Nejapa

Yesterday we visited a community called Nejapa and went door to door inviting women to a service that evening at El Camino church. I believe this was the very first church I ever went to in Nicaragua over two years ago. It was painted blue since then, but I recognized it immediately. 

Pastor Michael was with us as we visited each home. There were some homes we spent more time at and some we spent just a few minutes. Most of the people in this village are Catholic or they attend a different church. Our goal was to help Pastor Michael build more relationships in his community by inviting these people to attend his church. His community is fairly big, and it is tough for a pastor to know everyone in a community. 

Another thing I love about Nicaragua is the hospitality. Without so much as a "buenas" are they already pulling up chairs in the shade and inviting us into their home. Some are more open to talking than others, but even those who aren't are hospitable. At one house we even shared fresh tortillas and queso while we chatted with the family. 

We walked around the community talking with families until lunch time. We ran back to the mission house to eat since it was only a five minute drive. Back in the community, we went to visit a different area. There was a family who lived in a cluster of houses and we invited a group of girls and any other women in their family to the service. Another family member lived in a house adjacent to theirs and Pastor Michael knew her. Her name was Esmeralda and she was all smiles as we talked with her. She had been to El Camino before, but attends a Catholic church now. We spent some more time talking with her about her relationship with God, and it was good to be able to discuss openly our views with her. We prayed with her before we left and she seemed happy that we stopped to talk with her. We were able to pray with each family and would ask if they had any specific requests. Quite a few families had sick members or single mothers who needed a job to support her kids. Each family was different, but a lot of them had similar needs. Whether they were saved or not, though, each family was willing to hear us pray for them. 

This is Jennifer handing out silver crosses as a reminder of what Christ did for us. The kids loved them as well as the adults. 

At the women's service that evening there was a good turnout. Jennifer stayed with them while Tristan, Emily, and I watched the kids. We had told the families while going door to door that we were able to watch their kids so they could attend the service. Since the service focused on women, it made it a little easier for them to focus in the message without shifting their attention to their kids. The three of us actually had a lot of fun being with the kids and keeping them occupied. Often times mothers here don't have much help with their kids, and they usually have more than one kid running around. It's nice to allow them a chance to really focus on something that could change their life without worrying about their kids for a while. 

Here are some of the women after the service. 

This is one little boy we got to take care of and he was the most content baby. 

He loved to be held so he faced everything. In this picture we are watching it rain outside and he hardly made a sound the entire time.

The service lasted about two hours and we met some of the women who attended. It was time for everyone to head home, so we went back to the house after saying goodbye to Pastor Michael. 

We were expecting a team that night, and they were already there when we got home. They needed a place to stay for the night that was close to the airport since they had a really early flight. We all ate dinner and hung out in little groups until everyone headed to bed. 

The team left early this morning and we all went to a church called Hosanna at eight. It's one of the bigger churches in Managua, and it was interesting to attend that compared to a small village church. After the morning service we actually headed over to El Cañon to attend their service. It was a lot smaller and more intimate that Hosanna. 

There was another team from Kentucky there and a woman was translating the message for us all. I like the community church services because it's usually easier to meet new people or visit with ones you already know. We got to briefly see some of the kids from the orphanage across the street before leaving to go to the mission house. 

After lunch we went back to the orphanage to see the kids and, of course, catch some of the game. It was the final game of the World Cup against Alemania and Argentina. Most of the older girls and guys were watching and rooting for Argentina. However, Germany ended up winning the game and the World Cup. There were two very happy girls there, but most everyone else was a bit disappointed at the loss. 

We were supposed to go back to Nejapa after lunch, but we were told it wouldn't be wise since everyone would be watching the game. Instead, we went to Nejapa for the four o'clock service at El Camino. It was a small crowd, but Pastor Michael told us how grateful he was that we came to his community even for a short visit. He also thanked us for attending the service and reaching out to the community. Usually teams who help his community hold a VBS camp or do lots of activities with the kids. That's not a bad thing at all, but I guess it was a nice change for him to have us out in the community and involved in the services. 

The rest of our night has been uneventful. Most of us haven't felt well today, so we took this time to unwind from the busy week and discuss the last couple days. Tomorrow is our R&R day and dinner with the Casa Genesis girls. At the end of the week there will be a new team arriving, so I'm enjoying these last couple days with my small, but wonderful team:)