Nicaragua!

Hello friends and family! 

 

I apologize as this update is coming later than I would have hoped. It is a bit more difficult because I do not have service but thankfully we have coffee shops for wifi. 

 

Our squad has loved staying in Nicaragua! We are staying with an organization called R.E.A.P. Granada which is an acronym for Restore, Educate, Activate, Perpetuate. 

Fútbol 

 

My friend Ethan and I get to play in a division 2 soccer league every Sunday with a team called, “Amigos De Nicaragua” (Friends of Nicaragua). Although they do not have the best fields, it is some of the most fun I’ve ever had playing soccer. 

 

The very first game, they would not let us “gringos” substitute but we did not understand why. We were later told that it was because they were testing us which is hilarious. I didn’t find it funny in the moment due to 90 degree humid weather, and I had not played soccer in a couple months. I literally felt like I was going to pass out at the end of the game and we only played 60 minutes. A full game of soccer is 90 minutes.

 

At half time, Ethan and I were breathing heavy with hands on our knees and they found it hilarious. I kept saying “Hace calor, yo estoy muy cansado” which means “it’s hot, I am very tired” and they just laughed. They were not very tired at all. We ended up tying 0-0, making it a very tiring game of running back and forth. 

 

The second game, Ethan unfortunately broke his arm so be praying for him as he is recovering. 

 

As I said earlier, the fields are not in the best condition from what I know to be a good field; however, it’s all about perspective. These are probably some of the best fields around, they have goals with nets, lines on the field, and paid refs. I can’t imagine how good all of these players would be if they were to be on a level playing field.

Jail Ministry 

 

Us guys have the opportunity to do jail ministry every Monday. The first day, we had about 5 minutes notice that we were going to preach which is a bit stressful. I had to throw away everything of what I know what a sermon “should” look like and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through me. I don’t know what these prisoners need to hear yet, God does and that’s all that matters. 

 

I was shocked at how receptive they were to the gospel and thought it spoke a lot about their culture. They were super appreciative and thankful for us sharing which was not what I was expecting. Personally, if I was in jail and people came to me preaching about a God that loves, I would probably close them out and ignore it all. I’d be thinking, “these people have no idea what I’ve been through and they don’t know what it’s like to be in jail; what gives them the right to speak to me about it?” 

 

This also made me think about if I had done jail ministry in America. Would they be receptive to the message at all? If I expect them not to be open to it, then what does that say about American culture? What does that say about me making assumptions about others I don’t know? Who am I to assume they would not be receptive at all?

 

By week three they are all singing worship songs all together as we give them bread and coffee. All I can say is this was such an eye opening experience. 

Hospital Ministry 

 

This ministry has also surprised me as to how receptive people are to the gospel. A small group of us are able to walk straight into the hospital and start praying for people who want it. Almost every single person in all of the rooms has wanted prayer. I don’t even speak the same language but I know enough Spanish to ask if I can pray to Jesus Christ for them and they are almost always open to it. 

 

Although hospitals are not my favorite thing, there is something special about praying for people who want/need it even when we don’t speak the same language. 

Prayer Walking

 

Prayer walking never looks the same every time. Whether it be doing street evangelism, helping specific people connected to REAP with little things, or hiking a mountain and praying.

 

One of the interns with REAP, Jacob, took a few of us guys to help someone he had been ministering to the past few months. He took us to meet his friend Renee who wanted to deliver fruit to his aunt who was in the hospital.

 

In the car ride, Renee was quick to share some of his life story with us. His past few years has been full of drugs, suicide attempts, and being abusive towards his wife. 

 

While Renee went into the hospital to deliver the fruit, Jacob went on to tell us how Renee is known in town as he guy who will never change or turn his life around. However, we believe God can completely turn his life around. His wife has set a great example of what it looks like to have forgiveness and give grace. Thankfully, Renee has shown that he is hungry for Jesus and he has even helped us with ministry some days. 

 

Talking further with Renee, he is doing a 9 month Christian rehabilitation program. The rehab center does not only focus on getting rid of addiction as much as solely seeking Jesus Christ. The idea is that as you grow closer to Jesus, ridding yourself of the addiction is more a symptom of giving your life to Jesus. If you guys could be praying for him as he has a wife, two kids, and a third one on the way. He will unfortunately be missing the birth of his third child but, all in hopes that he would completely turn his life around for Jesus. 

Construction

 

In Nicaragua, it is most common to have sticks, tarp, and scrap metal as your home. REAP has employees that lead us in the construction of the houses; even though we don’t speak the same language, they are patient with us. They love working with us because whenever we do construction we always bring Big Cola which is basically a better version of Coca-Cola. This soon became a major way of communication. Whenever we see each other around Granada we shout, “Big Cola!” and wave with a big smile. 

 

We are able to build a new home with brand new metal, nails, wood, and sometimes concrete. They are consistently always teaching me new life skills as well. The house we build is not the most modern looking house to us Americans but to them it is an incredible blessing. 

The Dump

 

The dump is a place a lot of families live. Through collecting plastics and metals, they make their living. Driving in, there is 10 feet of trash for about a quarter mile. Here, we are able to have a mini church service with them with food afterwards and almost all of them come. Whether they come for the food, the message or both, they are all attentive and receptive to it all.

 

They are all incredibly grateful for what they have. They have trash for a living yet, they have the most grateful hearts. 

 

Going into many of these ministries, I have this fear of thinking they will shut me out to what I have to say because I don’t understand what they go through every day. This is not how it is at all. They want to hear and they want to know. 

Microchurch

 

Micro church looks similar to the dump; however, Nicaraguans gather in community nearby for worship, a sermon from one of us, and then they are able to ask questions. 

 

All have been amazing but the last one was special. We decided to do communion but some people had a lot of questions. Some used to be Catholic and others used to be Jehovah Witnesses. We were able to answer all their questions and explain that we are not worthy to have this bread and wine (juice); it is only through Jesus’ body and blood sacrificed on the cross, we are able to have a personal relationship with him. 

Overall, there seems to be a completely different culture here than I’m used to. There is an interesting common understanding that there is s higher power and we are to put our hope in it. Other religions such as Mormonism, Catholicism, and Jehovah Witnesses are all prevalent here as well. At the end of the day, we are hearing a lot of testimonies and stories about people not liking the list of “do’s and don’ts” of religion. I’m forever grateful we are here to explain this is not a religion and God does not long for you to follow a list of rules. He desires a relationship with each and every single one of us. 

 

I can’t thank all of you enough for all your love and support. Leave any comments or questions below and I will get back to you ASAP. I love and miss you all. 

 

– Gabe