Yesterday was our last day of ministry in Palacaguina, and it was with a heavy heart that I said goodbye for the second time on my race. My time in Nicaragua was a time of freedom, laughing, lightheartedness, worshipping, working hard, playing hard, building friendships, béisbol, surfing, and eating lots and lots of ice cream. Living and working in this wonderful country was a blessing, and I am grateful everyday for the God who gave me the opportunity.
For the past month, my team worked on the construction of a Christian bilingual school in partnership with 519now ministry. I feel so beyond lucky to have gotten to work with such an incredible organization, and to aid in the building of an institution that will bring so much hope, unconditional love, and life-change to the students that will attend it in the future. We were able to see so much progress made on the school, and I am honored to have gotten to take part.
Working on the school was incredible, and if progress on the building had been all that had occurred, it would have been more than enough. But God is a God who works for the good of those who love Him, and His plans are infinitely bigger and greater than we could ever imagine. During ministry one day, my team and I were mixing concrete for the roof, and our ministry host Jaime took a video of us working. A few days ago, Jaime left for the States for 45 days to travel to different churches and share about the work of his ministry. At one of his first churches, he talked about the school and shared the video of us. After the service, a woman came up to him to ask more about the school. She also asked about the Americans in the video, and Jaime shared with her that we were a world race team. The lady shared that she had a daughter who had done the race, and later wrote him a check for $100,000- enough to finish the project, pay all the workers, and keep the school going for several years. Knowing that we helped make that connection enables me to walk away from Nicaragua feeling like my team truly made a difference.
I loved working on the school, and am so thankful to have had the opportunity. But thus far, my favorite part of every country I’ve been in has been the relationships we’ve forged. The work we are doing is so good, but I think the people we work beside are even better. I see God working most when we are playing baseball with the locals, or praying for people in their homes, or riding in the back of Ernesto’s pickup truck. I truly believe that the construction work we did and the connection we made this month impacted the community, but I think the greatest impact we had was on the hearts of the people who became our friends.
I love God, and I love people. I believe that He has put me in these specific countries, with these specific people, for reasons that are greater than I could comprehend or dream of. I believe that He is at work, and He will continue to work in Rwanda, in Nepal, and in the Philippines. I am seeing Kingdom come and I am seeing lives changed and I am seeing the mission of love and acceptance spreading across the world like wildfire first-hand. I am so excited for the next seven months, and I believe that if I am willing, He will use me as His instrument. In order to stay on this journey, I need to raise a little over $3,500 by the end of December. If you feel called to support me financially, you can donate here through this blog. Thank you friends… Y’all are the best.
For the Kingdom,
Ellen
