1. Worship Art in the Park: Sara and I went to Central Park one Sunday afternoon to spend time worshipping and doing art in the park. I wanted to sketch the cathedral in the park. We desired for the Lord to interrupt our afternoon with people who would be passing through the park. It was exciting to watch the Lord bring a variety of people to the park to ask questions and seek out what we were doing. Many children came to draw and color with me, and other musicians to check out what Sara was playing. My favorite conversation was with a security guard, Martin, who talked with me for a while about his family and asked questions about what I was doing in Nicaragua.
2. Maggie’s Baptism: One of my teammates was baptized at the end of the month on our host’s land. It was a beautiful picture of God’s work in her heart, and it was an exciting time to celebrate as a body of believers.
3. Hearing Jesse’s testimony of redemption and grace: One of our translators and ministry partners shared his story with me one day in the fields. I loved seeing how the Lord continued to pursue and seek his heart even after Jesse continued to rebel. To see how the Lord uses his story to minister to so many others now is a beautiful story of God’s sovereignty and desire to redeem His children for His glory.
4. Jumping off the dock into the Laguna: During debrief, the Lord challenged me to take a leap of faith in jumping off the dock at the Laguna. The first time we visited the Laguna, I was too afraid to jump, but this time, He said I am letting fear and anxiety control my freedom. So I asked Mercy to join me in jumping, and even though there was hesitation right before we jumped, I did it! Then I asked our team, BAM, to jump together too. I felt free to jump with confidence because I knew the Lord was displaying tangible evidence of the inward work of my heart.
5. Church—worshiping in Spanish: Attending a bilingual church was a highlight for me this month—to worship the Lord in Spanish brings such joy to my heart. It reminds me of heaven—that all nations and tongues will praise the Lord—and how beautiful that sound will be!
6. Lessons from the sicknesses I faced this month—performance mindset, pride, fear and anxiety: Although these trials were difficult to face every day, the Lord showed me so much through each sickness. I feel like I grew so much in understanding my heart and what the Lord wanted to stretch my heart in. He desired to convict my heart and I wasn’t slowing down enough to allow Him to work on my heart, so the sicknesses brought a time of rest, which provided a time for Him speak to me. Choosing His presence first, instead of the tasks of the day is still a daily battle.
7. Prayer time by the laguna—abandoning fear and anxiety: This was a special time with the Father. A time of releasing my spirit to freedom and life, instead of carrying burdens that weren’t intended to be carried by my spirit. In 1 Peter, when it says to cast our cares on Him—literally do it! I learned the value of casting these weights back to the Father—He can carry the weight of them all, unlike my spirit. He can handle dealing with the chaos, unlike my spirit. I realize this takes a lot of trust in the Father—I must trust the Father to handle the burdens, otherwise, I’ll find myself taking the burdens back onto my shoulders because I don’t think He is willing or able.
8. Prison ministry: This ministry was an opportunity unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. We were able to communicate directly with prisoners and share our testimonies openly. Although we served at a prison in Lesotho, it wasn’t so personal. The first week I visited the prison, I spent the time interceding for the men who were speaking to the inmates who aren’t allowed out of their cells. The second week, I shared about how God was growing me in humility and how God desires for us to choose to put on humility like a jacket—to put others above our desires and ourselves. It was humbling to speak to these men—who are locked up in the physical, but need freedom in the spiritual just like I do.
9. Pedro and Ricardo-two 13 year olds who stole my heart: These two boys were boys that I absolutely loved hanging out with. Pedro loved showing me his trumpo (a top like toy) and he also took me to a store to buy some for a gift. Ricardo loved playing soccer and enjoyed playing games. They both are behind in school and don’t have a lot of support at home, but their zeal for life and love for others is evident. They desire to be loved and to love others.
10. A day at the market with 4 girls: Maria-Elena, Maria-Christina, Johanna and Fernanda escorted Ky and me to the market to buy materials for ministry. They loved serving us through translating and directing us through the market to find the materials we needed. However, as we spent the morning together, I realized that they don’t receive support from home (physically or emotionally). My heart broke when I learned that they don’t have hardly any food at home and their family doesn’t expect them to go to school. I was so thankful to know that Scott and Jenn support these girls and pour into their spirits as often as they can, and for that day, the Lord used me to love on them.
11. Serving with my parents: This month ended with a huge blessing—my parents came to Nicaragua for a week to serve alongside of our ministry. I loved seeing the Lord use them in unique ways and opening their hearts for the work He is doing here. It was exciting to share in the life of the race, so they could have a better understanding for what every day looked like for us—all the way down to 24/7 community living to feedback to getting sick to learning how to do worship art. It was an eventful week that impacted my race and drew our family closer.
