Finally Home

Our last day was spent working in the community doing something many of us feared, washing and applying lotion to the hair of the people in the community who had lice. It was a humbling experience for many of us. We had our own fears of getting lice, and having to deal with it, but as many others did, I realized that we have access to medicine, we have access to the tools needed to keep ourselves clean and nourished and healthy, these people don't. So we dug in and became the hands and feet of Christ.

Our trip ended with a long trip home. Time to think and reflect on the weeks events. It started with a early morning rise at 4am so we could get to the airport and beat the long lines at checkin.
We flew to Miami where we sat for 2 hours on the plane at the gate for some mechanical issues, but once we got into the air the flight went smoothly. The kids did great this past week. The heat was a little bit more than they have ever experienced, the smells the sights were certainly different. The people  they have met have impacted their lives, and it's my hope for a life time.

We want to thank everyone who prayed for us while we prepared, traveled and returned from this trip. We also want to thank those of you who helped support us financially. It wouldn't have been possible for us to make this trip had it not been for your generosity and support, Thank You!

For those of you who see on a regular basis, if you have question about our trip we would love to tell you about it and the wonderful work that Food for the Hungry is doing there, and more importantly how you can make a difference there as well. There is still a lot of work to be done there in the communities and there are still a lot of children that could benefit from your support and friendship through sponsorship. If you have any questions about how to get involved, please email me at eccchrisk@me.com and I will get you the information you need.

Thanks again for following us on this wonderful and life changing experience.

God Bless!

Day two

Today was a great day. We started the day out by splitting into three smaller groups, and taking lemon trees to homes in the community of El Porviner and planting them for the family as a symbol of family. We explained to them that in order to grow this tree, they will have to water it, feed it, and protect it as it grows. The same for a family. As we raise our children we must feed them, water them (with living water, the word) and protect them, so that just like the tree, they will grow and produce good fruit. We hope that as they watch the trees hat we planted for the, grow, hey will remember their own families and do the same. 

 After planting the tree, we took turns and time praying for the family and for any special needs they had. I was wondering through this process, what my kids were thinking and getting out of the whole thing, and about our third or fourth house, While others were planting the tree, Ethan came up to me and asked if he could say the prayer for the family. He was getting it. I was a proud papa as he asked for help but led the prayer for the family. It was a neat experience.

We then gathered the group back together and went to the new feeding station that was put up by previous teams where we ate lunch which was prepared by local residence of thcommunity           ommunity. After a filling meal we began to prep for VBS. What a          

                                                      great time of singing, teaching, 

                                                      crafts and playing outside with the kids 

                                                      from the community.

Day Five

(Written post trip)

Our fifth day was a day for relaxing with one another, thinking and talking about what we had experienced, the relationships we had formed not only with each other, but with the people of the community. We woke up to the sound of an awesome rainforest rain storm. We ate breakfast on open porch area complete with hammocks and banana leaf roof. Once we were done and the rain has subsided a little, we all loaded up in the van and took off for Masaya Nicaragua to hit the market. On the way we stopped at a volcano park where there is an active volcano, when we arrived we were told that we could go up and look for only five minutes because it could erupt at any time.
As tempting as it was, we declined and continued

on our way.

It was neat to walk through the market and see all the creative thing that people came up with to sell. We bought a few hammocks and nicknacks, we also purchased a few tops for the boys. nicaraguan tops are very popular with the children there, and the boys took right to learning how to wrap the rope and spin them like pros. There are a few tricks they want to learn with them, but that will require a little more practice.

After the market, we headed to lunch at Papa Johns Pizza of all places. The kids really appreciated the pizza and the break from the beans and rice that we had all come familiar with for our meal times. Following lunch we traveled a few more miles to a place called the Monkey Hut. It is up in the mountain range and is an extinct volcano. It's crater has been filled with fresh water and is an amazing place to swim, kayak and scuba dive. I didn't think about it soon enough or I would have tried to rent some scuba gear and see what the crater looked like under the surface. The water was crystal clear, it was almost like swimming like swimming in a pool, you could see everything around under water, except for the botom.
I expect it was quite deep.


