Yesterday I returned from a 10 day mission trip to Nicaragua with my church from home, Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene (Paz Naz). I am processing all that occurred while I was there and I am thinking about all the people and SMILING faces we encountered.
This was my second time on this trip. I did this same trip last year. There is something about returning on a mission trip that is very special. I experienced this as soon as I got off the plane in Nicaragua. We were walking out to our buses and our bus driver, whom was the same man from last year Victor, saw me and opened up his arms to give me a hug and had a huge SMILE on his face. He asked my how I was and told me he remembered me from last year. This moment warmed my heart and I knew this was the reason I was there.
There were about 40 people on the team and of all different ages from 68 to 6 years old and everywhere in between. I loved it! We had a construction team, Vacation Bible School team, and a medical team. We went to 2 out of the 3 locations we went to last year. At the first church, Cristo Rey, the construction crew began to put walls up on the church that only had a concrete floor (that we put in last year) and a roof. I was on the medical team and we saw children from ages 0-12 and did medical checks on them. We saw about 70 children a day, many with parasites, a couple babies with pneumonia, kids with fevers (just to name a few). I checked vitals on all the kids, and shadowed the doctor here and there.
Being around these kids and seeing their SMILING faces, I began to see the love of God at work! We were at Cristo Rey for 4 days and on the last day I was playing with some of the kids. One little girl who was 8 years old took a liking to me and was talking with me. I asked her about her family and she said her mom was there. She took my hand and lead me to her. As soon as I saw her mom, we SMILED at each other and recognized one another from the previous year. She remembered me and I remembered her! We gave each other a big hug! It was another special moment that warmed my heart! That was why I was there!
It was hard to say adios to all those wonderful, God filled people, but we were heading to another church the next day. We went to Masaya. At this site we were building a house for the pastor and his family (last year we put in a floor at the church as well). I was on the medical team again, however the last 2 days I helped with construction because we had a goal to put up the walls on the house and get the concrete pillars started as the support for the house. They needed all the help they could get! The pastor and his family are so grateful for all that we did for them. They were SMILING from ear to ear. Our group was able to donate a front door and windows for their house as well!
This special family has a little boy of the age of 5, named Diego, who is suffering from a disease called Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (HED). This is an incurable disease, however someone can live somewhat normal life in this condition. It is much harder in a country such as Nicaragua to live "normally". With this disease little Diego is unable to sweat, get hot, he has very little hair, and only about 5 teeth. Because it is so hot in Nicaragua, it is hard for him not to get hot. We wanted to provide a place for him to cool off, so we wanted to put in air conditioning in their home. Electricity is expensive, so we began brainstorming on ways to help out little Diego so he can live a "normal" life and escape from the heat. We are working on it and this has become a post-trip project. He is one of God's children and even if we are helping just one child of God, this makes a difference. Please pray for Diego and his family!
I will never forget the SMILES on the faces of the people in Nicaragua, or the SMILES on the peoples faces on my team! God was at work on this trip in and through each one of us. I experienced so much joy and love.
Do you see God in the SMILES on people's faces?
Do you love people the way God loves them?
These are questions I ask myself everyday. I want to see people the way God sees them and love on them the way God does. I am so grateful for the opportunity to go on this trip and I believe God used this trip to prepare me for the World Race.
