I want to apologize to everyone for not sending out a timely update and blog during my time in nicaragua. And I want to apologize a second time, because this will be a pretty long blog and mostly updates. But bear with me..
Nicaragua was our Unsung Hero/ATL month. Our main ministry was to find future contacts for different missionary teams for AIM, whether it be part of the World Race, or Passport, or the many other short term and long term mission trip that AIM provides. It was going to be an adventure with God, and see where he takes us as he leads us in ways we weren’t familiar with, or maybe even comfortable with.
It’s going to take a while to talk about the ENTIRE month of September, so I’m just going to tell you the best way I know how. Lists! Woo!
1. Jericho Walk in Granada. My team and I decided to walk around the city of Granada, and pray for the people. We did this for one entire week. It was pretty interesting to see that the people started recognizing us! We’d walk around the central plaza seven times, and then at the end we go to the middle of the plaza and pray. Every time we did, a few people would flock towards us, and sometimes join us in our prayer 🙂 It was really cool seeing young street kids, older (sometimes a lil drunk) men, coming and watching us pray. It was even cooler when they eventually joined our prayer circle 🙂
2. The Great Flood of 2013. We were in Managua when this happened. A teammate of mine, Sara, got really, really sick and ended up passing out in the bathroom. She hit the pipe from under the sink and water started spraying everywhere in the bathroom. It might be important to note that this was at two in the morning. I woke up to people screaming and looked up to see the gushing rush of water that’s quickly flooding our room and everything we own. I saw a couple of people scrambling to get most of the stuff on the mattress. I heard someone shouting for shorts! I need shorts!! I heard another person asking Sara, “do you know where you are? you need to stand up. Sara, listen to me, you need to stand up.”. I, on the other hand, stood in the middle of the room, frozen.
They finally got Sara downstairs and off to the hospital. People were still scrambling to get stuff off the floor. Clothes, electronics, sleeping pads. The water just kept coming, we haven’t gotten to shutting it off yet. We couldn’t from the bathroom. I just stood there. Finally, Darcie saw me, and I just gave her a look like I was about to cry. She stopped what she was doing, walked up to me, and started saying a prayer for me. For me! The water was still gushing, our stuff were still getting soaked. And there we were, she and I, standing in the middle of this flooded room, praying for me. I felt so loved by her. Nevermind that it’s chaos all around us, nevermind that all I did was stand there while it happened, which I can understandably see as frustrating when you’re trying to get stuff done quickly. Nevermind all that. She stopped and prayed for me. I highly appreciated that.
3. Worship in Leon. With everyone getting sick and going through a dengue/malaria scare, we got advised to take a week off from ministry. We decided to do that in Leon. We spent most of our time with our bibles, in prayer and in worship. One of my favorite times in the hostel was when we did our team worship. We would usually just stay in our little dorm room, but at that time, our guy roommate was taking a nap. So we decided to do it in the dining area. What I loved about it was it was awkward and uncomfortable and everyone in the hostel heard us. But at the same time, they heard truths about the God we were worshipping through the songs we sung. And I thought that was pretty incredible. It was extra special because people in the hostel actually understood english. That’s another favorite thing about Leon: I could talk about Jesus in English and people could understand me. I was really blessed by God that week.
4. Family in Ocotal. We went up to ocotal to finally visit Alejandro and his family. Alejandro is a pastor we met in Honduras the month before. He just loves the Lord so much, and has so much compassion for his people. This was probably one of my favorite weeks in Nicaragua, spending time with Alejandro and his family and being part of his ministry. We prayed for people practically every day. It was such a blessing to see how much people were so encouraged in seeing the love of God, and humbling to see them bless us with the little they have. This is where I felt such community, the kind of fellowship only talked about in the bible. I praise God for being able to see that, and for blessing me with a Nicaraguan family in Ocotal. I can definitely see myself coming back. Alejandro has been such a father figure for all of us, despite the huge language barrier. He believed in us so much, and the great things God can do for us. I really need that because there were definitely days where I doubted myself and my role in this trip, and that was limiting me. They way he advocated for us in the community was definitely encouraging and challenging. I praise God for that.
5. Blessings all around. As I’ve mentioned before, this month was a weird month for us, being Unsung Heroes and all. What that means logistically is we have to look for our own lodging, manage our own food, and our own transportation. I was the finance person for our team. I can confidently say that we don’t have a ton of budget for any of these things. Each person on each team has $4/day to spend for all three. So, how’d me manage the whole month with such a meager allowance? We saw God provide. We had people we met graciously inviting us into their homes. We had people offer to drive us around. People left and right giving us discounts and deals. People sharing food. One of the more amazing things I’ve seen God do was bless us with this lady we met at the mall. She worked with YWAM in Managua. That very same day, she offered us, a bunch of strangers, her house for the weekend while she and her husband goes on a weekend getaway. Who does that?! I mean, it can only be God. We were blessed with free internet, netflix, a washer and dryer, and clean showers. It was amazing. If this month was nothing more than God showing us how He can provide, then praise Him.