We eventually traveled back to the Nehemiah Center where we were staying and began packing up for  our trip home the next day. It was a great day to just spend time with each other and let the kids unwind before a long day of travel.

Day Four

Day four

Today we planted the last of the trees in the community and spent some more time praying for the people there. I didn't know this before, but El Porviner is split into two sections and divided by a trash dump.  We had to go through the trash dump to get to the other half of the community, which is where we spent our morning. After going through the dump I was expecting to see more of the same trash and plastic houses.  I was surprised to see a little more orginazation and pride in the community. Fences were nice and the houses were landscaped "nica style. 

We also did VBS again today which was fun to hear the children singing very loudly the songs we had been singing all week. I was also able to share a personal story with the children about fighting and speaking nice to your siblings, or the consequences there of. More on that later.

We took a quick road trip to Terencio where we saw a few familiar faces and took some pics, then we headed off to the beach for a quick cool swim. It was the fist time the boys had seen the ocean, and it was neat to see their reaction to the waves and the undertow, which was very strong. 

This trip has been a lot of firsts for the Kuntz's. First time out of the country, first time in a jet plane to fly, first time the whole family has gone on a missions trip together, first time seeing live volcanoes, first time seeing true poverty and being able to be Christ to them, and the first time seeing the ocean. This is a trip that will hopefully stick in the memories of the boys and impact their lives, and their outlook on missions & poverty and what they can do about it.

Tomorrow we spend our last day in the community helping the medical staff de-lice kids in them community, then we head for Managua for our free day. Not sure what that holds, but we find out together.

Blessings,

The Kuntz's 

Day Three (no pictures)

Today was a special day, a day I had been waiting for since I knew the family would be coming down to Nicaragua. Today was the day we all got to spend time with our sponsor child "J". We started the day out planting lemon and orange trees again in the community and spending time getting to know the people of El Porviner and praying for them. Then we headed  to the school for lunch where we spent time with the kids again, playing games and teaching and singing songs. Then it was time.

We loaded up in the van and headed for Ameya where he lives. As we drove through the community, I showed the boys and Lisa where I spent my time last September while I was here, and saw a few familiar faces as well. Soon we pulled up to "J's" house, and nervously got out and walked up to the fence where we were greeted by he and his mother.

Smiles spread across faces as we saw each other and gave hugs to his mom, then J jumped into my arms and gave me a huge hug. It was so neat to see his excitement to have us there and to now that he had not forgotten me. We sat down in a circle and began to talk and introduce him to my family. He'd asked questions of my family and mine his. We shared a gift with him that FH put together. a blanket, some hot chocolate drink, some tooth brushes and a picture album that Lisa had put together as well. He flipped through pictures pointing and laughing, and enjoying the gift.

We spent some time praying for the family, as there is some illness with the boys that is keeping them out of school, and also for steady work for J's father. Then it was time to go for the other home visit with the other part of our team, but because we were just going down the road, his mother let him come with us, so we could spend some more time together.

Our boys had a blast getting to know J, and to see just how well he fit into our family. They spent  time giving pigback rides, wrestling, playing tag and tickling. There are many days I wish we could  bring him home with us, but I know that isn't what is best for him. He is such a good little boy and a  huge help to his mother when papa is away working.

Our time with J and his family was brief, not near enough time for my family to get to know him like  I did last year, but who knows, maybe God will allow us the opportunity to visit him again. As we said our goodbyes we hugged and gave high fives and watched him walk down the road toward home. We found out later that as he walked away, he began to cry because he didn't want us to leave. Well that's pretty much how I feel about it too!

Our work here in these communities is only beginning. There are many more children and families that need support and the love of people who care. Lisa told me she already knows who our next sponsor child is, and luckily I will get a chance to get to know him better tomorrow.

Day Two

I apologize in advance for any duplications of text, the iPad doesn't like the wifi signal and has dropped several times thus far. 

Today was a great day. We started the day out by splitting into three smaller groups, and taking lemon trees to homes in the community of El Porviner and planting them for the family as a symbol of family. We explained to them that in order to grow this tree, they will have to water it, feed it, and protect it as it grows. The same for a family. As we raise our children we must feed them, water them (with living water, the word) and protect them, so that just like the tree, they will grow and produce good fruit. We hope that as they watch the trees that we planted for them, grow, they will remember their own families and do the same. 

