Sorry for the long absence.
Since Guatemala I have traveled to Honduras and Nicaragua.
Honduras
In Honduras I had the privilege to teach kids in English. I was not necessarily teaching them English, but I was teaching their classes in English. I was in charge of helping a teacher with History and another with reading. It was amazing to see the foundation that theses kids had. From 4th grade to 6th grade they were reading and writing in English. It was at a level that was below US standards, but they were reading and writing in both English and Spanish. By the time they are my age they will be fluent in both languages. I’m so happy that I had the chance to pour into their lives.
My average day would consist of waking up at 6 to pray. At 7 we had breakfast and team prayer. This open prayer and and group prayer was a fantastic team building activity. It gathered us together and lead us towards God. This lead us into His love and grace as a group. It was phenomenal to see us getting closer to God and to each other as we listened to the 703 prayer. The 703 prayer is a prayer about focusing on God and His will. It is humbling to bow down every day before the Lord and to seek His will. This daily prayer taught us about the Lord and seeking him in ways we had not thought of. Prayer and Worship were more powerful because of this time we spent getting to know him.
Between teaching, spending time in His presence, praying, meditating, and chatting with my team, all the energy I had left was normally just enough to get me into bed and fall asleep. This was an amazing time of growth and learning. These daily disciplines spurred me on and forced me to grow in wonderfully amazing ways.
This was also the month that I really started learning how to learn to play the guitar. It has been fun and and my fingers have hurt, but I learned to play True by George Strait.
At the end of the month, we were preparing to travel to Nicaragua. Patrick contacted our future ministry contact. We found out that our contact was unaware that we were to be partnering with him the next month and we were without a future ministry. This lead to an amazing opportunity.
Nicaragua
This lead to Adventures in Missions bringing back an old thing called ATL or Ask the Lord. My team is currently without a team leader. We are on our own in a foreign country with no leadership from AIM and it is an amazing experience. We are having to rely on and trust God with everything we do! GAAAAH! It is an amazing experience to be willing to bow down before Him and ask Him what He wants the 6 of us to do. He lead us to San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. He lead us to a hostel that meets our budget.
Texas
For those that didn’t know, sister Rachel, is gay. She and Elizabeth (Beth) got married on April 11th, 2015. Doug my brother-in-law and I were the best men in the wedding. This was a joyous occasion filled with love and family. I had a wonderful time at the wedding as I watched my sisters pledge themselves to each other and to God and His love. It was amazing to see the 150+ people from around the US that flew and drove in from Indiana, New York, Oregon, and from around the state of Texas. These people were a testament to the amount of love and support Rachel and Beth have given to others. I feel that I still have a lot to learn about loving others and they are one of the best examples I have.
This past week, April 8-14, I have been in Texas for Rachel’s wedding and to see my family and friends. I have had a wonderful time here, but I have dearly missed my team that is back in Nicaragua. For the first time on my life I am looking forward to what is ahead, instead of what is behind me. I am so happy to have had this week back home, but I miss my family in Nicaragua.
Until next time,
With all of the love I can muster,
Ryan.
