Preparations

I got the opportunity to go to Nicaragua for 10 days to be a bridesmaid in a wedding for two very good friends from Calvin.  We had the opportunity to travel around after the wedding for about five days with our friend’s brother who grew up in Nicaragua. 

We spent three days on the island of Ometepe and one of those days we decided to climb the volcano, Maderas.  The family we stayed with asked a friend to drive us to the volcano in the back of their pick up truck (Something I was so excited to do because you can’t do that in the states!).  After getting lost down the mountain, running out of water, and ending up on the wrong side of the volcano, we finally found the pick up truck to take us home.  As we were driving home, I was asked the question, “do you think this trip to Nicaragua is preparing you for your time in Sierra Leone?” 

Since asked that question, I have been thinking about how God has prepared me to go.  Last summer, I had the opportunity to go teach in Korea for two months.  At the time, I was so confused about why I was going there because I never had any desire to go there ever in my life.  Looking back, I have realized how God provided it as a stepping-stone to a much larger commitment abroad.

If you have ever traveled out of the country for a long period of time, there is a honeymoon stage where everything is new and so exciting.  After some time, reality hits.  I remember after about a month of teaching, I was so tired and felt so alone.  I was so ready to go home.  I think what got me through that period was finding a little overlook of a nearby lake where I went each day to journal and spend time with God.  He provided that spot to bring me peace and comfort. 

Looking back, I know that the only way I can make it in Sierra Leone is through my relationship with God.  I have the word Beloved tattooed on my shoulder as a reminder that God’s unconditional love is constant.  During these trials, he will strengthen and hold me in his hand and he will be with me through it all (Isaiah 41:10). 

During our time in Nicaragua, it was so beautiful to see how God provided for us at each place we went.  At one point, we needed to get from Granada to San Jorge so that we could take a ferry to Ometepe.  We had missed the last bus to San Jorge but we could get on another bus to Rivas, which would get us a little closer to San Jorge.  The bus driver must have overheard that we needed to get to San Jorge because after he dropped everyone off in Rivas, he told us that we could pay a little extra and he would take us all the way to San Jorge. 

We get to San Jorge and have no place to stay and the hotels were too expensive.  Our friend says he knows some people that live there so he asks around to find a phone to call them.  As he asked around to borrow a phone, we got two offers from random families to stay at their house.  We then end up running into one of his friends on the street that said we could spend the night at his sister’s house.  These are just two examples of how God provided for us in our journeys. 

These experiences were something new for me because I absolutely hate asking people for help or for anything.  I like to think that I am a very independent person.  This whole trip consisted of asking people for help, for information, or for a phone the whole time.  Even though most of the time I was not the one asking, it made me realize how when you are in need, people, even complete strangers will provide for you. 

As I go to live in a new place by myself, I know that there will be many things that I do not know how to do and I will need help.  This is going to be a huge challenge for me but I am slowly learning. 

One day, we spent the night in a hostel in Granada and the next morning as I was doing devotions, I read 2 Corinthians 6:10.  In previous verses, Paul is talking to the Corinthians about the hardships that he has faced.  At the end, he writes, “having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”  

We were blessed with the opportunity to stay with different families in our travels in Nicaragua.  By American Standards, they have very little of physical value.  We showered with a bucket, did not have air conditioning, did not have Internet, and we did our dishes by hand.   But yet, these families showed us God’s love through their hospitality.  These families we stayed with have everything they could ever need because they have eternal life in Christ.  They are filled with the Holy Spirit and are committed to showing God’s love.  Time stops to care for the people around you, no matter who they are.   

As I go to Sierra Leone, I pray that I will live me life in this way.  I will have a lot less than I am maybe used to in the States, but I have more than I could possibly ever need because I have a relationship with God.   I will have little in this world but yet I have everything because God calls me his Beloved.