So we are over halfway through month 10 of The World Race. It's hard to believe that in 5 weeks Marin and I will be boarding a plane headed to Minneapolis. This month we have had 2 girls join our team for a program that is called World Race Exposure. Basically, they get to test out the World Race for a month and serve alongside us. Savannah and Stephanie, who are just 19 and 18 respectively, have been a huge blessing to us. They have brought a fresh energy and a fresh perspective. They only get one month on the field and one of my goals this month has been to treat it like it is my only month as well. Not to think of it as month 10 of 11, but month 1 of 1 in Nicaragua. It has been an absolutely wonderful month thus far. We have had the opportunity to visit and pray for a lot of people in Chichigulpa. We’ve tutored children, painted, helped in the muringa field, and had the opportunity to do a bunch of other tasks and try to be a blessing to “New Song” ministries any way we can.
My favorite part of the month has been the fact that our host is a former World Racer herself. All 5 foot 1 of Lisa Smith did the race back in 2008 and fell in love with New Song ministries and Nicaragua along the way. She loved it so much that as soon as her race was over she started planning and fundraising to be a permanent missionary in Chichigulpa, Nicaragua. 7 months later she was down here living full time. Since joining New Song Lisa has taken on more and more responsibility. She is now in charge of New Song’s child sponsorship program which helps to support over 260 children in the community. Chichigulpa’s primary industry is Sugarcane which is a seasonal industry with 6 months on and 6 off. Many families struggle during the last few months off. Additionally, their is currently an epidemic of kidney disease that doctors are not sure of the exact cause. The best guess is that it has to do with the hot temperatures and working in the sugarcane fields. The kidney disease kills a lot of men in the community in their 30s, 40s, and 50s leaving the women as widows and the children fatherless. Simply put, New Songs sponsorship program is able to fill a much needed void that helps to ensure kids get fed and are able to stay in school. In addition, Lisa is extremely involved with many of the kids and their families. She tutors many of them, visits parents when things are not going well, and can even be a motherly voice for discipline or advice for certain kids that don’t get it at home.
With all this going on Lisa still has a bigger dream in mind. God has put foster care on her heart 8 years ago while she was living in Atlanta. Since her arrival the Lord has already provided land to build on and a home that is over half way complete. Lisa will be able to move into the home for good in 2016, God willing, and will be able to become a foster parent a few months after that.
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(Lisa in front of her future home)
We visited Lisa’s property to see it and to pray over it. I could see the joy radiating out of her while we were there in regards to everything the Lord had already provided and in what she knew he was going to accomplish there in future years and decades.
For me, it was incredible and encouraging to see how The World Race spring-boarded Lisa to where she is now and to what her future holds. Being in month 10, a lot of us are starting to wonder about the future and what the Lord has for us. I find rest knowing that regardless of what we plan, it will probably turn out a bit different than we expect and also in knowing that my God’s depths and purposes are endless. Basically, its exciting! Bring it on Lord, I can’t wait to see what you have in store 🙂
-Brady
