Mission Trip Stories from Pastor Dave

July 15: Field Day 2: Our water filter team visited Carmen Rayna, Justo Guillermo’s mother. Justo was both song leader each day in worship and my water filter team leader to the families receiving them in Quince de Julio. We visited his aunts and his mother and two cousins to give them water filters. Carmen thanked God she could walk until she was 16. She thanked God for Justo sharing his songs on the keyboard at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church and having 10 of the Christian hymns he composed recorded on a CD. She thanked God for Him using her to bring Christ to a number of her relatives and for them coming to faith in Jesus. She thanked God for Him bringing her back to life when she was close to death twice, just like Jesus was raised from the dead. Carmen is a shining gospel light for her entire church and village and the three of us visiting with her.

Speaking of praying for the families I visited, there was one woman I prayed with and for during the Health Assessment last year that I wanted to visit again this year. I was looking for her all week, and she was right in front of my eyes the whole time. Last year I prayed with and for Aurelia Chavarria. She said she prayed for God who is the “Keeper of all things and people” to keep her 27 children and grandchildren healthy and close to Jesus. I had been praying each week all year long for Jen, who is really Aurelia. Also Pastor Silvio said she had 40 children and grandchildren to care for, not 27. WOW!

July 17: Field Day 4: After our last water filter, Pastor Silvio and myself and our water filter team stopped by her house to see if it was the one I remembered since I had her name wrong. It was her house, with the 6 other homes of her children and grandchildren around hers. Many of her grandchildren came running out to greet us!

Another God-moment: When the children and adults were mostly done hugging us after the Jonah drama took place Thursday afternoon that I narrated and Andrea, Cindy, Bill and Bob portrayed, I asked Jose, my translator during the field days, where Aurelia was. Pastor Silvio told him which woman she was. She was the woman sweeping the dirt area between the church and school all of our field days this year and last year. She was right before my eyes all week long! I shared Psalm 121:5a:  “The Lord is your keeper” and explained how I had been praying for her and her 27 (really 40, but God knew) children and grandchildren and great grandchildren each week for the past year and would continue to pray for God to keep her and them close to Him, to “be their keeper.” I gave her a big hug, and she gave me a hug. God had planned that grand closure all week long!

Closing Thoughts from Lisa Marshall, Team Leader

God brought people from 4 different churches and 3 different states to Nicaragua, specifically, to the village of Quince de Julio on a water project.   Before arriving at the village each day, team members were called on to make breakfast for the other members of the team.  I observed God’s love being displayed as this team found ways to serve one another and then continue these acts of service to the village of Quince de Julio.

We accomplished our goal of delivering water purifiers to forty different households, allowing each family to experience agua pura (pure water).   In addition to delivering water filters, much needed Health and Hygiene Education classes were held for both adults and children. We saw firsthand how important these classes are because the people in the village have recurring stomach issues along with parasite infestation.

In closing, our notes show that at least one hundred people were touched by the Word of God through personal evangelism and our VBS program. It truly has been a fabulous experience to serve with the members of Team 1419.

I want to thank all those who supported this team through monetary gifts, supplies, as well as the tremendous prayer support. 

God’s peace to all of you,

Lisa Marshall

Thoughts on Family Friendly Mission Trips

Over the next few days, I (Diana Strand) hope to share some post-trip reflections from several members of Team 1419.  I'm starting with some closing thoughts from our family on what it was like to serve as a family in the mission field since we just got off the phone with MOST after discussing this very topic.  As you may or may not know, our family served as guinea pigs, so to speak, for MOST Ministries on this trip since children younger than 12 have not previously been allowed on MOST trips.  Since my husband, Greg, and I had served on a MOST trip to Quince de Julio last year, when the opportunity arose for us to return this year, our first question was whether Adam and Audrey could come.  

Serving together on a short-term mission has been a goal for our family for several years now.  We have wanted to serve as a family unit as a means of equipping our children for acts of service as members of the body of Christ.  We particularly wanted them to have a cross-cultural experience like this while they were young and impressionable, before their worldview was jaded by media, peers, and growing up privileged in America.  Knowing that other families reading this may have these same goals, we wanted to share some of the highlights and challenges of spending just over a week in Nicaragua with our 8-year old girl and 11-year old boy.

After this experience, we would say that our greatest takeaway is that kids are valuable team members who can connect cross-culturally in ways that adults can not.  Adam and Audrey were not just tagalongs -- they were valued team members.  Only kids can truly connect with other kids and for them, the language barrier was never a real issue.  They were able to just play with the kids in the church yard, participate with them at VBS, and hold hands and give hugs in ways we could not as adults.

