Day 2

Everyone is in the kitchen standing in line to bleach their hands and have breakfast. CBC folks are picking out ties and trying to find bibles for church. We miss all of you, but its great to know that we are connected as a church family whether we are in the same country or not.

Pray for John P. He has been sick since last night. We hoped that he would wake up feeling better, but that wasnt the case. He looks better now, but to be on the safe side, he will stay in the mission home this morning. He and Linda will join the team in La Libretad as soon as he feels better.

The mission home is beautiful this morning. Its peaceful and the plants are so healthy. We have lots of church members who would absolutley love to see the plants here. Some of the things that we grow at home are here too, but they are really thriving in the Nicaraguan climate. Its really something.

One interesting note about typing here. I couldnt find the @ symbol. At home you type shift then 2 and youre all set. Not here. You have to press alt and 6 and 4 at the same time. Try figuring that one out. I still cant find the apostrophe, so bear with the poor contractions. Pray for us today. Well have our clinic set up after lunch and we will see our first group shortly after that. Today will be a busy day for us.

We hope that worship goes well for you guys at CBC. May God bless you as you gather today. I hope that He will speak and move and show us more of what he wants.

God Bless You, and somebody give Curry a hug from Daddy please. ...Ben

We Made It

We finally made it to Managua and all are safe...most are sound. Its a late night for us and since Nicaragua doesnt observe daylight savings time, its later for us that it is for them, but who can complain.

We have one sick missionary and a lot of lost luggage. Fortunately for the CBC crew all the MIA luggage belongs to our Floridian friends. We were cutting it pretty close on the flight from Houston. They held the plane and offered passengers 600 dollars in travel vouchers to wait for tomorrows flight because they overbooked. Of course Bro. Hogan wouldnt let any of us take them up on that deal, but 8 others did, and that made enough room for all of Spikes folks.

The mission home had a great supper waiting for us. Pollo on skewers with a few sides and sweet bread. All is well. It is good to see our friends from Jacksonville and to sit on the porch of the mission home enjoying the breeze off the lake. May God bless our trip. Please be praying for us, and forgive the lack of appropriate punctuation. The keyboard is a little different.

Good night.

Nicaragua Mission Trip

I hope to be able to update you on the progress or the church's mission trip to Nicaragua. Of course that depends on the availability of Internet access to the mission team in La Libretad. Please spend time praying for the team members and the people who will come to the clinics, and check the blog every couple of days for updates.

The Ranger

Tough Monday. We live right by the new parkway in Petal, which is very convenient but also apparently dangerous. The intersection closest to our house has acquired a terrible reputation for being a hazardous spot on the road. Our local news ran a story on the intersection just after it opened and we've heard plenty of crashes since then from our font yard. Well, yesterday I became a statistic - one more accident at the infamous intersection. Bad day for the Skippers in Petal, but everyone is ok.

Word to the wise...if you come to visit us, be careful crossing the road.

One small step for man....

Blue skies on the afternoon of Easter Sunday gave witness to the mile stone. Curry James was exploring the sandbar at the farm when he stretched his right foot 6 inches forward and successfully completed his first step! Way to go big man! Congrats to Curry James!

Tough Week

Lins, Curry and I have had a tough week. I want to tell everyone thanks for your prayers and support. It honestly has meant a lot to us. Everyone has been great to us, so thanks. Here's a few verses that I shared at the YMCA prayer breakfast this mornning.

"the people living in darkness have aseen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of deat a light has dawned." Matthew 4:16 - its a quote about Jesus' ministry that refers to a passage in Isaiah 9. It speaks to me today.

I hope that Easter is appropriately honored in your heart this year. I think it will be in ours. Thanks.