After many years of waiting for retirement, and praying about how the Lord would use us in the last season of our lives, we are now beginning to see some idea of how we can be used. In January, we took a vision and study trip to Nicaragua to see if there are areas that we could be of service in any fashion in that beautiful country. We have been told so many stories from so many different missionaries and agencies in Nicaragua that the country is so oversaturated with missionaries that we were already feeling there was not a great lot that we could offer to the Country.
We had thought that only one trip might be sufficient for us to see some open doors, or that the door would be completely closed, and we could move on to some other area. But our Church, Ginger Creek Community Church is heavily involved in ministry there. Norma and I both are on the mission team at Ginger Creek.
While in Nicaragua this last trip, we began to see and feel some new possibilities, as we travelled around the Managua area talking to missionaries and agencies about their interests and vision. We had heard about an agency called the Nehemiah Center that fascinated us very much. We visited the Center, and discovered something that we had wondered about for along time. We found that this was an agency born out of Nicaraguan National Churches, that was totally indigenous and moving on it’s own. This really struck a cord with our thinking, and we began to dig deeper into the organization. We found that although there are many participating American agencies, none of them are involved in the decision-making works of the National Church. No organization puts any money into the operation, without the consent and blessing of the Nicaraguans.
We discovered one organization that was so deeply committed to this philosophy of mission, that we wanted to know more about it. It was quite intriguing, because although they did have a web page, which told a little about them, they were not in business of marketing to bring in missionaries or to hire more staff. Instead, they are more interested in finding out if an individual fits their standard of Missionary service. Very little was found about them, except they worked in Mexico, Nicaragua, Slovenia, Sudan and India. We became even more intrigued and found a contact address in Arizona. Then when Norma tried making contact with this address, the person that responded was in Lisle, IL, only a few miles from us. We set an appointment to meet with the director, and found this to be quite an unusual meeting. Upon introduction, he asked us about our story, and we poured out our hearts to him about what we at Ginger Creek were doing in Nicaragua. He asked about our past life, studies and experiences since our return from Spain in 1983. After about 30 minutes of spilling our guts to him about our life, he looked up with a smile and said. I love you guys, and I don’t even know you. You have the heart of true missiologists. You are the kind of people we look for to partner with us.
Now it must be said, we did not go there looking for a job, nor were we seeking out any sort of assistance, other than how we could be used to the max in Nicaragua.
After 4 hours of sitting and discussing works all around the world, we left the meeting, loaded down with new books, new ideas and a new challenge thrown at us. We went home so full of information, that it was almost overwhelming.
We had already been preparing another trip to Nicaragua, so we asked him if there might be some work that he would want us to do while we were there, as this time we were planning to stay a little longer.
His response was amazing. We would only want you to do the work that you are currently doing. We would just ask that you continue doing it, and then report to us about what you learn. We spend a lot of time looking over statistics and learning how we can better serve churches around the world. The information and statistics that you are gathering would be a wealth of information for us. We only need to know what you are doing and how you work is growing there. You just work with the contacts you have, and we will be satisfied. If you have time, we may ask you to go to the coast and check up on a work we have there. “ That is all we ask of you. This will give you time to check us out, and see if you are interested in going deeper with us.
So here we are on our way to Nicaragua again, and on this trip, will be seeking God’s wisdom as to whether or not we fit in with their philosophy of mission, or perhaps if we at Ginger Creek may be able to partner with them in some way in Nicaragua. Either way, we see it as a win / win situation for all involved.
We seek your prayers as we travel, believing God will provide all our needs while we are there.
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