We have a lot to report in this update. First, we are seeing good progress in our ministry and are happy with that. Second, we are going to be shifting gears in order to accomodate our financial situation, while continuing the ministry vision. We have written a letter explaing the situation. You can read it here.
We have taken on Nehemias as a full time music teacher now. This makes it possible for us to offer music lessons to the young people from the neighborhood at no charge.
Previously, we were paying per student and it was getting really expensive, but now we are paying Nehemias to work full time.
He teaches kids from the neighborhood as well as people from the churches and we are really seeing some of them come along.
 The really neat thing about the music lessons is this. Within a month or two, they are playing real songs with Nehemiah. He will sit with them and accompany them on another instrument and get them used to playing live.
For the young kids, this gets them really excited about playing their instrument because they are playing real live music. This helps them to get real serious real quick about their lessons.
The young boy in this picture (Ehmed) did not seem to be making much progress, but lately he has really picked up. His brother Aaron is becoming a natural at guitar. Maybe they will both play together someday.
All of this makes us really happy that we spent all the money we did on our building. Having a dedicated music studio makes all the difference. We simply followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and it is coming together.
 On Father's Day, we took the instruments to one of the local churches and the kids played several songs for them. It was a good experience for them because it was their first performance, and the first time we had tried a live setup.
Even if we have to spend time working in the US, this ministry will continue, thanks to your faithful financial support.
Tim has also started teaching computer classes to the young people. We started with a group of 8 and then they told their friends and our second class had at least twelve.
 These young people are open to learning anything that you can teach them. In other words, if you would like to make a trip down here, you could present a course in anything from computers to crafts. Word gets out and they bring in their friends.
Our next thing is to start the Sunday Morning Cafe, where we bring in people from the neighborhood for coffee and donuts and a short inspiration from Scripture and a short music jam session where they play some songs.
Tim spent this last week on Corn Island, teaching Bible Study Methods to a group of about thirty people from all the different churches on the island. It was a really lively group and they really learned a lot and participated well.
It was a bit of an ordeal getting over because you have to come on a boat which takes forever (five hours to go 40 miles). About two minutes after we left Bluefields, the boat came to a complete stop. Somebody had rowed a boat up to our boat and wanted to load on a pig in a crate, so they took it on. Then we stopped at El Bluff for fuel, then on to Corn Island. When we got to Corn Island, our food cooler had disappeared. We found that they had put it below deck without telling us.
 The guys were supposed to come over to Corn Island to play music. They were all ready to take a speedboat over to El Bluff to catch a boat there to Corn Island. Unfortunately, the boat decided to leave two hours ahead of schedule and they were not able to make the trip. This kind of thing happens all the time. You sort of get used to it.
Last week we celebrated Kim's birthday. Here we are with a couple of kids that Kim helps out quite a lot. Their mother is in the US and their Dad is in and out of jail. They are living in Bluefields, with their grandmother, but they come over frequently and Kim is able to kind of be a second mother to them.
We are very excited about the future. We are excited about growing ministries. We are excited about spending some time in the US and seeing all of you more. We are excited to see how God will provide.
We want our lives to be a testimony of God's goodness. He will do it.
Thank you as always for your prayers.
God bless you,
Tim and Kim |
