“All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.” -Acts 2:44-47
My team has made it safe to our new ministry site, in a community called La Calera, near Palacaguina, Nicaragua. We’ve been here all of 5 days, and already I sense a greater understanding of the word community than I have known before. My team has set up tents inside a tiny church, led by pastor David and his family. The church is literally just up a set of stairs carved into the mountain from the pastor’s house, and we share their outhouse, outdoor shower (aka-a little concrete room where you can pour water from a bucket over yourself), and yard. Pastor’s wife also cooks all of our meals, which are absolutely DELICIOUS. Nicaragua is easily my favorite month food-wise yet. For breakfast this morning we had something called Nacatamales, which are tamales (corn-bread type stuff wrapped in corn husks) with beef, rice, and veggies mixed in. I also have been blessed with access to instruments this month! The church has an acoustic guitar and a little keyboard that I can fiddle around with whenever I want. Though no music is in sight, I’m trying to practice by ear and am learning a few things from pastor.
Our ministry this month is an assortment of community and church-building activities. We have no single objective, except to be immersed in the community and help in whatever way pastor David sees as an opportunity to grow the church and love on the people. In other words, our ministry = life. And it’s an awesome testament to see how the pastors in these communities live together. There is such unity in the body of believers in La Calera, Palacaguina, and the other surrounding communities. Christians are sacrificing their own possessions and money to help people from other churches who are in need. They have open doors and freely invite anyone passing by to come in, sit down for as long as they want, and just chat and build relationships. They come together to help each other building new houses or churches; they offer to cook and clean for the pastor’s family when they are busy with caring for the community (or a group of 7 American missionaries); they meet together at least three times a week in the church to sing praises and encourage each other. This is Christian community, like how Paul described in Acts. It is beautiful.
I have felt so privileged to be a part of this community. This week, our first ministry was part of a construction project, not for pastor David’s church, but for another church in Palacaguina that is sponsoring a church plant in a community about an hour and a half away. After trekking in the hot sun to Palacaguina, a 30 minute (minimum) walk each way, we spent the day tying rusty metal pieces together that would build the support structures for the new church. I was amazed as I spoke with the pastor planting this new church, because he told me of the generosity of the Church community that gave so freely. When they took up an offering, even the little children were searching for 5 or 10 córdobas to give (the equivalent of about 20 cents). It all added up and more money was raised than they even needed. For a community that lives very humbly, this type of generosity was a huge show of their faith in the Lord’s provision and their commitment to the type of community Paul calls us to.
Today has been my favorite day yet though. Pastor spread the word that the Americans wanted to play with the kids from the community this morning, and our wish was granted. Kids came out of the woodwork to play baseball, paint nails, climb trees, splash in the creek, sing songs, and explore the woods by the river with us. From toddlers to teenagers, we laughed and played and held hands and just shared in the true joy found here. This afternoon, we have made plans to play another baseball game with the kids and later tonight we’re attending a concert fundraiser for another church.
There is such contentment in living in a community that cares for each other so well. Loneliness doesn’t seem to be possible; generosity is a standard; and love is a way of life. I have much to learn here in Nicaragua.
