Meet the 2019 BLC Enrich Mission Team

Meet the 2019 BLC Enrich Mission Team

The team has been finalized and we are now meeting to learn more about the mission trip to Matagalpa, Nicaragua in October.  The team has a variety of talents and we look forward to see how God will use us this fall.  It is great to be part of a team with wonderful people who have so much energy and passion to serve others.  We have a lot to do as we work out travel plans, get to know each other, and learn how best to serve this community.  Everyone is excited to see the Tingles and meet the people of Matagalpa.  Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this journey.

Here are the members of the team:

SallyJo Gieser

Hi, my name is SallyJo Gieser.  God is so good to give me the health and strength to continue to serve Him and His people – at church, in our community and Nicaragua.  I appreciate the encouragement and love from my husband to follow God’s call to go on this, my eighth and most likely last, trip.  Chuck and I have been involved in ministry for 57 years: the pastorate, Christian camping, various mission experiences.

It has been a blessing to see our church become involved in the Tingle’s mission work in Nicaragua.   Whether goers, senders, or prayers – everyone has a role in this missionary work.  Every BLC mission team is unique, and as we train together, and as we work together in Nicaragua, we grow as individuals and develop closeness as brothers and sisters in Christ.  To God be the Glory – great things He is doing.

Karen Hoogkamp

My name is Karen Hoogkamp. I have five children, 10 grandchildren, 2 great grandchildren and several foster children. I am enjoying my retirement keeping busy camping, cooking, kayaking, skiing, and babysitting.  Recently I have enjoyed watercolor painting.

 My professional life involved working with children of all ages, from being the Assistant Director of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation, to Director of Tutor Time or my years at Assistant Director of School's Out, Inc.  My goal always was to reflect each individual child's talents and reflect back their goodness. 

My faith has always guided me in the direction of serving in some capacity especially with children.  I wanted to be part of the BLC mission ministry because several years ago two of my sons; Patrick, Sean and my granddaughter, Courtney Carter went on the trip.  I was amazed at how my boys and granddaughter enjoyed their service in helping build with the Tingles. They came back changed!

I am hoping to embrace this new walk with faith and spread God's unconditional love with the children of Nicaragua.  Interacting with the people and children of Nicaragua will be the highlight of my trip.

Tom Newell

My name is Tom Newell.  I am a retired dairy farmer and also retired from the Town of Bethlehem Highway Department in 2015.  My wife, Valerie and I have a small farm in Feura Bush, where we enjoy having horses, Guinea hens, chickens, dogs, cats and an assortment of wildlife that never ceases to engage and amuse us.  We have three daughters, the oldest of which, Kim, was married in June of this year; the second, Stephanie, is now engaged; and the youngest, Erin, is a student at SUNY Oswego. Erin accompanied me on my first mission trip in 2015.  After that adventure there was no doubt that I would do another trip with my church family to Nicaragua.  It was an extraordinary trip growing God’s kingdom with the Tingles and other volunteers.  I look forward to this upcoming experience in a new and different location.

Doug Ophardt

My name is Doug Ophardt and I have worked as a budget analyst for twenty years.  I have been on three prior trips to Nicaragua and have found each trip to be a very interesting and exciting experience.  I enjoy being immersed in a totally different culture, just “going with the flow” meeting people with different perspectives and being in an environment where there is so much to learn and share.

It has been great to be a small part in helping the Tingle’s build a resource center, as well as visiting the local schools, interacting with the students, and having them try to teach me some conversational Spanish.    Finally, I hope that there is a little time to stop by the Matagalpa Fire Department to meet a great group of “voluntario bomberos".

Amy Vogel

Hola.  My name is Amy Vogel.  I have been married to my husband Todd Vogel for three years.  I have been blessed with three children of my own and if that wasn’t enough, I also have two step children.  I have been a nurse for 15 years mostly in the NICU, but more recently in the OR.  I love both my jobs being a mom and a RN.  I also love to read and do crafts.  This will be my third mission trip and I’m looking forward to spreading God’s love.

              

Todd Vogel

                                              

The Lord granted me the opportunity to return to Nicaragua, to serve his people in and around Matagulpa. If you don’t know me, my name is Todd Vogel, I have been blessed to have served several times since my initial trip in 2012. Since becoming a member of BLC about 17 years ago there have been many times I’ve felt the tug at my heart. Serving in many ways has been part of these tugs. Over the years, you’ll have found me serving in the worship services, through the Mission Ministry Team, through the Building Committees for the recent church additions and building changes and through the wonderful music of Ralph Schultz and Jubilate. Each year of my time with this church I’ve been blessed with getting to know and worship with more people and a large part of that has been the trips which I have been a part of. This year’s group is another one which I am very blessed to be a part of the mix of people who have gone before and those who are going for the first time. It is a great thing to experience the preparation to serve the Lord with others that have a common goal. “Life changing” these trips definitely are! 

