that they might know HimPhilippians 3:10

.. Sorry its taken awhile to write. Things have been kind of nonstop since I arrived here. Los Cedros Im staying at the Northshore Baptist missionary house on the campus of the Colegio Havila. I came to Pastor Manuels house not quite knowing what the living situation was going to be like and then saw that they are actually extending their house, basically building an apartment onto their house for me. I never dreamed they would do something like this I will be moving into the apartment this week. It has taken awhile to get it prepared, but has been worth the wait. In the beginning, the pastors girls were sort of shy. They are Anna age 13, Mari Joseph age 16, and Ercilia age 22. The family and I get along really well. They love to laugh and have fun, but are also very spiritual. I have been taking the daughters out in the school field and letting them take turns on my motorcycle. They love it. The youngest one is actually getting the hang of driving it; they were screaming and laughing the whole time. Now we are all really good friends. I have been encouraging the three girls to help with the youth group. Anna has been singing with me during worship. The School At the school I am getting to know a lot of the kids. They have needed a lot of help with translating letters that need to be written to their sponsors. Its a real challenge trying to translate letters that the kids have written with incorrect Spanish and tons of spelling errors. And even though its challenging, Im learning more Spanish doing it. I have been super busy with the youth group, church and mission teams; however, the English teacher just approached me and asked if I could help her teach English. I think it will be another great opportunity to serve the kids and keep busy using my gifts unto the Lord. Please keep this in prayer.

Youth Pastor

Now for the crazy news, the pastor told me that he wanted me to be the youth pastor/leader and take charge of the youth and young adults. In essence Im to lead Bible studies, worship, youth group activities, and basically come up with a plan to help get things going. We have officially had two Bible studies, and they both went great. The first Bible study I purchased ten bibles, notebooks and pens and presented them to the ones without Bibles. I introduced the worship song by Hillsong United called Came To My Rescue in Spanish. They love it! I spoke on Salvation and the importance of them understanding that its an act of confession and belief in their hearts. Its not words forced from their lips, its a cry from their hearts unto the Lord for Salvation.

So I am basically trying to start over with these kids. I feel like they have been caught up in a whirlwind of rules and regulations and have missed the resurrected, ever interceding, indwelling, liberating, full of Grace upon Grace, Christ the Son of God that we have had the pleasure of getting to know, love and abide in for so long. Last week I spoke on what a new creation we are in Christ and what are the gifts of the Spirit. I encouraged them to check their hearts and look back upon their lives to examine if they have ever experienced a new birth in Christ. Have they seen the fruits of the Spirit in their lives? Have they seen that they are more than conquerors in Christ? I want to love them into wanting to read the Word and be in fellowship, not scare them into it. My burden for these kids is very strong. I love them dearly and want to continue to walk this road with them, and be there for them during the hard, sad, happy, challenging times. This past week there were about 30 kids. Thats ten more than the week before. I pray that the Lord would continue to grow and challenge us to abide in Him. This next week I will possibly start the Inductive Bible study course. I think it will really open their eyes to see that there is more depth to the Scriptures. I am getting really close with the young guys in the youth group. They are very interested in my life and just hanging out and getting to know me. I am thinking about maybe starting a discipleship program for some of the young guys that are really interested in going deeper in the Lord -- something like we used to do on Monday nights.

Church We have church nearly every night of the week, except Thursday. Monday is Youth Group; Tuesday Prayer; Wednesday - Church; Thursday off; Friday Church Plant in Monte Fresco; Saturday - Church; Sunday Morning - Church; Sunday night - Mens Meeting/church. The first week I was here the pastor asked me to lead the Mens Bible Study. I was a little apprehensive but felt the Lord saying go for it. I opened up to Romans 8 and spoke on Spiritual vs. Carnal and gave my testimony. This was a great chance to get to know the men and share my heart with them. Worship The kids LOVE the guitar and box many want to learn to play.

One night I got some of the youth together and we lead worship for a married couples retreat. As everything else goes here you have to be flexible and do things that are crazy hard and totally rely on the Lord. I led several worship songs in Spanish with some of the youth. It was neat to see the kids step out of their comfort zones and get up in front of people and sing. I continue to introduce a new song each week and review the one we learned the week before. The kids really love our time of Worship and seem to be responding to new songs well. I have been telling them that its easy to sing a song to sound good, or get lost in daydreams, or be so concentrated on getting the words right that we miss Who we are actually worshiping.

