This morning my team and I woke up with plans to head to Managua. To what in Managua you might wonder? To be honest, we didn't have a clue.
As I mentioned in my last post, we have an Ask The Lord month, which means no assignment. No place to stay, no ministry to show up for everyday. We have spent the days since our debrief praying hard and being still in God, waiting on His direction, and contacting EVERY ministry we can find in Nicaragua.
While some of us may have been feeling anxious or unsure about heading off to a huge, unfamiliar city with no real plans, God's plans prevailed and His fingerprints were all over our day.
At 11 AM we checked out of our hostel and headed out in search: of taxi's, the bus station, The Backpackers Hostel, and God's plans. We took 2 taxi's, cramming 8 people + 8 huge packs + 8 day packs in, and ended up at two different bus stations- haha! Thankfully we had 2 phones- not the norm, and were able to get everyone in the same place. We loaded ourselves and our things onto the bus, and rode to the capital.
Upon arrival in Managua, we were bombarded by approximately 8,467 different men, all offering the best taxi fare. I politely asked them for a minute, as we got our things together and discussed the next step. Roger, who would become our new taxi man in about ten minutes, told all the men to be 'tranquilo' and to take a step back- not at all a taxi drivers nature, especially in Central America. When another guy offered us a cheaper fare than Roger, we considered it; quickly all the vendors standing near, taking in what I'm sure was a comical site, warned us not to go with the cheaper fare because that taxi driver wasn't a good guy.
Once we got to the Backpackers Hostel, we found out that the cost was double what we had been informed… Which also meant double what our lodging budget allows. After much deliberation, we decided to stay just for the night, for lack of anywhere else to go and a lack of endurance to carry our heavy packs. We contacted many more ministries, missionaries, & churches in Nicaragua, but weren't making headway.
At this point we took a vote, which was unanimous, and decided it was best to head for the grocery store to get some staples, and then to order Papa John's. Sidenote: I realize Papa John's is the joke of pizza, but it's Kelsea's favorite and Papa J isn't easy to find in Central America. Also, we might have ordered 3 'familia' size pizzas that probably could've fed the entire hostel (#pizzapityparty). We only finished 2 of them, with the aid of Patrick, our new hostel friend from Boston, and Roberto the receptionist.
Here's the coolest part of the day:
Fast forward to around 10pm, and I get an email from someone inviting us to a devotional at 8 Monday morning. I am so elated at a) receiving a response, and b) receiving an invitation; at last, sweet breakthrough!
Unsure of how to find the address: km9.3 carretera vieja a LEON, Del cementerio de nejapa 1.5 km adentro (seriously, that's the address), Natalie and I headed up to the front desk to ask Roberto if he can help us figure out a route.
After he draws us a map and gives detailed directions, he tells us how we're really special people, and that The Lord has a special purpose for our lives. He goes on to talk about Bartimaeus: a blind man of great faith. In Mark 10, we read about when Bartimaeus calls to Jesus, but the crowds and people surrounding him rebuke and hush him v 48. However, Bartimaeus persists and calls out to Jesus even louder and Jesus stops, calling him up. Bartimaeus asks Jesus for sight, and by his faith is healed and receives sight immediately v 52!
Roberto preached on and his message, in short, was this:
So many people in this world are going to look at you like you're crazy. When you tell them what you're doing, they won't understand because they don't have that relationship, they don't know The Truth. There are going to be times, maybe now or maybe later, when you feel alone or lost, but remember that God is taking care of you. He filled our ears with a message of perserverance, and our eyes with joyful tears.
Little did Roberto know that we were feeling pretty lost and alone that day. We've explained to many people in the last week what were doing this month, and I'm nearly positive every one of them thought we were nuts. We have received countless mini-speeches on the disadvantages and negative impacts of short-term missions. Roberto prayed for us, found us on Facebook, and we said farewell.
God showed me today that He is so in control, that He has this whole thing mapped out and that He is The Author of days. From providing us with two phones when we normally have only one, to protecting us from sketchy taxi drivers, to speaking His truths into our lives through Roberto the hostel receptionist, to connecting us with a ministry in Managua, God showed us how He blesses us big time when we're obedient. Our God is The Great Comforter, and can use the funniest ways to provide comfort to us when we need it most.