And yet it wasn't just the cross-cultural connection -- they were part of our team of 12.  True, Adam and Audrey couldn't take on the same team jobs all the adults could -- they're not quite ready to cook breakfast for 12 without adult supervision.  Yet they did take on jobs like helping to prep the crafts for VBS and serving as photographer.  Our teammates were great about asking the kids for their input and perspective, and Adam and Audrey often had different insights that were helpful to the team.

One incident that stands out is when we gave our kids the opportunity to contribute in sharing a devotion with the team on our last night together.  Both of them chose to speak from Philippians, chapter 4.  Adam went first and read from verses 10 to 13:

Adam talked about how his perspective was changed after a week of seeing real poverty firsthand.  He said he kept thinking of these verses and how little we truly need of "things" when we have God.

Audrey then read Philippians 4:6-7:

Actually, she didn't even really need to read it -- she was able to sing it after having memorized it from this Seeds Family Worship song years ago.  Audrey's dwelling for the week centered on not being anxious and coming to God in prayer for everything (which she did all week.)

So based on what they shared at our team devotional time, I would say that both kids came away from this trip with valuable lessons.  However, there were challenges as well.  The biggest challenge was sleep, or lack of it.  Adam was with Greg in the guys' "dorm" and Audrey was with me and the other women.  Adam was able to tune out the world and go to sleep, but for Audrey, it just wasn't possible.  She is just so social that she simply could not sleep if others were up and talking.  The lack of sleep probably compounded some of the stress they felt -- for any participant there is a certain level of stress in a cross-cultural setting.  The kids did have one evening of fighting with each other that the rest of the team could not help but overhear, but we were able to work with the kids in their conflict resolution and have them restore their relationship with every team member and not just each other.

Yet in spite of these challenges, I would say that when it comes to being thrown into a new situation, kids are probably a bit more resilient than adults.  They are accustomed to not being in control of their daily agenda and just doing what they're directed to do, so the uncertainties of what was coming up next didn't really bother them.  As Audrey said one evening when we asked her what she thought of the trip so far, "You go with the flow -- you never know."  I would say both kids, as different as they are from each other, embodied this attitude throughout the week.

So if we ever felt that God was calling our family to another missional service opportunity would we go?  Yes, we would definitely do it again.  We didn't just survive our week in Nicaragua.  It was a time of growth for all of us.

Day Seven (Friday)

Today was our last full day as a team together in Nicaragua.  First thing this morning it was time to depart our home base for the week, the mission center in Chinandega.

Given that tomorrow is Liberation Day, it took quite awhile to get to Managua with all the traffic.  Our first stop was lunch at El Bucanero (the Buccaneer), a beautiful outdoor restaurant overlooking the Masaya lagoon.

Then it was time for a trip up to the Masaya volcano.  We didn't have time to visit the museum, but we did go to the edge of the crater for a few pictures.  We didn't stay long as it isn't the best air for breathing.

Our final tourist stop of the day was the artesans' market in Masaya.  Ray and Dianna Hart were the recipients of a grasshopper made out of a palm leaf by a local boy and we all enjoyed the shopping variety as we found plenty of little remembrances of Nicaragua to take back home.

This evening we had our final team dinner in the hotel restaurant.  We enjoyed delicious food and one last evening debriefing session.

As we head to bed our last night in Nicaragua, we pray for more safe travels tomorrow.  We are on 3 different flights out of Managua, so we will be saying our goodbyes shortly after breakfast. Please pray for strength and patience for one more long day of travel and that we are able to transition back into our daily lives successfully this next week.  Thank you for all your prayer support -- we have felt the many prayers on our behalf.  Once we've transitioned back home, I hope to share some closing thoughts from some of the other team members.  In all things we've learned to say "Gracias a Dios!"  (Thanks be to God!)

Day Six (Thursday)

Today was our last day with our brothers and sisters at New Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Quince de Julio.  Vicar Jeronimo started the morning with our devotion before the teams left to do the last of the water filters.

After the water filter teams left, Pastor Greg and Diana Strand had their final class with the women.  Today we covered oral hygiene and nutrition for our physical health topics and witness bracelets for our spiritual topic.

The women all joined hands with us for prayer at the end of class and we reminded them that although our physical connection would soon be broken, the connection in our hearts would remain and one day we would all be reconnected in heaven.

The kids had another great morning playing outside.  This time they tied 3 jump ropes together for jumping and limbo, climbed the tree, and asked for lots of pictures, especially with their dear Audrey.

After lunch it was time for our last VBS with the kids.  Again, we used every last chair in the church and ran out of crafts.  The kids even dealt with a burning trash pile during their lesson, but they did great with their verse of the day and patiently waited in line to receive a witness bracelet and other reminders to take home.

