God, month by month, has been slowly trading my worldly eyes for kingdom eyes. I was blind but now I see, and when I say that I mean that in the sense that there was a whole way of kingdom living that I could not see. I believe as soon as we come into relationship with the Lord we are given immediate access to walking in kingdom authority and gives us new lenses and glasses in which to see the world through and in which to see him in ways we couldn’t before. I just wasn’t tapping into that and activating that. And coming on the race is when I truly learned what it meant to be kingdom focused.
The story of the Prodigal son is the parable I really really love and one I think we’ve all read time and time again and one we’ve been referring back to a lot while on the field…. and so cool how new revelation can be gained no matter how many times you read a passage. One thing I don’t think I ever truly realized was the strong act of humility that was all over this parable. For the one son to realize his wrong doing and come before his father, yes he was hungry, but the passage says “He came to himself”…. I think he truly wanted to reconcile his sin against his father and against God. How often do we have to come to the end of ourselves and it’s in those moments and when we humble ourselves that we often times find God. The son came back and his dad met him with compassion. God calls us to humbleness in order to give us exactly what we need. Month after month it’s been humbling ourselves time and time again to the Will of God and all he has for us to grow and learn in; and in those moments where we feel depleted and like we have nothing left to give. He’s so sweet to give us the refill we need in those times of need, it just requires humbly asking. Each month that looks different but we can look back and see that he’s given us exactly what we need for that month and has poured more compassion than we could ever deserve upon our squad as we are chasing and pursuing him from country to country, not seeking perfection but us just simply seeking the Will of the Lord.
Nicaragua has been no exception. And I have fallen in love with the vibrancy and liveliness of the Latin culture. Spending our last 5 months of the race in Spanish speaking countries, we should be bilingual when we come back 😉
One thing God is changing my perspective on is the meaning of the word “Missions” and the box we tend to put it in and we somehow build our own perception of what that looks like. He’s been showing me along the way that it’s so much more. It’s waking up each day and saying “How do you want to use me today, Lord?” and realizing you have no say in how he chooses to do so! Sooo missions looked like working in a plantain field digging holes, clearing debris, and planting. It’s serving the body of Christ in the big AND little things and fulfilling the need whatever that may look like and having the blisters to prove it! This month it’s been A LOT of manual labor as our team found ourselves on Ometepe Island, partnering with an orphanage, which you get to by ferry, and fulfilling a whole bunch of needs. Biggest was working in field. This is the main source of income which funds the school/orphanage/ministry. It was very rewarding but hot and extremely tiring.
If you would have told me I would find myself in a Nicaragua school teaching English I would have laughed and said “God would totally do something cool like that.” I loved it and these kids were absolutely precious!!
We also got to help with the after school program and hang out with the kids just playing and having fun with them.
Where we stayed was right on the water and such a dream. We didn’t want to leave as we built such amazing relationships. Our time there was cut short and we had to say goodbye after two weeks.
Our time was short due to PVT (parent vision trip) trip this month. I’m sooooo excited to see my parents and have them spend time and get a glimpse of life out on the field with me. So with that, we came back to the mainland and we are at “REAP” (Restore Educate Applicate Perpetuate) in Granada for the rest of month. Where I have found my quiet time happy place!!
We are on a farm which Is the main Adventures in Missions (AIM) base here and doing ministry waiting for our parents to pull up in 9 short (looooooooooong) sleep nights, as my Mom and I like to call it..haha. Would you pray for this time with my parents? That it would just be a time of revelation for them and that it would just stir something new in their hearts. My biggest prayer is that it would just be a time of experiencing the Lord in the sweetest of ways and that the experience of the field would just impact their life in huge ways as they do ministry and kingdom living. I’m so expectant for what this time is going to hold for them. So join me on that if you would.
Will update again soon!
Much love to you all!!!
