Even though I didn’t have to go to work today, I was up before dawn. For those that know me, you know something is wrong with this picture. The thing is I feel like I slept in late as we have been getting up around 4:00 AM to 4:30 AM for the last several days.
For the last 9 days we have had no television, no computers, no Ipod, no telephones, and for much of the week no electricity and no indoor plumbing. You know what, except for the telephone so I could have called my children (and wife) more often, I didn’t miss the rest of it all that much. I didn’t miss the television, computer or Ipod at all. I will admit, I missed indoor plumbing and hot water, but that’s just me. Actually, without all of these modern conveniences (think distractions) I was able to concentrate and focus more on God, the relationships within our group, the reason we were here and just the overall experience. Through the entire trip God provided us with all of our needs. Every night we had food, clothing, and shelter. Granted it may not have been what we have grown accustomed to, but we always had what we needed.
We left Ocala early last Saturday and flew out of Tampa to Houston for a layover. There we met the 2 doctors who were going with us on the trip. Some of us met for the first time and it was amazing how well we all got along in the harshest of conditions. From Houston we flew into Managua and there was a terrible storm as we were approaching. All of the other flights were diverted to Costa Rica due to the weather, but our pilot decided to land. We came onto the runway sideways due to the wind and literally slammed onto the runway. We were all a little shaken up, but we landed safe and sound. So for all of you who were praying for us to have a safe trip, your prayers were answered. We then went across the street to the Hotel Mercedes which is nice by Nicaraguan standards and stayed our first night in country. We met with Benny Baker and had our initial meeting. Benny and his wife Donna along with Mike and Ann live in Nicaragua and are doing wonderful work. They made sure everything on our trip ran as smoothly as possible, but we soon learned what Benny meant when he would say “This is Nicaragua, learn to be fluid.”
The next day we loaded up into vans and took the trip to the city of Jinotaga The road from Managua to Jinotaga is paved and is a newly built road courtesy of the Iranians. It was on this drive that our eyes were opened to the standard of life in this country and we were still in the “civilized” part. The level of monetary poverty is hard for me to describe, but as I would soon learn, a simple roof over your head goes a long way.We stopped briefly in Jinotaga where Mision Para Cristo is based out of. From there we took a bus over the mountainous dirt roads to Wiwili. To give you an idea of the roads, it took us 5-7 hours to drive 65 miles. We stayed the night in Wiwili at the Hotel Centro and we had a bed, toilet, shower and sink. Imagine a typical American jail cell and you might get the idea. It was not what any of us are accustomed to, but we had shelter and we were thankful. I will admit that my first initial thought to the room was “You gotta be kidding me.”, but I was quickly embarrassed and realized this simple room was better accommodations than 90% of the country were living in. There were days ahead when that room would have been comfortable, but we will get to that later. As it was Sunday night, the church in Wiwili waited for us to get in and we were able to worship with them that evening. It was a wonderful experience and this church was started on the last mission trip our church went on. It was a great experience to be able to worship with them even though there was a language barrier for some. It still felt like family and we were definitely welcomed.
The next morning we were up at 0430 and after a quick breakfast, we walked down to the river to board the canoes and meet up with the Nicaraguan military unit that would stay with us while we were up river. It was 10 hour days in the canoes through some of the most beautiful countryside I have ever seen. We arrived at the village of San Andras and set up camp in the village clinic. We would spend the next 4 nights here and set up sleeping arrangements at night, break down camp and set up clinic just to break down the clinic at night to set up sleeping arrangements again. There was no electricity but we did have a generator to run lights, breathing treatment machines and to have a fan on at night for us. There was an indoor bathroom which didn’t have a flushable toilet or running water and the outhouse was actually cleaner, but I don’t want to go to in depth here on some issues. We would get up around 0430 to 0500 and break down camp, eat breakfast and set up the clinic. We held clinic until around 4:00 PM as it got dark at 5:30 PM and we needed time to break down the clinic and set up sleeping arrangements before dark. We saw approximately 150 patients per day (more or less) and during this time one of the local ministers, David, held a seminar (think gospel meeting) in which the attendance was approximately 50-60 and 10 people responded to the gospel. This is why we were there and made the effort worth it.
The people of Nicaragua welcomed us and were curious as to why we were there. When I was asked once why we would come to Nicaragua my only response was that Christ told us to “Love God and love your neighbor” and you are my neighbor. They still didn’t understand, but I know we made a difference in people’s lives because even I saw the compassion our group displayed on those around them.
Our group had people from Ocala, Holly Hill, Louisiana and Virginia. Some of us met for the first time on this trip, but we all got along well and shared the workload without complaint. We helped each other and quickly learned how much we depened on each other. We had the villagers watching and listening to us as we held our nightly devotionals and not to brag, but we sounded good while we were singing. We enjoyed the singing so much, we would not want to quit.
On Friday, we woke at 0400 AM, broke down camp, ate breakfast and then got into the canoe for the 10 hour return trip. We didn’t go all the way back to Wiwili by boat this time as we were going against the current and stopped at an outpost and climbed into a 1980’s vintage German troop transport truck and went over what they called roads (I couldn’t see any road, only the drop off going down the mountain) and rode in the back of this truck for over 2 hours into darkness. God and I had a little conversation while on this ride and the sad thing was that some of the ladies loved it and were having the time of their lives. I guess I have seen too much of what could go wrong at my job and could see the headlines “Truck full of Americans falls over the edge…” Anyway, we made it safe and sound if not a little tired to Wiwili. We arrived in Wiwili around 7:00 PM and then climbed back into the bus for the 7 hour bus ride back to Jinotega. It was after 0200 AM and 22 hours of straight travel when we pulled into the Mision Para Cristo. Benny met me at the door to tell me my family had been involved in an auto accident but that everyone was alright. As it was 0430 in the morning at home, I waited a few hours then borrowed Benny’s phone to make the call home. This was only the second time I had been able to use a phone while away and a tearful crew told me the events that had happened. It was good to talk to the girls (all 3 of them) again. I also found out when I got home that my father had been in the hospital as well but hopefully everything will turn out well there also.
Saturday we left Jinotega and went to the national park near Managua which is an active volcano, then traveled to the market to pick up souvenirs for the family. We then went back to the Hotel Mercedes where our trip started. This time it didn’t seem third world but first class after what we had endured. We had pizza and held our final meeting with Benny and his wife Donna. They are a wonderful couple sharing the love of Christ with the people of Nicaragua.
The next morning it was off to the airport and back to the states where I was surprised by my family driving down to pick me up. It was a wonderful reunion.
I will say this was one of the roughest trips I have ever been on, but the scary thing is this; I loved every minute of it. The people on our trip were amazing. We had the best group dynamics, constantly looked for ways to help each other and basically put everyone’s needs above our own. I had the time of my life and look forward to a return trip in the future, though for my wife’s sake it will probably be when the kids are a little bit older.
As for the group, we endured 7 hour bus rides on dirt roads, 10 hours in a canoe, sleeping without AC, the use of outhouses and for us it was a shock to the system. For the people of Nicaragua, this is everyday life. Hopefully, above all, they saw the love of Christ. You don’t have to go to a foreign country to spread the good news, but it doesn’t hurt to go there as well. “Go ye unto all the world…” This is only a brief summary of what happened and I’m sure others will post or tell you of our adventures but this was just my quick thoughts of the past few days. Thanks for reading and for your prayers of a safe and successful trip. For those that went with me, “and you know that He has done marvelous things, praise the Lord…”