I know it’s been a while, lo siento!! My month in Nicaragua was so incredible; here are some of the things the Lord taught me…
Through watching sunsets and romping through Nicaragua hills, I learned more of how the Lord speaks to me. It’s not always in the moments where he demonstrates his power and might, but in His gentleness and peacefulness. He reveals Himself to me in whispers and in the quiet. Over the past few year, I became consumed with the idea that I had to experience the Lord/Holy Spirit in a vision or burst of overwhelming laughter or something radical. I was so blinded by this expectation that I overlooked all the other ways He was and still is speaking to me: the peace of nature. In the Nicaragua countryside, and in all the rest of nature, is where I see His beauty, His creativity, and His perfection.
Through the six girls on my team and His Hands, the all guys team we lived with, I saw true community. Wildflowers, my team, discovered that love is not only a feeling but a conscious decision that has to be constantly made. We learned how to love each other well. I experienced how beautiful friendships are when they are founded on Jesus, instead of surface-y, worldly things. His Hands showed me how Godly men treat their sisters, something I haven’t seen before, and something the world needs more of. I learned patience as the 11 of us shared a tiny bathroom and the importance of grace. Together, we learned the meaning of unity and what the body of Christ looks like when it works together. We prayed, cast out demons, worshiped, laughed, cried, did life and grew deeper in Jesus together. Life long bonds right there.
Through Mama Kay, a widow who moved her entire life from Texas to Nicaragua at the age of 70, I saw faith. Enormous faith. I mean, the incredible lady moved not knowing a soul, the language, or even where she would live. The home she now runs takes in abused children and is a safe house in the community. That’s the kind of faith I want to live by. Mama Kay, thank you for inspiring me.
In the kids who came to the children’s home I lived at, I saw relentless love. These children were abused, covered in lice and pee, and were by no stretch of the imagination loved at home. Yet they came so ready to love us, crawling in our laps and giving big hugs. They would play with our hair and draw us pictures, with love as if they had never been hurt. Countless times, I was shown the beauty at the core of every heart. And I discovered how incredible and powerful every one of their stories are.
Through volcano surfing, prank wars, lots of rice and beans and curdled milk-tomato soup, worshiping as the sun rose and chasing sunsets every night, I fell in love with Nicaragua.
