Expect the Unexpected.

So for those of you who don't know, this is not my first time to Nicaragua. It is my fifth. So I know what to pack, what I should bring for snacks (generally, you never quite remember all the good stuff), and I thought what to expect. But life is a journey that is all about preparing for the unexpected. I was not expecting to learn so much, to build such lasting relationships or to love as much as I have down here.

My team and I (minus Conchita, see below!) at one of the vistas near San Pedro del Norte which is quite literally one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in Nicaragua way up North near the border of Honduras. We were up there distributing vitamins and medical supplies to their health center which was isolated and in need of supplies.

What you can't see on the left of where we were standing, was a large Cerro that was a straight incline upwards. The road was literally alongside the edge of a mountain (but all things considered was one of the more accessible and beautiful roads in Nicaragua).

I am an avid reader. I preface with this because to date I have finished four books since I have been down here and am halfway through the fifth. One of these books was called "Crosscultural Servanthood: Serving with Christ-like humility". To be honest it was a book with an interesting title that was on sale on the kindle store one day (I have a problem when I see interesting books that are only a few dollars!). In short though, it was a great resource for me and really a book I would suggest anyone who is planning to go on a mission trip internationally and serve people, read.


The author Duane Elmer does a great job of really presenting what it is like to serve in another culture and how to approach that service with a sense of Christ-like love and humility. He focuses especially on the fact that "We serve people by entering into a relationship of love and mutual commitment" and on building that relationship with people. He notes that a servant can look differently in different cultural contexts, and how important it is to understand what a servant looks like in your new culture. One of my favorite things that he said in this book was that there are three types of learning and all are absolutely incomparably essential to developing relationships; learning about others, from others and with others.


This has really changed how I view my time here in Nicaragua. I came here on this trip under a different pretense. I came to study and learn from the people here to be a better servant to them, to love them well like Christ first loved me. I came with all sorts of intentions for my project, with goals and plans, and as I reflect on my trip with only two short weeks left, I realize how much of that was not a part of what I really did here. What I did here, am doing here, was so much more than that. I am coming alongside people, I am learning from them and learning about them. Asking questions and really getting to know how the people in this culture think. In the process I have learned so much about myself, this feels natural to me, it feels right. I am more confident now than I was eight weeks ago that this is the direction that God is sending me in my life right now. I have changed how I think, I am expecting and embracing the unexpected. I know there will continue to be bumps in the road on my path and I look forward to the challenge.

My friend Abraham and I at a Dia de Los Ninos celebration!

My darling friends at Chonco on my birthday. Alessandro, Maicy and Alan.

We love to make faces!

Community work day in La Chuscada, Sarah and I were determined diggers.

My friend Robert and I at the top of Volcan Cosiguina

It was a beautiful view, well worth the 4+ hour hike to get up there!

"Serving people is not just doing what seems good in our own culture but seeking out the knowledge of the people, learning from them, knowing their cultural values and then acting in ways that support the fabric of the culture to the degree possible."