OUR LAST MONTH!!
Wow. That’s nuts!
I’m writing this blog from Honduras, which we just traveled to and will have our final debrief!
Nicaragua took us all by surprise, I think. The past 6 months have been pretty intense, violent, and unstable for that country. They’ve had a lot of protests, uncivilized arguments, and uprisings with what is going on with their government. It’s now under communist control, but a lot has settled down and it’s been a blessing to be here in a time where they’re rebuilding and restoring.
Our whole squad got to be together this month at an AIM base! What a perfect way to end the year. It’s a beautiful 70 acre farm where we got to help with manual labor, evangelize to locals, pour into the staff at the base, play sports, and help make jewelry for local women to sell. We loved that their hearts are to empower locals to share Christ, to love others, and to work when the opportunity is given. So many incredible people go into making the farm sustainable, housing missionaries, and loving to no end.
We partnered with some friends of AIM to go out and do other ministries in the area as well. On my last scheduled day of ministry, I got to go to the dump and help feed locals there. It’s the only way many people live. They dig through all the trash to find re-sellables to make any sort of money. It was super sad to see the desperation, yet hard work that went into this. I made some friends and we had wonderful conversations about Jesus and my crazy hair and blue eyes. I have really enjoyed meeting people where they’re at in their life and hearing their stories.
Our hosts poured into us a ton this month, and really had a heart for sending us home filled and not empty from the year. The thing I took away most from one of our discussions was that the commandment comes before the commission. We won’t be able to, or want to, go out and share Jesus and love others if we don’t first accept Jesus’ love and know our worth in Him. A quote that one of them said to us is, “The only thing you’ll be asked when you get to heaven is ‘Did you know you were loved?'” That hit me deeply. I loved all the processing, prayers, and pondering this month brought.
After our final debrief, I can confidently say I’ll be ready to visit home for a bit before heading back out on the field!
