We are going to Chile
Annie, Mica and I are leaving to Chile on Thursday. (I assumed you've heard about the earthquake there.) We will be doing some training for pastors and leaders in Santiago and Valdivia. (Annie will speak to the wives.) And we are also taking an offering for them.
Please pray for safety during our travel.
Pray also that we would be able to minister connected to Christ.
Finally, yesterday we have found out that we are going to have a baby boy. (No names picked yet.) We are really exited, but they have told us that he has a tiny little tumor. They are saying that we shouldn't worry and that it is not a big deal, but we would really appreciate your prayers for him as well.
Many many hugs,
Nico for the family.
Posted March 23, 2010 by Nico and Annie.
This year's big picture
What do YOU want, Lord? What do YOU want, Lord?
If you recall from our last update, Annie and I spent the whole month of December (and part on January) praying for God's direction for this year. Our big prayer was: What do YOU want for our lives, Lord? We didn't want to assume that because we are in ministry that means we are at the center of His will... Here is the big picture of what we believe He wants for us this year:
Our ministry for 2010:
Church ministry: We will continue to serve at La Union Church in La Plata doing preaching, discipleship, counseling, and being part of the leadership of the church.
Teaching ministry: I will continue to teach at our Bible Institute in La Plata. This semester I will teach Old Testament and New Testament Survey 1 and 2.
Part of the orphanage.
Orphanage ministry: This was the big answer to the "What do YOU want, Lord?" question. God opened a very special ministry opportunity. We will be living one week per month in an orphanage that is located five hours away from home. I will be doing Bible training to a group of volunteers in the morning and to a group of local pastors and leaders at night. And since the whole family will be there, there will be an enormous amount of service opportunities during the day for all of us. (By the way, we are still scratching our heads from our last visit. With so many kiddos, they have warned us that lice will most surely posses you unless you fast and pray really hardly.)
Irene, one of the volunteers playing with some kids.
Traveling ministry: Another (unexpected) answer to our prayer has been several speaking and teaching opportunities in different parts Argentina and other countries of Latin America. Some of these are related to BTCP, some are more conference/preaching types.
Micaela with her new baby.
Our new addition to the family:
It's a turtle! That is what Micaela said when she saw our coming baby on the ultrasound screen. We are super exited with this new addition. Annie is due August 12th. And it's still too soon to know the sex. (But contrary to Mica, we are expecting a healthy little boy or little girl.) Please pray for both Annie's and the baby's health.
Our future for 2011:
The "What do YOU want, Lord?" question is a still a big prayer request for us. There are some ministry opportunities for 2011 that would require some mayor changes for us. So making God-lead decisions will continue to be a big issue in the coming months. Please join us in prayer in our quest for His will.
You are the human means for us to be here. Thanks for your prayers, support, care, and faithful friendship.
Before I let you go, have you lately asked yourself the question: What do YOU want for my life, Lord? It's a good one...
Much love,
Nico, Annie, Micaela, and coming turtle, I mean, baby.
Posted February 10, 2010 by Nico and Annie.
Back from Sudan
A missionary in Cairo said to me: "Will you be so kind to take some medicine to Sudan for us? It is very important for the people there." Immediate (and very innocent) response: "Of course. No problem." What I didn´t know, was that she was asking me to smuggle in several hundreds of packages of medicine. Thank God, after they put all that stuff in our suitcases (plus an extra suitcase they gave us), she was kind (and scared) enough to say "I will pray for you". You should have seen the reaction of the doctors in Sudan when they opened our suitcases. They didn´t know if they were suppose to be surprised for what we brought or amazed that we were not caught. (If you recall from my last email they were very hesitant to give us visas. Now you know why...)
Teaching with Joseph, my Arabic friend and translator.
Our time in Sudan was incredibly special. My students went from a very distant relationship the first two days, to literally crying like little kids when we left. I got the chance to teach on discipleship, apologetics, and church planting to a fantastic and very committed group of 18 missionaries.
Some of my students.
God protected us from diseases (to be Sudanese is to have malaria - that is their I.D.); He protected us from snakes (they found one very close to our place that kills you in less than 20 minutes); and He also protected us while we traveled (they drove us three hours from the capital of Sudan to Wad-Madani and the driver - if you graciously call him so - almost killed us all three times).
Preaching at a prison.
The main lesson that I learn from this trip is that the most important thing in life is to make sure that today I am living in the center of God´s will. So my big prayer request for you is that you would intercede for both me and Annie to be led by God for 2010.
Facundo, the young man that I´ve been training in Argentina that went with me. He did some maintenance work while I taught.
All we want for our lives is to do His will. And all we want for December is to pray for Him to reveal it. Please pray for us. Please pray with us.
Thank very much for being part of our team,
Safe and sound back in Argentina,
Much love,
Nico, Annie and Mica.
PS: A story that inspired me to pursue God´s will.
Habil is a very smart and godly Sudanese that was living with his family in Egypt and went back to Sudan for a small business trip about two years ago. While he was there he strongly felt that God was calling him to stay in Sudan and get trained at the institute I taught these past weeks. In order for him to do so he would have to leave his business behind, be separated from his wife and four children for about two years, and trust that God would provide for their needs. After fasting and praying seeking God´s will, Habil said to the Lord he would do it if He would give the same sense of peace and direction to his wife. When he called her, she agreed to bear the distance and he never went back home. He has been in Sudan since then. He is graduating in a week or so. And he is going to take a five-day bus ride to Egypt to go see his family again. When I asked Habil what did he want to do after he graduates he said: "All I want to do is whatever God wants me to do..."
He will most likely go back to Sudan to plant a Church...
Habil and Nico
Posted December 1, 2009 by Nico and Annie.
10-28-2009 Nico is going to Sudan
09-09-2009 Reflections on James
07-08-2009 Influeza
05-21-2009 Some short news
03-26-2009 Ministering with us
02-27-2009 You'd like to come?
12-23-2008 Christmas
10-07-2008 Short or long... It's up to you.
08-27-2008 Running the race
06-18-2008 Same old, same old...
06-18-2008 New Ministry Opportunities
06-18-2008 Pictures of the family
04-07-2008 Micaela is borne!
02-14-2008 Brief news
12-21-2007 Painting Work
12-21-2007 Summer comes students leave
09-11-2007 September's Update
07-25-2007 Man-to-man ministry
07-25-2007 Bible Institute Report
05-11-2007 Pictures of my class
05-11-2007 One day with us
05-10-2007 Our Team Goals for 2007
03-26-2007 Our physical address in Argentina
01-09-2007 Where are we? Where are we going?
01-03-2007 Hello from Denton TX!
10-26-2006 What's Nico been up to?
10-26-2006 What's Annie been up to?
07-20-2006 July, the traveling month
04-07-2006 Ministry News
02-18-2006 Five goals for the next five years
