Meet the Team - Peter Smith

Hi, my name is Peter Smith. My wife Jennifer and I have been members of BLC for the past 9 years. We have 4 children, of which 1, Jacob, was baptized at BLC and our other 3, Sam - Katie and Grace were all confirmed by Pastor Mueller. I have served on numerous boards in town such as Bethlehem Babe Ruth, Delmar Track & Field, Bethlehem Music Association and former Committee Chair for Elsmere Boy Scout Troop 58. Jennifer and Grace served on the Mission team that went to Poland last year so Sam and I decided we couldn't let them have all the fun serving our Lord, Jesus Christ. I enjoy playing golf and skiing in my free time as well as tinkering around the house and I look forward to perfecting my plumbing skills in Nicaragua.

Meet the Team - Sam Smith

Hi, my name is Sam Smith. My family and I have been members of BLC for the past 9 years. I have two younger sisters, Katie and Grace, and a younger brother, Jacob. I was confirmed at BLC by Pastor Mueller. I am currently pursuing a degree in environmental economics with a minor in music theory at the University of Connecticut. I am a member of the Men’s Varsity Track & Field team at school where I participate in the Heptathlon and Decathlon events. At UConn I also serve as a board member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee which coordinates and participates in many charitable events including Coats for Kids and local food drives. When I am not studying or training (this is rare for me at this stage in my life!), I enjoy singing, playing the guitar and relaxing with my friends. During the summer I work as a carpenter’s apprentice for Forster Construction and as a field events coach for the Delmar Track & Field Club. I am very thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this Nicaragua team. I am very excited to use my construction and music skills to serve our Lord and to help extend the message of God’s love to all.

Meet the Team - Mike Mineau

Hello! I am Mike Mineau and have been a member of BLC for almost 29 years and married to Diane for just as long. By day I am a mild-mannered Project Coordinator in the commercial and industrial side of construction. Nights and weekends you usually find me doing a bit of this and a bit of that to assist people with their projects. I have a garage and truck full of tools and enjoy helping with fix-it projects or full blown from the ground-up projects. The mission trip to Nicaragua is a wonderful opportunity to share my knowledge and joy of building as well as Christ’s love. I have traveled to many places in the world but this is my first mission trip. I am an avid scuba diver, motorcyclist and skier. If it’s outdoors I enjoy it. It has been a pleasure getting to know the rest of the team and I am looking forward to working with them in Nicaragua

Meet the Team - Marilyn Niles

Marilyn Niles is the youngest of four children and the Mother of 7 children. Her children are grown and live in Colorado, Philadelphia, Maryland and Massachusetts. She is retired from the NY state tax department and enjoys gardening. She is always looking for ways to encourage others and make them smile. Marilyn felt the Lord calling her to step outside her comfort zone and travel to Nicaragua. While there she hopes to share Gods love and encouragement with the young people of Ciudad Sandino. She is also looking forward to spending time with other Christians growing closer to God through service and fellowship.

Meet the Team - Todd Vogel

Hola, me llamo Todd Vogel. My wife, two daughters and I have been attending Bethlehem Lutheran Church for 11 years, since moving from Ohio to New York. I had been a teacher for 9 years and I now design and administer the building of school buildings in my work at an architecture firm.  It has been one of many leaps of faith throughout my life that I have left in God's hands. Nothing has been as spiritually moving as preparing to go on a mission trip to a place like Nicaragua. My thoughts are that this will be as impactful on my life as was teaching in Hoboken, New Jersey at a Christian School just a few years out of college. My intial reason for going on this trip was to help others build structures for schools, my two passions - teaching and building. I hope this brings more depth to my relationship with God, friends and family as well as those in Nicaragua that we will be blessed to meet and help.

