Project Ezra Scores High!
Project Ezra Mid-Year Report
Measured Success in our Nicaragua school project.
How would you do managing a school district in one of the most remote corners of the Western Hemisphere?
We began the 2009 school year on the Rio Coco in February with 2587 students in 17 communities along the Rio Coco in Nicaragua. Now we are coming to the mid-year reporting point, and the numbers look good. Our students are doing well, as are the teachers. Here is a letter I received a few weeks ago from Onofre Zamora, who is our director of Bible training, as well as teacher professional training. Onofre is well qualified to train our teachers and pastors. He is acknowledges as one of the most professional educators on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, and has spent time studying the Bible in Israel with Dr. Randall Smith. He is also a graduate of the Haggai Institute Leadership Training Center in Maui Hawaii.
Dear Maik,
Greetings from the Zamora family to the Bagby Family. I hope in God that you are well. We are well by the grace of God.
I am writing to give you a brief report of the results of the education project which I turned over to the Municipal Government. They were as follows:
• Students’ pass percentage: 86% (pass/fail ratio: 86/14)
• Percent of students retained in school: 89%
• Desertion percentage: (11% Retention ratio: 89/11)
The reason for the school drops is due to the rice planting season; the students go with their parents to the farm to help with the planting. According to some parents, their children will return to class again in ten days. Some children went along with their parents because they were hungry, but now the World Food Program (PMA) is distributing food to the schools. This might help to maintain the enrollment.
The radio Bible program continues successfully. I now broadcast three times per week.
At the end of May, Tom and Nutie arrived. We went with them to Sawa on Thursday, June 4th to train teachers. On Friday May 5th we gave them a workshop. We stayed in Sawa Saturday, returning to Waspam on Sunday.
• During the workshop the teachers wrote a brief autobiography.
• The principal exposition consisted of an explanation of a project to be carried out by each school entitled “La Historia de mi Pueblo.” (We are collecting all the historical data available on the Coco River).
• Before beginning these activities I presented a biblical reflection about the works that God gives us which we should carry out accepting them as His assignment.
Your brother in Christ, Onofre Zamora
As you can see from Onofre’s letter, we are doing many things very well this year. Our emphasis for Project Ezra is spiritual development, with primary and secondary education as the service we provide the community to validate our witness. Jesus said to “Go Serve” one another, and we are doing that in a 60 mile stretch of the Coco River. In the meantime, our students are getting spiritually connected to God as they advance through the grades from Kinder to 9th. Our graduating students have gone on to high school, and we have hired 47 of them to come back to their communities to teach the next generation of Miskito children. Many of these are also serving as pastors and Bible teachers in their communities.
It takes many things to make this all happen. First, a plan from God. He has been very clear about this since we began Project Ezra in 1986 during the Sandinista War. Next we need dedicated “locals” who have a heart to do the work of the ministry. Our staff of 78 led by Truman Cunningham have been working very well together for over 20 years. Finally it takes many of you to support these workers with your prayers and finances.
We are in serious need this month for you to pray for Project Ezra. We are asking God to provide all the school supplies, teacher salaries, and construction materials for this month, and the next.
It takes some serious prayer and support for this to happen, that is why we are asking you all to pause a moment, and ask God to provide.
Many of you have been on our team for years, and we need you now as much as we ever had.
Please ask God to show you what your part is.
That is all that we are asking.
Saying “No” By Mikaela Bagby
Ed. Note: Last month, we brought you an article from Arielle about her new bicycle and what happens when you say “Yes”. This month, we bring you another view of obedience in which my #1 daughter gives all the usual excuses we give to God when He asks us to do something!
Excuses are for kats (idiots) especially when your father is somewhat of a genius when it comes to speeches and facts.
My name is Mikaela Bagby and even though I’m eighteen and considered an “adult” I still have times like this morning that I act like a complete moron towards my parents, my father in particular. I know I have come a long way since the early teen days and I can say that I have matured fairly well even throughout these months, but sometimes things comes out, things I call “word vomit”.
My “word vomit” today started when my dad had asked me to move this piece of equipment (a porta-crib for a friend’s baby) out of my room. He asked me in the earlier morning and I said “ok, ok I’ll get on it”, but really in my head I was going to secretly try post pone it a little longer, possibly three days or even a week, but I wasn’t going to push it. After our bike ride he then asked me again while I was sitting on my couch working on the computer. Then suddenly he came out of nowhere to tell me again. It took me by surprise. He can be sneaky when he wants to… I forget that about him.
He said: “Mikaela, why have you not put this away yet? I told you to do it three times this morning.”
I replied as I looked at the clock (it was 11:58 a.m.) “It’s still morning! And I can still get it done! This is My room. Why do you even care if it is in here? It’s not like you travel through my room very often.” (My first word vomit, second one is on its way).
