Nicaragua 2009: Yo Estoy Libre (I am Free)

One day in Nicaragua, while at feeding program, the Lord led us to a house nearby where we visited with a local woman. The first thing that struck me was how hospitable she was, she set out chairs for us and made certain that the chairs were set in the shade and remained in the shade throughout our visit.

We began a cordial conversation about Christ and what He has done for us, she too expressed her faith in Christ. However, throughout our conversation with her we began to understand that she was in bondage to a works theology. She believed that her salvation came from Jesus plus her good works and that without her good works she would lose her salvation.

We agreed that our works show the fruit of our faith in Jesus, but insisted that our works are not required for our salvation. We are free from the bondage of works because Jesus death on the Cross was a gift. We have freedom in Christ Jesus, and we invited her to also experience that freedom.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (New King James)

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

We talked at great length with the woman about her salvation, her works, and her security. She knew and trusted the Bible as the word of God but continued to return to her works mentality. She was obviously thinking about James:

James 2:14-18 (New King James)

14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

This is potentially another theological debate in itself, but James was referring to our living faith not our saving faith. He was referring to the fruit, the outward evidence of our faith in Jesus. We continued our conversation showing evidence from the Bible that we have no hope of working our way to heaven. We cannot elevate our position by ourselves, it is elevated by Jesus through His Death on the Cross and our faith in Him.

Galatians 2:16 (New King James)

16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

We followed the conversation to it's logical conclusion and decided to say goodbye, with seemingly no change in the woman's thoughts. Billy (Carried on Eagles Wings Ministry) expressed that before we left he wanted to leave her with one more word, and that the word of God will not return void. He then simply quoted John 3:16 and started praying. During the prayer she began to cry and afterward gave each of us a hug. As we walked away back to the feeding program she leaned out the window of her home with tears streaming down her face and yelled, "Yo estoy libre!" (I am free!).

She got it, it clicked! God's word did not return void, she was free from the bondage of a works theology. God does not want to put us under this type of bondage, our works are like filthy rags to Him. We can never work our way to heaven, the debt is too great. That is why He sent His son Jesus, to cover the debt that we cannot pay. God wants us to be free.

My Offering

Third Day: Offering

Magnificent, Holy Father
I stand in awe of all I see
Of all the things You have created
But still You choose to think of me

Who am I that You should suffer
Your very life to set me free
The only thing that I can give You
Is the life You gave to me

This is my offering, dear Lord
This is my offering to You, God
And I will give You my life
For it’s all I have to give
Because You gave Your life for me

I stand before You at this altar
So many have given You more
I may not have much I can offer
Yet what I have is truly Yours

This is my offering, dear Lord
This is my offering to You, God
Well I will give You my life
For it’s all I have to give
Because You gave Your life for me

This is my offering

This is my offering, dear Lord
This is my offering to You, God
And I will give You my life
For it’s all I have to give
Because You gave Your life for me

This is my offering, dear Lord

This is my offering to You, God

And I will give you my life

For it's all I have to give

Because you gave your life for me

Because you gave your life for me

Nicaragua 2009: Kelli's Story

I asked the team members to submit stories that were particularly touching to them during the trip for inclusion as a guest post. Yesterday we had a wonderful post from Cheryl, today I would like to tell Kelli's story. As I mentioned before Kelli's heart is bigger than a house. Kelli loves children and it is obvious by her actions, she would rather feed and care for children than sleep. The following is Kelli's story:

Kelli has such a heart for missions, her biggest desire is to win people to Christ. "I came on the trip because I have a heart for missions. I want to help win people to Christ faster so that Christ will come back sooner. The Bible says that He will not come back until the last person accepts Him."

Matthew 24:14 (New King James)

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Kelli says she would like to return because of the children, children have no choice where they live or what conditions they live in. "They go where their parents go or where their parents left them. It makes me sick to my stomach that my kids have a choice of WHAT to eat and not only a choice TO eat or NOT TO eat. They get to make that decision where the only decision those kids can make is to eat or not. They get what the get and don't pitch a fit!"

