"But the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted ever perish."
Psalm 9:18
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4:18-19
"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
Colossians 1:9-12
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Matthew 5:14-16
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4:18-19
"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light."
Colossians 1:9-12
Well, I made it back to the States safe and sound. It was a great week. Anyone that has ever been on a mission trip like this knows that many things don't start hitting home and TRULY touching your heart until you return and have time to reflect on things that occurred throughout the week.
Last year I was very emotional for about 2 weeks after returning home. Last year was also very different in a lot of ways. Now that I have made it back safe, I have to confess something: I was VERY nervous about this trip. I was physically sick to my stomach and literally shaking with fear the 24 hours leading up to our first flight. It was one of those "gut feelings" that something didn't feel quite right.
We had received an email from Mark, our team leader, about Quilali, the village we would be going to. It was very different than any village a team had ever been sent to before. By Nicaraguan standards, they were very well off. Truthfully, by American standards, it didn't look much different than the other villages of Nicaragua. But this town had an established medical clinic and a nice, well equipped hospital (again, by Nicaraguan standards.) It was political gain that the mayor asked us to visit this village. It was just a strange feeling all around. About 2 hours before we arrived at the village, we were stopped by the police. It didn't take long for us to be told that we were going to escorted by the police the rest of the way through the mountains to the village of Quilali. I didn't know whether to be relieved or more apprehensive.
The village of Quilali is an 8 to 9 hour bus ride from our mission home in Managua. The last third of the trip is through the mountains on unpaved roads, and over unstable bridges, and the roads are generally a car width wide. It rained so much while we were there during the week, that a lot of people began wondering about our bus ride back, thinking some of the roads would be difficult to pass or washed out.
After being escorted in by the police, we began to slowly realize that we were almost like celebrities to them. They were videoing us--as in walking around with a camcorder all day every day while we did our jobs and came to do what we were there to do, and we had armed guards 24 hours a day. We were locked in the school where we stayed at all times, with armed guards at the gate. At night, we had police walking around our rooms and the school with what looked to be machine guns. This is probably the most well protected trip that any BMDMI team has ever been on.
Needless to say, it was definitely an experience. One that I am still reflecting on. I know that God was really at work and I am looking forward to next year already. I plan on really making a point to try and save money so that I can have it set aside and make plans to go. The past 2 times I have been, I have left a small piece of my heart there. You don't have time or any extra energy to really understand all that happens while you are there. It is when you return to our modern conveniences and spoiled way of life, that you really begin to understand what happened the previous week.
These are pictures I took during the week. They aren't all of them, because I took over 200, but these are some good ones of the work we did.
Last year I was very emotional for about 2 weeks after returning home. Last year was also very different in a lot of ways. Now that I have made it back safe, I have to confess something: I was VERY nervous about this trip. I was physically sick to my stomach and literally shaking with fear the 24 hours leading up to our first flight. It was one of those "gut feelings" that something didn't feel quite right.
We had received an email from Mark, our team leader, about Quilali, the village we would be going to. It was very different than any village a team had ever been sent to before. By Nicaraguan standards, they were very well off. Truthfully, by American standards, it didn't look much different than the other villages of Nicaragua. But this town had an established medical clinic and a nice, well equipped hospital (again, by Nicaraguan standards.) It was political gain that the mayor asked us to visit this village. It was just a strange feeling all around. About 2 hours before we arrived at the village, we were stopped by the police. It didn't take long for us to be told that we were going to escorted by the police the rest of the way through the mountains to the village of Quilali. I didn't know whether to be relieved or more apprehensive.
The village of Quilali is an 8 to 9 hour bus ride from our mission home in Managua. The last third of the trip is through the mountains on unpaved roads, and over unstable bridges, and the roads are generally a car width wide. It rained so much while we were there during the week, that a lot of people began wondering about our bus ride back, thinking some of the roads would be difficult to pass or washed out.
After being escorted in by the police, we began to slowly realize that we were almost like celebrities to them. They were videoing us--as in walking around with a camcorder all day every day while we did our jobs and came to do what we were there to do, and we had armed guards 24 hours a day. We were locked in the school where we stayed at all times, with armed guards at the gate. At night, we had police walking around our rooms and the school with what looked to be machine guns. This is probably the most well protected trip that any BMDMI team has ever been on.
Needless to say, it was definitely an experience. One that I am still reflecting on. I know that God was really at work and I am looking forward to next year already. I plan on really making a point to try and save money so that I can have it set aside and make plans to go. The past 2 times I have been, I have left a small piece of my heart there. You don't have time or any extra energy to really understand all that happens while you are there. It is when you return to our modern conveniences and spoiled way of life, that you really begin to understand what happened the previous week.
