May Nicaragua Mission Trip

Nicaragua Mission Team Reports May 2010

My First Mission Trip
By Molly Catherine Brantley, Age 11

Sunday – Day 1
Today we woke up early. I was really excited. I felt like I was in a dream. It was Mother’s Day so we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We dropped Mattie, Izzy, Liney, and Anna-B off at Grandma’s house. There was lots of hugs and kisses but we finally went to the airport. The plane rides were excited because I don’t remember my last plane ride. The hours between plane rides were boring, but I got a lot of schoolwork done. Finally, I was time to drive to Leon. We got to the Hostel at 230 a.m. We did not go to bed until 315 a.m.! I was really tired.

Monday - Day 2
Today we got up early, again. We had pancakes and yummy fruit and beans and rice for breakfast. Daddy and I went for a walk. It was fun. We sorted all the health kits like 3 times. We finally went to the construction site. It was very hot. I rehearsed the skit and sorted bags again. I helped with lunch and watched the construction team. We got into the van and went to Vacation Bible School. Everybody thought it was fun. I saw some sweet dogs and horses. We went to 3 different grocery stores and I got a headache.

Tuesday – Day 3
Today we had fruit for breakfast. We stuffed health kits and did other things to get ready for the day. We headed for the construction site first. We dropped off the construction team and went to VBS. We took everybody’s pictures, developed them and distributed them. The kids were SO happy. After that we went back to the construction site and sort of hungout. We played soccer and I got to hold a chick. The rooster got mad at me. Then we went to the landfill. It was so sad. People lived in the houses made of cardboard, plastic, pool parts and other scraps that they could find. We handed out candy to the kids and they kept wanting more. After the landfill trip, we did another VBS during the hottest hours of the day. Finally, we went to church. It had to be the liveliest church service ever!

Wednesday – Day 4
Today, we had pancakes for breakfast and fruit. We rode in the van to the farm area I got dropped off at the construction site along with the rest of the construction team.  We dug 10 holes. It wsa hard but fun. We sat around for a long time. I played with the puppy and some cute chicks. We had a lunch of chicken and rice and then went to the other construction site. We watched for a few minutes and then I dropped my book in the mud. I was very sad. Next we went to the landfill. We passed out bags of food. We went to the other parts of it this time. The houses were even worse than the other ones. The people there were in rags. Their houses were made out of cardboard. If it rains, they aren’t going to have a house. After the landfill, we went back to the hostel. After dinner, I met Pauola (12), Rachel (7), and Laura (3). They are really nice. We had dinner and played, colored, and talked. I am going to read for a few minutes then go to bed.

Thursday – Day 5

Today we had teacher training. It was at a hotel. The hotel was fancy. It had big lions which were stone in the front of it. The teacher training was long and lasted until lunch time. Almost all the teachers had fun. The pastors and teachers all played games. They were laughing and smiling. I was under some tables with tablecloths some of the time and played with my puzzle book and read and colored pictures for the pastors. Lunch was salad, pork and yummy flan with a cherry and whipped cream on top. It was fun to watch at the end when all of the teachers went through their bags. After the teacher training was over we came back to the hostal. We packed for going to the beach. The car ride was long, but we finally got there. It was beautiful! The sand was black. Daddy said the waves were 20 feet high. I swam in the water which was really warm. The current was strong. We had to keep swimming sideways to keep from getting battered by the rocks. The rocks were huge. I climbed to the very top! I could see a long way. I found lots of tiny rocks that were smooth. Dinner was good; shrimp, salad and rice. For dessert, we had ice cream. Uncle Bill bought me a shell necklace and a grass cricket. Thank you! I felt like the ride back was very long. I went to bed almost immediately after I got home.