It was a bit of a crazy day for the clean water project since the schedule for visits kept changing, but as Audrey said a couple nights ago, "You go with the flow -- you never know."  Once the water team got back from visiting the last homes for filters and Tippy Taps, it was time for our closing program in the church and lots of farewell hugs.  Pastor Dave, Bill, Bob, Cindy, and Andrea did a drama based on the book of Jonah, and then Pastor Silvio, Justo, Vicar Jeronimo, and Aurelia all had closing words for us (and even some tokens of remembrance.)

Then it was time for hugs and tears and goodbyes.  So many hugs!  I thought we'd never drag Audrey onto the van and I think she must have the entire congregation in her autograph book!

We stopped for one last team shot before we loaded up and I finally got a picture of Jose our driver and Jose and Frank our translators.

So that was our last day in Quince de Julio.  We were so thankful to be able to finish all 40 water filters to improve the health of 40 families and to reach so many children and adults through the programs at the church.   It was hard to leave because only God knows if we will see our Nicaraguan brothers and sisters again this side of heaven.  Yet, four of us were just here a year ago, so we will have to wait and see what God has in store for us.  

Tonight we are packing up in Chinandega to go sightseeing near Managua tomorrow before we check in at the airport hotel.  We pray that we will be safe as we travel and that we will be able to enjoy our last day together tomorrow.  We also pray that God will continue to guide and strengthen the people of Quince de Julio and that he will give them His hope and peace.

Day Five (Wednesday)

Before I start today's post, the team would like me to pass along their gratitude to all who are praying for us.  Not many of us brought along devices for internet access, but I do read any comments left on the blog to the team over breakfast each morning.  So, feel free to leave comments at the end of this or any post -- team members love hearing encouraging words and thoughts from home.  If you can't figure out how to leave a comment on the blog, you can always leave it at our Strands on a Mission Facebook page that my family has -- if you have Facebook access.

So today upon arrival at Quince de Julio, we were led in our morning devotion by Pastor Dave.  He related the story of Andrea's stolen passport as he spoke on Romans 5:3-5.

Pastor Dave invited Andrea to share part of her experience and the hope that she had even in the midst of a difficult experience.

After our morning devotional time, it was time to send out the clean water project teams with an even more ambitious goal today:  we are hoping to finish up the project tomorrow morning to allow for some special activities tomorrow afternoon, so today's goal was for each team to finish 7 filters, so that there would only be 4 left for each team tomorrow morning.  Frank, one of our translators, took along my camera today, so for once I have lots of pictures to share of one of the morning teams.  He snapped a few of the team that included Pastor Dave, Bill, and Cindy before he went off to work with Lisa, Ray, and Andrea.

Morning at the church went much the same as yesterday:  Greg and Diana were able to lead the mothers in the third health & hygiene class which today covered fun topics like parasites and diarrhea.  The mothers had lots to contribute to the conversation and were happy to all go home with a special measuring spoon for making an oral rehydration solution (from a bottle of water, a bit of salt, and a small amount of sugar) as well as toothbrushes and toothpastes.  Thank you again to the many of you who contributed supplies for our work!

While the Strands were teaching, their kids were again playing in the church yard with many of the local children under the supervision of Dianna Hart and Bob.  Adam worked on some jump-roping speed today and Audrey tied jump ropes together to use for three-person jump roping and for limbo practice.  The kids had a great morning, as always.

After our lunch break, we had just 7 filters left for the two teams.  We went out in the same teams as yesterday, with Lisa taking Ray and Dianna Hart while Pastor Dave took Greg and Diana Strand, as well as their son, Adam, who got to serve as team photographer for the afternoon.  I'm not including all of his shots here, but I did want to include quite a few as I thought it was interesting to see the afternoon through his eyes.

In terms of the clean water project, today was probably the most challenging day so far.  Lisa's team found that their visits took longer than expected because at nearly every house there was someone sick to pray over.  Pastor Dave's team met a woman this afternoon who just seemed to have no hope about improving her family's health and living situation.  We found ourselves wondering aloud to each other after we left if she would even be supported by her family members as she tried to introduce healthy habits through the handwashing with the Tippy Tap and having the filter available yet in need of minimal maintenance to provide clean drinking water for them all.

The afternoon session with the kids was huge today -- more than 60 children with at least 20 that we had not met yet this week.  The children learned about the Parable of the Mustard Seed during VBS and spent their health and hygiene time learning about nutrition and oral hygiene.  This meant that the children, as well as the moms, were are able to go home with new toothbrushes and toothpaste today, along with their VBS crafts (some of which Adam took a picture of above when he saw them on the wall at one of the houses we visited.)

So as hard as it is to believe, we only have one more day with the people of Quince de Julio.  We are so grateful for God's provision so far and pray that he will continue to guide us tomorrow.  We also pray for all the sick we met today and that God would protect their families.