Katie McGrew: Seeing Jesus

Bob Hasty , Gloria and woman from la chureca in her store front window . William playing with Stephanie from Rock of Roseville Church Xiomara , Me and Sara

Today our kids from Edmonds leave. We have had a great time with them, seeing more of Nicaragua. It's been a good time for them to experience life here and to unravel all that God has been showing them. Has it made it easier for them to go home? That remains to be seen. They are seeking God and therefore I can give them the direction that when they return home they need to focus on God's amazing love and not just everything that happen in Nicaragua. Please pray for them as they travel today and as they re enter the US. I am headed to the airport in 45 minutes for my next team! A group of California, 18 people. I think I am ready. Of course I am tired but God will give me the strength and endurance to enter into these relationships and serve as an encourager for them and one that can direct their eyes to God. Dwight and the kids will take it easy a bit. 2 weeks non stop with a team has worn them out, not to mention Dwight's sprained ankle has slowed him down. They...

Our Edmonds team after working hard at the Villa. They were greeting us at the entry to their house. A little girl from La Chureca, in tree watching. This is a picture of a fabric store in Leon ~ I took this picture for my friend Tamara. The central park in the city of Leon. Dwight was well cared for after spraining his ankle. For the rest of the day different kids took turns holding the ice on his foot, what a humbling experience. Me and my little name sake born March 5! Dwight being assisted by Claudia, a friend in Leon, after twisting his ankle playing soccer. Josh, hanging out with kids in Leon. There is a new well at Dolores' church in Leon. They cannot drink the water only use it to wash and for the bathroom. The well is hand dug and 100 feet deep, it is AMAZING! What an amazing opportunity to understand what it is like to have to work for your water! We took turns pulling up the 5 gallon bucket ~ not easy! Understanding this makes it easier to understand the woman at t...

God is good and so faithful. He brought us joy out of sickness (21 out of 24 sick with stomach virus) He opened hearts to see God in a new way ~ only God can open our hearts and minds. 9 people were baptized in the Rio Blanco ~ Billy, Kaitlin, Nicole, Andi, Julia, Janelle, Joseph, Emma and one woman from Verbo Church named Marlyng! He overcame conflict and allowed people to live in freedom. and now He is working in hearts as most of the team returned home, it's not easy to go home and attempt to share or even understand the experience you had. Please pray with me that those at home have an open ear close by and that they recognize that God did everything and that He is waiting to do amazing things right where they are also!!!! There is a group of kids that have stayed with us in Nicaragua a little longer, it is fun to show them all the things I love about Nicaragua! Last night they wanted to cook dinner at our house so Dwight and I could go out on a date ~ it was so fun to shop ...

We have made the decision that tomorrow we will travel to Rio Blanco. We postponed traveling for a day because of many sick team members. For the most part they are all better. There have been some sympathy pains and a little anxiety over getting sick but they say they want to go. Please pray for us as many are going with uneasy stomaches. We are doing well... tired and seeing God do great things. I think we will all appreciate our little home so much when we have free time again. Love you all!

Please pray for Billy, Greyson, Julia, Julianna and William. I am at the Villa with them while they are throwing up and using the bathroom often. Fortunately I am doing my laundry today and can help them out a bit. I am confident they will recover by the end of the day. Pray for good rest. We travel to Rio Blanco tomorrow, 6 hour drive. I'll update tonight!

Billy's eye is good ~ he has been good at asking girls to help him. Today is Mike's 50th birthday ~ I think a cake and pinata are in order. Emma is eating well ~ all is in the freezer and we are only having salt and pepper as condiments this week.

This post is mostly for the parents of our Edmonds Team! They are here, the are great and they are learning so much already! What a great team. They are eager to share their hearts and share in relationships together. When they arrived they were WIPED OUT! The Houston airport was cold and the floors were hard. Our time at the hotel they spent sleeping, swimming and worshipping together. They ate well. We attended El Faro Church yesterday, this is the church that ministers to families from the dump. As it turned out they were having elections for the student ministries so church was extra long! Mike and I were asked to be International Observers, making sure the vote was clean. While we were involved in the voting, our team totally jumped in by loving the kids all around them (there was probably 100 kids there yesterday). I was so please that they didn't wait to be told what to do, but the saw the need and met it! Sundays are usually a day of rest, so our afternoon was s...

Sara and Monica washing towels in our laundry sink. I made guacamole and Sara, Monica and Maria enjoyed it. Perla, Monica and Katherine took over in the kitchen making an amazing dinner for us. After working hard to clean the house they rested in front of the TV. Martha with Genesee, the granddaughter of Alba. This is Maggie playing games with girls from the Villa and the surrounding neighborhood, soccer in the rain! Our first water bill was very little, I wonder if the next one will be bigger? I want to create a little tiny file folder to save them!

I woke up early this morning, Dwight and I have many things on our minds with our team coming today and just getting started at the Villa and still so much settling in to do. My priorities this morning; update you all a little on what's going on, visit the girls at the Villa before they go for the day to see their families, shower and pack for the night in the hotel. We will be at the airport by 11:30 to find our team. Dwight's priority is to find all the things necessary to wash our car! He is going with our friend Larry this morning to the ferreteria and one other place to find all things wonderful to him. He cannot stand to have a dirty car. He has noticed that everyone in Nicaragua keeps their cars very clean and when you drive on gravel roads with POTHOLES the car does not stay clean! Maybe I will find him everyday washing the car, i'll keep you posted. We had our first date night last night. We went to a wonderful little Italian restaurant called "Casa Mia...

Good Morning and happy day after the 4th of July! In honor of most of you it rained all day here! I think blogs are way more interesting with pictures but the first time I opened my camera to take one it decided not to work! So be patient and enjoy the stories knowing that soon enough you will have pictures! Where do I begin? Our first days in Nicaragua have been all about learning; where to buy what, what everyones expectations are, how to be a family in a new place, how to listen when you don't quite understand everything, how much water to drink, when to eat, what to eat and how to cook it! The funniest things that at home are so simple have been more complicated ~ only because we are learning. Our first day we brought all of our things to our house but didn't stay because it just wasn't ready and our friends had prepared a wonderful place for us to stay at their house. We shared a great meal and when we were ready for bed, the tears kicked in. Maggie wanted to s...

Yes, we are here and have been for a few days. I am sorry that I haven't written sooner but....... On Monday night, June 28 I received a phone call that our flight was canceled! They rescheduled us to fly out at 1pm on Tuesday, June 29 and arrive in St. Louis, MO at 6:45 pm and fly out at 6:05 am to Miami and arrive in Managua at 11:45 on the 30th. WHAT? Our 11 hours of travel turned into 23 hours, what could we do but laugh and watch to see what God would do next. As Dwight and I were considering what was best for our family, Josh was in with my parents praying that we wouldn't be stressed out or worried and that God would show us what was best for our family. Of course what was best for our family was to fly to St. Louis and have a night together, just us. We laughed and talked and ate great food at the TGI Fridays in our hotel ~ it was such a great gift from God and not once did we have to question why He would do it this way. God has been so faithful in our lives a...