More Reflections

Vale May

Before the trip I thought that I knew pretty much what to expect  while we would be down in Nicaragua. I had talked with members of previous teams, seen pictures, and gone through various studies, but nothing could have completely prepared me for what I saw and experienced.

 

One of the first things that I took notice of is how little they have yet how joyful they are. It was hard not to smile when you were around the kids. Also the people had a desire to worship God that we do not see in America. Honestly, our American services are boring compared to the way that Nicaraguans do it. They could easily spend a half-hour on one song repeating it over and over again.

 

These people could, in a very real sense, see what God was doing in their lives and how He was providing for them. He does the same thing for us but I think that we are too distracted by the many things in our lives to be looking for His daily provisions for us. On this trip I really got to see the power of prayer and how absent it was in my life. Like I said before, we really get to see God working if we just look for how He is doing so. The unity that we have in Christ is amazing. We were people from a country thousands of miles away with a far different culture, different social and economic statuses, but we were still brothers and sisters in Christ. I believe that the team also grew immensely in unity as well.  

 

Before this trip I never really saw the excitement on a foreign missions field. But I can confidently say that, missions is where the action is. And that missions field extends across the entire globe.

 

 

 

Eli Gossack

 

NICARAGUA WAS AMAZING!! I was impacted so much by how the people of Nicaragua are so grateful and resourceful. I also learned that we as Americans do not focus on other people as much as we should. We are always worried about how this and that is going to work out; instead we should be taking the tie to learn about, and invest in, other people. I realized how much time I spend thinking about myself instead of thinking about others' interests and needs.

 

I was also challenged by how the Nicas always are so passionate in their walk with Christ. When they sing, they always sing at the top of their lungs and seem so grateful for what the Lord has done for them and who He is. When they pray in a group, everyone is praying out loud at the same time. At first, I was a little shocked at the hubbub, but then I thought about how easily I get distracted when one person is praying is a group setting. This challenged me to work on praying with the person who is leading a group prayer.

 

I grew so much on this trip and am so excited for the future that the Project H.O.P. E. ministry has in Nicaragua.