“I trust in the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and He directs my paths.” –Proverbs 3:5-6
At 3:45 am on an early October morning, our squad piled into travel buses with all our gear and set off on an adventure to our next destination. With fireworks booming, we left the mountains of Quiche, Guatemala and drove just under 24 hours through Honduras, El Salvador and into Granada, Nicaragua. Our squad spent the next few days at a charming hostel in Granada where we got to relax and process our busy first month. We also got to meet with our leaders who flew in from the US and got to have some God-filled sessions with them. Time was also spent visiting Monkey Island, going to the lake and sledding down a volcano—all everyday activities, eh?
After a few days in Granada, all of the teams on our squad split up to their different ministry sites throughout the country. Our team this month as the unique opportunity to do what is called Unsung Heroes. For the rest of the month we get to travel around Nicaragua looking for ministries that are already in place and possibly build a relationship with them. The hope is to see what God is doing in Nicaragua and look for opportunities for World Race to possibly help or partner with in the future. Many people call this talk “ATL” or “Ask The Lord.” It’s a very exciting month because we are basically doing just that—asking the Lord to show us the way and directing our path.
To be honest, I was a little less than thrilled about this opportunity. I loved the idea of being with my team and getting to see the country with them; but my task-oriented mindset was a fighting with the idea of living outside of the box it was in. There was so much to think about—the logistics of travel, the safety of traveling with our packs, not having a set host, food, water, lodging, etc. In thinking about ATL month, I forgot that I needed to “lean not on my own understanding.”
While in café in Granada, a woman noticed my teammate, Tayor’s sandals and asked if she was a World Racer. The woman has a friend who is hosting a World Race team in Granada;; and has a ministry herself. From this conversation, the woman welcomed our team to visit her ministry—talking about God opening doors. A couple days later our team left Granada and took a short chicken bus ride to their camp.
Meet Monica and Jaime
As we walked up the hill into their home, Monica and Jaime welcomed us with open arms. This amazing couple moved from Mexico to start Campo Gonia, a men’s discipleship program in Nicaragua. Currently, they are working on the land that the Lord has provided and building community with their neighbors. Their hope is to have dorms to host 25-50 men, a chapel, a recreational room, dorms for families who visit and more. The men will come into a 9-month program where they can be rehabilitated, live in a community, have discipleship training and learn a new trade. The camp is located in a beautiful forest that will provide a quiet environment for the men to meet the Lord. The land also has rich soil that can be turned into a garden to help provide for the camp.
It’s incredible how quickly strangers become like family. During our days at Campo Gonia, I became very sick and could barely do more than sleep. The time came when our team was supposed to travel to a different ministry; but I was too sick to travel. Jaime and Monica opened up their home to us and said that I could stay as long as needed. Everyone made me meals, tea and continued to check on my throughout the days. Words cannot express how thankful I am for their hospitality, compassion and loving hearts. I am so blessed that God is three steps ahead—I believe that He knew I was going to be sick and that He lead me to a safe environment. He answered my prayers before I even thought to ask Him.
Please join my team in praying for them to receive all the funds they need to make their vision come true and complete the building project for Campo Gonia.
