March 2005 Archives
Nicaragua, 2005
The spiritual battle started the night we arrived as we found ourselves in the middle of some extremely bad weather due to a hurricane, which hit nearby El Salvador mid-week. Because of the abundance of rain, the roof of the hotel we were staying in caved in; however, God provided more than was necessary as the owners of the hotel insisted we stay in their home and gave us their beds for the evening.Monday we were scheduled to leave Managua and travel to a mining town in the mountains about three hours away. On the way our van broke down, but, once again, God provided as native Nicaraguans stopped to help us repair the van so we could continue our journey.
We held a strength and conditioning clinic at a grade school. Art the end of the clinic, Josh Hingst, Assistant Strength Coach at Florida State, shared his testimony as well as the Gospel and nearly everyone stepped forward to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Wednesday, at a different university, I shared my testimony and everyone stepped forward to accept Christ! Praise God! This was the first time that I personally led the prayer to accept Christ as Lord and Savior.
One of the girls who accepted Christ left a note for me, which said "Cristo is my friend. Thank you. Signed, Carol." It was an awesome experience and I am so thankful to God for working through me in that way.
-Scott O'Dell
Omega Spring Break 2005
Over Spring Break, a team of 47 from our Omega high school ministry traveled to the village of Santa Isabel, Mexico. We had an awesome week of ministry. This year we provided a vacation Bible school or VBS ministry for children of all ages in the community.The children had a blast doing crafts, watching puppets, learning Bible lessons, and playing games. We also provided a women's ministry with crafts, Bible lessons, and testimonies from girls on the team. God was so faithful in using these ministry times to change lives.
Dr. Lou Morales also joined the team and set up a free dental clinic at the church. Several students assisted Dr. Morales as he cared for the many dental needs of people in the community.
This year we tried a new outreach ministry in Santa Isabel. The high school boys on the trip worked on various construction projects. They built and repaired roofs, reinforced walls, painted, and even built a one room structure. Many households were deeply touched by the construction team s hard work.
Praise God for the great things He did on the Mexico Mission trip this year. We are looking forward to next year! Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Chad Olson, High School Pastor