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Here are our prayer letters that we write every three months. If you are not on our email list and would like to receive these letters, please sign up today. Enjoy reading!
Dec 25, 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
Last time we wrote we had just bought land and were very excited about the possibility of beginning to build a house. We found out quickly that there is a lot to be decided before you actually begin building a house. After drawing up plans, the biggest decision (at least in Nicaragua) is who is going to build your house and for how much! So for the months of September and October, Thomas and I received 3 different budgets, one of which was from his cousins, and began the process of bargaining them down to get a good price. From the beginning we were really set on having his cousins do the work, but we still wanted to make sure that we were getting a good price. So finally on November 1st, we broke ground and began the building process.
I have learned quite a lot about building over the past couple of months. Because Thomas continues his full-time job at the Nicaragua Christian Academy, he doesn’t have any time during the day to go out into the markets of Managua to compare prices or buy materials for the house. And since Thomas’ cousins do not own a truck and all but one of them cannot drive, I willingly have assumed the role of driver and buyer of materials! Most homes in Nicaragua are built with concrete blocks, concrete, and steel. We have definitely tested out the durability of our truck in hauling over 80 concrete blocks. When thinking about the construction so far, I realized that the most important part of any house is the foundation. It sets up how strong the house will be, and once it is in place, it guides the rest of the construction.
In watching the house go up, I have realized how important it is for all of us to have strong foundations in our lives and in our work and ministry. Without Christ our lives are built on nothing. And with Christ we are called to keep going forward in a relationship with Him. Our house will never be finished if all we did was lay the foundation and leave it at that. The sports center would be great with the foundational structure we have built. But God is asking us to continue building by reaching out and loving the surrounding community – the families, the youth and the kids. The scholarship program would be viewed as a success after these three foundational years. But God is encouraging me to continue building by developing it further. As our house continues to go up one block at a time, so am I encouraged to keep on growing in my relationship with Christ, developing the sports center, growing the scholarship program and being ready for new opportunities and challenges.
Our relationship with Christ is an excellent model for all other areas of our lives. We have to keep building on our relationship with Christ in order to change, grow and become more like Him. And in that “same sense” Thomas and I continue to build on, develop and grow in our relationship with each other, our plans for our house and land, and with our work and ministry. Thomas has recently become involved with a ministry called Baseball Chapel in which on certain Sundays of the month he will help translate for Halle August who gives a message to Managua’s home baseball team, the visiting team, and the referees. In our youth group at the sports center we recently held a Christmas celebration for the youth, and a number of youth took a stand in deciding to reach out to their friends for Christ. We are looking forward to this next year to see what God has in store as we continue to build on the foundations that we are laying.
We want to wish each of you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy!
Seeking Him for life,
Amanda y Thomas Gutierrez
"dale una luz a los que aman tanto vivir en Nicaragua."
~ Guardabarranco (Nicaraguan duo)