TOP 5 things I'm thankful for...

5. Moto ("el Poderosito") - even though i bit the big one a week ago (see here), this guy has been a trooper - it's carried me around very faithfully.  we even survived gale force winds, flash floods and utter downpour the other day.  thank you Lord!

4. Church - i went to a church named Verbo last Sunday and was so blessed to be surrounded by brothers and sisters.  highlights included talking to the former children's director who is now planting a church 4 hours away and talking to a lonely security guard who was clearly yearning for some conversation.  thank you Lord!

3. Apartment - yup, it has bed bugs and a stranded pigeon in the "laundry room"... but it's also got some charm and protection from the torrential rains.  thank you Lord!

2. Communication - through the internet and cell phones, i've been able to keep in contact with loved ones.  in addition, my Central American Spanish is gradually improving - hope to sound less and less like a gringo every day!  (would you like to get in touch?  facebook, skype: hopefields, and contacthopefields@gmail.com are the best ways!)  thank you Lord!

1. Community - i've met a wonderful missionary family here as well as many other faithful workers.  faith for them is a given - it's such an integral part of their lives... without being conceited, their lives point to the question, "Why wouldn't we give our whole lives for the Lord?"  i am humbled and blessed to know them.  thank you Lord!

:)  lov,e <><

incredible.

today marks day five of this incredible journey.  

i use the word incredible because there have been so many times this past week where i have simply stopped myself in awe and disbelief:

it's incredible that i'm here in Nicaragua.

it's incredible that this dream of Latin American missions has become a reality.

it's incredible that the Lord led me first to the hostel, then to the moto, then to this apartment, and He continues to lead me...

it's incredible that i'm still able to communicate with loved ones back home...

but i should stop here - because incredible means not able to be believed or not believable.  but what i have found more than anything here - even in such a short time - is that He is Definitely Believable.  

it's the way He works, isn't it?  He gently asks you to do something that is more difficult than anything you've ever done... and when you get there He says,

"Well done."

"I Am proud."

He reassures you with His love, He comforts you with His new mercies.  He is there - He exists before, during, and after the difficult task.  He is believable.

yet, this is indeed a difficult task.  i have asked Him, "why?"; i have begged to see Him moving; i have felt alone; i have missed comforts and cohorts; i have been laughed at, stared at, jeered at, and talked about; i have been broken.

and all that in only 5 days!  :)  

so, the incredible journey continues, i want to thank you all for your prayers - they are being answered... Believe me!  here are a few that have been answered:

-getting from the airport to the hotel safely

-finding the moto, then finding my way Back to the hotel !

-finding this apartment

-connecting with some of the other missionaries/non-profits here

and many more - even some unbeknownst to me i am sure.

here's a story to finish, as an example of His provision and reassurance:

traveling down here on the plane was fairly tough - i felt the sting of leaving loved ones like never before... i got in to the el salvador airport to change planes, and i was definitely feeling down... all of a sudden, the big tv in front of me, which had been playing ads in spanish for tourism, cars, and kung fu panda, began playing a music video.  the words?  "why so downcast, oh my soul?"  in english of all things... and sure enough it was some praise band playing the song.  i began to think... why am i so downcast?  here is what i love, i get to do what i've dreamed about for a decade!  immediately after the song, the tv went back to spanish commercials... and i thanked Daddy God for our little inside joke intermission.

bless, e <><