We had the opportunity to go the the beach the other day since we haven't started the project for our ministry contact here at Vision Nicaragua.
Lucky for us, the beach is only 20 minutes away.
[This is our transportation for the month.]
I think that every time we get into a new country, there will be some element of getting settled in. For me, I just like to process a little bit about where I am and take notice of how things are different. We went to the beach and it was some of the first interactions I've had with Nicaraguans, other than my former house mate Moises.
Upon arrival to the beach, we got blankets laid out and jumped straight into the water. We marvel at the Pacific Ocean's warmth here and the drastic climate change from the mountains of Tegucigalpa. We let the waves crash over us and take in the fact that it's December, and for many of us, snow would be covering the ground back at home.
At some point I stepped away from the group and took a moment to myself. We hadn't technically 'begun ministry' but after leaving Honduras with the lesson of not missing the opportunities that God gives us every day, I prayed a simple prayer:
“God, I really want to have a conversation with a Nicaraguan.”
I walked a short segment of the sparsely covered beach. Nicaragua felt different than Honduras, and I was still trying to figure out what the culture is like. I saw kids running around the beach and playing. I couldn't help but wonder is just talking to random kids was ok or not. In Honduras, many kids either didn't have parents, had abusive parents, or just simply roamed around. I don't think I ever questioned walking up to a kid in Honduras just to talk to them. In the States, it's “stranger danger” and you just don't approach peoples kids. In Nicaragua, I decided to play it safe and didn't approach any kids. I didn't know how men are viewed in society and didn't want to risk an angry angry momma bear popping out to save her cub.
I saw an older man wading in the water and tried to strike up a conversation. He had an accent that was a little difficult for me to understand and paired with him talking fast and having a low voice added to the poor communication. He was nice and we made a little small talk, but honestly, for the life of me, couldn't ever repeat his name even if he were standing next to me and saying it. He went back to tend to his little girl who was waiting underneath the shade. Guess he wasn't the guy, but hey, I tried.
So after some lunch and a bottle of Fresca Toronja (grapefruit soda), I went back into the water for a little bit. I looked at the shore and noticed an ice cream man there. I had just made a remark to someone about how he wasn't ringing the set of bells on the cart and the other vendor was. So, I made a run for some money.
The ice cream on special was cocoa fudge bars and cost 7 Cordobas ($22.91 Cordobas = $1 USD). The ice cream was good. End of blog.
Just kidding.
(Not about the ice cream being good, because it was)
Anyways, at some point, was got to talking. Good ol' Ramon the ice cream man.
Little did I know, we would end up talking for over an hour.
It started off as being small talk about where I was from, what our group was doing, where we have visited, and things like that.
Then the conversation switched when he asked me about my family and if I had always been a Christian. I told him that I used to just be a nominal Christian for a long time.
Church used to just be a time slot on Sunday and not much more, maybe a class in the middle of the week , but still, just another time slot. Prayer to me was another time slot filled with repetition of the same words, over and over and over again. But after I came to know the Lord and accept Christ for who he says he is, everything has changed.
Ramon told me he was also a Christian, and that's when he really started going.
Ramon began to tell me about the religious spirit in Nicaragua and how a lot of people are nominal Christians but are worshiping other figures and icons as if they were more important than Christ.
He spoke passionately about having faith in Christ and Christ alone.
Ramon told me about having a problem with his ear and not being able to hear because of fluid build up. He went to the doctors and tried all sorts of medicine, but nothing would work. Ramon found himself on his knees on day, just crying out to the Lord for healing, and having the faith that God could heal him. His ear was healed and it baffled the doctors when he told them that it was the Lord who healed him, and they couldn't deny the results.
Ramon told me about a man who was bed ridden in the community and usually had his eyes closed and could only drink fluids, and even that was a struggle. People from the church came to pray for healing for the man. They prayed with faith that God could heal him.
We talked about the centurion who's servant was sick and he went to Jesus. Jesus asked the centurion if he could go to the house and visit the servant so that they may be healed. The centurion replied and told Jesus that he is of such great power and authority, that He only needed to speak the word and the servant would be healed; Jesus spoke the word, and the centurion left, knowing that his servant was healed.
This is the kind of faith that the people prayed with.
Ramon told me that you can find the same bed ridden man riding his horse around the town, and he isn't afraid to tell about what the Lord did in his life. Talk about new life!
The third story still boggles my mind.
A son and his mom were not on good terms. The mom ended up dying in bed, the conflict unresolved, and she had not been at peace. Upon the woman's death, people from the church came to pray for the family. The man was torn and said that he wished that he could have had just one more moment with is mother.
Someone was bold enough to believe that it could happen. So, they began to pray with some bold faith that this woman could be brought to life for just one more minute. While praying with the kind of faith that can move mountains, the woman gets up.
Pause. What?!
Ramon told me that the woman sat up in her bed. The man had a minute with her and set things right with his mother, and she died in peace shortly after.
What?!
And I believe it. God is sovereign. If he can breathe life into dry bones (Ezekiel 37), he can breathe life into a body for just one more minute.
God is still on the move today.
I was so excited to hear Ramon and his passionate heart for the Lord. He was very humble in recognizing that we are God's instruments and He alone deserves all the glory. His stories and words really lifted me up that day and were an answer to my simple prayer.
I never thought I'd be on the beach of Nicaragua in December having a conversation with the ice cream man.
God answered my prayer by sending Ramon. He made me smile an really encouraged me that day.
The ice cream man can.