Then I said: “I don’t even know how to put it away, and I can’t do it by myself. Plus, I don’t feel like putting it back out here when I need it again so why can’t I just leave it where it is!?”
Without a word he grabbed the porta-crib, revealed the instructions printed on the bottom, and started counting. As he counted he began to tear down and put it away.
It took him twenty seconds to put the dang thing away.
I didn’t say anything after that. I imagined a bewildered look on my face, but I can’t be sure because I couldn’t see myself at the time. He looked at me and said: “20 seconds. The instructions are in Spanish, French, and English. If you can’t understand any of that then we have a problem. So next time I ask you to put it away, I mean PUT IT AWAY.”
I made the DUMBEST excuses today. They came out of nowhere too. But I learned valuable lessons that I don’t think I’ll forget.
Excuses are dumb, and I believe answering back and not doing things immediately and completely, are in the category of disobedience. I was not a very good example to my siblings today, and all that could have been avoided if I had just put the porta-crib away… right away.
God wants immediate, complete, and joyful obedience from us, just like my earthly father does. My life goes well when I give that kind of obedience to him. Mikaela
Lamb Bleatings By Laura Bagby
Conditional vs. Unconditional
What kind of “lover” are you?
When God gave, He gave all and held nothing back from us. He gave unconditionally and continues to reveal Himself boldly in our lives with a love that is extravagant and totally without condition. He loves because He IS Love. We, as humans, love, but often with conditions because of our unwillingness to lay down our lives as Jesus layed his life down for us. Laying it down is a choice to be reckoned with daily and often moment by moment. It is pure and undefiled because each act is filled with the presence and character of God as we think of others as more important than ourselves. Conditions place restraints upon our lives and upon our relationships….”if you do this then…”is the human natural way.
God’s way is , “I have gone and endured the whole way for you. What will your response be toward me?” Out of His unconditional love, He calls out to us desiring our whole hearts given over to Him that we might live out His life through us. His heart becomes our heart and our response to life, to people and to our situations becomes His acting hand through us. It is quite the supernatural process. It is in fact a gift of the most significant eternal kind.
He becomes a living entity in and through us as we walk through life and all of our situations. It is as real as we are willing to lay ourselves aside completely and unconditionally for Him because of His grace over us. We love because He first loved us….we give because He first gave to us and as we give ourselves over to Him we ourselves are filled to overflowing so that we can go out and do what He first did for us.
Arielle turned 11 on June 17th and we had a lot to celebrate over this little life. People say that she is 11 going on 21 because she seems so mature in her actions and responses to life and to the people around her. She has gained a favored reputation among many because of her unconditional ways that she gives herself to the service of others. We are all quite frankly inspired by her and her attitudes within our own household. She often chooses the higher road even in the simplest of ways and it is bearing the fruit of character in her life.
I have observed her abandoning her own will in preference to ours with immediacy. Today, as she ran out the door Michael called out to her mid stream and without hesitation she put her foot brakes on and came running back to hear the command and then proceeded to run again to get the command done. Then she continued on to her own destination. She gave no lip, no excuses, no “oh, but can I do this first or finish that first?”, no, “I don’t feel like doing that right now/may I do it later?”…Her response was immediate, joyful and complete…she unconditionally gave herself to her situation and to her parents. The fruit of repetitive acts such as these are pronounced and reveal themselves in our lives. The bible says what is done in secret will be shouted from the rooftops….
In Michael’s celebration speech to Arielle, he made note of how her reputation has gone forth to both young and old because of her decisions of full hearted obedience with a great attitude. One of our dear friends who our kids consider an“Auntie”(Olivia & Uncle Tony) said, “Arielle, I was struck by God’s excitement to give to Abraham more than what he was even asking for after Abraham was obedient and willing to give up his only son who he loved. God was excited to bless Abraham. Because of your obedience, willingness to always be there for people to bless them and serve them, I felt a glimpse of what God must have felt when I was out buying your presents I wanted to get you everything you wanted and more. You inspire me to be more of an obedient servant through Christ.”
One can never out give God. He is always looking to bless his faithful ones.
As parents, we are moved when we see our children being responsive to us as they attempt to give us their best and their most out of their acts of love and obedience. It is moving and keeps our hearts soft and generous toward them as we respond back in turn. The more they give on their part, the more we are moved (even in our sinful humanness) to pour over them as much as we are able. We are compelled to do so. God’s heart is so much bigger than ours…..the eternal wellspring of life….Unconditional Love pouring forth. He waits for each of us to lay ourselves down and open up ourselves completely to Him to receive it.
