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 NCA News
Alumni and Constituency
Newsletter
Nicaragua Christian Academy
Managua,
Nicaragua
January 2009
 Sea-To-Sea
Nicaragua
From December 29 to January 6, a
group of 24 bike riders crossed Nicaragua from the
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in a fundraising activity called
"Sea-To-Sea Nicaragua." The event, organized by
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) and their
local partner Acción Médica Cristiana (AMC), was held to raise
$200,000 to buy seeds to help farmers replant crops that
were lost in Hurricane Felix, a category 5 hurricane that made
landfall in Nicaragua in 2007. Through a special
arrangement with the Canadian Food Grains Bank, every dollar
raised was matched 4:1 by the Canadian government.
Four members of our NCA family (and
many others in our community) participated in Sea-To-Sea
Nicaragua. Fourth grade teacher Aimee Bootsma, gardener
José "Chepe" Medina and tenth grade student Jesse VanderWees
were among the riders, and athletic director Rachel Pontier
was on the support crew. The bikers totaled over 620
kilometers in their 8-day trip over bumpy roads and through
beautiful countryside. There were countless stories and
adventures along the way.
 On the last day, the Sea-To-Sea
bikers enjoyed breakfast at Nicaragua Christian Academy before
making their last home stretch ride, finishing up at Pochomil
on the Pacific beach that noon. The NCA teachers joined
the bikers in prayer after breakfast and sent them off,
catching up with them later at the finish line and
celebration.
This trip provided an excellent
opportunity for our students to see real-life mission work and
love for neighbor being acted out close up. Thanks,
Sea-To-Sea Nicaragua team, for showing your faith in
action! For more information about the bike trip, visit
http://bikenica.wordpress.com/.
 NCA Nejapa
Graduation
Our Spanish-language school, NCA
Nejapa, held its first high school graduation this year.
On Friday, December 5, our first eight graduates received
their diplomas with much applause.
This event marks the culmination of
the initial growth phase of NCA Nejapa. The school was
started in 2005 in an effort to provide our school's
commitment to "Academic Excellence with a Christian
Foundation" to parents with a lower economic capacity and in
the Spanish language. All of the school's 22 teachers
are Nicaraguan, with the exception of one of the English
teachers.
 NCA Nejapa has grown from a size
of 55 students at its inception to 240 students today.
This year alone, we added over 100 new students, and this
happened without any advertising! Nejapa
parents are so happy with the education at their school that
they cannot help but recommend the school to all of their
friends and family.
Nejapa's mission statement is the
same as that of the original campus: "To equip children of
Christian parents with the spiritual discernment, the moral
courage and the academic excellence to impact society through
Christian living motivated by a heartfelt love for God."
Nicaragua is a country in desperate need of moral leadership,
and we hope and pray that our students will be prepared
to make a difference for God! For information about
sponsoring a child's education at NCA Nejapa, please visit our
website.
A Midnight Cry Leads
to an Amazing Salvation
 By Carl and Kathy
Most
Missionary family at Nicaragua Christian
Academy
Serving with Caribbean Ministries
Association
Sunday afternoon rolled around and
so I was off to Mateare to work with the street youth.
Several of the youth and I decided to visit Pablo who was at
home recovering from a knife attack earlier in the week (such
is the life of a gang member). Pablo is not the kind of
guy you want to meet in a dark alley. With tattoos
everywhere on his body, you'll often find him either selling
drugs or out on the streets wandering in a drunken
stupor. Not quite the pride and joy of mom & dad -
to put it mildly. The past week however his life was
turned upside down by none other than GOD himself.
 On Wednesday, Pablo was released
from hospital after being treated for 3 stab wounds, one to
his lung. Thursday night though, God woke him up in the
middle of the night and before you know it, he was up, moving,
and prostrate on the floor in his humble home, crying out to
God to save him - surrendering his life for God to use and
then jumping up and down praising God with the immense joy
that flooded His heart.
As we all sat in a
circle we were captivated by his every word and
action. We all got down on our knees in the very
same spot where only nights before, God had worked yet another
incredible miracle of life giving salvation. We gave
thanks for this miracle and renewed our commitments to
encourage and follow Him with our lives.
 Speaking of miracles, this year
God has guided us to place our teenage boys in school at
Nicaragua Christian Academy. Jared is a junior this year
and Corey is a sophomore. After many years of
homeschooling, they are having a blast studying at NCA.
They are enjoying so many wonderful Godly teachers who are
pouring into their lives on a daily basis. What an
eternal investment these teachers are making not only in our
sons lives, but in the lives of many Nicaraguan
children.
Prayer and
Praise
- Praise God for His provision of
a record high number of students. We now have 275
students enrolled at NCA, after the addition of 7 new
students this semester.
- Pray that God will begin working
in the hearts of potential teachers as He calls them to
Nicaragua.
- Pray that Nicaragua Christian
Academy and NCA Nejapa will be effective in raising up
leaders ready and willing to transform their
communities and make decisions of integrity based upon
God's Word.
- Pray for the country of
Nicaragua in the midst of difficult economic and political
circumstances.
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