It is so worth it...

                                                                 The day begins

                                     A little fog, but no problem for Agros' experienced team

                                                  New Earth boasts of its 173 families

                                  A crowded and loving reception at the Community Center

The President of Tierra Nueva proudly accepts the gift of the village's new bible from NCC, and tells the passionate story of how Agros and NCC are the Moses of the village, why the village is their promised land, and how their crops are their manna

                         The arrival of the NCC team is the most anticipated event of the year

The elders comment dozens times about joy in the hearts of the whole village in welcoming Kyra, Eliza, and Grant because it demonstrates that a new generation is interested in their future

Working in the fields under the watchful eye of the land owners

No Mark, that's now how you drink the coffee! Coffee, which takes three years to become a harvestable crop, will soon be the major saleable product of the village. . .a significant achievement 

Lunch at the home of the President of the village

One of the many new homes built in the past year. The village is now full to capacity

Henry and his proud family, finally able to make a better life for their future

The rains came all day, and the villagers told of the struggle they had in the first year when the crops failed because of a lack of rain

The next generation of villagers interacting with the NCC team all afternoon

YUP! A muddy bum is part of the deal. . .

                                                       . . ..and this is why it is so worth it

Discovering what's important

The team successfully met up in Houston, and after a quick visit to the Subway sandwich shop we were on our way!

Two new missionaries and one veteran of  past Nicaragua missions. Can you identify the veteran?

Pastor Mark. . . doing one of the many things he does best

30 minutes out of Managua . . .  and a flat tire on our bus. Thanks to the quick work of the Agros team we were soon on our way.

Dinner at the hotel was interrupted with an electrical blackout (and boy was it black!), but candles, I-phone screens, and a flashlight made it a night to remember

Refilling the water bottles after devotional marked the end of an important day. In the matter of a few hours we were all reminded of the important things in life . .  air, water, and most of all. . .the light.

Suddenly, trying to find out who won the Cowboys / Packers game did not seem so important. It is already an amazing mission.

Mark 16:15

The Team is ready to go!

Saturday evening and everyone is ready to go! The Florida contingent meets up with the Pennsylvania team at Houston International Airport tomorrow morning for our departures to Nicaragua. Will try to take a group photo and post it before we get on the plane but the connection time between flights is short so depending on Internet access we may not post again until Sunday night or Monday morning .

                                                                                                                                         Proverbs 3:23

Getting ready to go!

Packing the essentials for the trip!

Pray for us as we depart

 In 2012 New Community Church (NCC) sent a team of leaders to Nicaragua on a vision trip that initiated a new partnership between our congregation in Pittsburgh, PA and Agros International.  That team saw the new village of Tierra Nueva that NCC would help to support over the next 5-7 years. In the past two years NCC has sent a mission team each year to work alongside these villagers to love and support them in the name of Christ as they engage on an adventure to move from extreme poverty to middle class land owners in this new land in Nicaragua.

Now, in January 2015 our next mission team is making last minute preparations to go back to Nicaragua.  The 2015 team consists of 12 people, including 2 middle school students.  As we begin this final week of packing and preparing to leave for Tierra Nueva, we ask for your prayers for safe travels and a productive week with our friends in Nicaragua.  We fly out of Pittsburgh on Sunday morning, January 11th at 6:00am and will be returning on Friday, January 16th at 5:00pm.  We will keep you updated on the trip in this blog each day.