Diane Bollman-Buyer

My name is Diane E. Bollman-Buyer.  I am married and have two married daughters, a step-daughter, a step-son, five grandchildren, and four step-grandchildren.  I am retired from the New York State Office for the Aging, former director of a County Office for the Aging, worked as a Dietitian, and managed Holiday Inns throughout the Southwest.  Since my retirement, I volunteer 5 days a week as a teacher’s aide to first grade students, teach an after-school art program for K-5 twice a year, and taught a Senior Citizens watercolor classes.  I have written and illustrated a children’s book, which was published.  I have served as a Deacon in two Lutheran churches, taught Sunday School Bible Class, Confirmation class, and the Bethel Bible Series.  My interests are painting, travel, gardening, quilting, swimming, sailing, learning & experiencing new cultures.  Last year at age 74, I began running (never ran in my life before) and have taken 1^st place in my age group in three 5K races.

Mike Mineau

My name is Mike Mineau.  I work in the construction field and love to work with my hands and my very large collection of tools.  I’m always ready and willing to help others with their household repairs and projects.  Currently I work in Troy for a local architectural firm.  There I use my vast knowledge of facilities and project/construction management on school construction projects.   I enjoy golfing in the summer and skiing in the cold months.  This is my second trip to Nicaragua and is looking forward to working alongside the Tingles and the Mission team to further God’s work.

Sam Dubbelde

Hi, I’m Sam Dubbelde. I’m going to be a sophomore at Maple Hill High School. I love to play volleyball and to downhill ski. I love to travel as I just got back from Ireland. I want to go into Marine Science after high school. I’m excited to be going on this trip with my Dad, Jon Dubbelde. I have always loved helping others so going to Nicaragua will be a great experience. I’m hoping that this trip will help me to connect more with God. I’m thrilled to be able to go to Nicaragua and help serve God through helping others.

Jon Dubbelde

My name is Jon Dubbelde and this is my first mission trip.  I am married to my wife Deidre and have two kids, Samantha and Cole.  I am originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana and have lived in multiple places in Indiana & Kentucky working for GE Plastics.  My job led me to upstate NY where I work in Selkirk, joined BLC, and live in Castleton.  We enjoy the outdoors, fishing, hockey, and skiing the Northeast has to offer.  We have been attending BLC for over 20 years and very grateful to be a part of the Bethlehem family and a church with great programs.  Over the past few years God has placed co-workers and friends in my path to share Jesus love.  I am excited to join this mission team to share Jesus, serve others, and also strengthen my relationship with God.  My daughter Sam will also be going on the trip and I look forward to her working with the children and watch her grow in her faith.

Day Seven: Nicaragua Cultural Experience Day

The last day (Friday) is our cultural experience day in which we experience something about Nicaragua which we would not have during the rest of the week. 

So for our last day we where able to get an extra hour of sleep today before breakfast, which was definitely appreaciated by all. With breakfast over we emptied our rooms and left the hotel for the Salva Negra Coffee Estate. Which is hotel/resort that was built on a coffee plantation. We took the coffee tour and found out lots of information about the process of how coffee comes to our lips.

North of Matagulpa about 20-30 minutes drive higher into the mountains is Salva Negra Resort & Coffee Estate. Our Guide Manuel is very knowledgeable and lives in Matagulpa. 

The following photos are from the walking tour we took...

Coffee beans on the plant. Green is not ripe yet, red is ripe and that won't happen until November.

Mixed amoung the coffee plant are a variety of banana trees and other trees which provide shade for the coffee plants.

On the property they hire approximately 250 year around employees who are able to bring their families and live on the plantation. Those employees have a health clinic on site, a school for their children to attend, a home to live in and meals are provided. (The homes are shown in the above picture. The clinics, school, cafeteria, etc are shown below.) During the picking season an additional 500 or so workers are hire for 3-4 months of the picking season.

There are all sorts of plants, animals, birds, etc that can be found on this plantation.

Many different varieties of flowers are found through out the plantation.

The original German owner's home. This owner originally came acrossed the pond for the gold rush and found just enough to by the 500 acres here. 

This was sold to a Nicaraguan Family in the 1940's and then sold to the current owners in the 1970's.

Inside our next building we found the machines and tubs that take off the multiple layers before you dry them.

Outside we find multiple greenhouse like structures which have drying racks within. Once they are dried with in the final layer then is taken off.

Here is the current German owners home on site near the drying "greenhouses".

Above are more drying areas near the hand sorted building. The hand sorting/inspecting is completed by only 14-16 people and they can do approximately 500-2500 lbs of coffee per day.

The sorting table.

Once our walking tour was complete. We were taken to a coffee tasting room where we were able to watch a video on the process and taste tested one of their varieties up against a Columbia coffee. You had to slurp from a spoon to get the full taste of the two types. Almost a majority of the us chose the Salva Negra coffee. The other type had a much stronger taste we weren't used to.

