This month we´re in an area called La Quinta, outside of Jinotepe in Nicaragua and we´ve already been extremely blessed by our contacts and ministry this month. We have several differnent options for ministry and most days we leave it up to the Lord as to what we do. It usually involves heading into one of the nearby ¨barrios¨ (Spanish for neighborhood) where we´ve met and been able to pray for/ help several people. One day this led Brenda and Dan to a house in the area where they met a woman with a contagious smile who invited them into her home, even though they speak no Spanish and she speaks no English. This morning they returned to Manuela´s house and invited Kyla and me (the Spanish speakers) to come along. We immediately saw the welcoming, contagious smile we heard about and she was so excited to see them again. We visited with her and got to hear a little about her family and prayed with her about some specific needs, such as the new house they are building, her mother-in-law´s sickness, and having enough money to provide food for their family. She told us we are welcome in her house whenever we would like and we said goodbyes. I realized a few things on our walk home… 1. This type of situation would never happen in America… showing up at a random person´s house, being invited in and offered everything they can give, praying with them and it being welcomed… people in the third world are so much more generous and trusting! we have a lot to learn from them… 2. I am no longer (and haven´t been for some time) shocked or surprised by the extreme poverty that often surrounds us… I´m still trying to decide whether that is good or bad… on the one hand, I know it´s because I can look past the material and see the person and their heart underneath it all. Also, they don´t view themselves as living in poverty because it´s all they know and they think that´s just the way it is. They know how to be happy with what they have, as little as it is, and depend on the Lord for absolutely everything. It´s a great lesson in faith! On the other hand, I don´t want to become desensitized to my surroundings and accept that this is the best they can be or do… I have a lot to think about before returning to the states in 20 short days. I can´t even imagine the reverse culture shock that awaits. So much has changed in me and in my perspectives of things and I want to be able to incorporate these changes into my life at home. As you can probably tell, these are just random thoughts… usually I write out blogs beforehand and put more thought into them, but my computer doesn´t want to turn on anymore so this is how it´s going to be I guess. 🙂
much love.
Manuela with her youngest of four, Enrique