The only barrier that prevents the flow of God and His fullness is our own wills and our many conditions we possess in this life. We have had many who have said to us, “I would NEVER go there or do that, I cannot, I would not, That is too uncomfortable, too hot, too cold, too far, totally inconvenient at this time, too much work, too little time.” We all have our appropriate listing of conditions before the Lord…some never spoken, but yet they are there and every once in awhile they emerge and reveal our divided hearts.
The Lord our God is One God and He is Sovereign. Supreme. Unquestionable. He speaks and it is. HE has always our best intention because of His unconditional, unfailing love. In life, we will lack understanding and we will question our unquestionable God with questions that will go unanswered, but yet we must come back to the basic fact of His sovereignty and decide, “Will we yet trust and press on obeying in total allegiance?” We must choose to be focused on One Ruler in our life and play by His rules. That alone works.
Our teenagers are growing in their independence and this often brings some tumultuous discussions. In the end, they must determine from God’s perspective, what is right and wrong, up and down and cease to waver around in their double minded opinions and feelings. The very foundation of our lives are based upon God and His word and ways in our lives. We belong to Him and play by His rules. He determines our steps and they are designed to follow, submit and often lay their own desires to the side in exchange for the greater good of God and family. We fight a fierce battle and the struggle is for their souls and their destiny. There are times that we as parents get our “war paint” on and forge ahead fighting to proclaim within our family the order of God over and upon our lives and theirs. The victory belongs to the Lord….in some moments, I must remind myself and them as they (& I) experiment with their own wills and rebellious hearts. The battle belongs to the Lord. We are one unit, one team intent on one purpose. I remind them of their place on that team and on the battle ground we share. You are either in or out….They seem to get the message loud and clear when they are challenged with the reality that they are in fact dependent and their blessings fall through us before it reaches them and they have a choice of receiving that flow or being cut off. The choice is theirs……they have attempted to make it about us (if YOU..), but as they say in my hometown, “NO CAN DO.” They must come to the place of choosing for themselves and making it all their own.
But if anyone lacks wisdom, let him as of God who gives generously and without reproach and it will be given to him. But, let him ask in faith without any doubting for the man who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord being a double minded man unstable in all of his ways. James 1:5-8
One mind, one heart , and intent upon one purpose…. Laura
The Bagby Bunch Corner
We are in Nicaragua this month! It is time for our annual Family Camp and Teacher’s Conference. It is also time for Rainy Season, Bug Season, and “Put-on-your-rubber-boots” season!
Our children willingly make this adventure with us, and the effect on their lives is amazing. We hope the dynamic of serving in remote and often uncomfortable places will build character and discipline for their future ministries. At least that is our hope! In the process, we enjoy these months with them living out of our bags, getting on busses, planes, into boats and canoes, eating a more simple diet, and savoring a cold drink– together! We of all people are blessed as we go through this experience. And we pray that God uses us with our teachers and students that we work with. It is a life of faith that we have embarked upon, and God’s faithfulness is amazing. We are just trying to do our part.
Work continues on the Waspam Center. Our carpentry team is working hard to complete this job. It is amazing to watch them do so much, with so little. Please keep Truman in your prayers. He is carrying a lot now, and his sense of responsibility for the education and spiritual growth of our students is great. He is being so effective in locating resources for our schools through his position as an elected “senator” of the Autonomous Region. He believes that God will provide all we need to educate all the 2587 kids! We love him, and are honored to work with him.
We so covet your prayers this month, as we move forward in our construction project in Waspam, and spend time with our teachers. I hope that in these past months you have been inspired to pray, pray, pray. God’s presence & provision is so needed now, and prayer will be the impetus that will make it all happen. Laura & Michael
How You Can Help This Month
Are you inspired after reading about Project Ezra in Nicaragua and what God is doing? Are you encouraged that you have a part to play in this great work of God? We hope so, because we know God is doing something, and He may want to use you.
Here are some suggestions for you to play your part in God’s plan to make disciples and educate children and adults on the Rio Coco:
1) Sponsor a Miskito Child. We need many sponsors for the 2009 school year, and we have students ready to receive your sponsorship. It is only $27 a month, and it will provide education and special needs to a student in Project Ezra.
2) Sponsor A Teacher: We employ 63 teachers, most of whom are our former students. For $90 a month, you can provide most of their food and shelter needs monthly.
3) Contribute to the building fund for the Waspam Center. This almost-complete building is already being used to educate teachers and pastors. Windows, doors, and paint are needed.
4) Join the support team of a Seek The Lamb missionary! Danilo Cunningham, Nutie & Tom Keogh, and Laura & Michael Bagby receive no salary from Seek The Lamb and rely on their personal support team to cover their living & ministry expenses. Your gifts will go a long way!
Please Click here to goto our secure PayPal page.
All contributions are tax deductable, and
Greatly Needed and Appreciated!
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