Blog 5 (11/10/22)

Written by: Meg Locker

This has been the phrase of the week. It was played during worship before one of our micro church visits and then on repeat the rest of the week. It was sung by our Manchester team, the Nicaragua team or through one of our phones.

The Goodness of God filled the week.

When on mission trips, all days are busy but Thursday was especially full. This is my 6th mission trip and I find around this time of the week, most of us are emotionally spent. From the time we woke up, until we went to sleep, we were awake and active for over 18 hours.

The vista at the top of the early morning hike.

Angel asked us to be awake at 4:30 to hike a mountain. We very reluctantly agreed. The hike was difficult, steep, slippery and we were so tired. At the top, a beautiful view of Granada awaited us for miles and we saw all of God’s creations. We sang songs of praise and enjoyed a moment of peace as we felt the goodness of God on that peak.

Two hours later we returned to the REAP Granada camp and we had a short time before we had to continue with our day. Our team, mixed with a group of world racers on a 9 month mission trip and a young man from Florida (Ryan) set out at 8:30am to prayer walk with Jesse. Jesse is a wonderful God fearing man. He came to know the Lord and was able to overcome a 30 year crack addiction. He now spends his days serving his community and God. Jesse is a very prompt man. At 8:29 on the dot, we filled the back of his pickup truck and we were ready to go.

One thing about me is I like to know the details and stick to the details. Despite being in the truck and ready to go, our in-country leader asked us to please stay back as we needed at least 4 people to go to another location that morning. I stepped out of the back of that truck on the verge of tears. I just wanted to know the details, I wanted to have control at that moment.

I ended up on a team with Julie, Christine and Collin. Alvaro, Julio & Daniel joined us. Alvaro really wanted us to visit a family that attends his Thursday micro church that is held in his home. Guadalupe and Jose have 5 adult children- Claudia, Jack Noir, Veronica, Jose and Jessica.

Julie spends time with one of our local families.

We began at Jessica’s home, where she lives with her husband, Larry and her children. Jessica has a number of health issues, which is not uncommon here due to a lack of clean water, food, access to health care and the unfortunate necessity to have to walk nearly everywhere.

Among other things, Jessica deals with facial paralysis, headaches, eye twitching, fatty liver and a lack of oxygen to her brain. Larry loves Jessica so well which is not something you see often in this community. A lot of the men here have fallen into addiction or are just not overly affectionate with their wives. Larry stands by Jessica’s side. He supports her when she is unable to support herself. He cries with her, holds her and prays with her. We had the opportunity to pray with them. I couldn't find the words to express my feelings at that moment but I knew that Jessica needed to hear a message I had prepared for the previous day. It was at that moment that I knew I would share that evening at Alvaro’s micro church.

We departed Jessica’s home and we were met by an ice cream man. We all took a moment to stop, enjoy the ice cream and learn more about Daniel who is a single father, on fire for God. He will be going on a mission trip to another part of Nicaragua on the 29th of this month.

We took the short walk to meet Guadalupe, who was walking with her son, Jack Noir and his girlfriend, Stephanie. Stephanie is 18 and 2 months pregnant. Sex education is not taught here. Most young women are unaware of how babies are created until it happens a few times to them or someone in their community. They were walking to the hospital for a check up for Jack Noir who works on very large machines at a textile plant.

Guadalupe has arthritis in her knees and feet but she was so adamant on taking this long walk to the hospital for her son despite the discomfort it may cause her.

Americans are so accustomed to comfort, at least I am. This was so eye opening to realize how selfless Guadalupe is, and how we all ought to be. We were able to offer them a ride to the hospital, but unfortunately they were unable to be seen. He will need to go to a larger hospital at a later date.

Later in the day we got to experience church on the farm for the first time. Over 40 of us circled around and began sharing the good news. This is my first time at “the farm” and when we arrived I was surprised to see over thirty 18 to 21 year olds staying alongside us. Many of them touched our lives and they expressed a similar sentiment during the week.

God placed each and every one of us exactly where we needed to be this day.

Christine was prepared to share her testimony during this church time. Collin, who shares a connection to Christine, positioned himself directly across from her to offer support. It has been heartwarming to see their relationship grow this week. Christine shared and then Scott led us in a short message about the power of sharing our testimonies with each other. We gathered for one final prayer as a unified team: One church, World Race, REAP interns, REAP Nicaragua staff, members of the church and community and members of IBAC. It was beautiful.

My favorite part about mission trips is no matter where we all go, when we return home, we have all shared this experience together. I may never recall all 30 of those teenagers' names, or each person’s name we met in the community but I will remember all of their faces. I will remember their fire for the Lord and the love they shared with us this week.

Our team attending micro church at Alvaro’s home.

Twelve and a half hours after our day started, we set off to Alvaro’s home for church. The small room was packed with people there to worship together.

When we first arrived, Guadalupe & Jessica were not there, but soon enough they arrived with Claudia and Jose senior. My message was on finding hope in God when life is hard. However, we don’t have to go through it alone, and the Bible tells us we are not alone in our hardship.

“There is no reason to fear; you are not alone. God has been there for every tear and every sorrow.” - Psalm 56:8

I could write a thousand more words on the way this specific church service moved me and changed my life forever. We ended church with our team praying for members of the congregation.

Through broken English and broken Spanish, Jose senior and I had a conversation. Jose reminded me so much of my father, from the same exact health concerns to a love for the NFL and the same graying hair. Jose asked for prayer. I was unable to find the words as tears flowed down my face. It was at this moment my husband Collin joined us, hand in hand with Jose and Guadiana and he led us in prayer. The Goodness of God was felt in this moment and every moment for the rest of our 18 hour day.

From wake-up, to hiking, to worship on the mountain, breakfast, prayer walking, lunch, dinner, devotional, laying down to bed and every single thing in between, the goodness of God was there. I thank God for his goodness on Thursday, November 10th, 2022 and every day.

“La Bondad De Dios” (The Goodness of God.)