Meet the Team - Mirca Uhl

¡ Hola! Can you guess what I am? Well, I consider myself Blessed!!! My name is Mirca Uhl and I have been a Sunday School teacher for 24 years here at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. I’m also a Board Certified Educator K-12 for the State of New York.  I work for the City Schools of Albany  at the Alternative  Learning Center,  in a risk free environment where we focus on working with the  needs of the whole student versus only meeting their academic needs.  I  run a program called P.R.I.D.E. that encourages and rewards students for doing well in school, and that I must continue to thank those at Bethlehem Lutheran Church for providing items for the P.R.I.D.E. Store.   My family consist of my husband Kurt, John 24, Janyl 22, and Kristopher 10 !  They are all very special to me.  I enjoy boating, camping, exercising,  gardening, photography, and, reading,.  But I'm passionate about learning and sharing about God's love with others.

While God has opened up a door for me to develop a greater heart of compassion for His people around the world I will acquire cultural exposure and experiences that I could bring back to my learning community here in the Capital Region. The exciting part is I feel spiritually  lead to pursue this journey for the Lord is my leader. 

Meet the Team - Steven Schultz

Hey! My name is Steven Schultz, and I am a 17-year old senior at Loudonville Christian School. I lead worship weekly at both my school, and Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which I have attended for the past 13 years. I love playing and writing music, it's my number one outlet in life. Along with playing at school and church, I am part of a three-piece garage band with two of my best friends. We write, collaborate, and perform together, and love every second we do so. I also enjoy photography and art, and play pool in my spare time.

Meet the Team - Chris Brands

Hello! I'm Chris Brands! I am going to be a senior at the Bethlehem Central High School's Lab school when school starts this year. I enjoy long walks on the beach in the moonlight, but since I don't live near a beach, I like to occupy my time by playing Ultimate Frisbee, hanging out with my friends, or running. I am on the school track team as a sprinter for the indoor and outdoor seasons. I have two brothers (Nate and Tim) who are both younger than me. I work at the Bethlehem Central Preschool as a groundskeeper. I am hoping to go to college at the University of Maryland. Pray for me and the whole team as we take on this new challenge!

Meet the Team - Trent Haertel

Hello! My name is Trent Haertel. I am a 17-year-old Christian man; attending church at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Delmar, New York. I am a senior at the Bethlehem Central High School in Delmar, New York. I live with my mother and father and my two younger sisters. I am a part of a praise band at my church and another band called Three Year Throwback. I enjoy playing the drums, meeting new people, hanging out with friends, and recording and engineering music. I hope to attend college and make my passion for music a part of my everyday life. I have taken part in a 30 hour famine for world hunger, and I also have done lots charity work with my youth group. I am very excited to take my faith to new levels on this mission trip, and also to share the love of God with those who may not know him.

Meet the Team - Ian & Jessy Wilson

My name is Jessy Wilson and I have been attending Bethlehem Lutheran Church for the past 7 years with my wife Jennifer and my two sons Ian and Logan. I am currently finishing up training to become an Atlantic District deacon and looking forward to my graduation at the end of July.  I work as a software developer and enjoy spending time with my extended family when not busy with work or studies.

Ian is entering 9^th grade and attends Loudonville Christian School. He plays baritone horn in the school band and enjoys playing video games.

Over the last 7 years Bethlehem Lutheran Church and its ministries have been an amazing blessing to our family and it is our hope that we can share some of those abundant blessings with the children of Ciudad Sandino.

Meet the Team - Dan Thien

My name is Dan Thien. I am 17 years old and I have been a Christian all my life, but God's love is becoming more evident to me every day. I am going to Nicaragua because I feel that God has called me to go and make a change in the world. I was part of a mission team to Poland last summer and that trip showed me just how much of an impact one mission trip can make. This year, we are going somewhere different, but our mission is the same. Spread God's love and His word, and that’s what we will do.

Meet the Team - Bill Collins

Hi!  My name is Bill Collins.  I’m a 62-year-old Christian man; married to Barbara with two adult children (Ms. Leigh Collins and Navy Petty Officer James Collins) and our daughter-in-law, Kristen .  My wife and I have been active members of Bethlehem Lutheran Church since 1983.  I’ve been involved in service projects at a Lutheran camp, in our community, Habitat for Humanity, etc. for many years; sometimes with my daughter, Leigh, who is also a member of our Nicaragua team.  Our travels to the Caribbean and Central America have always been for SCUBA diving and helping at a Christian school seemed like a much better reason for such a trip.  I’m an attorney and I’ve worked in New York state government for 35 years.  I love to sing and play tennis, and I’m learning to play the harmonica.

