Hello friends, supporters, family, partners, and possibly just curious folks! 

It’s been 3 to 4 months since my last blog and I imagine that many of you might understand as to why it’s taken me so long to sit down and write out what we’ve been up to over the past few months or so; being that our family has expanded since late May and we have been adjusting to life as parents of 2 beautiful boys! 

What a joy it is to be a father; it really is one of the biggest blessings of my life. To know that God has given me the opportunity and great responsibility to model Jesus for my boys each and every day is something that I understand and most seriously embrace with my whole heart; knowing that the Gospel-life should be most evident in my home with how I love and serve my family and in the community in which we live. 

Looking at this picture below, as I begin writing up a blog that can somewhat capture all that God has done in and through my friendship with Ryan, I realize that it feels like a lifetime ago when we were both in Costa Rica on totally different paths in life.

I arrived in Costa Rica with the intention of getting my ESL certification; this I accomplished but I also received so much more in gaining a friend that later in life I would proudly call my brother.

Every time I tell the story about how Ryan and I met it makes me chuckle. Within the first few days upon arriving in Costa Rica, I realized that most of the students in my class weren’t getting their ESL certification with the desire to actually teach English somewhere, but most probably to enjoy the month in Costa Rica partying and seeing the sights…

The picture below was our most recent attempt to get a photo of the Isaiah Project kids and staff and we almost got everyone in the picture and to smile, haha!  This picture was taken on Valentine’s Day and Jessica and I decided to get a cake for us all to share (yes we somehow had a piece for everyone) along with some Coca Cola (by far the favorite drink here in Nicaragua) to celebrate with our kids and staff what we believe to be the reason we are here on this earth: TO PERSONALLY RECEIVE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AND THEN TO LOVE ALL OTHERS UNCONDITIONALLY AND SACRIFICIALLY.  

I guess you could say that is the very reason why this ministry even exists. Our ministry may consist of helping to put at-risk kids through school, bring nourishment into impoverished homes, or repairing a home which no longer provides security or protection from the elements, but all of these things are simply the fruits of good works which hang off of the tree of unconditional and sacrificial love that is the bedrock of all Fervent Fire Ministries has done or will ever do for our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters…

Hey everyone!  Bless you this new year!  

I wanted to share the above video with you for those of you who haven’t already seen it when I posted it on the ministry’s Facebook page a few weeks ago.  We feel an extra bit of sentimentality overcome us concerning especially this video testimony because we have known Miriam for almost 7 years or so and have personally given witness to what she shares in the video.

We can vouch for the struggle Miriam and her sweet family have endured in order to make sure there is food in their bellies and a place to lay their heads at night…

It’s hard to know where to begin this blog as my mind tries to find some semblance of order. I feel inundated with thoughts and emotions of what has transpired over the past month and a half or so since my last correspondence. I guess I can begin by explaining my reason behind the title of this blog.

All around us and all over Nicaragua darkness has roamed the streets and seemingly swallowed up any trace of remembrance of peace and tranquility which began fading away on the 18th of April.  For a good while now, it has not been safe to go outside at night and even during the day it isn’t the best idea to travel alone as personal security is a thing of the past.  Robberies and assaults are common place and it seems that daily someone goes missing as they are often even snatched out of their own homes under the charges of conspiring against the government…

As many of you know by now the last two to three weeks have been tumultuous here in Nicaragua.  

I won’t go into all the details here in my blog but if you would like to know more specifics about what has been going and how Nicaragua has come to the boiling point in which it finds itself currently, you can do so by clicking the links below:

How did things in Nicaragua get this bad?

Nicaragua is on the verge of change!

Jessica, Josiah and I have been fine throughout all the political upheaval which has lead to daily marches and protests throughout not only Managua, but the whole country.