Movement, change, connection.
If I had to sum it up, these three words describe my month in Nicaragua.
For our month 2, the entire squad was together doing ministry in the same place. We stayed at a church called El Puente in Granada. This church had many different outreach programs and connections to a handful of local ministries. With it being all squad month, we had a ministry rotation set up; this means every week we were doing something different. This rotation was also centered around rotations to the island- Isla Zapatera. Every team went to the Island twice during the month for four days.
As I’m sure you can tell, we were always moving and changing ministries. My team spent three days digging up roots of weeds on a farm, three days doing a feeding program and bible study with local kids, three days moving dirt so they can build a school on that property, three days doing prayer walks, picking up trash, serving food to those at the dump, etc., then spent seven days on the island in total. At the island, we helped the Pastor and the community to level ground so they could build a church on their property.
At the beginning of Nicaragua, I was concerned about not feeling invested in the ministries we were a part of because of the constant movement and change. And if I’m being totally honest, I don’t feel like I invested. The family and the community on Isla Zapatera were incredible, but I still didn’t fully commit to what we were doing. I left the month feeling a bit winded from the chaos and discouraged that I didn’t feel connected to the city of Granada or the people that we interacted with.
Looking back on Nicaragua, I can see now that the strong connections I made weren’t with the different ministries, but with the people on my squad. To a highly introverted person such as myself, “all squad month” sounds a little bit painful and scary. I was scared that our team would lose our bond with the whole squad around to distract us. I was overwhelmed with what the living situation would be like and what ministry would look like. 45 of us in the same place, all day everyday? No thanks, give me my team of seven, I am comfortable there.
But the Lord showed me how wrong I was. With the constant change of ministries came the stability of those around me. No matter what happened, I knew I would come back to the squad at the end of the day. I developed closer relationships with people I connected to at training camp, and started friendships with people I wouldn’t have expected otherwise. I learned so much from the wisdom of my squad mates and felt truly loved and cared for by them.
The Lord turned my biggest fear of the month into the best part of the month. The connections I made with my squad in Nicaragua are connections I want to hold on to for the rest of the race, and after. Nicaragua wasn’t at all what I expected, but it was exactly what I needed.
