Tangible Expressions of the Father’s Love

Hey friends! For the past 4 days I have been in León, a big city about an hour away from our ministry base in Chinandega. My team of 5 and I are all staying in a nice little hostal about a 10 minute walk from the center of town. This place is breathtakingly beautiful. Massive cathedrals, all at least 200 years old, stand majestically apart from the colorful concrete city every few blocks. Sweet old ladies standing over wood burning grills offer you freshly cooked authentic Nicaraguan food with a banana leaf as a plate at almost every street corner. Water, milk and cokes all come ready to drink out of plastic bags. Smoking volcanos rise up above the horizon line just about anywhere you look here. Running water is only guranteed sometimes, but scorpions and tarantulas are a daily sight. This is the 2nd most poor country on this hemisphere, but it is incredibly beautiful. The people, culture, ministry, everything has offered me the experience and adventure of a lifetime, and I have only just begun my journey around the world. This is the most magnificent life has ever been as God transforms me into the man he has called me to be and uses me to be his hands and feet to bring hope, freedom, life, and love to the nations through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

As the team leader, our first day here I came to my team with our daily schedule I had planned out for us to follow. However, I have learned that when you give up your own agenda and expectations for the Lord's, every day offers new and endless ministry opportunities and you don't stick to any kind of schedule you make for yourself or thought that you needed. I personally am passionate about homeless ministry. The chance to spend time with invisible and forgotten young and old men and women is very humbling and satisfying to my soul. Something as small as listening to them, offering a hug or handshake, or something to eat or drink often times does so much for them that we do not even realize. Only God knows the last time someone took the time to listen to what the had to say, the last time they ate something that wasn't eaten by someone else first, the last time they felt physical touch from another human, the last time they truly felt loved. And God had used me to bless the homeless people of León in Jesus' name this week.

One day my friend Beckah and I saw a man in a wheelchair. It was more or less just a plastic lawn chair with wheels. He was missing one leg, and was the epitome of uncleanliness. As we approached him, we saw how he was covered in filth and his stench was almost unbearable. But we knew God was calling us to him in that moment to minister to him. I tried to talk to him, but could not understand a word he was saying. So I asked him if he was thirsty. He put on the biggest smile and started wheeling himself over to a street food cart. We bought him some Nicaraguan food and a coke in a bag and waited for him to finish eating. We asked him if we could pray or him, then laid our hands on him and covered him in prayer as the spirit led us. We were able to be tangible expressions of the love of Jesus. We were able to bless several other people in that same way. God has used myself and everyone in my team to minister to all kinds if people in different ways as well.

You aren't going to meet anyone in Nicaragua who hasn't heard the name of Jesus Christ, but several times a day you will meet someone who is lost, confused, or a slave to legalism. Today I sat down with 2 homeless men. One man lost his family when he was 12 years old to an earthquake. The other had to experience the death of his wife a few years ago. I spoke with that man for a while. Just listening to him, answering any questions he may have had for me. At one point he started to cry. This man I didn't know started weeping as he was talking to me. He said he doesn't suffer from being on the street, but over the death of his wife and the feeling of having no purpose. Instantly The Lord spoke to me for him. He gave me 2 Bible verses to declare over him and his life. The first was Jeremiah 29:11- "for I know the plans I have for you, declares The Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" the other was Psalm 46:10- "Be still and know that I am God" the same moment I got done speaking he lifted his head up, eyes closed, tears rolling down his face. I'm not too sure what it was, but God was speaking truth and life into him in that moment. His promises brought that man back to life and have him hope. It was an incredibly humbling and amazing experience to be used by God to speak to his people. 

Those are just a couple examples of how The Lord has been using my team and I to minister to his people. It has been an amazing and humbling experience so far. Thanks for your support and for reading this blog and I will post again soon!