LBC team to get on a plane and head back to Nicaragua! God has been so good to us as we have prepared for this trip. Every year I always stand amazed at how God uses so many different people in our lives to provide the funds for the trip, and to above all, PRAY! Please pray for our LBC team... and all the things you pray for us, please also pray the same for our partner church, Hebron Baptist Church. The members of their church will be out in the field with us every day serving the Lord by ministering to the people in their community.

LBC Mission Team: Page Trantham, Allie Curvin, Shelby Epps, Ellie Morris, Dakota Heathcock, Joe Eddie Smith, Paul Argo, Denise Argo, Macey Argo, and Jodi Argo

Pray for safe travel. Pray for strength, courage, and energy. Pray that every day, we will put on the full armor of God so that Satan will be defeated in any way that he tries to hinder this trip. Pray that everything we do during that week will bring honor and glory to God. Pray that God will give us the words to speak as we share the Gospel through door-to-door evangelism, VBS, Bible studies, worship music, and in our daily conversations with the people there. Pray that we will fully lean on God to provide everything we need to do ministry during that week. Most importantly, please pray that hearts, minds, and ears will be open and receptive to the Gospel of Christ. 

I cannot wait to go back and see all our friends at Hebron Baptist Church in Juigalpa, Nicaragua. For our LBC team members that have never been, I cannot wait for them to meet the people at Hebron and develop the friendships we have over the last few years. We are going to Nicaragua expecting God to work in a mighty way! I'm excited to see what He is going to do!

Ephesians 6: 18-20  And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. Pray also for me, that whenever I speak words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Page Trantham