Nicaragua - Day 2 - We Begin Our Day Quietly

by Trish Krider

It’s not often in Tampa that one is awakened by the crowing of a rooster, but that is the way the day starts here.  But the roosters aren’t the only ones awake.  As you step out of the dorm room in the light of the dawning sun, you are surrounded by a cacophony of God’s creatures raising their voices as if to remind us that today is His day and it’s time to get up and praise Him.

At El Ayudante we begin our day quietly.  We do not speak until breakfast is served at 7 AM.   This is a time to personally connect with God, a relatively easy thing to do here.  All of your senses are assaulted by his creation – lush vegetation, beautiful flowers, fruit trees and volcanoes, and 31 missionaries absorbed in meditation, Bible reading, or jogging the perimeter.  And although no words are spoken, you can feel the presence of God all around you, as you also hear it raised in praise by the Pentecostal church across the street.

Pam B. shared a beautiful devotion with us this morning, emphasizing the importance to us, as Christians, that we be the breaking of the bread and pouring of the wine to be Christ’s presence in the community.  After challenging us this week to change our prayers from, “Lord, take this trial away from me” to “Lord, give me the strength to bear this”, Vicki blessed our hands for the work we are here to do.

We then headed off to the Methodist church in Ruben Darío, the neighboring barrio.  Surrounded by the smiling faces of hundreds of children, we swayed and clapped to their songs.  No interpreter was needed to tell us that they were lifting their voices in praise, there is no language barrier when one's heart is filled with the Spirit.

With so many children to tend to, most of us headed to the Sunday School room to teach our first lesson on the “Armadura de Dios” – the Armor of God, while a few chose to stay in worship and were treated to a lesson on intercessory prayer.   Knowing that no one is immune to the need for prayer intervention, the leader asked one of us to please pray for her before she began.

This afternoon was a day to relax and have fun.  Some chose to wander Leon, others toured a local cemetery, while the rest of us took the children who used to reside at El Ayudante to a local sports complex.  Given the overwhelming poverty which surrounds us, this was an amazing place with an Olympic sized pool and an enclosed artificial turf soccer field.  The entire complex was built by "a Nicaraguan Cajun from Louisiana".  What a treat it was for these children to jump and splash, swim and cannon-ball with adults who were doing the same. 

On the soccer field, no words were necessary as they raced the ball up and down the field. 

Some things are universal - children's love of water and sports among them.  We headed back to our compound refreshed from the water, exhausted from the exertion and hungry for the delicious food that is provided to us daily.

Tomorrow the work begins as we choose our areas of service; schools, medical or construction.  We have a full week ahead of us and we are prepared for the challenge, knowing that flexibility is the name of the game here.

And the Pentecostals are still singing!

Comments

[Ken Cowles]

Trish,

Great job !
Keep them coming!

Ken and Martha

[Dulcinea]

Great job, team!! Looking forward to hearing more. Praying for you all.

Dulcinea

[LISA RENEE FOWLER]

IT IS AN AWESOME JOB DOING GOD'S WORK. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND MAY GOD'S PROTECTIVE HAND CONTINUE TO GUIDE AND DIRECT YOUR PATHS.