Monday, February 26, 2007
Dear family and friends,
As you know there is nothing more special than a good friend. You know the Bible says that a friend sticks closer than a brother and is with you at all times. We have many friends that we know are this to us. Money can't buy those relationships and when money is gone, things are gone, entertainment is gone, the relationships we have will still be there. One of Cindy's such friends, Karen McBride appeared on our door step here in Nicaragua last week just to encourage and love on Cindy! What a friend! How special it was to have Karen with us for those few days and how special it was for so many of you to send the gifts, food, etc. We are enjoying some of the comforts of home such as pop tarts, candy, zax sauce, and yes even bedspreads from home! We had so many special items. It meant more that you realize. When you see Karen ask her directions to , well anywhere, and I'll bet she'll say, "recto!" Oh, and please don't ask Yvette to pick out any peanut butter for you. It could be hazardous to your health!:) Yvette, thanks for your attempt at sending Peanut Butter. Who would have thought that the one she sent would have the recall lot number!
I want to share with you what I sense about this country and therefore why we chose to come here to Nicaragua. Even though eight weeks have passed since moving here I find myself at times thinking "why in the world did I uproot my wonderful children and precious wife and move to a third world country that is so different in every way from what we have always known and experienced." In the U.S. our children were very successful in school and in extra curricular activities plus the opportunities they were afforded back home were plentiful. We were part of a wonderful church. We were close to many wonderful friends and we worked for great organizations with great people. Why would I do such a thing? This move has rearranged much for my family. In a sense they are having to start over. For that I feel like I'm hanging in the balance and looking at both sides of the coin. On one side, feeling so guilty to put them through the difficulties of a new place, culture, school, language, friends, etc. and on the other side of the coin it could be that they will grow and develop a sense of purpose and a perspective that will strengthen both their relationship with the Lord and their future life pursuits.For years Cindy and I have for some reason been drawn to the people of other countries. Sometimes we feel like we can sense God's outstretched longing arms towards the Nations because He is for all people and the time of His return and judgement is coming soon. He doesn't want anyone to be on the other side of salvation. He "came to seek and to save the lost." In a way that I can't fully explain this burden became more real than ever in October of 2005. It continued to swell until we had to take tangible steps in response. Coming to Nicaragua is a step in response to what we feel to be God's heart for a Nation that is about to experience an outpouring of God's true and sovereign presence and a revival of lost souls that will change and shake this and other Nations. We feel that God may possibly allow us to experience what He is doing and is about to pour out in this country. We also know that if we remain totally open and yielded to God in every way in our personal lives that, as we make ourselves available to serve, He will do a new and fresh work in us and will fill us over and over and over with His fresh fire and passion. Right now we want to see it happen and be a part of it all and to a degree we are, but the day to day reality is that we are still learning the language, attempting to understand the culture and navigate our way around.
Some things that are making us feel like we are at least making some progress are that I did get to speak at the Nicaraguan Christian Academy Chapel service for the K through 6th grades. I have recently put together several rough drafts of activities and short devotions for the children at the orphanage and I hope to share these with them as I have access to an interpreter who can accompany me there. I plan to do this on a regular basis. I am also looking at moving forward in acquiring the rights to the International School of Ministry curriculum which would be the essence of the training centers that we would work to establish in churches throughout Nicaragua. Tim Bagwell has had several calls from Pastors expressing interest and will begin forwarding them on to me to follow-up with. The main thing I need to do is purchase the rights, and obtain the materials so that I can begin to copy the DVDs and create workbooks. There are other things we really want to do in the future such as possibly being a part of a church plant, growing and developing EFI here in Nicaragua, hosting teams, etc. but we just need to exercise patience.We are so excited about the purposes of God and His call to all people. God Bless you and please don't hesitate to contact us if we can do anything for you.Love,Mark Quillen (on behalf of all the Quillens)
Posted by ********** at 7:38 PM
1 comments:
Sabrina said...
Mark, thanks so much for sharing your heart! Just reading your words give me a renewed sense of God's purpose for me :)FYI - Natalie had her baby last week... check my blog for some pictures :)Many blessings!!
