This summer, while in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, we’ve met so many families living poured out lives for the sake of the Gospel. One thing that keeps standing out as we meet each new person is that the one valuable thing they have isn’t within themselves, but rather a complete surrender to Someone they happen to know well. Our Pastor back home wrote yesterday about the great purpose for each ordinary person, and as I read it I remembered how it seems a realization of our own brokenness happens oftentimes just before some of our biggest adventures in faith. He shared how he ran into old friends that are walking away from everything they worked for, everything they thought they ever wanted to make their lives about something more valuable. I feel blessed that God moves in the hearts of all of us. My prayer is that we’ll all learn to listen. Following costs each of us something different b/c our expectations and ideas are different , but we all gain the same thing. Hope in an eternal Truth that brings a freedom you can’t create, buy, or produce on your own. To get it, you search, question, fall, and learn to get back up. Then you learn to trust and to believe. You learn to jump into the unknown, and the adventure builds and builds until you’ve built such a story with the One that guides you that you have to share it.
Spending time with the Rodgers family was a high point in our journey while here. Their story was one of longing to go, but waiting on God to tell them what they would do. And at the perfect timing, they received confirmation of where and what their next adventure would be. They determined they were on a 2 year mission, and through Teethsavers, Keith and Kelly Rodgers moved to Nicaragua, live in the barrio with the people they serve and visit schools and orphanages, educating kids about Dental Care. Each day they would provide guidance and care, including fillings when needed. As we were serving at a school one day, I was impacted by the amount of patience needed to care for each kid, and in the hottest temperatures we’ve experienced while here. As their mission in Nicaragua comes to a close this December, they’ll continue living on mission back home and know they were and still are a part of building something God wanted to do in Nicaragua. What they built here in Nicaragua will be carried on by the Nicas after they’re gone. Here’s a few shots from our day at one of the schools. For more information on the Rodgers or to offer your support, http://www.hopefornica.com/
Children playing while kids wait for dental exams