Friday – Day 6

Today I was up later. I didn’t feel very good. After we had breakfast (rice and beans again), I helped set up the teacher training. I also helped cut felt. I got a headache so Daddy told me to read outside where it was cooler. I read and had lunch. I ate a sandwich for lunch. The teachers didn’t have as much fun today because we didn’t play games, but they did cut felt and so did the pastors. After we cleaned up, we went to downtown Leon. We went to an open market and I bought some things. I got 4 t-shirts and a soccer uniform for Liney. We bought necklaces for the girls and Grandma. We went to the fruit and vegetable market. It was loud and stinky. We were going to go to the meat market, but there was RAW SEWAGE (YUCK!) coming up from the floor! We went back to the hostal, got cleaned up and changed into church clothes. We drove to a neighborhood near Pastor Oscar’s church. There, we handed out flip-flops, gum, candy and pens and crayons. The kids came from all over. There were so many kids that came. The kids were dirty, their clothes were torn and ragged. They were running around without any shoes on without watching where they stepped. We were watching where we stepped and we had shoes on! It was like it was Christmas time and they were only getting shoes and one small toy. One little girl was about three years old. She only had on little white underwear. We gave her gum and a pair of pink flip-flops. She ate all her 12 pieces of gum right there. Then we went to the worship service. The music was loud because we were directly under the speaker. The people there were very friendly. The people at every church I’ve been to down here seem to be. The whole time Uncle Bill was preaching there was a bug on his shoulder. When my family was introduced there was lots of clapping because Mommy writes to Pastor Oscar. When everyone else was introduced there was only a little clapping. When we got back to the hostal, we swam for a long time and then went to bed.

Christy Flury, a May team member, shares an adult perspective of the trip.

What an amazing, wonderful, God-filled week! All the preparation, planning, and praying truly paid off for our trip. God worked in and through our team, as well as our brothers and sisters in Nicaragua. We began our week with VBS at a school near Pastor Felix’s church.  Although the school was small and not traditional like we have in the US, the kids were full of smiles and laughter. The story of Jesus healing the paralytic man was told and the kids listened eagerly as translators aided us.  As an altar call was offered, kids came forward and asked us to pray not for them and things they wanted, but family members or friends who were sick. It was moving how outward focused the children are there.  We made prayer bracelets, healing kits and picture frames alongside the children.  Words cannot even begin to capture the sheer excitement the kids felt when they were presented with the picture we had taken of them at the beginning of the VBS. They were so proud and thankful. I’d have to say the honor was all ours though. Such beautiful, tender souls.  We provided lunch for them as well. I realized we take something as simple as peanut butter for granted. It was nowhere to be found there! Construction also began this day at Pastor Felix’s church. They worked on the beginnings of what would become classroom space at this church. It was eye-opening to see the makeshift ladders and lack of safety equipment they had for the project. I remember several times being told not to look when they were welding. The men doing the welding didn’t even have the proper eye goggles. Monday night concluded back at the hostel with devotion time out in the courtyard amongst hammocks and a nice breeze.  You could feel the excitement amongst the team as we talked about the rest of the week. 

Tuesday the construction team was dropped off at Pastor Felix’s again and the VBS team headed to Pastor Renaldo’s church.  His church is located more in the country amongst very beautiful land. This time the Easter story was shared and the power of it was felt by all. A life size cross had been built by Pedro at our request and was used along with some fake scars to demonstrate Jesus’ suffering.  Even though there was a language barrier, one thing rang true- Jesus loved us all enough to die on the cross for our sins. Again the pictures were a huge hit, including the young mothers with infants who were present. My guess is this is the first picture of them and their child taken. Who knew foam frames and stickers could bring so much pride and joy to one’s life!

The construction team joined the VBS team in the afternoon at Pastor Wilfredo’s church.  Although there were many kids already present at this church, many more lurked across the street checking us out. Waves and smiles enticed these kids over one by one.  Watching the men on our team help these children decorate frames with their photos was heartwarming.

Tuesday night found us at Pastor Freddy’s church for evening worship. The congregation was so welcoming. There was a very lively music leader there who inspired us to sing, dance, and even run around the room with members of their congregation. The sermon was presented by Keith Tischler . He told the story of the paralytic man. As he spoke many members of the congregation speedily took notes, and hung on his every word as it was translated. As the sermon ended and Keith spoke of accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, one young man came forward and we had the privilege of praying over him as Keith led the man in prayer.  Our God truly is an amazing and loving God. After the service hugs filled the room and I watched as the music leader (one of the ones steadily taking notes throughout the sermon) approached Keith, held out his hand and gave Keith the pen he had been taking notes with during the service. Such a small token, but what an impact.

