Calhoon Family Update!
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En El Principio (In the Beginning)
When we look at the beginning of creation, we see a perfect Garden paradise. A place where man and God dwelt together in perfect harmony. Where man understood the creation order and lived to serve and glorify the Lord in all things. However, as we look at the world around us, we know that this Garden paradise didn’t stay a paradise. Sin happened! And with that came a world of hurt, pain, and brokenness. That brokenness is why we do what we do because whether people realize it or not, they are living their lives longing to return to that Garden paradise. Our desire for Nicaragua is to love, serve, and minister in such a way that people find healing for the brokenness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that they find hope in the restored Garden to come!
The ChurchBy no means do we believe at this beginning of this church plant have we restored the Garden, however, we have been regularly reminded of the faithfulness of God in the midst of a broken world. He has given us so much favor in the community that we serve. From just a few months back when we started services to now we have seen our regular weekly numbers go from 15 to now averaging 40-45 regularly gathering with us. We’ve seen 3 men graduate from our men’s rehab program with 5 more set to graduate in the coming months. We’ve seen our first baptism and we’ve seen men, women, and children regularly meeting to hear God’s word, challenged to examine their own lives and their relationship with Christ. We know the Garden paradise is still to come but we are beyond thankful to the Lord for the Garden (Iglesia El Jardín) that he has planted in this community and the work he is doing in and through it!
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2 Years
This month we celebrate 2 full years of living and serving in the country of Nicaragua. It has had a host of unique challenges but also tremendous blessings. We hear all the time that people can’t imagine doing what we are doing. I’m here to say that anyone can do what we are doing. We are not special, we are not more Godly, we just received a call and were faithful to answer the call of God! We encourage all to be faithful to the call of God on their individual lives and know that when we all fulfill our ministries we build up the church and exalt the name of Jesus! We are so thankful to all who have supported us, prayed for us, texted/called us…we truly feel the love and support and we look forward to what is ahead for our family!
Furlough
From June 5th to July 31st we will be stateside. This has been a scheduled furlough since we first moved to Nicaragua and we are so excited to spend the summer with our friends and family and to have an opportunity to share in person all that the Lord is doing. We plan to be very active in our local church (Hardin Baptist Church) this summer but will also set up some small times to rest and recharge as a family. In so many ways a furlough is a weird feeling. You are leaving a place that has become home to return to a place that once was but no longer is home. Nonetheless, we are excited for a full summer and can’t wait to see so many of you! A huge praise is were able to find a vehicle to use for the summer. So for those who prayed, thank you. The Lord was very gracious in providing us with the perfect vehicle.
Prayers & Praises
Pray for the church! We will be away for 8 total weeks. We have leadership in place but we pray that they will stay focused on the ministry task and continue to build up the local church. As I send this I must praise the Lord for having the opportunity to be with our college team in Costa Rica and also look ahead to another full week of ministry with our high school team working in the same community in Costa Rica. We covet your prayers for this trip. We currently have 5 men in our rehab program. Please pray for Luis, Kenneth, Bryan, Julio, and Mason. Most of these new men are young and we just pray that we can come alongside them early in their lives to help them and see their lives changed with the Gospel. Visitors. This is not a prayer but a praise. But in April we were so thankful to have visitors Charles and Kelly Palmer from our home church. It was a great few days with them. It’s always such a blessing to get to show others what God is doing as well as share the place we now call home! Our family. We pray that this summer is restful and recharging for our family. Please join us in prayer that we can rest well and prepare for the next season in ministry!
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.
Continue to Hold the Rope.SOMOS ENVIADOS – WE ARE SENT