A Third World Country to Many, BUT...

To me...my world forever.



No word, picture, story, song or label will ever be able to describe the troubled heart I hold in my hands over my second visit to the country of Nicaragua. I say this because each time I tell someone about my experience something different comes to mind about the same story. So, with that being said, I will do my best to stay focused in this post. If I sound a bit all over the place, it is because I am all over the place in my thoughts and actions. I might even look comatose, numb or dazed and confused. Really....I am a dam full of tears for those in homes wrapped in plastic that cry out faithfully to our God, hurt over knowing I am not staying there long enough, laughter over lost luggage, sadness over being homesick for both countries, fear for what happens when night falls and many have no electricity or locks on their homes, love over friendships made amongst the mission team, voices waiting to be heard, families needing a tin roof over their head, homes full of joy over finally having one bed for a family of 4 or more to sleep on together, moms needing milk to feed their newborn babies, prayers for children who need well check-ups, songs being sung without sound checks, hugs that felt like home, churches praying for their barrios to be united together with God, and the beautiful faces of Nicaragua anxiously awaiting to hear why God would place them there... FOR ME to hear...once our eyes are opened we can't pretend we don't know what to do. God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls knows that we know, and holds us responsible to act. Proverbs 24:12 are just droplets of what is ready to burst open into a flood of passionate prayer-filled works of action both here at home in America and for my home in Nicaragua.

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So, now that you know I am here physically, emotionally and spiritually, I AM A MESS, but praise God I am His Mess waiting to be used for His purpose, not my own. "Thank you " is not enough to say to the many supporters, prayers, encouragers and even to the ones who couldn't understand why I would take such a risk, which would be more of a risk to my salvation if I didn't, along the way, but please accept my many many thank yous, for without your love and your fears I would have not been able to live out Romans 10:14-15 for the second time in less than a year... How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!" I am forever indebted to God's People.