Nicaragua 2009: Final Thoughts

Wow, what an incredible journey! It really helped me review what I experienced and process through talking about it. I may post a few more things about the trip here and there but here are my final thoughts.

1. I want to go back. I miss the children and the people....I miss working for the greater good, it was amazing. There is such a great need in Nicaragua and I cannot ignore that (I know there is great need in other places, but I have to focus somewhere). Not to say that I will not go to other countries, but this is where my heart is right now.

2. If you want an experience to help deepen your walk with Jesus I fully recommend going on a missions trip. If you want a relationship with Jesus let me know, I can help you there....or go serve as a translator (it worked for Miller).

3. I love the church we attend! I love the leadership, I love the people, I love the ones that took this journey with me and became my great friends through the shared experience.

4. There are faces and experiences that I hope will never fade from my mind, both good and bad. I want to look back and remember these people and experiences, I want these memories to help to shape my future and temper my actions.

5. If you have the desire, I want you to experience what I have experienced.

6. If they have the desire, I want my family to experience what I have experienced.

7. I want to walk more like Jesus walked, I want my love for people to drive my passion.

We are already planning our next trip, it should be around spring break the first week in April. If you would like to get involved let me know. There are many, many, many ways to help out.

1. You can go.

2. You can pray for us. Pray for health, for protection, for finances, for time off from work, etc....

3. You can donate items that are very useful:

• Beanie Babies
• Hair ties
• Plastic cups and bowls (not the disposable kind)
  
• Clothes for the Children
• Bracelets
• Crayons (I cannot tell you how many children lined up to receive ONE crayon)
  
• Anything small (and relatively light) that can be easily packed and carried in luggage

4. You can support us financially

Any support or help is so very much appreciated, if you have items or want to donate please send me an email at hikingwithcroc@gmail.com, leave a comment, or send me a message on Facebook and I will email you the address.

Dios te Bendiga,

Chris

Nicaragua 2009: Video #2

Ok here is the long video of the entire trip, there are pictures (and some video) from the trip. You can also view on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z386W-2ngSA.

Nicaragua 2009: Carried on Eagles Wings

The following are some of the people that are part of the ministry down there in Nicaragua, I did not have pictures of everyone so I posted who I had. On Monday I will continue posting stories from the team members, Josh's story is up next.

Billy

A worker from the farm and Oscar

Miller and Kelli

Edipcia

Beverly

Pedrona

Margarita and Milena

Michael and his mother

Nicaragua 2009: Chris' Story

I asked the team members to submit stories that were particularly touching to them during the trip for inclusion as a guest post, so I thought that I should also do one myself. The following is a portion of my story:

I decided to go on this mission trip because I felt God's calling to do so. What do I mean by "calling"? The meaning of the phrase "God's calling" has always been one of those things that is slightly elusive to me. What does God's calling look like? What does it feel like? I don't know the specific answers to these questions in the context of each person's individual life, but what I do know is what it looked like in my life. I also know that when God calls you to something, He often makes it clear and evident....we just have to listen.

When our church announced the mission trip to Nicaragua, like many times before, I felt God calling me to go. However, like the many times before I largely ignored the calling. I have a pregnant wife, two small children, animals to look after, a farm. I did not have time to go on a mission trip. If God had allowed me to stay in that place I would have missed out on so much. But of course He did not....about 4am one morning my wife wakes up, wakes me up and says "God says go to Nicaragua, He wants to meet you there".
See what I am telling you? He was quite clear.

I feel like I have been woken from my sleep, I feel that God has opened my eyes and I thank Him for that. The experience that I had in Nicaragua, as I have stated previously, is indescribable. I loved the work, I loved the children (we fed more than 500 children during our time there), I loved the people (I cannot count the number of people we came in contact with), I loved the country.

Several things struck me while I was in Nicaragua:

The Children
The children touched my heart. My favorite part of the trip by far was feeding, playing, and talking with the children. Carried on Eagles Wings Ministry (along with many others) is providing these children with the sustenance necessary to help keep them from falling into malnutrition. God filled my cup to overflowing with these experiences and just when I felt my heart could take no more God gave me a bigger cup and filled it up again.

One child that impacted me more than any other was 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 minutes and made a real effort to understand me through my broken Spanish.

The People
The people of Nicaragua on the whole have very few material possessions, the typical house we entered had lots of chairs, a table, and pictures on the wall. There were televisions in many homes but all in all they had very few possessions, and they did not seem to mind. They were not held down or imprisoned by their possessions. They were open, inviting, hospitable, and very giving. We were given fruit, places to sit, dinner...all by a people that have very little compared to Americans. One family served us all (18-19 extra people!) a chicken dinner, even though they probably only ate chicken themselves once a month. I was blown away by their, and others', generosity.

The people are also very hungry for the word of God. There were several instances when we were giving out Spanish New Testaments that others saw what we were doing and came running to receive what were were giving. They wanted the Living Water. It reminded me of the story of the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus:

John 4:7-14 (New King James Version)

⁷ A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” ⁸ For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. ⁹ Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual warfare is real and prevalent, there were several events that strengthened this realization before, during, and after our trip to Nicaragua. We saw events that showed us the reality of the enemy and his diversions and distractions while people are hearing the word and while people are following and doing the will of Jesus. We often explain these events away as coincidence, but when you put them together in context you see the warefare of the enemy.

Worship
Worship is different and amazing in Nicaragua. Praise and worship went on for about an hour to an hour and a half before the pastor even began to teach. We danced and sang uninhibited by the garbage smell wafting in from the street, the intense heat, or the social restraints that may affect us in the States. It was pure, it was true, it was beautiful.


If He is willing, this is simply the beginning of my story...

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