Mission Trip Day 6

June 15, 2015

 

Morning Devotion

 

Matthew 13:38, John 12:22-26. Matthew 13 in general

 

Matthew 13: 22

I am a seed among the thorns. All too quickly I loose sight of God because of "everything else"

I am both a seed and a farmer. I must die of my kernel to grow and make more seeds. I must take seeds and plant them as God has commanded. It doesn't matter what soil I plant them in, the enemy will always plant weeds. The bible talks about why the seeds may not grow but it never says not to plant them!

 

 Evening Journal
Why set an alarm? A bus drives through everyday at exactly six am, then there are the free range roosters, waves, children, and birds that all decide the minute the sun is up to start making noise. Not that I am complaining. I think it is kind of refreshing. There are so many days back home when I count down the days until the day I don't have to set my alarm. Its kind of like waking up to my kids wanting to do something fun. So much better than an alarm.



Today. Where to start?
We went to the city of Chinidega and did some shopping. My very little Spanish and love for talking has been very interesting here. I ended up talking to the sales lady at the shop we were at. She asked what we were doing in Nicaragua. I told her missions. She asked what exactly did I mean. Well that is the question I have been asking for several days now. I ended up saying that we were just loving on the kids in the village and that today we were bringing rice and beans to a place called "the dump" in the city. Of course, I had to get a translator to translate the dump. We thanked her for her service and gathered our purchases and went to the side walk to regroup. She then brought out key chains for every member of our team and said thank you for doing God's work here. Humbling.
Then we got to facetime our families back home. *Snap says "mom why do you keep facetiming me and asking me so many questions?", *Snot just wanted to hold the phone so her siblings and cousins couldn't see us, and *Crackle didn't even want to say hello. Only my children would do that. I never imagined I would miss them so much. I don't show it much because I am afraid at any moment I will break down in tears and these people around me are prepared for my ugly cry.

Finally we went to the dump. I have been eagerly anticipating this day. Evidently God was also because He really worked on me. {The dump is a makeshift city made of trash in the city's land fill. The people came here after something happened to their village and have lived here salvaging trash for money ever since. The government is even paving roads in the dump now - absolutely crazy, I know} The kids were so dirty. Not like playing in the dirt all day dirty, I mean really dirty. They were wearing whatever clothes they had, it didn't matter if they didn't fit or if they were for the opposite gender, if they had holes all in them. There were flies all over them. Not like a few flies that you swat away, like flies on dead things. They were all over them.

 Immediately after we arrived a mother brought her son out, holding his arm up exposing a wound. I didn't have a nurse shirt on, we weren't on a medical mission, but she came straight to me. It looks like a staph infection to me, but I didn't have the medications to treat children. What could I do? I had a couple of Bactine wipes for the team in case someone got hurt, so I got one out and told the mom to keep it clean. Then another mom with another baby. This one a girl, her name is Brianna. Her mom said she had the same thing except there were wounds all over her face, neck and chest. The translator said there wasn't an English translation for the name of the disease. Her mom also said she was having a cough and fever. Then another one, his name is Alex with the same ailment. I have never felt so helpless. We did the only thing we could, we prayed over him. I think God wanted me to feel that way. I literally bit my cheeks of my mouth
until it hurt to keep from crying at all I was seeing.

 So  I improvised. I danced with the kids and got on the ground to talk to them. It smelled like a port-a-john when you got to the children's level. I loved on them and smiled. Even though a lot of the mothers were glaring at us like we were rude idiots. Then all the moms and lots and lots of babies waited in line for the food portions.
Then we went to where the dump city ended and the land fill kind of began. There was a baby in a makeshift stroller with flies all over him, unattended where the road ended. Then after they noticed we were coming over the babies brother came from the land fill with whatever he had found and took the baby back to where ever they went. Shortly after the mom came by, I only assume she was the mom because she was yelling out to him. She was pregnant. There were several kids out in the land fill barefoot, looking through the trash. I looked down at my feet and saw a broken glass bottle and a string of barbed wire. A team member asked to smile for a picture. I couldn't smile. Then we went to the mall for ice cream. I know, I was thinking the same thing. I couldn't eat ice cream after that.

 
When we got back to the Ranchos for dinner we served our Nica team instead of them serve us. I wish we could have cooked for them too, even though I know it wouldn't have been nearly as good if we had cooked. We had been eating like kings and queens since we got there. Then we washed their feet. It was perfect because if fit right into our teams mission verse. It was truly moving. There I realized our mission wasn't to go out and save Nicaragua. Our mission was to serve and support the Nicaraguan team that was down there doing the work, living it everyday. These beautiful men and women who had been serving, translating, entertaining us all week. I put everything I could into that feet washing; blessing, anointing, praying healing, love. Then they washed our feet. Its like they only know how to serve. After my feet were cleaned I became overwhelmed with the Spirit. I know the people around me probably thought I was crazy or having a big revelation or something; I simply wanted to thank God and glorify Him and the only way I know how to do that is to bow. I wanted to use God's Spirit and power to bless and

heal the land I was laying on.

Afterward we had a party (I know, it was a long day). I saw Marina again. She found me and we had a conversation. It was pretty cool, because I didn't really have to find anyone to translate. I learned her last name is Panera, she has 12 kids and 30 grandkids, and her husband is a pastor. She explained to me that the kids of Nicaragua are poor and need help. She has some sort of illness involving her abdomen and her mom is sick. She said that the next time I came to Nicaragua to come see her. Then she sat on the middle bar of her sons bicycle as he drove back to her village which was 30 minutes away. - Pretty good for my itty bitty Spanish knowledge.