Situation:

      It's 6:20. You and your team
members are supposed to arrive at the church at 6:30 for a worship
service which the pastor had asked you yesterday to help lead.

      It's dark, a little bit foggy, and
raining so hard that you can barely see your hand if you stretch it
out in front of you. The three street lights that are working aren't
doing much to illuminate the streets, but whenever lightning flashes
(about once every 8 seconds), you can tell that the streets seem to
be mostly flooded. The lower level of your house has a drain but it
isn't working, and since your bedroom is on the lower level, you run
the risk of your bedroom being flooded. The thunder is deafening. The
church is several long blocks away. You're not sure if there is even
going to be a service tonight.. maybe it was canceled...

      Oh, did I mention that you're
wearing dress clothes, and have no umbrella because you forgot to
pack it in your suitcase two weeks ago? (I know that makes this next
decision easy for some of you ladies!)

Do you:

     A) stay home

     B) hire a taxi

     C) walk the entire way there without an
umbrella

     If you chose C, well you should
just come join me in Granada! Yes my friends, I walked the entire way
to church without an umbrella. I waded through the ankle-deep water
covering a normally pothole-filled dirt road, avoiding the piles of
trash and mud, trying not to get too many rocks in my shoes, and
ignoring the shouts of "Loco!" coming from the locals who
were tucked away in their houses, nice and dry. Thankfully, the
service was not canceled, so we sang and performed one of our dramas
as planned. Our house did not flood, either, so praise God for that!
It was quite the adventure, and although I would not like to repeat
it, I can at least laugh about it now.

      I mentioned in my last blog about
one of our translators, Natalia. She is such a sweet woman, and told
me the other day how amazing it was to her that "all of us young
people" were willing to come to Nicaragua to serve, and expected
nothing in return. The Americans she is used to seeing in Nica are
either tourists who want to take something from the locals, or child
molesters who come to escape the law in the U.S. This conversation
with her came right after some of my team (including myself) were
getting discouraged about not doing as much ministry as we though we
would be doing right away. What a reality check! Just the fact that
we are here and willing to serve without expecting to be repaid in
some way by the people here is making an impact. The way we treat
each other is making an impact, and it was encouraging to hear some
positive feedback from someone other than our leaders.

      Our other translator, Mario, has
started coming to our Bible study class sessions in the morning, and
is asking many questions and digging into the Bible for answers.
Please pray with me that our group will be able to show him the love
of Christ, and that Christ would just keep drawing on his heart and
bringing him into an intimate relationship with God!

      I would also appreciate your
prayers for my team as many of us, myself included, are feeling very
homesick and disconnected from those we love in the U.S. Pray that we
will continue to lift those feelings and cares up to the God who
works all things together for good, and who can reach across the
distance to support and encourage the ones we love when we can not.