It’s been about a week since we left Nicaragua. It was a bittersweet thing, as expected.
I thought I should tell you about the first time we had to say goodbye and some other important reflections on Nicaragua I haven’t shared yet. I intend this to be the last blog about Nicaragua, unless God decides He has other plans.
A lot happened in Nicaragua. I’ve tried to share it, but God is so big and He moves so much that it’s honestly difficult to keep up with the story.
So, anyway, as you know our primary ministry was construction in Nicaragua. We met so many amazing people of all ages doing construction, including the 2 girls I posted about in an earlier blog, the pastor of the church, and a bunch of other construction dudes and dudettes. We also worked for a few days with a team of 2 American men and 2 American women who came because they sponsor children through our host ministry 516 NOW.
This first story I want to share began early and spanned the entire month. You see, the tools at Pastor David’s were so incredibly broken and worn that they were honestly dangerous. The work multiplies exponentially when the head of your pick ax falls off every 3rd swing. And what we know is that the work on this church won’t end when we leave. The people of Pastor David’s church are still needing to raise I think $9000 more to fund the construction they dream of completing. And then they know what they want to work on next.
For the sake of everyone, these tools needed to be replaced.
And so, with the little WiFi available to us, our team invited everyone back home into our work in Nicaragua. Those of you who only read my blogs never knew this was happening, but I want you to know. I want you to marvel in what happens when people come together.
My team decided we wanted to raise money for new tools for Pastor David. We didn’t know how long it would take, so we started as early as possible. Our goal was to raise $150. That’s all. Just $150 in Nicaragua could buy them an entire new set of tools.
The first night we went to the WiFi cafe, all of us contributed to a blog that we each intended to post so that all of our communities would be invited to join with us in our endeavor, but we didn’t finish it that night. So, since half of the team had no WiFi outside that little cafe 30 minutes into the village, our leader Erica who had international data available to her decided to post the completed blog on her page and the rest of us would follow suit when we could.
The thing is, we never got the chance. Our entire community of parents, friends, family, and brothers and sisters in Christ came together and we were fully funded within HOURS of her posting the blog.
We thought we needed to post it on all our pages and reach more people in order to achieve our goal, but we underestimated the love our community has for the work we are doing and the faithfulness of God to provide in abundance. I never posted that blog because we were fully funded with enough money for tools and an entire fiesta to say goodbye at the end of the month within a few days.
You, however, can still read the blog through this link to understand the vision and journey we shared together for this community of Palacaguina that we love so much: https://ericaeverett.theworldrace.org/post/we-need-new-tools-for-church-expansion
You have never seen the joy in a man’s face that we saw when we took our host Osman shopping with the bid of “buy whatever will help Pastor David’s church” nor have you seen the joy in a man’s face that we saw when we presented the tools to Pastor David.
He literally sat in the wheelbarrow, held all of the tools tight, and posed for pictures. He even spoke in broken English to a video saying thank you to all of the people in the USA who contributed.
Tears were shed by that community at the joy of receiving new tools: the best tools Nicaragua has to offer.
And so we know we left a lasting mark on Palacaguina, a tangible gift that will continue to be used to bring forth God’s kingdom dreams. The people doing construction will be safer now and faster now and more energized now because of the love of people who have never met them.
And I got to be on the front lines to watch the story unfold. This is why I came on the World Race. This is what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ.
So, the second story I have to share goes back to those Americans who came to town for a few days while we were there and the ministry of 516 NOW.
It was truly a blessing to be in Nicaragua in January because we got to build relationships we wouldn’t have gotten to build in other months. You see, they were on vacation and school didn’t start till the end of January. That is how those girls were hanging out with us and how we got to build bonds with the children of our hosts and how we got share with Cesia the joy of her very very first day of school ever (Yes, we did a photo shoot with her. Absolutely we did. And she loved her first day of school.).
Another piece of 516 NOW is their work partnering with Americans who will sponsor underprivileged children in Nicaragua to have school supplies and other needs met. The 4 Americans who were in town came just for the joy of spending time with the children they sponsor and the joy of providing them with bikes to be able to get to school. Their stay was short, but it was impactful to see them coming to build real relationships with the children they sponsor. It was impactful to see that they care and know the stories of their children. It was a beautiful thing to witness.
Yaner also works to head up those projects of getting school supplies to the kids. We were blessed when she invited us into ministry with her. She had a list of around 150 kids who would be receiving new backpacks, uniforms, and supplies, and she asked us to write encouraging notes of God’s love for them to find in their backpacks. She told us they probably haven’t had a surprise like that often in their life. It was something special we could provide. Something tangible to remind them that God loves them. Something they would probably hold onto because we wrote on pretty construction paper and they don’t get to have a lot of that in their lives. So a year from now they may just pick up the note I wrote that says Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” and it may just brighten their day. That’s special to me.
And then we were invited to put faces to the children we were serving as we went to the big gathering at the church to help hand out all of the supplies.
