Up The Mountian

Up the Mountain

Dear Friends and Family,

Well I’m home! I have enjoyed this week to reflect on my mission’s trip to Nicaragua. I wanted to thank all of you for your support, prayer and finances as well as your mission trip stories. I titled this letter “Up the Mountain” of course after the story of Exodus 34 were Moses spends 40 days on the Mountain with the Lord are receives the Ten Commandments. Now the Lord didn’t give me new commandments to share with all of you. However, He did speak some very clear truths for my life. Often times people have asked me; How was your trip? I can only respond with “It was a spiritual milestone”. I will return to this topic later in my letter, however it is time to talk about the Kingdom work that was done in Nicaragua.

The mission before us as many of you know was to do Evangelism, more specifically in Villa Del Carmen as well as University students in Managua. We were there to support Christ for the City International, the on the-ground mission’s group. To explain this better you can view the In-country missionary’s as recon soldiers scouting the country for churches in need. The missionary group then assesses the need and calls in the troops (that’s us). The troops bring supplies books, games, clothes and their hands and feet, as well as funds.

In Villa Del Carmen the church we were supporting was a small humble Assembly of God Church. Pastor Roberto was a very charismatic preacher, who was the man of the town. Pastor Roberto lived at the church with his wife and three children. He was a very busy man addressing the needs of his town the best he could. At night y we would often find him on his motorcycle going from house to house dropping off supplies and such. Villa Del Carmen is located about one hour west of Managua (the capital city). It is a small town with approximately 2,500 residents. This small farm town is mostly comprised of dirt roads and small corner stores. At the center of the town is a children’s park with a soccer field.

Our group of missionaries was sent to aid the church in Evangelism in a variety of ways. The first and possibly the most important way, unbeknownst to us way was living with our host families. Our host families were Christians that were church members. In Villa Del Carmen they would be considered middle class, meaning they lived on five dollars a day vs two dollars a day. Our host families were very generous they cooked and ate as a family breakfast, lunch and dinner washed our clothes and treated us like family (they called us their children). The ministry opportunity here was just to listen to their stories love God and share life together. This was simple being in relationship with one another, which the Nicaraguans were better at then me (I will explain later). The simply act of living with them which was a test of their faith was a ministry opportunity, and possibly the most meaningful. During the day we spent most of our time doing door to door Evangelism (Nicaraguans way of doing a connect card). This was simply us as missionaries sharing our testimony and encouraging and inviting members of the community to visit the church. We had the opportunity to host two kid’s day events which were incredible. The first event was a Field Day event with six different children’s games including applicable Bible verses. The games ranged from water balloon toss to face painting to piñata bashing! The kids had a blast and were incredibly behaved. The next day we had a pool party (kinda). We had cleaned out the bottom of this reservoir/valley stream bed and dammed up the stream, in 24 hours we had a pool! We played water volleyball, diving contest, swimming races the whole range it was a great time. The parents of the children even joined in the fun and provided lunch. This was our last full day in Villa Del Carmen and now we were off to Evangelize to the University students, which would be a change of pace to say the least. We arrived at the University of Agriculture who was hosting a soccer tournament. At this event we were serving the players refreshments, as well as sharing our testimonies with the team in between games. At the end of the tournament we cleaned up the park. Now all the acts listed above are kind acts of service; however we were missing a key ingredient, which was building relationships. We as a group learned a valuable lesson that day about ministry which was if our hearts are not ready to build relationships with those we are going to minister to then we shouldn’t expect much fruit. The very next day the group was able to identify the missing link from the day before and was set to correct it. We had an awesome devotional and prayer meeting and we were off. This event was also a soccer tournament but in a small village town just outside of Managua. We had a great day of ministry where we were able to build relationships with the soccer coaches who then introduced us to the team. We were able to get into much deeper dialog about how God was working in their lives, what does it mean to be a Christian, what difficulties are they facing etc. This was very effective and it was evident that bonds were being built. That sums up the tangible ministry or works that were accomplished. I am reminded by Luke 10:11 “We are unworthy servants, we have only done our duty”. However the story is not over hence the title of this letter and the truths that God clearly spoke to me.

