Hello Everyone!

Sorry for the delayed update. Now that I am living in the village, I have very limited access to the internet. Though I see the benefit of this (one less distraction), it does make it difficult to stay in touch.

Things have been going great. I am getting to know the people of the village very well, and learning more Spanish every day. I’m keeping nourished on rice and chicken (I’ve taught the ladies who cook not to pile the beans on my plate).

The mission organization here has been enduring quite a lot as of late. Several employees of the organization have proved that they are untrustworthy, dishonest, and/or not living a life that a person in a ministry role should be living. This has put a strain on everyone (Tommy, Linda, and Jim Bob), so my arrival here was a godsend for them to take up some slack. I probably have been more of a burden so far, but I hope I can help them through this hard time.

We have been working hard to get the Youth House/Dorm livable. This was the old parsonage their former pastor lived in that they decided to renovate and build on to. There are 4 bedrooms, one of which is for Jim Bob exclusively, a bathroom within Jim Bob’s room, and another bathroom with 2 showers, 2 sinks and 2 toilets. Also, there is a large kitchen dining area and living room area. The showers and sinks have been purchased and installed, but we still need money to purchase 2 toilets, doors for each room, beds, and bedding (mattresses and linens). We have a group of 6 Americans coming for the month of June who we hope to house there. Jim Bob and I hope to move in to the facility in the next few days. The only thing holding us up were the grates being installed on 3 windows of the house. They were small, but not too small for a teenager to fit through and grab your wallet or camera.

I had a chance to visit Santa Matilde for a brief 30 minutes or so yesterday. They have really made a lot of progress there since my last visit. They have a church structure on one of the properties we purchased that measures about 6 meters by 15 meters. It is a wood structure with a tin roof, and the property is surrounded by a 4 ft tall barbed wire fence. Also, they have built a “house” on the property where a family stays and keeps watch over the 67 plastic chairs they own. We also visited a family of women who come to the church that I have gotten to know somewhat over past trips. They were excited to see me and I was happy to see some familiar faces.

I broke out my electric guitar last night and jammed with one of the youth from Candelaria. His name is Kervin, and he is super talented. He can play keyboard very well, and plays completely by ear. HE taught me to play a Hillsong United song which is the Spanish version of From God Above (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcyEKkqT0k8). I hope to be a part of worship leading starting this week.

Overall everything is going great, and I appreciate your prayers and financial support. Please continue to read along and stay tuned for pictures and videos.

God bless,

Evan “Oso” Dixon

Hello everyone!

I finally got some Internet access and have a chance to share with you all what has been happening with my journey over the past 3 days.

Sunday morning, my parents, my sister Mary, my girlfriend Kelly, and her parents, all saw me off at the airport. Both of my trunks came in overweight, so I ended up having to pay $100 in fees, but praise the Lord I was able to pack everything I could ever need int hose to trunks. My flight was supposed to depart at 10am, but it didn’t leave the runway until about 10:40am. Typically, this wouldn’t be an issue, but I had a connection in Miami with only a 50 minute layover, so from the get-go I knew i was going to be cutting it close. We landed in Miami safely and I basically ran to the terminal with a Father and Daughter I met from Columbia, SC who were on the same flight. We made it as they were boarding, thank the Lord. It turns out our plane didn’t even leave the terminal for about an hour because we were waiting on pssengers to arrive on other connecting flights. I, for one, had no idea they would wait on us, but apparently we were running for no reason! The flight was very enjoyable. I had an exit row all to myself because the plane was only one-third to one-half full.

We landed in Managua safely about 45 minutes total behind schedule. I got all the way up to the door after passing by the customs officials and then I had to have my luggage checked. I watched 3 men tear my luggage completely apart. oth trunks and both carry-ons. Luckily I knew enough spanish to be able to explain what certain items were (tripod, camera equipment, etc.) that they thought looked suspicious, and thankfully, they didn’t take anything. I was watching their every move.

Sergio, a man who worked with our group as a translator last summer, was their in Tommy and Linda’s truck to pick me up.

We went to Leon (about 2 hours), picked up Linda, and rode straight to Candelaria. We also picked up a couple who had come down named Matt and Lindsay from Fort Mill, SC.

I got settled into my room in the dental clinic in Candelaria, and after enjoying a sunday night service in the church, I slept well the first night. I am rooming with Jim Bob (or Diego, as he goes by here in Nicaragua). We have two beds, a bathroom with a toilet and shower,electricity - it’s really nice, especially for Candelaria. We don’t have AC, but we do have fans.

Day two was spent preparing for the clinic and just hanging out. We went in to Chinandega to buy some sinks for the youth house they are building next to the church in Candelaria. I didn’t sleep as well that night because it was especially hot. I tossed and turned a good bit, but overall I woke up well rested.

Today I took some video and photos while Linda and everyone else conducted the medical and dental clinic they have every Tuesday. For 30 Cordoba ($1.50) anyone can come see the doctor or  dentist. They bring in a doctor to see the sick, a dentist that does mainly extractions (they currently cant do fillings, so he basically pulls teeth all day), and Linda does teeth cleaning. I look forward to putting together a nice video of what the clinic days are like. Linda told me this morning that Sergio, our main translator, had been mugged and robbed last night on his way home in Leon, and that he wouldn’t be here today becase his leg was hurt really bad.Later today we saw him and he is healing well, no broken bones. Please keep him in your prayers.

We spent the afternoon visiting a village nearby called La Isla. This name translates to “the Island” because you have to cross a river to get to it. In the rainy season, which seems to have begun today, the river rises to 2-3 ft deep, and the village is secluded, like an island. I met the pastor there, who has two prosthetic legs (he lost his legs in the war 22 years ago when he was 18 in the service). We also visited a plot of land that they are hoping to get funding to purchase to build a church on.

This evening we rode in to Leon and are staying in a house some other Americans rent that are currently in the states. It’s just me and Deigo, and we have this nice big house all to ourselves. Huge thanks to them for letting us stay here. Tomorrow we will have a meeting with everyone on staff with the mission and discuss what is going on and what we have planned to do the following week, and then Deigo and I will live in Candelaria until next Tuesday evening.

In summary - SO FAR SO GOOD. I have settled in well and really feel like God will use me in miraculous ways.

Until next time, God Bless.

By this time Sunday, God permitting, I will be settling in to the clinic in Candelaria in Nicaragua, where I will spend the next 11 weeks of my life. I’ve been praying, planning, and preparing for this trip since August, but it hasn’t felt this real until now. Now, I don’t want to sound like I’m having second thoughts, because that is absolutely not the case. The truth is I am just nervous. Nervous about being away from my friends, girlfriend, family, work, church, etc. Nervous about being lonely. Nervous about finding a way to fit in to the New Song Mission Nicaragua ministry. Amidst all the nervousness, I just try to focus on God and his plan for me. I try to think about how he sent his only son to die for our sins, and how small of a sacrifice I am making by going away for 11 weeks in comparison to the sacrifice he made for us.

Please keep me in your prayers. I am scheduled to depart from Charlotte at 10am Sunday.

Evan