Time is flying




This update is long overdue so let us get you caught up on how your support and prayers are making a difference in Nicaragua! Before we do, though, let us express how overwhelmingly wonderful it was to see so many of our friends and family during our visit at Christmas. We also want you to know that our internet and vonage phone have been painfully sporadic during the past two months. For a few minutes they will operate OK and then for the next bit of time connections will drop. This has literally been the case since returning at the beginning of January. We have been frequent visitors to the telephone company that supplies our internet and we have been frequent callers to vonage, but these problems have perisisted (extremely frustrating!) While things seem to be clearing up a bit this week, I am taking advantge and preparing this blog report.



Relationships



There is nothing that compares to the specialness of relationships and time with people you love and share a common purpose with. That is what we miss the most and that is what we cherished the most as we spent time with you while we were home. The time spent with our families, our friends, and our home church, Evangel Cathedral, was extremely special. We also enjoyed our time visiting with our former employers, Upward Unlimited, Spartanburg Regional and the Urology Surgicenter and our visit to Legacy Cathedral reconnecting with Pastor's Kevin and Tracie Baird. During our time in Spartanburg we hardly saw our children as they eagerly spent as much time as possible with family and friends. It was a wonderful time and now that we've been back we are missing you all more than ever! We would like to give a special thanks to our family and friends that gave us the wonderful reception at The Hanger at First Baptist Church on January 3rd. It was a perfect way for us and our children to visit with those that we were not able to see one on one while we were home. It meant more to us than you will ever know!


Please know that we continue to appreciate the financial sacrifices you all are making in supporting us. We do not take it for granted. By way of information, we experienced a drop in our support for the month of February. We received approximately 50% of our monthly budget so needless to say we are trusting that March will bring us through. If by chance you forgot to drop your support in the mail for February or if you would like to send a one time gift or a monthly gift you may send your tax deductible donation to the following address:

Evangel Fellowship International Attention: Mark and Cindy Quillen 200 Evangel Road Spartanburg, S.C. 29301

Highlighting January and February

In January we resumed the EFI ISOM Bible College classes, our work and support with Abundant Life Managua Church (our local church), and we worked, along with the other three EFI missionary families here, in preparing for the EFI Pastors Conference that was hosted here in Managua on January 25-26. Bishop Miles, Matt Lutz, from Raliegh, NC, and a team lead by Jan King from our home church, Evangel Cathedral, participated in the conference. The conference was attended by approximately 280 people from different departments of Nicaragua. We even had a small group from the Rio Coco. The Rio Coco area is extremely primitive with few roads. They traveled 1/2 day by boat and on foot, then a whole day by bus (the buses here are old beat-up school buses) on terrible roads to get to the conference. The conference was a tremendous success. At the conference, we had an ISOM Bible College information table set up. There was strong interest from many senior pastors and, as a result, we have attended meetings in several areas and have more meetings scheduled as part of a plan to help these pastors get schools started in their areas. Following is a quick look at these new opportunities.

1) Cuidad Sandino, Pastor Rolando Chamorrio, Church name: Iglesia Comunidad Shalom. Mark met with the pastor and reviewed the entire structure and purpose of the program. The pastor has a background as a Bible proffesor and pastor. Of the members and attenders of this church there are approximately 20 people ready to enroll They will also accept additional enrollments from other leaders and churches in their community. Cuidad Sandino is a large lower class community on the outskirts of Managua. This church and pastor are strong and are doing well. He wants to provide oppportunity and development for his people and sees the college as a great start to this.

2) The department of Chinandega. Pastor Osvaldo Bonilla. Orgsnization name is ACRI. Pastor Bonilla's organization oversees 7 churches, several feeding programs, a medical clininc, a prison ministry, and other outreach ministries. He is also the president of a National Council of pastors in Chinandega. We met pastor Bonilla and his wife at the EFI conference in January. They invited us to come and speak to their pastors organization and we did so this February 20th. Jeannie Kellet, EFI's humanitarian aide director, was in Nicaragua, and Jeannie was able to go with us on that hot, two hour, bumpy ride to Chinandega. There were approximately 40 pastors in attendance and they were excited about the opportunity to host a Bible Institute that would serve all of them. Our goal is to set-up a school in Chinandega, with a coordinator that Mark can train and work with to run the school as an extension of Pastor Bonilla's ministry. Pastor Bonilla and his wife have been serving in Chinandega for 12 years and were sent out by Verbo Church Ministries in Managua. They project that they will have approximately 100 students from their area of Chinandega.