February 27, 2007 3:18 PM
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Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Monday, February 5, 2007
It's an Adventure!
Dear Friends and Family,
These last two weeks have been full of much adventure and even more learning about the Nicaraguan culture. As some of you may have heard, we have experienced first hand how to deal with having your car repaired in a third world country. If you think having your car repaired in the U.S. is inconvenient, try communicating with a mechanic who does not speak English and then going with the mechanic to obtain the part to your car in the oriental market- not knowing that is where you were going until it was too late to back out. (We have been told by other North American missionaries that " the oriental market" is one place that you do not want to go to). Well, Mark went and it was quite an experience! Mark also experienced his first motorcycle ride in Nicaragua when the mechanic insisted on taking him home on the back of his motorcycle. Mark held on with one hand and had his Spanish book tucked under his other arm. We won't mention that there was no helmet involved! Because Mark had such a great experience at the oriental market- I wanted to go. Our Spanish instructor agreed to take us both one day after our Spanish class. Cindy took all her jewelry off and Mark gave our money to Freddy (our Spanish Instructor). We did exactly as Freddy said and we were safe. The people were very nice and quite excited to see Chelles (North Americans). The oriental market is where most Nicaraguans do all of their shopping. You can find ANYTHING that you need there- from plastic ware, clothes, car parts, fish, chicken, beef, fruits and vegetables, electronics, furniture, and even live Iguanas. It is huge! We did not branch out and try any of the food, but we were able to purchase a few things. Just to give you an idea of the prices, we bought a scientific calculator for Luke for school ($1.75), a school uniform skirt for Markie ($4.00), and worm medicine for our puppy ($1.00).
We have also experienced the Nicaraguan grocery store. It is called Pali. Most missionaries that we have met shop at La Colonia, La Union, or Pricemart. These stores have some American products, are air conditioned, and are over all nicer. We are trying to get a feel for how the typical Nicaraguan lives, so we wanted to try out their grocery store. We actually liked it.
Our kids are settling into school.(Markie is doing much better) Stephen is playing basketball and Luke, Markie, and Philip are playing soccer for the school. Hopefully this will help them to feel more at home.We have had several injuries, Cindy broke her thumb (she fell down our steps), Stephen bruised his sternum very badly at basketball practice and had to come out of the first game due to the pain (he is improving each day), and Philip has injured his thumb, but it is not broken. Luke is on antibiotics for a throat infection, but we are all on the mend.
Saturday, Janurary 27, 2007 we attended the dedication for The House of Hope. This is a home for newly saved, former prostitutes who are pursuing a new life in Jesus. The House of Hope was founded by Mike and April Havlin, EFI missionaries from North Carolina. At the home the women and their children are given a place to live, are discipled in the Lord, and are taught a trade such as sewing, simple business principles (running a fruit stand), and their children also have the opportunity to go to a nearby school.
Mark and I are continuing to work on studying Spanish. We are conjugating verbs, developing sentence structure, increasing our Spanish vocabulary, and interacting with Nicaraguans every chance we get. We have so far to go, but we are able to communicate on a very basic level. Most people are very patient and even try to help us. We are ready to DO what we came here to do, but realize that the Language must be the priority at this point. Mark has been able to make some contacts and this may develop into a site for the first Bible College. Please pray that we would be able to learn this language "RAPIDO"!!!!
Mark will be doing the chapel service for the school that our children attend on February 19th. Please pray that he will have the Word of the Lord for these children.We have also met some other missionaries who have been so encouraging to us. They are from various denominations, and are all doing different works, but we all have one purpose- to share the Love of Jesus with the people of this country. Please know that we miss you very much, but as we have said before, we know that a part of you is here with us. Thank you for your support- prayer, phone calls, emails, and financial. We would not be here without you.We Love You!Mark, Cindy, Stephen, Luke, Markie, and Philip
Posted by ********** at 10:23 PM
1 comments:
Sandy said...
