One month has gone by and it was WAY to fast!

The thought of living with no hopes, no dreams of becoming anything important lies in the midst of someone I recently met. His father left when he was 6 months old and his mother passed away three years ago, leaving him with a grandfather who does not care what he does. He was ashamed to approach me about not being able to go to college. He knows I have my RN and went to college to attain my degree. He asked me to pray about going to school and a way to make this possible. I started asking him questions. He really desires to attend college and to learn english which is more money, but I found out the college he wishes to go to is $35.00 a month. How amazing is that?! I calculated the average my class was when I attended EMU and it averaged $45.00 per class! How ungrateful I have been for the wonderful education (desired by many) I have received and how blessed am I to have the opportunity to attend college?! I ask you to take this prayer request and add it to your list for this next year. This is a scholarship program with CFCI, but we need more money in the account at the Nicaragua base to make these available for people like this young man. I will give you some information about it at the end of this post. The thankfulness here in Nicaragua is outstanding. I offer to buy my family ice cream bars, not even totally $2.00 and they are so thankful. The price of food here has surprised me soooo much, considering it is all wonderful, fresh and not as greasy as American food. They don't have "value size" here; instead, since the food produced here is very desirable in the states and other countries and since Nicaragua is the poorest central American Country, we buy all the big fruits and leave this country with the smallest bananas I have seen and they take about 3 bites to eat. Being from the USA, and appreciate the fact that I obtain things I do, but my heart goes out to the people of Nicaragua as they strive to make a life for themselves. I average aged person here is a teen and the average person makes about $2.00 a day. Our minimum wage in America is $7.67 and we think we have it bad. The people living below poverty total about 48% of the population here. About 2-5% are middle class and the rest are wealthy. I ask you to consider what you have and how much you appreciate those things. I heard this past week a sermon from Church of the Highlands that Americans spend 137% of their income because we are consumed with thoughts that more and bigger is better. I was the exact same way, so I am not saying I am any better than people who desire these new, big, expensive things. Coming to Nicaragua has made me realize that I have far more than I need and I need to give what I have to others who lack even the necessary. I need to love unconditionally, no matter what disease or problem a person presents with, and most importantly, have a good attitude and God's word with me at all times so that I can refer to his ways when I feel lost. This trip has opened my eyes thus far and I can't wait for what else God has to show me. People often think that in this country, people can work, they just chose not to but rather commit crimes and rob others of what they have. But that is not the case. The fact is that people aren't given the opportunity or simply just don't make enough money to have the luxury of attending college, having a toilet inside their house, or having air conditioning. We all take these for granted each and everyday. Please take these things into consideration and if you consider you have a hard like, please come down and visit to take a glimpse at what these people experience everyday! I can't walk safely down the road without cautiously watching my surroundings because I could be robbed by anyone and at anytime. I am not scared though because I know God is holding me and I am right where I am supposed to be. Are you where you need to be? Are you doing what God has called you to do? Or are you making excuses because "it's not the time" or "I don't have enough money to do that right now. Maybe later." People there will never be a better time than NOW to take that leap of faith, listen to God's voice, and obey His word and do what He is calling you to do. He is your father and He will take care of all your needs like He has taken care of mine since I have been here. This week at the clinic I got to once again perform Leopold Maneuvers, listen to the FHR (fetal heart rate) with a doppler, perform ultrasounds, assist with a surgery, and do dressing changes to some pretty intense wounds. I decided to hand out many hair barrettes to the little girls this week and give little boys lollipops to the young boys. This week was so eventful. I went to the zoo yesterday and it cost me $100 cordobas which is about $4.50 here and my family each had to pay $20 cordobas which is less than a dollar. It was because I was a tourist. They can tell because of my blonde hair. I am so close to dying it! Thank you all for keeping me in prayer and supporting me during this trip! I love every second of it! I am home today because I am sick with a fever, cough, runny nose, and soreness in my ear. I am resting a hoping to be able to get back to work tomorrow. I ask you to consider the man I mention in the first part of this post in prayer and if you feel the desire to help support him, please let me know by shooting me an e-mail (mismiller08@yahoo.com). I will let you know more about him and some of his dreams. If not, there is another way you can support us here in Nicaragua doing God's work for His kingdom. This year, as an organization we have formed a partnership with a company called Liquid Highway. Through this partnership you can buy dark roast coffee, medium roast coffee, decaf coffee, gourmet double hot chocolate, creamy mint hot chocolate, original homestyle lemonade, or strawberry lemonade with a Christ for the City International private label. For each bag sold, $4.00 of the sale will go directly toward supporting CFCI Nicaragua in the area of administration (covering monthly expenses like rent, water, electricity, telephone, internet, and security for our office and hospitality house). Any money CFCI Nicaragua receives beyond those expenses will be used to provide scholarships to local elementary, high school, and university students. Last but not least, we are also hoping to be able to purchase the building that we currently use for the CFCI-Nicaragua office and hospitality house in the near future. Any extra money received through Liquid Highway will be put into a fund for that purchase. God has shown us that the time has come for us to buy a facility for our organization here in Nicaragua.And so, if you enjoy coffee, hot chocolate, or lemonade, we would like to invite you to support us by purchasing these drinks through Liquid Highway! You can click on the label below and it will take you to the CFCI online store where you will be able to order any of the items listed above. Shipping within the United States is free if you purchase over 10 pounds.If you are not interested in buying any of these drinks, please support us through prayer! We as an organization know the power of prayer and the effect it can have on our ministry. Please pray for God's continued grace and provision for CFCI Nicaragua and that His kingdom will continue to be advanced in 2013!May the Lord bless you greatly! http://app.ecwid.com/jsp/127219/simple-store#ecwid:category=0&mode=product&product=4632004 Christ for the City International app.ecwid.com