An Evening for Tesoros de Dios

Over the last few months, a team at Tesoros de Dios (including me!) has been busy preparing for our first-ever, maybe to become annual (?), event called "An Evening for Tesoros de Dios." The board (on which I serve) decided last spring to host this event in the US (in Wisconsin and Indiana), and we decided that we could put on a similar event here in Nicaragua. . .and I'm glad we did!

Friday evening was a gift. Around 180 people filled the Eagle Center (the gym at Nicaragua Christian Academy) in support of Tesoros de Dios. Around 90 were staff, students, and parents involved in the program. . .the other half were guests--fellow missionaries, students from the American Nicaraguan School (ANS) who support Tesoros, and other friends and family who wanted to learn more about and support the ministry of Tesoros de Dios.

The gathered group was treated to hearing various testimonies of students and parents, two choirs, a few speeches (I gave one. . .you can click here to read the transcript if you missed it! Thankfully you can't read about the part where I almost started crying on stage during the speech. . .thanks dad and grandpa for the crying genes whenever we get emotional!)

The evening was emceed by two current Tesoros students, one in high school and one in university. They did such a beautiful job; I loved how involved Tesoros students were involved throughout the whole evening.

We also threw together a silent auction as part of the evening--something done too much in the US and never done here--but it actually was a success due to very generous attendees (and donors!). One fellow CRWM missionary bought a set of "Andrew Ippel" piano CDs for $100--that kind of generosity just blows me away (I hope they find that donation well spent after listening to the music!)

One of the teachers at Tesoros de Dios was going to cook/cater for the event, but due to a family emergency on Friday morning, she wasn't able to attend. A HUGE group of staff filled in for her and provided everyone with wonderful food (with CHOICES, too! Veggie lasagna, beef with mushroom sauce, Parmesan chicken!). They worked from 1:00-10:00, and didn't even get to eat their own cooking until after the event, which I felt guilty about (I definitely ate!)

I'm thankful for the Tesoros staff--a group of therapists, teachers, and accountants who pulled off a really, really great event. We are not party-planning people by trade, but I think after Friday that we are certainly a capable crew.

I'm thankful for eMi, Engineering Ministries International, who is partnering with Tesoros as we plan to expand beginning with a covered horse therapy arena this March. Check out this video to be inspired (this is what made me nearly break down, actually!) Our desire to grow and expand and serve more kids is really the impetus behind all of this momentum of promoting Tesoros de Dios.

I'm thankful for the board of Tesoros, and the potential positive financial impact that this evening has had for Tesoros de Dios. I'm excited to hear the "totals" from the other sites.

I'm thankful for the local community that came out on Friday to show support to Tesoros. I hope we gained a few more child sponsors on our end (and MANY more in the US!) and that our plans to grow can soon become a reality.

I'm also thankful the event is over! It wasn't a TON of work for me, but it was added work, and I was honestly a little stressed about the potential success/failure of the event. . .in retrospect, no need to worry! VERY thankful for God and His presence in the details.

Click HERE to see more beautiful pictures of the event taken by Christa Brunt, Tesoros volunteer extraordinaire! She gets credit for all images on this post, minus the first blurry one:)