Wednesday morning we completed our last VBS of the week at Pastor Erving’s church.  What an amazing man he is! Not only did he help with the construction at Pastor Felix’s church, but he participated in the VBS and the teacher trainings later in the week. It broke my heart as he and his wife asked our team to pray over them and ask for God’s help in bringing one of their older daughter’s back to them who had just run away a few days earlier. We prayed, cried, and prayed some more. Even in this family’s darkest hour they still gave with a servant’s heart.

The construction team completed their portion of the work at Pastor Felix’s church and moved on to Pastor Renaldo’s that afternoon. The VBS team headed over to the landfill area and distributed bags of small toys and candy to kids that live there. Words can’t even begin to describe the devastation that I felt in my heart as we walked through this area. Pieces of cardboard and old vinyl pools constituted the structure of these peoples’ “homes.” I asked one woman if I could go inside her home and as I stood in this small, confined space and listened to her tell me thorough one of our translators how seven people live there, mind you there were only two twin beds. She went on to tell how the people in that area lock themselves in at 6:00 p.m. due to the drug use and sexual assaults that take place at night. She pointed to a ravine behind her place and shared that it was where many young girls were taken and sexually abused. She then shared that a 12 year old was currently pregnant. Sure the toys and candy brought momentary joy to the kids there, but we left feeling like there has to be something we can do.  Something to empower, give hope even.

Wednesday night we spent prepping for Thursday’s teacher training. Trent and Nicole used us as guinea pigs for the games they would share with the teachers the following morning.  We actually had a blast playing the games as it built our team unity even more! We ended our evening with devotion time and sharing about our experiences that day.

Thursday morning found the construction crew at Pastor Renaldo’s church and the VBS team at LaPerla Hotel for the teacher training. LaPerla is a beautiful hotel in downtown Leon. Quite different than the places we had been all week.  There was even air conditioning! The room we used was packed full of Sunday school teachers and the Pastors representing the 12 churches.  We asked the teachers/pastors about what they are currently doing with the children/youth in their church as well as what they feel works best or not at all. I think we all were worried the discussion would be very one-sided, but that wasn’t the case at all. Women and men alike were sharing about their church and their individual experiences.  Smiles and applause filled the room when we shared that we had brought wipe boards and dry erase markers for each of the churches, as well as soccer balls and other teaching supplies. We also displayed one of the felt boards and explained the many uses for them and how 6 churches would receive them this week and 6 more would receive them in October. The enthusiasm was humbling! Demonstrations of how the boards can be used with the children went over well-for memory verses, reviewing the prior week’s lesson, Pictionary, even with songs.  Teachers and pastors participated in Bible story Pictionary and drew how they felt while listening to a Christian song. The drawings and expressions of their hearts were awesome! Laughter evoked as many stood to share their drawings of what the song meant to them. The training got even more powerful as the group was split into 3 and they participated in the different games that they themselves can use at their own churches.  Watching grown adults play Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and Blind leading the Blind was very rewarding! Lunch was provided for everyone.  Natalie shared later that day that when she was leaving the restroom some teachers were in there that couldn’t figure out how to turn the water spout on. Puts in perspective what little things we take for granted.

Thursday night found us back at the hostel and after another rousing game of pool volleyball, felt boards were on the agenda for the evening! So many members of Killearn’s congregation, our team, and any willing/able bodies we could find helped out with cutting over 1,000 pieces of felt characters. Some of these pieces were very, very small. We arrived in Nicaragua with only one set left to finish. Our plan was to finish this box with the teachers from the 6 churches chosen to receive them on this trip. We thought it would be a good idea for the whole team to experience how to cut out the pieces, so we worked on some that evening and organized all the kits as well. Grown men holding on to tiny felt Jesus’ and animals from Noah’s Ark as they search for which mat to store them on was priceless! (A heartfelt THANK YOU to all those who helped before we even left Tallahassee!)

