After 60 hours of traveling from South Africa to Nicaragua, we arrived at a ministry center late in the evening not knowing what to expect. A homemade sign greeted us that said “Welcome to Nicaragua” with each of our names on a children’s handprint. While others were trying to assess our new living situation in a courtyard during the dark night sky, I already had a grateful outlook and knew it was going to be something special.
Our first morning we woke up and were introduced to the staff at Light and Salt Ministry in Ciudad Darío, Nicaragua. Our host Tara explained the many different avenues they pour into throughout the community. The largest one being a before and after school program for boys ages 6-14 who come from vulnerable families with a non-Christian background, which is an actual requirement of acceptance. Light and Salt leads the boys in devotionals, English lessons, and sports teams as they seek to change a broken culture where many men don’t value women, or even themselves. Amongst the spreading struggles of poverty and substance abuse in the area, they pour into the future generation while also serving the elderly through a meal and devotional program every Friday. During the week they also teach single mothers and widows how to sew in order to sell clothing for an income.
After learning more about the ministry during our orientation, some of the boys performed a drama for us depicting Jesus healing people’s various ailments before being crucified. As Jesus went to hug everyone after He healed them, they all just pushed Him away instead. The drama carried on to show people preaching about Him after He died and rose again and the persecution they faced because of it. These boys already had me crying day one! Jesus just wanted a hug and to think they could understand that at their age broke my heart in the best of ways. I had love for these boys at first sight.
One day we even got to take a field trip with them to evangelize in a nearby neighborhood. The boys prayed for families as we invited the community to a fiesta with food and games later that afternoon. It was an amazing sight to see them step up and into their calling of living out the love of Jesus. On the bus ride back they burst into worship song and dance teaching me how to truly have child like faith. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus tells us “truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Although I’ve heard this verse before, these boys finally made it sink in for me. We ought to have faith full of joy and without any hesitation.
As our two weeks with the boys wrapped up they showed us so much love through their hugs, handmade thank you cards, and even some goodbye treats and gifts. It is hard to put into words and explain the emotions I felt the last two days we were there. These boys gave me hope for the future generation. They were intentional in ways well beyond their age and inspired me to be the same. One boy even came and tapped on our window at 6:30 in the morning to say goodbye to us before school started at 7:00 am. Watching the staff care for the boys so well was truly inspirational too. They genuinely loved them like their own family and poured into them like I’ve never seen before. It was absolutely heartbreaking saying goodbye to these boys who brought me so much joy over the past two weeks. I’ll cherish every English lesson, devotional, and fútbol game we shared together. They will forever be in my prayers as I hope they continue to grow into the strong men of God they are destined to be.
Be sure to watch the below promo video our talented teammates Stella and Sydney put together. Their interactions with the boys and staff were equally inspiring and I’m fortunate to be serving alongside both of them!!
