What a trip! I’m writing this as we are on our final flight from Miami to Chicago. Nicaragua is a beautiful place full of passionate and friendly people. We experienced many things but a couple things stood out to me the most. First, I was inspired by the people of the church in La Esmerelda. They love Jesus and their community passionately. They all embrace their part of Jesus’ mission in their community. I heard so many stories from the Nicas that started like this “I was raised in a Christian home…I accepted Jesus at a young age…I started serving in the church”. It was beautiful to see their understanding that Jesus did just save them to save them but also to help lead others to salvation through Him. They felt the weight of our efforts as much as we did this past week. They shared our nerves and hopes as we ventured into the community to share the love of Jesus.
The second thing that stood out to me was how quickly our team and the Nica team broke down the barriers between us and became one team on mission together. The Nicas welcomed us with open arms and warm hearts. Our group bravely stepped into the tensions of a new environment and a language barrier and immediately engaged with the Nicas. Nobody let the language barrier stop them and everyone took the work we were doing seriously. I am so proud of our students and leaders who made up this team and I am forever grateful to the team in Nicaragua that prepared for us to arrive and cared for us while there. It was an amazing experience!
I have a couple of important things for all of you welcoming us home. First, the church in Nicaragua is so grateful to Fox River and all of you for the long-standing relationship of support and encouragement. We heard over and over again how grateful they are to all of you. They feel blessed to be able to do the ministry they do because of the generosity of Fox River and all of you. I got to see first hand how much they respect what you give and steward it well to ensure every bit of support goes to sharing the love and message of Jesus. They wanted me to pass on a big “Thank You!”
The second thing is for our group returning home. This morning we talked about how God has lit a flame in each of them through this trip. That flame represents a next step God is wanting them to take. We told them all to talk about their experiences in Nicaragua with everyone who will listen. I told them every time they engage with that flame by praying about it, telling friends and family about it or even thinking about it, they fan that flame even bigger. I also told them that if they do nothing with it, the flame will die and that is not what God wants for them. Each of them carries a flame that represents something different. My ask of all of you is that you would help us all fan our flames by asking us about our trip and praying for us. If you are a parent of a student on this trip, give them a few days to decompress and process but then dive in and help them fan that flame.
Thank you for your prayers! See you all soon!
~ Pastor Jason
