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  ~

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Happy New Year! Praise the Lord for His Mercies that are new every morning, especially the morning after 6 months and no blogging! Praise Him for forgiveness and grace, too! Thank you to you all who still wanted to be updated but had the patience to wait so long. God is good, that is about what it takes to sum up the last 6 months. He is merciful and kind, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. I love Him so much! I hope to send a prayer letter out soon because I know and you know how much we need it, but as for now, here is a pretty little update that really doesn't share much but hopefully gives you a little taste of the Nica life, the abundant joy of walking with our Magnificent Triune God (blows our minds how that works out!) who Knows All, Is All, Gives All, and Does all for His glory. We love Him and hope that you are blessed to know Him more deeply and intimately through sharing in the testimonies you'll find here. If not, you get on us to share more, because you need to taste and see just how GOOD HE IS!
Love y'all, Don and Jacque