Nicaragua Mission Trip 2004

An attempt by one person to summarize experiences of the 2004 Nicaragua Mission Team would probably fail to convey the impact of our adventure. Therefore, each member shares below a special moment or reflection. We are aware that words and even pictures, can't fully convey our feelings, but here we try to communicate to you who supported us, something of how we are changed by our trip.

Reflections by ...

Mary Duncan

And 2004 makes 5! This year marks my fifth mission trip to Latin America. Surely repetition reduces anxiety - a good thing - but my concern for this trip was that too much of the wonder would be gone. I had already seen the need, helped to build, and adored the children. Did God have any surprises, anything new for me this year?

Oh, yes!!! God opened my eyes to see how the missionaries are empowering the Nicaraguans in their ministries to one another. Pastor Thomas of Los Brasiles is teaching fellow pastors about prayer groups and congregational support. A Nicaraguan woman now directs the Re-nutrition Center. The construction foreman and workers at the hospital in Matagalpa are Nicaraguans. I have come home praising God for the insight that led to this empowerment, for the gift of seeing it in action, and for the privilege of having a small role in supporting God's plan for His people in Nicaragua.

Don May

The thing that impressed me most was the faith and resiliency of the Nicaraguan people. In light of their poverty, they still maintain a bright outlook and are a very warm and friendly people. I learned that with God's help we cannot only overcome but even thrive in a less than optimal situation. Their faith and belief are not shaken but made even stronger in the face of adversity.

Tom Hannigen

At the beginning we worked together quietly - mostly. But after some hand gestures I learned that nivel meant that we were supposed to smooth out the concrete and make it level- nivel. Edwin was very skilled at working the concrete into just the right smoothness by using a small float and a cement trowel - una cuchilla. I needed to learn again - quickly.

We played a game of charades to explain that a rake would help to move the concrete— a rastrillo. A typical garden rake was located and our bilingual, bicultural concrete pouring team became even more efficient.

A full morning and an hour or so after lunch and the cement porch for the hospital just outside of Matagalpa was complete. All it took was wheelbarrow after wheel barrow of concrete from a part human - part machine cement mixing process, and the skill of Edwin and his ability to get the most out of his visiting workers. A few words, many smiles, laughs and friendly gestures of explanation and the team was born.

DeAnna Hannigen

Toward the end of our time in Nicaragua our team went to a Re-nutrition Center. Many of the children who were not able to walk in the past, because of poor nutrition, greeted team members with open arms. I was toward the back of the group and as we meandered further into the center I noticed three baby carriers lined up on the floor. The outer two were empty but the middle one cradled a child who looked so fragile I thought his bones might not withstand being moved from the carrier. I squatted down and talked to the child. At first he just stared, but all at once his face burst into a huge smile. That was my undoing. I said to myself, " All right, we are going to try this. It's you and me, kid." and I scooped my hands and arms under his back and head and out of that carrier he came. His name was Jason. He was two years and three months old. He couldn't hold up his head, but he could smile. I'll never forget him.

Phil Duncan

Of the many events and situations which affected me in Nicaragua, the most compelling was the determination of the people of Ocote, a village of tiny, rough, mud-chinked huts tucked among trees atop a small mountain. Threatened with the malnutrition of their children, they have begun, with the help of Missionary Ventures, an effective feeding program, cooking food over a wood fire and serving the meals from their tiny, smoke-filled kitchen. It was a joy and inspiration to see that the people had not been overcome by circumstances, but with a little help had found a way to give their children not only a good meal, but also hope for a better life.

Duane Erdmann

I take a lot of pictures on mission trips – maybe 50-60 a day. The act of photographing helps me focus, helps me see the big picture, and helps me catch more of the nuances.

At first, I’m drawn to wide-angle exposures. I see the beautiful sunny landscapes, the relative enormity of the structures the local people are trying to build by hand, and the simplicity of their villages and homes. I see a large group of friendly people with flip-flops on their feet and few potbellies like my own. I sense their warmth and general gladness that we are there to help them and to praise a shared God.

Before long, the temptation to focus in on the individual faces overcomes me. Some are not so smiley. They fill the lens with contemplative looks -- looks of wonderment. Some are curious faces, others are giggly, some are shy, and others are just flattered to have the attention from gringos. The sparkle is missing in some eyes – there is almost a hollow appearance. These faces melt my heart right through the camera. Lord, help me help the hungry and the forgotten. Yes, although things appear OK in the big picture, they are not necessarily that way when one focuses in.

The mid range shots show me the interactions – big sisters feeding little brothers, older children pushing the littler ones to the front of the food line, three boys singing their hearts out with homemade stringed instruments. I see men in the background wondering about us and women working over a small stove happy to be able to prepare food for the children of their village. I see locals eagerly building a schoolroom with the new tools and materials provided. I see teachers enthusiastically interacting with their students, and I see people in earnest prayer thanking God for their blessings, praying for our safety and productivity, and praising God for His being in their life.

I revisit these pictures from time to time. They don’t change like I do. They don’t get numbed by the daily abundance I find in my home, unlimited opportunities, and immense blessings. They tell it the way it is each time. They tell me that there are other beautiful countries, other people who praise and petition the same Lord, and that there are hearts reflected on faces that truly appreciate some attention, a special meal, a little boost in their hope of a better day.

Thank you, Lord, for these pictures. Engrave the special ones on my heart so that they affect my actions every day.

Blair Althouse

They say you can never go back home, but one of the joys of mission trips is what we see and feel when we go back. It had been 3 years since I had last been in Nicaragua. On the last trip we worked with the community in Los Brasiles to build a new, larger church. My son Andrew had been on this trip and we and our team had worked many hot days in the July sun. The church was to be a great beginning for many things to come, and we left with a sense of great anticipation of what God could do with a vision and a little help.

Going back, it was easy to see that the Lord was certainly at work in Los Brasiles. In three short years the Church was completed, a school was started (by another of our mission teams) and additional land had been purchased and cleared for more school facilities. There were now over 100 children in the school that had only been a dream before. We worshiped in the now completed church that can hold 100 or more, and we began the work to expand the school for more children and higher grade levels.

All these physical things were great to see, but none compared to my astonishment when one of the young men we had worked with 3 years ago recognized me and asked how my son Andrew (yes, he remembered his name) was doing. Three years ago they had mixed cement, bent some rebar, sifted some sand, and danced in the rain together; but I think they also bonded in the start of something new that God was creating: his church and vision for Los Brasiles.