Santa Clara

                                             1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 “Be joyful always: pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Chirst Jesus.”
    It was two thirty in the afternoon as we once again crammed in to the back of a pick up truck. With way too many people in the truck, we were on our way to a small village nestled in the mountian side of Nicaragua.  The mountains in Nicaragua have continued to take my breath daily.  The rolling green pastures coupled with the vibrant green forests are spectacular. Our team arrived in the town of Santa Clara. Santa Clara is a cute little town with one “major” dirt road in the center (and by major I mean you can walk the entire road in five minutes).  There was a small baseball field a few blocks behind the church hosting the Friday evening little league game. Cow pastures and corn feilds were seen in every direction, and the house where we were staying for the night had a few chickens and pigs running around in the back yard.  Saturday  morning we met with the pastors and church members. They had planned for our team to participate in sharing the gospel with locals by visiting people in their homes.  They told our group we were going to Pali. Pali is the name of the  grocery store in Nicaragua. So, at first I thought we were going to Pali the local grocery store, but my confusion was soon settled as we began a long hike up a muddy road. We hiked for miles before arriving at the houses, which the pastors planned to visit. After our house visits Dan, Josh, Pamela and I contniued to walk along this dirt road due to the insane amount of bugs attacking us when we stood still.  As we walked we first came across a tree with the largest trunk I have ever seen. Next, we walked by a women with a basket on her head holding the hand of her young daughter.  Dan, in broken Spanish, began talking with her. She told us she wanted prayer. She led us through a barb wire fence, past a wine press, and through some corn feilds, to her small shack. The house was tiny, and the walls were made of rotting wood. Her daughter sat in the front on a small bench, paralysized. She looked about eleven years old, and her legs and feet were atrophied.  We talked with the family and then we prayed over their daugther. 
    If I’m learning anything about this crazy thing called Christianity, its that obedience to God is everything.  Why would God command us
to pray?  I question the power of prayer often. Will that girl ever walk, really? If she doesn’t, why then would God call us to pray for her?
Why God would take me, white class suburbia American girl, and land me dead center of an impoverished home in the middle of who knows where Nicaragua? I dont understand, but I believe the Bible is clear. God commands HIs children to pray. Pray continually. So as a result, we prayed. As a result, I prayed. As a result of God’s command in scripture, I prayed in faith believing what James writes is truth. ” The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” James 5:4. I pray trusting God delights to hear me speak to Him. I pray believing God listens to the prayers of His children, and that there the effects of prayer will echo eternity.