I like finding a new favorite place, or discovering a beautiful spot right around the corner that I never knew existed. Discovery is awesome because it is often totally unexpected and that makes the place you found so much cooler. God has made us in a way that we want to discover, and explore and find out what’s out there that we don’t know about.
It so happens that for us, this month is all about discovery and finding places and people that we and our sending mission didn’t know existed before the month began. Our only assignment this month was to go out and see who God brings into our path that is out here bringing God’s kingdom to earth. And it has been so fun! The people we are meeting and the stories we are hearing are incredible. So many amazing stories of how God has first changed the lives of the missionaries and then in response to what God has done for them, they have dedicated their lives to God and serving Him wherever he wants them to (which for the ones we are meeting this month they happen to be called to the people of Nicaragua).
We first met James and Monica at a coffee shop in Granada! Talk about unexpected discovery! They recently moved from Mexico to the central part of the country to start a ministry to reach men in desperate need. In Mexico, they had started and handed off a similar ministry for men and God called them here to do the same thing. Before they met Christ, their marriage was falling apart, James was a lost man, who was carrying all sorts of pain from his past into the relationship with Monica and if it hadn’t been for God rescuing them, they would be who knows where, but most definitely not together. Now after leaving the States years ago to work as missionaries in Mexico, they are starting all over here to bring God’s love and kingdom to men and families who need it. Their love for people is incredible and we felt like we were at home the first minute we walked onto the porch of their home.
Then there is the couple opening an ice cream shop in the center of town here in Matagalpa to provide funding for a ministry they are starting, opening foster homes for the many children without families. We met Harvey who was a state trooper in Kentucky for over 20 years and was looking forward to retiring and getting more time to do what he loves: hunting and fishing. But God had different plans, plans that involved starting a ministry working with street kids. They have found a group of about 15 kids ranging in age from 6-16 who are living on the street (in this certain bush they call home close to the center of town) and are addicted to glue sniffing which eventually will completely fry their brains. Another amazing family serving God here, consists of Joey and his wife Sara and their three adorable kids who are involved with Young Life, a ministry that focuses on teens and bringing them the gospel in a powerful way.
Discovery is great, especially when you discover that all these people we have met are just like me, they are ordinary people. What they are doing, anyone can do, even me. All it takes is a love of God, and people, and a willingness to be intentional about the way I live my life. So I’m challenged and encouraged by what I have found this month, and want to live the way they have inspired me!
-Jason