"God taught me--and still is teaching me, because I am hard headed--that just because I have problems and hard times there is always someone less fortunate than I am. I need to be more thankful for what I do have instead of focusing on what I don't have. He taught me that He knows what is going on and He has it under control. I realize that I don't have all the answers and can't fix everything on my own."

Kelli loves to dance, we see this in church, at cookouts, anywhere and everywhere. Just like me, Kelli is rhythmically challenged (not the best dancer in the world), but where I am sometimes embarrassed to "show my moves" Kelli dances whenever possible. I asked Kelli to tell me why she dances. "Dancing is a way for me to let it all out. I just can't sit still while worshiping the One True God. It is a way to show and tell God how much I love Him and worship Him. Dancing is just a preview of Heaven! I feel closer to God when I dance and act like a fool because it shows Him that I really don't care what others think about me when I am worshiping Him."

Kelli used every opportunity to draw closer to the children in Nicaragua, at one feeding program she went running around the property with the children asking them "what is this?". The children would point and respond with the correct word in Spanish, Kelli would repeat the word and then respond back with the English word. Kelli told me that there was not just one child that touched her heart...they all touched her heart, "I can literally remember almost all the faces that I fed or hugged" (see I told you her heart was big as a house).


Kelli was invited to play soccer with one group of children, a sport she has never played prior to this game. She was touched by this because soccer is a very special game in Nicaragua and the children were never disappointed when she messed up, they were just happy to have her in the game. Kelli also told me "I had a dream that I sang on stage in front of people and that dream came true at one of the feeding stations where we all sang Jesus loves me and at the church service when we sang Amazing Love".

Thank you Kelli for teaching me "how" to dance, for your heart, and for your willingness to share these stories.

I hope everyone is enjoying hearing about our trip. I know I am enjoying sharing what we experienced in Nicaragua and I am really enjoying the opportunity to read about the experience from the team's point of view. We will be back on Monday, have a great weekend.

Nicaragua 2009: Cheryl's Story

I asked the team members to submit stories that were particularly touching to them during the trip for inclusion as a guest post. Today I would like to tell Cheryl's story in her own words. As I mentioned before Cheryl has such a big heart. During our time in Nicaragua Cheryl never missed an opportunity to hug a child or hand out a meal. Cheryl echoed what I think the entire team feels "I have tons of stories", the more we think about the experience the more we remember. The following is a portion of Cheryl's story and two experiences that stood out to Cheryl:

"In my heart I have a strong desire and calling for Missions. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go to Nicaragua due to work obligations. The team was leaving on the 31st, which is a very critical time in my line of work. I began to pray and ask God to make a way so that I could be a part of this trip even if it meant traveling by myself. I knew I could have my work completed and prepare to leave on the 2nd of August...when I began to check flights, the price was more than doubled by my leaving two days later. I searched and searched multiple airlines, travel companys and various airports...all extremely out of our family budgeted allowance. I began to pray and plead with God, 'If I am to go, please find an airline ticket we can afford' the very next click, I found an airline ticket leaving from Washington and only $60 more than the team's. Praise God! I was going to Nicaragua."

"God revealed so much to me during my time in Nicaragua, I was reminded to love one another just as Jesus did, to give thanks and to trust... I witnessed countless times, where we would pray for a specific person or where God would lead us and He would speak to us in ways I've never experienced. Indescribable! God is working in a mighty way in Nicaragua, they are truly experiencing a revival widespread! I consider myself blessed and privileged to have been a part of this experience, even if for only one week...it's a week I will never forget and will always cherish."

"The Nicaraguan children, my heart is with each child I came in contact with. I loved each and every one of them! I have made a personal commitment to pray for these children and their parents daily. I pray that people will be called out to join us in future trips so they too can be a part of this life changing opportunity."

"I'm prepared to return and praying God will allow me to have the time off from work and the finances to make it possible to go back."

"We were at a feeding program, I sat down beside this little boy and began to talk to him. I was asking how old he was, did he live nearby and so on. He told me he had walked a long way carrying his chair, the chair we were seated in. This sweet little boy offered to walk back to his house to get another chair and I could take his. Through the help of our translator Miller, I said I would happy to share and sit with him if that was okay. I began to think how selfless this little boy was to give his chair to me. A child that had walked a few miles for possibly the only meal he'd have that day. This day, mi amigo, reminded me we are to be selfless and always willing to give and help others. What an amazing little boy!"

