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Newsletters - November 2009

Alongside Ministries en Nicaragua
Evangelism Through Relationships
Halle and Kathy August, Missionaries
amen@ibw.com.ni
www.alongsideministries.org
November 2009

Dear Friends,

The season is changing up there, isn’t it? We know you don’t all live in the same place but most likely, wherever you live, you are seeing the signs of change. That crisp chill in the air early in the morning and settling in late in the afternoon, the spider webs strung through the trees outlined with dew, the fall colors of the leaves that are blanketing your yards and sidewalks…  We really miss the signs of the changing seasons, particularly in the northwest. The seasonal changes we experience here in Nicaragua just aren’t quite as colorful or refreshing but there are changes if you know where to look for them. The rainy season will soon be behind us. Thanks to El Niño we’ve experienced the driest rainy season in years and we’re hoping the crops won’t suffer elevating the cost of beans, a mainstay for the Nicaraguans. These last few weeks we’ve seen a little more rain which has everything looking so green and fresh again. As the rainy season ends so does the school year here in Nicaragua and the children and families begin to anticipate a 2-month break from school and look forward to the Christmas celebrations in December.

We, too, are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with friends and family but before we can do that we need to jump ahead to 2010, to the school year that will start up again the first of February and to the needs of our scholarship program. For those of you not familiar with our scholarship program allow us to provide a quick synopsis. Back in 2004 we started up a small Christian preschool serving the community of Cedro Galan where our ministry center is located. After 2 years of classes we had 3 children that had successfully completed both years and were headed off to their third year of preschool (similar to our Kindergarten) at the local public school. Their only other educational options were a small private Christian school or the Catholic school. One didn’t provide an atmosphere much better than the public school and the other was cost prohibitive. Desiring to see these 3 children continue to grow spiritually and academically we looked for another alternative for them. Our scholarship program was born out of this desire and in 2006 our 3 preschool graduates started their third year of preschool at Covanic, a high quality Christian school close to their home neighborhood. At the end of this month these 3 students will be finishing 3rd grade along with 3 students finishing 2nd grade, 4 finishing 1st grade and 4 more finishing the third year preschool program – 14 students are graduates of our little preschool at The Little Lighthouse Ministry Center. Thanks to those of you who have sponsored a particular child or donated to the general scholarship fund we have been able to provide these students with the tuition, books and supplies that they have needed to participate and grow in this high quality educational program.

This year we have 8 more preschool graduates, our largest group yet, ready to join the others at Covanic. We have already stepped out in faith and registered the students for 2010 so we could take advantage of the discounted early registration price. Now we are asking you all to join us in this adventure of faith. Please pray for this program and for the children involved. If you can’t be involved as a financial partner sponsoring a child or donating a one-time gift to the scholarship fund, please be involved through prayer and by sharing this program with others who can joins us with prayer or financial support.

As we begin to discuss a financial gift or partnership we want you to know that we are very aware of the continuing unsettled economy in the United States and fully understand how it may cause us to watch more closely our personal finances and financial commitments. We are praying for our country and for the decisions being made by those in power that can directly affect each of us. We are praying, too, for God’s hand to be on President Obama and for the decisions he is making for our country. As we pray, however, we are not left with a felling of uncertainty as to how the future will turn out. On the contrary, we pray with confidence that the future will be exactly as God has designed it to be and with God there is never any worry. We hope you can pray with this same confidence and more importantly live confidently knowing that your future is secure in the hands of God.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration to giving financial support to our scholarship program. Perhaps you would consider giving a donation in the name of a friend or loved one as a Christmas gift this year or maybe you could encourage your small group or cell group to combine a donation to sponsor a student. There are many creative ways to give and we hope you will consider this program as you decide where your support dollars will go in 2010. The following shows a breakdown of the cost per student for the students at Covanic.

If you feel led to support this program with a financial donation please send your gift to Eastside Development (formerly NEO Foundation) at the address provided below. Please mark your donation: Halle and Kathy August, Scholarship Program. If you are interested in sponsoring an individual student please write to us at amen@ibw.com.ni and let us know so we can designate a particular child as your sponsor child. We will send you a picture and some personal information so you can pray specifically for this child and their family.

Thank you, too, for praying for us and for this program. So you can pray specifically for the students we thought you might like to “meet” them through pictures and be able to pray for them by name. Attached to this letter is a picture collage of the students. Maybe you’d like to print it off to post on your refrigerator or to keep in your Bible as a prayer reminder. Thank you again!

Serving Together,
Halle and Kathy August
AMEN
Alongside Ministries en Nicaragua

Thank you for supporting our ministry in Nicaragua.
Your gifts, sent to Eastside Development (formally The NEO Foundation),
will be used for our general ministry activities or wherever you designate. 

Eastside Development
PO Box 301471
Portland, OR  97294