Spanish & The Gopel Speaking of comfort zones, my Spanish is getting pretty good. I am actually getting comfortable praying out loud in Spanish where before I would never, and I mean never, pray out loud in Spanish. It was just too hard thinking in English and then trying to translate in my head to Spanish before I could even speak. But now Im praying, leading worship in Spanish and leading Bible studies. Mission Teams & Outreach [music, bibles giving away, guitars, prayer]
Last Sunday we had a mission team from the states come and visit. I was able lead worship again and played songs in Spanish and English, like Kari Jobe's Revelations song, Hosanna by Hillsong, Came to My Rescue by Hillsong, Open The Eyes of My Heart, and others. In other words, it went well enough for everyone to really worship the Lord. The outreach that night was particularly special since the leaders from that group told everyone that night the Lord is probably tugging at your heart right now and although you might be a little uncomfortable coming up to one of us, Im sure there are those around that you can talk with,so seek them out and let the Lord set you free. Well, he pointed to me and Pastor Manuel and so later several came up to me afterwards and we were able to talk about some important things going on in their lives. We were able to talk frankly about their sin and pray for forgiveness. God is good and how wonderful He is to meet us in all of our circumstances.

Prayer Needs I miss you guys. This week has been the hardest yet, but also very fruitful. I cant tell you how much I appreciate your prayers, notes on Facebook and E-mail. I especially appreciate your praying for Monday nights with the youth. Thats the night we do our Bible study. I talked the first week on salvation. This next week will be a new creation in Christ including fruit of the Spirit and what a new creation looks like. Well move on from there studying the Word over the next few weeks focusing first on observing the text and moving onto it application to our lives. Brads notes have really helped me get things started PTL! There are a lot of good things going on here, but there are tragic and very hard things as well. Its like someone dies or is killed every week or two. Four or five people have people have died since Ive been here. One of my youth kids brother was just murdered. As he told me my heart broke I grabbed him and prayed for him and he started crying. I told him that Im not here to lie to him and tell him everything is fine and that he shouldnt be sad. I told him that it will be hard. It is a sad thing, but most importantly the only advice I had for him is that his brother is dead and he needs to see that life is fragile and what is he going to do with his life? He grabbed me with tears in his eyes and told me Im his best friend and that if I try and leave for the States hes going to follow me to the airport, tie me up with a rope and take me back to Los Cedros. Not exactly the response I was looking for, but kind of funny. Last week the police came and notified us that armed bandits were coming to attack us. They woke me up, and we all gathered at Pastor Manuels home to maintain a watch that night. About 20 of his extended family came and we maintained vigil with my trusty dog. Actually hes a mutt that nobody likes because hes just a little runt who bites everybody except me. Well he doesnt really bite everybody, he just acts tough. For some reason I like the little guy and he helped us make it through the night. The truth is the Lord is so faithful, He protected us as we all gathered together in His wonderful name!

It just lets you know that life is never easy here and some sort of incident or event is just around every corner. So thank you for your prayers and thinking of us. Financial Report Thank you all so much for giving to this ministry. I cant tell you what it means to be here knowing this is only possible by Gods grace and the generosity of His church. Just to let you know: Most of my monthly needs of about $500 USD are being met, so for those who can continue to give thank you so much. Im still praying about the finances for Visa renewal and reentry cost: $200 - $500 approximately for re-entry to Nicaragua quarterly. I am also looking into residency, which would make me a resident for up to 5 years allow me to have more privileges. I would be left alone by immigration. The cost for residency is about $500. Below are some special requests and if the Lord puts it on your heart, then you canmake a note with your support that you would like it to go toward any of the items below: Special request: $250 - $300 for youth group activities and events. $400 - $500 for community ministry. $200 for Bibles. The Bibles cost $7 dollars. I was able to buy ten of them, but have had a lot more requests from kids in the youth group and people at the church. Its crazy to think that most people in the church dont have a Bible but its true. So this is a very special request.

Motorcycle

I hate to bring it up but the motorcycle has become one of my most pressing and expensive prayer requests. Literally, it is falling apart on these incredibly rough washboard roads filled with endless potholes. I keep repairing it, welding parts and it keeps breaking. It simply is not made for these types of roads and yet I have to do many errands for the school, the church and mission teams. Screws are now missing, parts have fallen off and others are completely bent. I can possibly sell it for about $1,000-$1,300, but the cost of a more adequate one is at least $2,200 - $2,600 USD. That leaves about $900 - $1,600 which I know is a lot, so Im just asking everyone one to pray. Again thank you for all your prayers and support. It is making a difference in the lives of these kids that literally face life each day living on the edge. Gods eternal truth and loving-kindness is being shared by your wonderful support. Thank you again and God Bless! In His Wonderful Name,

Mike Booth
[email protected]
For those who want to contribute, you can send a donation to: Calvary Chapel Living Hope Attn: Nicaragua Mission Mike Booth
625 Seagaze Oceanside, CA 92054 Ph# 760 967-6869

[email protected]