After planting the tree, we took turns and time praying for the family and for any special needs they had. I was wondering through this process, what my kids were thinking and getting out of the whole thing, and about our third or fourth house, while others were planting the tree, Ethan came up to me and asked if he could say the prayer for the family. He was getting it. I was a proud papa as he asked for help but led the prayer for the family. It was a neat experience.

We then gathered the group back together and went to the new feeding station that was put up by previous teams from ECC where we ate lunch which was prepared by local residence of the community. After a filling lunch we prepped for VBS. My group was responsible for teaching and singing, and we had a blast teaching the kids about Noah's Arc and obedience. One of the groups of kids even took the stage and sang us a song, it was pretty cool. It even fit the lesson for the day. 

We finished out the day with a bunch of high fives and then traveled back to the hotel where we all got cleaned up and enjoyed some family time in the pool. The day in the community certainly made us all appreciate the accommodations we have and the blessings we have as Americans and our families.

Tomorrow we have our family visit, and I am very excited about introducing my family to our sponsor child. I hope to have pictures to post for you tomorrow from that visit. Until then, we appreciate your prayers and thank you in advance for them.

Peace, the Kuntz's 

Tomorrow I get to introduce my family to our sponsor child and I am very excited about our time there tomorrow. Thanks in advance for all your prayers, we appreciate them. I don't have pictures to post yet, but I hope to have some from tomorrow for you all of our family visit. Until then, peace.

Day One

Well today didn't quite turn out how we all thougt it would. We left Fort Wayne at 6:45 am and were delayed in Chicago due to a broken first class seat. We final made it to Miami two hours late which chewed up our layover time and you guessed it, we missed our connecting flight to Managua, Nicaragua. So we are hold up in a Comfort Inn enjoying Miami's "best" customer service.  We will leave tomorrow about noonish on our flight and look to arrive by 3:30 - 4:00 pm tomorrow. My only big regret is that the boys and Lisa won't get a chance to experience a Nicaraguan church service, but other than that, the trip so far has been ok. The kids are getting along great, and they loved their first real flight.

God is going to do great things this week, and it started today with teaching us all to be patient with our circumstances and with each other.




Blessings, the Kuntz's

24 Hours

Well, today begins the 24 hour countdown to our trip to Nicaragua. I can't
even begin to tell you how many times I have seen God working in this opportunity for our family to go visit and serve the people of Nicaragua. As many of you have been watching, God has provided abundantly through his people the funds we have needed for the trip and then some.

 I'm happy to be able to tell you that we have raised all of the required funding needed to get the whole family there and then some. I do have a confession to make though. I believe the last time I posted we were about $1500 away from our goal. I had faith that God would provide I just didn't know how.


One morning Lisa woke up with a strong urge to do something with the boys, she didn't like the fact that we only had a month to go, we still needed that last portion of our funds and the boys hadn't yet gotten involved in the process, so she followed her instinct and ran to the store early one Saturday morning to gather baking goods so the boys could participate in a bake sale to help raise some of the monies needed yet. This is my confession, I was skeptical that the endeavor would raise much money, but thought it would still be a good experience for the boys. Well, humbly I admit that I was wrong. 


They made cookies and brownies that day, Tyler spent a few hours on the computer creating the sticker labels and the other boys helped Lisa package the cookies and brownies for selling. Even though that particular days' baking didn't bring much money in, the action that was taken that day brought about something so big that none of us would have imagined.


Someone had given the missions department 27 pounds of yellow cake mix and that in turn was given to Lisa to use to bake cupcakes. She gathered some help and what came out of that simply amazed me. Lisa and a wonderful neighbor spent several nights baking and icing 450 cupcakes. Then they were packaged and labeled. Then others from the missions team chipped in and before I knew it, there was a date for a huge bake sale to happen at the church following Saturday night services and both Sunday services. Cupcakes, snow cones, cookies, brownies, breads, cotton candy...all kinds of goodies were being sold for donation in hopes that people would respond in support for the family missions trip. WOW did they. 

