If you were one of the many who supported me in ways whether monetary or spiritually I can't thank you enough-this recap can't barely sratch the surface of what God did in that country or in me, but I hope it give you a glimpse anyhow!
I have learned afresh the lesson that whenever you 'know' what to expect in an event, God has already planned to smash your nicely created box into unrecognizable splinters. My box this summer was comprised of previous mission trips, preconceived notions of how God works, and the confidence in my own ability to be used as a vessel for God. I knew how they would act. I knew how they would respond, I knew. It was all about me; but His box is crafted in the shape of the power of God. I thought I knew; then came Monday afternoon.
At our first ministry site we had just left a small church and crossed a muddy street to spend time at a nearby school. A girl on our team slipped in the mud and got her foot dirty. Allow this snapshot to materialize before your mind's eye-an elderly woman on her hands and knees with a bowl of water literally washing this girl's feet with her hand. I couldn't hold back the tears that gingerly slid down my face. God was blatantly saying, "La bienvenida a Nicaragua Cassie; welcome to Nicaragua." God began to pull at my quaint box; he was allowing me to see the heart of these beautiful people.
As the week progressed we went to the schools, kids grasped the idea of how God saw them. The dramas were impacting lives and hearts were being captured by Christ. However, one defining difference between these people and those we met in the Dominican were how receptive they were. The people of Nicaragua weren't quite as quick to trust. One example in particular was our bus driver Carlos. The first two days he had with us were hard as he adjusted to the new experience. When we decided to buy him a dinner after a particularly hard evening he had, you could see God softening his heart. He smiled, he thanked us; nails fell from my box. Our third day together was another encounter with the Holy Spirit where God tore my heart from my chest as I saw the servant heart of our friend Carlos. We attended a 2 hour church service and when we left our bus pulled over and through our interpreter, Carlos told us his three year old daughter was in the hospital due to a heart attack. He asked us to pray. He "knew that when we prayed, God did things." Carlos stayed with us even though his daughter was sick; this trip was NOT about me. This trip was about the people God wanted to reach. God preserved Carlos' daughter, God heard our prayers, and God began to show us how even our actions were reaching people for eternity.
We had numerous opportunities to pray with the staff of the hotel where we stayed. Maids were healed, cleaning crew got saved! My deceivingly sturdy box was being crushed yet it was barely still intact. The response of these people tore at my heart strings. They were so hungry for a touch from God. There was a boy on our last night at the crusades that had a tumor on his forehead, as our group prayed over him the tumor began to shrink! A woman was healed from spine and stomach pain and as she cried and thanked God, her children ran up to embrace her with tears of their own.
The people were asked what they felt when God touched them with healing and time and time again different people at different times said it was the power of GOD. I experienced the power of God anew. We cried for God to open the flood gates and capture these people once more, he did. We put the results of our prayers in God's hands and anything you commit to his hands will succeed.
Every prayer you uttered, every penny you gave is counted to you in God's record of remembrance. He will bless you, he will move on your behalf. Thank you for investing in the precious nation of Nicaragua, thank you for ushering in the power of God to satisfy the hungry hearts of a generation.
The power of God broke my box and the power of God broke the hard hearts of these people, and you dear one, made all the difference.
The Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power 1 Corinthians 4:20
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