These are pictures I took during the week. They aren't all of them, because I took over 200, but these are some good ones of the work we did.
Brother Chris (Hillcrest's pastor) probably counting his "sheep" (his teammates from Hillcrest) making sure we are all on the bus before heading out to Quilali.
Brother Cliff, Brother Chris, Kerry, and Mark Brashier, our team leader.
This is sort of a tent city right in the middle of Managua. Nothing but houses made of cardboard and garbage bags.
Kelly, Jennifer, and me.
Stopping at a gas station and having lunch.
Look closely. This was a protected fence from broken glass bottles cemented in.
A random house in the mountains somewhere on the way to Quilali.
Nicaragua is a BEAUTIFUL country with so many shades of green.
This is our police escort in the city. The guy in white was recording us on video as we drove in.
I didn't post the other picture I took before this, but there were people washing in this river about 20 feet from the cows laying in the river.
I think the word of our arrival had spread to the surrounding homes because many people 2 hours outside of the village were standing outside waiting on us.
More beautiful scenery.
The village from a long distance.
Another picture of our escorts.
Arriving in the village.
Jennifer and me. We were the dental assistants. Jennifer just applied to dental school.
Residents of the village, on the outside of the fence.
The medical clinic. And Kelly and her sweet translator, Julio.
Another view of the medical clinic.
Triage outside of the medical clinic.
Patients waiting to be seen.
Precious little girl who, I was told, had a bad case of head lice.
The outside of the room where we slept. The left door is where the girls stayed, and the right door is where the guys stayed. No privacy whatsoever. This was taken standing inside the dental clinic.
Jennifer, Missy, and Dr. Dale. Missy came down from the medical clinic one afternoon and was fascinated by what she saw. Can't you tell by the look on her face?
Nurse Tina and some sweet, precious boys.
Ms. Sonja helping an elderly lady.
Holly, Jennifer, and me. The 3 assistants. Holly is a student at LSU and has applied to several medical schools. She speaks a good deal of Spanish and has been on "Wheel of Fortune". She was a lot of fun to get to know.
Bro. Cliff, Holly, and Dr. Dale showing off some muscles.
Dr. Dale counting the days extractions.
Kelly and Missy at one of the morning services.
Two local school girls.
Fog lifting off the mountain.
Sweeping outside one of the stores.
The whole dental team. Jennifer, Holly, Dr. Dale Vance, Dr. Leslie, Dr. Lus, me, and Caralina, one of the translators. The 2 female dentists are from Nicaragua and don't speak English. One thing I have noticed is that there are very few male dentists in Nicaragua.
So, I was assisting Dr. Leslie this day, and she started talking to this man in the chair. I could pick up on a few words and also the way she was using her hands. I asked Larry, one of our translators to come and translate the conversation for me. She was asking this young man if he had Jesus in his heart. He said he believed in God, but did not have Jesus in his heart. He had never asked to receive him. Dr. Leslie told him he looked like he would make a great preacher. He prayed the prayer while sitting in the dental chair to ask God into his heart and he then said he would ask God for the wisdom so that he could share the love of God with others. I started crying like a baby. This is the whole point of why we go out to remote villages and foreign countries to do this. Dr. Leslie then pointed at me and said that all these people save all the money they can so that they can come on trips like these and help all the people in need and to share the love of Christ with others. It was an awesome experience to be a part of.
Dr. Gene with a patient.
Standing in line at the pharmacy.
We had simple Mardi Gras beads to hand out to the children and women. The silly things we take for granted, these GROWN women loved and appreciated like nothing I have ever seen before.
This was a precious little girl who came over to me after I waved hello to her. I handed her some stickers, a couple of Silly Bandz bracelets, and a necklace, and she was so happy. I asked to take a picture with her and she hugged me like she had known me all her life.
A sweet little boy playing soccer. The metal boxes behind him were our showers.
I fell in love with this angel. She was one of the most beautiful girls I have ever laid my eyes on, and we had to extract all of her upper front baby teeth. They were totally rotten, for lack of more professional words.
Dr. Dale let me extract a tooth all by myself. It was a cuspid. I'm sure this poor lady was ready to get out of the chair.
Forceps in hand.
Dr. Dale being MY assistant.
Dale and me.
My birthday picture. Kelly wanted to take a picture of me on my birthday.
This was at the hospital in Nicaragua. Totally different than anything we have here in America.
The ambulance outside of the hospital. What did a stretcher look like? It was a piece of wood. Literally.
The view from the hospital.
The gate leading to and from the hospital.
The main entrance to the hospital.
