For five days at the end of August my parents got to visit me in Nicaragua on what is called a Parent Vision Trip. We got to do ministry together and they were able to see what the race looked like for me and how God has changed me over the last eight months.
Racers and parents at Managua Airport
My dad, Kevin, had the opportunity to come and see the jail we had been ministering in for the month, here are some of his thoughts:
“You’re going to prison”. I was told. No it wasn’t a magistrate or judge handing that sentence to me. Instead it was my daughter telling me what was planned for our first afternoon of ministry. Initially I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for. When we arrived at the prison we were initially kept at the entrance to the exercise yard. Those prisoners I could see were in what I thought was an outside secure exercise area playing football. We walked over towards those exercising. Then three earthquake shocks hit me!
The outside cage, where 38 of the prisoners lives 24/7
Shock One – Those in the cage (as its affectionately known) were prisoners from the inside cells getting the chance to exercise. I am told they only get 20 mins per week. I checked. You mean each day? No I had heard correctly. One 20 minute session per week. But this is luxury compared to the inside cells, built to house and sleep four prisoners but with each cell holding eight in cramped conditions and with daily temperatures in the 90’s. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination. I got to go inside and was able to share a brief testimony, which was translated into Spanish.
Shock Two – The cage itself is actually home for 38 prisoners, who move out once a week for a short time to allow those prisoners from the inside cells to each get their 20 mins exercise. As with the inside cells there are many more prisoners than beds or benches to sleep on. For most, bed is a cardboard mat on the floor.
Shock Three – You’d think that given the living conditions I’ve described, the prisoners we met would be embittered, angry & hostile. However the opposite was true. Yes living conditions were extremely tough and there were aspects I found personally distressing. Nevertheless those I spoke to and prayed with were incredibly open towards us, willing to listen and keen to engage.
The apostle Paul, was freed from prison by an earthquake. The shocks I encountered at the Granada jail won’t physically free the prisoners I met. However, the message shared with them through the friendships forged by regular ministry can bring lasting freedom through faith in Jesus Christ. I asked how many in the jail are believers in Christ? About 10 per cent I was told. I found myself praying, “Lord, add a zero to that number and make it everyone”.
My mum, Judy, gives an overview of what it is like to participate in a Parent Vision Trip.
This past week Kevin and myself had the opportunity to join our daughter on “World Race Fusion” in Nicaragua what an amazing time we all had both in the mission work and also in seeing some of the country.
Our first day we were given an orientation – we settled into our accommodation, the same hostel as the team were staying in, this gave us an insight into their living conditions. We then spent the afternoon looking around Granada, it became obvious that there was extreme poverty and a lot of the locals were trying to make a living buy selling stuff on the streets or by giving horse and cart rides to tourists.
The following day we spent the morning playing sports with the local children – it was great to see the children enjoying themselves and the way the racers interacted with them. You could really see the relationships that have been built with these children who have so very little. In the afternoon a group went to the local prison. While the rest spent time doing crafts with some of the local girls. it was great to be able to see them enjoying this time and to have the time to interact with them.
On Sunday we went to a local church which was bilingual (Spanish/English) it was good to be able to share fellowship with the locals the service was in the open air and about halfway through the service it started to rain but everyone sat there and continued to listen. Later that morning we had the privilege of going to the baptismal of one of the girls on the race, Maggie.
Monday was spent the morning planting a 100 mandarin trees to add to the lime trees that had already been planted by the team earlier in the moth. These will in time will help make REAP Granada self-sustaining. The vision Scott and Jenn Esposito have for people of Granada, and the land on which we planted the trees was inspiring.
Me and my parents
