BPW_0615
Annie and the Partnerships Team are committed to facilitating the best mission trip experience for all who come to serve with us. They facilitate the life-changing connections with local families that we serve, and they make Chinandega feel like home away from home.

Blessed to Bless

Saint Francis de Sales once said, “There is nothing small in the service of God.”

In the midst civil unrest, travel restrictions, and COVID-19, I remember several years ago wondering what Amigos would do without back-to-back mission trips from the United States. I began to internally panic, thinking, “We won’t be able to do anything.” One day, the Partnerships Team was sitting together in a room talking about this when someone mentioned, “We could invite Nicaraguan communities and churches to work with us…” We looked at one another, wide-eyed. Why hadn’t we thought of this before?

In 2018, Amigos for Christ hosted its first local, Nicaraguan mission trip group from a Plan 7 community that had already turned on their new clean water system. It was an amazing experience for everyone involved. We continued hosting groups from Plan 7 communities for a while, but we kept thinking, “We can expand on this.”

In 2020, I sat down with my colleagues Manuel Chávez and Leydin Nieto, and we began talking about inviting local churches to work with us. Amigos has hosted many churches from the United States, so why couldn’t we invite Nicaraguan churches to come alongside us as well?

BPW_0394

There is a quote by Fr. Richard Rohr that embodies this idea perfectly: “There is a part of you that is Love itself, and that is what we must fall into. It is already there. Once you move your identity to that level of deep inner contentment, you will realize you are drawing upon a Life that is much larger than your own and from a deeper abundance.”

 

 

 

Manuel and Leydin visited church after church, inviting them to join us in serving our neighbors. Over the last few years, many new churches have come to work with us, and the way I view service has really begun to shift.

'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
Mark 12:30-31

Our lives are not about us. Even though sometimes, if we are honest, we think the world revolves around us. But it really doesn’t. I believe that the greatest things we can do in life are love God and love one another, just like Jesus did. A deep, sacrificial love. That sacrificial love is being shown every day here in Nicaragua.

It has been truly inspirational to work with Nicaraguan groups, doing the same things that we have traditionally done with North American groups. Things like hiking Cerro Negro, doing devotionals, digging trenches, visiting the city of Chinandega. This sort of movement has created a sense of unity among us, among the children of God. It’s a unity that transcends race or nationality, and it’s been a privilege to see.

Can you imagine if all of humanity worked to love and serve their fellow humans? I used to think this was impossible, but now I don’t. It really is possible. I have seen it first-hand. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, where you are from, the color of your skin, or the language that you speak. We can all serve one another in love – the love that every human being has inside of them because we are all made in the image of the One who is perfect love.

I cannot imagine how proud God is watching us love each other deeply and selflessly. I am so proud of the Partnerships Team, every member: Manuel, Leydin, Jaime, Ruth, Carlos, Keven, Wilbert, and Kenneth. Local mission groups have become a way to serve God because of those 8 people working hard to show Christ’s love.

I am thankful for all the local groups, communities, and churches, who have partnered with us. What a gift.

I am thankful for the groups from the United States who paved the way for Amigos to invite more into this story of transformation. They set the example for how we serve.

We are blessed to bless.

My colleague Jaime always says, “We are blessed to bless.” That is a powerful truth. What a blessing it is to be part of such an amazing movement of love and service.

Partner With Us!

There are many ways to support our mission.

Share this story

Related Posts

1 Manzana Project
Ivette Rivera

Leading the Way

On a small farm surrounded by vast sugar cane fields, William Matamoros continued to lead the charge of bringing transformation to the community of El

Read More »
Amigos Academy
Paola Montalvo

Dreams of Excellence

When we first met Jimmy, he was a young student in a small makeshift primary school in the rural community of La Chuscada. Living just down

Read More »
Leadership
Danny Duggan

Abundant Generosity

The first goal of our community development model Plan 7 pertains to leadership: that in every community we partner with, local leaders are the owners

Read More »
Life Transformation
Ivette Rivera

The story of Mayocunda

Working JUNTOS The community of Mayocunda has always struggled for access to water. They collaborated with another organization six years ago to build a water

Read More »
Amigos Team
Paola Montalvo

The Proper time

It’s the summer of 2017, and my time as an intern for Amigos for Christ is hurtling to a close. These final days are bittersweet,

Read More »
Christ More Visible
Guest Author

Retirement

Written by Susan Frego, Summer 2023 Intern At this point we begin to wonder, “what’s next?”Presumably, retirement is a time when we have a little money

Read More »