We looked at rows of children, waiting so incredibly patiently for their name to be called. They took what they were given without complaint, no matter what color the backpack was or what design wa son their new shoes. They showed true gratitude that only a child in need can show.
I even got a hug from one girl and, for another little girl with Down’s Syndrome, our being there made so much of an impact that she sought us out at church that weekend and wanted to sit in our laps and give us a gazillion hugs during the entire church service (which lasts a lot longer than the church services I’m used to in the States by the way).
There is nothing more special than making an impact on a child’s life that builds into a special relationship.
It was a beautiful series of events.
Before getting into goodbyes, the last story I want to tell you about is the courage of two of my teammates. You see, nobody in Palacaguina spoke English other than Yaner. I don’t think I’ve stressed that enough in my blogging. Our team was challenged this month to communicate with people we couldn’t all speak with and to learn Spanish. I spoke enough Spanish to get by on my own and I was even called on to translate at times, but the MVPs of our team were Erica and Hannah who both lived in Spanish speaking countries long enough to be fluent translators. We struggled through together and they pushed themselves harder than we could ever thank them for in helping us all communicate.
And they were so brave that they were willing to share an entire Spanish teaching on the local Christian radio station.
I can’t tell you how many people they impacted, but there was an entire village listening and soaking in their words. They chose to speak about the role of the church and the role of our individual selves in the body of Christ.
I am proud to serve with Hannah and Erica. I am awed and moved by their humbleness in stepping out of anyone’s normal comfort zone to spread the Gospel through the radio. I was blessed to sit in the room with them and I even got asked a few questions about favorite foods and whatnot to answer in Spanish, but that was such a small and minute part. Erica and Hannah loved the people of Nicaragua so much that they were willing to put hours into planning what to say to help them know God loves them and they have a place in the church. I was moved by them. I probably haven’t told them that enough. I hope they can read this blog and know I appreciate them. And y’all, please feel free to shout out in the comments about how much strength, courage, and humility you know it took to serve the people by speaking on a radio station like that. I’ll make sure they know that you support them in being the hands and feet of Christ in such incredible and inspiring ways.
After all of the stories I’ve shared about serving and loving the people of Palacaguina, this blog ends with the story of saying goodbye to the people we loved and served with all month long. This blog ends by telling you about the fiesta we had with the money we raised after buying the tools.
We honored Pastor David, our “taxi” driver Lenar, our host Osman and his family, Yaner, Dané in the kitchen and her family, and our fellow construction workers by inviting them to our home for a fiesta. We cooked them dinner, filled a pinata, and loved on one another. And we spent the night reminiscing about the time we shared together in our month in Nicaragua. I also got to teach Pastor David a very important saying regarding the arroz con leche: “There’s always room for dessert.”
And then we said goodbyes.
I think the joy of a party and of sharing a meal together makes goodbye a little bit easier sometimes.
Erica left the next day to join the rest of our leadership team in preparing for debrief of our first month, which is the time when we take a few days of break form ministry so that our leaders can grow us through discipleship with teachings and reflections about adjusting in our first month. But the rest of us stayed for one more day.
I’ll be honest, it was a disappointing last day for me because unfortunately I was sick with a stomach bug and slept for most of the day. But I wasn’t willing to let a stomach bug take away the blessing of having one last day with the people who meant so much to us. I went with my squad for one last walk to Pastor David’s church, where we worshiped together. It was a beautiful time. The joy of singing and worship knows no language boundaries. Joy and smiles and dancing and weird sounds with your mouth are something you can share with any humans. It was a special time for all of us. Some members of the team went into town and said goodbye to the shopkeepers we had grown close to. They were blessed by one last trip with our “taxi” driver Lenar, a gift he wanted to give them from God. A gift to say goodbye. That night is when I gave my Bible to Yaner. My team enjoyed a last few meals of Dané’s cooking.
We were blessed with a wonderful day to say goodbye to the people we loved and served with in Palacaguina.
The next morning, as we prepared to leave, there were tears shed by our team and the people we loved. We climbed into Osman’s van one last time and he got us safely to the bus station. It was fitting that the same person who picked us up from the airport at 1am was the last person we said goodbye to at the bus station. It meant a lot to us.
And then we boarded a bus. We left it to God to trust that our bags tied on top would make it with us, and they did. We made it to Granada and experienced a new side of Nicaragua for one day as we explored a small taste of city life and the ministry our other B Squad team served at for the month. We slept for a few hours, and then we arose early in the morning for a 10-hour bus ride to Costa Rica.
It was beautiful to say goodbye the way we did. It was beautiful to leave such a mark on Nicaragua. I’m blessed by those people that I will never forget, and I know they will never forget me too.
I trust in God’s timing. I’m ready for Costa Rica. I’m ready to grow in new ways and bless new people and be blessed by new people. Goodbye will never be easy, but I know God will always bring beauty out of the goodbyes.
