Hey everybody! I can't
believe this is only my seventh day here in Nicaragua. The hospitality and
quick friendships here make me feel like it's been a month or more. I'm amazed
and thankful for how welcoming this place has been.
Anyways, God has been so
good this week! I arrived at Casa Bernabe in the middle of the night and spent
my first night in La Posada, the dorm for the teenage guys. In the morning I
was introduced to the guys; there are ten of them ranging from probably about
thirteen to sixteen. It was really cool to get to see Armando (a fifteen-year
old that Carley's family sponsors), he knew who I was and we quickly formed a
friendship. I was also introduced to William, the other leader for the Posada
boys.
The guys are really
great. Even though (like I said) it's only been seven days, I feel like I'm
getting to know them pretty well. I'm teaching two of them (Armando and another
guy) guitar daily, and it's so cool to see their progress and their passion for
learning. They're making so much progress that I think by the end of the month
they'll hopefully be pretty self-sufficient as far as learning goes.
I've also gotten the
opportunity to help some of the guys in the field. Each boy is growing a row of
plants, and display a ton of initiative and wisdom when it comes to caring for
them. Another thing that I'm really stoked about is the greenhouse. Thanks to
all of you who donated to the project, we fully funded the construction of this
greenhouse that the Bernabe kids will use to learn more and more about how to
grow food and eventually, take care of themselves with these skills. I love
getting to work alongside the Nicaraguans to build something that'll better
their livelihoods.
The ways God has been
speaking to me while I'm here are amazing. The first two days I was really
confused because while I'm used to consistently different scenarios while on
missions trip, on this trip the setting is fairly constant. This made me begin
to doubt why I'm here; I felt like I wasn't doing anything effective. I began to
doubt whether this was actually what God had called me to do. Then, in the
awesome way he does, God made a verse pop up that was one of the verses I felt
he was using to call me here. I suddenly felt this sense of sureness. Whenever
God calls us to do something, he is working to advance his kingdom. Obviously,
that’s the exact opposite of what Satan wants. I’m very thankful that God helps
us to fight our unbelief and assure us of his will.
While I've been here,
God has been working a lot on my perspective of Nicaragua and how I’m supposed
to minister to people. It’s crucial for me to not think of this month as either
a success or failure. Something I realized from Skyping Carley last night is
that it’s important that I don’t think of getting to know these boys as my
mission so I can minister to them. I should get to know them to get to know
them. Otherwise, it’s not really a real relationship; no relationship should be
founded on a motive.
So anyway, that’s what’s
going on for the most part. I could definitely use some prayer, especially for
that whole success/failure mentality. I need to learn more and more to listen
to God as opposed to just doing my own thing. At the end of this trip, all that
matters is whether or not I have worshipped God in everything I do. Please pray
that I would learn to make that my highest priority.
I can not thank you all
enough for your support. There are so many awesome people here I’m getting to
know and I’m learning to love and listen to God in so many new ways. I hope you
all have a blessed Summer.
Mark Rodriguez
p.s. There is nothing
creepier than seeing a tarantula crawl to your room solely by the light of a
TV.
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