Ok remember when I said I was skeptical about it bringing in much money and that it would be more of a lesson for the boys.....well I was wrong on both accounts. It brought in tons of money....a little over $6800.00 to be exact. and the lesson wasn't for the boys (although they learned a lot) there was a huge lesson in there for me as well. When someone is faithful with a little, God will help them to be faithful with a lot. My wife was faithful in her desire to serve, not only God, but our boys in teaching them through this process, and in doing so, God worked through her to not only raise enough money to put us over the top, but it helped a lot of the other families that are going on the trip as well. 

I was so proud of my wife, watching her rally the troops to help at the event, organizing everything and making sure everyone had what they needed to be successful, it was a joy to watch everything come together and to see God work through her in that way. So all that to say, Thank you to my beautiful wife for being faithful, thank you for all of you who are praying for us as we begin our travels on Saturday, and thank you to God for being an everlasting and faithful Father!


My hope is to be able to post a few blogs while we are in the field, but I also want to focus on the kids and my wife as we enjoy and experience together what God has planned for us. 


God bless!

Nicaragua Update

     Well the time is drawing closer when Lisa and I will have the opportunity to take the boys on a missions trip, just about 4 weeks now. We are getting excited as the time gets closer and as we start to make our final preparations for our time there. VBS and craft planning are in the works, and final fund raising is happening. We have been very blessed with people who have helped to support us financially and through prayer for this trip, and although we are still about $1,500 short of our goal, and am so thankful for the $4,500 that God's people have so generously given to us. Large gifts, small gifts and everything in between, it has been neat to watch God provide.

     Lisa has started some small fund raisers that the boys have been able to get involved with, so they can have a part in raising support for their time there as well. Just a few nights ago, they were busy in the kitchen making brownies and cookies for a bake sale, so they all got a little flour on their clothes. Tyler took it upon himself to make labels for the packages of baked goods. He spent almost two hours playing with ideas on the computer, and the final result was pretty amazing if I do say so myself. It was completely his design and I'm pretty proud of him for it.

     We still appreciate you keeping us in prayer as the clock ticks down and while we are there also. I think the boys are really going to enjoy their time with our sponsor child and visa-a-versa. I am excited for Lisa to meet him and his parents, and to begin building that relationship with them.

     We are still trying to close the gap on the final $1500 for the trip, so if God's prompts you to help support us in this mission, we won't turn you down. :-) Blessings to you and thank you for following us as we hopefully change lives and have ours changed as in the process.

The Kuntz's

Extremes

Today was a bit unique for several reasons. First we had the rest of the group with us today. They arrived late last night no worse for the wear, but ready for some food and a good night's sleep. This morning started with a good breakfast and then it was off to the camel ranch just up the road in the desert. (Since Eilat is in the desert I can say that.) :-)

We spent some time riding camels and hanging out in some shade enjoying the local cooking, then we headed for the water. While some just enjoyed the water, others snorkeled and the rest of the gang that has been here since the beginning of the week headed out for our last two dives while here. AS always it was a great time diving, the fish, the coral, the water was beautiful. Hardly a wind today so the waves were minimal as we dived in the Coral Reserve Park. So desert camel riding in the morning and SCUBA diving in the Red Sea in the afternoon, pretty much opposite ends of the spectrum.

Tomorrow we head to Jordan to visit Petra. I'm looking forward to it.
Peace!

Standing on the Cherbourg

Today was a fun day diving, not that the others haven't been mind you. But today, I did a ship wreck dive. We started off the coast right in front of our hotel and swam to a depth of 18 meters or 60 feet. There was deep blue water with lots of fish and then all of the sudden appearing out of the deep blue was a French missile boat called the Cherbourg that had been sunk by the Israelis for a ship wreck dive.

SO COOL!!! I can't describe what it felt like to hover weightlessly over this hunk of metal that once spent it's life on the surface of the water. Most of the cargo doors had been removed so you could see into the cargo holds where fish had taken up residence. Where men once maned their stations, Huge blue angel fish and groupers now held down the fort from inside. The tower  you see in the picture to the left was still there and the seats on top of the captains bridge were still there just waiting to be sat in.

