I thought I knew what to expect in Nicaragua. After all, Chelsey and I spent a week last July down here in the capital city of Managua. We were here with our church (Eagle Brook Church) hanging out with orphans and feeding children in poor neighborhoods. I thought I had an edge going into this month with all my “experience” in this country. Well let me tell ya…I was so wrong!
On Saturday Sept 1st our team of 6 and another team of 7 world racers pulled up to Quinta Esperanza, which is our ministry site where we are living for the month. Now in the past two countries I have been so excited as soon as we arrive at our ministry sites. But something felt different in my spirit. I ignored it and pressed on as we met the couple that runs the ministry that we would be working with. We had a nice dinner with them as a group and then got settled into our dorm style rooms.
Quinta Esperanza and is a home for children who have been abused in some way or another and have been taken out of their family situations. Their ages range from about 8-19 years old. Many of the girls have been sexually abused and the boys have been involved in drugs and gangs.
Direction for what kind of ministry we would be doing seemed a little vague and honestly, there was a lot of free time in our schedules for us to decide what we would like to do. In the World Race there’s a phrase that is used for months like this one. The phrase is ATL (Ask The Lord), which means exactly that. We pray about how we feel God is leading our team(s) to do ministry in the country and city we are staying in that month.
On Sunday we began our time walking through the neighborhoods rounding up kids to come to church with us, which is located on the property where we are staying. Sunday went well and as the week continued, we started to get to know the kids that are living here with us. The week contained many fun things like playing soccer with locals, watching a local soccer league play in town, feeling our first ever earthquake (thank you Lord for safety), climbing trees to eat various fruits (mangoes, avocadoes, coconuts), getting bit by ants so big that they draw blood, and building great relationships with Nicaraguans.
Even though all these great things happened, something was wrong. In my spirit I never truly felt at peace. Something just didn’t seem right, and I wasn’t the only one to feel it. All 13 of us felt lazy and tired. Some of us had dreams about unsettling things. Others felt sicknesses, like Drea laying in her bed all day with dizziness that she had never experienced before. A few of us got into a sticky situation in the nearby neighborhood where we were almost robbed. When our team would get together to have “team time” where we share events of the day and give feedback to each other, we had no drive or passion in our voices. Like I said before, SOMETHING WAS WRONG!!!
With all these things piling up on both teams living here, we finally sat at dinner on Thursday night and called it what it was. There was an oppressive spirit of darkness here. In the past I have been so hesitant to call something oppressive. I feel like it’s giving the enemy, which E.J. on team Kina calls “the punk”, too much power. But the fact is that this time it was beginning to become far too obvious! Tiredness, sickness, fear to leave the property, and an overall feeling of being “off” in the heart of almost everyone here was enough signs. We had now entered the spiritual battle that the book of 2 Corinthians talks about.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
2 Cor 10:3-4
We aren’t here just to build some buildings, say some nice prayers, and hug some children. We have decided to follow Jesus! And to put it frankly, “the punk” is PISSED! We are advancing The Kingdom of God. This kingdom is not a kingdom simply of words, but one of power. And we remind each other that…
“Greater is The One who is in you, than the one who is in the world.”
1 John 4:4
So after realizing that we were being spiritually attacked, we decide to fight back. Thursday night all 13 of us got together. We read verses together and then began to worship our Father! We sang the praise that He is due and spoke encouraging words into each other. We ushered God’s presence into this place. We welcomed His Spirit into the room, the property, and our lives. AND GOD CAME!
Now here comes the good part.
The next morning we walked into Diriamba, which is the town about 1 mile from where we are staying. There was a new lightness in our hearts. Honestly, it was tangible. We walked into the city’s central park and prayed for many people. Some of them were blind, some crippled by knee pain, some alcoholics, and others just in need of an encouraging word from God. We also played guitar and violin and sang to kids in the park. Just 24 hours before, we were all too afraid to leave the property we lived on. But I’m telling you, there was a new atmosphere around everything we touched!!! God brought us freedom and all we needed to do was ask Him for it.
What I learned in that moment is that I really am battling in a spiritual realm. Much more than I have given credit to.
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
2 Corinthian 4:18
So the moment I step foot into the next country, I will usher God’s presence into that place. I will invite Him to reign in that place and that darkness must flee because my Father is light.
