I woke up, put a hat on, filled up my water bottle, and headed onto a piece of property that will serve as the future site of a Christian education center. Along the way, machetes were sharpened, I was actually handed one, and then we were tasked to go into a field and “manually mow” the grass, trees, shrubs and thorn bushes (which do fight back). You can imagine my response at being given a machete, and also being asked to be outside in the middle of the desert that is Nicaragua at 12 pm (when closest to the surface of the sun). We start swinging, and are pretty bad at it. The Children laugh at us, then run to the property and show us the correct technique. Our skills are refined.
I woke up, put a hat on, filled up my water bottle, was greeted by a tarantula, sat in my hammock and formulated an escape plan, failed, accidentally killed it, and was distraught upon arriving to our work site for the day. Here we are on a remote island, only accessible by a 2 hour boat ride, to aid in the building a church for a pastor living on the island. No running water or electricity, and no communication outside of the island. We work side-by-side with the locals in the community. They teach us how to properly mix concrete, dig trenches, sift sand, and in this way we start to build a foundation. To replenish the sand we take a boat to another side of the island, shovel up the sand into sacks, and trudge through the water with these bags on our backs back to the boat. I really can’t recall having ever physically working this hard before. We bathed in the lake, fresh fish was caught and fried for our dinner, I became too much for my comfort familiar with the presence of gnats, and I ended the day with sleeping in my hammock.
Life in Nicaragua has been so painfully simple that I learn to appreciate the break from complexity. Hidden idols of entitlement, unhealthy independence, and comfort begin to resurface and I start to actually figure out how these drastically impact my relationship with The Lord. I experience a lot of freedom being reminded of simplicity, and here’s why:
Simplicity fosters dependance. De-cluttering our lives allows us to put our trust in God and not in our possessions, financial resources, or our network. We begin to talk to Him more because we understand our personal depravity. We stop treating our prayer life as a last resort if we realize our wants are not within our power. We build relationship with God.
Simplicity creates space. So many times (even on the race) I have been distracted by my own agenda/plans. By submitting those I acknowledge that He is currently working. I also am terrible at making decisions, and I CONSTANTLY think about food because, well 1. I love food, and 2. In America I am used to way too many available choices. By submitting choice in itself I give myself mental space to just think, and to just be. I allow myself to focus, which translates later into opportunities I wouldn’t have seen before.
Simplicity teaches us about intentionality. Inherent in minimalism is the realization that you are going to be removing something that can be distracting, and that process isn’t easy. Making that kind of intentional choice transfers into other aspects of our lives.
Simplicity helps us stand in solidarity. Not only do we acknowledge our privilege, but we openly adopt the path of the poor. We allow others from different walks to teach us and mold us, and also allow ourselves to be on the same level to carry the burden of their suffering- from a place of understanding and not rationalizing.
Make your own the mind of Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, did not count equality with God something to be grasped. But he emptied himself taking the form of a slave.
Philippians 2:6-7
And I mean if Jesus choosing simplicity doesn’t convince you, word on the street is minimalism is actually becoming trendy.
