Nicaraguan Touchstone

January 2012

Come, you who are blessed by my Father: take your inheritance, the Kingdom. Prepared fo.r you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. Matthew 25: 3436

Hello and How are you? Here is the latest happenings in Nicaragua. A long awaited and anticipated newsletter I am told. I am sorry for the absence of news from the south. My New Years Resolution is to send some info each month. As you can imagine it is very difficult to sit down and focus on writing when so much is going on. I hope that you will all forgive me in my absence. Ahhhh thank you all. I hope that I am able to pass on the excitement about serving God here in Nicaragua. I have started the following with my attempt to write a year end letter. Here it is and I hope that you enjoy it. Greeting from the Speigle Family serving God and the children in Nicaragua. I wanted to send out a year end letter summarizing our adventures in 2011 and also give an update on what we are working on now and what we see 2012 holding for us. Our 2011 was a whirlwind type of a year even as I sit here reminiscing about it I can scarcely believe a year has gone by. The year started with many construction plans, Visions of a house to live in, a feeding center/mission house and a farm to supplement the feeding center. I will start with the feeding center since it is the largest project. The year started with and empty compound and a plan to build a 40 x 100 block structure that will be the kitchen and storage for the feeding center as well as capabilities to house teams to come and serve with us. Teams in march built the foundation and block walls and a team in July prepared the floor and completed a lot of predatory work for the steel roof. God sent us help in the form of Louis, a neighbor of Mrs Raye the director of Hearts to God. To help us in construction and to oversee the functions of the farm. With his help we were able to complete the roof, lay the concrete floor and prepare for a team in December to lay the tile for the kitchen, dining and prep areas for the feeding center. As it stands now the feeding center is approximately 85% complete with the visions of starting the feedings in January of 2012. Praise God. We started construction on our house on the opposite corner of the compound in March. This project was a challenging and fun for me since it has always been a dream of mine to build a house and even more joyous was the fact that my family is heavily involved in the construction. The family and I were able to lay the block for the exterior walls and lay the concrete for the floor before we ran out of construction money. We are planning to resume construction in early 2012 as funds allow.

Contact info. Email: jvspeigle@hotmail.com Blog: speigle6onmissions.blogspot.com Skype: Facebook Telephone: Magic Jack: Johns Cell: jdspeigle john.speigle : John Speigle :Vanessa Speigle 501.476.1603 011.505.8.383.7656

Do you want to partner with the Speigles in their mission work? Contributions can be sent via: Re: John & Vanessa Speigle-

God has provided so much for us in 2011 and He made this evident as I had to travel to the states in August for fundraising for 2 months. Throughout the trip God has placed His hand on me in my travels and put into my path people who have a heart for missions and are hopeful to be able to help our mission in Nicaragua. It was a long and productive trip but I was very happy to return home to my family after being away for 2 months. Oh what a joyous reunion in the Managua airport. God has provided a new home for us in December and we were able to move to La Paz Centro to a house the is able to provide ample room for the kids to have school and also a place for us to be a family. We are able to walk to the land if we want and are able to come home for lunch while working on the land. This is a great thing for me after a year of 45 min. commutes from Leon. (Continued on page 2)

900 East 2ND Street P.O. Box 69 Hartford, Arkansas. 72938

Hearts to God and Hands to Work Ministries, INC.

From The Kids in 2009 and now. Oh how theyve grown

Prayer Needs of the Speigles : *Child Sponsor Program *Language development *Funds for house in La Paz *Funding for Feeding Center *Funding for tools to work on the farm **Gods continued guidance **** Financial Blessings

( Continued from John page 1)

The kids have grown so much over the last year both physically and spiritually. Sierra has turned 13 in September and is almost as tall as Vanessa and I( about 5 inches to go before she surpasses us.) She has worked hard on her studies and continues to amaze me on her artistic development. Her Spanish is developing well and we often use her as an interpreter when we get in over our heads. God has amazing plans for her. Recently at a Christmas party that we had for a local community Sierra used her creativity to make animal balloons for well over 100 kids. She also displayed her acting talents in our drama Sinbox Sally. Everywhere we go she latches on to a little kid and that is her friend for life. Caleb turned 11 in January and is looking to turn 12 in a few short weeks. He also has worked hard on his studies and is becoming an accomplished drawer. Caleb also was able to participate in a baseball league in Leon and his team won a hard fought series to become the champions of Leon. Caleb is also developing a great sense of humor and continues to make us laugh with his witty repartee. His servant attitude continues so shine here in Nica as there are so many opportunities to serve. He is becoming a man before my very eyes. Kyle turned 9 in July and is still full of energy and fun. His humor and quick smiles translate better than and words can be. One of his stories for creative writing goes like this I am a pig. I am sad. All my friends are bacon. I have no one to play with Just awesome. He continues to be our prayer warrior and my right hand man when fixing things around the house. His curiosity fun loving nature always finds him with a friend, usually playing in the dirt. God has an amazing project started in him. I cant wait to see how it turns out. Sydney is 6 years old soon to be 7, and continues to be the center of attention wherever we go. So many people want to touch and stroke her hair. She is great sport and has many opportunities to serve that we as adults do not have. Recently we were doing craft projects with a local church and Sydney noticed as little girl watching from the gate. Syd asked Vanessa if she thought she would like to do the doll craft we were working on. So Sydney took the project out to her and sat with her and showed her how to stuff the doll. She was a little shy at first but quickly realized that it was a doll for her. Vanessa continues to be an amazing wife and mother. She has started her 5th year in homeschooling our kids and her 18th year of marriage. God has placed in her such a great compassion for the kids here and a drive to help them in every way possible. In 2012 she has among the many projects already on her plate the task of organizing and running the childrens feeding program. Like in everything she does it will be an excellent program. Throughout everyday and whatever is thrown in her path, and whatever critters seem to get into our house . Vanessa continues to stand for her God and her family. I look forward to serving with her here in Nicaragua for as long as God will have us here. I find it very difficult to sum up the last year and to find the words to explain the vision for the next year. To get a better picture youll just have to come pay us a visit.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are a few thousand words..

