Kara's Birthday

The young lady pictured entered this world through an Alachua General Hospital delivery room in Gainesville, Florida at 6:56 a.m. on a Saturday morning precisely 26 years ago today... 'twas a quite memorable occasion for this once-young father; she has been one of my greatest sources of pride and joy ever since!

Dad (pictured with his daughters circa 2003) would've been 84 today were he still with us... don't know if September 20th has the same significance to you now that you're five years into eternity... just wanted you to know we still miss you here on earth, Dad!

Bonnie's Birthday

She's 26 today... so cool that even though I've only been her step-dad for a little over a year, I can look back and see many occasions where our paths have crossed over the years... dating back to before she was born! Here she is playing dress-up with Kara back in the 80's at our home in Gainesville!

Kara, Eddie, Mitch, Heather, Harley, Bonnie, Josh, G & G

Family!

Hard to believe it has been so long since my last entry... 12 days from our departure date and so much yet to do. Tuesday an estate sale company came and literally "cleaned us out"... We enjoyed sharing our plans with Bobby (pictured)

Bonnie, Drew and Joshua have been here since Sunday evening, so we've gotten to spend time with them and "Uncle Nate" (pictured @Zaxby's)

"Grandma Grace "G.G." has been spending all the time she can with Josh, who will be exactly 6 months old tomorrow, Friday the 13th!
Tonight we visited with a Barnabas Team Leader from our church while Josh's parents were out on a DATE... those can be few-and-far-between for young parents... he sat through the entire meeting as if absorbing every word of our conversation :-)

Managua Wrap-Up

Grace and I stayed 3 days longer than the rest of the team to be able to meet with dear friends (like those pictured) that we'd otherwise have missed...Bob and Myra Trolese, enjoying their 32nd year in Nicaragua!

Day Seven

Four of us put in another day at Tesoros de Dios; the rest did some sanding and painting at the home of our hosts... devotionals and times of sharing were highlights every day...We spent a lot of time in this van... and we still like each other!Dinner at La Finca, a restaurant owned by parents of NCA students... our "last supper" on this trip :(

Day Six - Mombacho Volcano & Granada

Day Five - NCA Summer Camp

It was Anna's turn to lead morning devotionals, employing part of our team for a little skit illustrating events in the life of Joseph...Tim enforces the exclusive use of English in his classroom by having his students "give him five (pushups)" when they slip up and use Spanish (his own slip-ups cost him ten... he says he did over 100 today ;-)

Day Five - Matagalpa

Our hosts have invested loads of time in the birth of NCA#3 in the mountains two hours north of Managua... a gorgeous twelve acre site has been purchased on the south end of Matagalpa; the first two classroom buildings are under construction, with opening scheduled for February 2013!En route, we had opportunity to help this group of men put the bed back on their truck, and to ask God to bless their work and families!

Day Four - Tesoros de Dios (God's Treasures)

We spent the morning working in a ministry run by Michelle Adams, a young lady who first came to Nicaragua to teach at NCA nearly a decade ago... no way to do the experience justice on this blog... this picture of Molly working with this 4-year-old (Pamela) with cerebral palsy is a great start!

Any amount given in support of this ministry would be a wise investment www.tesorosdedios.org

Day Four - At the Rivas' Farm

We got to celebrate a half-century of a life well-lived with the birthday girl, Isabel Rivas (front row, holding her grandson) and her family.Their church family has grown to 80 people, so for the past 3 years, they have been building an outer wall with continuing growth in mind... Jorge (bottom photo, far left) is a guard at the main campus of the school where this blogger served as director 1996-2005; his oldest daughter, Nancy (in the brown skirt) is a 4th grade teacher at the Nejapa campus, where daughter #2 (Paola, in purple) graduates from high school in December... sweet family!

Day Three - Sunday

The team after church at Verbo, lunch at the Galerias mall and a change of clothes......minus its eldest members in Catarina with Laguna de Apoyo, Granada and Lake Nicaragua in the background......those absent from the previous photo with the Suazos, award-winning hammock-makers in Masaya!

Day Two - Villa El Carmen

Did a little work out on a 15-acre farm the Mirandas purchased a couple of months ago including a piñata party at the local church!




Grace befriended a widow named Gloria in our walk through the country meeting Dennis' new neighbors.


Jake found time for a little ride on the local veterinarian's horse...

The hardest-working member of our team found time for a little R&R!

Day One

We all made it... a little sleep deprived at the time of this picture, but looking forward to our first full day in country tomorrow! Julianne led our first team devotional, beginning with Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person."

Nicaragua 2012

Here's our team ready for the six hour drive to Miami and two hour flight to Managua!L2R: Megan, Gina, Jake, Grace, Greg, Kristen, Julianne, Skye, Molly, Becca, Billy and Mark

Susie's Birthday

The eldest of my two sweet sisters wraps up another year on this earth today... her daughter Jennifer (pictured below with her parents on her wedding day) celebrates her 28th tomorrow!
Happy Birthday, Susie and Jen!

Tim & Anna Fly South

These two will be in the Land of Lakes and Volcanoes through July 16 teaching in the Summer Language Camp at the school where Tim was a student for grades K-7! ...Should be landing in Managua as this post is submitted for publication!

Tim's Birthday Celebration

This entry is exactly eleven days late, but I still haven't seen the man since he turned 21 and won't for another 13 days! He's been working construction in Wyoming and Montana for the past three months, and is back in Asheville now... Kara, Ginny and Bill Pierson surprised him with a Carolina Birthday Celebration. Grace and I will catch up with him in Managua, Nicaragua... Tim and his friend Anna will be teaching English in the summer language camp at his old school for six weeks!

It has been a CRAZY month... the BIG news of which is that Grace and I are moving to CHINA in August!

In the meantime, we're preparing to take this team of college students we work with on Sundays south to Managua, Nicaragua for a week!!

Prom!

She went with me last year, too, but we weren't yet married back then... - Here we are ready to head out as Mr. and Mrs. Kynast to the Fleming Island High School Junior-Senior Prom... as chaperones, of course.

Grace's Birthday!

She doesn't like people making a big deal about it...

It is cool that we are the same age (we aren't mentioning how old that is ;-) for 15 days a year.

Since we were married on the 19th of June, today is also our tenth "monthiversary"... isn't it just like a couple of newlyweds to keep track of how many months they've been married?

Anyway, in the most understated of ways: "Happy Birthday, Grace!"

Easter Sunday

This day nearly 2000 years ago makes the one four years ago tomorrow a day to celebrate!

Lana went Home April 9, 2008... way too soon for those of us who continue to love and miss her.

So much in life on this crazy planet is hard to understand... knowing there's a sequel makes all the difference for this old blogger!

Big Sky Country

According to my brother, you have to be quick to be successful at this sport... it involves flinging a clay target up in the air and putting a bullet through it before it hits the ground. My son apparently held his own... enjoying a little down time after working 20 days straight!

Tim has taken the semester off to save some money and learn what he can from his Uncle Steve about the building industry. They've been finishing up a 4-story hotel (pictured below) in Sidney, Montana that is scheduled to receive guests April 20th