1 Thessalonians 2:2-4 “. . . we had the boldness in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who examines our hearts.”
APRIL
MEDICAL TEAM: One of the other missionary gals had a medical team from one of her supporting churches come down April 6-14 to serve in villages in the central part of Nicaragua. I had offered to come up and help and ended up being tapped to be the leader/translator for the Kids ministry team. Well as you can imagine this was WAY OVER my head. God used this trip to stretch, challenge and teach me in unbelievable ways, as I worked alongside our team of 5 working with the kids. (You can go on Facebook to see pictures)
We stayed the week at a pineapple farm and each day travelled 1.5 to 2 hours to different villages where we would set up the clinic, pharmacy, and kids ministry areas and be there for the whole day. God proved that He will always provide the strength you need to keep going even on an exhausting schedule. Once the week was over I crashed but during it God gave exactly the energy I needed ;-)
Going into the trip we had heard that there was opposition being raised in these villages against the med team coming. Local priests threatened anyone who offered space for the medical team to use, and urged the locals not to come to the clinics. Why refuse medical help for their communities?! Well folks this was in reality a power struggle and we know our battle is not against people but against spiritual forces.
So we warred in prayer individually, in our small groups, and with the entire team of 32 people. We saw God provide surprising places to hold clinics and saw Him bring people who needed help in spite of the opposition. God used the week to grow me much in prayer. The clinic helped over 600 patients and the kid’s team served hundreds of children. And 62 people prayed to receive Jesus as Savior.
Our kids ministry team faced a number of different challenges and changing dynamics as we sought to bless the children. Sometimes the challenges were very strong. God used it to teach me to depend utterly on Him moment by moment, and much about His grace to me and His grace through me to others.
COMMUNICATION: In the last few weeks I’ve been learning how easy it is to have miscommunication or cause offense regardless of what language you are using and despite your best intentions. So I’m learning much about having clarifying conversations, of being quick to apologize when I learn I’ve offended, and to appreciate people being honest with me regardless of how their honesty may impact me.
FUTURE: Praying much this week about God’s long term plans for my life. Will you join me in prayer about this?
PRAISES:
- The church in SJDS is in its new building
- For an incredible week of ministry with a medical team
- For all that God is teaching me.
REQUESTS:
- God’s plans for my future
- A car – still need funds before I can purchase
- The bible study with my former tutor
Blessings