A Photo op with the AWANA leaders in La Paz Centro Such handsome boys

Sierra and Kyles favorite place, up in a tree.

Another picture of a cute chick.

Working on a project.

These two pictures go together. A local family coming to our house during their summer break for international school. I wonder if God is telling us something. Vanessas creation for our Thanksgiving feast.

A Christmas eve celebration with Dramas, piatas, food and gifts for 175 kids.

Our Christmas tradition, a home made Christmas tree.

A scene where the Sheppards come to adore the baby Jesus in a Christmas drama that was acted out. Guess who was the donkey that Mary rode on?

Feeding Center

Setting up for the kitchen counters

Building the dividing walls

Looking from the storage room into the kitchen

Looking out to the outside world.

Mrs. Raye and Louis putting in the windows

The kitchen floor is all tiled

Terry laying down the tiles in the dining hall

Looking great guys.

A look to the guest quarters and the patio area.

Looking pretty good if I say so myself.

Ready for dinner. Almost

More information on the various projects that are currently underway.

Feeding Center
This project is the first major construction project for the Hearts 2 God compound. The vision is to be able to cook 300+ hot meals per day to be distributed to the kids in La Paz Centro. We have been awarded and have received a small shipment of 55,000 meals from Frazier Valley Gleaners of Canada. See (www.fvgleaners.org ) The feeding center will also serve as a temporary team housing until the permanent mission house is built on compound site. While the project has been started it is far from over. Many things need to be done to complete this project.

Our House
This is a God send for our family. Not only will it serve as a home for us but will enable us to better facilitate the daily workings of the farm, compound, and feeding center. The house is being built directly across from the feeding center. We have been given seed money to start the house but that will only get it so far. Any contribution that you can give will certainly go far. We are doing as much of that labor as possible ourselves to keep costs low but materials are expensive. I will post needs for the house in next issues.

Electricity
To handle current demands and as well as future projects, a transformer will need to be installed close to the compound wall, being that the compound is approximately 500 meters off the main road it doesn't bode well for a cheap estimate. $10,500.00 is needed to bring light to these dreams.

Sports complex
We hope to build a baseball field, soccer field, and basketball court. Thru this complex with hope to reach the large group of youth from La Paz that has never heard the word of God. While the land is cleared a lot of work is still needed. I believe this complex will bring a location for the local kids to play and also to host tournaments where we will preach the Gospel.

Citrus Grove
Almost 1 acre has been set aside to plant Mandarins, Grapefruit, Juice oranges, Lemons, and Avocados. We will be planting these in May and the trees range from $1.00 to $2.00 per tree. We look to plant about 2530 trees per each variety.

Talapia Pond
Tilapia is a local fresh water fish that is hardy and easier to grow. These fish are high in protein and omega 3 which is needed in the diet of Nicaraguas children

These are just the projects that have been started, Many more are on the horizon. We cannot do this without your help. God has given us these visions to help the people and especially the children of La Paz Centro. If you have any questions please email me at jvspeigle@hotmail.com

New opportunity for Childrens Ministry, may it grow abundantly for God: We have started a sponsorship program for the children down here. We are planning to start with 15 children. You will have the opportunity to sponsor a child at the cost of $150.00 per year. This cost will cover the childs school tuition, uniform, school supplies, shoes, food at school, a backpack and a few new clothes. Keep watching to find out more about this new and exciting opportunity to minister to these children. More to come..

Money, the world runs on it, many covet it, and to put it simply everyone needs it to live. We are no exception. I have struggled with this aspect of fund raising and how to approach it. I have never liked asking for help, I always relied on my own skills and abilities. I can no longer do that. God has called me to a place that I need outside support. So that is why I am writing this article. Someone once told me that people want to give and if I do not tell them of a need I deprive them of an opportunity to serve God. I never thought of it like that. I realize that God will provide the support for our mission but I need to do my part. So here it goes. Vanessa and I debated for many months about who to go on missions with. We interviewed with International Mission Board (IMB) and I felt that it was not for us. The security and benefits that IMB provided were attractive but they were not working in Nicaragua, where I felt strongly called to serve. So we decided to Let God lead us. While serving in Nicaragua we met a couple who serve with Hearts 2 God out of Hartford Arkansas, God opened doors for us to partner with them. While there are many benefits to this arrangement there are a few challenges. We have to be self supported which means there are no mission boards with deep pockets to provide for us. Current Budget in dollars/month: So we need to raise our own support. I like this setup because it gives me the chance to talk with a wide variety of people that God puts in my path. I am a people person and I love getting to know new people. Current Budget in dollars/month: But I have to overcome the challenges of my dislike of asking for help financially. This is especially chalRent: 800.00 lenging in an economy that is less than strong. But God laid it on my heart to put this in our newsletter. I Interpreters: 225.00 am including, in this article, our monthly budget. It is cheap to live in Nicaragua like a Nicaraguan, buy it Water: 80.00 is very expensive to live like and American in Nicaragua. We strive to live in the middle. We have always Electric: 275.00 lived simply and will continue to do so while were are serving God. Below are the Monthly expenses that Propane: 40.00 we incur. Food: 1000.00 Phone: 50.00 Sewer/Trash: 25.00 Some of our projected needs Transportation: 200.00 Projected purchases needed: Internet/TV: 75.00 House 15,000.00 Tithing 150.00 Feeding Center 15,000.00 Total: 2880.00 Future projects ??????