Dec. 28, 2016
Team Nicaragua - Day 7 — FCA Barrio Basketball, and
Team Time
Hola Amigos. Today was our last day in Managua,
Nicaragua, and it comes with mixed emotions.
Of course we are excited to be traveling back to the States, back to our
families and our friends, and pets. We
are not necessarily excited to be coming back to cold weather, hopefully it’s
not to chilly for our return.
And we are also sad, as we all said our good
byes today. We spent another day in the
neighborhood of Loma Linda for a morning of Barrio Basketball. Again, this is an FCA Nicaragua program run
with the support of Iglesia Nueva Jerusalem, New Jerusalem Church.
We had a nice turnout this morning, maybe not
quite as many as the first day, and it was great to see some familiar faces
again. When we first show up around 9 A.M., there are very few people and kids
around, but as soon as the basketballs come out and the sounds of them bouncing
on the court start resonating throughout the neighborhood, the kids all begin
to show up and the park breaks loose.
When we arrived this morning, there was a young
boy trying to ride his new bike with his mom helping. It was obvious that he was having trouble so
we went over to see if we could help. He
was having problems with his pedal and the chain coming off. We rounded up some
tools from the driver of our van Luis, and we were able to make some
adjustments for him so he could get rolling again. Mission accomplished.
Back on the court, the kids were having a
complete blast; basketballs were flying, soccer balls were being kicked and
footballs were being thrown. We brought
the sidewalk chalk again and the kids practically covered the entire court with
drawings. The program was organized
similar to our first day, and Team Nicaragua shared the devotional again. It was really cool to see all the little kids
sitting down and listening so intently as our team shared the days message.
Then it was time for a snack, some lemonade and
some more playing to end our time. Somebody in the group drew Barrio Basketball
on the court in chalk, so we rallied the troops for one massive group
photo.
This ended our time, but not before Tons of
hugs, Tons of high fives, smiles and even tears. It’s amazing how over the course of 1 week
these relationships were built and feel like they will continue to be shared,
especially with the help of social media; kids and grown ups alike were
exchanging Facebook and Instagram accounts.
It has been super cool for me to visit my Facebook page and see friends
of mine in the states liking the same pictures that my new friends in Nicaragua
are also liking and commenting on.
I think one of the most important take aways
from this trip is that this mission does not end when we get home.
The reason for forming relationships in the first place is so they can
grow and flourish, just like our relationship with Christ. It is apparent to me
that all of our families will keep each other in prayer, lift each other up and
have great memories that we will cherish for a very long time. I can’t wait to
get home to see how our lives will be affected, how we can possibly change some
of our priorities and continue to grow and serve. We will have many more opportunities to serve
our Lord, probably more locally and regionally in the near future, but I get
the feeling that this experience will create a desire in our families to
continue these types of trips.
It is such a blessing to be a blessing, to
share His desires for all, across our borders and from different nationalities
and cultures. In our lives people are
often shut off or shut out because of cultural differences or simple language
barriers, but in His Glory our language is universal, and that can conquer any
difficulties that we encounter due to lack of knowledge or even a lack of
general caring. We, as followers of
Christ Jesus, are all called to Unleash HIs Love; Here, There and
Everywhere. One purpose, HIs purpose.
And by the words of Bob Marley;
“One
love, one heart
Let's get together and feel all right
As it was in the beginning (one love)
So shall it be in the end (one heart)
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right”
As I said in my previous message, I really want
to be intentional about continuing our relationship and prayer for our new Nicaraguan
friends. My prayer request for them tonight is that the Lord God can move in
them in a mighty way, that our Father will continue to watch over them and
Bless them and keep them safe. In His
name I pray, Amen.
Thank you so much to The Izzo family for their
hospitality. Thank you to Cesar for
helping Jeff with this great FCA Ministry and making us all feel very welcome
in his country. Thank you to our driver
Luis, our cook Esperanza, our interpreter Rebecca, and our new friend Ebert and
all the others that have helped make our stay here in Nicaragua such a
tremendous experience for all of our families. We Love You All!!
God Bless, and we will see you back in the
states!!
Love,
The Allreds, The Ernests & The Roberts
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