Spaghetti Dinner

Even with January bluster, the annual Spaghetti Dinner benefitting the Nicaragua Medical Mission trip was a tasty success.  Thanks to the hard work of dedicated cooks, spaghetti, sauce, homemade meatballs, garlic bread, salad, and assorted desserts were served to almost 200 people, including take outs.

Dinner organizer Kristin James has yet to finalize the total, but she estimated that the proceeds will be in line with what has been raised in the past, monies which purchase much needed medical supplies and medicines for the clinics.

Current and past mission team members set up, served,  waited tables, and cleaned up, continuing to bond and building important esprit de corps.

Students from Grace Lutheran Preschool and Kindergarten decorated special placements for the dinner. Thrivent Lutheran sponsored the dinner, promising to match all monies raised and donated.

We Prepare

"God goes before you--you are catching up on a conversation 

that God has already begun."

-"Insight" from the Nicaragua training manual

Saturday, January 4th was more than the first Saturday in the New Year for those of us gathered around the Newcomb family's hearth: this "retreat" marked the official commencement of mission team preparation for Grace Lutheran Church's 2014 Medical Mission Trip to Nicaragua.  Our team of 13 began to bond and solidify as we heard stories from veterans, listened to descriptions of the country and its people, asked questions, aired concerns, and shared a bit of ourselves with each other. 

Team jobs, such as craft leader, sticker queen, photographer, journalist, treasure, travel coordinator, medication coordinator, and more, were assumed and assigned.  We heard about vaccines, packing issues, safety, cultural expectations, orphanage needs, and short-term mission guidelines.  We studied scripture.  We prayed…

In a little over two months time, we will leave State College, traveling as Grace and God's ambassadors  to Nicaragua, the second poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.  We pray and we ask you to pray that our travel, our time and our work may glorify the good and gracious God we so humbly serve.

(Nicaragua photos taken by Anna Prince during the 2013 Nicaragua Mission Trip.)