Recently 2013 Senior Rep, Becca, went on a mission trip to Nicaragua with other high school students and I asked her to share the experiences she encountered. Here is her story:
A Story of Provision
I recently had the opportunity to go on a mission trip in Ometepe, Nicaragua. While I had a blast on the trip making new friends and making great memories, God used the time I spent in Nicaragua to teach me new lessons about His sovereignty and provision. Not only was my team able to bless those we met while in Nicaragua with tangible goods such as clothing and food, but we were blessed by those we helped. There is one key moment I would like to share that really conveys the power and the love of God. This instance is only a snapshot, if you will, of all that God did in Nicaragua and in my life during my time there, but it is a powerful snapshot that ultimately conveys God’s power, provision, and love for His people.
While on the island of Ometepe, my team went on multiple home visits. A home visit consisted of my team walking down the road and stopping where the Lord led us. The houses we stopped at received a bag full of goods such as rice, beans, candles, matches, bed sheets, cooking oil, and more. Additionally, my team shared Gospel with the family there.
During one such home visit, we met an old lady who asked us to pray for her son. Her son didn’t want to go to church with her, because he had no shoes to wear there. All he owned was a pair of rubber sandals, and he believed that to enter God’s house he should have something nicer on his feet. I was struck by the family’s physical need, but more than that I was struck by that man’s extreme reverence for God. He was so in awe of God’s power and holiness that he didn’t feel it right to enter the house of God without a large amount of reverence. How often do I think about the holiness of God in such a way?
Before we left the family’s house, my team leader told the man that even if he didn’t have nice shoes to wear, God still wanted him at His house. As we prepared to go, we prayed for the woman and her son, both for their physical needs and their spiritual relationships with God. I wished so badly that I had shoes to give. After the prayer, one of the boys in my team pulled a pair of running shoes out of his book bag. He told us he had packed them that morning in his bag, fearing that the shoes he was wearing would break. He offered the shoes to the woman’s son. As the man tried on the shoes, we all held our breath. He looked up at us and nodded. No words were needed – we understood. The shoes fit!
No part of that situation made sense to me without God. That the boy on my team would pack an extra pair of shoes, that they would be exactly the size the man wore – all happening at once like a giant orchestration by a Higher Power. God had orchestrated that situation, a symphony of time and circumstance that no one on this earth could have foreseen. The next time we went to the church, we saw our new friend there – in his new shoes
Although I know that we were able to bless that man with new shoes, the blessing I received was far greater. I had seen a faith that could move mountains, and God’s provision in a whole new way. Matthew 6:26 says, “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” God says He will provide for those who trust in Him, and that promise should never be taken lightly. God WILL provide, in our lives just as he provided in the lives of those I met in Nicaragua.
What would you say is the first thing people notice about you and WHY?
Thanks
Love your pictures!!! Your pants are so cute!
Emily I love you outfit! Great pictures!
Emily your pictures are beautiful and I LOVE glee too!! I always say that I wish people would break into song and dance too!
Emily, it was so fun getting to know you at the mini shoot!! Your outfit is precious!!!
Emily I love all of your photos and it was really fun at the wish photo shoot with you! And you really do have pretty blue eyes!
Emily, I love your pictures! They’re so pretty! Your outfit is super cute too. I’m so glad we got to be in the WISH Fall Shoot together!
emily these pictures are stunning! i love the outfit. im going to charleston in the fall so hopefully ill see you there 🙂
Emily! You are gorgeous! I love the outfit you are wearing, it is so cute! I enjoyed learning about you through your interview. I notice your eyes first when I look at your face because they are beautiful!
Emily! You’re pictures are so pretty! I love the tank top you’re wearing! And Coldstone is my FAVORITE!!!
I love all your pictures 🙂 you are so beautiful Emily! I’m so gla I got the opportunity to have the wish shoot together!
Love your pictures! You look beautiful! I love your outfit too! Colored jeans are my favorite 🙂
You’re pictures are stunning!!! They turned out amazing!
Your pictures are so pretty! I loveee the outfit it’s so cute!
Your pictures are so beautiful! And I really live your outfit!
Emily! I’m so glad we got to know each other through this whole experience! It really has been a blessing! I love all of your pictures! You look so pretty!
I’m obsessed with your outfit, I love the color of the pants and the shirt makes you look so tan!
Emily! I love your outfit!! You look gorgeous in all of your pictures and I loved getting to know you better by reading your interview!
Emily all your pictures are amazing, i absolutely love the one on the left of the second row!!! Your outfit is so cute too, i love it!
Your pictures are so great! I had so much fun at the shoot
with you.
Emily all of your pics are gorgeous!!!! I remember this day and it was so much fun!!!
I LOVE your outfit!
OMG! I didn’t realize your were a senior rep with Craig Hewitt. You know Maddie Palmer and Emily Jeanot. Maddie is the sister of Travis’ best friend, Lindsay, and Emily is a volunteer with our Special Olympics Swim Team. I absolutely love your pictures! Take care.
Emily! I miss ya!! Your pictures are great! But your taste in ice-cream is a bit wack…. We need to catch up soon!
Emily, your serious face is really good and all these photos are fabulous. I am in love with your tank top.
Amazing pictures!! Emily you’re a natural!
Have fun in college nice pictures you’re a star
Your pictures turned out awesome! I love your top and the color of your jeans!