Greetings from Nicaragua! 

Before we get too far into the year, we wanted to share a quick family update. For the latest news from Novō Communities, click here: Novō News // November 2022. 

After seven months, we’re starting to feel increasingly settled in our home and the wider community. Despite plenty of similarities between Managua and Santa Cruz and the cultures more broadly, there has been lots to learn!

Here are our top discoveries:

• It rains so much during the wet season that you’ll want to Google “how to build an ark.”
• The cops here have a sixth sense. The moment you step out of line, they appear out of nowhere!
• Managua is the place “where the streets have no name”. Literally. Trying to find “the white house six blocks from the old hospital in the direction of the lake” isn’t a task for rookies.
• Managua must have more pharmacies per capita than anywhere else on earth.
• It’s an early-to-bed, early-to-rise culture. At 7 am, the streets are buzzing. By 7 pm, they’re dead.
• Once a banana tree has fruited, you’ve got to chop it down to get more bananas!
• If you knock down your internet and power cables while chopping down banana trees, the utility companies will have them fixed within a couple of hours.

Suffice it to say, we’ve had our moments, and it’s been stretching, but things are going well. 

The kids have settled so well at school. They’ve each made friends and got stuck into after-school sports and youth groups. This is Jemimah’s penultimate year, so she’s working hard with a view to what comes next. 

We’re enjoying being part of the international church community, which meets in the school hall. Miah was initially very uncomfortable about going into church – a big group of people singing was a bit much for her! – but, after months of hanging back – first on the grass outside, then at the back of the hall – she’s feeling much more confident now. She especially loves her Sunday School class, which meets in the same space where she will attend pre-Kindergarten next year.

Daniel has been continuing his work with YWAM. He is currently leading a DTS outreach to Argentina, where he’s making great use of his Spanish, translating and coordinating for the team. He just completed his UCAS application and hopes to study sociology in the UK this autumn.

During October, Andy was able to visit Bolivia, spend time at Quinta Totaices, train, and connect with the team, as well as helping to lead a Novō Adventures tour. He was encouraged to see the consistent quality of the work being done by David and the team and the excellent atmosphere among the guys on the programme. A particular highlight was time spent after the graduation night, chatting with a group of four men – Mario, Benigno, Ricardo, and Jose Carlos – who, at different times, had completed the programme and returned to celebrate our newest graduates. 

Among the Novo Adventures tour group were four guys from Wild At Heart, a US men’s ministry led by John Eldredge. Soon after, in November, Andy and Lewis (Novō Adventures Manager) were invited up to Colorado for a men’s retreat. This was a great time of refreshment and networking.

As we seek God for the growth of Novō, Andy has been developing two potential partnerships: with a group in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and with Quien Soy Yo? here in Nicaragua. We’re excited to see how God leads. In March, Quien Soy Yo’s founder, Rommel, will be joining Andy on a trip to Bolivia to get immersed in the work at the Quinta and learn from David, Oscar, Bruno, and the rest of the team.

Andy’s book, Hope in Addiction is now finished and being printed, ready for publication in April. We’ve been so encouraged by the feedback the book has received and are looking forward to seeing how God will use it to help those caught in the grip of addiction and to spread the word about Novō. 

Thank you so much for standing with us! All the work we can do is because of the generous and prayerful partnership of our supporters.

With much love,

Andy & Mickey

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

As a family we don’t receive a salary and are able to serve with Novō through the faithful generosity of our supporters. If you’d like information about how to support us, drop us an email at andy@novocommunities.org or go directly to www.give.net/20171708

PRAYER GROUP

We have a WhatsApp group where we share occasional prayer requests and arrange a monthly 45-min Zoom pray gathering. The group and the meetings have been a massive encouragement to us. If you’d like to join us, drop us an email at andy@novocommunities.org