Dios los bendiga! Well so far this has been an amazing experience as my first short term missions trip here in Managua, Nicaragua. I have to say that in the past 3 days my appreciation for the little things has grown; as well as my recognition of the blessed life I live. We have so much and yet we complain. I have met some amazing people who have opened up their homes and hearts to us. There seems to be a difference in the strength of the faith and culture and ours. They are so welcoming and appreciative of the prayers and small blessings.
Day 1 was a lot of labor, cleaning fans, laundry, cleaning gutters and visiting with the school kids etc.
Day 2 was spent cleaning, organizing, fixing light fixtures and doing other projects and then we went to evangelize in tent city. This has been my favorite part of the trip. I will admit I was initially nervous... but my heart was filled and I was emotional from the first visit. God gave me confidence to speak and pray for strangers and probe for their stories.
Day 3 we did more projects, the men continued replacing classroom lights, working on roof leaks as we cleaned at the house, washed the dogs, mopped etc. before heading to evangelize in Guadalupe. When we arrived the street was closed so instead we went to the park and split up into two groups. We would go up to people and ask if they know God and then ask if they wanted us to pray with them. Surprisingly, most said yes and they welcomed our prayers, quickly sharing their needs. Its been a blessing to share my time, and be able to speak the language and interpret for my fellow missionary team. I am looking forward to tomorrow as we are headed to the orphanage.
Angel and I had some great discussion last night about our experience so far. I love seeing the kids and how great the are doing. Nicholas has truly made me proud with his hard work and involvement. They are headed to youth group as I finish this piece. The girls are so engaged and excited. You can see them light up when they engage others and seeing them physically working and sweating (its about 90 degrees) without complaining is inspiring. In the evening they are playing soccer on the street with the neighborhood kids and I love hearing them talk about the cultural differences, how God is working in their lives and even saying they dont want to leave. God is working in our lives.
My life is changed already, and we still have 6 more days!! I hope God is blessing you today, even if its a quarter of what I am feeling -- may your day be amazing and your cup runneth over.
Carmen
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