It is awesome to go on a Missions trip a trip to do God’s work the great commission Matthew 28: 16-20 to baptize all nations. The works of this trip were great, however I felt that God had revealed three truths for my life. As a great Father, not only did he reveal truths but also a plan or a recipe to carry out these truths. These three truths are the importance of relationships, the power of Prophetic Intercession and really Trust God. As I had indicated earlier that I would return to the subject of relationships so here it goes. The Nicaraguan people have an unbelievable understanding of this biblical truth and it was evident from the first moment we got to Villa Del Carmen. When we arrived all the families of the church got dressed up, took off work and gathered at the church to welcome us, they sent us off the same way. We all exchanged pleasantries however the Nicaraguan’s were referring to us as their sons and daughters. At this time I really didn’t understand what this meant and thought it was just a symbol of hospitality. After that the missionaries broke off in pairs and were escorted by the families to their new “temporary” home. When we arrived the mother of house immediately started cooking dinner and making sure that we had all the comforts we needed. The family’s only child, their eldest son Enuk, was seventeen and just recently married showed me around the farm (a seventy acre cattle farm with 150 cows). The home was very humble concrete home with no paint or pictures on the walls nor any glass in the windows. The floor was tiled and there were animals everywhere even in the house! The Rosters (two of them) slept in the parent’s bedroom, luckily for me they didn’t wake up till about five AM. As Enuk showed me around the house, he picked up a picture that was sitting next to his bed. This was a 6x4 color photo of himself that must have been taken recently. The photo was in a clear plastic bag and appeared to be his most valued possession. All through the week we talked around the dinner table about the conversations one would expect from a house guest from another country. On the last day all the families got back together along with the missionaries to discuss of how things had gone. As we went around the circle, the parents started to cry actually, sob to the point it was difficult for them to speak. At that time I couldn’t understand how these families became so attached to us so quickly. It was as if their son or daughter was leaving! This was truly amazing to see how people could put such a huge value on relationships. I have always felt that I had valued my relationships, that I had loved my fellow man, but I have never had a response like this to a house guest that I barely knew. The strange thing is, I am happy when a house guest leaves and happy that I can get back to my old routine. This event didn’t really hit me till the next day after we had left Villa Del Carmen and I had pulled out a book that I had been reading all week and inside the book was the Enuk’s most valued possession his picture. I hadn’t even noticed that Enuk had stuffed it in my book. What an amazing act of kindness, importance of relationship, and love of God.

To this event my only responses was prayer. Why God, did he do this? What are you trying to tell me? What is it in my life? The answer was very clear my wife. Never before had I completely accepted the responsibility of the most important mission in life or understood how to do so, presenting my wife to the King. In Ephesians 5:27 it clearly states that we as husbands will present our wives before the King, my question is will I do it on my knees or standing boldly and proud? No where in the Bible is one person so responsible for another (specifically) with regards to salvation and holiness. So what is the secret? There is no secret it is in Proverbs 12:4 as well as Proverbs 31:10 she is a crown on his head. I had to ask myself do I value my wife this much, and if so does she know it? At that moment a change had to be made, my wife needed to know how important she was to me that she was the most important human being in my life, she is my crown. Saying it of course wouldn’t be enough, so how do I show her? Providing and protecting spiritually as we are called to be spiritual leaders of the household. So if I am the spiritual leader of the house and my wife is the most important person in my life then when I pray with her it should be more special right, do you shower her with love and praise? This along with many other steps was a truth that God shared with me; that I was able to share with other men on the trip which has made huge differences in all of our relationships.

