Last spring Abby from Virginia came to stay with us for a month. God revealed many things to her in the month she spent in Nicaragua. Abby came with one expectation and God had something very different.
 |
| Abby sharing with a group of children. |
"When I think about my time
in Nicaragua, I think about joy. It’s
hard to relay the feelings that I have when I’m there, but when I am there I
feel God’s joy. There is a profound joy
that comes with serving because the Holy Spirit is in you using you to bring
glory to God. When I’m in Nicaragua,
everything stops. My worries go away; my distractions are gone; my mind stops
spinning a hundred different directions; and I stop thinking about myself. There is nothing that is keeping me from
focusing on God and serving him. The
presence of the Holy Spirit is there and I feel it every time I’m there. I can’t help but to smile as I’m writing this
because Nicaragua has a big place in my heart.
When I’m there, I am happy.
 | | | |
| Abby and her team praying for a single woman with 5 daughters. |
|
|
I have been to Nicaragua three
different times, and each time I have learned something new. The first time I went there I was at a low point
in my life. I like to be in control and
everything in my life that I was in control of fell apart. I needed God more than I wanted to admit to
him because I was selfish and prideful.
The first trip I went on to Nicaragua changed my life. I was taken back by the poverty, filth,
starvation, and living conditions. But
amongst all of that, the Nicaragua people I met were so loving and happy. They didn’t care about the silly
materialistic stuff that our world is so caught up in, which I was caught up in
and am still trying not to be caught up in.
I realized how truly blessed I am to have so much. The Nicaraguan people didn’t care about my
clothes, what kind of car I drove, or if I was going to a Division 1 school on
a scholarship for soccer; they loved me for me.
God showed me that he loves me for me and that my identity is in him,
not my soccer ability. God called us to
love one another just as he has loved us, so the true importance in life is
relationships and bringing glory to God through that.
 |
| Honoring God by loving His children. |
As I mentioned earlier, the first
trip I went on changed my life. I grew
so much closer in my relationship with the Lord, I became more confident in my
identity in Christ, and I realized the importance of relationships and loving
other people. I needed to learn this and
I’m so glad I did because I had another hard year. When I had another opportunity to go to
Nicaragua, I was the first person to sign up. I was so excited to go back and serve. On my second trip I was still shocked at the
poverty, but I expected it. On this trip
God kind of called me out. I just felt
in my heart that he was asking me why I am so easily able to love the people in
Nicaragua that I have never met before, but I can’t love my little sister. It was kind of a wake up call for me that I
really needed to work on that relationship with her and make that a priority.
 |
| A visit to Verbo Iglesia in Rio Blanco, Nicaragua |
The third time I went to Nicaragua
it was a little different. I went for
almost a month instead of a week and I stayed with Katie and her family. This trip was different because I came by
myself so it wasn’t as much physical work.
I helped out where I could and was able to really listen
and try to see what God wanted to teach me.
On my trip I had an encounter with a profit that shared with me what God
was putting on his heart. He said that I
am an ear of corn that is perfect in color, the right size, a good shape, super
healthy, and without a lot of damage. He
said that I was ready to be eaten and used by God. He told me that God had been
removing the husks in my life, but that there was one more that I needed to let
go of for God to truly use me. It was a
crazy, awesome experience and I was emotional.
I went off by myself after he told me that and just prayed and asked God
what he wanted me to let go of. He put
on my heart that I needed to give up my strength. I hate being weak and I don’t cry in front of
other people. It has to do with my past
and that I never had good friends that were there for me. I was always taking care of everyone else, so
no one ever took care of me. Over the
years I just faced things alone and didn’t let anyone in because I didn’t trust
them. I just finished my first year of
college, and God blessed me with great Christian friends. Around the end of my first year, one of my
friends that I grew up with committed suicide.
I was torn up about it and very upset, but I didn’t let anyone in. I faced it by myself and hid it from the
outside. That struggle really hurt me
and I needed someone to be there for me, but I couldn’t open up and let someone
take care of me even though I know that my friends now would have done it in a
heart beat. God needed me to let go of
my strength so that I can be used by him.
He taught me how important relationships are, but my relationships can
only go so far if I am not vulnerable and won’t let people in. Relationships are a two way street, so I need
to allow myself to be weak and share when God wants me to. I am still in the process of opening up and
just allowing myself to be weak so that Christ can make me strong. It’s a difficult process and it will take
time, but I am looking forward to the future and how God wants to use me.
 |
| Abby, Katie, Maggie and Josh |
Going to Nicaragua changed my life
and I can’t express it enough. I was
able to learn and grow so much on each of my trips there, and I have
changed. When we take time away from
ourselves and we go out of our comfort zones, God reveals himself to us in
different ways. When we search and listen,
he’s there waiting and ready to show us new things. That’s one of the coolest parts of taking
time and focusing on God. When we get
rid of our distractions and focus our day on him, he fills us with joy and shares
new things with us. God’s plans for my
future are unclear at the moment, but I am here waiting and ready for him to
reveal them to me. One thing I know is
that I love Nicaragua and that I will be back sometime. When he tells me to go, I will go. I know that I am only at this point in my life
because of what God showed me and taught me when I went to Nicaragua. I am forever grateful for the opportunities I
had to go, and hopefully more opportunities to go in the future. My life is forever changed, and I owe it all
to Jesus."
 |
| A friend Natalie, Dwight, Katie, William, Maggie and Abby |
