Some of my favorite moments in Nicaragua were getting to know the group of men who where there for work and basketball. They were offered a temporary job and along with that they needed to attend a basketball clinic and a bible study each day. I enjoyed getting to know the men while playing some basketball too. I will admit I did a little more socializing with Nicaraguans on the side lines then I did playing but it’s fine!:) Also, side note, once you start sweating heavy in Nicaragua it is difficult to stop the rest of the day at least for me, so I chose my sweating days wisely.
I grew to love this group deeply and loved knowing them a little more each day. My friends Tiffany and Lan who had been leading the Bible study encouraged me to lead it one day. They felt that I knew this group so well that it would mean a lot to them to hear from me.
I love when God puts people in your life to push you to do things that you are afraid to.
So a couple days later, I spoke to the group of men as a whole. This was the first time I got to talk to any of them with a translator so I took full advantage of the opportunity to pour out love in a way I could not as adequately do talking to them one on one.
I’m not the most natural public speaker (yes, I know I’m a teacher, that’s way different) so I appreciated my friends that were there encouraging me and the group of men cheering me on by yelling my name “Raquel” it was a sweet, sweet moment.
I had so many things I knew God put on my heart to say to them and I felt so full of love that I literally felt the way I do before giving a speech at a best friends wedding. So with that love and motivation that God gave me, I got to express how much the group had impacted me this month and what specific things I learned from them and I got to call out individuals in front of the group and name what strengths I see in them and how it can be used for the kingdom. This group of men came from different rival neighborhoods so getting complemented in front of each other was a new concept. I think God used this as an example of how they should speak to each other, learn from each other and lead them to their real purpose and identity which is not defined in their toughness or work but in Christ alone.
One of the men gave his life to Jesus during one of the Bible studies. He and I had several opportunities to share each other’s stories. He was the first person I got to share my entire testimony to in Spanish. Praise God he was very patient with me. He said he wished he gave his life to Jesus along time ago. I know God is going to continue to reveal Himself to this friend of mine more and more.
Another sweet highlight was getting to know almost all of the girls that visit the ministry site. Caitlin, one of the missionaries that live at reap gets some of the girls together for a bible study and some type of craft. She had planned for taking the group to the pool and having a few of the world racers lead swimming lessons. There are three girls on my squad who have taught swimming lessons before so they where planning on going to help with this as well. A bunch of the girls kept asking me if I was going and they even asked Caitlin if I could join them. Thanks to them I got to go as an extra supervisor. After the instructors demonstrated what the girls needed to do I could then help them so that step. They had so much fun and I loved seeing them all freak out over swimming and then eventually jumping in he pool. On the way home I got to stand in the bed of the truck with all the girls and it was a sweet moment I will never forget. At this point I didn’t even talk I just stood there behind them holding on to the truck taking in the moment. I watched the truck turn on each familiar dirt road and saw a smiling face I knew on every street. I saw the kingdom in this moment but instead of gold streets they were made of dirt and mamone seeds.
