30 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 25--Ruth's Bible study and Andrew's prayer group

Andrew and I have both been so thankful to be a part of groups where we are encouraged, prayed for, and spurred on in our faith.
I meet with a wonderful group of women every Tuesday night for a Bible Study.  Although sometimes we don't even get to what we have studied because we are sharing stories from our lives (and usually laughing hysterically), this time of fellowship is always refreshing and rejuvenating.  It is nice to have this group of women who understand the struggles of living in a different culture, being far away from home, being wives and mothers, and striving to live a Christ-like life in the context the midst of all of it.

Andrew meets with 3 of the other men in our neighborhood every Friday morning at 5:45 (and therefore we don't have a picture of his group... who wants their picture taken at 5:45 in the morning? And really, men just don't really love taking group pics!) We sit on rocking chairs on the porch of one of neighbors and spend time drinking badly-needed coffee, sharing joys and concerns, and lifting them up before the Lord together. Our group was prompted earlier this school year by a fellow Christian Reformed partner missionary (thanks, Nathan!), who we met in our World Missions orientation together July 2013. He remembered talking "way back then" about committing to finding people with whom to pray once we began our lives in Nicaragua. We finally have that through this group! It is so important for me to end each school week and begin each weekend with a time of lifting up our families, our ministries, and our lives to God.