Dr. Dale and me in our matching green scrubs.
Assisting Dr. Leslie.
A cute little boy. He looks like he should be in a magazine.
Getting ready to extract some teeth on him.
Sarah and Courtney with the children.
I could have taken him home with me.
Lining up all over the place.
Some more precious children.
The 3 dentists.
The 3 assistants.
I could have also taken these babies home with me. I wanted to just pack them in my suitcase and head for home.
Does it get any cuter than that?
I even got to hold them.
The eye clinic.
They loved the sunglasses.
Me, Larry, and Jennifer. Larry was one of the dental clinics translators.
Kelly, Julio, and Missy. Julio was Kelly's translator. I truly think he looks like the Nicaraguan version of Rob Pattinson (a.k.a. Edward Cullen). He had actually seen the "Twilight" movies and knew who we were talking about. He even signed my birthday card "Julio Cullen". We had so much fun with that. Julio is 30 years old and an architect. But because of the economy, he has had a hard time making ends meet. So, he does things like translating to earn some money. He wants to come to America, but for some reason is having a very difficult time getting a visa. I hope he is able to come here one day. He is so intelligent and hard working and educated.
Julio and Missy.
Missy, me, Kelly, and Jennifer.
Randy, our awesome cook. I was wanting to lose weight this past week. Instead, I gained it.
One of the little girls at the worship service on the last night.
At the last worship service in the village.
Look closely at the Nicaraguans worshiping. It was awesome.
Another little girl I fell in love with.
Some of the children outside of our bus as we were saying our good-byes.
Some more green countryside.
This was the view from our mission home the night we returned. It is always such a pretty sight. You never see the same view twice because the sky is always doing such wonderful things.
Everyone relaxing and socializing after the long trip back.
Mrs. Tina teaching us a craft before bedtime.
Bro. Chris even made one.
Showing off our bracelets or necklaces or anklets.
The Hillcrest group.
Randy and Missy.
Kelly has such a great sense of humor.
Julio and me.
Standing at "The Crater".
The Hillcrest gang.
Missy, Julio, Kelly, Israel, and me. Israel is an awesome guy. I wish I could tell you everything about him, but there just aren't enough hours in the day. He's 19 and is fluent in 3 languages. He wants to go to medical school in the U.S. (or major in airport management.) I think he would make a great doctor and he's got the intelligence to do so. His mom is a big part of BMDMI and runs the mission home. He's grown up around Americans his whole life and has a wonderful sense of humor. His dad used to work for BMDMI, but is now affiliated with another mission group. Israel went with us shopping and we had the best time with him. I am really going to miss him.
The Bible College for men. BMDMI sends men to this Bible college free of charge. Once they graduate, they send these men out into the villages that BMDMI teams have visited, and establish churches where there are no churches. They rely solely on financial support from BMDMI supporters, just as all the missionaries do.
Outside the college.
Coffee beans that grow everywhere in Nicaragua. Even on the side of the road.
Outside the orphanage for young girls who have been sexually molested, abused, or raped.
The Brassfield's who basically run the orphanage.
One of the sweet girls.
Sonja and a baby she fell in love with.
Tina and a 16 month old boy.
Kelly and the newborn baby. The mother is 12.
He started crying when I held him. I guess God is telling me to get rid of the baby fever I have right now.
Look at that face.
This is a sweet girl named Nora. I believe she is 14. The 16 month old boy in the previous pictures is her baby. She speaks a small amount of English and every time she would say something she had us laughing our heads off, as you can tell in this picture. She was hilarious.
The birthday cake they had for me at the mission home. I don't know who Raymond is.
The birthday card Missy and Kelly had most of my teammates sign. It was so sweet.
The birthday cake Chad and Brennan made for me. It is yummy.
So, there is my week in a nutshell. I was so tired last night when I got home. More tired than I remember being last year. It is such an emotional AND physical week, that once it all catches up with you, you sort of crash and burn from exhaustion.
I am so glad God sent me this year. And I am so thankful for the people who provided the funds for me to go. I missed my family, but I am already ready to go back again next year. God revealed himself in so many unusual ways this week that it would be foolish to say there isn't a God that still performs miracles all the time, each and every day. We all saw miraculous things happen, and all 50 of us could tell you something beyond comprehension that we witnessed.
Returning from a trip like that makes one realize what we have here in "God blessed America" (as my preacher likes to say) that we take for granted. Simple things like soap and toothpaste to more advanced things like healthcare. It makes you want to stop and weep for the things we have and almost feel selfish for the things we have that we don't NEED. Here in a place like
America, it's all about the bigger car, the bigger house, the expensive clothes, and where we send our kids to school. Some kids are lucky to attend schools. In a place like Nicaragua, most don't own cars. Most don't live in houses. At least what we would consider a house. A lot are lucky to literally have the clothes on their backs. And the clothes they do have on their backs aren't new, aren't fashionable, and are probably the only clothes they own.