3) On March, 10 Mark traveled to the department of Juigalpa to present EFI ISOM to a pastor's organization. Pastors Henry Martinez and Manuel Romero hosted the meeting. They too want to host an EFI ISOM school that will serve the Juigalpa area and hope to begin as soon as possible.


4) In April, Mark will be traveling to the department of Matagalpa with pastor Pablo Lairos to meet with a group of pastors there to discuss a school for that area.


A pastor from the department of Leon and a pastor from the North side of Mangua have also requested meetings. There seems to be a strong interest for this curriculum and for using it to train and equip church pastors and church leaders.


What is it that pastors are drawn to about the EFI ISOM program:



1) The instruction is foundational, spirit filled, and practical.

2) The DVD quality of instruction is excellent. It is very professional, the set is very professional, and the instructors are some of the World's most recognized Christian leaders in the subjests they teach.

3) There is a real impartation of passion and annointing that comes through the teachings.

4) The classroom setting provides opportunity to put coursework into practice

5) The local facilitator can easily transition from the DVD to the actual class for discussion and ministry times.

6) The school offers a Diploma of Biblical Studies and an associates degree in Biblcal studies from Vision International and Christian Leadership University.

7) It is hosted at a local churches and is designed to strengthen and equip the local church.

8) The curriculum and course materials are provided, by us, at a resonable price, therefore the tuition is very affordable. (In the capital city it averages aprx. $10 per month. In other areas it ranges from $1 to $2 per month)


------- Each location that we are helping set-up is in need of a video projector and a screen. If you would like to donate one or more to these local churches please let us know. We have several teams coming in March and know other teams coming to work with missionaries throughout the year and can have them bring items like this to us.




Mark continues to operate 2 ISOM schools in Managua. Each class has approximately 20 active students. The students represent 15 different Evangelical churches in and around Managua. The students consist of 4 senior pastors, 6 to 8 associate pastors, and the remaining students are leaders in their repective churches.



In Februaury Mark preached at Iglesia Ciudad Shalom which is one of the churches that we will be starting an ISOM Bible school at. Also in February Mark did a Sunday morning service at Abundant Life Managua using ISOM material on the ministry of helps. Along with supporting Mark, Cindy continues to help in New Life Nicaragua Orphanage . In particular, she has been helping two children receive physical therapy and has made trips to the hospital with Nancy, a happy little 1 1/2 year old who has a condition called bilateral schizencephaly open lipped (for those of you who are not medical, it is a congenital brain malformation). With much physical therapy and lots of love Nancy can reach her potential.



Highlighting March



We are also preparing for two teams that will be coming in March. One is a small group from Cokesbury UMC located in Tennessee and the other is a team from Oakbrook Prepratory School in Spartanburg, SC. Both teams will do maintenance of the Abundant Life Church building including paitning etc. The Cokesbury team will be visiting and ministering at a local mothers and infant hospital and conduct a ladies luncheon at Abundant Life Managua Church. The Oakbrook team will be conducting a VBS at New Life Nicaragua orphange and at House of Hope (a ministry to moms who are former prostitutes and their children). This team will also be conducting an evangelistic Upward basketball camp in downtown Managua.



Our Children



They are doing well yet they also miss their family and friends back home. They have made friends with the children at the school they attend and that has helped. Currently both Stephen and Luke are on the high school basketball team which has a record of 5-2. Philip and Markie are enjoying school, but are not doing any extracurricular activities at this time.



Thank you so much for taking time to catch up with us and for your
prayers and support.



Love, The Quillens