It has been a little while now since I returned from my 9-week mission trip in Nicaragua, and I am unsettled.
My old life doesn’t seem to fit anymore…
Sure – I am happy for flushing toilets, air conditioning, ant-free bedrooms, and warm showers – but somehow, knowing there are so many people living in rural Nicaragua without these things that we in the states consider “normal”, hurts a little.
Maybe more than a little – maybe a lot…
2024 marks the 25th anniversary of Amigos for Christ as an organization, and as part of their celebration, they are focusing on stories of transformation. Why not?! They’ve already transformed the lives of so many.
And I suppose “TRANSFORMATION” is the word that best fits when I think of the crowd dancing under the water flowing from the tank as it was finally turned on in the village of La Conception. It was at their water celebration when the sight of an older woman, standing in her skirt and blouse under the water, laughing while she held both of her granddaughter’s cheeks in her hands, caught my eyes. She was laughing because she KNEW that her granddaughter’s life was going to be so different from her own; so much freer because she wouldn’t have to spend hours lugging water from the community well or the river just to wash clothes, bathe or cook…the old woman laughed, because transformation had begun.
And then there was Milton, the 7-year old boy in Los Balcones – who had to stop going to school because helping with the family chores took so much of each day. I thought about the trenches he and I had worked together to dig in his community, and I wondered whether running water would enable him to return to school. I hoped so.
And I thought about Dona May – the single woman who had inherited a large plot of land in the community of San Benito, and the acres we’d worked with her to till, plant, and irrigate. What started with water now has May dreaming of (and taking actions toward) a better life for herself and her family…
Yes, Amigos for Christ has been transforming Nicaragua one Community at a time…but TRANSFORMATION wasn’t limited to the people in the communities. No – not by a long shot.
Each week, Monday began with the missionaries who’d arrived thinking that they’d come to Nicaragua to “help others” (and certainly, they did!) However, after spending a week digging alongside people who welcomed them with open arms, people who were gracious, and loving, giving, and kind, people who seemingly knew what it meant to “love like Jesus,” it was often unclear at the end of the week, who was really helping who.
Before I retired, I worked as an executive for one of the Big Three automakers. Much of my time was spent putting “brilliant” programs and processes in place, only to have those same things later dismantled and replaced by someone else trying to make their own mark.
In John 10:10 Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
When I first came to Nicaragua 4 years ago, I did so because I wanted to live a life of purpose. I wanted to know that I was making a difference. I wanted to feel like what I was doing mattered… Nicaragua did not disappoint. My life today is so much richer, my heart so much fuller, my smile so much bigger – I know what Jesus meant.
My friend and humble Amigos employee Jaime Perez says, “We are blessed to bless.” That feels right. That’s what living “life to the full” means.
When Jesus called His disciples, he uttered two little words, “Follow me.” Perhaps you’ve heard His invitation. Maybe it’s come in the form of an announcement from your church indicating that they are planning a trip to Nicaragua this Fall or next Spring. Maybe a friend has asked you to join them, or maybe, just maybe – His invitation is in the form of a blog post which reminds you that a transformed life – a life worth living – is yours if you will only say “yes” to the call, “Follow me”.
Say "yes" to transformation.
Join a mission trip to Nicaragua and experience the fullness of life Jesus promises. Will you follow the call?