Glad to hear from you. All is well in Sparkle City.Basketball season is over at Dawkins, Miss seing you at work. Keep up the the good work and God bless you guys for your work.Sandy
February 11, 2007 12:06 PM
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These last two weeks have been full of much adventure and even more learning about the Nicaraguan culture. As some of you may have heard, we have experienced first hand how to deal with having your car repaired in a third world country. If you think having your car repaired in the U.S. is inconvenient, try communicating with a mechanic who does not speak English and then going with the mechanic to obtain the part to your car in the oriental market- not knowing that is where you were going until it was too late to back out. (We have been told by other North American missionaries that " the oriental market" is one place that you do not want to go to). Well, Mark went and it was quite an experience! Mark also experienced his first motorcycle ride in Nicaragua when the mechanic insisted on taking him home on the back of his motorcycle. Mark held on with one hand and had his Spanish book tucked under his other arm. We won't mention that there was no helmet involved! Because Mark had such a great experience at the oriental market- I wanted to go. Our Spanish instructor agreed to take us both one day after our Spanish class. Cindy took all her jewelry off and Mark gave our money to Freddy (our Spanish Instructor). We did exactly as Freddy said and we were safe. The people were very nice and quite excited to see Chelles (North Americans). The oriental market is where most Nicaraguans do all of their shopping. You can find ANYTHING that you need there- from plastic ware, clothes, car parts, fish, chicken, beef, fruits and vegetables, electronics, furniture, and even live Iguanas. It is huge! We did not branch out and try any of the food, but we were able to purchase a few things. Just to give you an idea of the prices, we bought a scientific calculator for Luke for school ($1.75), a school uniform skirt for Markie ($4.00), and worm medicine for our puppy ($1.00).
We have also experienced the Nicaraguan grocery store. It is called Pali. Most missionaries that we have met shop at La Colonia, La Union, or Pricemart. These stores have some American products, are air conditioned, and are over all nicer. We are trying to get a feel for how the typical Nicaraguan lives, so we wanted to try out their grocery store. We actually liked it.
Our kids are settling into school.(Markie is doing much better) Stephen is playing basketball and Luke, Markie, and Philip are playing soccer for the school. Hopefully this will help them to feel more at home.We have had several injuries, Cindy broke her thumb (she fell down our steps), Stephen bruised his sternum very badly at basketball practice and had to come out of the first game due to the pain (he is improving each day), and Philip has injured his thumb, but it is not broken. Luke is on antibiotics for a throat infection, but we are all on the mend.
Saturday, Janurary 27, 2007 we attended the dedication for The House of Hope. This is a home for newly saved, former prostitutes who are pursuing a new life in Jesus. The House of Hope was founded by Mike and April Havlin, EFI missionaries from North Carolina. At the home the women and their children are given a place to live, are discipled in the Lord, and are taught a trade such as sewing, simple business principles (running a fruit stand), and their children also have the opportunity to go to a nearby school.
Mark and I are continuing to work on studying Spanish. We are conjugating verbs, developing sentence structure, increasing our Spanish vocabulary, and interacting with Nicaraguans every chance we get. We have so far to go, but we are able to communicate on a very basic level. Most people are very patient and even try to help us. We are ready to DO what we came here to do, but realize that the Language must be the priority at this point. Mark has been able to make some contacts and this may develop into a site for the first Bible College. Please pray that we would be able to learn this language "RAPIDO"!!!!
Mark will be doing the chapel service for the school that our children attend on February 19th. Please pray that he will have the Word of the Lord for these children.We have also met some other missionaries who have been so encouraging to us. They are from various denominations, and are all doing different works, but we all have one purpose- to share the Love of Jesus with the people of this country. Please know that we miss you very much, but as we have said before, we know that a part of you is here with us. Thank you for your support- prayer, phone calls, emails, and financial. We would not be here without you.We Love You!Mark, Cindy, Stephen, Luke, Markie, and Philip
Posted by ********** at 10:23 PM
1 comments:
Sandy said...
Glad to hear from you. All is well in Sparkle City.Basketball season is over at Dawkins, Miss seing you at work. Keep up the the good work and God bless you guys for your work.Sandy
February 11, 2007 12:06 PM
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