This chart is what the professional tasters use to categorize the different coffee's tastes.

Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious lunch on the patio near the lake.

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Nicaragua is considered a third world country, but as you see, God spread his beauty upon this country! You will be amazed by the culture and by the people. As with any country there are areas where people just need to be blessed by others and shown a way were they might be able to improve their way of living. God is all around them and they gather in the many churches throughout the towns and barrios. God bless you for supporting us and we pray that if you feel God working in your life urging you to make the move to bless others that you would be able to take part in a future short term mission trip or do it in your local area.

Thank you from all of us and God Bless!

Barb Collins, Bill Collins, Elaine Cooper, Rebecca Cooper, SallyJo Gieser, Chuck Gieser, Leigh McCormick, Tim Mueller, Doug Ophardt, Caitlin Schultz, Donna Spellman, Kaleigh Spellman, Amy Vogel, Todd Vogel, Jennifer Wilson, Logan Wilson

Day Six: Our Final Work...

The Lord gave each of us talents and wants us to be good and faithful stewards of those talents in our day to day lives. There are two ways God wants us to use our talents:  

~Blessing Others and Building His Kingdom~

Enrich Missions was the vehicle this week for us all to have the chance to use our talents in benefiting others and to glorify his name. Let's take a look at how some of those works looked on our last work day. 

~

The Cooks on this final day were Leigh and Rebecca.  This day's meal was spaghetti with meat sauce and as usual the children are very pleased with the chefs. 

And as per the usual, if others were at the church during the meal time, the cooks didn't have to do everything. 

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The School Group was larger than normal on this final day to help with the culmination of the wonderful Bible Craft idea Barb put together with may of the group members help. And to do one final fun activity with the kindergarteners. 

Most days Megan and Gloria translated for the group at the school but our own Kaleigh filled in at one point!

SallyJo even got into the act with a little dance!

The different classes were quite proud of their books they created and were able to then take home.

The super fun activity of the morning was to bring the very large parachute into the kindergarten class and have a little fun. This class was not able to participate in the makeing of the books throughout the week. Thanks BLC Sunday School for the parachute. The fun was over flowing the room as it filled the entire room!

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On to today's Construction Site group which included Caitlin, Logan, Tim, Jen, Bill, Chuck and myself. We started off the morning stopping in at a small hardware store near the site to find the proper plumbing fittings to connect the two water tanks, one new set in place just yesterday and the family's water. After that we arrived at the site and had a few hours to get busy on the new project throughout yesterday. Our goal was to create a paved area for the family to be able to get around the outside of the house to the kitchen and shower area. Here's the start of it.

Logan and Tim working on the new stair area, getting it ready for pavers.

I think Bill's captured that Caitlin is not only great a music talent but might have some landscaping ability in her!

Jen, Caitlin and Bill leveled the kitchen area.

Chuck the teacher working to explain the stairs.

In the midst of moving one of the very large rocks we came upon another little friend, well it found Tim's glove and received a short ride. In the background we heard a scream and found Jen "The Clamp" Wilson half way down the hill to the new building area. I guess she does not like spiders!

Bill still loves to give out those airplane rides! (You can see the pavers under Chuck.)

A final view of the concrete work as it stood when we were leaving.

With the floor jacks supporting the pour they will be able to finish the floor over the next week.

The family had already used the table with their "cosi nica" (cooking stove) by the time we arrived this morning! Looks like they are going to  love it.

This is a view into the flattened kitchen area past the shower. Just waiting for the pavers.

Bill, Jen and Caitlin definitely have the kitchen area ready for the pavers.

Our time on the site is done now it's Lunch Time!

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Right after lunch several people put together the pop-up library and it was a huge success. Great job Lydia, Leigh and Elaine!

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Donna helped with the lunch children making our the thank you cards we send out to the Senders.

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To end our time on the site, Elaine lead one more craft and we sang Jesus Loves Me!

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Our afternoon, for some, was spent practicing talking English to the Nicaraguan college interns who help at the school. Of course it was at the coffee shop.

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The evening was culminated with a walk to a local restaurant for a final dinner to wrap up the week.

A thank you to Lydia for the month of internship she finished.

Also a Thank You to SallyJo for all of the work which goes into making this trip possible!

Meet Ronald and Gloria.

Since God gave each of us a unique talent / role in the body of Christ it is our charge to find out how we can use that talent in a role that pleases Him. I think this week is an easy week to see were we can bless others here in Matagulpa. Our challenge going forward is to find ways which we can do it where we live which isn't always an easy task as sometimes we lose our focus. So to everyone reading this post take some time each day to pray that as God shows us the way we will listen to his direction. Sometimes they come in little not so obvious ways and other times they come in those "just can't miss" ways. Keep your eyes, ears, mind and heart open to his guidance. 

To all of those who couldn't come but supported us in this trip, we say "Thank You" for this opportunity to use our individual God given talents this week.