So we arrived in Nicaragua on September first, and expectations of any kind will always prove to be wrong on the world race. You think we would have learned by now. So as we are driving towards our ministry contact, I’m still pretty sure we are off to an island, to work on an orphanage. This was what we were originally told. We drive the hour or so from Managua and we pull down what most would call a random road. The road turns from gravel to mud and the van begins to slow down. We stop and they say ok team Mashach this is you. Hmmm well it wasn’t exactly what I had in mind but we got out and walked into the house we would be staying in. To be completely honest my first thought was well, we are finally on the world race. It was just very different from what I had experienced last month. The blessing of this month is that our team is by ourselves though. We are such a close-knit team and the thought of becoming even more unified just brought us all joy.
When we arrived they helped us with our bags with big smiles and Spanish God bless yous and they tell us lunch will be ready at noon. We later find out our ministry is nothing we had in mind, but it was exactly what God had in mind for us. Pastor Eva our contact says we will be working at a school, we would all have the chance to preach, and share testimonies, as well as still sing. We will have multiple occasions to pray for people and do door to door ministry. We would be involved in various conferences, and basically whatever ministry is needed we would step into it. All of us kind of had to take a deep breath, because we knew it would be stretching. We get done with the meeting and I say to my team; well I guess this isn’t an orphanage is it. God always has a sense of humor.
We have been here for almost two weeks and seriously God is showing up. We have gotten to pray for so many people. We may be on a secluded road with little to do, but it is exactly what we need, so our team can sort out our internal dealings and God can do work without all the distractions. There are so many churches in this area, and probably services every night of the week. People are hungry for more of God. There is so much to be learned from the church here.
Everyday has been exciting here. We see a lot of each other because there really isn’t anywhere to escape to. We have had to make our own fun, so we make up games often. We have a bathroom that doesn’t flush and a shower that doesn’t pour water the way a shower should. Bring on those buckets showers, and bucket flushing. We have a made friends with three salamanders, which we have named Jim, Jolly, and Jam. We have a rooster, we’ve named precious (learning not to hate him…sleep interrupter), a pig whom we have all named something different, we’ve experienced a snake named Ricco, and a frog that decided to come in our house twice named Pablo. We’ve experienced earthquake tremors, and we all have a million bug bites. We’ve also made friends with a gringo (a white person) named Gerald (a former UN ambassador) who has so much knowledge and life experiences. He blessed us to a delicious dinner out, and offered us a free stay in his beach home and we barely knew him two hours.
I’ve written all this to say, we may not be on an island, or at an orphanage but we are without a doubt strategically placed where God wants us to be. God is talking to me so much about how nothing He does is by accident or mistake. My God is a big picture God who sees everything from beginning to end so in turn every situation and circumstance is just pulling you into the greatness He has intended for your life. This includes the painful moments that make no sense. So maybe this random road in San Bernardo, Nicaragua isn’t so random after all.
