Back from Bluefields – On Tour with the Jackson 4

It has been pretty busy for the past couple months – God continued to reveal Himself in new and refreshing ways! From our return from Bluefields Nicaragua to the vision trip team from Jackson Baptist Church (NJ) we are now re-charged to take on the very full schedule ahead of us!

In reading and contemplating on Deuteronomy 15: 7 my calling to serve my brothers and sisters in Central America has been reinforced…

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.

Back from Bluefields – The team of 20 left Main Street Baptist in Oneonta, NY for Bluefields, Nicaragua on February 12 to help build a new church that was planted by the original church (Torre Fuerte) that was begun on our first trip in 2007. We were amazed by the ability in such a short time for the ministries to be grounded enough to reach out into another community and begin a new church community – El Buen Samaritano. What s truly remarkable is that there are other locations in the eastern region of Nicaragua where other church communities are budding!

New Name – The decision to change our ministry name to Beyond Partnership…Serving Their Vision Together stemmed from our desire to more clearly describe how we work with the ministries we serve. One of our cornerstone principles is that we serve UNDER the national church associations – the term “partnership” alone had a negative connotation where it also was accompanied by power. It is our desire to keep the power in the hands of those closest to the ministries where we serve. In a few short weeks, look for an announcement of our new and improved website going live – http://www.beyondpartnership.org/.

On Tour With the Jackson 4 – After saying goodbye to our team in Nicaragua on February 23rd, I boarded a bus to San Pedro Sula to meet up with a team from Jackson Baptist Church. Their goal was to shadow the ministries of Erick Sanchez in Honduras, Nelson Juarez in El Salvador and Rigoberto Reyes in Nicaragua to evaluate where they would send a team in the future. This trip was wonderful on so many fronts – I met a great group of guys that I will not forget from Jackson Baptist Church – I was able to get to know three missionaries and experience ministries in three countries in a more complete way – God spoke to me to encourage me to continue on the path He has laid for me. We look forward to leading the JBC group in the summer of 2010 – location still TBD!

As we move forward into 2009, we offer some praises and prayer requests…

• Praise – God has allowed us this opportunity to meet with normal everyday people and introduce them to His ministries in Central America – and to experience others’ life changes is a real gift!
  


• Praise – For the friendships we have started with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Central America – they are truly gifts from God. We continue to draw strength and encouragement from them!
  


• Praise & Prayer Request - we want to thank all of our faithful prayer and financial partners. Without you behind us, our efforts to serve God would be an uphill battle! Right now, our ministry support level is at 51% - if you are being called by God to financially support our ministry, we would love to talk with you! I can promise that we will be faithful stewards of your contributions!
  


• Prayer Request – over the next couple months, Lee Ann and I will be away from each other – we ask for prayers for our marriage and that we can each accomplish what is necessary while we are apart.

Stay tuned for more updates from the field as we offer ourselves in service to our Living Lord!

Peace,
Rick & Lee Ann