April started with us in the states for Donna’s knee surgery in Texarkana. We are very thankful for the hospitality of Dr. A.D. and Sharron Smith who allowed us to stay in their home and for all your prayers, calls, and notes of encouragement. Donna returned to Nicaragua on the 30th of April. Please continue to keep Donna’s healing in your prayers. This month, thanks to Dr. Patti Patterson, Olive Branch Ministries, we were able to visit with a new program that might help us with our Dental Prevention Project. The program is called Teethsavers. Please keep the possibility of developing an effort with them in your prayers . This was our second year to have a group from Dallas Christian Schools with us. Their arrival was delayed several hours so we spent the night in Managua instead of returning to Jinotega as planned. The result was that they lost a half workday but you wouldn’t know that by the work they accomplished. Their energy and enthusiasm easily made up for that lost time. While they were here they painted in the clinic, inside & outside, dug a ditch in Tania’s (one of our translators) back yard to prevent flooding in the rainy season and started remodeling at our school in Santa Inez.

Tuesday April 14th, by the invitation of the prison Director who was in attendance for the day, our first Prison Campaign was held at the Waswili prison in Matagalpa. 450 to 500 prisoners, men and women, assembled to hear gospel singing and Jesus Christ preached. The Campaign was directed by Luis Prada, our Prison Ministry Director. The preachers were able to spend time with many of the men and women on an individual bases. Each person was given a new Bible and material made available to us by Spanish Literature. Benny was one of the speakers. The group from Dallas Christian sang several songs for the gathering. Presently we have four vocational programs, the Bible Institute and the church in the prison number around 100.

Our Institute for Preparation Worker had it’s second one week session for 2009. Arthur Peinte, the Sunset’s new Director for Latin America, was with us and presented a series on the "Life of Christ." The next session will be June 19-24. We were blessed this month to receive a commitment of 5,000 pounds of Breedlove soup mix to have on hand for distribution in case of emergency. We are striving to keep 5,000 pounds on hand at all the time and have an additional 5,000 pounds available for distributions to our schools, feeding program and congregation. Contact us on how you could help us with us secure additional food supplies. Many have asked about the concern with the Swine Flu. To date there has been no reported cases in Nicaragua. We were invited to special meeting of NGO’s at MINSA (Ministry of Health) in Managua on the situation and their response in prevention and preparation. One of the things they have asked of the mission and other NGOs in Nicaragua is to help them in securing resources that are needed to respond to this or any medical emergency. Please contact us for the list they have given us and see how you might be able to help us help them. For your prayers and consideration:
1. On May 21th Mike Faris, our Deputy Director, will be having surgery in Virginia. Please Mike and Ann in your prayers. They hope to return to Nicaragua in July.

2. Donna’s continued healing.

3. Please pray for our summer

4. This year we have in our plans a number of construction projects:

* The "Field of Dreams" in Pantasma. The Casa Materna, school, Physical Therapy location for handicap children and a place for the church in Pantasma. Please keep this project in your prayers as we work through some political issues.
* Repair and new construction on the church location in Matagalpa.
* Tile the apartment of the evangelist in the building at Apanas.
* Enclose the church building at Yankea.
* Two additional schools besides Pantasma.
* Additional classroom for the school in St. Inus.
* House for a lady of the church in Jinotega who is handicap.

Two things needed for these projects are workers and additional funding. We are blessed to have the funding for one and half school, funds to start the Casa Materna in Pantasma and part of the P.T. center in Pantasma. Our groups coming will also be providing some of the funding for these projects and will also be working on them as well. You can help by getting a group together and come to Nicaragua to work with these projects and second by telling someone about these needs.
5. In 1998, we were asked to help 18 children have the ability to go to school. From that start over the next seven years we were able to help over one thousand children to attend school, with the goal of striving to help just one more. With that thought we named our Children to School Project, "Just one More." In March 2005, with the opening of the school in Hattilo, the mission began the operating of schools in communities that either the school was closed or there was no school. God has blessed us now to operate 18 schools with over 600 children. But there are still many children that are not in school and communities in the Jinotega Region without a school for their children. God has given us a great opportunity to touch the mind and soul of children. Your help is needed to touch these children in Nicaragua. Your consideration to help us to help "Just One More" child or open "Just One More" school would be a blessing: $ 20 a month support a child (15 sponsors opens another school), $300 a month support the opening of one more school. We have 10 communities targeted (there are 80 communities in our region without schools) and ready to open as support is available. Please share this with others and contact us today on how you can be part of helping "Just One More."

Thanks for all your support and encouragement that makes this mission possible. Because of Him: Benny and Donna Baker

SPECIAL NOTE….OUR NICARAGUA NUMBER HAS CHANGED…8936-4538