I have such a peace inside me that I don't ever want to leave. But, just as anything, I know that as I slowly get back into my routine, and get back to my everyday life, this new feeling I have will wear off. I'll get back to wanting a bigger house, nicer furniture, a newer car, and spending money I shouldn't on things I don't need. When Christmas comes I'll spend a fortune on things for my kids that they will play with for 10 minutes and it will be a forgotten thing of the past to collect dust at the bottom of one of their many toy boxes. When Brennan starts school he will have 3 new pairs of shoes. There was a kid we saw in Quilali that wouldn't go to school because he didn't have a pair of shoes fit to go to school. Money was collected, and he was able to buy a brand new pair of shoes and a pair of new rainboots so he could return to school. Again, it's the simple things we take for granted like the shoes on our feet.
I would tell anyone considering a trip like we took, to do it. Stop thinking about it and do it. It is so humbling and really lets one see how God can work through us. I heard it said many times this week, that there are always going to be the poor and the needy in this world. While we can't help everyone, it is our job to be the hands and feet of Christ and do what he called us to do here on earth. Jesus reached and preached to multitudes, but even he couldn't reach and preach to every living person on earth. We should take the gifts God has equipped up with and run with them. Run to others with those gifts.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures. It was and awesome week. Only 51 more until the next one.
So, there is my week in a nutshell. I was so tired last night when I got home. More tired than I remember being last year. It is such an emotional AND physical week, that once it all catches up with you, you sort of crash and burn from exhaustion.
I am so glad God sent me this year. And I am so thankful for the people who provided the funds for me to go. I missed my family, but I am already ready to go back again next year. God revealed himself in so many unusual ways this week that it would be foolish to say there isn't a God that still performs miracles all the time, each and every day. We all saw miraculous things happen, and all 50 of us could tell you something beyond comprehension that we witnessed.
Returning from a trip like that makes one realize what we have here in "God blessed America" (as my preacher likes to say) that we take for granted. Simple things like soap and toothpaste to more advanced things like healthcare. It makes you want to stop and weep for the things we have and almost feel selfish for the things we have that we don't NEED. Here in a place like
America, it's all about the bigger car, the bigger house, the expensive clothes, and where we send our kids to school. Some kids are lucky to attend schools. In a place like Nicaragua, most don't own cars. Most don't live in houses. At least what we would consider a house. A lot are lucky to literally have the clothes on their backs. And the clothes they do have on their backs aren't new, aren't fashionable, and are probably the only clothes they own.
I have such a peace inside me that I don't ever want to leave. But, just as anything, I know that as I slowly get back into my routine, and get back to my everyday life, this new feeling I have will wear off. I'll get back to wanting a bigger house, nicer furniture, a newer car, and spending money I shouldn't on things I don't need. When Christmas comes I'll spend a fortune on things for my kids that they will play with for 10 minutes and it will be a forgotten thing of the past to collect dust at the bottom of one of their many toy boxes. When Brennan starts school he will have 3 new pairs of shoes. There was a kid we saw in Quilali that wouldn't go to school because he didn't have a pair of shoes fit to go to school. Money was collected, and he was able to buy a brand new pair of shoes and a pair of new rainboots so he could return to school. Again, it's the simple things we take for granted like the shoes on our feet.
I would tell anyone considering a trip like we took, to do it. Stop thinking about it and do it. It is so humbling and really lets one see how God can work through us. I heard it said many times this week, that there are always going to be the poor and the needy in this world. While we can't help everyone, it is our job to be the hands and feet of Christ and do what he called us to do here on earth. Jesus reached and preached to multitudes, but even he couldn't reach and preach to every living person on earth. We should take the gifts God has equipped up with and run with them. Run to others with those gifts.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures. It was and awesome week. Only 51 more until the next one.
3 comments:
Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures and stories from your amazing trip. You had me in tears several times. I am praying for God to open the door in my own life to be able to go on a mission trip soon. Lots of prayers and blessings to the entire mission team and ongoing prayers for the many lives that you touched with your ministry there!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I want to go next year! Don't forget me when you start planning. You wouldn't need a translator then. ;-) Those pictures reminded me so much of my beloved Panama.
now I'm crying. Anyway, love ya, glad you are back!
Mandy, Great job posting about the trip. I totally agree with all you said. Can't wait til next year! So glad I've found your blog too! Easier to keep up now!
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