Prison & Seminary, Every Day for His Glory

You all will be happy to know that I have been spending abundantly more time enjoying the work and delight of doing ministry much more than I have been writing about it. God is good as always, such a Giver of Joy. Blessings to you all, Jacque

Please support Vida Joven 5K Fundraiser

Hi everyone, 

I pray God has been blessing you this spring with the joys of new life that he brings. We are working hard here getting ready for a fundraiser for a lot of the youth that I work with at the Jicaro Project. If you wouldn't mind, could you please take a minute to read the letter below and consider supporting these precious youth? They are working so hard for the sake of Christ, reaching out in love and humility to their peers, and winning hearts for the Kingdom! They have been working ceaselessly planning the race this year, and we are not seeing a lot of responses from businesses here, who have been affected, as everyone has, by the economy. Please pray for them as they have set their hope in God to provide for their clubs this year. I know He will work it ALL out for our good. If you know anyone who has been touched by Young Life, please consider sending this email along. Thank you so much for your time, Jacque

Dear Friends,

It’s almost time for the Granada, Nicaragua Vida Joven club’s annual 5K Fun Run to raise funds for the year to come.  This year we are celebrating our 6^th anniversary of the Run with a city wide race on April 5^th, supporting five existing clubs and two more in planning.  Obviously, Vida Joven is  thriving in Granada.  Our target for this year is $8000.  Thanks to the generosity of friends like you,  last year we were able to exceed our goal of $7000.  As you know, the Fun Run is the principle event to support the Granada clubs.

The clubs are hard at work planning this year’s run.   This is an exciting year for us as we have asked the leaders of the five current Vida Joven clubs in Granada to actually plan, organize and execute the race.  It is an enormous task, but we have seen so much growth in the leadership as they take the initiative to make this year’s race a success.  We’ve come so far since the first race, and Granada has been blessed by the many Vida Joven clubs in the city producing a generation of Christian young adults who are now leading their younger friends and neighbors toward Christ.

Here is your chance to lend your support.  You can easily contribute via PayPal on the official race website:  www.5kgranada.blogspot.com.  You will see plenty of photos from previous year’s events.

Thank you for your help, for your prayers and your care for the youth in Nicaragua.

Sincerely,

All of us involved with supporting Vida Joven in Granada, and El Puente.

Praise our Shepherd's Name!!

"To Know and Follow Hard after You"

Lord, let us be children with one pure and holy passion, to know you as our God, to fear You, walk with You, love You, and serve you with all our hearts, souls, and strength. Be glorified in us, in Jesus' Name, Amen.
~  Deuteronomy 10:12-13  ~

Sovereign, He is God

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the LORD, 
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD; 
trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

~ Psalm 37:3-7a ~

Delighting to Know Him

Happy April, All! I know this update is for March, but April just snuck up on me so fast! Thank you to all who responded to the last post and donated to the Vida Joven 5K! I appreciate your willingness to help. We had a great event and even made our goal. Here is the latest update from March. I hope it fills you with Joy to hear a short testimony to the faithfulness of God to lead His Body in triumphant love. Love you all! ~Jacque

Git'yer runnin' shoes on!

Hi everyone! I hope you all are coming into a lovely March and a wonderful Spring season! We are working hard right now on the 5th Annual Vida Joven 5K, which supports the local Young Life (Vida Joven) Club, and it's 4 satellite clubs. Vida Joven has been working here in Granada to raise youth to be strong leaders in their families, communities, and countries. Granada's club is the only club without funding from Young Life International, but God has been faithful to provide people with great talents to find ways to sustain the club and its activities, reaching over 200 youth all over Granada on a weekly basis.


The 5K is 1 of the 3 funding sources for Vida Joven, along with an annual Bazaar and theJicaro Project, which many of you are familiar with. Our goal this year is to raise $7,000, and that is made possible through local Granada businesses and individuals, a matching donor from the USA, and 5K Teams who raise funds through running their own sister race alongside ours. Our event is March 16, 2013, and we are looking to have a great turnout, upwards of 300+ students, as we had last year. 


The El Puente team, Don, and I are working hard here in Granada to gain support from local businesses, which will then be matched by a generous donor in the States. Our team has already raised $1,200, all from businesses here in Granada! We would like to extend an invitation to you to participate in the event by visiting the Vida Joven 5K website and donating through PayPal or by check to sponsor runners and help fund the efforts of Vida Joven Granada. 

Thank you so much for considering! 


Jacque Straka

...from the Overflow of Love in My Heart

"Bless the Lord, O you his angels, 
you mighty ones who do his word, 
obeying the voice of his word! 
Bless the Lord, all his hosts, 
his ministers, who do his will! 
Bless the Lord, all his works, 
in all places of his dominion. 
Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

~  Psalm 103:20-22  ~