Hebrews 13:1-3 “Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”
Colorful buildings, volcanos in the distance, and people on the streets. These are a few of the things that come to mind as I ponder my time so far in Nicaragua. We are doing a few different ministries this month, which I will discuss in a later blog, and we have been extremely busy. But for this blog, I will tell you about my time doing ministry on the island Zapatera and one of the many things God opened my eyes to while there. I will say up front that it’s hard to describe the island to you. Actually, it’s difficult to describe anything I’ve seen or experienced in Nicaragua. But I will try my best so that you all can ‘experience’ this with me.
Our squad is on a rotation to go to an island called Zapatara which is off the city of Granada. Two of our teams travel to the island together, work for four days to help construct a church for the people on the island, and return to Granada to pick up the next two teams. This will continue all month until the church is completely built.
I was super excited for our turn to go to the island. I didn’t know what to expect…excitement and anticipation was all around me as we climbed into the boat that would take us to the island. I took only the basics…a toothbrush, a couple outfits, and sunscreen were a few of the things I took.
The 2 hour boat ride was gorgeous. The water was fairly calm, and all 14 of us sang songs and enjoyed God’s creation all around us as the motor peddled along. Enormous volcanoes to my right and multiple mountainous islands on my left. Cranes could be seen perched on rocks, and as we passed each island, our imaginations ran wild. It looked like a scene straight out of Jurassic Park. I thanked God for our child-like imaginations and our gift of laughing at ourselves.
When we got closer to the island, I noticed there wasn’t a dock for the boat to pull up to. How were we supposed to get up to the shore? We had to jump out of the boat in knee-deep water, grab our backpacks, and walk to the shore. It was slightly frightening to put my feet into the water, not knowing what could be down in the murkiness. But I trusted that God had me there for a reason, and He wouldn’t have brought me to the island just to have a fish bite me on the foot and send me back to the mainland to the hospital.
The Pastor named Ulice greeted us, along with his wife and sons & daughters. They spoke only Spanish, but our lovely squad-mate Anna was with us and she is fluent in Spanish, so she translated for us. Our toilet was a 15 foot hole in the ground, our bath was the lake, and our bed was the porch and one of the bedrooms in their 2 room house. Our food was mostly rice and beans, and we only had water to drink.
Life here was rough. There were so many challenges for us during our time here. I pondered for hours how the pastor and other people on the island actually lived like this. How were they surviving without wifi and diet coke? I knew I was in over my head after my teammate Katy and I found a tarantula in the bedroom our first night there. After this, I figured sleeping on the porch was a better idea than sleeping in the bedroom. Looking back on it, that doesn’t actually make very much sense. But it did to me at the time since the spider was in the bedroom.
We got up bright and early to gather sand for the floor of the church we were building. To do this, we all got in the boat and traveled about 20 minutes to a different island, where we shoveled the sand into bags and carried them on our backs through thigh-deep water, and then loaded them on the boat. We did this twice, ate lunch, and then carried extra-large cinder blocks from the shore to the top of the hill for the rest of the afternoon. It was hard work.
God whispered to my heart as I wondered about this lifestyle they were living and that we were living for 4 days. The word ‘simple’ kept coming to mind…There weren’t any distractions. There was just enough electricity for one lightbulb. We woke up when the sun came out, worked hard all day, and went to bed when the sun went down.
I noticed a few things about the people who lived on the island.
1) Their hands. All of them were big, rough, and calloused. They showed many days of hard work. Even the children could carry 2 large cinder blocks all the way up the hill. I tried to carry 2 after I saw one of them carrying 2, and I had to stop halfway and take a break. I just carried 1 after that haha.
2) Their joy. The smiles on their faces and the light in their eyes couldn’t be hidden. They had the joy of the Lord radiating through them. They knew He is truly all they need, and He will provide for them.
3) Their hospitality. They had us sit in their chairs when they had church, while they stood up the whole time. They cooked us 3 delicious meals a day…usually fish and rice & beans each time. They gave up their mattresses to us while they slept on the concrete floor each night. The generosity and hospitality was so incredible.
4) Their faith. They truly know who they believe in. At their church service they all sang at the top of their lungs and didn’t care if they sounded good or not.
The presence of God was so strong on the island. God gave me beautiful dreams while I was on the island. I think this was due to a combination of different things, but mainly because of the simplicity of life on the island. I think this is truly the way we are supposed to live…not necessarily sleeping outside or using an out-house for a bathroom, but simplifying our lives so that God can move and work. If we get rid of distractions, and give God space to mold and shape us, He will. If you want more of God in your life, I challenge you to simplify your life. Start by not using electronics for a day. If I can do it, so can you. It will change your life.
