First Blog!

This marks our very first team blog post!

Before I say anything, let me explain what our HANDS (Helping Another Nation Develop Schools) team is all about. We are a group of young adults from the three sister Christian Reformed Churches in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. Our churches, being of the Christian Reformed denomination, have a denomination with a vision of:

"The Christian Reformed Church is a diverse family of healthy congregations, assemblies, and ministries expressing the good news of God’s kingdom that transforms lives and communities worldwide." (www.crcna.org).

Our HANDS team has that same vision: our hope is to help transform lives and communities worldwide. We hope that by going on this mission trip to Nicaragua, we can help the community there be transformed into a community that knows the good news as well. We are going through EduDeo ministries, an organization that combines education and the gospel to help this transformation take place.

When we are in Nicaragua we will be helping develop Christian schools. This will be accomplished by construction work to help build the schools, as well as connecting with the citizens of the community by showing God's love. Education is critically linked to poverty reduction and improves productivity of a community. So by helping develop Christian Education, we take the vital tool of education even one step further by combining it with the Gospel.

So where is Nicaragua anyway? Nicaragua is in Central America, and borders Honduras and Costa Rica. It has a population of 6 million and its official language is Spanish. It is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with 48% of its citizens living below the poverty line. 79% of citizens live on less than $2 per day. The need for help is very great in this country. By helping communities implement Christian education, our hope is for a better future for Nicaragua, with educated citizens who are able to live where they don't have to worry about if they will have enough money for dinner tomorrow.

At present, our team has 9 members, from ages 18-20. We are all very excited to be part of this life-changing trip. We will be going April 28, 2014, for two weeks. To make this all happen, we would really appreciate help in any way, whether financial assistance, or more importantly, your prayers for our planning and preparation.

We already have begun our first fundraiser, Mom's Pantry. Contact one of our team members (listed on the side) if you'd like to order anything! We are also planning for a 3-on-3 boot hockey tournament on Saturday, December 28th. Stay tuned for details!

Thank you for taking time to stay connected with us! Check back for more posts soon :) We will even be doing a blog while we are in Nicaragua!

1 Peter 4:11 - "If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen."

Comments


Other Stories


Wow, our team has sure had a busy but great December! We started it off by a successful Mom's Pantry fundraiser. Always a...

Read More

In the midst of a busy time with school finishing up for most of us, we have been busy with final preparations...

Read More

Well, we made it to Nicaragua! After a long day of travellng, we were warmly greeted by Lester, our host at the Managua airport....

Read More

Hola! Today was another day of hard work. We seem to be starting to get used to this heat a little bit. It's...

Read More

We had a busy, productive day today! Today we worked another full day. The girls continued with rebar cages, while the guys kept...

Read More

Greetings from Nicaragua! Today was another full work day, before our three days off. Today, the Vanderwees'  son Jesus joined us at work!...

Read More

We had a busy, exciting day here exploring the sites of Nicaragua! We began by visiting a pottery shop about a half hour...

Read More

Today began with church. We went to verbo christian church in Managua. It was an energetic, LOUD, air coniditioned experience! We were able to...

Read More

Today was our educational day - and last day off! Our first stop was the vocational program of the Christian...

Read More

Wow, we only have 3 more nights in Nicaragua! Today we had another work day. In the morning before work, Mark and Steve (who...

Read More

Today was quite similar to yesterday - another full day of work! We finished up all the rebar cages and poured concrete. We had...

Read More

Wow, our last day in Nicaragua is coming to an end! This morning we worked until about 10 AM. Then we were treated to...

Read More