This weekend is bumping with lots of celebration and events here at NCC. This Friday we will start the Holiday with 2 Good Friday services at our Ebenezers Location at 5pm & 630pm. On Saturday we will host our annual Easter Eggstravaganza at Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill and Quincey Park in Ballston. After the Egg Hunt you can come on back to Ebenezers for our Baptismal Service that will happen at 630pm. Finally, on Sunday, you can choose from one of our 5 locations and 9 services. We'll add a new location to the mix this Sunday as well with our newest launch at Gala Theater in Upper NW. So mark your calendar for one or all of these celebration opportunities and we'll see you there!!

We have a saying here at NCC that goes like this, "a change of pace + a change of pace = a change of perspective". Its true isn't it? Especially when it comes to missions trips. We sacrifice time, money, and energy.  Travel to a place we have never been to before and are not familiar with and boom. Something clicks. I love the feeling. It's like you are really walking out the pages of scripture. You are no longer reading stories that don't make sense to you. You are living the words written in the Bible. You are trusting God with all your heart and leaning on Him with everything because you have no cognitive category of where you are or how to navigate through it. That is how it was for us in Nicaragua. We were reading through the pages of Jeremiah and they were becoming so real to us as we spent the days destroying the old facility and tearing down walls to build up new ones. It was awesome! It was all good! The problem however is often times found in the return to normal life. The change in pace and place is good and it will bring a change of perspective to your life, but most importantly, are you walking obediently to the pages of scripture when  you are right in the middle of the place where God has placed you. If the Bible only comes alive to you when you leave the country for a week then something is terribly wrong. In the same way God uses you across the world, He desires to use you across the cubicle. In the same faith you practice in an unfamiliar land, God wants you to practice the same faith in your very familiar neighborhood. So what is it going to take? Maybe apply the same thought to your everyday life. Change up your normal schedule. Throw in a curve ball and force yourself to get uncomfortable and go in a different direction and watch what God can do. He has called you to be a prophet to the nations and that means right here and right now!

We had such a great team in Nicaragua. There were 17 of us. Which means 17 different backgrounds and personalities. However, we meshed so well into a family so quickly. One of the girls comments on the last day was, "we are like one big non-dysfunctional family, i could not have picked it any better". God did some amazing things in us and through us. I was reminded of the scripture in Corinthians when Paul talks about the body of Christ. We are all different parts that make up the full body. I think we all got a better understanding of that verse on this trip. I loved the fact that we represented different cultures and language on our team as well. Each day we blessed our meal in a different language. Some of the different languages were: English, Spanish, ASL, Nicaraguan Sign, Cantonese, amd Southern Virgina:). We were all acting as one body throughout our week. It just felt good. Everyone was doing what they were created to do. As a result there were no insults, bickering, quarrels, or anything of the such. It was a miracle in the making:) I wonder if at home (USA), if we were all doing what we were created to do, and not trying to be people we were not, if there would be more fulfillment, more accomplished, and less quarreling. There is something to think about!

From before you were born, you stepped into a story that was written by God. In Jeremiah 1 the Bible reads that "before you were in your mother's womb, He knew you." God had a story in mind for you since before you were even breathing air. What an amazing concept. Stories can be so powerful. We can loose ourselves in stories and they can even be a catalyst of change in our lives. Some of us will never be the same because of some of the stories that we have heard, seen, or experienced. Last week 17 of us got the opportunity to share in the story that God is writing in Nicaragua. Its amazing enough to know that God is the author of your story and on top of that He gives us moments to be a part of someone Else's story too. God is such an amazing author and orchestrator of life. What an awesome privilege to be the ink in His book. Are you living the story of God? Are you allowing God to write your story, or are your writing your own? His-story never ends. What are on the pages of your story? It's never too late to hand over the pen!

We accomplished some more demolition today. 2 more walls came down and we hauled hundreds of pounds of rubble off to another site. It was another scorcher at 95+. One moment today was considerably special. Right after we finished blasting the first hole in the wall before lunch, Matt (the missionary here), grabbed the sledge hammer and started hitting the wall himself. One by one pieces flew off and the team cheered him on. He wasn't able to hear our cheers but you could feel the encouragement in the air. The vibe was big. He was swinging away and we were cheering away at the top of our voices. It reminded me of the time when the Israelites were in battle and as long as Moses hands were in the air they were winning. When Moses got tired and his arms fell, they started to loose. Then others came along to encourage him by holding up his hands right along side of Moses. In the end they won the battle. In the same way we are here as a team to lift us the hands of the Barlows. They have been doing this long before we got here and will continue to press on as we leave. As we were watching him hit that wall I was so honored and encouraged to be a part of this vision. Matt is a little older and less in shape so it made the story seem that much more inspiring as he was pounding away at the walls and they came crashing down. Their investment here has prepared the way for walls to come crashing down and due to God's amazing grace we get to be a part of the story. What a feeling! Off to dinner again. We are heading out tonight for the church service. The Pastor asked if I would share the Word tonight so say a prayer and believe with us tonight. We have our fun day tomorrow. We will be going to explore a Volcano, view a lookout spot at Granada, and shop a bit at the Mercado. Thanks for your prayers. Well update again soon.