Author: Adventures

On Monday of this week we moved from the lakefront one room brick house in El Guayabo, Nicaragua to the luxury of El Puente in Granada, Nicaragua. This was probably the hardest challenge I have faced so far. In El Guayabo life was different, instead of wasting time on material things the people spent their time in fellowship with each other, because they didnt have those other things. Lester was the first kid that ever spoke to us there, we pulled up and opened the door of the car and there was his smiling face. Immediately I fell in love with him. He is an 8 year old boy with a huge heart. Every day he would yell my name and sprint into my arms and it would never fail to make me the happiest person in the world. He has two little brothers named Heliceo and Samuel, who like any little brothers would follow in Lesters footsteps so naturally they were always around. I couldnt have asked for anything better. They taught me how to love with reckless abandon and without fear. I knew that whatever love I poured out to them would be poured back into me 10X more. I left my boy with two pictures of me and a bracelet I made him and I have every intention to send him letters and keep him as a part of my life. I refuse to let go of him, because he has taken a piece of my heart. I smile with genuine joy just thinking about him. I hope with all my heart that I can go back and visit him someday because i hate the idea that the last thing we remember about each other is our tears pouring down, not wanting to say goodbye. I know God has a purpose behind everything He does, and Im so glad he gave me my boys and a whole new understanding of unconditional love and joy.

Here are a few pictures from our ministry. We hope you like them.

At the school where we did VBS.

Our house we lived all week.

God has shown me a lot on this trip. It's different from seeing it on the movies to see it for yourself. For the past week and a half us girls have been blessed with a translator named Jesus (pronounced Jessie). We were warned that he was not a christian but a really good guy. it's safe to say now that God's light is shining in this man and he's beginning to start his long journey with God. 

Who would have ever thought that not only were we impacting the children's lives but also our translator? We have all grown so close to this man that we now call him padre. I could go on about this one man but i wont. God has blessed us with him, but He also blessed him with our mission. The fire that we all our beginning to see in Jesus is absolutely incredible. I thank God everyday for such an incredible man. 

-Traiya

     This morning our team went to the city dump. Crammed in the bed of a truck, we bumped our way to the entrance of the dump. Along the sides of the road, piles of trash began appearing more and more. The truck came to a stop and we filed out, carrying the tubs of food we would serve to the people who listened to our message of the gospel.
     As I first turned to face the mountainous piles of trash, my heart was overwhelmed. My eyes scanned the miles of trash dotted with people searching for food and items to sell and recycle. We climbed the side of a hill to a shaded area where we would set up our table and gather the people who cared to come. Someone played the guitar, others sang, some of the girls on my team (myself included) drifted towards a group of wary and dirty children, and others began setting up the table of food.   
     As I began a conversation with a group of little girls my mind was racing from what I was seeing. Everyone's feet were covered in black slime, the children's hair was matted, and flies swarmed everywhere and on everyone. I breathed in the stomach-churning smell of so much trash, realizing this was the life these children were born into. Why them and not me God? By now my heart was physically aching.
      A missionary with us performed a mime about being trapped in a box (addictions and pain) and trying everything to get out. At the end, all he needed to do was pray for the key (salvation) to the door of his box. I watched the people watching him. Living like they are, without hope, searching for treasures in miles of trash is a box all by itself. They needed out and we were there to show them how.
     I wondered to myself if there was any beauty in a place like this. I believe I can see God in any situation or place. I saw God on the face of a woman who listened intently to our message of hope. I saw God in the shy smile of a young girl whose eyes screamed despair and longing for anything better than what she endured. I saw God when a bright orange butterfly caught my eye amidst the dull and faded piles of trash.
God was there.  
     These people spend their lives searching for more than food and items to sell. They are searching for hope.

~Rilie

We have been in Nicaragua for over a week now and it's crazy how fast the time has went by. It was a little over a week ago when 8 strangers came together to form team Nicaragua. This past week has been an amazing week full of lots of learning and some amazing God moments. Our team prayed that God would show up in big ways and he completely has. 

Something God has been teaching our team is how to look for Him in the little things. God is always moving even when its not in our control. We don't have to solve world hunger or see millions of people come to know Him to see his kingdom be brought to earth. We have spent this week in a village called El Guayabo. It's a little city on the edge of a massive lake here in Nicaragua. In the mornings we woke up to the sunrise over the lake. It would  expose the mountains and volcanos all around us. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. 

We spent our time playing with children, doing VBS, speaking/doing drama at a church, and going to people's houses and sharing the gospel and praying with them. No matter what we were doing we were surrounded by an amazing community. In Latin culture community is how you survive and we were rapidly accepted into their community. As much as were we able to love on the people they  poured just as much into us. I believe everything in mission work and your walk with Christ comes down to love. We must put others before ourselves and learn to live in community. The girls learned that really fast by sleeping in a 10 x 10 foot room on the floor. Talk about a bonding experience. 

We also spend most of our time ministering to the children around El Guayabo. We got to go to the school and do vacation bible school twice a day. We would take a bible story and have the kids act it out. They loved being part of God's story. We also spent time singing lots of songs and playing games. By the end we had built an amazing relationship with the children and it was hard to say goodbye to them. 

While we were there we did three church services with the church we partnered with. We shared a drama, a few testimonies, and sang. The church we went to was called Gensis. I loved how free everyone was to worship and how the accepted us into their church. Nine women in all cooked all of our meals for us while we were there. They were such a blessing. 

My favorite thing we did was go door to door and pray over people. We could really feel the presence of the Lord working while we were there. It was amazing to be part of something that was bigger then ourselves.  I trust that God brought healing and ministered to the hearts of the people we prayed over.

That is an overview of our amazing first week of ministry. God is really working on each one of us and really using us. Pray that He continues to show up this next few weeks!