"We were at another feeding program. I had been out evangelizing with some of the other team members so I didn't get to participate with the food preparation. When I returned to the feeding program, the team had already begun serving the kids. I noticed this little girl not eating so I sat down beside her and began to talk to her. I asked how old she was, if she had any brother's or sister's, then I asked had she already eaten. Through the help of a translator, I learned her family only had one bowl so she was waiting for her younger brother to finish eating, they had to share a bowl. My heart ached, some many things we waste and take for granted. My two children often fight over the last *whatever* it might be but here was this little girl allowing her younger brother to eat before herself. Through this experience, I have decided to begin purchasing bowls, cups and spoons to take on my future visits to hopefully give each child their very own bowl to eat from."

Thank you Cheryl for your heart and your willingness to share these stories.

Nicaragua 2009: The Children

Each packet of food makes 6 meals

The largest component of this trip by far was the feeding programs, we fed more than 500 children over the course of the week. In fact the focus of the ministry that we assisted this week is on feeding programs. The ministry is committed to feed more than 5000 children a day (Monday through Friday). This is accomplished by partnering with the village churches, the ministry provides the specially formulated meals and the churches run their respective feeding programs. The meals are formulated to provide each child with the vitamins and minerals that they need , even if they do not get another meal that day (many of them may not get any other meals than those provided by the ministry on a given day).

The children are a very strange mix of street wise and emotionally innocent, they will absolutely touch your heart and ask for your hat and glasses. We all loved the children, we loved caring and feeding them. The Nicaraguan Children have very little yet they are very happy and content, a stark contrast to many children in America. They are not in bondage to their possessions, they do not worry about their things. They do not sit inside all day and play their Nintendo DS, they play soccer or stickball or just run around and have fun. They were amazed that we would travel so far to see them, feed them, and talk with them. I think each one of us was captivated by the children throughout the week…my attention was especially captivated by Maribel. Maribel was a little girl we met at a feeding program on Tuesday. She stood there and talked with me for about 25 to 30 mins and made a real effort to understand me through my broken Spanish.

What I understood from Maribel was that she was nine years old, her little brother was at the feeding program also (I got to meet him) and that she had walked there with her brother from her house a good distance away. Maribel was fascinated by the pictures of my children and wanted to know everything about them, their names, their ages, and why they had la gafas grande (big glasses) on. She was just so sweet, I was immediately drawn to her.

She like the other children was amazed at Morgan’s amarillo (blond) hair.

Cheryl was enamored by a little boy who had carried his seat all the way from his house, then asked Cheryl if she wanted him to go get her one. She asked if it was ok that they shared his. Tomorrow I will have a guest blog from Cheryl telling, in her words, about this little boy.

Chelsea was "attacked" by the children, they loved her and all wanted to hug her at the same time.

John enjoyed teaching the children to play the guitar, the children enjoyed it even more.

This little girl latched onto Jason and would not let him leave. Jason gladly obliged.

It strikes me that the focus of this ministry was also an integral part of Jesus ministry while here on the earth. We have so many examples of Jesus feeding people, and of Jesus caring for children. He had such a great love for children. Over the next few weeks I hope to bring more stories about the children from the other team members.

P.S. On another note -- Happy Birthday Sis!

Nicaragua 2009: The Team

Left to Right
Top Row: David, John, Kim, Chelsea, Jason, Cheryl, Kelli
Bottom Row: Josh, Chris (Addie got in to show how cute she is)

We had an outstanding team in Nicaragua, we meshed really well and had an amazing time of prayer, fellowship, praising God, tears, friendship, and laughter. I really enjoy laughing and we did plenty of it. I was blown away by the team. As Kim said, I really didn't know everyone very well when we left but came back with 8 really great friends.

