Dear Friends,

The season of Lent has seemed to hold for us the theme of patience. About a month ago, we were asked to teach a lesson on the gift of patience to a group of high school students. It seems that ever since then God has been asking us to practice it, see it in others, and pray for more of it. We continue to feel God calling us to expand the school into a new building more central to the capital city of Managua. We are now having to be patient for God’s timing and provision of a new building. We long for our student teachers to show us that they are fully ready to teach. We now must wait for that transformation. But as the farmer in James 5, we also trust that waiting for the spring rain will yield the more valuable crop, the one God meant for the school, for us, and for the students. Please do pray for our endurance, though, as we wait.

A Brother Blacksmith’s Visit

Gerald Pollard, a blacksmith from Austin, Texas, has been in contact with us via email for four years. He has partnered with us in prayer and has donated several tools to the school, including blacksmith vises and a propane forge. This past week Gerald came with a mission team to Managua and had a chance to visit the school, see the fruits of his generosity and prayer, and teach the students some of his skills. He taught the students how to make a manly necessity for grilling: the steak flipper. Each student designed his own steak flipper and enjoyed getting to know Gerald, who certainly humbled us all with his gracious listening and encouraging heart.

Four New Students

God has provided us with four new students, pictured below (left to right: Alex, Eloi, Francisco, and Jason). They are all completing their high school education while attending classes at the vocational school in the morning. It has been an awesome opportunity for our student teachers, Manuel, Salomon, Wilmer, Jaime, and Ivan. We have been giving them lessons to teach, observing them as they teach, and then following each lesson up with advice on how to improve, as well as encouragement in their strengths as teachers. We thank God that the school is now becoming more theirs than ours, and we pray that God continues to grow them as teachers.

Praise

We are truly grateful that God has provided for the school through his people in the church. We feel blessed that some major school costs have been taken care of. It is a relief to feel free now to teach and take individual time with each student and student teacher without the pressure of covering big costs to keep the school running. We also praise God that the women in Los Brasiles have continued to learn to design and create mosaics and have had great success recently with sales. Pictured to the left is one of their recent works.

Please keep praying for continued financial support for us personally. We praise God that our needs are always met, but we continue to long for more consistent support and supporters as we live and work here in Nicaragua. We thank you for your love and pray that God brings you joy and peace this day.

In Christ,
Lauren and Mike

If you are interested in supporting us financially, we are greatly blessed and grateful:
1. For online donations with a credit card, click here. In the section for "Missionary Support" write Mike and Lauren Deibert. There are options for one-time, monthly, quarterly, and annual donations.
2. Or you may send a check (with a note saying that it is for Mike and Lauren Deibert) to the following address:

Please send letters to:

»Please note: Notwithstanding any other statements in this communication, please remember that any contributions to MVI are under MVI's full discretion and control as required by IRS regulations.«