Meet the Team - Leigh Collins

Leigh Collins has been attending this church since she was born! She grew up singing in Creator's Crusaders and being an active member of youth group. After graduating from Bethlehem Central High School in 2006, she attended Binghamton University, where she pursued a degree in technical theater with a specialization in costuming. Upon graduating from Binghamton cum laude in 2010, Leigh has held several jobs with local theaters in the area and has dreams of someday owning her own. Currently working for a life insurance agency to pay the bills, Leigh is active in adult choir, handbell choir, and several other ministries at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Leigh wants to go to Nicaragua to learn about other cultures, and spread the love of Jesus to the children of Nicaragua.

Meet the Team - SallyJo Gieser

Sally Jo Gieser -  Years ago I heard a sermon  -  retirement means reassignment.  After retiring from 30 years of involvement in Christian camping (Sky Ranch in Texas and Deerfoot Lodge in New York) my unexpected reassignment has been  involvement in missions.  Not too surprising – I’ve been married 50 years to Chuck, born in China to missionary parents.  Over the years we have gone to other countries to help and advise Christian camps and our oldest grandson was born in Bolivia, where his parents were missionaries.

Our family is spread from coast to coast -  daughter #1 is on a journey by horse across the USA, daughter #2 and her family live in Washington State and our son and his family live in Delmar.  I enjoy music, gardening, teaching the Bible and encouraging people in their faith -  all things I hope to share when we travel to Nicaragua.

Why Ciudad Sandino?

Ciudad Sandino is just outside the capital city of Managua. In 1968 there was a flood and many people who lived along the lakeshore in Managua lost their homes. The government moved them out to disused cotton fields belonging to the dictator Somoza, and sold them plots of land. In 1972 the earthquake that devastated Managua left more than a quarter of a million people homeless, and thousands of them were re-located to the same cotton fields which became known as OPEN 3 or Permanent National Emergency Operation Three. The people of OPEN 3 had to make regular payments on their land and if they missed any one payment they had to start paying all over again. During the insurrection to overthrow Somoza, OPEN 3 was a safe haven for Sandinista revolutionaries, and when Somoza was finally ousted in 1979, the place was renamed Ciudad Sandino, or Sandino City. It has continued to grow with each new natural disaster, as the government moves newly displaced people – the poorest in Managua – to the edges of Ciudad Sandino. The most recent disaster was Hurricane Mitch in 1998, when 12,000 refugees were moved to Ciudad Sandino, forming the new barrio of Nueva Vida.

In 2001, Ciudad Sandino became its own municipality, whereas previously it had been under Managua's jurisdiction. Becoming independent has had its benefits, but brought many problems, the largest being lack of money. Ciudad Sandino has a tax base of only $2.30 a year per person. Its infrastructure was designed to accommodate 40,000 people and yet it is estimated that 150,000 people live there currently. Ciudad Sandino is the most densely populated area in Nicaragua with 7,700 people per square mile (comparable with Detroit, Michigan, USA, but Ciudad Sandino’s buildings are not multi-story). It’s also the poorest urban area in Nicaragua with an estimated 80% of the population lacking formal employment.

In 2006 it was reported that only 29% of children who enter first grade were completing sixth grade, the mandatory education required by the government. And that the students who were finishing were doing so in approximately 10.3 years. At the time it was estimated that almost half of all school age children could not read or write.

Since the election of Daniel Ortega in 2006, the initiatives that have been put in place to decrease illiteracy have had some positive impact on the general population, but in the poorest areas of the county, the challenge to enroll and maintain children in school is a constant battle.

These are some of the reasons Bethlehem Lutheran Church has chosen to support LifeLink's ministry in Ciudad Sandino.