Church Leadership
Let me talk about our church leadership. Josh our head pastor and John our associate pastor both came on this trip. Talk about leading by example, these two guys didn't tell us we should go they went and asked who wanted to come along. Josh has a wife and three children, he has such a love for people and a real gift for telling people about Jesus. John has a wife, three children, and his wife is 8 months pregnant. I could talk about John for hours, he is a tough guy with a golden heart. One event on the trip showed me more of John's character than the previous 18 months I have known him.

Teens
Chelsea and David were our teenagers on this trip. To be so young and have already experienced something like this is awesome, and to top that I never once heard either of them complain about the food or the lack of sleep or the hard work. They went sold out to the mission and I am sure reaped the benefits of complete devotion. Chelsea was called upon to talk the first day we were there at a woman's conference and did a terrific job, both were called upon to give their testimony several times throughout the week. I pray that the experience deepened their relationship with Jesus and continues to mature them into the man and woman that God desires them to be.

The Team
Cheryl, Jason, Kim, Kelli.
Jason was someone I really did not know very well before the trip, but I really enjoyed getting to know him. Jason has a big heart for God and I was amazed at his love for the children and the children's love towards him. Cheryl is one of my wife's best friends, her son and our daughter are great friends. Cheryl has such a big heart, I saw this when we went into the dump (la Chureca) in Managua...Cheryl was unable to go in because of her asthma but I could see in her eyes it was killing her not to go. Cheryl never missed a chance to hug a child or hand out a meal. Kim was a unknown to me before the trip, but I saw enough of her heart and personality on this trip to know that I really like her. Kim spent a large portion of her time at the feeding programs feeding the children, dressing wounds, or giving hugs and comfort. Since she is a registered nurse, Kim was the only one able to go into the burn unit at the hospital. Kelli--what can I say about my friend Kelli? Kelli's heart is bigger than a house. Kelli loves children and it is obvious by her actions, she would rather feed and care for children than sleep.

I could go on about each person on the trip, every one of these people amazed and astounded me with their love and giving spirits. I don't think many of us knew what to expect, we just went down there with an idea that we were going to serve children and follow Jesus. We came back so blessed and humbled by such an amazing experience. Over the next few days I am going to try and explain what I saw, felt, and experienced, but I have to ask a rhetorical question: How do you put into words an indescribable event? I am proud to have served along side each and every one of my friends.

Nicaragua 2009

Hola! I am back from Nicaragua. I was down there for 7 days on a mission trip with my church, and for the next few days I would like to break from the normal and talk a little about the trip. It is a way for me to process and share a little of what I experienced and learned while serving and caring for the people of Nicaragua.

I attend New Life Community Church and we went down to Nicaragua to assist Carried on Eagles Wings ministry. What we saw and did there changed my life. Nicaragua is a wonderful country full of people who are hungry for the Word of God. I would first like to thank those who supported me in prayer and financially, your support was beyond what I could have wished for and way beyond what I deserved, I thank you. Secondly, I would like to invite each one of you to travel on missions either here in the States or abroad...God will change your life through the mission, I promise you.

The following is an outline of our schedule while we were in Nicaragua:

Saturday, August 1
- Feeding Program
- Woman's Conference

Sunday, August 2
- Church Service at a la Rosa de Saron Iglesia
- Lunch with the Pastor
- Church Service at Villa Austria Estrella de Belen

Monday, August 3
- Salinas Grandes Feeding Program
- Youth Church Service at a la Rosa de Saron

Tuesday, August 4
- Visit the Hospital in Leon
- Feeding Program
- Visit a local high school, Modesto Armijo

Wednesday, August 5
- Visit the City Dump in Managua (la Chureca)
- Visit Masaya

Thursday, August 6
- Feeding Program at la Union
- Feeding Program at Quezaluaque


It was a life changing experience. Our lives have a story to tell and life changing experiences are part of "Our Story". There are experiences we love and those we don't. I want to mature and strengthen through the difficult times and celebrate and delight in the pleasing ones.

I will blog more specifically about my experience in the upcoming days, but the conclusion that I have come to is my heart is with the people of Nicaragua and I want to go back. I want to go back as often as finances and vacation will let me, I am praying that God will provide. If you would like to pray for me, please pray that God will provide the time off from work and the finances to allow me to continue.

Thank you so much, Dios te Bendiga.
-Chris