MISSION: NICARAGUA
Year In Review & Upcoming Trips
TRIP 1: OCTOBER 2006
Our team spent fives days in Leon and started construction on a church. They also spent time with the kids at the El Canyon orphanage and this trip gave the first introduction to the city dump in Managua, a home to over 3000 people, many of whom have never been outside the dump.
TRIP 2: SPRING BREAK 2007
9 teens accompanied our team to Managua on this trip. They worked two days on a church in Motastepe and did some work at El Canyon. They also took the kids from El Canyon to a rented soccer field to play and took some kids from the city dump to the beach and on ATV rides. As close as they live, they had never seen the ocean before.
TRIP 3: AUGUST 2007
Four GGC team members joined with other volunteers from around the US and worked two days on a new project call Villa Esperanza and one day at the church in Motastepe. They also did soccer night and a beach trip again for a new group of kids.
TRIP 4: JANUARY 2008
On this trip there was a medical team of twelve. The doctor who came on the trip was David Ko from
NYC. In three days our team treated and supplied medicine to over 200 people in Motastepe and
La Chureca "the dump". We also gave away over 200 pairs of shoes, a variety of
clothes and worked at Villa Esperanza.
TRIP 5: SPRING BREAK 2008
For Spring Break we had a team of 32 including 22 kids. The team worked in Motastepe
doing a neighborhood clean-up. A day was spent working at Villa Esperanza and a day
working at El Canyon the orphanage. Our "fun" day was taking kids from the village of
Motastepe to the beach. Matt's gang gave surf board lessons to the kids. Only one kid
from Motastepe stood up and rode a small wave all the way in to the beach. Her name was
Juliana and she did it TWICE!
More Trips Are Currently In the Works - How You Can Help
Serving the world is one of the primary purposes we have as Christians and as a church. We encourage you to prayerfully consider becoming a volunteer on one of our upcoming trips to Nicaragua. Construction skills are not necessary. Volunteers play with the kids, wash hair, pray and talk with families, and so much more! If travel isn't possible, you can help through financial donation, goods/supplies donation or simply by praying regularly for our team and our friends in Nicaragua.
"It was a mind changing experience. To see those people experiencing such a struggle to just exist caused me to change my ideas of what is important in life. Work, career, etc. took on a different degree of importance. They have nothing compared to us and yet they find true joy in the Lord and each other. I have to keep reminding myself of these things as they try to creep back into my life. They can also teach us a thing or two about worship and what it really consists of." - Jim Reid, GGC Member and Mission Volunteer
Our Ongoing Projects In Nicaragua -
A Few Ways God is Working Through Us For The World
Church in Leon
In five days we poured the foundation and built the columns and walls.
The roof was put on right after we left. It is functioning now but still needs to be completed.
Church in Motastepe
This church had been partially built and left untouched for eight years. We picked up the work again during Spring Break right after a Duke NC team was there. We laid block walls, poured columns and leveled the floor for concrete. In August we poured some more columns and painted the metal roof framing.
La Esperanza
The school at the dump. There is ongoing work there and there has been
some funding from our members to build a new outer wall.
El Canyon
The orphanage with all of our little friends. We have done some small
projects there but most of the work has come from other teams or
individuals.
Villa Esperanza
This is the "biggie". This is a beautiful, 3.5 acre piece of property
that was purchased by Forward Edge. There is an existing house that is being remodeled. In addition, there will be up to 12 buildings that will be added. The vision of Forward Edge is to bring in 74 kids from the dump to live there. The buildings will include mission team houses, children houses, and various other buildings for the purpose of raising and educating the kids. It is our hope that we can raise the funds for one of the
buildings and provide the teams to build it. Details on this project will be made available on www.gulfgatechurch.com soon.
"If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." - 1 John 3:17-18
WHY BECOME INVOLVED?
We are a MISSION-DRIVEN church.
This mission gives GGC members another great opportunity to get off the sideline and into the game. We are a MISSION-Driven church, that means everyone one of us who follows Jesus is a part of THE Mission... we are His plan. The Missions Ministry is formed by volunteers on an as needed basis. No matter what your ability, there is a place for you in this mission. Please contact us today to sign up.
Several more trips are in the works:
- Summer 2008- Open To All
TEAM 1 - June 28 - July 5, 2008
TEAM 2 - August 2 - 9, 2008
The project will be Villa Esperanza. Our goal is to raise the funds for one
building and send two teams to do a large amount of work on that building.
For more information on Villa Experanza project download the PDF Here.
- December 27, 2008 - January 3, 2009
Medical Trip
- April 4-10, 2009
Spring Break Trip
- Summer 09 - TBD
CONTACT:
TJ Broom at cell 356-5359 or email: tjsrq@yahoo.com
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