“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:7
Last Saturday morning was probably one of the most peaceful moments I’ve had on the Race so far. A big part of our ministry is walking around the community getting to know the neighbors: chatting with them, seeing if they have any needs we can address and praying for them if they’re sick. Our host, David, introduced us to a family that he’d really like us to spend time getting to know. There are about 8 people who live in this house. The head of the family is Lucia, a warm, energetic grandmother. She lives there with some of her children and grandchildren. Lucia has a daughter who is currently working in Panama because she wasn’t able to find work here, and her one-year-old daughter Luciana Nicole has a live-in nanny named Anabel.
Lucia’s house has such an inviting atmosphere of peace around it. We’ve visited about three times now, and from the very beginning Lucia has welcomed us with open arms. On Saturday, we spent a good part of the morning there just hanging out with the family. Lucia gave us all coffee and tortillas, and she’s told us several times that we are welcome in her home anytime. The hospitality here is such a fascinating concept for me, because you don’t usually find it replicated in the United States. I think if 6 foreigners showed up on my doorstep at home, my first response might not be to invite them to come in for coffee and tortillas and tell them to stay as long as they’d like. I feel like I could sit at Lucia’s house for hours and just soak up the kindness she pours out.
One of my main focuses when I’m at Lucia’s is the 19-year-old nanny, Anabel. The first time we visited Anabel stayed out of the way and didn’t talk to any of us, but the next day she came to David’s church for the first time. I’ve made a point to seek her out and talk to her since then, and got to know her a little better while we were there on Saturday. She is a constant companion to Luciana Nicole, who is about the cutest little girl I’ve ever seen. As always, I’m wishing I had more time with them than just the two weeks we have left in Nicaragua.
What’s been really convicting to me is that although I’m the missionary visiting a family that doesn’t come to church, I feel like I’m learning a lot about God through them. Lately I keep coming back to this verse in Ephesians:
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)
I hope I can be as good an imitator of Christ as Lucia has been, walking in love daily just like Christ did. Living a loving, peaceful life is a lot more impactful than I think we realize!
This week I had the chance to spend an afternoon on the beach in Leon, Nicaragua. It was a great day of soaking up the sun and being amazed at the beauty God has created. Sitting on a cliff by the water, feeling the spray from the crashing waves and watching the sun disappear beyond ocean, I realized that the peace of God really does surpass all understanding.