The night that we left Villa Del Carmen we stayed at a small Christian youth hostel in Managua. That night the group was all hanging out on the porch laughing and sharing stories about our time in Villa Del Carmen. I had gotten up to get a cup of coffee when I ran into this older man named Frank Ferrari. We struck up a conversation, then it began to get more pointed. Then I noticed that James and Martha were in the room, then Matt and Emily then Frank. At this moment I wasn’t sure if Frank was a Christian or not. Then all of a sudden Frank let out this sermon for 15 minutes and it was awesome. We were talking about the young Christians of the day and how he felt that we were the modern Joshua generation, a generation truly after the heart of God. This is when we started on the subject of prophetic intercession. This was very interesting topic and not something that is typically talked about in modern evangelical church. I am not going to deep dive into this subject, however I did have one illustration that I have come up with to describe prophetic intercession/key ingredient. As an evangelical Christian I, as many of you, participate in prayer circles. I often feel when I am in a prayer circle that I am listening to the one praying so that I know when it is my turn to pray, or to think about the ebb and flow of my prayer. What I have come to find out is that it is as if I am talking into the phone and have the receiver/or ear piece pointed to the ground. What I mean is that we have the Holy Sprit living in us and through prayer we get to speak and listen to the Lord Almighty. I think we can all agree that God is far wiser than me, so why don’t I give him a chance to talk? Many religions practice meditation or a time to receive the Lords blessing, His wisdom. I have often heard that silence in a prayer circle referred to as accord silence; I think silence being treated this way is wrong. After our conversation Martha said to Frank, “You must be a pastor” and sure enough Frank was a pastor for thirty years. He shared with us that this was his twentieth trip to Nicaragua and he was the keynote speaker for a large youth conference in Managua. Frank now runs a ministry called Transformation Ministries out of Lancaster, Pennsylvania (http://www.transformingchurches.com/). It was an awesome pleasure speaking with Frank and even more rewarding experience praying with him.

The next day we had our daily devotional round table discussion. However this morning seemed different, it was our last day of ministry. I had been digesting the week thus far and the truths that I had felt God was telling me about myself. Towards then end of the devotional I felt as though I had a confession to tell the group. As mentioned above I had felt that the day prior was a personal failure, all works and no relationship makes for poor ministry. So I told the group and that I felt that we need to really intently listen to God and however bold his request today we do it, without question. So we had a great prayer circle and set out to another soccer tournament. On the way out I had stopped a small store and purchased a hundred packs of gum to hand out to the children during the game. When we got to the field I was on a mission. First we formed a plan to befriend the coaches of the teams so that he could introduce us to the players. This worked very well and we were able to sit with all the players and have a dialogue, which I believe was rewarding for everyone. We continued doing this along with playing with children in the stands, sharing testimonies, handing out drinks etc. However I kept hearing this voice that I still wasn’t being bold enough. The field was a soccer/baseball field so the stands were on one side of the field in an L shape. Behind the batters box was a dark high bleacher with a large over hang. Sitting here was a group of late 20’s to early 30’s tough looking guys, tattoos and the like. This group was aware why we were there (it was obvious) and made it known that they didn’t want to be bothered by us. All day I had felt as though I needed to go over there, this one spot high on the bleachers right next to the toughest looking guy (where a seat was open). I kept on chickening out until I got the nerve. I walked over there by myself and sat down on the top row next to this guy. The crazy thing was that I can’t speak a word of Spanish (well a few, maybe ten). This entire week I had the pleasure of being teamed up with our interpreter Rafa. On this day Rafa was not able to come to the game, so I was on my own. I started to pray a ridiculous prayer; God allow me to communicate with the guy sitting next to me make me speak Spanish, over and over again. I thought about what Frank had said, and the things that I had learned over the week. Do I really believe what I really believe? So I told myself that I need to pray this prayer with authority only expecting God to deliver and I did. So I was going to ask this guy if he knew what the score of the game was. I started off pretty good and stumbled through a few words, and he responded in English. I asked him if he spoke English and sure enough he did. At that moment all I could do was smile. The entire trip I hadn’t met one person other than the interpreters who spoke English. I asked him where he learned English and he told me that his mother, brother and sisters all moved to Miami five years ago and he was studying English at Miami Dade Community College. This was amazing since earlier in the week we had asked the missionaries about how people in Nicaragua raise up out of poverty, they responded they don’t. The missionaries that live in Nicaragua said they had never met a person who had done such a thing. The guy who was sitting next to me had grown up in the small village next to the soccer field not much different then Villa Del Carmen. At this moment Matt came to sit down next to me along with Martha and James all of them were wondering how was I talking to this man. At that moment I understood that the ministry wasn’t for the man but for me.

Well that is my Nicaragua trip in a nutshell. I hope you have enjoyed this journey through this week long spiritual excursion. I believe God calls us all to different kinds of spiritual acts of services. I also believe there is a common thread through all religions; there is something greater than our selves, and to serve one another. When you are obedient to God’s wishes He will reveal truths in your life as well as His recipe for restoration. In the world today all religions -human kind is asking the same two questions, Does anybody love me and will anyone tell me the truth. I can say yes to both of these questions, thank you all again for such an amazing opportunity a spiritual milestone.

Your Brother
Connor