Friday morning the construction crew headed back out to finish their work at Pastor Renaldo’s and the VBS team worked with teachers from 6 of the 12 churches.  A thorough overview of the felt board, their pieces, and how they can be used was given. Actual stories were demonstrated, including involvement of the teachers to help us. We then split up into stations. One station cut felt, and the other two stations had the teachers demonstrate a bible story themselves with each other. Again the participation was incredible and they were so grateful for the felt boards! Sitting alongside Pastor Erving as he meticulously cut felt and thinking about him earlier that week helping the construction team, and then praying over he and his wife for the return of their daughter was quite moving.

Friday evening we loaded up the rest of our candy/toys and a suitcase of kid/adult flip flops that were donated. We headed to Pastor Oscar’s church and he led us to a neighborhood near his church.  As soon as we exited the van and opened up the back with our suitcase full of goodies, kids began to come in droves.  The amazing thing was that as our translators asked them to wait in a single file line, they did. If I have ever doubted that God does provide, I NEVER will again! Every pair of the flip flops we had fit someone- whether the smallest tot or a crippled adult male who motioned to me to come over to him. He began to point at one of his feet and I realized he was missing several toes and the pair of flip flops he had on were ragged and torn. As I ran over to the van to see if we had anything for him I was handed the LAST pair of adult flip flops- and yes they fit him, perfrfectly! If that wasn’t enough, another man came up to our group. He was cross-eyed, appeared somewhat unstable, and had the odor of alcohol. He initially asked for money and after saying we didn’t have that he asked for shoes. Knowing the last pair had been handed out, one of our team members, Trent, asked the man if he wanted his own tennis shoes. The man sat right on the ground with Trent and allowed Trent to help him out on his own shoes and socks! He got up with the biggest smile. I stood their awestruck at how such a simple act can bring so much happiness to another. Why is it so often we forget that or don’t think about doing for others?

As we left the neighborhood, we headed back to Pastor Oscar’s church for an evening worship service.  Once again lively music filled the air. Trent approached the microphone and shared the story of what he had just experienced. He shared how he always felt like he was a Christian, but after experiencing that he was rededicating his life to Christ and leaving the past behind him. What an honor for our team to be part of this profound moment in Trent’s life. Next Bill Krizner preached about forgiveness and letting go of past hurts. It was a very moving sermon that led many to tears and prayer. I remember sitting there wanting to soak every second up and feeling so overwhelmed with emotion. As Nicole put it best that week: everything just felt so natural and pure there.  Obviously we all missed our families and friends, but oh to stay just a while longer and bask in God’s love would be so great!

We headed back to the hostel and ate pizza by the pool. Elias, the man who owned the hostel became a friend to us all that week. He and his family’s hospitality and flexibility with us were so generous. He even joined in a game of pool volleyball that night! We would all miss him.

Saturday morning found us on our way to Grenada for some sightseeing and down time. It was bittersweet to pack up and leave the hostel. This place had become “home” in just one short week. Who cared there was no air conditioning and you couldn’t flush toilet paper! This place was alive with God’s power and love! We told Elias we’d definitely be back!

Grenada is a beautiful area and we were lucky enough to take a boat tour of some lavish homes on the island. Despite the rain, the scenery was gorgeous! We even got to feed monkeys! A few bee stings later for one of our team members and we headed back to town for lunch. We enjoyed a delicious meal and then were on our way to Managua. Hard to believe we were already going back where we started from a week earlier.  As Pedro, Maria (his wife), and Scarleth (one of our translators) said goodbye to us at the hotel, there was a definite sense of sadness. But at the same time there were many, “I’ll see you again!”

 

 

From our team ( Jim F., Bill, Jeff, Brett, Natalie, Molly Cate, Billy, Heather, Keith, Jim K., Trent, Nicole, and myself), to Pedro and Maria, to our translators (Scarleth, Maria, and Juan), to the 12 pastors, members of their congregation, all the kids/families we came in contact with, our van driver (Melbin),  Elias and his family and staff at the hostel- it was a blessing to be a part of this week and these people’s lives. God opened our hearts to such beautiful people and experiences and for that I will be eternally grateful. All I can say is “See you next time, Nicaragua!”