I peered in the square holes that were once the windows to the bridge only to see a huge blue angel fish as acting captain of the sunken vessel. The dive continued as we looked all over the vessel, just soaking in the experience. We continued on to see more very colorful fish, mating octopus, and a large school of Trumpet fish. It was a wonderful experience, and i'm so glad I took the advice to get certified for this trip.

Tonight the rest of group arrives after a very long almost 18 hours of travel to get here. After a good night's rest, they too will be able to experience some of the beauty of the Red Sea. 

More to come!

Israel 2012

Well yesterday, I arrived in Israel for the second time. Lisa and I came here in March of 2011 and I have been lucky enough to travel to this amazing place for a second time to do some videography for the church.

One twist I added this time around was I began training to become a certified SCUBA diver so that I could dive in the Red Sea while here for the first few days. What an amazing thing to do. The water is crystal clear and the fish and sea life are amazing things to look at. To look at the surface of the water is to look at the ceiling of a whole other world.


We did two dives today and I am up for two more tomorrow, then I will be certified to dive anywhere to a certain depth. Hopefully the pictures I attach will come through, if not I will try to post them again when I get a better signal.


 In between dives, while rehydrating and grabbing a quick snack, I realized I was standing 100 yards from the border of Egypt, so I asked Denny to snap a picture of me. Normally I wouldn't pose in a wet suit, but hey when in Eilat....:-)

Tomorrow we I go to Timna Park just north of Eilat to do some video taping in the desert at the life sized Tabernacle, then back to the water for the afternoon to finish off the training.

I will try to keep posting here to the blog as we make our way through the Holy Land with pics and info.

SHALOM!

Time Away

      This past week, I spent 4 days in Florida with a bunch of worship leaders from the denomination. I was looking forward to spending time with like minded guys and finding time for quiet renewal while there. I found both during my time there. Although at times I felt as though I wasn't talented enough to be a part of the group, I also remembered that God has equipped me with certain gifts and talents that are unique to me and how I use them. It was inspiring to be around such talent and to see that talent used and crafted as we spent time in the recording studio of Holly Hill UB Church writing a song together.

     The premise of the song is this. We serve a MIGHTY King. A God who is worthy of our praise and a God that is so very powerful that at his word the stars and universe came into existence. I stood at the edge of the ocean many times that week and marveled at the fact that God gave the ocean limits and told it where to stop. I stood there watching the waves with mighty power and force come crashing up on the sand only to hit that barrier of God's limits, and then slowly retreat back to where they came from. Over and over again, I saw this evidence of God's power and strength. We are Sons of a Mighty God, we are heirs with Christ and I am excited about being able to sing about it.

     Our time together ended with communion, although not of the normal flow. We each took time serving the person to our right, speaking truth into their lives, speaking blessings over their ministry and then giving the elements. As we went around the circle, it was a blessing to hear the prayers and truth being spoken. We concluded down on the beach, praying and singing together enjoying God's creation as we felt the surf in the air and watched a lightening storm out at sea, yet another powerful reminder of our powerful Creator!

I will leave you with this:

"The Power of God"

Like a monument they stand

The cloudy sky, the mountain land.

The very fact that they exist

Declares that all the earth is His.

And so the voice of lightening speaks

His mighty power with every streak

While thunder echoes through the hills

In pure obedience to His will.

For who dares turn against the face

Of one who's hung the stars in place

Or who can stand against the might

Of one who's voice created light,

Who separated land and sea, 

By simply willing it to be...

(N. Gonzalez, 2011)

My ONE

Have you ever had times in life where you just feel befuddled and confused about your role in life? I have felt this way for the past few weeks. Attribute it to my school load, work load, big trips coming up, busy life, lack of good sleep, what have you...


I can say for sure that I don't like it. I'm the kinda guy that likes to know what is happening in life. I try to approach things in life with a game plan and have things under control to a certain extent, in that I can manage what is happening around me, at least where I am concerned. However, there are those times, I think, that life just seem to get away from you and leaves you choking in it's dust. 


