Latin Missions

This last week we had the privilege and honor of having a totally different kind of missions team. A group of 11 people came from our sister Vineyard church in Managua, Nicaragua to minister in the community. What a blessing it was to have them!! Of course there are the obvious little things that make a team from Latin America easy to have: they already know not to flush toilet paper down the toilet and they don't need my translation services (I have to admit, I loved visiting in the community with them. I really enjoyed just sitting back and listening in on the conversations)!!! But they also bring their own unique Latin flair that we gringos just can't duplicate. For example, the majority of the team plays on worship teams in Nicaragua...and it was AWESOME listening to them play worship with a totally different beat and sound. Another nice advantage was that we had been to their church in December, so there was already a heart connection there. Several of the young guys here in the community had been to their church, too, which helped break down those awkward walls we all know exist when meeting new people or going some where new.

For the group project, the guys fixed the steps going up to Doña Francisca's house. For those of you who have been there, you know how much that was needed!! For those of you who haven't been there, the steps were built into the side of the hill and were very narrow and starting to crumble. In the rain, they were basically just a slippery, muddy mess. The guys poured cement and leveled them out. Several of the girls also painted Francisca's tortilla store. It is now a cheery red. The best part is that Francisca and her family are all from Nicaragua...not only that, but they are immigrants from the community where the Vineyard in Managua has recently planted a church...in the poor, rural community of Tipitapa. What an amazingly unique opportunity for the group from Managua to minister to people from the community where they are also working back at home!

Another new advancement in Los Anonos is the addition of a recycling center where the old kinder/school was. Once a week the members of the community can now bring glass, tin, metal, plastic, paper and cardboard to be recycled. The community made a connection with the recycling center who will pay the community for their recyclables. Now the community can benefit not only from a cleaner community, but they will also use the money they make to make it safer. Several of us went out to distribute flyers to notify the community.

 

More to come....