For the past month, L squad and I have been living in Nicaragua. Per usual in some ways, it has felt longer than a month, yet in some ways we keep saying, “How has it already been a month?” We have been staying with a ministry called Reap Granada. The ministry has a farm and engages with the local communities through prayer walking, house visits, and micro churches. It has been beautiful to see the ministry raise up Nicaraguans to reach their own neighborhoods.
On the first day of ministry, here in Nicaragua, a few girls and I were at a house visit with a woman, Liset, who believed in Jesus but was not going to church. She has an 18 year old daughter who has a child, and she also has 2 young boys, one of whom has Down syndrome. Liset began to tell us her story of which was fully marked by FAITH. Through many challenges of health, being in a coma, getting stolen from, becoming homeless, she kept coming back to the goodness of God. Liset expressed how grateful she has been for the faithfulness of God in even providing a roof over her head no matter how torn apart the walls are. The faithfulness of God, and Liset’s recognition of that, has directly impacted the way she puts her faith in Him. constantly. So as a woman who does not have very much and still turns her face to the Lord, we began to encourage her, and I began to feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit. You see, I was wearing a simple cross necklace and felt that the Lord wanted Liset to have it as a representation of His faithfulness in her life. We got to the end of the house visit and prayed for her and her family, and I still felt that nudge. So checking with my ministry host that it was an appropriate thing to do, I got the honor of putting the necklace around Liset’s neck. I did not think much of the interaction as Liset did not have a grand reaction, but the Lord still gave me the peace that she was supposed to have the necklace. We moved on, and that could have been the end of it. But it wasn’t.
A few weeks later, a different group from my squad got to go visit Liset again. When they got to her house, she expressed that people had been trying to buy the necklace off of her, but she felt it was too precious to her to sell. It was beautiful to see her gratefulness and care for the gift. The group visiting Liset invited her and her family to go to church so that they may be encouraged by fellow believers weekly. She said that she would go specifically requesting that I come to pick her up. The group came back and told me this, and I was just amazed that the simple cross necklace impacted her as much as it did. I also felt it an honor to be asked to walk with her to church.
A lot of times, as a missionary, it feels that we do a lot in the act of faith that God is going to do something through that act, pray that He does, and not know if it was actually impactful or not. The fact that I even got to know that the act meant something to Liset felt both rewarding and shocking as I forgot the interaction even happened. Come Sunday, it was my joy to go to her house and walk with her to church. On our walk, Liset expressed that it was her first time to church, and by the end of the service, she expressed how grateful she was to be there. And to think that she had this opportunity because of a simple cross necklace. May I never again hold anything as my own but only as the Lord’s. I am in awe more and more that what I get to do is all about what God wants to do. To be partnered with Jesus and to be a vessel through which He moves is the joy of my life.