I'm not the kind of person that likes to struggle with things either. I expect of myself, to be able to get the job done and done quickly. I expect to be able to accomplish what I set out to do and then move on. I have proven to myself that when I put my mind to it, the task at hand can be achieved. HOWEVER; there are those times that I am proven wrong........(go figure right?)



One of the things I struggle is this, when I put my mind to it, I can do just about anything I want. It's a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because, over the past 15 plus years I have been serving in ministry, I have had the opportunity to do so many different things like; lead worship, play an instrument in the band, teach classes, serve on boards and committees, preach and deliver God's word. Counsel people, serve on missions trips, create and direct plays and dramas, art of various forms for the church, lead and develop tech teams, church plants....the list goes on and on. Because of this wide variety of experience, I can often get confused with what I am best gifted at and suited for. Herein lies my problem, I often refer to myself as a jack of all trades and a master of none....however as a friend recently said, I need to be a jack of all trades and a master of ONE! I agree 100%. That's why I went back to school. My question over the past week has been, what's my ONE?




I often question if I am doing exactly what God has gifted me to do. I ask this question of myself a lot because I always seem to have this feeling that God is preparing me for something bigger around the corner. Truth be told, I guess as a Christian we should feel that way right? As we grow, as we mature in the Word, we should be challenged on a continual basis to be living more and more for Christ.



Over the past week, I have done a lot of soul searching, asking myself what I'm passionate about, how am I naturally gifted and how does that work with my spiritual gifts...It has been a pretty enlightening week, and has helped me get my mind wrapped around what I think God has laid on my heart. 


(Spoiler Alert) I'm not going to write it down here, because I am still sorting through a few last details, but I can tell you this. It feels good when you begin to understand how God has wired you and what kind of areas of ministry you might best fit. 


I think it would be safe to say, and we could all agree, we are created unique. Each of us is different, with different personalities, different skill sets, different passions and gifts. I would hope that we could all agree that each of us was created for something specific. Ephesians 2:20 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (NIV) 


I think the hard part is understanding how we are wired, what are our passions and gifts and natural talents? When we take time to sit down, organize and answer those questions, I think, at least for me, things become much more clear. I  have a much better understanding of what my strengths and passions are, and that helps me get a better understanding of how God wired me uniquely. God calls us to be good stewards of what we have been given. I think that feeling I have had for so many years is maybe that nagging question.....Am I doing my best with what God has given me?


What about you? How has God wired you to serve Him? What are your gifts and passions? What are your strengths? And most importantly........What are you doing with them?


I would encourage you to take some time and ask yourself some of these questions. Make sure your are being a good steward of what God has entrusted you with.

Catching Up

It's been awhile since I have posted on much, let alone our progress on the Nicaragua trip so I thought I would try to catch up. God is still working as people continue to show their support for our trip. It is neat to see what God can do through humble and willing servants of his throne. Since we began with letters telling everyone of our plan to take the family to Nicaragua this August, God, through His people, has blessed us with over $4,100 and we continue to get letters telling us that people are praying and want to support us. 



We recently took the boys to apply for their passports and just received them in the mail a week or so ago. As I put them away in the safe, I realized that God is working in our families life in ways that we don't know yet. As I stuck the little blue books in their place, for me it reminded me once again that Lisa and I have an amazing opportunity to show the boys what it is like to be the hands and feet of God in a tangible way. 









A smile comes to my face as I think about the day Lisa and the boys will meet our sponsor child. I can't wait for them to see his smile and be able to give him a hug and tell him that we are praying for him, and that we want him to know Jesus like we do. It blows my mind to think that God has given my family the chance to change lives in another country as well as here.


Here in a few short weeks, we will be joining many others for the Great American Clean-up here in town. It will give our family a chance to not only help clean up our city and make it a nicer place to live, it will give an opportunity to explain to them the kinds of things we will be doing in Nicaragua, although nothing will compare to the feeling of bringing hope and love to a community of people that need lots of it.


Please continue to keep our family in your prayers and thoughts as August draws near. It seems as though a lot has to happen between now and then, but God is BIG and God is GOOD, and I believe when He calls He also provides.